Chapter 663 663 Analysis of the Script

Hollywood screenwriters will go through professional training before they actually start their jobs, because the writing of a script does not mean that it can be written casually. The script is not only a story, but also a wonderful container in a limited time. Therefore, Rhythm, frame, lines, and ideas are all integral parts of a script.

Taking the most classic three-part script structure as an example, an excellent script will be divided into three parts, establishment, confrontation, and ending. Through the control of rhythm and the setting of climax, a 90-minute story will be told fascinatingly. , this is all important.

Therefore, if Hugo is an outsider, it is very difficult to write a script casually. Although Hugo has the advantage of time travel, he knows what the story is like, but it is very difficult to set the climax and turning point of the script. The lack of rhythm, and the lack of precipitation of classic lines, can ruin a successful script.

2013's "Upside. Down" is a prime example of this, the film tells a magical story where two worlds turned upside down rely on only one giant tower for limited communication. This is a very easy to win creative idea, but it was screwed up by the screenwriter. The protracted and pale plot line and the lack of excavation of the sublimation of ideas completely ruined a bright idea.

In short, screenwriting is not for anyone, and it is not so easy for a good screenwriter to be a successful screenwriter.

Action movies are a type of film with an excellent legacy in Hollywood. This type of film is the most outstanding in three-stage style, establishing a framework, forming a confrontation, and pushing to a climax. This rhythm routine is a classic among the classics. "True Lies" is One of the most recommended masterpieces is the pinnacle of action movies.

It is not easy for action movies to break this routine and form innovations. This is also an important reason for the gradual decline of this type of movies after entering the 21st century, because the entire routine has been fully known by people, and there will be no new ideas. surprise. Action movies after the 21st century have not made any breakthroughs in storytelling. They can only rely on large scenes created by computer special effects to attract attention, but lose their sense of reality.

"Speed ​​of Life and Death" is such a classic three-stage script. The beginning of the story lays the foreshadowing and sets the cause of the accident; then the accident breaks out, the whole confrontation is formed, and the danger is imminent; then the protagonist turns the tide and finally solves the problem.

In addition to the structure, "Life and Death" shows new ideas for rhythm control, dangerous settings, problem solving, and the climax of the ending. A bus that explodes at speeds less than 50 miles per hour is obviously a very good one. The innovative point of the film, and the settings of the action fighting scenes are also people-oriented. Although limited by funding, there are no large-scale explosions and magnificent scenes, but the whole film has a continuous climax and a tense atmosphere, and it still achieved great success.

"True Lies", also released in 1994, invested $115 million, and starred Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was in the glory days of his acting career, and the heroine was also A-list celebrity Jamie Lee Curty. This work has achieved great success at the box office and word of mouth, and is known as a classic masterpiece in action movies.

But compared with "True Lies", "Life and Death", which only invested less than 30 million yuan, was also named as the top action movie in 1994. Even in the long history of Hollywood genre films, it is also a factor that cannot be ignored. It is generally regarded as the most representative work among the top ten action films of the 1990s.

It can be seen that the script of "Speed ​​of Life and Death" is excellent.

Therefore, even if Hugo is traveling through time, it is not so easy for him to propose changes to the script of "Speed ​​of Life and Death". After all, the reason why a classic is considered a classic is because its original appearance has already gained everyone's attention. Acknowledgment; but after reading the "Speed ​​of Life" script, Hugo did have a very strange idea: the script must be adjusted, which reminded Hugo of the "Shawshank Redemption" situation.

The script of "The Shawshank Redemption" was adapted from a novel, so it was even more difficult for Hugo to make changes to the script, but Hugo had his own ideas about the setting and psychological transformation of the male protagonist, so he proposed his own Opinion.

This time too.

Hugo had different ideas about the setting of Jack, the male protagonist of "Speed ​​of Life and Death", which is the conclusion he came to after examining the script from the perspective of an actor.

The original setting of "Life and Death" was closer to the combination of "Die Hard" and funny comedy, so the male protagonist Jack was portrayed as a pretentious and glib character, but in fact, this is very inconsistent. , and the story setting of the entire script seems a bit out of tune.

"I mean, you don't have any ideas about the passengers on the bus, do you?" When Hugo mentioned that he thought the role of Jack could be adjusted slightly, both Jane and Graham were very interested, because they were very interested. Few people will dig further into the character settings of action movies.

