Comedy

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  • Comedy

    From the "Questions for the po screenwriters and industry pros"-thread:

    Dr Stiggers said:
    4. IF YOU CAN WRITE COMEDY, DO IT

    Most scribes neglect comedy even if they have a fertile
    sense of humor. Comedy is like a second class citizen
    in the world of aspiring writers who'd rather spend their
    time writing â€important†material or spinning ainâ€TMt-it-cool
    potboilers. Comedy continually offers the most avenues
    of entrées into the business. Too bad most of them are
    never tried.

    5. COMEDY IS WIT, NOT SPIT

    Slapstick, pratfalls, spit takes and all other physical
    comedy does not come off the page very well. Most
    comedies thrive on wit and whimsy at the spec script
    stage.
    - Why does comedy offer the most "avenues of entrées" into the business?

    - What if your comedy idea is heavily reliant on physical comedy? How would you suggest tackling this in a spec script?

  • #2
    - Why does comedy offer the most "avenues of entrées" into the business?

    Because comedy is hard to write, few people can do it and comedy is always in demand. If you can do it well you are able to spin straw into gold.

    Every year rom-com is the number one selling genre in the spec market, followed closely by comedy for second and thrillers for third.


    - What if your comedy idea is heavily reliant on physical comedy? How would you suggest tackling this in a spec script?
    The same way you would if your script was a thriller or an adventure story. Bringing out the tone of the actions is essential to making the script more than the sum of its parts. Create the sequences so the reader has the same filmic experience as the audience will.

    Having said that - Have you read many scripts where the comdey is physical? In most cases they don't come across very funny which is why it is a good idea to avoid making comedy dependent on slapstick.

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    • #3
      Having said that - Have you read many scripts where the comdey is physical? In most cases they don't come across very funny which is why it is a good idea to avoid making comedy dependent on slapstick.
      Again, you hit it on the head. I've read a couple of slapstick scripts that have led to quality movies and many of the gags are written very dry. Slapstick that doesn't emerge from character just doesn't read well. You'll probably laugh when a mic picks up Frank Drebin taking a leak. Not so much when he reacts to spoiled Chinese food.

      Comment


      • #4
        I recently completed a spec sitcom project that relied heavily on physical comedy. It loosely resembles the 60s sitcom Get Smart. Of course I laughed my ass off, but it faired poorly in the competition I entered it in. Was it funny? Hell yes. Did it come off as funny on the page? I'm guessing -- not funny enough.

        I've tried to find some old Get Smart scripts, but haven't found any. It would be interesting to see how they appeared on the page. The results were wonderful. Anyone have any?

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        • #5
          Don't read a comedy script of a film or TV series you've already seen -- you can't tell if the script's funny or not because you're remembering the actors and the settings.

          I've read unproduced scripts with physical comedy that was hilarious. They weren't full of pratfalls and other comedy cliches, but had lots of unique, clever, and very original stunts, and the descriptions were humorous as well. Like anything else, it takes talent.

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          • #6
            I often wonder how Ace Ventura or The Mask would read if you hadn't seen the manic brilliance of Jim Carrey in the lead roles?

            I mean, how do you write, '...he makes a very funny rubber face then spins around 360 degrees while clucking like a chicken, before straightening up and saying: 'Hi Captain Stubbie!' ?

            Physical humor is of course part situational, but is so heavily dependent on the skill of the actor or actors involved, as to make it very difficult to write well.

            Winter in New York

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            • #7
              I mean, how do you write, '...he makes a very funny rubber face then spins around 360 degrees while clucking like a chicken, before straightening up and saying: 'Hi Captain Stubbie!' ?

              Answer: you probably don't write it.

              If you're writing a comedy you will be making, and you know the abilities of the actors you'll be using, you can work out bits that will be funny performed but don't have to seem funny on the page. That's what my partner and I do when we make short films, and that was likely done in Ace Ventura, etc.

              In our first short, my writing partner played a caveman who could only grunt, roll his eyes, and gesture with a Halloween prop bone.
              We have plenty of verbal jokes in the script (the other characters could speak English) but we didn't write in the funny physical bits we worked out in rehearsal. We didn't need to. It was a script for our own use. (You can see the short on BrookwoodFilms.com if you are interested.)

              But if you're writing a spec comedy with physical humor, (which we also do,) you have to write in physical gags that make sense character- and story-wise. They have to be gags that you know will play well on screen; and just as important, they actually have to read funny. Because if you're writing a spec comedy, no one will know it's funny if they're not laughing while they are reading it. Saying the actor has to make a funny face just ain't gonna cut it. You have to write the kind of gags that are in the best silent movies , and you have to describe them in such a way that the audience laughs out loud. That is demanding work.

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              • #8
                Physical humor is of course part situational, but is so heavily dependent on the skill of the actor or actors involved, as to make it very difficult to write well.
                I think acting is sometimes taken for granted. Aren't all characters in all types of films heavily dependent on the skill of the actor or actors involved?

                Even if you say "yeah, but more so with physical humor" - I think I would disagree. I've been to many acting auditions, on both sides, and there are just so many people calling themselves actors who can't do it and make it very painful to watch. Regardless of the genre.

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                • #9
                  I agree that pure slapstick doesn't work well on the page. The operating word here is "pure." Physical humor can work just fine if it's mixed with another form of humor.

                  For instance, in Mallrats Brodie says (quoting from memory):
                  You better face forward, my friend, or risk shock and damage.

                  Then he turns and BAM. He's knocked over by a 2X4.

                  That slapstick moment works because it's ironic as well.

                  A hits B with a pie in the face is not funny. A throws a pie at B, B ducks, and the pie ends up on C's face is.

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                  • #10
                    Yeah it is. It's just hack as all hell.

                    I think acting is sometimes taken for granted. Aren't all characters in all types of films heavily dependent on the skill of the actor or actors involved?
                    I think it's certainly taken for granted in comedy. The characters are dependent on the skill of the actors but hopefully not heavily so or the script's not doing its job. Carrey is superb in Liar Liar but Robin Williams could've knocked it out the park as well. Ditto Steve Martin and Bill Murray. However they'd all be dealing with one good script (okay, so with a few changes for each actor but still).

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                    • #11
                      So, let's say you want to write a script for a physical comedy, something that would appeal to Steve Martin or Robin Williams or Jim Carrey or Bill Murray. How do you get into writing that type of comedy?

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                      • #12
                        and remember in every rom com ever made the girl trips and falls and looks so cute while doing it.

                        vig

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                        • #13
                          "So, let's say you want to write a script for a physical comedy, something that would appeal to Steve Martin or Robin Williams or Jim Carrey or Bill Murray. How do you get into writing that type of comedy?"

                          You write a script of that kind that is so good, the actor wants to make it. ...So good that you can get it to the actor, or that you can get it to someone who can get it to the actor, and attract the necessary funding.

                          Or you build up to it by writing other scripts of that kind, and maybe also making movies of that kind, that are so good, someone trusts you to write one on assignment.

                          Often the people who write for these guys are their early friends who have been writing for them before they were famous. So the approach in that case is to join up with the talented undiscovered comic actors you know and write scripts for them, and make short films with them that will make you all famous.

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                          • #14
                            Seeking out undiscovered talent is a good idea. You still, however, have to have top notch material to offer even at that stage in the comic's career.

                            At The CS Expo, William Goldman remarked that actors don't give a @#%$ about writers. I don't think this is true with regards to comedy writers. The best ones seem to have a long lasting relationship with the people who breathe life into their characters. Billy Crystal, Adam Sandler, Bill Murray have each worked with the same writers for years.

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