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.
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.
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