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Minda Burr - Writing

Writing Great Characters for the Screen & Stage: Part Two – Comedy

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By: Minda Burr

If you recall, in the last blog, we talked about how your main characters need to have a strong want and then they are forced to deal with all of the obstacles in the way of achieving their goal. We also talked about how every compelling character has distinct personality traits – a combination of strengths, weaknesses and quirks that are often in conflict with other characters.

This is also true of comedy – only more exaggerated – especially the conflict part of it. Basically, in your writing, there are three arenas of conflict that can add more humor to your story: The first is the character’s conflict with his circumstances or the world of the story. The second is his conflict with the other characters. And the third is the character’s conflict with himself..

One movie that illustrates all three arenas beautifully is “The Hangover” (the first one). Not only was it brilliantly written and uniquely structured by John Lucas and Scott Moore, but the characters were all so well defined with strengths, weakness and quirks, that combined with the outrageous circumstances they had to deal with, we are taken on one FUNNY ride.

So let’s break down the characters:

Doug (the groom) played by Justin Bartha is the only “normal” solid guy in the bunch, surrounded by his pals who embody varying degrees of dysfunction. So of course Doug is the one who gets lost so the more flawed characters can band together in their big “want” to FIND him before the wedding.

Then there’s Alan… Doug’s lovable loser future-brother-in-law (brilliantly played by Zach Galifianakis). Alan is the oddball “fish out of water” character amongst the other “cooler” guys, so half the comedy is their reactions to things Alan says and does… For example, when he and Doug go to pick up teacher Phil at his school for their bachelor party to Vegas, Alan covers his head and says, “Do you have to park so close” When Doug replies, “Why?” Alan says, “Because I’m not allowed within 200 feet of a school. Or a Chucky Cheese.” Alan continues to say and do one odd thing after another, but all he wants is to BELONG – to love and be loved. That’s why he puts what he thinks is Ecstasy into all their drinks for the toast that fateful night so they can all bond. And it turns out to be ruffies instead, which creates major havoc that it takes the entire movie to resolve.

Then we have the cool, handsome, bad boy teacher Phil – embodied to perfection by Bradley Cooper – who is of course the total opposite of Alan. Big tip: Pairing opposites is always a terrific opportunity for comedic tension. One of the greatest examples was the the pairing of the obsessive neat freak Felix with the total slob Oscar as roommates in “The Odd Couple”.… But let’s get back to handsome con man Phil. The first time we meet him, he is collecting $90 from each of his students for a field trip to the Planetarium that most likely costs $10 a ticket and we see him stash the money into an envelope that says VEGAS. Phil also whines about how being married and having a kid has ruined his life, “I die just a little every day…”

Then there is Stu the dutiful dentist, played by the amazing Ed Helms… Stu has no self esteem left after living with his ball-busting-bitch of a girlfriend Melissa for three years. She is one of the all time great movie nemesis – Another tip: there always needs to be at least one great nemesis in comedy. The “Hangover” has a several. The very first words that come out of Melissa’s mouth while he’s packing for Vegas is, “Don’t forget your Rogaine. And don’t forget to USE it!”

So in their ruffie induced night of debauchery, when Stu ends up marrying a stripper/hooker (Heather Graham) at a Vegas wedding Chapel, he is more afraid of Melissa killing him than the fact that he pulled out his own tooth to prove he’s a good dentist. Another great tip: Doing things that are totally out of character and that we don’t expect is also a great comedy booster..

One of my favorite characters is Syd, Doug’s future father-in-law played by Jeffry Tambor. As he hands Doug the keys to his prized Mercedes for the trip, he says with a wink, “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas – except Herpes – that shit comes home with you.” Another tip: Humor can be enhanced by taking old phrases or euphemisms (or even societal standards) and adding an odd or off color twist to it.

It was so brilliant how they cut from their toast on the roof before their night on the town – to the next morning, and they all have horrible hangovers, with their $4,000 suite in shambles., Stu’s front tooth is missing, there is a huge tiger in the bathroom, a baby in the closet, Doug’s mattress is missing, along with Doug and they can’t remember how any of this happened.

So we have the pleasure of watching them follow one clue after another, which creates one OBSTACLE after another for them to overcome — which also introduces one more outrageous character or nemesis to interact with. Remember that a humorous character is just a normal character that expresses his personality or quirks in an exaggerated way.

Ultimately, they all have to work together even harder to solve the mystery of Doug’s disappearance, which bonds them and forces them to grow as human beings (which is another important rule of comedy). Stu grows some balls and breaks up with Melissa at the wedding, “You’re just a bad person.” And the audience cheers. Marriage-phobe Phil is thrilled to see his wife and daughter, showering them with affection. And Alan gets to sing a happy song to his new pals, “You’re the three best friends that anyone could have, You’re the three best friends that anyone could have.” And we believe it!

