Ward_Shelby_Defying Archetypes

Defying Archetypes: How Seth got into Adrianna’s Pants
A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the Dramatic Writing Department
in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the
Degree of Master of Fine Arts in Dramatic Writing
at
Savannah College of Art and Design
Shelby Alexandra Ward
Savannah, Ga
© November 2015
Chris Auer, Committee Chair
Kate Walat, Committee Member
Andrew Meyer, Committee Member
DEDICATED
to
JOHN WARD
MY DADDY
A S A T I N Y T O K E N O F M Y A D M I R AT I O N, G R AT I T U D E A N D L O V E
C o n t e n t s
Thesis Abstract
1
Introduction
2
Influences
4
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
4
Stranger Than Fiction
7
Wish I Was Here
9
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
10
Paper Man
12
Artists’ Journey
14
2015
16
Measure of Success
19
Adrianna & Steve Conrad
20
Adrianna & Zach Helm
21
Adrianna & Zach & Adam Braff
22
Adrianna & Lorene Scafaria
24
Adrianna & Michele & Kieran Mulrony
25
APPENDIX: Adrianna
27
Bibliography
160
1
ABSTRACT
Defying Archetypes: How Seth got into Adrianna’s Pants
S. Alexandra Ward
November 2015
This academic paper is about the creation and development of a thesis film
Adrianna a screenplay that uses social events and imagination to show character
growth. The primary focus of this thesis is to provide evidence in the form of short
case study comparisons that Adrianna is a successful work which will be viable in the
film industry. This thesis is compared with primarily independent or low budget
productions that challenge social norms and do not conform to traditional filmic
success rates but are, nonetheless, stunning in their own rights. This thesis posits
that it can all start from porn spam.
Keywords: non-traditional, indie, low-budget, porn spam, imagination
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INTRODUCTION
The age old adage that there are more questions than answers is an argument that is
losing serious foot-hold in this technological age. The internet has made the world seem both
small and also, ironically, far more distant. Social media and other sharing social platforms give
human kind the opportunity to remake connections from anywhere in the world with very basic
physical requirement, but it also allows the consumer to remove themselves from the physical
community. How often though do we think about the consequences of this seemingly social but
still remarkably reclusive life-style that has become overwhelmingly popular? Shared cultural
experiences and truths are disappearing. These concepts may seem trite but from these beliefs an
inquisition on personal connectivity, personal development and the psyche began. In the midst of
this existential inquisition of my own soul was beget – by the most unlikely source – Adrianna (see
Appendix), a thesis film in which the imaginative world of the main character’s inner desires
collides with his physical world filled with real drama and subsequently real growth. Seth Brinker
is the artistic genius behind his brother’s perfectly manicured marketing company. In a delusion
of rejection and humiliation, Seth convinces himself that he is in love with the sender of a porn
spam e-mail and sets out to find her.
Porn spam was not the only inspiration for the film. Other films in similar genres have
influenced the style and tone of Adrianna. Five of those films will be analyzed for their quality and
success and for the details of which Adrianna is emulative. The five films that were some of – but
certainly not all of – the inspiration for Adrianna are:
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Steve Conrad, 2013
Stranger Than Fiction, Zach Helm, 2006
Wish I Was Here, Zach and Adam Braff, 2014
3
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, Lorene Scafaria, 2012
Paper Man, Kieran and Michele Mulroney, 2009
These films – in addition to all being a similar archetypal “Hero’s Awakening” – were each
instrumental to the process of developing, working on, and understanding Adrianna. Furthermore,
each critically influential aspect of the five films will be discussed.
[In consideration for the most influential films to this thesis piece, please accept the
following revision to the provided definition of success. The provided definition of a “successful
piece”: a work that was a significant box office/financial achievement, or a significant critical
achievement (or both). Among the many films that were inspirational to the creation and revision
of this thesis project, none of those films were successful based on the provided definition and it is
not because those films do not have academic or critical merit. Therefore, please accept the
following adapted definition of a “successful piece”: a work that has achieved great popularity,
profit or distinction; a work that accomplishes a specific purpose; a work that has radically
affected one or more people and/or their perceptions. By this definition, not only have all five
films accomplished the specific purpose that their creators and collaborators worked for but they
were also radically formative to the perception on which the thesis film Adrianna is based.]
For the purposes of clarity and brevity, this thesis and analysis will be divided into three
parts: The Influences, The Artist’s Journey, and the Measure of Success. In the first section, the
influential pieces will more deeply explored and associated with either the style, genre, or subject
(or some combination) of Adrianna. The second section is a more first person account of the
conception, development, writing, rewriting and struggle in creating Adrianna. Lastly, the third
section will take both the anecdotal experience of the writer and the stylistic references to and
4
representations of the five influential films and compare them to Adrianna in an attempt to
measure the successful completion and potential future success of the piece.
INFLUENCES
The Secret Life Walter Mitty
In the simplest way, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2014) is the story of an anonymous man who
finds refuge in his imagination by daydreaming. Progressively, as would be expected of the hero,
Walter finds himself and, in-so-doing, finds solace in real life and no longer needs the daydreams.
