There's something about Mary

Ted is a geeky loser in high school who falls in love with the most popular girl, Mary, at first sight. Somehow he lands a date with her to their prom only to be thwarted by a very unusual accident in the bathroom. Thirteen years later Ted still can’t seem to get Mary out his head. So through the help of his friend he hires a private eye to track her down somewhere in Miami. The private eye, Pat, falls in love with Mary and decides to give Ted false information so he can pursue her himself. After a short while, Ted decides again that he wants to see Mary so he goes to Miami to find her.

The set up is very effective to the screenplay in that it nicely establishes that Ted is a goofy loser-ish guy who will always be in love with Mary. Now, thirteen years later, Ted wants to find Mary and talk to her again. He just doesn’t know how to find her or know anything about her since she moved shortly after the prom incident. The inciting incident happens when Ted’s friend, Dom, convinces him to hire a private eye to find Mary for him. This is the event that brings Mary back into the present day picture.

The plot point at the end of Act 1 is when Pat falls in love with Mary and gives Ted false information. Ted later finds out that everything Pat said is a lie and he decides once again to go to Miami. Ted’s first obstacle in Act 2 is to take down Pat, who is becoming very close with his Mary. When Ted “runs” into Mary she is shocked and surprised he is there, and she reveals that she had a crush on him in high school. Mary and Ted go on a series of dates and begin to enjoy each other a lot. However, Pat is still running around trying to get Mary back so Ted has to keep dealing with Pat.

This leads to the second Plot Point when someone sends an anonymous letter to Mary saying that Ted hired Pat to spy on her. She gets mad and tells Ted to leave. Surprisingly we find out that it wasn’t Pat, or Mary’s friend Tucker who is also madly in love with her, who sent the letter. It was Ted’s best friend who also happens to be crazy about Mary. Going crazy herself, Mary gets very upset and just wishes for everyone to live. Realizing what he must do, Ted reunites Mary with her ex-boyfriend. He was perfect for her until Tucker caused them to break up. Ted found this out, and with a change of heart and realization that if he truly loves her he can let her go. Ted goes through a big character change at the end of the screenplay. This also makes Mary realize how much Ted actually cares for her and that she is in love with him too.

Supplying the world with destruction

Yuri Orlov came to the United States from the Soviet Union when he was a young boy. His family opened a restaurant and supplied the economy with something it always needs; food. After Yuri witnessed a Ukrainian mob boss kill two assassins he decided he should supply the economy with another thing it always needs; guns. So he makes his first sale, partners with his brother Vitaly, and quickly rises to the top. Gun running becomes Yuri’s one and only profession and he is extremely good at it.

The set-up of Lord of War begins with a straight on close-up of Yuri Orlov. As he begins to explain the importance of guns in the world the camera pulls out and we see Yuri standing in a war-torn town with millions of bullet casings scattered all over the ground. Yuri says that 550 million firearms are in circulation worldwide. Right away we know that the movie is going to be about guns and that Yuri is probably going to be a gun runner.

Then the screenplay takes us to Yuri’s American life where his family lives and owns a restaurant. Yuri, however, wants more in his life… a better way to get rich. He decides he has what it takes to sell guns and thinks that the danger he faces will outweigh the riches to come. After the inciting incident of the Ukrainian mob moss killing the two assassins and making Yuri realize there is money in guns, Yuri’s dramatic need turns into the desire to become the best gun runner.

A quarter of the way through the script Yuri encounters his first confrontation that moves the story into the second act of the film. While shipping a very large boat load of guns a special agent pulls him over and searches the boat. Despite a tip off, Agent Valentine is unable to pin Yuri to any crimes because he couldn’t find the guns on the boat. Yuri is very good at covering up his tracks and evading authorities. Valentine will stay hot on Yuri’s trail because he knows Yuri is up to no good. Also in the first quarter of the script Yuri pursues the girl of his dreams, Ava Fontaine, who he will quickly fall in love with and marry.

Yuri quickly rises to the top and becomes one of the best gun runners in the world. He now has government officials, foreign war lords, and a vast arsenal of dirty authority figures on his side. He is nearly unstoppable to anyone besides Agent Valentine. At the end of Act 2 two events become the second plot point(s) that will take the story to the third and final act. First, his wife and son leave him amidst all his lies and his brother is killed during their final deal. Yuri left the business temporarily so that his wife wouldn’t leave him. But when his job comes calling again, he can’t resist. So he sets out with his brother and makes one final deal. In the process his wife finds out what he is doing and leaves him for good. His character made a big change and took a new focus on life when he decided to stop pushing guns. This change however was short lived because he just couldn’t stay away from it. Then Vitaly, his brother, is killed during the last deal.

