#39 - Isolation
Edition #39 of the Lighthouse miniLetter!
You'll always get:
Three examples of great screenwriting
Two quotes about storytelling
One thing to think about
Plus some fun links at the bottom.
Three examples of great screenwriting
House of the Dragon (Pilot)
Story by George R. R. Martin & Ryan Condal, Written by Ryan Condal, Based on Fire & Blood by George R. R. Martin
A nice literary style. Even though the writers of this know this show is bought, sold and in production, they still take care of the reader, even so much as including information that can’t be seen like “sister-queens of Aegon the Conqueror” and “where Aegon the Conqueror had built his own over a century ago.” I think it helps keep the tone alive for all the collaborators as they work.
(And yes, I was excited that the salmon draft was the one available just to give the miniLetter a nice pop of color!)
School of Rock
Written by Mike White
If you’ve seen the film, you know that this is nowhere to be found. The film instead opens on adult Dewey rocking a guitar solo, emphasis on solo.
There could be many reasons this was cut or even never filmed, but I think largely it’s okay to lose because Dewey’s journey in the finished film isn’t about avoiding school at all. It’s about learning to be part of a group and, to quote Dewey quoting Whitney, learning to “let them lead the way.” So the finished film’s opening highlights thatjourney, rather than what's written above. Bonus points in the final cut for opening with a diegetic rock song.
Scaring Shelley
Screenplay by Asher Farkas and David K. Kessler
Great work here from Farkas and Kessler picking ‘70s superstars that we’d know by first name so that we not only recognize who’s at the party, but also feel the sense of intimacy because we only get first names.
I also really like the use of “ideally” here. I think it nicely strikes the balance between collaboration and artistic opinion. They’ve provided two options, and even specified the part of each option (chorus) but “ideally” indicates they know it’s not always possible to get what you want in music rights and aren’t going to die on this hill.
This whole script is about Shelley Duvall’s experience on The Shining and it’s a doozie. Great work.
Two quotes about screenwriting
“For me, screenwriting is all about setting characters in motion and as a writer just chasing them. They should tell you what they’ll do in any scene you put them in.”
“If you expect to write stories pulsing with real life, or put upon canvas compositions that are divinely human - you must go forth and live!”
One thing to think about
What can you isolate?
Screenwriting is a combination of many, many similar yet different skills in the same way that any sport is a combination of related skills.
Look at how most athletes improve their individual skills: Isolation.
They practice free throws, and only free throws, over and over.
Backhands. Over and over.
Even in the weight room, the way to get stronger muscles is to isolate them.
How can you do this as a screenwriter?
Sit down and write 10, 20, maybe even 30 character introduction/descriptions.
Wait. Let’s isolate further. Separate character creation from character introduction. Take 30 characters from films or shows you know and write their introduction.
Want to get better at loglines? Write loglines for films you know. Over and over.
What other aspects can you isolate? Can you isolate larger concepts like overall structure, scene construction, idea generation?
As screenwriters, we rarely practice for the sake of practicing. But when you look at athletes, or professionals in other disciplines, you see it often. Why don’t we?
What can you isolate?
Have a great draft,
David Wappel
PS Don’t Miss
Transfer files, but only if you keep the window open. Pretty cool.