Don't get cocky, kid

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  • Don't get cocky, kid

    I'm curious how all of you approach the balance of cocky humor from your leads (John McClane, Han Solo, Peter Parker (Raimi's version)) without it undermining your emotional beats?

    I love fun movies. I also love powerful movies. The Avengers was both, and perhaps that's in part because humor and emotion were delegated to different characters at different times?

    I know there are plenty of films that can seem like all fun and games until towards the end when things begin to reveal themselves as having more depth than originally thought. And I'm not talking about gags, more of how to handle humor when it comes from a sarcastic/cocky lead, like Daniel Craig's Bond.

    Right now the plan is to watch the films I see as similar to what I'm aiming for, find where the humor becomes drama, and vice-versa. I know reversals can play a huge role in this (i.e., funny moment becomes serious to the audience when they realize something might have cut a character deeper than they originally thought, or alternately when a dramatic moment is given a bit of "touching humor").

    So how do you personally, as a screenwriter, handle this balance? Particularly in the action-oriented genres.

    EDIT: I should be clear, I'm not looking for some Magic 8-ball answer that will provide the perfect formula for fun and drama in an action movie. The fun and the drama in my script will come down to gut choices, passion, and those eureka moments of inspiration that always seem to fuel a little more life into a scene or a beat. I just find that sometimes hearing the thoughts of others, and what has worked for them or how they have attacked similar dilemmas in their own works, can help loosen things up and give me a better perspective of what I'm trying to achieve here.
    Last edited by Eric Boellner; 12-28-2014, 02:28 AM.

  • #2
    Re: Don't get cocky, kid.

    Also, in ironic contrast to The Avengers, my biggest problem with Iron Man 2 was exactly what makes Tony Stark, Tony Stark: his cockiness. It's not that I'd grown tired of the character, and it really doesn't boil down to his cockiness truthfully, it's that I never felt any emotion underneath it all. I felt like there were no stakes because the way Stark was written in that film, he was more interested in snarky remarks than in the people he could lose. So it felt like losing them didn't mean anything, and thus I really didn't care if Stark won or lost in the end.

    RDJ really doesn't dial it down much for TA or IM3, but both of those films felt a bit more personal. The arrogance and the humor and the cockiness we love was still there, but there was an emotion underneath or behind it that felt real. I guess I'm trying to find that. (I actually feel that I've found it for my character, but as I said in the edited OP, I want to have a better understanding of what IT is).

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    • #3
      Re: Don't get cocky, kid.

      Your protagonist isn't going to act the same with all the other characters in his life -- just like you don't in yours. Your mom isn't your best poker buddy -- you are still you, but you'll reveal different aspects of yourself, are more or less vulnerable depending on who you talk to. Same with protagonists.

      Since you mentioned Bond -- remember in Casino Royale when he sucked Eva Green's fingertips in the shower. What a great scene. For all the cool banter before -- that scene felt real. He wanted to protect her. Was concerned with her. It added a layer of tenderness and care we didn't see previously.

      She's the only character that brought that out of him. Rightly so. So if you can't get your protagonist out of cocky mode, ask yourself who in his life isn't going to put up with that? Who does that not apply to? His mom? The maintenance man in the building he lives in -- who also watches football with him? The put-upon single mom that lives across the hall? His dog walker, who is a struggling playwright that he respects? The pretty cashier at Quick Mart who he finds himself drawn to?

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      • #4
        Re: Don't get cocky, kid.

        You are kind of asking how do you write good sarcasm? Good cynicism?

        There is no easy answer. You will need to recognize these qualities in your life and maybe even be good at using them in your real life. Even if that is the case, you will need to do trial and error in your script. Maybe you are coming off way to strong with your sarcasm or are too subtle. There is no road map to finding the balance, you will try and fail and then make corrections. Good sarcasm needs to be fired at a character like a loaded gun, so you can say the target of the sarcasm is just as important or more important then the great line of sarcasm itself.

        Some archtypes are tougher to write than others. You have to get into your story and explore, and ask yourself if you are writing sarcasm cause you like the emotion or does sarcasm fit like a puzzle piece into your story and character.

