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This
week's answer:
Dialoguing
About Dialogue
The first thing many story analysts
look at is the page number on the last page. And
sometimes, even before that, a reader has been known to
actually weigh the script in his or her hand (which
gives a new meaning to the statement, "Read my
script, which is heavy. Man.")
"Gravitas" is a word that everybody is
flinging around these days (which isn't an easy
feat since it's such a "heavy" word). Does a
script have gravitas? If it's over 120 pages,
according to some analysts, it does.
Let it be known that I don't do
either of the above maneuvers to gauge the amount of
time it will take to read a screenplay. Time is of
the essence, though, when reading a truck load of
scripts. (Yes, I have a loading dock at my
office.) The truth is I simply don't have the time to
read all the scripts that cross my desk, or completely
read scripts that I do read initially. (Well,
actually I do, but that would mean I'd have to
practically live at my desk all the time .... I know a
well-crafted script when I see one and when I do want to
see one and there's a pile of scripts before me, this is
what I do:
I read the dialogue.
A screenwriting
teacher announced in his class, which I attended, that
dialogue isn't important in a screenplay. I couldn't
disagree more. (Well, I could, but that would be
taking up too much time that I could be using to find good
dialogue in scripts.). Dialogue is the easiest and the
best way to discover if one is reading a well-written
script. (There are, of course, exceptions. Quest
for Fire and Marcel Marceau's movie would fall under
this category.) If the dialogue is interesting, subtle, full
of unspoken meanings, if it embodies richness and specific
tones, if it is pleasant or at least stimulating or
tantalizing to the ear, if it is "movie
authentic," if it is clever, thought-provoking, if it
matches the characters' personalities, and....
if it can stand up on its own....
then chances are the
script is a good one. If, when I flip through a
screenplay, not even knowing the story or the characters, I
can appreciate the dialogue, there's a strong possibility
that the screenplay is well-written. On the other
hand, if I flip through a screenplay and enjoy the
description/action, and like the premise and the storyline,
it doesn't mean the script is going to be good. I
won't know until I read the dialogue. Unless silent
movies are coming back into vogue. In fact, I think I
have a script with that very premise. I think I'll
read it and check the dialogue.
Of a script about movies
with no dialogue.
DcH
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