There is, of course, much more to the story. In addition to being a fascinating almost-adventure
tale, Walter Mitty is also a story about companionship, family, and loss.
Walter Mitty begins with the slowly meticulous Walter having a crush on a co-worker, day
dreaming and interacting with his family. Upon arrival at work, Walter discovers that Life
magazine, where he is a negative assets manager, has been sold and most of the employees will
lose their jobs. Concurrently, his idol and long-distance friend (and co-worker) has sent him a gift
claiming that it is the “quintessence of Life.” The gift – a negative of a content-unknown photo is
nowhere to be found. Immediately after, the company’s transitional manager, a bully to Walter,
demands the photo. Walter slowly and then all at once decides to find the photo before he is fired.
One of the many tag lines for the film is “Life is about courage and going into the unknown.”
This is not unlike the subject for the other inspirational films and for Adrianna.
The production history of this film is interesting to say the least. James Thurber orginally
wrote a piece called “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” in 1939 for the New Yorker. This short
story gained such short acclaim (as did the original film) that a deriviative condition was joked
into existence: Mittyesque. Dictionary.com defines Mittyesque as “an adventurous daydreamer
prone to grand and elaborate fantasies.” According to other, less reliable, sources being
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Mittyesque isn’t quite as glamorous as it seems. One person described the syndrome as a “man
who lives in a fantasy world, because his real world is so devoid of accomplishment, or positive
reinforcement and, usually, of love.” Another said being Mittyesque “denotes an ineffectual
person who spends more time in heroic daydreams than paying attention to the real world, or
more seriously, one who intentionally attempts to mislead or convince others that he is something
that he is not.” These definitions, however unflattering, are not so far from the character of Seth
in Adrianna. The 1947 character Walter Mitty is very similar to Seth from Adrianna whose
imagination is his fuel and is also socially poked and prodded by bullies. Variety said of Walter
from the first film version
an inconsequential guy[...] henpecked and harassed by everyone in his life
including his bossy mother, his overbearing, idea-stealing boss Bruce Pierce, his
childishly dimwitted fiancée Gertrude Griswold, and [others]. His escape from
their incessant needling is to imagine all sorts of exciting and impossible lives for
himself, fueled perhaps by the pulp magazines he reads every day as an editor at
the Pierce Publishing Company.” 1
More specifically in reference to the production history, after Walter Mitty was made in
1947 there was an exciting suspense to find who, when and where the remake would happen.
The original producer’s son, Sam Goldwyn, Jr. conceptualized an idea for a remake in 1994 with
Disney and Jim Carrey. Goldwyn decided to go with New Line Cinema and they bought the
rights to the remake in 1995. Ron Howard made a deal to direct and co-produce but then
dropped out for another project. In 1999, the production company hired Chuck Russell to
rewrite and direct the remake. Goldwyn got wind of this and won a lawsuit against New Line for
1
Variety, “Secret Life...”
6
the rights to the movie. Goldwyn took the film to Paramount Pictures where, in 2003, Steven
Spielberg agreed to direct the remake. Zach Helm did another rewrite of the script just before
Spielberg dropped out of the project for other work. Jim Carrey dropped out soon after and was
quickly replaced by Owen Wilson. Finally a shoot date was set for only days before the
Paramount’s option to shoot would expire. In the shooting negotiations, Owen Wilson dropped
out of the project. Goldwyn took the script to 20th Century Fox in 2007 where Mike Myers was
written into a new version of the script as Walter. A deal was never signed. Sacha Baron Cohen
accepted to take Meyer’s place but, having no director signed on, Cohen also dropped the
project. Later in 2010, Steve Conrad was hired to do a rewrite and Ben Stiller signed as Walter.
Stiller also took the role of Director.2 Finally, Conrad’s contemporary version of an apparently
difficult script brought Ben Stiller to produce, star and Direct. Goldwyn also produced. With a
$90 million budget and a box office response and total domestic growth not breaking $60 million,
the film wasn’t the financial success that it had perhaps hoped to be but was, nonetheless,
impactful 3.
Aesthetically, the film is stunning. “Walter gets to climb mountains, splash with sharks and
skateboard into a spewing volcano[...] reality has far outstripped his make-believe. In his uniquely
funny and unexpectedly tender movie, Stiller takes us on a personal journey of lingering
resonance.” 4 Both the writing and the aesthetic style are gawk-worthy, but more applicable here is
the writing. The way that Conrad drops hints throughout the beginning is brilliant. There is no
wasted detail. Every line is important and every object will come back to cyclically signify
2
McClintock, “Ben Stiller...”
3
Box Office Mojo, “...Walter Mitty...”
4
Travers, “...Walter Mitty...”
7
Walter’s growth. This is such a difficult concept to master. Brevity and concise choice making are
struggles of the average screenwriter, but Conrad masters it gently. In this and so many other
ways, Adrianna is emulative of the writing styles, genre (not really being a drama, comedy, romcom, or adventure just inspiringly monotoned and honest), and subject. In many ways, it was
more difficult to stray from patterns, story points and theme than it was to emulate them.
