Top Five Things I Watched: Michael Adley

Screenwriter turned law student/screenwriter, Michael Adley currently lives in Nashville or, as I’ve heard it called at least twice, NashVegas. He goes to Vanderbilt, the school that produced Jay Cutler, current Chicago Bears quarterback, but he does not make the same “you stole my juice box!” faces that Cutler has perfected. I have no idea what Michael is writing now, but he had the time to give me his Top Five Things He Watched. And it includes Taylor Kitsch…

MR. ADLEY’S TOP FIVE THINGS HE WATCHED IN 2013

It’s hard to remember everything you watched in a year.  I am sure there are shows and movies I saw in early 2013 that I’m forgetting about.  But if the shows and movies were capable of being forgotten would they have made this list anyway? I don’t know. So the following is a list of 2013 movies and shows that I remember.  I broke the list down into the categories I most often watch and chose the best out of each category.  Lastly, I included one category for something not released in 2013.

AMERICAN HUSTLE (big release)

This was the best big movie I saw in 2013. Fantastic acting across the board – especially from Christian Bale.  While I thought it was great, my friends had mixed feelings about it.  Mostly they had problems with the resolution, which admittedly could have been a little stronger.

MUD (independent film)

Matthew McConaughey has been on a roll lately.  He’s getting a lot of recognition for DALLAS BUYER’S CLUB, which is kind of overshadowing his performance in this small movie.  It’s a simple story with some solid performances.

BREAKING BAD, final season (television drama)

I don’t know that there is much I can say about this that hasn’t already been said.  So in short, it was great TV.

EASTBOUND AND DOWN, fourth season (television comedy)

EASTBOUND AND DOWN was only supposed to be three seasons, so when HBO announced there would be a fourth I was worried the quality might drop off.   But the show came back even stronger.  The first season still ranks as the best, but I think this season comes in a close second.

Friday Night Lights, the TV series (something not from 2013)

“John Carter? Battleship? How does Taylor Kitsch keep getting movie roles?” you may have asked yourself.  FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS supplies the answer.  Kitsch, as Tim Riggins, is easily one of the best characters on the show.  It’s a solid series. Plus, it’s available on Amazon prime and it’s probably on Netflix too.

Learn From This Script: Breaking Bad pilot

EXT. COW PASTURE – DAY

Deep blue sky overhead. Fat, scuddy clouds. Below them, black and white cows graze the rolling hills. This could be one of those California “It’s The Cheese” commercials.

Except those commercials don’t normally focus on cow shit. We do. TILT DOWN to a fat, round PATTY drying olive drab in the sun. Flies buzz. Peaceful and quiet. Until…

… ZOOOM! WHEELS plow right through the shit with a SPLAT.

NEW ANGLE – AN RV

Is speeding smack-dab through the pasture, no road in sight. A bit out of place, to say the least. It’s an old 70’s era Winnebago with chalky white paint and Bondo spots. A bumper sticker for the Good Sam Club is stuck to the back.

The Winnebago galumphs across the landscape, scattering cows. It catches a wheel and sprays a rooster tail of red dirt. 

Thus begins the pilot script for AMC’s prestige drama Breaking Bad.

Written by Vince Gilligan, and as illustrated by these two brief scenes, the script has an incredible vividness and readability in the scene description and actions–something that really slams home the possibilities for capturing visuals without being tedious or list-y.

Check out both the details Gilligan uses (“fat, round patty drying olive drab in the sun”) and the verbs (“galumphs”).

And notice how his shot paragraphs blend into each other both visually AND as they’re written:

…the rolling hills. This could be one of those California “It’s The Cheese” commercials.

Except those commercials don’t normally focus on cow shit. We do. TILT DOWN…

Not only can you easily visualize the details, but they linger in your mind as you move from image to image, creating the fast-moving sequence as you go. These connections keep the scene playing in your mind–it makes for great reading.

Things to focus on while reading this pilot and these scenes: narrative voice, vivid details, ka-pow verb, and an awareness of the connective tissue that links shots, scenes, and sequences.

Here’s a link to the script on the supremely useful TV WRITING site.