Writing the Scene

Foundations: John’s Scene-Writing Process

Some of you have asked my approach to this. So, I'll give you my approach, which you can

borrow from, you can steal from, you can take from, and then you can re-devise it, and make it

your own.

I'll start with the way I start, and typically as I get into the office in the morning, I'm ready to

go to work. I got a cup of coffee. I've been thinking about the first scene that I'm gonna lay

down. The first scene that I'm gonna write. I kind of slow myself down here, because I want to

check things. I want a checklist before I deep dive into the scene.

I remind myself, what is the purpose of the scene? Why is this scene in the movie? It's just a

little refresher. Why am I writing this scene? Again, what is its purpose?

I do a little checklist, and by now my work has been so thorough, that it's unusual that I

come up with something, but I do ask myself, is there anything I can add? Is there anything I

can add by way of external conflict? Is there anything I can add to heighten the conflict?

I cover once again, who is the protagonist in this scene? Not the movie, but in this scene,

who is the protagonist? What does he or she want?

And also who is the antagonist in the scene? What does he or she want? Because as we

know, that's where the conflict will build.

 There's another point of reference that I use, and if I do say so, I haven't heard this. Maybe

I haven't heard it because it doesn't work for anybody, but I'll share. I map the scene prior to

opening. What does that mean? Map the scene prior to opening. Here's what it means. Where

were these characters before the scene? Where were they? What were they doing? That may

inform me, and it may not even be on the page, but it will inform me as to what their mood is,

what their level of anxiety or frustration is. It helps inform me to who they are coming into this

moment.

For instance, let's say that the scene is about a 16-year-old boy who wants the keys to the

car. We would have established already, the family only has one car. It's important that I map

the scene. I map prior to opening. And for me, the mapping prior to opening, is he just got off

the phone with his girlfriend. He just hung up. He runs in the living room and says, "Dad, Dad,

Dad, can I use the car? Can I use the car?"

So now we know what his motivation is, where he's going with that car. It helps inform, and

helps create again, a little more urgency to the scene.

I'm gonna jump now to, I've got two scenes that I want to use as touchstones, that I want to

use as example. The first scene is from KRAMER VS. KRAMER The scene happens about 2/3 of

the way through the film. Joanna left Ted in Act 1. He's been keeping a job, and raising their

son, Billy, and then boom, she walks back into his life. She'd been gone 18 months, and they

meet, the scene where they meet at a restaurant to talk. The interesting thing here is that Ted,
upon entering, literally, physically entering the scene. He comes in, he's running a little late.

He's flustered. So as the writer, Robert Benton may have said, okay, where was he before this?

Now we know, you know, as the writer of this scene, this moment is very important to Ted.

Why? Because he may be building his life, and bringing his life back together. Joanne's back,

she's called him. "I'm back in New York City. I'd like to meet with you." There's promise.

There's promise, because if he can get Joanna back, his life may go back to where it was, and

that would be a beautiful thing.

When Ted enters. Again, he enters the little late, out of breath, flustered, taking off his

coat. "Sorry, traffic was bad." That already creates a push. That already creates anxiety for Ted.

He sits down, "I'll have what she's having."

What else has happened in the scene? Well, he wants to make a great impression on her.

Again, he's a protagonist. What does he want? If you chop it down, what is this scene about?

This scene is boy wants girl. that's what the scene is. Forget the overall view of the film. In this

scene, he wants Joanna back. And he said, when he gets there, and he catches his breath,

takes off his coat. He sits down and he says, "You look lovely."

And she says, "Oh wow." She wasn't expecting that.

And at one point he reaches over, and touches her on the arm, and he's as charming as he

can be. The front end of that scene, we know the front end of that scene is him trying to get

girl back, trying to get his wife back, complimenting her. "It's great to see you," and then the

midpoint of the scene, Joanna says, "I've learned a lot."

 A little bit of a signal. Ted says, "Such as?"

And she says, "I've learned that I love my son." And she says, "I want Billy back."

Boom, the whole thing has blown up. The entire scene has collapsed.

"You can't have him." That's what Ted says, "You can't have him. What makes you think he

wants you?" We've gone to seduction romance, to midpoint dropping bomb, bomb going off,

and now Ted smashes the glass against the wall, and says, "You can't have him back." And he

walks out.