Stranger Than Fiction
The most successful of the reference films for Adrianna is Marc Forster’s 2006 film Stranger Than
Fiction. Zach Helm – a name familiar by a rewrite of Walter Mitty – wrote this brilliant “comedy”
about Harold Crick, an IRS agent whose mundane life is turned inside-out when he hears a voice
narrating his life. With the help of a new mentor, Harold sets out in search of his narrator who is
discovered to be notorious for beautifully and unexpectedly killing her heroes. This search, which
culminates in a decision a narrator couldn’t foresee, enriches Harold’s life in many unexpected
ways.
This film employs a very similar writing style, using simplicity and closed cycles to recycle
every detail for later. Harold is introduced by a narrator who explains Harold’s life. Only a few
scenes into the introduction, and all of the sudden, Harold can hear the narrator. They do not
communicate, but when Harold tries to respond or ask questions of the Narrator, she simply
waits for silence and starts again. Harold is sent to work an “easy” case with the owner of a
bakery. The baker, of course, turns out to be anything but easy and becomes not only Harold’s
love interest but also the point of stress. Harold’s relationship with the Baker evolves from hate (at
the beginning of the film) to love (at the end). In his search for his narrator – who let slip that
Harold will die – Harold contacts Professor Hilbert and becomes the professor’s friends and
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mentee. In realizing that he is going to die if he cannot find and convince his narrator not to kill
him, the search becomes mad, so much so that Harold is asked to take time from work. When
Harold and Professor Hilbert finally track down the Narrator, she says she’s finished the book.
Both Harold and Professor Hilbert read it. It is beautiful and perfect and according to Hilbert,
can end in no other way than Harold’s death. So, Harold goes home to his newly happy life –
having taken every opportunity since finding out he would die to become happier – and concedes
to the ending of the book. The Narrator goes to Hilbert, whose opinion she values, and he tells
her not to change then ending. She submits that she couldn’t write the death knowing that she
will kill a real person for her art. She changes the ending and Harold Crick is saved by his
wristwatch.
This script, in the exact same way as the Walter Mitty script, handles minimalism and
cyclical objects and themes deftly. The genre is neither comedy, nor tragedy but rather a crisp
and inspirational monotoned piece.5 Though it didn’t win best film, Stranger Than Fiction did
make its money back. The production budget was $30 million and the film has grossed more
than $40 million, to date. More than this, the film was vastly inspirational and accomplished
great distinction. Forster saw Harold’s world from conception as “cold, antiseptic, colorless, while
Ana’s [the Baker] environment is warm and cozy and colorful.”6 Forster goes on to explain that
he chooses films for their “human quality.” He calls the film a modern fairytale about choice v.
fate and posits that “in Stranger Than Fiction, the characters are emotionally repressed but
5
Helm, Stranger Than Fiction
6
Merin, Interviews Marc Forster...
9
ultimately they free themselves one way or another.” 7 All three thematic elements (style, genre
and subject) are shared between Adrianna and Stranger Than Fiction.
Wish I Was Here
The production story for this film is interesting, though not as involved as Walter Mitty. Jaded from
experience in the business, Zach Braff, co-writer, director and star of Wish I Was Here, convinced
his brother (with whom he wrote the film) to fund the production using Kickstarter because Braff
wanted them to have total creative control without the fear of getting axed from their own
project. The film met its Kickstarter goal of $2 million by day three and was gap funded for the
remaining cost. In total, more than 46 thousand backers funded the project with more than $3.1
million dollars8 and grossed nearly $3.6 million but that is not why the movie is successful.
The reason the film is so successful (in the sense that is distinct) is that is has accomplished
a goal/purpose and has radically affected at least one writer. Wish I Was Here, named for the sadly
hopeful phrase on many postcards, is the story of a family who struggle to connect; husband with
wife, son with father, brother with one another, father and children, everyone and society. Aidan
Bloom is a struggling actor and father of two. Since his profession is so intermittent, his wife
works a full-time job that she doesn’t enjoy to pay the bills. After Aidan’s father is diagnosed with
cancer, he decides to spend Aidan’s children’s private school money on an experimental cancer
treatment forcing Aidan to homeschool his kids. Aidan’s brother is the lesser-loved and therefore
begrudged son, who refuses to rekindle a relationship with their dying father due to his feeling
inferior in the family. The entire story happens alongside a fantasy story in which Aidan, in
apparent space gear, chases something through a forest with his drone-like sidekick. Aidan’s
7
Merin, Interviews Marc Forster...
8
Braff, Kickstarter
10
homeschooling brings challenges, but it also brings him closer to his family and therein, closer to
the person he wants to be. As his father’s health fails, the family is forced to reevaluate what’s
really important. After searching for the right things to do, Aidan finally just decides to go with
whatever happens. In the culmination of the fantasy sequence, Aidan catches up to the hooded
figure and discovers that it is his father who has just died. This ends the sequence giving him the
courage to know what to do.