This brings us into Act 3. During the resolution Valentine finally captures Yuri and ensures him he will be locked up for good. Yuri has only disappointment to give Valentine yet again. He ensures Valentine that a high ranked government official will come and let him go because the American government needs people like Yuri to do their dirty work. Low and behold this government official comes and lets Yuri go. This is the resolution of the story and, in being a free man again, Yuri decides to continue doing what he does best, sell guns.

Written by: Andrew Niccol

Isn’t marijuana supposed to make things better?

For my first blog on analyzing screenplays I will do a movie that was just recently released on DVD, Pineapple Express. After reading the screenplay I found that Pineapple Express had pretty much all of the elements that make up a well written screenplay. A hero character is nicely evolved as he encounters numerous nemesis characters and friends along the way, obstacles that prevent him from reaching his goal, and makes some sort of life change and shows his new ambitions for the end of the story. The story also establishes a nice set up and provides effective Plot Points that keeps the flow of the screenplay readable and interesting.

Dale Denton, the main character, is quickly introduced as a slacker whose laid back job as a process server gives him plenty of time to be a stoner. He is dating a high school senior who bugs him to meet her parents despite his many attempts to decline. After a small argument with his girlfriend, Angie, he visits his bizarre pot dealer. Saul has just gained possession of the best weed in town, Pineapple Express. He continues to tell Dale that he is the only dealer around who has it. Dale buys it with excitement. Later that night Dale smokes a joint outside a guy’s house he is suppose to serve. While parked outside he witnesses the guy, Ted, and a woman cop murder an Asian assassin. In an act of frenzy he pitches the joint and crashes into two parked cars as he flees the scene. Ted notices someone is outside but gets to the front of the house too late. Ted sees the joint, smokes it, and declares that it is Pineapple Express; his weed. So now Dale is on the run and gets Saul involved. They spend most of their time running from Ted and his dirty cops. Along the way they run into many obstacles and eventually have to confront Ted rather than run from him.

The set-up of the screenplay was quite effective. A short scene at the beginning sets up the reason why marijuana is illegal. So instantly we know that the story will somehow be revolved around weed. Then we meet Dale the pot head. He dreams of being a talk show radio DJ and thinks that pot should be legal. The story begins to unfold when Dale buys the rarest weed in town. Only Saul and the head dealer, Ted, are in possession of Pineapple Express. The reader can easily identify with Dale for he is a laid back guy who gets his job done right and enjoys his free time. He has an interesting relationship with a 19 year old while being 24 years of age himself.

The inciting incident, the event that occurs to get the story in motion, occurs when Ted finds out that Dale witnessed the murder and finds the Pineapple Express weed. We know that Dale’s dramatic need is to run away… as far away as he can. This inciting incident is the first plot point that carries us into the second act of the screenplay. Dale involves Saul in the situation and they react to the inciting incident by going on the run.

Since Act 2 is the Confrontation Act, Dale must be presented with several obstacles that prevent him from achieving his dramatic need. Firstly, they have to see Red who is the middle man dealer between Saul and Ted. Red is not loyal to the two friends and sends Ted’s thugs after them. Dale and Saul continue to run. They must also visit Saul’s grandma before they leave. While doing this Dale realizes that Ted could find out who his girlfriend Angie is and go after her. This presents another obstacle for Dale must warn and save her. After this the two realize they need money to get a bus out of town. So they sell weed to high school kids only to get caught by the cops. This makes them now be on the run from the cops. Ultimately Ted captures Saul and this becomes the second plot point at the end of Act 2 that will bring us into the final act; The Resolution.

Act three contains elements of the screenplay where the main character makes his final push. Almost as if he is backed into a corner; it’s the last stand. Dale needs to rescue Saul which will also involve him confronting Ted for the last time.

During the final pages of the screenplay, changes and ambitions in the character are revealed. The resolution of a screenplay ends well when we see some sort of change or new look on life in the hero. Dale explains his ambitions for becoming a talk show radio DJ. It is his new goal in life and he means to achieve it.

Pineapple Express utilizes many of the elements that make up a good screenplay. The story is effectively set up, the main character introduced and developed, the story unfolded through the inciting incident, confrontations presented in Act 2, and a resolution and character change is presented at the end.