It’s Nolan Theme Week here at Scriptshadow and while I know some of you will bicker about the interruption of our stream of unproduced screenplay reviews, if you’re a Nolan fan, you should enjoy the change of pace.  You see, I’ve been wanting to break down Christopher Nolan’s films for awhile now.  The man is the only director working who can consistently offer Hollywood thrills in a cerebral package.  His unique brand of high-brow/high-concept entertainment has resulted in an unheard of 1.8 billion dollar haul for his last two films.  Clearly, this man is doing something right.  So I wanted to take a deeper look into his movies, specifically the story-structure, cast of characters, and narrative choices, and see if we can’t discover what Nolan is doing on the writing end that makes these films so popular, and in turn use that knowledge to improve our own writing.

Now these are script-as-film reviews.  That means we’ll be addressing only the story/screenplay elements that can be seen onscreen, not the words on the page.  If you have a fundamental problem with this, feel free to e-mail me and we can discuss it.  But there will be no debate about it in the comments section. 

I have to say I’m happy Roger chose to review The Dark Knight.  I have watched this movie three times now and I’m still not entirely sure what happens.  I’d probably need 5000 words to bring all my thoughts together, and even then they’d be an in-cohesive mess.  But watching five Nolan films back to back last week, I realized that that’s probably exactly what Nolan wants, and one of the keys to his success.  Shit, I’m getting ahead of myself.  It’s not my turn yet.  Here’s Roger with his review of The Dark Knight!  

About: Sequel to Warner Bros. and Nolan’s Batman Begins. Starred Christian Bale, Aaron Eckhart, Gary Oldman, and Heath Ledger and set numerous box office records and received 8 Academy Award Nominations, including Best Supporting Actor for Ledger’s performance.

So, in that spirit, when Carson told me that we would be reviewing Christopher Nolan movies, I thought, on my end at least, the only thing that wouldn’t make you readers groan would be to deconstruct The Dark Knight to the best of my abilities (without getting too long-winded, because, trust me, I could go on forever about this script as Pure Plot Monstrosity). 

Genre: Crime/Drama/Superhero Movie

Premise: Batman, Gordon and Harvey Dent are forced to deal with the chaos unleashed by an anarchist mastermind known only as the Joker, as it drives each of them to their limits.

About: Sequel to Warner Bros. and Nolan’s Batman Begins. Starred Christian Bale, Aaron Eckhart, Gary Oldman, and Heath Ledger and set numerous box office records and received 8 Academy Award Nominations, including Best Supporting Actor for Ledger’s performance.

Writer: Screenplay by Jonathan Nolan & Christopher Nolan; Story by Christopher Nolan & David S. Goyer

I really don’t know what you want me to say, here, because I’ll be the first to admit I’m not a film reviewer. I’m a story admirer, and I suppose, analyst, but all that’s more of a second nature to my first inclination, which is to create.

I like putting stories together; I like taking other people’s stories apart.

So, in that spirit, when Carson told me that we would be reviewing Christopher Nolan movies, I thought, on my end at least, the only thing that wouldn’t make you readers groan would be to deconstruct The Dark Knight to the best of my abilities (without getting too long-winded, because, trust me, I could go on forever about this script as Pure Plot Monstrosity).

What are some facts about The Dark Knight that I may not know about, Rog?

It’s the 7^th Highest-Grossing Film of All Time.

It’s one of only three films to have earned more than $500 million at the North American box office. (The other two being James Cameron flicks, and I’ll let you guess which ones.)

It’s probably the first Superhero Movie that successfully utilizes a two-villain storyline. (Can you think of another that is so well-balanced?)

Christopher Nolan and his brother, Jonathan, supposedly received no notes from Warner Brothers after they wrote the screenplay.

I need a grasp of your cinema palette, Rog. What do you think of Christopher Nolan?

To use a friend’s phrase, he’s a Story Engineer that creates narratives where nothing happens because of accident. When it comes to making choices, you get the sense that everything has been turned over and over in the man’s mind like a rock in a lapidary and that he’s considered all the alternatives. One suspects that everything is unfolding exactly as planned and that the emotions the audience is feeling at a particular moment were foreseen in the creator’s mind when he was planning the blueprints. Ironically, I think a by-product of this calculated nature is a sense of emotional detachment that skews cold, and I wonder if that’s also a case of plot machinations overpowering character sentiment.

