Daily Dialogue — October 21, 2014

“I feel… cold.”

— Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), screenplay by Ted Elliott &
Terry Rossio, screen story by Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio and Stuart Beattie and Jay Wolpert

The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Dying Words. Today’s suggestion by Sam Tyler.

Trivia: The name “Barbossa” might have been derived from the real Turkish pirate “Barbarossa”. Barbarossa, also known as “Redbeard”, was once a pirate in the Aegean and the Mediterranean seas before he became a fleet admiral of the Ottoman Empire navy.

Dialogue On Dialogue: Commentary by Sam: “The first draft below doesn’t have this line and the whole battle is very different.

==================================================================
Jack stands out of the moonlight, flesh and blood again,
holding his smoking pistol, still aimed at Barbossa.

BARBOSSA (CONT’D)
Hah. Ten years you carried that
pistol, and you end up wasting your
shot.

WILL
He didn’t waste it.

Will stands over the Aztec chest, holding a bloody sword, his
left hand in a fist. He opens the fist –

– the medallion, blood covering it, drops from his hand,
revealing the cut in his palm.

Barbossa stares, then looks down at his chest. Blood blossoms
on his shirt around the bullet hole. It spreads quickly.

Barbossa clutches his chest, his face registering pain for the
first time in years. Barbossa falls heavily to the ground,
dead.
==================================================================
The emotional impact is amazing. At first, Barbossa registers excitement and happiness, followed by confusion and shock. All this represented in 3 words. Minimum words, maximum impact.

For those who don’t know, there is a great commentary on the DVD with Terry Rosio and Ted Elliot. It is one of the best screenwriting commentaries out there in my not-so-humble opinion.”