I want to thank everyone for their thoughts on 300 Years yesterday. One of the great things I’ve learned through Scriptshadow is how important it is to listen to feedback, and you guys all had a lot of great feedback. I’m sure Peter’s going to be addressing a lot of these problems in the next draft. And maybe I’ll actually officially review the script in the new year.
In the meantime, Book Release Week continues! Yesterday I gave you advice from the masterpiece that is the Fargo screenplay. Tuesday I gave you some gangbusters tips from Pirates of the Caribbean. And let’s not forget Monday, where I dropped a snippet from the first chapter of the book dealing with structure. Those first few chapters may be the secret sauce of the book, as they go into unlimited “pre-tips” dealing with dialogue, character, stakes, obstacles, theme, subtext, as well as everyone’s biggest fear – the dreaded second act. So if you haven’t picked up the book already, you better be broke, homeless or both. I’ll let these excuses slide for awhile, but not for long! :)
People also keep asking when the book is going to be available in hard copy (soft cover). This should happen within the next 2-5 weeks. I’m going to try and get it up by the end of the year but that’ll be pushing it. The truth is, you shouldn’t wait that long. Even if you don’t have a kindle, you can download the free “Kindle App” here and read it right from your computer – no Kindle or Ipad required! So, read some kick-ass tips from the greatest romantic comedy of all time today, then go buy the book where you get 49 other movies and 490 other tips to take your screenwriting to the next level.
Excerpt from Scriptshadow Secrets…
WHEN HARRY MET SALLY
Written by: Nora Ephron
Premise: A story that follows the unique friendship of Harry and Sally, two New Yorkers blind to the fact that they’re meant for each other.
About: When Harry Met Sally may be the greatest romantic comedy ever written, but it’s also the Pulp Fiction of its genre. While the average fan thinks this is a standard rom-com, it’s actually anything but. Dramatic structure is thrown out the window. Story takes a back seat to non-stop dialogue. The characters, in particular Harry, spend half the movie dishing out observational monologues. You could argue that When Harry Met Sally is basically one long Seinfeld episode. Yet, while most movies would buckle under a paper-thin story, When Harry Met Sally thrives. The main reason for this is that the dialogue is amazing. It’s a reminder that no matter how many rules you break, if you can do one thing perfectly, it can cover up a lot of problems.
TIP 379 – The Romantic Comedy Equation – All Romantic Comedies scripts should pass one simple test: “We love the guy. We love the girl. We want them to be together.” As long as you have that going for you, it’s hard to mess up a rom-com.
TIP 380 – A ticking time bomb isn’t necessary, just recommended – When Harry Met Sally is proof that not every story needs a ticking time bomb. I prefer them because they create urgency, and urgency ups the stakes, which ups the conflict, which ups the drama. And drama is the backbone of entertainment! So then why does When Harry Met Sally work without one? Well, in my opinion, it’s because the dialogue and main characters are the best EVER in their genre. If that wasn’t the case, I promise you the lack of urgency would’ve been a much bigger issue. So ditch urgency if you want, but only if you plan on the rest of your screenplay being perfect.
TIP 381 – The bait and switch – This scene almost always works. Convince the audience that they know where the scene is going, then pull the rug out from under them at the last second. There’s a scene early on where Sally, whose new boyfriend drops her off at the airport, spots Harry, whom she hasn’t seen since their drive to New York. The two spot each other and we’re thinking, “Oh man, they recognize each other! What’s going to happen now??” Harry finally comes over. Sally looks agonizingly nervous. BUT, instead of addressing Sally, Harry turns to and addresses the boyfriend. It turns out they know each other. The old bait and switch is a surefire way to charm a reader.
TIP 382 – LIKABILITY ALERT – Harry is kind of a jerk. He sleeps with a bunch of women, he’s arrogant, and he’s inappropriate. So it’s important we give him a strong likability moment. At the Giants game, Harry is devastated after learning that his wife has been sleeping with another man and never loved him. Getting dumped is ALWAYS going to create sympathy from the audience because everybody can relate to how awful it feels to be left by someone they care about (kick the owner!).
TIP 383 – Quirks help distinguish a character – In rom-coms, you need little quirky traits that annunciate a character’s personality. One of the reasons Sally is the most memorable romantic comedy character ever is because of how she orders food, addressing every single mundane detail. If she doesn’t have that quirk, she loses a big part of her character. Do your romantic comedy characters have any quirks?
TIP 384 – POWER TIP – Look for dialogue scenes that conflict with your characters’ surroundings – This is one of the best ways to make a dialogue scene pop. Harry tells his best friend the depressing story of his wife leaving him…at a Giants game! This occurs amongst 60,000 happy, cheering fans. The contrast between the setting and the story is what makes the scene so great. We see this contrast again later, but flipped around, when Sally has an orgasm inside a restaurant. Then we see it a third time when Harry meets his ex-wife while singing karaoke at The Sharper Image store.
TIP 385 – Going against character for a laugh – You can pull this off once per script, but that’s it. The reason the famous Sally orgasm scene is so memorable is because we’d never expect it from the uptight Sally. This scene wouldn’t be nearly as funny if, say, Clementine from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind did it, because we’d expect it from her. So go against character for a big laugh, but only do it once. If you do it more than that, people start getting confused.
TIP 386 – If you have your characters running to the airport in the climax of your romantic comedy, do me a favor and join them, then never come back to screenwriting again – A lot of romantic comedies get stuck with this ending because it’s an easy place to end the story, with someone leaving. To avoid this problem, set up an important location for your characters earlier in the script. This will allow you to end your movie in the location of your choosing. It’s established several times in When Harry Met Sally that these two get together at New Year’s Eve parties. Therefore, at the end of the film, it’s fitting that he runs to her at a New Year’s Eve party.
TIP 387 – Avoid saying “I love you” in romantic comedies if at all possible – The words “I love you” in movies are the equivalent of saying “Ca ca poo poo.” They have no meaning whatsoever because they’ve been said a billion times before. Instead, look for clever ways your characters can say the words without really saying them. In When Harry Met Sally, Sally says, “I hate you,” in the final scene, even though we know she means the opposite.
TIP 388 – Eavesdroppable – A good way to measure the quality of your dialogue is to pretend you’re a third party standing near your characters while they talk. Is what they’re saying interesting enough that you’d want to keep eavesdropping? If the answer is no, the dialogue probably isn’t very good. Make your dialogue eavesdroppable.
TIP 389 – Dialogue kicks ass when you come in late and leave early – One of the reasons the dialogue is so good in this movie is that in every single scene, we come into the scene late and leave the scene early. When you do this, you avoid giving us the unimportant parts of the conversation. A great example is the Giants game I mentioned above. We come in right when Harry’s friend asks Harry about the divorce. We don’t start back in the parking lot or while they were getting drinks. We start RIGHT WHEN the most interesting part of their conversation begins. And guess what? The scene ENDS as soon as that topic of conversation is over. We don’t listen to them continue chatting about the greatest football teams of all time. Once they’re done talking about Harry’s divorce, the scene is done.
