The Script, Pt.3 - Twelve Angry Men

It’s been a long, cold, depressing winter in Chicago, nothing conducive to writing and creativity. As my self-imposed deadline looms (writing all day today), I had to take a breather and step out. Last night we went and saw a production of 12 Angry Men at the Raven Theater, one of the many small, independent, and completely wonderful performing arts theaters in Chicagoland.

As a complete film buff I am ashamed that I have never seen the film 12 Angry Men. It’s been one of those films that I’ve been meaning to see for a long, long time and yet it has eluded me in one way or another, especially odd in this day and age of Netflix and streaming video.

Having seen the stage production I am thankful I hadn’t seen the film yet, as it was a riveting and eye-opening experience. It also reaffirmed my stance on 3-D filmmaking, which has been vaulted as the savior of the movie making business; I still contend that if I want to have an immersive 3-D experience, I will happily go to see the stage theater. But I digress.

12 Angry Men is one of those stories that will likely remain relevant throughout human history, because it touches upon those basic human truths that will be with us forever. Racism, prejudice, and trial in the court of public opinion, these are all stains upon our earnest efforts to be an egalitarian society. The story wears its heart on its sleeve, and its greatest special effect is its brutal honesty. Twelve men in a room, none of them pulling punches, each with their souls laid bare for us all to witness.

There’s something to that. Keeping it simple. Keeping it honest. Letting our human nature unfold in front of us without using any smoke and mirrors to force us to say “wow.” Let the soul be naked - there is little in the human world that can strike such awe and fear than our true nature.

As I write on this last day before my deadline, I’m assaulting my screenplay with a filter of honesty. Let the fears be real, let the actions and reactions be authentic. Too often in horror films we rely upon the tricks of the trade to flatly generate that deep-seeded dread; the cat jumping out of the darkness, the guy who you think is dead but who really isn’t, and, among others, the overuse of the vanity mirror:


The greatest terror is the true nature of the self. Kubrick understood this, which is why I still consider The Shining as one of the most terrifying films ever made. Martin Scorcese was once asked of all his violent films, which he felt was the most excessively violent, without hesitation he said The Age of Innocence. The things that the characters in Wharton’s novel do to each other, the psychological sadism and violence that they inflict, is beyond compare. I saw the film again recently and I have to concur.

As I finish this draft, I see how far the story has come along. From a formless collection of cool scenes that are a blast to direct but have no contribution to a narrative, to what is now a character study in isolation, madness and guilt. I had to kill a lot of ideas that were not adding to the narrative, scenes that were simply there because they were interesting and thought provoking, but had nothing to propel the story forward. Over time I’ve learned the ability to distance myself from my words, and to try to not get too emotionally attached to scenes. Everything is fair game in the editing process, and anything that does not contribute has to get cut. Of course, easier said than done.

Conversely this does not mean to throw away scenes - rather I put them aside, store them away because I may need to revisit them. If not in this story, but perhaps in another story altogether. You never know.

As the story and character arcs become clear, I’m going to start the process of breaking down the script into beats, and also continue the storyboarding process. From this rewrite onwards there will no longer be revisions, only polishes. I could spend forever rewriting this screenplay, but I’ve reached the point to where it says exactly what I want it to say, and in as clear a fashion as possible. Today’s writing will interject the truth, honesty and motivations that I witnessed on stage, a moment of kismet that makes this entire profession so absolutely remarkable.

Off to write.

sr.