Someone says ‘Nolan’, you say —

Plot Virtuoso.

I suppose, that for someone in order to admire such a title, they first have to know, that when it comes to creation, plot is a real motherfucker.

Plot is that frame you’re hanging your story from, and even if you’re creating a self-described tone poem with so-called zero plot, you’re still trying to create a series of events (A and a B and a C) that an audience can follow without totally violating their suspension of disbelief. From quests to whodunits to sprawling crime sagas inhabited by multiple characters, all with different goals and the complex plans to achieve those goals (which The Dark Knight is), creating a plot that works is a true achievement.

And, Christopher Nolan is a master with plot, and he never seems satisfied with just utilizing one that simply unfolds linearly. He uses multiple threads and weaves a complex plot tapestry with a texture that is known for having plenty of twists. From creating a puzzle box mystery narrative with The Prestige to sustaining five separate suspense and action sequences simultaneously for over an hour in Inception, it’s hard to deny that the cerebral quality of Nolan’s work can be traced to the diabolically designed plots.

And, man, The Dark Knight is no exception.

It’s a Plot Beast.

What’s the plot, Rog?

I’m going to assume you guys have seen the movie. But, quickly, to refresh your memory, the story follows three protagonists, Batman, D.A. Harvey Dent, and Police Lt. Gordon (a hero who falls, a hero transformed into a villain, and a hero that is promoted) as they try to destroy all organized crime in Gotham City, only to create an environment for a new breed of criminal, The Joker, to waltz in and assume control of the city through fear and anarchy, which manifests through acts of terrorism against the citizens and public officials, creating complicated moral dilemmas for the heroes.

What’s interesting about the film is that it’s a Superhero Movie that’s played straight and as realistically as possible while at the same time retaining the element of fantasy, action and spectacle that the comic book genre is known for. In fact, it’s a Superhero Movie that is not only visionary (which is expected these days), but it’s about the fall of a hero rather than his victory. It’s a bleak, noir-esque crime saga that is both cerebrally challenging and morally sophisticated. Gotham City seems to be a character unto itself, with a palpable social strata whose soul is also represented by two symbols (The Dark Knight, The White Knight). Not only is it the best conceived and executed of the genre, it’s the most financially successful.

It’s also notable for the late Heath Ledger’s performance as The Joker.

The Joker is so unhinged, a loose cannon firing loudly on a stage where everything is so tightly controlled by the director. Heath Ledger’s Mephistophelean performance burns in the foreground of the cold color palette like he’s the only stringless wild card in a marionette troupe whose every move and mannerism is only a reflection of the volition of the puppet master. This backdrop is the perfect home for the agent of chaos to thrive.

Structurally, we want to know what makes the screenplay work. Watching the movie unspool on screen, it’s a bit exhausting. It’s way over two hours long and the screenplay clocks in around 140 pages. Let’s take a closer look at the dense blueprints…

…The Dark Knight expands the traditional four-act dramatic structure (if you look at Act 2 as two different Acts) and crams it with heist sequences, action sequences, caper sequences, detective sequences, suspense sequences, chase sequences and even a Bridge (which feels like a mini-act unto itself) between Act 3 and Act 4. The logic in most of the sequences is pretty sturdy, and while they all certainly entertain, there are only a few instances where the devices (cell phone technology, the retrieving of fingerprints off a bullet in a brick) are stretched and call for a willful and aware suspension of disbelief. The marvel is that these complex plot sequences work in tandem to not only entertain, but to put the spotlight on the pretty serious human drama that’s unfolding between all of our players. Hell, in an ordinary spec script, the events from one of these set-pieces would be the climax to the entire movie.

What happens in the 1^st Act?

Before we get a primer on the current state of Gotham City, we are introduced to the villain that’s going to attempt to burn the city to the ground and destroy the souls of its triumvirate of guardians. It starts out with a six minute heist sequence that introduces us to The Joker, a man who not only kills all the other crooks he hired for the job, but who is also crazy enough to rob from the mob. We’re unclear of his origin and motivation, but as the film progresses, we learn that he doesn’t want to kill Batman, he would rather make the vigilante unmask himself and create a fiasco. Further in, we also learn that he doesn’t really have a goal in mind, other than to create an environment of ever-burning chaos. He wants to play a game that never ends.

