Whatever you think of Roman Polanski's personal life and current legal problems, he's an interesting film-maker and it was fascinating to read how he approaches scripts. This quote is from an essay in the Sunday Times by Robert Harris, who wrote the novel and the screenplay,"The Ghost," which Polanski turned into a film. (I found the novel a bit thin--not in page numbers but in terms of creating a full sense of reality; it will be interesting to see how the film compares). Anyway, here's the quote:
"He thinks everything through from the perspective of the actor: what is in this character's head as he comes into a scene, and what is in that one's. The language, the visuals and the action are entirely subordinate to the logic of character.
He also warned me to beware of the commonest fault of screenwriters: cutting away from a scene just when it starts to get difficult. 'When it's difficult to write--that's when you know you've reached the interesting part.' "
When I've served as a script consultant, often I've found the same thing true of British and European writers (less so of American writers): they tend to cut away when the temperature of a scene is about to reach boiling point--which generally is what the audience wants to see. Maybe it's a fear of melodrama or sentimentality (which, admittedly, sometimes do plague American films).
(For help writing your novel or screenplay, see my book, "Your Writing Coach," published by Nicholas Brealey and available from Amazon and other online and offline retailers. And if you want support in reaching your writing goals, join my Breakthrough Strategy online coaching program--details at www.jurgenwolff.com).
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