The advice and rantings of a Hollywood script reader tired of seeing screenwriters make the same mistakes, saving the world from bad writing one screenplay at a time. Learn what it takes to get your script past one of these mythical Gatekeepers.
Michael F-ing Bay
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Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Webshow: Bad Newscast Exposition
In this week's video, I take on a writing trick that is rarely used all that well - using a newscast scene to fill in exposition.
I'm not sure if anyone else feels the same way, but I am annoyed when a character is told to turn on the television (usually the news) and somehow the segment is just beginning at that very moment, rather than being in the middle or the end of it. That doesn't ruin the movie, or even the scene, but it just doesn't seem realistic. Is this just a convention that is for the greater good?
AD also did a great bit where a character tried to use the "turn the news on at the exact right moment" bit but had to wait for the commercials to finish.
It was done really well in Spider-Man ... I don't know if it was Part 3? When they are reporting live from a fight between Spidey and a villain. Spidey is being beaten over and over again and the reporter says exactly what we are seeing, including "that has to hurt a lot".
I believe Steven Spielberg is on record of saying "keep the press out" regarding exposition and heightening the dramatic importance of an event within a story. Disaster movies and major cities besieged by aliens routinely have the gratuitous news broadcaster notifying everyone that they're in a world of shit. The audience knows it and the fleeing citizens apparently do as well so what value does it offer in current movies?
One thing I notice in a lot of 'news report' scenes in scripts is that very often, the newscaster will say something like "our fair city" or "our great, esteemed mayor". I can't say I've ever seen a news report use these phrases. Where does this cliche come from?
I'm not sure if anyone else feels the same way, but I am annoyed when a character is told to turn on the television (usually the news) and somehow the segment is just beginning at that very moment, rather than being in the middle or the end of it. That doesn't ruin the movie, or even the scene, but it just doesn't seem realistic. Is this just a convention that is for the greater good?
ReplyDelete"Arrested Development" has, by far, the best use of TV news exposition.
ReplyDeleteAD also did a great bit where a character tried to use the "turn the news on at the exact right moment" bit but had to wait for the commercials to finish.
ReplyDeletePerfection.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIt was done really well in Spider-Man ... I don't know if it was Part 3? When they are reporting live from a fight between Spidey and a villain. Spidey is being beaten over and over again and the reporter says exactly what we are seeing, including "that has to hurt a lot".
ReplyDelete"This could be the end....of Spider-Man."
DeleteUgh. Just ugh.
I believe Steven Spielberg is on record of saying "keep the press out" regarding exposition and heightening the dramatic importance of an event within a story. Disaster movies and major cities besieged by aliens routinely have the gratuitous news broadcaster notifying everyone that they're in a world of shit. The audience knows it and the fleeing citizens apparently do as well so what value does it offer in current movies?
ReplyDeleteKind of sad any writer actually has to be *told* this stuff.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I notice in a lot of 'news report' scenes in scripts is that very often, the newscaster will say something like "our fair city" or "our great, esteemed mayor". I can't say I've ever seen a news report use these phrases. Where does this cliche come from?
ReplyDelete