Writers from a Writer Ep. VII: Screenplays

Hello!! What an exciting month we've had. My debut single, "Callie" came out on Friday, July 24th, and it's been so nerve-wracking sharing what I've been working on apart from the writing you read on here. If you haven't listened to it yet, it would mean a lot to me if you did, it's out on all streaming platforms.

That being said, let's move on to this month's Writer from a Writer!

July has seen some spectacularly star-studded movie releases (I've seen both The Odyssey and Spiderman: Brand New Day already. #popculturevulture). Going along that theme, I thought we could study a screenplay.

Introducing…..

PARASITE

A SCREENPLAY BY

BONG JOON HO AND HAN JIN WON

This was a spectacular read. I don't like horror. I should just get that out of the way now. (This is ironic given that a lot of the writers studied for this series have been horror/creepyassstories), but in general, I will never enjoy horror.

I've had extremely vivid nightmares since I was incredibly young, and have experienced my fair share of paranormal shit to never ever ever want to antagonize anything like that in any way literally ever.

My fear of fear runs so deep that I regularly avoid all human interaction in the weeks leading up to and shortly after halloween, and spend the actual holiday (if you can even call it that) hiding in my room watching Strawberry Shortcake reruns. Absolutely not risking it.

So when it came time for me to choose July's writer, you may be asking yourself: why on earth would this scaredy-cat willingly choose to read a horror film? A valid question with a boring answer: because I wanted to.

After reading it, I'd actually disagree with the horror-sticker it's gotten. Maybe it's different actually seeing the events play out with added elements of music, lighting, acting, sound, costume, CGI, etc etc, but I think psychological-thriller is a more fitting label.

Despite my total fear surrounding reading this text (and interest of course, but I did in fact read the whole thing in one sitting. Which was in the middle of a crowded park in broad daylight.) I thoroughly enjoyed it. Ho and Won have a truly thrilling way of captivating an audience, even if said audience isn't only reading the events instead of seeing them. When it comes to scripts, I encourage everyone to read them. But I also consider it extremely important to remember that you are not reading what the writing is truly intended as. It's like reading the first draft of a novel. Or the first lines of a poem at the moment the idea struck. It's interesting and a great addition to the final work, but it cannot replace the final product as the writer intended.

Reading Shakespeare is completely different from watching a performance (ideally live.) Imagine reading the stage direction "Juliet then stabs herself." HOW LAME IS THAT??!! (p.s.: "Exit. Pursued by a bear." is an actual Shakespearean stage direction for a person being stalked by a ravaging beast intent on feasting on their raw bones. Bit different reading it vs. hearing a description of what the live version might be like, huh? Now imagine watching that.) This is all to say that completely different mediums produce completely different catharsis, and that choice for how you want viewers to fully experience a written work [whether it is a song (stream Callie!), spoken poetry, novel, or, in this case, a film] changes the entire game for your writing, because you are now writing for a different purpose.

I loved experiencing this film in its original written form, though. I thought the plot progressed in true psychological fashion, leaving me on edge and guessing what would happen next. I also thought it balanced the Kim family's terrible reality with fiction well, and kept to a realistically terrifying scenario. Parasite is not horror based on possession and killers (although you will find that here, in a way), it made you scared because of its direct assault on modern society and the extremes an impoverished family could take to succeed in a culture that demands accomplishment. Is the Kim family evil? They definitely did some evil things. Were they driven by desire to succeed? Fear? Love? They were motivated by all these things, but the script ultimately peels back their personas to reveal indescribable rage from every member involved. That subtle, daily anger pierces through every last action of the characters, and that is a reality much more terrifying than ghosts.

It is 10pm on the 31st so here is the excerpt I've selected from the film Parasite:

NOTE: Due to the unfortunate settings on wix, I cannot change the font (like, at all, for any of these posts, it's very annoying). I wanted to get that out of the way because therefore BOTH this excerpt AND my script ARE NOT FORMATTED CORRECTLY, because I cannot use a proper font for screenplays, such as Courier New.