Batman’s vigilantism has upset the criminal ecosystem, and all the crime lords are not only afraid to peddle their wares on the streets, they’re also paranoid that the law is going to break up their operations. Which is true, as Lt. Gordon wants to lead a dragnet to search all the banks that may be affiliated with the syndicates. Gordon and Batman are helping each other out on this front, and it appears they also have an ally in Harvey Dent, the heroic D.A. who punches out a mob guy while on the witness stand when he tries to shoot him.

Batman’s alter ego, Wayne, has been keeping tabs on Dent, who is dating the love of his life, Rachel. Although Wayne still has feelings for Rachel, he knows that as long as Gotham needs Batman, he can’t be with her. Interestingly, he sees an opportunity to retire the cowl when he learns more about Dent. While Batman is The Dark Knight, a symbol that does right while working outside of the system, he realizes that Dent can accomplish everything he’s dedicated his life to, but he can do so while operating inside of the system.

Dent can be The White Knight.

And, as such, Wayne will be able to put Batman aside and finally marry Rachel. So, accordingly, he decides to throw a fundraiser for Dent.

Meanwhile, The Joker tries to convince the crime lords of Gotham to pay him to kill Batman. They scoff at him, and decide to store their money with a Hong Kong banker named Lau. It’s even more complicated because Lau has been trying to negotiate a merger with Wayne Enterprises, but Wayne has only been humoring Lau to get a look at his books.

As soon as Wayne finds out he’s dirty, and with the help of his weapons guy, Lucius Fox, plans a caper to retrieve Lau from the refuge of his Hong Kong skyscraper and comes out triumphant in pretty dramatic fashion.

So, what’s Act 2 about?

With Lau in custody, Dent comes up with this scheme to arrest every criminal in town because of the evidence Lau can supply him with, implicating them with the mob and their money. It’s a stunt that gets Dent a lot of press, but it’s only the beginning.

As the criminal underworld has the rug swept out from underneath them, The Joker makes news headlines when he starts murdering Batman wannabes, claiming that he’ll only stop when Batman shows Gotham his true identity. The shit hits the fan when he kills the judge presiding over this monumental court case and the police commissioner, with Dent next on the list.

The Joker shows up at Wayne’s fundraising party for Dent, and he manhandles Rachel then throws her out a window to see how Batman is going to react. The Joker gets all the information he needs when Batman dives out of a skyscraper window after her.

Batman gets his detective on to locate The Joker, and we’re thrust into a suspense sequence that revolves around the police commissioner’s funeral and The Joker’s assassination attempt on the Mayor. It’s another complicated set-piece, because, hey, The Joker’s a complicated guy and he’s planned all this shit out down to a T. It ends in the Joker getting away and Gordon presumably dead.

The act ends when the public cries for Batman to turn himself in to stop the Joker’s terrorism, but Dent steals his thunder and says he’s the Batman. Which plunges us not only into Dent’s plan, but Gordon’s plan (who we think is dead), and Batman’s plan (all operating separately) to lure The Joker into a trap and capture him.

What happens in Act 3?

This is where we discover that all the protagonists have some type of complicated plan to stop The Joker, only to discover that his plan trumps all of their plans. If you think about it, it’s pretty fucking ridiculous. But, hey, it’s a labyrinthine plot.

Dent’s plan: When he says he’s Batman, he’ll be arrested and transferred to county. Along the way, he expects to be attacked by The Joker. But, Batman will be there to save the day.

Gordon’s plan: Because everyone thinks he bit the bullet, no one will suspect him going undercover as a SWAT team member on the convoy. When The Joker attacks, he’ll be there to stop him.

Batman’s plan: Blow shit up in his car and batcycle and capture The Joker.

What the hell is The Joker’s plan?

Why, to let himself get captured while the dirty cops on his side capture Harvey and Rachel and take them to two separate locations. He’ll fuck with Gordon and Batman’s heads in the interrogation room, then reveal that he knows where Harvey and Rachel are but they have to choose to only save one of them.

