Greetings,
As you know, as step outline is the last brick on the yellow brick road of dramatic story construction before you begin the actual writing. IMHO the step outline is the most difficult part of screenwriting. But once you have a road map, writing scenes is a lot of fun.
It takes at least a couple of screenplays before one learns how to properly outline her story. You don’t want to explain too much, because too much explanation at this stage not only takes away the fun from writing the scene, but it may ruin it. Once you put it down on paper, it feels like it’s done and you need to write something else. Avoid doing that. One or two sentences should suffice. You just need to know what happens in the scene.
“As Joe leaves his apartment, he’s accosted by Ruth, who accused him of being a moral louse. She plunges a dagger into his heart and saunters away cheerfully. “
Many of you struggled with the right format for the step outline (see the previous post for examples and explanation). But I’m happy to say that those who actually finished theirs on time, did a pretty good job.
Now onto “McCabe & Mrs. Miller”. It’s a difficult film to watch because it requires you to work with it. The dialogue is hard to hear in some of the scenes (intentionally, to create a sense of realism), the symbolism is complex, and the genre (anti-western) goes against the grain of how we expect Western heroes to behave. However, if you watch this film again, and again, and again, you will start to appreciate its beauty and power. I think it’s one of the greatest films ever made. And one of the things that make it great is the fact that its power lies underneath the simplistic veneer of a run-of-the-mill Western. Here’s a good review I found online: http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/mccabe-and-mrs-miller/216. There are many books written about the film. Here’s a book I recommend: Robert Altman’s McCabe & Mrs. Miller: Reframing the American West, by Robert T. Self.
An early draft of “McCabe & Mrs. Miller” to the SCREENPLAYS page. Do not follow its outdated format (Robert Altman, the director who co-wrote the screenplay, wrote it for himself to direct, so there are a lot of camera direction, etc.).
And finally, your assignment: Read “Thelma and Louise” . Those of you who haven’t read “Take This Waltz” be sure to read it (you will be tested). We’ll be doing exercises based on the scenes from that screenplay. Both screenplays are available on the SCREENPLAYS page on this site.
See you Monday.
ak
