Draft Zero: a screenwriting podcast

DZ-03: Making Unlikeable Protagonists Compelling


Listen Later

Listen if you want to understand how filmmakers make audiences care about deeply flawed protagonists

Stu and Chas delve into unlikable protagonists in comedy. How do filmmakers keep us watching characters who should alienate us? To answer this question, Stu and Chas look at the first 20 pages of HOT FUZZ, AS GOOD AS IT GETS and - of course - GROUNDHOG DAY.

PS: In ANCHORMAN (which we also talk about)... um... they renamed the character of Alicia Corningstone to Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate) in the shooting script. We keep on referring to her as Alicia as that is what she is referred to in the screenplay. Wups.

As always: SPOILERS ABOUND and all copyright material used under fair use for educational purposes.

LIKE THIS EPISODE?

  • Send us feedback.
  • Thanks to our Patrons, especially Khrob, Theis, Sandra, Jesse, Randy, Paulo, Thomas, Jennifer, Malay, Alexandre and Lily.

    ———

    FILMS

    • HOT FUZZ (2007) — (w) Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg (d) Edgar Wright
    • AS GOOD AS IT GETS (1997) — (w) James L Brooks, Mark Andrus, Mark Andrus (d) James L Brooks
    • GROUNDHOG DAY (1993) — (w) Danny Rubin, Harold Ramis, Danny Rubin (d) Harold Ramis
    • SCRIPTS

      • Study the script: HOT FUZZ (2007) — Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg
      • Study the script: AS GOOD AS IT GETS (1997) — James L Brooks, Mark Andrus, Mark Andrus
      • Study the script: GROUNDHOG DAY (1993) — Danny Rubin, Harold Ramis, Danny Rubin
      • LINKS

        • Script: GROUNDHOG DAY by Danny Rubin, 2nd Revisions by Harold Ramis* - First 20 pages. For educational purposes only
        • Script: ROUNDHOG DAY by Danny Rubin, 3rd Revisions by Harold Ramis - First 20 pages. For educational purposes only
        • Script: AS GOOD AS IT GETS by Mark Aldrus and James L. Brooks - First 20 pages. For educational purposes only
        • Read: ANCHORMAN by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay - First 20 pages. For educational purposes only
        • Script: HOT FUZZ by Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright - First 20 pages. For educational purposes only
        • Website: Steve Kaplan's Comedy Intensive
        • YouTube: Hot Fuzz - Opening Montage - Angel is Awesome! (YouTube)
        • YouTube: Hot Fuzz - Angel is promoted to the country (YouTube)
        • YouTube: As Good As It Gets-1.avi
        • Read: 'Groundhog Day' Live Read Combines Revelation, Familiarity And Discovery
        • YouTube: Opening of Goundhog day
        • Read: Scriptnotes: Podcast on Groundhog Day
        • ———

          More Draft Zero is brought to you by our awesome Patreons.

          If you enjoy the show, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts, a rating on Spotify, or a review on Podchaser.

          We are @stuwillis, @mehlsbells and @chasffisher on Twitter. You can find @draft_zero and @_shotzero on Instagram and Twitter.

          Full show notes at: https://draft-zero.com/2014/dz-03/

          ...more
          View all episodesView all episodes
          Download on the App Store

          Draft Zero: a screenwriting podcastBy Chas Fisher and Stuart Willis

          • 4.8
          • 4.8
          • 4.8
          • 4.8
          • 4.8

          4.8

          114 ratings


          More shows like Draft Zero: a screenwriting podcast

          View all
          The Business by KCRW

          The Business

          670 Listeners

          Scriptnotes Podcast by John August and Craig Mazin

          Scriptnotes Podcast

          2,434 Listeners

          The Director’s Cut - A DGA Podcast by Directors Guild of America

          The Director’s Cut - A DGA Podcast

          749 Listeners

          Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso by Higher Ground

          Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso

          1,485 Listeners

          The Watch by The Ringer

          The Watch

          5,409 Listeners

          Blank Check with Griffin & David by Blank Check Productions

          Blank Check with Griffin & David

          6,197 Listeners

          The A24 Podcast by A24

          The A24 Podcast

          1,084 Listeners

          Unspooled by Paul Scheer & Amy Nicholson | Realm

          Unspooled

          4,756 Listeners

          The Big Picture by The Ringer

          The Big Picture

          5,716 Listeners

          The Screenwriting Life with Meg LeFauve and Lorien McKenna by Meg LeFauve & Lorien McKenna

          The Screenwriting Life with Meg LeFauve and Lorien McKenna

          977 Listeners

          Team Deakins by James Ellis Deakins, Roger Deakins

          Team Deakins

          1,123 Listeners

          SmartLess by Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, Will Arnett

          SmartLess

          58,195 Listeners

          The Prestige TV Podcast by The Ringer

          The Prestige TV Podcast

          1,696 Listeners

          The Town with Matthew Belloni by The Ringer

          The Town with Matthew Belloni

          1,121 Listeners

          Good Hang with Amy Poehler by The Ringer

          Good Hang with Amy Poehler

          12,466 Listeners