Much like the other films, Wish I Was Here has no distinct genre. It is credited as a comedy,
though it treads on drama, fantasy, etc. (Leaving aside the incredible cinematography and the
aesthetic features of the film, the familial drama as well as human connection and the honesty in
not knowing the right way to go are the real inspirations to Adrianna.) Braff ’s film is a
heartwarming one of loss and mending.9
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
This film may have a grandiose concept – what is life like when you know the end is near? Seeking
a Friend... is story, which stripped down, we all know very well. Forced to make a road trip with a
near stranger, man gets to know himself and comes to know companionship with the “unlikely”
character of his driving partner.
The film begins when Dodge and his wife hear a radio announcement that the last hope
they had for saving Earth has failed and that the astroid heading toward the planet has numbered
their days. Subsequently, Dodge’s wife practically claws herself out of the car and runs away.
Much in this fashion, the opening of the film deals with people’s reactions to the end of times.
Dodge, for instance, continues his life much like had before: going to work, having the cleaning
9
Siekaly, “Zach and Adam...”
11
lady come over, etc. It is only after a coworker throw shimself from his office window that he
decides, oh well. He has a “meet cute” with his neighbor, Penny – whose relationship with her
boyfriend is ever turbulent. Dodge also discovers that Penny has been keeping his mail for some
time, one piece of which details how his high school sweet heart still loves him and how they were
meant to be. Dodge makes it clear that his new objective before the end of the world is to find
Olivia while Penny’s objective is to get home to England where her family is to say goodbye to
them. Dodge knows someone who can get her there and off they go. Their epic road-trip takes
them to some amazing and strange places. Finally finding Olivia’s house, Dodge leaves a note.
Penny and Dodge fall for each other. They make it to Dodge’s father’s house, who he has been
estranged with. Just before the end of times, Penny falls asleep and Dodge puts her into his
father’s plane and send her away. Dodge goes back home to Penny’s apartment where he laments.
Penny storms in, having turned around from England, and they spend their last moments
together, happy but scared. The film ends with a boom and a bright light that engulfs them.
This film also shares the three elements of emulation: style, genre and subject. Adrianna is
also an epic journey and the self-discovery of a lost and sad man. Seeking a Friend... is a film whose
merit is in the ticking clock and the quick transitions while maintaining the same steady pace
throughout. Lorene Scafaria, writer and director of the film, said that tonally they [the
filmmakers] were hoping to make the film feel like “retro future.”10 Though it’s reception was
maybe smaller than anticipated – grossing just more than $7 million (budgeted at $10 million) –
and reviews were mixed, still some critics raved. Scafaria “produced a couple of unexpected
characters who inspire some moments of truth, and there is a Hemingwayesque flight in a small
10
Seeking a Friend, Production Notes
12
aircraft that is supposed, I guess, to indicate that we face the worst with stoic endurance.” 11
Overall, the film got split reviews, if not in favor of the film. Ebert goes on to say “the best parts
of this sweet film involve the middle stretches, when time, however limited, reaches ahead, and
the characters do what they can to prevail in the face of calamity.” 12 At the end of days, it’s still
just the story of a man and woman helping each other find themselves.
Paper Man
This fantastical, fanciful, playful and yet somehow still heartbreaking film from writer/director
duo Kieran and Michele Mulroney is a masterpiece of adult depression. That is not to say that
the film is depressing (although to some it may be). Rather, Paper Man is a story about holding on
and letting go; about growing up and giving up and trying all over again.
Paper Man is masterful piece about connection. A surgeon drives her husband, Richard (a
failed novelist), to a vacation home in Long Island to overcome writer’s block. Richard, whose life
is filled with physical and imaginary reminders of his failures, yearns for some interaction. Bored
of his writer’s block and of his imaginary friend (Captain Excellent) Richard ventures out into
town where he watches a very interesting high school girl, Abby, who is seen as a loner. The two
become unlikely friends. They are both fascinated by one another. She tells Richard her secrets
and he tells her his and they bond. In the end, it is discovered that Abby, too, was still attached to
her trauma, seeing an invisible friend. Both Abby’s imaginary friend and Richard’s “ascend”
away, leaving them to be themselves.
11
Ebert, Seeking a Friend...Review
12
Ebert, Seeking a Friend...Review
13
This film is considered a comedy-drama although the comedy is dry and minimal in the
shadow of the drama. While the film is a beautiful style and tone, the most relative aspect to
Adrianna is the subject. Paper Man validates the questions asked about human connection, human
interaction and the journey inward leading to new experiences. “As writers and directors, the
Mulroneys sustain a unique tone – not quite comedy, not quite drama – marked by moments of
surprising emotional resonance.” 13
The film won some acclaim among early readers of the script. It made an appearance at
several Sundance writer’s festivals as well as a summer reading series; however it received less
than average reviews upon release. Some critics, including those at RottonTomatos, felt it was
awkward and contrived. However, the honesty and raw slow nature of the film reads genuine to
some. The budget of the film is unknown (having been paid for by the Mulroneys as well as
others, friends, and other backers) it has grossed less than 15 thousand dollars but was
emotionally as impactful as any coming of age tale. The Mulroney’s in an interview admitted
that this screenplay and the production was just for them and that they knew they would never
make any money from it.14 When a friend submitted the script without telling them to Sundance
and it was accepted into the writers’ lab, they made the movie after all, never having had the
intention to do so before. Michele Mulroney said of the inspiration for the screenplay:
Big adult things were happening around us and to us and we wanted to reflect
some of that so we wrote Paper Man. We wanted to write about these adult
things, but we also wanted it to be a fun ride, which is how we ended up with
superheroes and imaginary friends, some of the funnier parts of the story. But it
13
Piluso, “Review: Paper Man...”
