by John | Jul 2, 2017 | Ian Kennedy, Movie Reviews and TV Reviews, Writing Insights
We delve into what MANCHESTER BY THE SEA storytelling and narrative techniques were implemented to make this film a subtle success.
Spoilers alert… this article will discuss the outcomes of the story in order to demonstrate how and why it works.
MANCHESTER BY THE SEA tells the story of a withdrawn and passive protagonist, Lee Chandler, portrayed by Casey Affleck. The writer/director Kenneth Lonergan deliberately creates a narrative in which the protagonist resists positive growth and development. This is an important rejection on mainstream Hollywood storytelling gurus, who emphasize that change in the protagonist needs to be the driving force of the narrative – that the protagonist must strive towards a personal goal to earn our empathy as an audience. But it certainly isn’t, in the Manchester by the Sea storytelling!
In fact, this protagonist is so set against positive growth, that when presented with attractive women hitting on him, he doesn’t even acknowledge their advances, and starts fights with random guys instead at whatever bar he’s getting drunk at. It’s hard to imagine a writer rejecting the mantra of ‘positive character growth’ more vividly. The driving force of the story is Lee unwillingly forced to become a father figure again, when his brother dies and he is made custodian for his nephew. Normally, this would form the platform for a feel-good movie. Not here – Lee never willingly ‘accepts the call to action’, however many opportunities the story gives him.
It is a long time before the audience is given a reason for why Lee has become so averse to happiness and positive growth. We learn that he (accidentally) started a fire which killed his children. We even see his estranged wife moving on – she is now pregnant to her new partner. At the climax, she even tries to help Lee move on, but his decision is expressed by the line “I can’t beat it.”
Lee lets his demons, guilt and rage at himself consume him. The nearest thing we get to personal and positive progress is his final decision to move away from his nephew again, but this time to get a sofa-bed in his new apartment, so that his nephew can visit sometimes. A feel-good movie would have played out this story arc in a completely different way, and would have provided many more notable plot developments along the way to force and test his progress.
In conventional stories about men accepting forms of custody over children – such as THREE MEN AND A BABY or ABOUT A BOY (or even the upcoming adaptation of Stephen King book, THE DARK TOWER film), the presence of a child and unexpected custodianship creates a catalyst for transforming a progressive character into an empathetic protagonist. Lee, in a similar scenario, never adjusts to it and fails to find his own catalyst for personal growth – the sort of plot convention that we would normally expect to find in a screen telling of a story like this.
The subtlety of storytelling carries this film. Whereas Affleck’s performance as Lee is praised for portraying seething rage below his character’s actions, in practical terms all of these behaviors are mostly shown implicitly not explicitly. And they are played out in unexpected scenarios, rather than directly confronting issue head on like conventional stories would do.
Acclaim for MANCHESTER & criticism from some audiences against it are two sides of same coin – mainstream audience members may find this film slow and actionless compared to what they are used to, but these are the same qualities that critics and the Academy have been keen to back. Cinema has been dominated by so much heavy-handed, on-the-nose storytelling, for example in the endless succession of superhero movies, that it has left critics and pros hungry for a new, realistic, refreshing approach to storytelling, and that is something MANCHESTER BY THE SEA provides.
Next up – The ARRIVAL of subtlety in sci-fi!
Exclusive to WriteMovies – To syndicate this content for your own publication, contact ian (at) writemovies dot-com.
© WriteMovies 2017
by John | Jun 26, 2017 | Writing Insights
WriteMovies Writing Tips – Robert McKee and being secure as a writer
“Secure writers don’t sell first drafts. They patiently rewrite until the script is as director-ready, as actor-ready as possible. Unfinished work invites tampering, while polished, mature work seals its integrity.” – Robert McKee
This is so true for everyone, especially those involved in our contests. For those of you who missed out on the Semi-Finals last week, this is your chance to go back to your script and get it as “director ready, as actor ready” as possible. No script we receive in our contests is the finished article, and our consultancies can help you figure out why your script is placing where it is, and what improvements can be made next – but this shouldn’t be something to be anxious about, it’s something to challenge yourself with, to come back next time stronger.
Even our eventual winners’ scripts won’t often be production-ready on their initial entry – there is always tweaking to be done, that’s why we give winners a year of free script development. Our Director of World Wide Development Ian Kennedy says:
“I’ve always found that working as a producer and director and actor has made my scripts better, because the better you know what those professionals will need in order to realize your script into a production, the better you will write to fulfil those needs for them. And therefore the better you’ll write, full stop!”
We can and will help both our winners and those of you who missed out to fulfil their script’s potential. If we believe we can sell it for you, then we’ll take it another step, and pitch it to the industry…
Share this quote from our Facebook page and our Twitter feed to inspire your writer friends, too, and to motivate yourself into getting your script as perfect as you possibly can. Hard-work is underrated, but so vital…
Exclusive to WriteMovies – To syndicate this content for your own publication, contact ian (at) writemovies dot-com.
