Irvin Kershner spoke about screenwriters who had learned their craft well with respect and awe. He spoke just as passionately about screenwriters who didn't give him a story that intrigued him, or wasn't well written. He disliked talky scenes where the characters' words were unnecessary or if the dialogue didn't create tension or advance the story.
Kersh said that the best screenwriters he knew were always watching people--in their day-to-day lives, always observing what they did, what they said.
And he said this about screenplays: "In every scene, one of the characters wants something. They may not say a word. What do they do to get it? Now that's interesting."
He gave us one assignment where we were asked to create a five- to seven-page screenplay inspired by a short story. The story had two characters--a pregnant young woman and a man who meets her one winter afternoon at a mill in a small town, and falls in love with her. And we were to use no dialogue.
That assignment was almost impossible for me at the time, as I relied on dialogue to tell the story. I wish I could complete the assignment today and give it to him.
But the lesson isn't lost. I will remember his words,"...someone wants something. They may not say a word. What do they do to get it? Now that's interesting," as I write envision the story, and with every word I write.
NOTE: These entries are inspired by the final assignment for a USC School of Cinematic Arts' course taught by Frank Wuliger: The Business of Writing for Screen and Television. Hoping to help the students become working screenwriters, he asked his students to create a five-year roadmap into the industry.
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