14
Roberts, “Exclusive Interview...”
14
wasn’t something we planned or outlined or thought about. It was very stream of
consciousness kind of writing for us reflecting a period of our lives when we were
relating a little bit to that Jeff Daniels character who was stark and feeling a bit
insecure. 15
The concept is highly relatable in the arts and creative industries yet these truths about the
demands and pressures and the emotional struggle to cope with those things are hardly spoken
about. The Mulroney’s wanted to make a film that would allow their own creativity an outlet as
well as show that struggle. With this goal in mind, they were successful despite the film’s lackluster
financial success. It may have received some bad reviews but at least some people see the merit in
the tale. “At once [Paper Man is] a work that is both highly personal and universal in its
celebration of all people who are looking for special friendships and connections in their lives.16 It
seems the point the Mulroney’s were trying to make is that no matter how inappropriate society
may deem an emotional relationship, it just matters that people connect and make the effort to
grow community no matter if that community os only two people being kind to one another.
ARTIST’S JOURNEY
2014
The original inspiration for the piece was as organic as any idea. A natural curiosity was
sparked after receiving porn spam e-mails in an Inbox that were so inconspicuously porn that
they didn’t refer to payments, websites or any other advertising whatsoever which begged the
question: Is there a person who would receive what would generally be considered “spam” and believe it were real?
15
Roberts, “Exclusive Interview...”
16
Roberts, “Exclusive Interview...”
15
By answering this simple questions, I’ve already answered another very key character question:
Who is the least likely person to find inner peace and get the girl? This is, of course, not a novel concept –
consider Nebraska where a man convinces himself he’s won the lottery simply to make his life feel
meaningful and a great epic journey is begun. The concept of Adrianna is similar; one person’s
journey to find themselves often leads to finding companionship in others, and sometimes to
finding exactly what they were looking for in the first place.
During my first screenwriting class at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) I
pitched an idea for a full length screenplay. The idea was: an embarrassingly boring guy goes on
an adventure to find a woman he’s made himself believe is his girlfriend. At the end of the film
he would be sitting in a Starbucks talking to a friend about how maybe all the bullies were right
and he made her up. Just then, Adrianna -the girl – gets her drink and winks at him before
leaving.
Feedback about the pitch was that no one would watch a movie for the punch line of a
bad joke. So I went back to the drawing board. I still liked the idea of trying to do something
with a “fake” boyfriend or girlfriend. I liked the idea of delusional imagination becoming real life.
So I wrote a script in which Seth traveled the world from a Russian mob scene to the beach in
Tahiti to the middle of South Texas looking for Adrianna. The adventure in this version was too
spectacular and shattered the aspect of believability. Also, it was so episodic from one destination
to the next that you lose the character focus for the shimmer and glitz.
After some time of mulling on the idea I decided that the reality and truths behind this
character and his dilemma were too honest not to explore further. There is a natural bipolarity to
artistry and it’s something that many artists – including many of the contributors to the five
influential films to this project – have tried and not really succeeded at yet.
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I redesigned Seth. I thought about all the criticisms and feedback I received from
professors and peers about the characters and the story and stripped it. I asked myself: How can I
tell the story of someone who is failing themselves because they don’t know how to be who they are? This is
obviously a highly personal struggle (and immeasurably vast a topic) but it is also a really
universal one. Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love, speaks in her 2009 Ted Talk about the
original use of “genius” in creativity. She posits that no one person is totally responsible for their
success or failure if their creations are public.17 No person can change critical response, review, or
speculation. So Adrianna was reimagined for myself with scholarly response in mind.
2015
My first thought (and the last big critique) was for Seth. Replanning the piece with the same
concept meant rethinking the main character. This led me to ask the question on the tip of all
feminists’ tongues, why make the main character a man? I am a woman and therefor wouldn’t a
feminine story read more honest? I made Seth a man because I (as a woman) have yet to come to
terms with the same deep struggle I’ve put Seth through and I believe these emotions and
experiences to be relatively universal. Now that my personal qualms with Seth had been settled,
I could address the other critiques. The most often addressed concern was that Seth was too much
of a pushover and there was no reason to like him. He was not an overwhelmingly complex
character and by the climax of the film, no one cared what happened to him because he was too
boring. But, in this boring character, a new version of Adrianna took shape.
Seth needed some additional qualities so the reader doesn’t lose interest in him. I went
back to the character descriptions and further strengthened Seth’s character. I decided not to be
17
Glibert, “Your Elusive Genius”
17
coy with the original idea and so I made Seth an artist. Giving Seth this distinct and fun hobby
also provided the inner view that is so necessary in making Seth likable. His hobby turned into his
character. I discovered in the character work that Seth was an incredible pen and paper artist
who left his talent and his passion for art after graduating from the Art Institute of Chicago and
feeling pressure from his family to be a certain version of himself – a family-forward version. So
he went to work for his brother, Bryce. After these first few details, the rest of the story seemed to
fall into place.