© WriteMovies 2017
by John | Jun 23, 2017 | Highlights, Results, Updates, WMC, WriteMovies News
We are delighted to announce the Semi-Finalists for our Spring 2017 International Screenwriting Contest.
Since the Bonus two-week extension in late May, we’ve had a lot of scripts to get through – but it’s been an enjoyable task reading through every one submitted – so thank you to everyone who entered the contest.
At this time, we try to only include scripts that we’re still considering as a potential winner. Having made the Quarter-Finalists shows that a script or writer already has some clear potential, and a Semi-Final place means that with more development this script could become a contender. Keep that in mind as you think about what to do with your script next. With the Summer 2017 Contest having just recently opened, the results should give you a good guide to the current state of your idea, writing and script.
We hope that those who did not make the Semi-Finals will stay in touch with us: very few writers secure an industry commission with their first few screenplays. We have enjoyed our exchanges with you and continue to work hard at making this site more relevant to your careers. Don’t forget that many of our writers got their careers going by using our consulting service: CLICK HERE
If you’ve sent us a revised version of a previous script but it’s still not gained the result you were hoping for, we recommend that you consider getting a consultancy on it from us. That way you can find out what we currently feel is holding your script back. And don’t forget our latest round of contests. You can get free entry to our main contest and the Featured Script of the Month when ordering a consultancy HERE.
So, here are the WriteMovies Spring 2017 International Screenwriting Contest Semi-Finalists, all of whom will get re-evaluated and new eyes as we select our top three Winners to be announced Friday, July 7th.
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SEMI-FINALISTS |
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| PERFIDIES, Bill Baber |
INSURRECTION (Pilot), Simon Bowler |
THE 405, Patrick Byrne |
BURNER, Bob Canning |
SEEMINGLY HARMONIOUS, Dengxian Cao |
| FELIX KERSTEN, Juniet Cedric |
CAPE ANGEL BLUES, Carl B. Clark |
AMERICAN HUNGER, Victor de Oliveira |
CRAZY WITH LOVE, Ronald L. Ecker |
THE ASHERAH, Ronald Ecker |
| COLONIALS, Ian Fletcher |
DRAGONS, Jason Ginsburg |
THE LIFE AND TIMES OF GEORGE BAILEY, Phillip Hardy |
NOBODY’S TRACKS, Guy Harvey |
PEANUT, Manny Jimenez Sr. |
| CHOKE JOB, David Johnson |
THE FACTION, Kevin Karp |
GAMERS, Travis Lemke |
MYSPACE LOVE, Christophe Lourenço |
NEVER A WORD OF A LIE, Karl Mather |
| LOVE CRUSH, Hamilton Mitchell |
THE LOCKSMITH, Jeffrey Morales |
THE LOSING GAME, Bernhard Riedhammer |
THE LORDS OF FARHAVEN, Michael Snow |
THE CHERRY ROOM, Christine, Stevens DeLorenzo |
| BLACKBERRIES IN THE DREAM HOUSE, Patrick Towne and Diane Frank |
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LOVING MY ENEMY, Maria Rosario A. Yano |
by John | Jun 18, 2017 | Ian Kennedy, Movie Reviews and TV Reviews, Writing Insights
Watching several of the most acclaimed movies of the last year, one thing that really stood out to me was how subtle and low-key they were. MOONLIGHT, MANCHESTER BY THE SEA, and ARRIVAL have a lot of differences, but they’re all more subtle scripts than we’re used to seeing at the cinema. Their success points to a new willingness in Hollywood, critics and audiences for subtle storytelling – as long as the subject matter is deep enough to deserve it! At WriteMovies we’re pleased to see this happening – and we think that the kinds of script we back and pitch can benefit.
Spoilers alert… this article will discuss the outcomes of the story in order to demonstrate how and why it works.
Imressive MOONLIGHT street art.
First up, let’s take a look at MOONLIGHT, the winner of Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay at the 2017 Oscars. This is a low-key story about a gay black character who grows up in Miami. The protagonist of this three-chapter story behaves in a quite withdrawn way – his unwillingness to speak for himself is the most vital character trait.
Similarly to how the same quality characterizes the protagonist in THE KING’S SPEECH, this reticence represents an inability to overcome his personal demons, as well as his closeted homosexuality. However, in THE KING’S SPEECH, King George VI can speak, just not that well, but MOONLIGHT often doesn’t even go that far.
The film begins with a lengthy period with our protagonist as a boy, known as Little. Little is taken under the protection of a local drug dealer, after he runs away from a group of children trying to hurt him. Little begins the story running away, being taken care of, and not taking care or standing up for himself. In fact, it takes a long time for Little to even say anything, and even then, it’s brief.
