Week 2 Day 2: Mismatched Allies – GREEN BOOK

[Susan]

Green Book

The two characters, Tony & Shirley are completely mismatched. Tony is intelligent but not educated and he is street smart and gruff, while Shirley is highly educated and “refined.” He is also affected. At the interview Don Shirley is sitting on an actual throne set on a step platform above Tony who is sitting in an armchair below. Tony is a down to earth guy although well dressed as he normally works in high ticket places like the Copa Cabana as a bouncer. In the clip it appears Don Shirley sees himself as a Prince from the throne, the furniture and furnishings in the room. It is all very ritzy and high class and Regal. Each has an attitude that doesn’t want to take BS from anyone about anything, but express it in opposite ways. Tony is more easygoing and Don is more demanding although Tony does set good boundaries. It does not seem like the characters are completely historical. I never saw this film, and I did not even know what year this was taking place so I looked it up (it was difficult to believe someone was offering $100 a week). What I read says Don was very down to earth. I don’t see that here, maybe it shows up later. It seems like that character trait would be antagonistic to some of the other obvious ones and would have added depth to this character. Shirley’s real brother Maurice won’t see the film because he says it’s full of lies.

Don needs to get over himself, as well as his obvious need to have everything perfect. Tony needs to be able to deal with Don’s perfection.

Knowing that Tony gets the job the mismatch creates a future where Tony will need to protect Don and Don will need to get Tony into places that are more high brow and expose him to different music that he may not have heard before.

The drama this scene is built around is what each character is expecting the job to be and how to navigate the outcome.

The profile items (right character, traits, secret, wound, future) that show up in the characters’ words and actions in this scene are…

Right Character:

Tony: He’s a tough guy who has worked as a bouncer in clubs and can handle situations that will come up on the road in the deep south, he also is pushy and charming and has the potential to bring Don out of his stiffness.

Don: He’s refined and uniquely talented, there’s no one quite like him or his music so he is interesting to the time and to the audience. He is determined to bring his music to people in the southern part of the country and is sort of innocent and fearless in that way so he really needs Tony.

Character Traits:

Tony: Rough, Sarcastic, Down to Earth, Friendly, Street Smart,

Don: Stiff/Affected, Full of Himself/He Acts Like Royalty, Highly Intelligent, Likely OCD, Inquisitive/Probing/Curious,

The 2 characters’ traits play off each other for both confrontation and camaraderie.

Secret:

Tony could have a secret, for instance why is he choosing to do this job instead of something close to home?

Don appears to have a secret, but in this scene it is difficult to say what it is.

Wound:

In order for Don to be the way he is, he likely has a wound.

I do not see a wound for Tony in this scene.

Living into the Future:

The way the trip is going to go is set up in the scene. What Tony is willing to do on the road and the tension and friendship that may happen due to each character’s personality.

What makes each character great from a writing perspective:

Don: How do we find out what is going on with this guy? He is so strange sitting on a throne, having elephant tusks, wanting to play some kind of weird music down south. We have a lot to discover about him.

Tony: He is the perfect foil/friend for Dom because he is so unlike him. We also can explore why he is willing to leave his family for 8 weeks and not take a different job in NYC.

[Andrea Verde]

Green Book:

These two characters come from different worlds. However, they both have distinct personalities and this makes the movie so fun to watch. But they respect each other and this comes through loud and clear.

They have to get over the walls they both have by peeling back the tension. Each is their own person and this is where the respect grows. Eventually they come to an agreement and can work together. And Tony will be able to protect Shirley like no one else can since he knows the south and all that lurks.

They are mismatched but through Tony’s strength and what others said about him he will prove to be Shirleys best bet for protection.

The drama is built around Shirley needing to be protected.

Shirley traits: Sophisticated, cultured, gifted musician, indulged. Wound: since he needs protection he’s been physically hurt in the past. Secret: not sure what his secret is but I’m sure its a good one. He’s covering it up with his music.

Tony’s traits: savvy, lethal, straight forward/practical Wound: not sure but since he’s a tough guy he was probably someone who was threatened or beaten up in his past. Secret: he has a secret, thats why he’s willing to take the job.

These are great characters since they are opposites. One plays off of the other and vice versa.