After the conception, the planning, the replanning, the outlining, the first draft and then
another massive replanning, a new beat sheet was developed. In this new version, Seth is picked
on by most people especially his brother Bryce. So Seth, in order to feel as if he is taken more
seriously, starts to seek out women named Adrianna hoping that one of them will be the woman
who sent him porn spam e-mails (also hoping that they would immediately fall in love). Seth,
feeling rejected, begins to see his imagination manifest (as if it were drawing over reality) into
more perfect or applicable versions of himself. Every new Adrianna he finds invites his
imagination to create a sketch of the perfect Seth for that Adrianna. The more pressure Seth
feels to find Adrianna, the more he neglects his other responsibilities. The climax in this version
happens when Seth and Bryce’s mother dies unexpectedly. This event not only rocks Seth but
changes his search. In this version, there is no real Adrianna and Seth simply stops trying to
change himself.
The feedback from this version of the beat sheet was twofold. First, allowing the mother
(familial drama) to be the climax feels disappointing when the journey is to find Seth and to find
Adrianna. Second, it feels more dramatic than it was conceptualized when Adrianna is never
found. I address this with a compromise. It seems like it would be simple to write a story about
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two people that just doesn’t work out. I didn’t want to write a story in which there was a real
Adrianna and they ended up together, proving everyone wrong. It’s the same reason I didn’t want
to write a story in which Adrianna was in the entire movie and Seth just couldn’t see her in the
right light. I felt as though real life, real pain and loneliness are not clean. My own perceptions of
love have been so vastly misshapen by Hollywood developed perceptions of what my love life
would and should be like that I wanted to try my hand at a film that had a typical structure in
which I hide an a-typical yet far more real and human story. Real life is messy and hard and I
wanted that struggle to feel real for Seth and for the reader.
The second draft received similar feedback. The mother and familial story line is
distracting from the purpose of the film: Seth’s reconciliation of self. Although the mother’s story
arch and character placement were some of my favorite pieces of the film, they were cut from the
story and reworked to be expositional rather than active. The mother was cut completely, aside
from the first scene and a few short memories that are cathartic later in the film. In addition, later
versions revealed that the Brinker Marketing story arch felt hollow and weak so additional
character work was done to “beef ” up the work involvement. Stan the Man’s character was
forwarded for these reasons. Stan is also comic relief and a little dash of mystery that quietly
dissipates with the smooth finish of the movie. The aim of these edits is to refine the main story
arch and to deepen the connection of the main character to the secondary story arches. Also in
the edits after the second and third revisions, much attention was paid to lighten the tone and
style of the piece. To this end, edits were successful.
Though brevity is not my strong suit, I tried to be descriptive yet concise and maintain the
tonal quality of the script. I certainly wanted to accentuate the feeling of reality while making the
piece interesting enough that Seth’s world was an emotional mirror for the lives of lost people.
19
Therefore, I wanted the genre to stay as monotoned and uplifting while honest as I could. Not
unlike each of the five films from which Adrianna drew the most inspiration, I wanted the style
and genre to both feel beautiful and honest without leaning more toward drama or comedy or
romance. This is not only a difficult style to adopt but also incredibly difficult to market. I
essentially wrote a monotoned movie about a boring guy imagining that he is better than he is;
because isn’t that some part of our lives today, too? Maybe so, maybe not, but making a film
about our own sometimes boring experiences also isn’t something most people would elect to pay
for. For this reason, finding an audience demographic is tricky. Like the influential films, the
demographic for this film is naturally broad: male and female, 24-35, middle class, working, art
appreciative, etc.
Finally, the film, at least in my head, was taking shape. The final logline:
Seth Brinker is mercilessly mocked by most including his brother and boss Bryce. In his
disillusionment, Seth convinces himself that the sender of a series of porn spam e-mails is real
and looking for him. He sets out to find Adrianna and on the way finds a lot more.
MEASURE OF SUCCESS
Adrianna and Steve Conrad
It was more difficult than anticipated to stray from certain details or direct inspirations from
Walter Mitty. The style, reading so clean, was concise but still real. There is a definite voice to
Conrad’s writing but that voice is so universal that reading or understanding the script is never at
the forefront of the mind. This is the type of voice that Adrianna employs. At every opportunity,
the style is natural and easy to understand so that the style takes a backseat to the story. Conrad’s
lines like “Walter listens to the elevator muzak Ted just referred to. It’s like Maneater in muzak;
20
no one could get into it”18 are the types of action lines that are relatable and natural. It is this
type of style that Adrianna most tries to mimic.
Genre was also an important consideration. If Adrianna could be any movie, Walter Mitty is
the movie it would most likely aspire to be. Neither a comedy, a drama, or a rom-com, Adrianna
tries to draw from this inspiration a sense of urgency and want but also a sense of adventure and
connection. Though some of the locations and names were liberties taken by Stiller in the Walter
Mitty production, still the script never feels sad or exciting or romantic but rather at all times feels
anticipatory and adventurous. There are several sequences in Adrianna where this technique is
used. Middle story scenes where Seth is meeting a new Adrianna (roller derby scenes, Build-ABear scene, etc) serve this purpose of balancing between comedy and drama.