It’s a heartbreaking moral dilemma.

Ultimately, Rachel is killed and Harvey is grotesquely scarred.

What’s this Bridge you’re talking about, Rog?

This is like a ten-minute long mini-act that is about Dent’s transformation into Two Face. It sort of plays like the set-up to the finale.

Dent tells Gordon that he’s blaming him for the death of Rachel, and that he’s going to get his revenge. Meanwhile, the mob gives all of their money to The Joker, but the joke’s on them, he sets it all on fire. Why? Because he’s fucking crazy.

The Joker then puts out a bounty on a Wayne Enterprises turncoat who is going to out Batman’s identity on television, and then he arrives at the hospital to usher Dent into his new identity as a villain. He blows up the hospital.

And the Final Act?

The Joker owns Gotham now. He’s singlehandedly closed all bridges and tunnels while Two Face goes on a killing spree against all the dirty cops that contributed to the scenario that got his fiancé killed.

The huge moral dilemma set-piece is the two ferry sequence, where The Joker orchestrates a situation for the normal citizens of Gotham to blow up a ferry containing the lawbreakers of Gotham, and vice-versa. It’s an interesting comment on vigilantism, and of course it all culminates into a battle royale where Batman has to find The Joker and fight a SWAT team and dogs. Of course, he’s able to stop The Joker, but not before realizing that The White Knight has been compromised.

Batman finds Two Face threatening to kill Gordon’s son, and after he defuses the situation, killing Dent, he realizes that they can’t reveal to the populace that their White Knight has gone to the Dark Side.

So, although he does the heroic thing and has Batman take the blame, he does it knowing that he was the one that pushed Dent into the spotlight and started the chain-reaction of his fall from grace.

I remember coming out of the theater feeling exhausted, drained, unsettled and awed…and, satisfied.

I experienced the same emotional state when I saw The Prestige for the first time, and while I felt exhausted after watching Inception, I wasn’t really satisfied. While I had the notion that it was cool cerebral spectacle, I thought the complexity of the mind heist plot and its various set-pieces and sequences lacked the planning in his other, more satisfying movies. Sure, a lot of thought surely went into it, but it all felt like a misfire to me. Inception had too much fucking exposition in it, and it was obvious that the characters existed to service the plot, not the other way around.

SCRIPT

[x] impressive

FILM

[x] impressive

What I learned: The Dark Knight has some sort of high-concept set-piece every ten or fifteen minutes. Interestingly enough, most movies can be broken down into eight, twelve to fifteen minute sequences. These sequences have a beginning, middle and end. Now, constructing such a sequence is a true challenge, but even in sprawling sagas like The Dark Knight, it’s still operating in a traditional structure (no matter how modern it may seem). Where does this come from? Why, the old days, when movies were divided into reels containing about ten minutes of film. The projectionist had to change each reel, and history’s screenwriters had to learn to write one sequence per reel. The narrative rhythm was defined by the physical media. Even today, we still see this pattern in modern films. But, of course, a movie like The Dark Knight would probably have twice as many reels as those older flicks.

MODERN FAMILY
Modern Family somehow took a premise that was getting tired fast – the mockumentary sitcom – and made it fresh again, by having the cameras document a family. To be honest, I thought this season’s premiere episode kinda sucked.  It felt like the cast was trying too hard to live up to last season’s buzz. The second episode (The Kiss) was much better, as the actors seemed to find their characters again. This week’s episode, The Earthquake, had Phil locking his wife in the bathroom after an earthquake dislodged a book cabinet that came inches from killing their son. This particular cabinet is a cabinet Phil promised his wife he had fastened to the wall months ago in the off chance that an earthquake should dislodge it and it nearly kill one of their children.  So Phil goes to work securing the cabinet, hopefully before Claire finds her way out of the bathroom.  I would argue that Ty Burrell is the funniest character on TV right now.  I love this show.

