Daily Dialogue — January 13, 2014

STEPHEN: How about the commas in dates? Are we supposed to circle those too?
CAITLIN: Let’s just get this done, okay?
MICHAEL: What the hell is this?
CAITLIN: Marty told us to circle all the commas in the last issue, so he could show us how we used them improperly.
MICHAEL: What?
ROB: He said commas should always appear in pairs. Apparently the issue was rife with comma errors.
MICHAEL: “Rife”?
ROB: That’s what he said.
MICHAEL: I see. (through door) No, I’m not angry, Marty. I’m embarrassed for you. These people work grueling hours for meager pay. They deserve a thank you, not another one of your world-famous tantrums. Yeah, okay, I’d resign before I’d let you bully them like that again. And I will. Do you understand that? Okay. Thank you. (stepping out of office): The “Great Comma Debate” is history, so we can all go back to work.

— Shattered Glass (2003), written by Billy Ray

The Daily Dialogue theme for the week is The Boss, suggested by kevinpgoulet. Today’s suggestion by Zach Jansen.

Trivia: In The Dialogue: An Interview with Screenwriter Billy Ray (2007), Billy Ray said that his adaptation of Buzz Bissinger’s article built on his experience working on a draft of an adaptation of another Bissinger book, Friday Night Lights (2004). Ray did not receive a writing credit for that film.

Dialogue On Dialogue: Commentary from Zach: “Hank Azaria’s Michael Kelly has just a handful of scenes, but everything he says (and does) helps build his character into an almost mythic entity. Since the film is mostly told in flashbacks (with an unreliable narrator), you can questions how much of Kelly’s defense of his staff is grounded in reality, but whether if what he said on the phone is true or exaggeration, the point that this man was a great boss (as well as a great journalist) in Stephen Glass’s eyes is never in doubt.”

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