Relating to subject, it is easy to see how the archetypal roles and characterizations in
Walter Mitty correlate with those in Adrianna. Though any story utilizing the same mythic theme
will inevitably have some overlap in at least characterization or plot. These epic self-journey
pieces can be so varied due to that fact that each character is different enough that a journey
inward will always be different. This was both an advantage and a privilege to share with a film
so masterfully and effortlessly delivered.
Adrianna and Zach Helm
Another masterpiece to emulate, Stranger Than Fiction, also agrees in all three categories (style,
genre and subject) with Adrianna. Stylistically (the look, sound, feel, mood, movements, etc) of
Adrianna are perfectly par to Helm’s Stranger Than Fiction. Comparatively, Adrianna has the same
tonal feeling for different characters as Stranger Than Fiction does. Every scene with Harold is
cooler, angular, blue and white, etc. All the scenes with the Baker in the film are warm, cozy, less
18
Conrad, Walter Mitty
21
strategic, more rounded, etc. These elements are borrowed (or stolen) for Adrianna. Each scene in
which Seth is alone feels modular where each scene with Astrid feels a bit more chaotic and
haphazard. Seth’s mother’s home has a dusty mothball feeling, like she lives inside a time capsule.
In these ways, the characterizations and thematic choices are similar in both films.
Helm does an excellent job of creating a perfect balance between genres. Stranger Than
Fiction is clearly an epic work about a man who literally has to find himself and the voice in his
head in order to survive and yet never becomes too dramatic. The moments when this technique
is most beautifully applied in Stranger Than Fiction are in the moments where writer Helm throws
Harold a plot point. For instance, after professor Hilbert has told Harold to just do nothing in
order to test the narrator, Harold sits at home and literally does nothing. When suddenly:
“Harold’s POV: Outside his bay window, behind the television, quickly approaches a wrecking
ball, headed straight for the back of Mr. Belvedere’s head and the rest of Harold’s apartment.” 19
There are so many ways in which this simple example are evocative. Not only has Helm fit in
details that make the tone feel casual and natural like “bay” window rather than just a window or
“Mr. Belvedere’s head” instead of just his apartment, etc. Adrianna takes this effort and uses it in
the same way. When Seth is thrown a new plot point, the tone adjusts to keep the genre
consistent.
In this piece, subject is similarly reflective. Harold is a man who is for our purposes rather
boring. If his life had never been narrated and the author hadn’t chosen to write a book about
Harold Crick, would his story matter? Definitely not. Similarly, Seth may not ever have
considered Adrianna to be a real person if the mounting pressure from family and work to be a
19
Helm, Stranger Than Fiction
22
certain person didn’t force him to find and imaginatively create that person from himself. Both
are tales of understanding, searching and connecting.
Adrianna and Zach and Adam Braff
Arguably the most “Indie” of the works used in comparison with Adrianna, it comes as no surprise
that brothers Zach and Adam Braff will have produced the most real-to-life drama of them all.
Elements of fantasy, family, romance, belief and self-awareness guide this film, just as they guide
Adrianna.
This film set some high standards. Stylistically, the writing is so conversational and
effortless that the reader/audience isn’t even aware of the exposition, plot advancements or new
information they are being given. This is a stylized choice that Adrianna also employs but could do
a better job of (that will be addressed later). Consider this moment in Wish I Was Here:
AIDAN
The swear jar is full. Look at it.
We see an OVERFLOWING SWEAR JAR on top of the refrigerator.
AIDAN (CONT’D)
The swear jar is all the money we
have to send you kids to college so
you should be happy that I curse so
that you and your sister can one
day blow off class and pull bong
hits in your dorm room.
TUCKER
What’s a bong?
AIDAN
It’s a type of vase.
TUCKER
What’s a vase?
AIDAN
23
A bong for flowers.20
This excerpt is both an example of the incredible reality in the Braff brothers’ writing as well as
an instance where the style was so natural that the exposition feels effortless. With this fun
interaction, the reader/audience now knows of the family’s financial struggles. If this wasn’t clear
enough though, Aidan goes on only a few lines later to spell it out “It amazes me how clueless
you people seem to be about our financial situation.” 21 The consistently balanced genre here, as
in the other influential films, is of course another parallel between Wish I Was Here and Adrianna.
The subjects of the two movies share features as well. Both indicate an underwhelming
male with mounting familial pressure and an affinity for imagination. The heart and artistry in
the quiet moments of Wish I Was Here, in the talking head moments and in the in-between scenes
are what glues the themes together. This is something that was integrally important to the
structure of Adrianna. Some of the initial critiques of the first thesis draft were that the “finding
Adrianna” moments felt episodic and didn’t flow or connect well together. These moments were
remedied by the addition of small and special character moments to both build relationships and
to sneak in exposition where it was necessary.