THE EVENT
Okay, yes, The Event IS a Lost ripoff.  Impossible to argue that.  But let me say something if I may. This is the best Lost ripoff to hit television since Lost debuted six years ago. There are many reasons why I should hate this show, the biggest being the unoriginal random time bouncing that keeps happening. But here’s the thing that always saves it.  Once we get into the actual scene we’ve time-jumped to, it’s always good.  Every scene in The Event is packed with suspense, mystery, and action, and it’s all non-stop.  Jason Ritter, who should have been an indication to avoid the show, is pretty freaking amazing as the lead character. There hasn’t been a second in the first three episodes where I didn’t believe him.  And that just doesn’t happen to me anymore.  I have to admit also that I’m genuinely interested in who these mysterious visitors are and what their purpose is. I don’t know if this is going to crash and burn a la Heroes or has some Lost-level mythological depth, but I am officially a fan of the show.

OPEN WATER 2
Okay, you’re not allowed to ask me under what circumstances I found myself watching this sequel to the 2003 surprise hit, Open Water. Just know that as soon as I realized the watching was on, I was committed to trashing it for the entirety of its running time.  Indeed, the way this thing starts, with a bunch of douchebag friends going out for a nostalgic booze cruise, I wanted to claw my eyeballs out.  But to my complete surprise, the unique and shockingly simple premise made me reevaluate everything.  Basically these guys head out to the middle of the ocean, jump out to go swimming, and then realize they forgot to place a ladder on the side of the boat!  So they can’t – get – back – up. And the best part? There’s a baby on the boat! I mean come on. You gotta love it. This is cheesy as hell. Silly as hell. Stupid as hell.  The ending is so melodramatic even the titles are rolling their eyes.  But hell if it’s not a fun ride. A great backup plan flick.   

PRESSURE COOKER
If you know me, you know one of my pet peeves is critics’ infatuation with documenteries. You could make a documentary about upholstery and it would get at least an 85% on Rotten Tomatoes. Documentaries are fine.  I have no problem with them.  But putting the word “documentary” on your poster shouldn’t ensure a four-star rating.  Unless that documentary is Pressure Cooker.  This totally surprising doc is about a group of inner city kids who take a culinary arts class in hopes of getting a college cooking scholarship. Although the focus is on the tough-as-nails guidance of teacher Wilma Stephensen (who, behind the scenes, terminated the documentary several times for being too intrusive on her class), the breakout star for me was the socially awkward Fatoumata, a recent immigrant from Africa who used to walk 30 miles to and from school every day, and who takes advantage of every oppotuntiy America gives her, foregoing activites such as hanging out with friends and her senior prom so she can perfect her culinary skills, all in hopes of landing that 100 thousand dollar scholarship.  If you’re feeling down and just want to smile, watch this documentary now.  It’s really good.

THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE
I’m about 150 pages into this right now and let’s just say I’m f’ing disappointed. (spoilers) The second Lisbeth Salander is introduced as having a boob job, a little piece of my dragon tattoo died. There are no circumstnaces under which this character would ever or should ever get a boob job, yet these kind of strange choices are commonplace in this Dragon Tattoo sequel.  Mix in a hurricane (?) a few pointless Salander relationships that go nowhere, and a story that pretends like Salander and Blomqvist never even met each other, and I’m borderline pissed. The only reason I’m still reading is because Dragon Tattoo took 200 pages to start getting good. So I ask you dragon tattoo experts. Is it worth it to keep reading? Or should I move on to another book? The first book is so amazing, I don’t want to spoil it with all this random stupidness.

 Hey guys. I hope you’ve enjoyed this week’s “News From Around The Web” posts, because after a week of doing them, I realize there’s no way I can keep them up. They’re waaaay more time consuming than you’d think. But fear not, I’m not eliminating them altogether. I’m going back to the old format and posting one all-encompassing Friday version. This should help weed out a lot of the less important news and still give you guys your fix.

MORE BABEL FOR ARONOFSKY?
Screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga, who’s hit us with such non-conformist fare as Babel and one of my favorite foreign films, Amores Perros, has written an adaptation of John Valiant’s The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival. The story sounds a little like one of this year’s favorite Scriptshadow discoveries, The Grey, as it follows a tiger fed up by the recent human advancement on its territory, and so starts killing at will. A game warden is brought in to hunt down and kill the tiger. The project is making headlines as Darren Aronofsky is considering making it his next project. Brad Pitt may also be starring. More can be found at Slash-Film.

