When characters just don't "get it"

[emily blake]

Re: When characters just don't "get it"

The other day my husband said "They just don't get it."

And I responded: "DO THEY!"

[tehmorp]

Re: When characters just don't "get it"

Would you say "You just get it, do you?" worked in movies or not? I saw several of those movies highlighted in the video, and not once did the line make me cringe and say "What a lousy line."

When I hear it, I do tend to cringe. Although there are always exceptions where a line (or some other bit) that I'd ordinarily dislike is used perfectly. Another line I almost always cringe at, unless the speaker is younger than 7, is, "I'm in trouble."

A theory I'm working on is that most cringe-worthy lines can probably just be deleted. Not replaced, not edited, just deleted. I don't have enough data points on it yet though.

[Centos]

Re: When characters just don't "get it"

Yeah but on the other hand, nobody (in the real world) actually says, "You just don't get it, do you?"

In the real world we say things like, "what's your major malfunction, numbnuts?" And I have said, in real life, "What is it that you don't get?"

Would you say "You just get it, do you?" worked in movies or not? I saw several of those movies highlighted in the video, and not once did the line make me cringe and say "What a lousy line."

[tehmorp]

Re: When characters just don't "get it"

When it works, it works. Nobody (in the real world) watches a montage of fifty or so movie clips and thinks, "I've heard that line before."

Yeah but on the other hand, nobody (in the real world) actually says, "You just don't get it, do you?"

[tehmorp]

Re: When characters just don't "get it"

What do you mean you had to make an edit? I don't get it.

For a minute, I thought you really didn't get it....did you?

[hscope]

Re: When characters just don't "get it"

I don't get it.

[Ronaldinho]

Re: When characters just don't "get it"

Lazy self-plagiarism. Give him 50 Emmys!!!

Self-plagiarism? Perhaps. Lazy? Not even close.

I suspect most people who've written ballpark 150 produced episodes of television (that's not counting his "created by" credits, just written/teleplay credits) and six produced features probably repeat themselves quite a bit.

For the second season of Sports Night, he was writing every episode of that show and every episode of the first season of The West Wing.

You can call that many things, but lazy isn't one of them.

I'm willing to bet you could find a couple of repeated lines of dialog in the 10 or so feature scripts I've written. Does anybody here who's written more than two really think they've never used a non-trivial line of dialog twice? If you repeat one line of dialog for every three scripts, you'll well on your way to just as much self plagiarism as Sorkin has ... give yourself another 140 hours of material and you'll catch up. And that's without having to work on a TV schedule, to say nothing of having to work on a TV schedule with no staff, to say nothing of working on a TV schedule with no staff, two shows at once. (His choice, but still).

[Bananos]

Re: When characters just don't "get it"

i love the line "you just don't get it, do you". it has to do with the fascination of the retarded nature of our being, and it has something to do with ecstacy, not only the bliss of not knowing, but the very experience of chaos and that everything flows, and the honesty of that is something close to death. of course i'm talking about that i can empathize with the person who "just don't get it".

that's why i like the robotard 8000. i can empathize with being retarded but at the same thing being intelligent. just try to walk into a confrence room saying that you just don't get it. that you never got it and that you are retarded. the stupid ones will laugh at you and think you're crazy, the smart one will say "finally a guy that gets it"(for in truth it's usually the other ones who don't get it but pretend they do).

[Centos]

Re: When characters just don't "get it"

In case you want to look at ways in which characters don't "get it," here's eight minutes of (mostly) memorable movie moments where characters definitely don't get it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KoKW...ature=youtu.be

When it works, it works. Nobody (in the real world) watches a montage of fifty or so movie clips and thinks, "I've heard that line before."

[TheConnorNoden]

Re: When characters just don't "get it"

I'll cringe any time I hear that line now. Better make sure I haven't used it anywhere.

[SCRIPTMONK!!!]

Re: When characters just don't "get it"

This will get worse before it gets better:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S78RzZr3IwI

Lazy self-plagiarism. Give him 50 Emmys!!!

[mtlancas]

Re: When characters just don't "get it"

This will get worse before it gets better:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S78RzZr3IwI

[jcpdoc]

Re: When characters just don't "get it"

My writing partner and I caught wind of that supercut when it first came out.

Blushingly, we had to make an edit in our script.

What do you mean you had to make an edit? I don't get it.

Pretty crazy to see all the iterations; reminds me of this 4 minutes of "Fvck You" from Scarface: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLktRZ8l1qc Someone should intertwine them.

[robertcc]

Re: When characters just don't "get it"

My writing partner and I caught wind of that supercut when it first came out.

Blushingly, we had to make an edit in our script.

[SundownInRetreat]

Re: When characters just don't "get it"

Julie Andrews was hot in that clip. Despite being 76.