Scene Description Spotlight: “Lethal Weapon”
There have been many forces of nature impacting screenplay style over the years, but there are only a very few actual screenwriters to whom we can point as having a singular influence on the narrative form. Shane Black is one of them. Back in the late 80s and early 90s when Black was selling spec scripts like Lethal Weapon and The Last Boyscout for hundreds of thousands, even millions of dollars, he spawned a zillion copycats. None as good as him of course, but no matter. Hollywood was flooded with scene description that attempted to ape Black’s distinctive narrative voice.
Here is an example of Black’s approach to scene description, the opening scene from the script Lethal Weapon:
FADE IN:CITY OF ANGELSlies spread out beneath us in all its splendor, like a
bargain basement Promised Land.CAMERA SOARS, DIPS, WINDS its way SLOWLY DOWN, DOWN,
bringing us IN OVER the city as we:SUPER MAIN TITLES.TITLES END, as we --SPIRAL DOWN TOWARD a lush, high-rise apartment complex. The
moon reflected in glass.CAMERA CONTINUES TO MOVE IN THROUGH billowing curtains,
INTO the inner sanctum of a penthouse apartment, and here,
boys and girls, is where we lose our breath, because --spread-eagled on a sumptuous designer sofa lies the single
most beautiful GIRL in the city.
Blonde hair. A satin nightgown that positively glows.
Sam Cooke MUSIC, crooning from five hundred dollar
SPEAKERS.PASTEL colors. Window walls. New wave furniture tortured
into weird shapes. It looks like robots live here.On the table next to the sleeping Venus lies an open
bottle of pills ... next to that, a mirror dusted with
cocaine.She rouses herself to smear some powder on her gums.
As she does, we see from her eyes that she is thoroughly,
completely whacked out of her mind...She stands, stumbles across the room, pausing to glance
at a photograph on the wall:Two men. Soldiers. Young, rough-hewn, arms around each
other.The Girl throws open the glass doors ... steps out onto a
balcony, and there, beneath her, lies all of nighttime
L.A. Panoramic splendor. Her hair flies, her expression.
Rapt, as she stands against this sea of technology. She
is beautiful.On the balcony railing beside her stand three potted
plants.The Girl sees them, picks one up. Looks over the balcony
railing ... It is ten stories down to the parking lot.
She squints, holds the plant over the edge.GIRL
Red car.Drops the plant. Down it goes, spiralling end over end --
until, finally ... BAM -- ! SHATTERS. Dirt flies. A
red Chevy is now minus a WINDSHIELD. The Girl takes
another plant.GIRL
Green car.She drops it. Green Dodge. Ten stories below, BAM
Impact city. Scratch one paint job. Grabs the final
plant and holds it out, saying:GIRL
Blue car.POW. GLASS SHATTERS. Dirt sprays. A blue BMW this
time. The Girl loves this game ... her expression is
slightly crazed. She reaches for another plant --
There aren't any. Her smile fades -- And for a moment,
just a moment, the dullness leaves her eyes and she is
suddenly, incredibly sober. And tears fill her eyes as
she looks over the edge --GIRL
Yellow car.And jumps the railing. Plummets, head over heels like a
rag doll. Hits the yellow car spot on. She lies, dead,
like an extinguished dream. Still beautiful.
There are many components of the narrative voice at work in this scene and throughout Black’s scripts, a combination of editorializing on the moment [e.g., “completely whacked out of her mind… The Girl loves this game] to similes [e.g., like a bargain basement Promised Land… like a rag doll… like an extinguished dream] to staccato imagery [e.g., “PASTEL colors. Window walls. New wave furniture tortured into weird shapes”]. And yes, breaking the 4th wall: “…and here, boys and girls, is where we lose our breath.”
Bottom line, Shane Black has a distinctive narrative voice. And if there’s one aspect that is perhaps its greatest value, it’s that his scripts feel like a good yarn being told by an entertaining insider, at times a world-weary, even cynical soul, but one engrossed by the goings-on and always a healthy dose of humor.
Nowadays when I read a current action script that has sold as a spec, almost invariably there is an echo of Shane Black and the Pad O’ Guys in them, a similar approach to scene description and narrative voice.
Every script has a narrative voice, either a good one, where the writer is aware that style must match up with genre, or a ineffectual one, where the writer either is unaware of this invisible character in their story or they do a poor job articulating it.
You don’t have to sound like Shane Black, in fact I’m sure even he would encourage you not to emulate his distinctive voice. But whenever you read a script by a professional screenwriter, study their scene description with an eye toward that story’s narrative voice. Then when you write your own scripts, bring a heightened awareness to the attitude you take in telling the story and the style with which you do it.
[Originally posted January 5, 2012]
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