Adam Kroshus
Forum Replies Created
-
What on the surface seems like a relatively tame party has subtle and overt racist behaviors everywhere. The entire purpose of the party is to size Chris up for the future slave auction. We don’t know that until it’s revealed later in the movie. The woman’s overt groping of Chris early in the scene as she looks at her husband is saying his body is healthy, unlike her husband, who needs oxygen—the odd conversation about light-skinned being popular at one time but now dark-skinned is popular. But, the most apparent subtext where something is not what it seems is when Chris interacts with the other African-American man at the party. They have an awkward exchange where the other character says, “Chris was just saying how he’s much more comfortable that I’m here.” Which is not what Chris said. The awkward “handshake” cut at the end of their interaction also implies something is not what it seems. Finally, it ends with Chris saying, “What the F*ck” when he sees the other African-American guy showing off his body for the older white folks; little do we know that this African-American character has a white brain in his body. The movie is all subtext until it’s revealed the true intentions at the end. That makes it eerie.
-
What makes the scene great? It’s the acting and setting. There is a good build-up of dialogue to the fake orgasm of Sally. You see how Harry is not so all-knowing about women. Sally puts him in his place when she shows how she has faked an orgasm. The fact that it’s a public place adds to the comedic aspect of the scene with the line, “I’ll have what she’s having,” wrapping it up. If this was at someone’s apartment and it was just the two of them it simply would not have been as effective. Each character speaks from their perspective, making them distinct characters. The unique action is Sally faking an orgasm.
-
I have gone back to review how my main characters are introduced. The T.V. pilot I wrote has an ensemble cast of seven main characters. It is a work-based show, so I have each character do a task unique to their job. The show isn’t just about the characters but about the organization where they work. I have a character meeting with a client to discuss their legal case; I have a character performing one of their primary duties at the job, which is conducting an undercover investigation on a potentially racist landlord; I also have the CEO of the organization receiving some bad news about the financial state of the organization, etc., etc. The dialogue they use is unique to their positions. I’ve also attempted to challenge some of the characters or give them some interesting dialogue that will reveal something about their personalities. I have not applied all of these technics to each character introduction but I have tried to apply some of them.
-
This particular class is called the climax. I have never seen A Few Good Men, but this scene is undoubtedly the climax. I’m assuming the Colonel is suspected of ordering the “Code Red” on a soldier under his command, and that soldier died. The cross-examination by the Capitan is trying to get to the Truth that the Colonel did order it. The word truth is everything in this scene. It’s the Intriguing dialogue, the escalation of the conflict with the line, “you can’t handle the truth.” The Truth is the ultimate expression of the conflict of trying to determine if the Colonel ordered the “Code Red.” The Truth is how the story is resolved because you find out that the Colonel did order the “Code Red.” Finally, the Colonel and Capitan speak their version of the Truth. Courtroom scenes are all about the Truth. Developing characters with Truth in them is compelling, or the opposite of who is lying can be compelling too. I need to review my script and see if my characters have Truth. I believe the Truth gives characters depth.
-
I learned in the Turning Point portion of the class how to build towards a turning point. It’s necessary to build towards a turning point. You can’t just have a turning point without reason or build up to that turning point. I have returned to my TV pilot and looked at various turning points. I did not realize I had turning points in my script for several characters. It’s what makes it interesting.
-
I watched the three scenes from Get Out.
The common thread between all three scenes is an action that creates a turning point. The ‘Hypnosis Scene’ turning point occurs when the mother is slowly mixing her tea with the spoon. That action leads to the main character being hypnotized for the first time. He can now be controlled.
The ‘Get Out’ turning point scene occurs when the main character takes a picture with a flash of the other African-American character triggering the other actor to rush toward the main character telling him to get out. It’s a twist because you believe he is telling him to leave because he is black, but he is warning him to leave because something terrible will happen if you stay.
The ‘Give me the Keys scene’ turning point occurs when the main character realizes his girlfriend will not give him the keys so that he can leave the house. At this point, he tries to defend himself but collapses when he is hypnotized again by the mother. At this point, the main character is now fully controlled by the family. He will end up like the other character in the ‘Get Out’ scene.
Again the turn points occur in each scene with the teacup, the phone picture, and not getting the keys. Let me know your thoughts. Thank you
-
The inciting incident involves Henry Fonda not voting guilty while all other jurors voted guilty. It leads to the beginning of a robust discussion about why people voted guilty or not guilty. Specifically, why does Fonda believe the defendant is not guilty? I have not seen the movie, but I sense the story is that debate. You begin to see how some people are convinced while others are unsure about the defendant’s guilt. Their true personalities begin to show as the discussion unfolds.
-
What I learned is just how dense a five-minute scene can be. A lot of information is given in a relatively short period. I’ve been tweaking my opening scene all day. No significant changes, but trying to ask all of the questions. The arc, the situation, the conflict, etc. It’s got to be clear without being too “telly,” for lack of a better word.
-
Upon the second viewing here are my impressions
Challenging situation – There are several, the employee shooting at the thieves, trying to stop the alarm from going off, how to get away with the money but the one that stands out is the safe having an electric shock. It is revealed by one of the thieves that mob banks have that electric shock security.
Intrigue – Who told them to kill each partner they were working with?
Interesting Action – The other thieves kill eachother as they accomplish their task. Cracking the safe, gathering the money, stoping the alarm, etc. Plus the employee shooting at them along with the bus crashing through bank front door.
Intriguing Dialouge – That starts immediately when one of the thieves talks about splitting up the shares as they drive in the van towards the bank. It plants the seed that all the thieves have been told to kill eachother to ensure they individually make more money.
Tone – It’s about as chaotic and dark as it gets.
Lures us into the story – Why would the Joker want to knock a mobbed up bank?
Twist – I believe it is the fact that The Joker was along for the ride the entire time during the bank robbery. We did not know that until the very end of the scene. The twist introduces us the one of the main characters.
Please let me know what you think of my impressions and what I may have missed. Thank you
-
Basic scene components
Scene arc – It starts with several thieves beginning a heist and ends with one of the thieves leaving with money.
Situation – A bank robbery but not just any bank.
Conflict – A bank employee decides to stand up against the thieves and begins to shoot at them. All while saying do you know who you are messing with? In addition, each of the thieves starts to murder each other during the bank robbery because they have been told if they kill the person they are working with, you will get more money.
Moving the Story Forward – The Joker wants to rob a mob bank because he wants to engage with the mob ultimately to take down Batman, although that true subtext is not revealed in this scene.
Entertainment value – I struggle with this, but its value is the tension as the scene unfolds. It is getting the money, fending off an attack by an employee, and murdering each other, all culminating in the reveal of one of the movie’s main characters.
Set-ups and payoffs – I struggle with recognizing this, too, but I believe, as stated earlier, the set-up is to reveal to true evil nature of the main character. Still, there are a series of smaller set-ups and payoffs, like each thief murdering the other as they pull off the heist.
Lead Character Introduction – THE JOKER! There is not even a mention of Batman in this scene. It’s all about the fiendish nature of THE JOKER.
Please let me know if I have missed other key points about this scene. I will post the second part of the assignment soon. Thank you
-
My name is Adam Kroshus
I’ve written four scripts.
I hope to be able to improve the various scenes that I have written in past scripts. I want to ensure I’m catching any glaring flaws in my writing. I have a pilot that I am getting ready to pitch around town, but I want it to be the best possible script I can write.
I am a part-time stand-up comic.
-
I agree to the terms of the confidentiality agreement.
-
I had the same issue yesterday, but when I went online this morning, I was able to watch the scene. I would simply try again.