THE TRADE
I’ve been keeping my eye on this script ever since it appeared on last year’s Black List. The Trade is based on the real life story of two Yankees pitchers in the 70s who swapped their wives. Hey man, it was the 70s. Be free and share.  Like, totally.  The project is being sheparded by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.  One important note I find interesting that no one seems to be talking about, is that Damon and Affleck are die hard Red Sox fans. Which leads me to believe that their approach won’t be exactly…objective.   David Mandel, one of the writers on Seinfeld, wrote the first draft. Now Ben and his brother Casey are doing a draft. If all the stars align, the plan is for Matt Damon to direct, which I believe would make it his first directing job.

GIMME SOME FRIEDKIN LOVE
Whenever you’re stuck in Hollywood, go back to the well. Friedkin hasn’t had the easiest time getting scripts to the screen these days, and I’m still a little disappointed that he left Scriptshadow fave Sunflower in the dust. But he’s been using the publicity of his next film, Killer Joe, to mention the possibility of working with writer William Peter Blatty again, who of course wrote The Exorcist. Blatty’s new book is titled “Dimiter,” and unfortunately doesn’t have that logline-friendly of a premise. The title refers to the lead character’s name, who’s a notorious American agent in the 60s and 70s. The story follows his exploits as he jumps from country to country running into a wide array of strange characters. It’s said to be a supernatural thriller. I think it needs a supernatural hook. More at Slash Film.

JUNO FUNO
Whenever Diablo Cody does her dishes it’s news in the writing world so I’m happy to report that her next project, “Young Adult,” with Jason Reitman again directing, has found a home at Paramount. If you remember my review, I liked it quite a bit, and think that whoever plays the lead role (right now it’s Charlize Theron I guess), will have a shot at some Oscar buzz. It really is a unique role for a female lead. Will this news bring out the Cody haters? I’ll be checking the comments to find out.

Genre: Fairy-tale Mash-up
Premise: Snow White teams up with a local hunter to take down her evil step-mother, Ravenna.
About: This is the spec script that sold for 1.5 million last week. Evan Daugherty was working as an intern a couple of years ago. He won the Script Pimp contest in 2008 with his script, “Shrapnel,” which John McTiernan later committed to direct. Something tells me that one’s going to be in development for at least another year. Shrapnel led to him doing a rewrite on He-Man, which eventually led to this huge sale. If there is such a thing as the moment every screenwriter dreams of, this would be it. 
Writer: Evan Daugherty (inspired by the Brothers Grimm’s “Little Snow White.”)
Details: 110 pages – undated (This is an early draft of the script. The situations, characters, and plot may change significantly by the time the film is released. This is not a definitive statement about the project, but rather an analysis of this unique draft as it pertains to the craft of screenwriting).

When this sale happened, my first thought was, “I couldn’t write a script like that in a million years.” This subject matter is so far out of my field of expertise (whatever that is) I felt a little like a member of the Cannes jury having just been told the plot to Star Wars Episode 1, The Phantom Menace. i.e. Confused.

So there’s…Snow White? And she…teams up with a huntsman? But isn’t Snow White dead? Doesn’t she live with dwarves? I was definitely the grandma someone was trying to explain the internet to.

Yet these reimagining fairy tale/historical mash-ups are plugging their way through the Hollywood pipeline and everyone’s banking on them becoming the next big thing (costing no money for rights cause they’re in the public domain certainly doesn’t hurt).

Snow White and The Huntsman follows Miss White’s life as a princess, which for all intents and purposes is pretty sweet. She’s got a strapping young prince doting over her. She loves her family. And paparazzi won’t be invented for another 300 years.

But then her mother, the queen, dies, and because pops can’t keep it in his pants, he marries some hot young trophy wife, the evil Ravenna. Ravenna’s got all sorts of issues, but her biggest one is her desperate desire to look prettier than everyone else in the land.

So obsessed is she with this desire that she hires a local huntsman to seek out the hottest women he can find, capture them, and bring them back to her. She then puts them through the hot girl juicer, a machine that sucks the youth out of these poor women, turning it into juice, which Ravenna then drinks so she can stay young and hot.

