Director versus Script

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  • Director versus Script

    The Olympics got me in the mood to watch Peaceful Warrior. A film which closes on the slo mo and almost inconsequential finale of a... I can't find the name of the sport where the gymnast hangs from the bungie hoops. What I'm sure was well written in the original novel, and the screenplay adaptation, doesn't do much on film as it's an entire gymnast sequence filmed in slo mo and with obvious cutaways to the actor's face who isn't doing gymnastics. So I'm curious, to anyone who uses these boards who might have experience with this, what is there to do or how does one react when a director absent mindedly shoots something by way of trivializing or relegating part of a script with inept filmmaking? It seems obvious, to a late night drunkard several years after the film was made, that the slo mo sequence in Warrior was distanced from the effect the finale was supposed to achieve, so when bad direction overwhelms the writing, does the writer just have to pray the audience notices the problem was only in the filming?

    On a very unpleasant side note, while I did a little looking up of this film, I came across the information that Victor Salva, a director who I liked for his effective filmmaking of Jeepers Creepers and Powder, came by this story while being incarcerated for child molestation. He actually raped a kid while making the film Clownhouse, another film I enjoyed albeit while stoned. This... really changes my opinion of him and almost every film of his I've seen and enjoyed.
    The end is too damn nigh.

  • #2
    Re: Director versus Script

    Are you asking if - when a director screws up a writer's vision - the writer gets blamed? I don't think so. As this is one of the few times writers getting no credit actually helps. If we don't get any credit when the movie's great, we can't lose any when it sucks. Although most people are so ignorant about writing, they're not in a position to have an opinion anyway. Almost everyone I know judges good or bad writing on dialogue. They have no idea how much more goes into it. For example, quirky dialogue heavy movies like Juno and Pulp fiction are the only times writers get noticed. Whereas James Cameron losing out in the best original screenplay category at the Oscars was probably one of the biggest shams I've ever seen. Keeping an audience riveted for 3 hours takes an amazing command of craft that is way more difficult than writing lines like "Oh my blog". But the dialogue was clunky so people thought the choice was justified.

    I believe only the top working writers and directors truly understand what's going on in a scene like you describe. And even then, the writer could've specifically put in the script - "entire scene in slo-mo". It very well may have been his decision.
    Script Reviews - 5 a week! http://scriptshadow.blogspot.com/

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    • #3
      Re: Director versus Script

      Originally posted by wilsoneads View Post
      Are you asking if - when a director screws up a writer's vision - the writer gets blamed? I don't think so. As this is one of the few times writers getting no credit actually helps. If we don't get any credit when the movie's great, we can't lose any when it sucks.
      You would think so, but it doesn't really work out that way.

      Read reviews for a bad movie and watch how often they'll talk about the actors or the director "struggling valiantly" against the bad writing.

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      • #4
        Re: Director versus Script

        Originally posted by WritersBlock2010
        The main problem with adapting something like "Way of the Peaceful Warrior" is the book is a self-help, self-actualization novel (more or less) disguised as fiction. This means the big struggle is internal vs. most movies where it is external and internal.

        The whole metaphor of an arrogant young gymnast who loses it all (becomes handicapped) and then has to let go of all his anger, fear and frustration is supposed to be enough for audiences to "get" the main themes of the novel... But the problem is this comes off (due to audiences being subconsciously familiar with film making conventions) as just another character arc... Which in the novel it is anything but typical.

        The difference is the novel is about what is called the "Moment of Clarity".

        The moment of clarity is a life-altering revelation/epiphany very few people have when you realize everything WILL be OK... Or, at least, things aren't as bad as they first appear and they will get better.

        I've had a Moment of Clarity in my own life... And this is the big reason why it doesn't really translate that well to film: It is a very personalized experience and unique to the person having it. More than that, the MOC is almost Zen-like; it's what Asian philosophies would call reaching Nirvana, the point where you are at peace with yourself and everything else around you. You've let go of your biases, hatred, anger, fear, jealousy, striving for perfection, etc. It's basically a "live and let live" moment to the Nth degree.

        In my opinion, this is something you cannot translate to film very well because it has to be experienced to be believed. It sounds corny, but it is the truth. This is why I agree that the ending of "Peaceful Warrior" loses all its impact because it comes off as just another (expected) character arc when for the character it is his moment of clarity and is supposed to be the moment when he literally attains a higher consciousness (awareness) that allows him to live his dreams.

        "Well, yeah. I was just sitting here, eating my muffin, drinking my coffee, when I had what alcoholics refer to as a moment of clarity."

        "Normally, both of your sorry asses would be deader than ****ing fried chicken by now, but you happened to pull this **** while I'm in a transitional period, so I don't wanna kill you. I wanna help you. But I can't give you what's in this case, it doesn't belong to me. Besides, I've already been through too much **** this morning over this case to just hand it over to your dumb asses."
        -Jules(Pulp Fiction)
        But this wily god never discloses even to the skillful questioner the whole content of his wisdom.

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        • #5
          Re: Director versus Script

          Originally posted by twk69045 View Post

          On a very unpleasant side note, while I did a little looking up of this film, I came across the information that Victor Salva, a director who I liked for his effective filmmaking of Jeepers Creepers and Powder, came by this story while being incarcerated for child molestation. He actually raped a kid while making the film Clownhouse, another film I enjoyed albeit while stoned. This... really changes my opinion of him and almost every film of his I've seen and enjoyed.

          How in the hell can he work now? I understood that boy he molested was one of actors?
          Get ready

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