Progress for the lazy!

I printed the latest draft today. That, to me, says progress! Prof. Abrams suggested I spend some time away from this script so I can get a fresh perspective on it. That's just what I did, though I can't help feeling lazy for not doing any work on this script. Although I guess to be fair to myself, I came up with some new stuff. Watching a lot of trailers has oddly given me a lot of inspiration for some changes to make. When I watch trailers, I like to think of where those moments I see would appear in the script. Usually, I'm really terribly off. For example, I'll post a link to the trailer for the new film 'Saawariya', which is incidentally the first Hindi movie to be totally financed by an American studio, in this case Sony. Anyway, it's directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali who as most people know is my guru. It's a bit strange because it's very obvious that this was filmed on a set, and I suppose that's just his style. I'm just so used to his lush interiors that this was a bit jarring. Anyway, I digress...

Watching all these trailers have helped me remember how visial this script has to be. I love amazing visuals, but I also love my dialogue. Rather than have this script be an assault on everyone's senses, what it should really be is a nice blend of the two. I've been able to blend the American/Indian flavors pretty well, I think, so the next step is the blend the visual with the verbal. I've also realized the more original the characters, the more original the piece. Take 'Superbad' for example. From the get-go, we had a sense of who these two characters were and how they were different from each other, and I at least warmed up to them. Every character, even the fabric seller, should stand out. So should each line...the next step is to go through the script I printed and trash the useless lines, and there are several. I'm looking to sharpen this up and make it fresher. And for the love of God, I have got to make those two lead characters properly fall in love! Prof Abrams suggested making them hate each other until they just can't anymore.

This computer is heating up a bit too much for my liking. That's it for now... check out the Saawariya trailer at www.saawariyathefilm.com.