September 4, 2021

 I've been struggling on this rewrite for my script. The weaknesses of the original seem to be characterization. I want the people in the story to feel more real and to be the ones really driving the story forward. There's also the difference between writing a good script -- one that might do well in contests or get noticed on the black list -- and writing a script that will turn into a movie. Like a real actual movie with all the additional people that requires. I had an epiphany about it after watching Free Guy. I asked myself, what about a character attracts and actor? What makes an actor want to play a particular character? I answered myself: the character is interesting. 

Okay, that's it. The character doesn't need a whole life's story. They don't need a broad sweeping trait plus a flaw plus a want. I think in order to be interesting, the character needs to be 1) relatable/connectable -- real enough that the audience can understand or identify with some part of that character. The actor needs a way in. And 2) you know, just interesting. This could mean a very flawed character, an extreme character in some way (ambition, talent, laziness, love, violence), a conflicted character (opposing layers or desires), a complex character that shows the real depths of humanity (like one Meryl Streep might play). The character could even just be a regular person put in unusual, historic, or extreme circumstances. Not all characters are going to be interesting to all actors, either. And that's okay. 

Thinking along these lines helped me get more generative on my rewrite. I think I might be getting out of the woods. 

MLog Time! 

**SPOILERS**

FREE GUY

2021

Directed by: Shawn Levy

Written by: Matt Lieberman and Zak Penn

Watched: 9/2/2021

Guy (Ryan Reynolds) lives in Free City. He has the same daily routine – gets the same coffee, works the same job, gets his face stepped on the same way…. Everything is great except that he’s lovelorn. He’s waiting for that one special woman to come into his life and change everything. There are regular people like him and then there are the people with the sunglasses. They have powers and guns and commit all sorts of violent acts. It’s basically Grand Theft Auto. Guy is a background character in a video game. But one day he sees the player Molotov Girl (Jodie Comer), and he breaks out of his routine. He tries to talk to her by stealing someone else’s sunglasses. And then he sees what the players see. As he advances, the game developers try to boot him, thinking that he’s a hacker who stole a NPC’s skin. He levels up to help Molotov Girl, who’s a game developer trying to prove that the Free City company stole her and her partner’s IP. They realize that Guy is an AI, who’s grown out of Molotov Girl/Millie’s original code. While the world watches, they set out to prove it, and to save the growing AI’s from destruction with the launch of a completely overhauled Free City 2. 

This movie was really fun. It made me laugh and feel good. I related to the NPCs. It feels like I live in a world where the rich/powerful/famous can do whatever they want, and I have to just go to work on a loop with life never changing or expanding. There’s also a nice little self aware bit about sequels (in reference to Free City 2). It’s nice to watch a movie that’s an original property. Also! Genuinely exciting action sequences. The one I’m thinking of in particular is when Guy is driving a motorcycle and Millie sits in front of him, facing him. She grabs to glocks (?) from his pockets and shoots radially while the motorcycle donuts. It’s exciting and sexy and I liked it. 

I saw this movie at 1:30pm at the Bruin theater in Westwood. I was one of like four people in the entire theater. I snuck in my starbucks drip coffee and ate my small bag of popcorn. The darkness of the theater felt like it physically descended on me. The theater was air conditioned in the heat of the day. The sound was perfect. I felt totally transported. Totally in the movie. The good feeling it gave me lasted for days. 

I’d go ahead and give the movie four stars except that the end of the movie felt bloated – which happens in a lot of recent action movies. Half way to 60% of the way through it was a definite four stars. 

Rating: ★★★1/2