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        • #5
          Re: Don't get cocky, kid.

          Originally posted by figment View Post
          Your protagonist isn't going to act the same with all the other characters in his life -- just like you don't in yours. Your mom isn't your best poker buddy -- you are still you, but you'll reveal different aspects of yourself, are more or less vulnerable depending on who you talk to. Same with protagonists.

          Since you mentioned Bond -- remember in Casino Royale when he sucked Eva Green's fingertips in the shower. What a great scene. For all the cool banter before -- that scene felt real. He wanted to protect her. Was concerned with her. It added a layer of tenderness and care we didn't see previously.

          She's the only character that brought that out of him. Rightly so. So if you can't get your protagonist out of cocky mode, ask yourself who in his life isn't going to put up with that? Who does that not apply to? His mom? The maintenance man in the building he lives in -- who also watches football with him? The put-upon single mom that lives across the hall? His dog walker, who is a struggling playwright that he respects? The pretty cashier at Quick Mart who he finds himself drawn to?
          This! I think this is similar to what I've noticed working in my own script, though it's less of the way the protag acts with any given person than it is the way he acts when things remind him of what he's lost. I do have a character who doesn't put up with his s--t, or rather responds in kind I guess.

          I watched Guardians of the Galaxy again last night to get a feel for how Platt handled it, and it's interesting that the only thing he gets serious about is that cassette player. Though, the Quill character isn't really close to what I'm going for (Quill is more "man-child" than I want). It's also a little more comical of a film, and poorly-written in many areas so really the only takeaway was the cassette player haha

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          • #6
            Re: Don't get cocky, kid.

            Originally posted by Cyfress View Post
            Some archtypes are tougher to write than others. You have to get into your story and explore, and ask yourself if you are writing sarcasm cause you like the emotion or does sarcasm fit like a puzzle piece into your story and character.
            Good post, Cyfress. To answer that question, the way I had initially outlined the character (who's lost a great deal prior to the film's opening) was very melodramatic. I didn't like it, and honestly it didn't feel genuine. Not everybody stays moody all the time, even when they've lost things close to them. I myself can bounce back from a loss pretty quickly to the point of being humorous again, but I feel like in some films you never see that humor, because the writer is trying so hard to make you empathize, rather than just being real. I'd rather like a character I'm going to spend 110 minutes with than pity him/her.

            It's a tricky combination for me, because I usually write the melodrama bullshit. And while it works in a few films I love, most of the movies that inspire me have a bit more fun and passion and energy. Skyfall is a pretty good example. It's probably one of the more/most dramatic 007's, but it's far from joyless. And a lot of that joy comes from Bond's ability to smirk when his opponent has the upper hand.

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            • #7
              Re: Don't get cocky, kid.

              Originally posted by figment View Post
              Your protagonist isn't going to act the same with all the other characters in his life -- just like you don't in yours. Your mom isn't your best poker buddy -- you are still you, but you'll reveal different aspects of yourself, are more or less vulnerable depending on who you talk to. Same with protagonists.

              Since you mentioned Bond -- remember in Casino Royale when he sucked Eva Green's fingertips in the shower. What a great scene. For all the cool banter before -- that scene felt real. He wanted to protect her. Was concerned with her. It added a layer of tenderness and care we didn't see previously.

              She's the only character that brought that out of him. Rightly so. So if you can't get your protagonist out of cocky mode, ask yourself who in his life isn't going to put up with that? Who does that not apply to? His mom? The maintenance man in the building he lives in -- who also watches football with him? The put-upon single mom that lives across the hall? His dog walker, who is a struggling playwright that he respects? The pretty cashier at Quick Mart who he finds himself drawn to?
              Excellent post!

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              • #8
                Re: Don't get cocky, kid.

                When I write a character who is flippant, sarcastic or overly cocky, I ask myself what it's covering up - because usually, that's the real source. What is he hiding, or avoiding, or protecting? Then I know when to turn it up and when to turn it down.

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