This huge silence really nails down the central question of MOONLIGHT. Will Little ever be able to speak for himself, to express what he needs, and achieve his goals as a person?
This lack of dialogue from the protagonist, which notably goes against convention, can result in a passive protagonist. Mainstream story and screenwriting gurus recommend putting the protagonist front and center as the driving force of the story – whereas this film makes a virtue of doing the exact opposite. Even the climax of the film, the main achievement of change in his life is simply that he finally admits to his on-off friend/lover about his feelings, and even this is staged very implicitly. We understand by it that maybe from now on he won’t spend his life living in the shadow, living in in silence. But as far as big plot developments, and character arcs go, that’s about it. Two assaults in the middle of the film – the first against him, the second by him in revenge – are almost the only moments of plot development that are visible, not subtle.
The only part in MOONLIGHT that can be considered “action”, a physical emotional action that is not highly implicit, is when the protagonist is beaten up and finally takes sudden and shocking vengeance against the culprit. This sparks an immediate end to the teenage chapter in his life, and the next time we see him is as an adult, when he is now a full-time drug dealer, his life course set by his previous experiences.
MOONLIGHT’s non-sensationalist handling of drug dealing is one of its greatest strengths. The serious consequences and impact that drugs have on real people is clear – especially in the protagonist’s own mother – but the film doesn’t make judgment on those who pursue this lifestyle and means of income – there is no prejudice against it.
The successful subtlety of this film is perhaps clearest in the climax of the first act. The protagonist finally asks his mentor if he sells drugs to his mother, whose addiction is a major issue in their lives. Little’s mentor acknowledges both of these things. This confirmation sets Little on a new path that will take him away from both his mother and his mentor. This moment of self-determination alienates him further from the people around him, heightening still further his withdrawn personality traits. Once again, this is handled in a subtle and tasteful manner by both writer and director. Proving that subtle scripts can definitely work!
Next: MANCHESTER BY THE SEA – a protagonist who fights to NOT grow as a character!
Exclusive to WriteMovies – To syndicate this content for your own publication, contact ian (at) writemovies dot-com.
© WriteMovies 2017
by John | Jun 9, 2017 | Highlights, Results, Updates, WMC, WriteMovies News
We are delighted to announce the Quarter-Finalists for our Spring 2017 International Screenwriting Contest.
Since the Bonus two-week extension in late May, we’ve had a lot of scripts to get through – but it’s been an enjoyable task reading through every one submitted – so thank you to everyone who entered the contest.
We decided against many competent works for a variety of reasons. Most were simply outperformed by other scripts at this stage in their development. Some were not suited for the cinematic medium, others conceptually flawed, and some lacked commercial appeal. But the enthusiasm and dedication from each writer is clear to see, and a lot explored genuinely distinctive territory that deserves further development. This should not be the end of the journey for anyone who submitted to us.
We hope that those who did not make the Quarter-Finals will stay in touch with us: very few writers secure an industry commission with their first few screenplays. We have enjoyed our exchanges with you and continue to work hard at making this site more relevant to your careers. Don’t forget that many of our writers got their careers going by using our consulting service: CLICK HERE
If you’ve sent us a revised version of a previous script but it’s still not gained the result you were hoping for, we recommend that you consider getting a consultancy on it from us. That way you can find out what we currently feel is holding your script back. And don’t forget our latest round of contests. You can get free entry to our main contest and the Featured Script of the Month when ordering a consultancy HERE.