To put it a bit harsher, the male protagonist of an action movie just rolls up his sleeves and rushes forward to fight. Even if there is a battle of wits and courage, fighting, exploding, and chasing are the key points. The movie doesn't have much space to dig the character's heart and soul. personality. Therefore, the setting of the male protagonist in action movies is generally very simple, righteous or upright, or humorous and personable. Even classic characters like "007" James Bond do not have much psychological excavation.

Now, Hugo actually began to discuss the issue of character setting, which is naturally very surprising.

"I have seen that there are whites, blacks, Indians, and yellows on the bus. It can be said that it is very complicated. You always have a reason for doing such a setting in the first place, otherwise you have no need to set such a complete set." Hugo's words made Graham nodded slightly.

"Actually, I didn't think of any political metaphors," Graham replied, "but, LA is a multi-ethnic, multi-racial city, and a bus can't be all white. And, Rodney- The King incident has not completely subsided, so I did have a conception of the roles of white and black in the story, as well as Mexicans, Indians, yellow people."

In fact, as a political metaphor is a kind of ideology, simple and in the middle. Take the Chinese as an example. It is now 1994, and in the early 1990s, Americans were concerned about China. The idea of ​​the Chinese people is to be backward, conservative, cowardly and timid. Most of the Chinese in Los Angeles are either black households or gangsters, and then helpers. Therefore, when Graham wrote the script, even if there was no political intention and no deliberate arrangement, the position of the yellow race in the script he wrote must have been affected by ********.

Therefore, in the story, the Chinese women on the bus have always been helpless and numb, incompetent and timid, and can only wait for vulnerable groups to receive assistance.

Hugo didn't intend to change the whole ********, because it was a product of a long-term social culture, and he could not rely on his own strength to fight against the whole society. The reason why he mentioned this. It's still out of consideration for the setting of the male protagonist, "Then have you ever thought about why Jack didn't have any other ideas in the face of such a group of multiracial passengers?"

Hugo's rhetorical question made Graham directly stuck, stunned, and said helplessly, "To be honest, I didn't think about it, when I was setting the character, I just thought that a funny and humorous character should be It's nice to be able to joke even in times of distress and make the audience laugh."

"This is the difference between excellent and classic." Hugo's response made Graham instantly embarrassed. As a newcomer who wrote the script for the first time, Graham was indeed inexperienced.

In fact, if Hugo was asked to write the script, he probably wouldn't be much better, but after all, Hugo still has a wealth of knowledge about watching movies, and at the same time, as an excellent actor, he also has a unique perspective on the understanding of characters and stories, so he He is also very skilled at making suggestions.

"You think, if it's just a rescue issue, then the setting of the male protagonist is very simple, a righteous hero, it doesn't matter whether he is serious or humorous, but in the story you write, it is not the case. Hugo's words silenced Graham, and Jane, who was sitting next to him, frowned, savoring Hugo's words, "You wrote in the story the difference between these passengers on the bus when their lives were at stake." They even had an argument. As the only one who had hope of rescuing them, what should Jack's reaction be when he stood in the car?"

"First of all, he can't be a racist." It wasn't Graham who spoke, but Jane. Although Jane was only a photographer, he had participated in the shooting of many good works after all, and naturally he had his own views on movies, so Only then would anyone be willing to let him be the director.

Hugo smiled and nodded, "It's basic. However, if it's a pretentious, self-righteous person, he may still be driven by a sense of justice in a pinch to save everyone, but in the face of the people on the bus What will he think when the ordinary citizens are quarreling?"

"Talking jokes like Bond?" Samora's sudden remark, sitting next to him, immediately stunned Jane, Graham, Ian and others, while Hugo and Joseph couldn't help laughing. up.

Indeed, in fact, Graham's original setting for Jack is more similar to James Bond, perhaps adding some humor. Such a character is suitable for an elegant gentleman to save the world, rather than living and dying with ordinary people on the "life and death" bus, which is too grounded.

"And, such a self-proclaimed humorous and self-centered person, what kind of status do you think he will have in the Los Angeles Police Department? Everyone loves him?" Hugo's rhetorical question made Graham and others also I couldn't help but just laughed.