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/