So, here are the WriteMovies Spring 2017 International Screenwriting Contest Quarter-Finalists, all of whom will get re-evaluated and new eyes as we select our Semi-Finalists:
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QUARTER-FINALISTS |
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| ARIZONA, Natacha Astuto |
PERFIDIES, Bill Baber |
THE DAWN OF EVE, James Bingham |
LADY ON THE RUN, Virginia Bola |
ONCE A KILLER, Virginia Bola |
| TO DIE IN TAJOUTE, Virginia Bola |
THE CAGES OF CORCORAN, Virginia Bola |
TWO CHILDREN OF FATE, Ian Bonser |
INSURRECTION (Feature), Simon Bowler |
INSURRECTION (Pilot), Simon Bowler |
| THE 405, Patrick Byrne |
BLESSE, Bob Canning |
BURNER, Bob Canning |
THE GHOSTS OF LONDONDERRY, Bob Canning |
SEEMINGLY HARMONIOUS, Dengxian Cao |
| FELIX KERSTEN, Juniet Cedric |
CAPE ANGEL BLUES, Carl B. Clark |
ROAD KILL, Miles Colella |
MARIGOLD, Lisa J. Cristoforo |
AMERICAN HUNGER, Victor de Oliveira |
| CRAZY WITH LOVE, Ronald L. Ecker |
THE ASHERAH, Ronald Ecker |
COLONIALS, Ian Fletcher |
ROCK BOTTOM, Mark Flood |
DRAGONS, Jason Ginsburg |
| THE LIFE AND TIMES OF GEORGE BAILEY, Phillip Hardy |
NOBODY’S TRACKS, Guy Harvey |
PEANUT, Manny Jimenez Sr. |
CHOKE JOB, David Johnson |
THE FACTION, Kevin Karp |
| CHARMER, David Kurtz |
FOR THE LOVE OF PETE, David Kurtz |
GAMERS, Travis Lemke |
MYSPACE LOVE, Christophe Lourenço |
NEVER A WORD OF A LIE, Karl Mather |
| LOVE CRUSH, Hamilton Mitchell |
THE LOCKSMITH, Jeffrey Morales |
WHEN I WAS A CHILD, Terry Needham |
LAST RIDE OF METRO 313, Michael Neyland |
TABLE FOR FOUR, Jim Norman |
| DEPARTING O’HARE, Bill Papa |
SHINE YOUR EYES, Clint Pearson |
MALE DELIVERY, Paul Penley |
THE LOSING GAME, Bernhard Riedhammer |
HERE, THEN THERE, Paul Sargia |
| UP THE MAST, Andrew Smith |
THE LORDS OF FARHAVEN, Michael Snow |
RICHER THAN A WHITE MAN, Christine Stevens DeLorenzo |
John Smith, IRON MAIDENS |
THE CHERRY ROOM, Christine, Stevens DeLorenzo |
| BLACKBERRIES IN THE DREAM HOUSE, Patrick Towne and Diane Frank |
THE SECRET OF BANRION WOOD, Persephone Vandegrift |
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THREE WISHES, Rita Wheeler |
LOVING MY ENEMY, Maria Rosario A. Yano |
by John | Jun 5, 2017 | Featured Script of the Month, Highlights, Our Winners, WriteMovies News
We are proud to be able to announce LAST RIDE OF METRO 313 by Michael Neyland as the winner of our Featured Script of the Month for scripts submitted in May 2017.
This bonus prize has been created to reward and develop the most interesting script we receive in the previous month, and the result has no bearing on the result of other entries to any of our competitions. As always, it was an interesting challenge to pick the most interesting script from such a wide variety of scripts written to a high-quality, but Michael thoroughly deserves this.
For winning the Featured Script of the Month, Michael receives free Judging Feedback, plus a free resubmission for a redrafted version of his script, LAST RIDE OF METRO 313, to our upcoming Summer 2017 Competition! On top of that, we give Michael and his script the kind of publicity that our previous Monthly Contest winners have received.
Honorable Mentions:
VEIL, by Harlan Banks.
THE LOCKSMITH, by Jeffrey Morales.
AMERICAN HUNGER , by Victor de Oliveira.
Here’s a quick bio on Michael:
Michael is a married, father-of-one with a cat (a large, furry, and very floppy cat).
He studied English, with a focus in Creative Writing, at FSU before shifting over into animation and design, graduating from Full Sail University with a MFA in Media Design in 2010. He now works full time as a graphic and broadcast designer and co-owns a design company (Infidium, LLC) with his wife, Susan.
Writing has always been a large part of Michael’s life – he’s been writing short stories and comics since as long as he can remember. But it wasn’t until fairly recently that the pursuit became more than just a hobby, largely by the encouragement and support of his wife (who is an invaluable source for creative – sometimes brutal, but always honest – feedback). And, with more than 40 outlines already written, he’s eager to build off his experiences working on “Last Ride of Metro 313,” and turn these outlines into completed projects.
His screenplay, “Last Ride of Metro 313,” is the first step in a larger universe of stories in the contemporary fantasy/horror genre.
Michael and his family live in Northern Virginia, just outside of Washington, DC.
Here’s a quick synopsis on the script itself:
Passengers on a commuter bus become stranded during a storm and must work together to survive strange and unnatural creatures.
Congratulations once again to Michael for winning the Featured Script of the Month! To be in with a chance of winning the Featured Script of the Month yourself, all you have to do is submit your script to a contest (CLICK HERE) or order a consultancy package (CLICK HERE) and you’ll be entered into the Featured Script of the Month FOR FREE!
by John | May 25, 2017 | Our pick of the web for writers and producers, WriteMovies News
Our pick of the web for April and May 2017 – From the @WriteMovies Twitter Feed!
Our @WriteMovies Twitter feed has been sharing lots of exciting things giving our tips of the best new articles, insights and offers for screenwriters and producers on the web. And in case you’ve missed anything there, here is our pick for April and May 2017…