We are promised that there will be more conflict. We are promised that this fight is only

gonna get bigger. Benton knows going into that scene that Ted is a protagonist. Ted wants

Joanna back. Ted finds out, “I can't get Joanna back. She's actually here to take my boy

away.” Boom, fight, and he leaves. And that's the scene. The scene is actually a mini movie.

The scene as a small film, within a film. It's brilliantly designed.

I'm gonna continue. I'm gonna go to another absolutely brilliant scene, written by John

Patrick Shanley, who adapted his own play, and directed, wrote and directed the script for

DOUBT. Father Flynn, played by Philip Seymour Hoffman, comes into Sister Aloysius's office,

and she's there with her assistant.

Let's talk about what happens before he gets there. Father Flynn has been called to this

meeting to discuss Christmas carols. You see that's a beautiful setup. He's walking down the
hall, comes into the scene. This is gonna be an easy meeting. They're just gonna discuss

Christmas carols for the Christmas pageant, no problem.

By the way, it's really important that the actor knows, think about this, the actor knows that

he knows nothing. The actor knows that he knows nothing coming into the scene. 'Cause if he

does, it'll diffuse the scene when it blows up.

He comes in, they talk about Christmas carols, and it's established, John Patrick Shanley

establishes that these two characters, Sister Aloysius and Father Flynn are both dynamic, and

formidable characters. By nature of hierarchy, the priest of course has more power. It’s very

important, that Shanley has written, Sister Aloysius is someone who will not be pushed around.

In fact, if anything, she's the bully. Without that, without them playing level, you've diminished

the conflict, because he would roll right over the top of her.

The scene’s going. We established that these two people don't see eye to eye on anything,

and it's done in very subtle ways. 'What'd you give up for lent?"

"Sugar."

"It wasn't much to give up?"

"Use a ballpoint pen."

"I would only use a pencil."

 All of those moments are just establishing that these two have a minor conflict going all the

time. This is the way they work together. They never quite see eye to eye. Shanley lets this

build to the point where Sister Aloysius says, "There's a problem with Donald Miller. He's been

acting funny." Amy Adams, Sister James is there in the room with them. Sister Aloysius says,

"Sister James smelled alcohol on Donald Miller's breath."

By the way, this signals to Father Flynn that, oh, this scene, this meeting, was not lot about

Christmas carols. Do you see how it's building? It's building, it's a mini movie. It's building to

that point, and then the mid-point is Father Flynn says, "Did you call me and to discuss

Christmas carols, or this?"

And Sister Aloysius says, "This." Boom, midpoint, the fight is on.

Then the choices that Shanley and the cinematographer make in terms of framing Sister

Aloysius and Father Flynn, and one shots and masters. They isolate them, because these two,

again, it's very important that they're both big, demanding characters, so that their fight can be

a bigger fight. It's brilliantly shot. It's brilliantly choreographed, but at that moment, "Is this

why you call me?"

"This, this is why."

Father Flynn says, "I am not happy about this, the way this has been handled." And he

says, "And this is not the end."

 The scene serves us to tell the audience, by the way, this is just beginning, lean in, because

this is only gonna get worse. The writer Shanley knows going in, that he's gonna play it. He's

gonna play it slow, Christmas carol, Christmas carol, Christmas carol. Boom, Donald Miller.

"This is why you call me?"

"Yes."

Boom, now we're gonna fight, and out, Father Flynn leaves.

These are two brilliantly written scenes by two great writers, and what you do before

starting to write those scenes, is you say, okay, what has to happen? You know, the

choreography, the balance of the scene. What has to happen? Double checking, make sure

you've got conflict. If it's a mini movie, if you can play it like a mini movie, where are the beats?

When is that midpoint? When does it hit the fan? "This is why you called me?"

"This."

Fight.

"You want to take my son?"

"Yes, I'm taking Billy back."

Okay, fight. This is how you approach a scene. Before you start writing, you want to be

mindful of what must happen. What is the purpose of the scene? Why did you put it in the

movie, and how can you make sure that it's got optimum conflict? That's how you start to
approach a scene. Now, after you've got all that laid out, all that's in your head, then you fall

back, and you start writing. That's how I would suggest you go into writing a scene.