DZ-28: Containing Your Script

Listen if you're writing a contained thriller, drama, or any story limited to a single location

Contained Thrillersseem to be a genre that never goes out of fashion. But being contained is not just limited to thrillers. It's a way of telling stories on a lower budget, regardless of genre. So - while allegedly easier to make / get made - limiting a story to a single location also limits the tools that maintain an audience's interest. Changing audience or character point of view, intercutting between locations or characters are all much harder (if not impossible) in contained films. So how do good contained films hook their audience and keep them?

In unravelling this locked room mystery, Stu & Chas look at three scripts form different genres: LOCKE - a drama; THE ONE I LOVE - a romcom or psychological thriller depending if you're Chas or Stu; and EVERLY - an exploitation action movie. They also discuss films including BURIED, PHONE BOOTH, THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ALICE CREED, CUBE & CUBE 2, INFINITE MAN and BOXING DAY.

BACKMATTER

As always: SPOILERS ABOUND and all copyright material used under fair use for educational purposes.

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FILMS

• LOCKE (2014) — (w) Steven Knight
• THE ONE I LOVE (2014) — (w) Justin Lader (d) Charlie Mcdowell
• EVERLY (2015) — (w) Yale Hannon, Yale Hannon, Joe Lynch (d) Joe Lynch

SCRIPTS

• Study the script: LOCKE (2014) — Steven Knight

LINKS

• YouTube: Locke - Trailer
• Read: The Q&A Podcast: Steven Knight - Pawn Sacrifice Q&A
• IMDB: The One I Love by Justin Lader (IMDB)
• Read: Watch on Netflix (US) and on Stan (Australia)
• IMDB: Everly screenplay by Yalo Hannon, story by Joe Lynch & Yale Hannon (IMDB)
• YouTube: Everly - Official Trailer #1
• Read: The Movie Crypt with Adam Green & Joe Lynch
• IMDB: Boxing Day (IMDB)
• YouTube: Boxing Day - Trailer
• Listen: Boxing Day - Watch on iTunes
• IMDB: The Infinte Man (IMDB)
• YouTube: The Infinite Man - Trailer
• Listen: The Infinite Man - Watch on iTunes
• YouTube: Phone Booth - Trailer
• Read: ScriptShadow - GSU!!! (Goal, Stakes, Ugency)
• Read: Wikipedia: Pathetic Fallacy & LiteraryDevices.Net: Pathetic Fallacy
• Read: Wikipedia: Pathetic Fallacy & LiteraryDevices.Net: Pathetic Fallacy
• Read: The Guardian: Covenhithe (short story) by China Miéville
• Read: Grant Nebel on Story Intensity Over Time & Forms of Storytelling on Television
• Read: Pete's Blog: A Thousand Men : TV for Writers
• Read: The Screen Director Podcast produced by Ben Mizzi
• Read: The Screen Director Podcast produced by Ben Mizzi
• Read: Writing Predestination - The Spierig Brothers
• Read: Corrie Chen on Bloomers
• Read: Julietta Boscolo on Love Child
• Read: Tommy Schlamme (The West Wing, Manhattan) interviewed by DZ's very own Stu Willis

RELATED EPISODES

• DZ-05: Shifting audience point of view and heightened emotions

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Full show notes at: https://draft-zero.com/2015/dz-28/