Adrianna and Lorene Scafaria
Seeking a Friend was not initially considered an influential piece to Adrianna but upon more involved
thought on the matter, it became more clear. First, the subject of the story was exactly what
Adrianna was and also what it should work toward. Dodge is a man on a journey to find happiness
and companionship. Scafaria happened to find a brilliant and seemingly intuitive clock to make
this character race against: the end of days. Interestingly, this is not a new concept but it is an
20
Braff, Wish I Was Here
21
Braff, Wish I Was Here
24
entirely new perspective on the “end of the world” genre type films. Consider others – This is the
End, World War Z, any apocalyptic vampire or zombie film, etc – where the perspective is on a
much more broad populous shown through the experiences of the main character(s). Seeking a
Friend, however, begins and maintains a singularly characterized focus. The film is NOT focused
on the disaster of the end of the world but rather on the characters and the relationships that fill
those last days. Adrianna does not have as compelling a clock. In fact, without some minor analysis
it might seem as though it has no clock. Just as in the previous films, the style is realistic and
simplistic. In this same fashion, the “clock” that provided the stakes and consequences in Adrianna
is more inconsequential to the rest of the characters than in Seeking a Friend. In one of those
integral in-between moments Seth provides only one instance of revealing the stakes to Astrid:
“The only danger in my life is going back in and riding out a life at Brinker. I can’t do that.” This
is most certainly not as motivating as the end of the world but a personal existential crisis can be
very motivating.
The genre of Seeking a Friend is, as must be expected, more universal than a comedy or
drama. There are never any discernible features in the film that provide evidence of one genre
more than any other.
Adrianna and Michele and Kieran Mulroney
Because Paper Man was made on a low budget and the directoral debut of a mostly screenwriting
couple. The style of the film feels more independent and less professional, perhaps, than any of
the other examples. This is not to say that that style is less desirable or negatively affects the film;
it doesn’t. However, that is not the style that Adrianna utilizes. A slow and awkward style is the
perfect choice for Paper Man and it uses it well. Adrianna also does not agree in tone or genre with
Paper Man. The genre of the later is most identifiably drama. The melancholy and awkward feel
25
to the narrative is simply too sad and dark to achieve the desires uplifting feel in the end of
Adrianna. It was, however, important that the uplifting mood in the culmination of the thesis film
did not read as “happily ever after.” In truth, Seth does not achieve his goal as he does find many
Adriannas and is unfulfilled by the results. The end, however, should suggest that though events
may not and hardly ever work in our favor, they do work.
The thing that Adrianna does have reverence for in Paper Man is the subject. As previously
mentioned, it was part of the Mulroney’s journey in writing the screenplay that they themselves
were experiencing a type of artists crisis of self. The characters in Paper Man are all afflicted with
a similar inner struggle as the Seth in Adrianna. This is reflected in both main characters having a
relationship with an invisible self that represents the people they want or need to be.
All six pieces (the five influential films and Adrianna) have some common denominators.
They all involve familial drama, romantic drama, an art form, an imaginative version of a reality,
a physical and emotional journey, and new understandings of interpersonal connections. Each is
successful in it’s own right; achieving some goal or aim and/or effecting at least one person. Even
Adrianna meets theses goals, there are some points of contingency within Adrianna that need to be
addressed before it is the most marketable version of the script.
Adrianna is completed. Subsequent drafts will be written taking any future edits and
critiques into consideration. The author plans to continue her education culminating in a PhD.
After Adrianna has been approved by the committee and the College (and after the author
has completed any outstanding continuing education), the author will seek connections in the
industry to find a studio or passionate individuals to produce Adrianna. It should be noted,
however that the ultimate goal of the author is in academia and community entrepreneurship
and development. The skills developed and utilized in the conception, creation, writing, editing
26
and continuing to rewrite will be invaluable to the author in future endeavors as well as a passion
that will endure.
CONCLUSION
In an advanced age where community and connection are often the first casualties of
development, Adrianna is a work that addresses the struggle in personal discovery and the courage
it can take to be who you are. Adrianna takes elements from the style, genre and subject choices in
the films The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Steve Conrad, 2013; Stranger Than Fiction, Zach Helm,
2006; Wish I Was Here, Zach and Adam Braff, 2014; Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, Lorene
Scafaria, 2012; Paper Man, Kieran and Michele Mulroney, 2009. The thesis script has met the
benchmarks set by these influences. The success of Adrianna is conclusive. The goal of the film
was to create an imaginative world of inner desires that collides with a physical world filled with
real drama and real growth mirroring the skilled techniques in other successful films. In this way,
Adrianna is already successful.
Within the current industry constructs, Adrianna would be considered Indie in context.
The pace is slower than that of the typical Hollywood success but the artistry will invite viewers,
not unlike Lars and the Real Girl or Her. The script Adrianna was written in full knowledge that it is
different from the widely accepted form. To generalize, Adrianna is like other films that may have
neither a “happy ending” or a depressing one. There are story lines that get wrapped in a
consumer bow but there are story lines that don’t. Maintaining the integrity of the film’s reality
(even the kind where some things don’t have neat fixes or easy answers) was essential.
Though the exact future of Adrianna is unclear, it can be said with certainty that you will
be able to find both Adrianna and Adrianna on the internet, where she was born.
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