MIN-HYUK (CONT’D)

She’s a good kid. I want you to

look after her until I come back

from the study-abroad program.

KI-WOO

You have plenty of friends at

school. Why do you want a high-

school grad to teach your prized

student?

MIN-HYUK

Why do you think? I shudder just

thinking about those female-

starved engineering students

drooling around her like hungry

wolves. It’s revolting.

Ki-Woo studies Min-Hyuk.

KI-WOO

(laughs)

You like her, don’t you?

MIN-HYUK

(nods)

I’m serious about her. I’m going

to ask her out in two years, once

she’s in college. I want you to

take care of her while I’m gone.

I trust you.

KI-WOO

I appreciate the trust, but you

want me to pretend I’m a college

student?

MIN-HYUK

Ki-Woo, think about it. How many

times have you taken the college

entrance exam? Twice before your

military service and twice after

-- a grand total of four times.

Grammar, vocabulary, composition,

speaking. You’re an English

master. Far more qualified as a

tutor than I am. Better than

those spoiled college brats who

drown their brain cells in booze

everyday.

KI-WOO

That may be true but-- You think

the family would accept me? I’m

not even a college student.

MIN-HYUK

We’ll embellish a little. You’ll

be fine. You’ll have my

recommendation. And the mother is

a bit--

Min-Hyuk picks up his glass to drink when he suddenly becomes

thoughtful. He smiles.

MIN-HYUK (CONT’D)

She’s simple. Young. And simple.

And my piece of writing for this month:

EXT. An upper middle class suburban neighbourhood. Night. The only light is that of the street lamps. 

CLEO is riding her bike along the street. It’s a seemingly quiet night in a nice part of town. There’s a scream that causes Cleo to stop and look around. There’s no one else there. She continues biking, the camera following, until the sound of a car behind her stops her once more as she pulls over. The car stops next to her, and there's a moment of tension before the window rolls down and the driver and its occupants are revealed to be STACY (the driver), SAMANTHA, CLAIRE, and GENEVIEVE (GENNY for short).

SAMANTHA

Why are you biking this late? 

CLEO 

I just got off work. 

CLAIRE 

Why didn’t you just drive? 

CLEO

Because I don't have a car. 

All members of the car laugh at CLEO’S comment patronizingly, except for GENNY.

CLEO

Did any of you hear a scream? 

SAMANTHA

(laughing ceases) 

A scream? 

CLEO 

Yes, like, a scared scream. 

SAMANTHA and CLAIRE both start whispering, before breaking off into loud laughter. 

CLEO turns to GENNY, who is sitting in the passenger's seat. 

CLEO 

Did you hear anything? 

GENNY glances side to side, scared and timid, but not of anyone in the car.

GENNY 

Well-

The car drives off, and GENNY looks out the window at CLEO, who stays still as the car moves past her before she starts riding her bike again, but stops when the scream happens a second time. This time distinct begging from the victim can be heard, and another VOICE is introduced.

VOICE

 Stop yelling! Shut up!

CLEO begins biking away from the noise, faster and faster as the yell from the VOICE ricocheted down the street, completely engulfing the space. CLEO stops and turns around as we zoom in on her face, but her scream is cut off as-

Ok that's it! Hope you enjoyed.

See you next time (and don't forget to stream Callie).

☾⭐︎⭐︎☾⭐︎⭐︎☾⭐︎⭐︎☾⭐︎⭐︎☾⭐︎⭐︎☾⭐︎⭐︎☾⭐︎⭐︎☾⭐︎⭐︎☾⭐︎⭐︎☾⭐︎⭐︎☾⭐︎⭐︎☾⭐︎⭐︎☾⭐︎⭐︎☾⭐︎⭐︎☾⭐︎⭐︎☾⭐︎⭐︎☾⭐︎⭐︎☾⭐︎⭐︎☾