The Toughest Scene I Wrote: Ol Parker on “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”

All hail Vulture for this:

Over the next few weeks, Vulture is talking to the screenwriters behind 2012′s most acclaimed movies about the scenes they found most difficult to crack. What pivotal sequences underwent the biggest transformations on their way from script to screen?

In this article, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel screenwriter Ol Parker talks about the movie’s final scene:

It was all horrible to write! No, seriously, the hardest scene to crack was the last scene, because there were nine different storylines. It’s very ironic that the studio now wants a sequel, because if we’d had any idea there would be one, I wouldn’t have tried so aggressively to wrap up every fucking loose end.

The whole film was a challenge because there are so many balls to keep in the air, and in the last scene, these storylines all coalesce. You’ve got to crack on and give each storyline enough time to play itself out properly and not feel unsatisfying, but on the other hand, you can’t go on too long.

Here is that section of the script:

Scripts featuring multiple lead characters, each with their own subplot as well as intersecting subplots, can be a real bear to write, especially the ending because — as Parker notes — all the storylines have to “coalesce”.

For the rest of the article, go here.