Week 2 Day 1: Belonging Together – SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE

[Susan]

Sleepless In Seattle

What causes the audience to believe these two belong together?

Sam and Annie both say the same things in response to the “Dr” on the radio, they both have similar/the same emotional reactions to Dr Fieldstone and the situation, they each need someone (with Sam it’s shown and Annie says it with tears in her eyes while she’s driving) who can really understand them – not just anyone, they are both skeptical, highly emotional and romantic.

The Drama the scene is built around is the phone call Sam’s son Jonah makes to the radio psychologist and Sam’s reaction to his son doing this and seeing just how much his son (and he himself) is not dealing with his own inability to cope. His son takes on a more parental role and Sam becomes childlike. As the phone call goes on it becomes clearer how much Sam’s inability to cope is effecting Jonah.

The profile items that show up in this scene (right character, traits, secret, wound, future):

Right character:

Dr Fieldstone is the right character – she asks Sam the right questions that actually make him realize what he has been doing.

Jonah is the right character because he is frustrated enough and wise enough to do something to push his father.

Sam is the right character because he is so broken and inwardly dysfunctional (even though he can take care of his son physically).

Annie is the right character because she also needs a real deep emotional connection to someone who is as wounded as she is (her fiance is odd and romantic, but he is too normal and she doesn’t experience him as deep although he later shows himself to be, and he is not wounded).

Future: we can see that this radio phone call will spark an attempt to meet.

Secrets/Wounds: Sam is obviously wounded by the death of his wife, and Jonah by the death of his mother. Sam’s secret is that he is really emotionally non-functional, Annie’s has a secret but we don’t know it yet.

There are also a couple of triangles: Annie, Jonah, Sam/Annie, Sam, Dr Fieldstone/Annie, her fiance. Sam/ Annie, her fiance, her best friend (we don’t see that the ones with the fiance and friend in this scene).

What makes these characters great from a writing perspective…

Jonah is extremely determined and wants his father to be able to be himself again – he misses him. He also wants a mother desperately. He dynamically pushes and pulls the storyline/the film forward.

Sam needs to make big changes in his life, he is up against bth small and large challenges.

Annie is lost and needs to find what she really wants and who she really wants to be and do.

Dr Fieldstone is funny and also really smart. She can see right through a situation in a flash and is able to pull people into immediate realizations.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 2 months ago by  Susan McClaryu.

[Susan]

Seabiscuit

What causes you to believe that these two belong together?

Seabiscuit and Red are both fighting everyone around them at the same time. The trainer looks right and left and sees the same type of being on each side.

Similar emotions and actions:

Both Red and Seabiscuit fight aggressively, will not put up with anyone bothering them, are angry, want to be left alone.

What drama is this scene built around?

The trainer looking for the right jockey for Seabiscuit, but the horse’s temper (seen as crazy by jockey) is stopping that. Then the trainer spots Red and sees a kindred spirit for Seabiscuit.

What profile items (right character, traits, secret, wound, future) showed up in these two character’s words and actions?

Right character Red and Seabiscuit because they are both wounded, Traits they have similar traits which bind them to each other, Secret they each have a secret, Wound – both are obviously wounded, Future we can see that they will be together in this one scene and that their relationship will grow. All of these traits show up. For the trainer, he is the right person because he has compassion, and he also seems to have a secret.

What makes each of these characters great from a writing perspective:

The trainer understands that both Red and Seabiscuit are deeply wounded. He is an understanding soul (who also seems to have been wounded and recovered which is part of his secret) who can help both the human being and the horse animal being recover their dignity, love and their lives.

[Andrea Verde]

Sleepless in Seattle:

I think these two characters belong together by the way they agree with radio Psychologist even though they do not know each other. They use the same words and both show high emotions that are similar. Similar in word tone and subtext exposing expressions that are empathetic and deep.

The drama is the young son feeling afraid since his dad is falling apart. Young children dont call radio shows so this is a very dramatic scene. You feel for the boy and when he connects and explains the situation this blossoms into a futuristic event by the audience wanting the dad and woman to meet up. She’s also in a dark time of her life driving in her car at nightime and vulnerable.

They both share a deep wound. He lost his amazing wife who loved Christmas. She loved Christmas and this explains the kind of woman he loved. One who loves family and tradition and love. This opens the woman’s eyes to what type of man he is since he had a wife like this. She’s also this type of woman like his wife. She’s in a blah relationship and also needs love. So they both need true love and belonging.

The writing perspective is very very clever. To put these two people in a situation that reveals them each so well and at the same moment without them knowing each other is brilliant.

[Andrea Verde]

I’ll do my Seabisquit answer here since I don’t see a spot.

I believe Red and Sea Biscuit belong together because each one has a wild and untamed side. Both are out of control at the moment and even though it’s a horse and a person they definately belong together.

They have similar emotions of anger and rebellion in this scene and it helps Red see he’s meant to train Seabisquit.

The drama is built around the an out of control horse and the trainer trying to get the right person to ride him. It looks like an impossible fete. But actually it’s a future moment being tapped into that will be a once in a lifetime moment and a winning situation.

Profile items:

Right character: Both Sea Biscuit and Red are perfect for each other with their temperaments. Their past hurts come out violently through their anger. The trainer also belongs with them since he believes in them both.

Red and Sea Biscuit’s Traits: Impulsive, violent, aggressive, driven to win

Future: Both Red and Seabisquit are winners even though they don’t know it yet. And they will help each other grow and be all that they are meant to be.