DZ-31: Tools for Better Dialogue 1

Listen if your want your dialogue to individualizes characters, reveal characterization, and shift status!

Chas & Stu are joined once again by the renowned script developer and producer, Stephen Cleary. In the first part of our series on writing better dialogue (there will be more!), we take a close look at how dialogue serves character: individuating characters, revealing characterisation, shifting status, and much more.

Together, they (well, mostly Stephen) break down scenes from ANALYSE THIS, NOTTING HILL, REMAINS OF THE DAY and THE AVENGERS. In a first for Draft Zero, we include audio excerpts to make everything even clearer / stop Chas & Stu (mostly Stu) from butchering lines. That, and not everything is on YouTube.

And, in back matter, we continue the discussion into more academic areas of the difference between theatrical, cinematic and television dialogue.

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

LIKE THIS EPISODE?

• Watch and comment on YouTube.
• Send us feedback.

Thanks to our Patrons, especially Khrob, Theis, Sandra, Jesse, Randy, Paulo, Thomas, Jennifer, Malay, Alexandre and Lily.

———

FILMS

• ANALYZE THIS (1999) — (w) Peter Tolan, Harold Ramis, Kenneth Lonergan, Kenneth Lonergan, Peter Tolan (d) Harold Ramis
• NOTTING HILL (1999) — (w) Richard Curtis (d) Roger Michell
• THE REMAINS OF THE DAY (1993) — (w) Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Kazuo Ishiguro (d) James Ivory
• THE AVENGERS (2012) — (w) Joss Whedon, Joss Whedon, Zak Penn (d) Joss Whedon

SCRIPTS

• Study the script: ANALYZE THIS (1999) — Peter Tolan, Harold Ramis, Kenneth Lonergan, Kenneth Lonergan, Peter Tolan
• Study the script: NOTTING HILL (1999) — Richard Curtis
• Study the script: THE AVENGERS (2012) — Joss Whedon, Joss Whedon, Zak Penn

LINKS

• YouTube: Analyze This Anxiety Disorder
• YouTube: The Remains of the Day: Book scene (complete)
• YouTube: I'm also just a girl
• YouTube: The AVENGERS - We're A TimeBomb [Stark vs Rogers] HD
• Read: Directing Actors by Judith Weston

RELATED EPISODES

• DZ-01: Do Screenplay Gurus win you Oscars?

———

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/2016/dz-31/