Because comedies always have a happy ending.

Minda Burr - Writing

Writing in the “ZONE”- Part I

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by: Minda Burr

Writing is such a great opportunity for you to express your “one-of-a-kind” self uniquely, so it’s important to know how you can best access your own personal “creative genius”. So, we are first going to take a look at our big, beautiful brains and how they help us (and hinder us) creatively.

The LEFT SIDE of our brain is dominated by our Conscious Mind – where our logic and reason comes from, as well as our ability to analyze. It stores a lot of valuable data and information that we can draw from. It’s also where our critical mind resides as well as our censor. The RIGHT SIDE of our brain is where our CREATIVITY is ignited and our delicious imaginations are stirred. It’s where our feelings and intuition stem from. The right side is also where we have access to the subconscious mind as well as the “collective UN-conscious.” The great news about that is that we have access to information that is not limited to our own individual experiences, but to the “all” of humanity”. And if we venture far enough away from our conscious mind, we can dive into the creative ZONE where there is no time, there is no space, there are no worries, there are no judgments, there is only the BLISS of the creative “experience.”

THIS IS SO IMPORTANT —Your first draft of anything should be where you give the right side of your brain FULL reign! Where you don’t try to control anything and you let it rip! You allow your imagination, intuition, your heart and soul and your own personal “creative genius” to have some FUN. Your first draft is where you allow them to take you on a ride that will DELIGHT and surprise you. The last thing on your mind should be about “doing it correctly” in the first draft. Perfectionism KILLS creativity… Imagine Vincent Van Gogh if he had tried to paint “correctly” — we would be without his “one-of-a-kind” masterpieces. Talk about a brilliant authentic expression!

For example, allow these characters you are choosing to explore to have some interaction and dialogue with each other without you trying to control it. You will be surprised at some of the brilliant dialogue that comes out of their mouths! Especially since you didn’t say it; they did. As a matter of fact, if you give your characters enough reign, they will start to inform your story. They will tell you what they want to say, where they want to go and what they want to do… Amazing things you wouldn’t have thought of consciously.

If you allow your imagination to SOAR in the first draft, it will make your rewrites much easier and more fun because you are now invested emotionally and you have some brilliant gems you can PLAY with. Then, in the rewrites, you can apply more structure and technique, but remain open for the “ah ha” moments. Soon things will start to make sense that might not have before. For example, did you know that M. Night Shyamalan (who wrote and directed The Sixth Sense) didn’t even know that the Bruce Willis character was dead until the 4th or 5th draft? That one element made the movie ten times more impactful… Perhaps it’s time to TRUST yourself and surrender to the creative “Zone”. We’ll talk more about how you can do that next time… (to be continued in part II).

How to Make Requests

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THE LANGUAGE OF BUSINESS

by Suzanne Lyons

This is one of the hardest things for people in the entertainment industry to do. In other businesses it’s the normal language of business. Making requests is common practice. Here, in the entertainment world, we tend to feel like we are interrupting, interfering or over stepping our bounds, and instead of making request we end up asking for favors. Favors don’t work in business. Requests work in business. It’s the language of business. We tend to ask in a tone of voice that is more like a favor.

In a meeting where the person has shown an interest in your script, you say “I’m really happy you want to read my script, thanks so much for doing this, I really hope you like it.” And it’s the tone that implies a favor… like they are doing you a favor if they read it. I have tons of unread screenplays that have been collecting dust in my office for years that came to me as a favor. A request has power in it and it keeps the power in your court. It would be more like, “thanks so much for agreeing to read my script. I am certain it’s a perfect fit for your company, and can I call you in two weeks to get your response.” They may counter offer and say no, call me in three weeks, but at least it’s in your court.

One of the actors I coached years ago was amazing at doing all the necessary steps needed to get her name out there. She was great at creating relationships, setting goals, getting her head shots and demo reels out, doing follow up, etc. She just couldn’t figure out why nothing was happening. When I asked her if she was actually making requests she was silent. I said, did you say, for example, “here is my demo reel that you asked for… can I call you by the end of the week and get your response?” I could see the light bulb go on in her head when I asked about making this request. She said it had never even occurred to her. And by not being aware of this simple (yet important!) business tool, she’d missed some great opportunities. So she committed to me on the spot that she would go back and make all the calls again, but this time she would add this new tool… she would make requests! The results were unbelievable. By the time my month of working with her was over she was up to five auditions a weeks, getting call backs and roles!

EXERCISE: Okay, now I want you to take your Map of Relationships (your data base of relationships) and call everyone (yes, I said everyone!) on your map and make a request. Get back into relationship and then, tell them what you’re up to and make a request. Maybe it’s asking for a referral to someone on your Target List. Always, end those calls with “and is there anything I can do for you?”