Well word on the street is that Snow White is eerily close to becoming the fairest woman in the land, so it’s time for that bitch to get juiced too. But Snow White doesn’t wanna get juiced, and runs into the forest, where she eventually teams up with The Hunstman, who reluctantly helps her escape to freedom.

Of course, in a nod to films like Romancing The Stone and The Princess Bride, these two simply don’t like each other, so there’s a lot of arguing, a lot of not understanding the other’s way, and a lot of repressed desiring.

Eventually Snow White realizes that if she’s going to survive in the wild, she’ll need the particular skillset of the huntsman, and so she forces Hunty to teach her the way of the land. Now I know the question all of you are dying to have me answer so I’ll confirm it right here: YES, our seven dwarfs make an appearance.  In fact, our seven dwarfs are pretty badass, and become a key component later in defeating the queen.  

I’m always amazed by the imagination of these worlds. First of all, let’s face it, fairy tales are fucked up to begin with. Who thinks up a story where a dead woman sleeps in a coffin with a bunch of gnomes?  Since when do wolves have super-human blowing powers and blow down houses…with PIGS in them???  And isn’t there a fairy tale where a bunch of people live in a giant shoe?  They must have smoked a lot of dope back in the 1600s, I’ll tell you that.  So to then take an already freaky premise and further freak it into something weirder has to be considered a unique talent.  So I give credit to Daugherty there.

From a structural perspective, I was also impressed. Snow White having to escape off into the woods was a solid first act break. But more importantly, Daugherty knows how to build through that second act, realizing that if he just gave us Snow White and The Huntsman arguing for 60 pages we’d be bored out of our minds. So he adds plenty of complications (the seven dwarves, an old boyfriend, some bounty hunters, Ravenna’s impending second marriage) to keep us on our toes. It all builds to a solid third act, where the forces of good and evil engage in a final smackdown, and while it doesn’t reinvent the wheel, it definitely works.

Now I’ve been reading quite a few of these mash-up scripts on the amateur front and the reason Snow White is better is that everything’s been thought through here. The amateur scripts always feel like a bunch of wacky ideas haphazardly spilled onto the page. It’s like the writers just want credit for being weird and different.  Form, structure, character, really aren’t that important to them.

But this script pays attention to the details.  Take the character of The Huntsman for example. This isn’t just a wise-cracking rogue who’s winking at the audience. His wife was killed years ago by a wolf, and he’s been hunting that wolf ever since. There’s a sadness to this man, a void in him that gives his character weight, that makes him a real person.

I really felt like all the edges of this house were inspected before they put it on the market.  I can’t say the same for the amateur scripts I read, where 60-75% effort is the norm.

I guess the big question I have about Snow White and The Huntsman is, who is it being marketed to? Snow White is very much a little girl’s fairy tale, so that’s your built in demographic right there. Yet this is an edgy grown-up reimagining of the character. So who goes to see it? Will 14 year old boy’s flock to see a Snow White film? I don’t know. And what about adults? Isn’t this too kiddie for them? It’s one of those weird films that seems to be targeted to everyone and yet to no one. Okay, I’m starting to sound like Matrix Reloaded dialogue now, so I’ll move on.

This was a hard script to judge. As a piece of screenwriting, there’s a lot of good stuff in here. But if I’m being honest there isn’t a single aspect of this subject matter that interests me. I felt like I was reading two stories, the one I was admiring as a screenplay and the one about a fairy tale I could care less about. In the end, there’s too much good here not to recommend, but you definitely won’t be catching me at the premiere.

[ ] What the hell did I just read?
[ ] wasn’t for me
[x] worth the read
[ ] impressive
[ ] genius

What I learned: If I were a studio executive and this landed on my desk, I would’ve passed. My response? “Wasn’t my thing.” Does that mean it didn’t deserve to be bought? Of course not. One of the sucky things about this business is that many times when someone passes on a script of yours, you have no idea why. Talking with managers and agents and producers, one of the things I’ve realized is that sometimes people pass simply because it “wasn’t their thing.” It could be expertly written. It could be a great concept. It could have a killer main character. But that particular producer has no interest in that kind of movie. This can actually empower you when you think about it. If someone passes on your script, don’t let it get you down. Simply assume that it wasn’t their thing and move on to the next guy. Cause that next guy might end up paying you 1.5 million dollars for it.