Scene Description Spotlight: “Ed Wood”
A period piece. A bio-pic of an enigmatic character. A drama with absurd comic elements. The 1994 movie Ed Wood is all of these — and more. As a result, it is critically important for the movie’s screenwriters Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski to communicate the story’s tone as quickly and efficiently as possible directly from FADE IN. Here is what they wrote:
FADE IN:
INT. HAUNTED MANSION PARLOR — NIGHT
We move through a spooky shrouded parlor, as a storm rages
outside. THUNDER roars, and lightning flashes in the giant
windows. in the center of the room lies an oak coffin.
Suddenly the lid starts to creak open. A hand crawls past
the edge… and then the lid slams up! Famed psychic CRISWELL
pops out. Criswell, 40, peers at us intently, his gleaming
eyes framed under his striking pale blonde hair. He intones,
with absolute conviction:
CRISWELL
Greetings, my friend. You are
interested in the unknown, the
mysterious, the unexplainable…
that is why you are here. So now,
for the first time, we are bringing
you the full story of what
happened…
(extremely serious)
We are giving you all the evidence,
based only on the secret testimony
of the miserable souls who survived
this terrifying ordeal. The
incidents, the places, my friend, we
cannot keep this a secret any longer.
Can your hearts stand the shocking
facts of the true story of Edward D.
Wood, Junior??
EXT. NIGHT SKY
Lightning CRACKS.
We drift down past the dark clouds… through the torrential
rain… and end up…
OPTICAL:
EXT. HOLLYWOOD — NIGHT
We’ve landed in Hollywood, 1952. We’re outside a teeny, grungy
playhouse. The cracked marquee proclaims “‘THE CASUAL
COMPANY,’ WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY EDWARD D. WOOD, JR.”
Pacing nervously in the rain is ED WOOD, 30, our hero.
Larger-than-life charismatic, confident, Errol Flynn-style
handsome, Ed is a human magnet. He’s a classically flawed
optimist: Sweet and well-intentioned, yet doomed by his demons
within.
Obviously Criswell’s monologue plays a key part in setting the story’s tone. But what of the scene description:
* The opening paragraph with its numerous references to paradigmatic horror movie elements — “HAUNTED MANSION PARLOR… spooky shrouded parlor… storm rages… THUNDER roars… lightning flashes… lies an oak coffin” — immediately conveys to the reader that the story has a campy aspect to it.
* After Criswell’s side, there is a contrast in the next two paragraphs — between “lightning… clouds… torrential rain” (typical horror story stuff) and “teeny, grungy playhouse… cracked marquee” (humble, even pathetic) — putting into play the story’s comic and dramatic elements.
* Finally the introductory description of the story’s Protagonist Ed Wood. There is this line:
Larger-than-life charismatic, confident, Errol Flynn-style
handsome, Ed is a human magnet.
A Protagonist drawn very much in the tradition of a classical hero. Followed by this line:
He’s a classically flawed optimist: Sweet and well-intentioned,
yet doomed by his demons within.
Not only a contrast (again), but also a key insight into the essence of the character: “Sweet and well-intentioned, yet doomed by his demons within.”
Thus in 1-page, Alexander & Karaszewski introduce the time period, the story’s Protagonist, and equally as important the movie’s drama-mixed-with-comedy tone.