DZ-60: Unfilmables 1 - Engaging imagination

Listen to discover how *produced* screenplays use unfilmables to shape tone, performance, and humour on the page. AKA Why your screenwriting guru is wrong In this episode, Chas and Stu deep dive into the controversial area of “unfilmables” — those alleged screenwriting sins, where a writer writes a line that (apparently) cannot be seen or heard. But many produced spec scripts use unfilmables to great effect. So how and why do they “get away with it”? In this first part, they look at unfilmables in micro moments: to describe locations, set (or change) the mood/tone, bring performances to life, and communicate certain types of humour. To that end, they breakdown into examples from LETHAL WEAPON, MY BRIDESMAID IS A BITCH, HEREDITARY, FLEABAG, KILLING EVE, A QUIET PLACE, KILLING THEM SOFTLY, SHARP OBJECTS, SPARTAN, THE NICE GUYS, DRIVE, THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING MISSOURI, TREE OF LIFE, and MICHAEL CLAYTON. Thanks to Chris Walker for editing this episode, and Carissa Lee for performing the big print. As always: SPOILERS ABOUND and all copyright material used under fair use for educational purposes. LIKE THIS EPISODE? Send us feedback. Thanks to our Patrons, especially Devin, Jack, Paul, Chris, Khrob, Sandra, Nick, Rob, Matteo, Daniel and Carrie. ——— CHAPTERS 00:00:00 – Intro: Unfilmables & Unscriptables 00:11:42 – What are unfilmables? 00:23:10 – Lethal Weapon 00:32:40 – Your Bridesmaid is a Bitch 00:40:15 – Hereditary 00:53:02 – Battlestar Galactica 00:55:15 – Killing Eve 00:59:27 – Killing Them Softly 01:04:32 – Hereditary (again) 01:12:30 – Sharp Objects 01:22:18 – Spartan 01:30:42 – The Girl On the Train 01:35:37 – Fleabag 01:43:20 – The Nice Guys 01:47:05 – Drive 01:54:09 – Michael Clayton 02:01:21 – The Tree of Life 02:07:59 – Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri 02:11:52 – Key Learnings & Wrap Up FILMS LETHAL WEAPON (1987) — (w) Shane Black (d) Richard Donner HEREDITARY (2018) — (w) Ari Aster A QUIET PLACE (2018) — (w) Bryan Woods, Scott Beck, John Krasinski, Bryan Woods, Scott Beck (d) John Krasinski KILLING THEM SOFTLY (2012) — (w) Andrew Dominik, George V Higgins (d) Andrew Dominik SPARTAN (2004) — (w) David Mamet THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN (2016) — (w) Paula Hawkins, Erin Cressida Wilson (d) Tate Taylor THE NICE GUYS (2016) — (w) Shane Black, Anthony Bagarozzi (d) Shane Black DRIVE (2011) — (w) Hossein Amini, James Sallis (d) Nicolas Winding Refn MICHAEL CLAYTON (2007) — (w) Tony Gilroy THE TREE OF LIFE (2011) — (w) Terrence Malick THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI (2017) — (w) Martin Mcdonagh SHOWS KILLING EVE 1x1 "Nice Face" — Harry Bradbeer (d), Phoebe Waller Bridge (w) FLEABAG 1x1 — Tim Kirkby (d), Phoebe Waller Bridge (w) SHARP OBJECTS 1x1 "Vanish" — Jean Marc Vallee (d), Marti Noxon (w) BATTLESTAR GALACTICA — (w) Glen A Larson, Ronald D Moore SCRIPTS Study the script: LETHAL WEAPON (1987) — Shane Black Study the script: HEREDITARY (2018) — Ari Aster Study the script: A QUIET PLACE (2018) — Bryan Woods, Scott Beck, John Krasinski, Bryan Woods, Scott Beck Study the script: THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN (2016) — Paula Hawkins, Erin Cressida Wilson Study the script: THE NICE GUYS (2016) — Shane Black, Anthony Bagarozzi Study the script: DRIVE (2011) — Hossein Amini, James Sallis Study the script: MICHAEL CLAYTON (2007) — Tony Gilroy Study the script: THE TREE OF LIFE (2011) — Terrence Malick Study the script: THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI (2017) — Martin Mcdonagh SHOT ZERO DEEP DIVES Perp & Victim 2: Opening Kills in Horror (2000s+) LINKS Read: DZ-60 Unfilmables (Part 1) - Collated Scripts Read: Cinephilia & Beyond - In Search of Our Better Selves: The Rebirth, Redemption and Road Warriors of George Miller's 'Mad Max: Fury Road' EPISODES IN THE UNFILMABLES SERIES DZ-60: Unfilmables 1 - Engaging imagination DZ-61: Unfilmables 2 - Moments of Awe DZ-62: Unfilmables 3 - As Ifs & Emotional Context RELATED EPISODES DZ-16: Masters of Time and Whitespace ——— More Draft Zero is brought to you by our awesome Patreons. If you enjoy the show, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts, a rating on Spotify, or a review on Podchaser. We are @stuwillis, @mehlsbells and @chasffisher on Twitter. You can find @draft_zero and @_shotzero on Instagram and Twitter. Full show notes at: https://draft-zero.com/2019/dz-60/