Draft Zero: a screenwriting podcast

DZ-03: Making Unlikeable Protagonists Compelling

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Listen if you want to make audiences care about deeply flawed protagonists!

In this episode, Stu and Chas try to work out what stops a-holes protoganists from pushing the audience out of the movie.

To work this out, we tackle the first 20 pages of HOT FUZZ, AS GOOD AS IT GETS and GROUNDHOG DAY. And we break down how in each script the protagonist's flaw is stated out loud to the audience and to the character within a handful of pages. And how this changes the question from "what's wrong with this guy?" to "how will he ever change?".

The other tools we discuss:

  • The yin-yang oscillation — the peaks and troughs in our sympathy, where cruelty is followed by a beat that complicates it (e.g. the dog peeing before Melvin throws it down the chute, so we get the motivation even as we reject the act).
  • Laugh at, not just with — making the unlikable bits so extreme the audience laughs rather than recoils. The GRAN TORINO trick.
  • Steve Kaplan's definition of comedy: an ordinary person struggling against insurmountable odds without the skills to win, who never gives up hope.
  • How a protagonist doesn't always have to be compelling. In HOT FUZZ it's the situation — the car crash you can see coming.

    • We also wander through DUE DATE, SUPERBAD, ANCHORMAN's pantsless desk-scotch, GRAN TORINO's weaponised racism, DUCKMAN, GIRLS, THE OFFICE (David Brent the Office versus the US Steve Carell) and the British tradition of letting its leads be proper a-holes.

    PS: In ANCHORMAN... 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. Sorry.

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

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      → Read the transcript for this episode.

      ———

      "Stating the flaw early sets up a dramatic question for the audience... The question becomes: *when will he realize* or *how will he realize?* And you're actually wanting to see how they will ultimately change." — Stu Willis @ 00:25:52

      ———

      CHAPTERS

      • 00:00:00 – Cold Open
      • 00:00:35 – What Makes an Unlikable Protagonist Compelling?
      • 00:04:01 – › Steve Kaplan's comedy definition and why flaws must be visible
      • 00:07:35 – › Four craft tools for building audience empathy with a flawed lead
      • 00:09:19 – HOT FUZZ
      • 00:13:35 – › The yin-yang structure: building up then deconstructing the hero
      • 00:17:21 – › Stating the flaw early sets the dramatic question
      • 00:20:12 – › Fish out of water as the engine of comedy and compulsion
      • 00:27:01 – AS GOOD AS IT GETS
      • 00:30:22 – › Why the dog scene must be funny, not repellent
      • 00:33:44 – › How performance beats in big print control audience sympathy
      • 00:39:11 – › Carol as the one person who can handle Melvin
      • 00:44:47 – › Small acts of care as the first signs of change
      • 00:50:38 – GROUNDHOG DAY
      • 00:55:29 – › Bold structural decisions in the opening
      • 00:59:39 – › Foreshadowing the trap without revealing it
      • 01:03:00 – › Why the first 20 minutes work without a conventional hook
      • 01:08:10 – Key Learnings & Wrap Up

        • 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
        • GRAN TORINO (2008) — (w) Nick Schenk, Nick Schenk, Dave Johannson (d) Clint Eastwood
        • ANCHORMAN: THE LEGEND OF RON BURGUNDY (2004) — (w) Will Ferrell, Adam Mckay (d) Adam Mckay

          • 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
          • Study the script: ANCHORMAN: THE LEGEND OF RON BURGUNDY (2004) — Will Ferrell, Adam Mckay

            • LINKS

            • Website: Steve Kaplan Comedy
            • Website: Epiphany
            • YouTube: Hot Fuzz - Opening Montage - Angel is Awesome!
            • YouTube: Hot Fuzz - Angel is promoted to the country
            • YouTube: Hot Fuzz - Janine tells Angel his flaw
            • YouTube: Harold Ramis on the Metaphor of Groudhog Day
            • Read: Jason Reitman's Live Reading of Groundhog Day
            • YouTube: Groundhog Day - Re-shot Opening
            • YouTube: Groundhog Day - Clip
            • Read: Scriptnotes Podcast on Groundhog Day
            • YouTube: ANCHORMAN - Ron Hits on Veronica

              • ———

              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/

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              Draft Zero: a screenwriting podcastBy Chas Fisher and Stuart Willis
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