tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30413383.post2742531353931808069..comments2023-11-05T07:45:02.082-05:00Comments on Mystery Man on Film: Miriam Paschal Reviews “The Senator’s Wife”Mystery Manhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17486331815227364944noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30413383.post-91596149892332720832007-05-31T18:03:00.000-04:002007-05-31T18:03:00.000-04:00Maybe if she threatened, seduced, and then cried a...Maybe if she threatened, seduced, and then cried afterwards?<BR/><BR/>Again, though. This is heavy stuff. Like ya'll have said, this either needed to be high drama or over-the-top satire. It's so totally not a simple romcom.Annhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06238624456509484422noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30413383.post-83453725473435871162007-05-31T13:53:00.000-04:002007-05-31T13:53:00.000-04:00I also didn't ever feel like Rosalind was trash. O...I also didn't ever feel like Rosalind was trash. OK, so she knew how to clog and eat crawfish (major opportunity for comedy missed... have you ever sucked the heads of those things?? NASTY!) - but she always felt like a nice middle-class girl.<BR/><BR/>And why would taking a drive to her old digs make her accept that part of her life? She doesn't seem to process anything.Laura Deerfieldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06481017193764065233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30413383.post-22610130243696379752007-05-31T09:18:00.000-04:002007-05-31T09:18:00.000-04:00That would have been good. So instead of bringing...That would have been good. So instead of bringing food to the reporters, she could have taken one aside and threatened him with something, or even seduced him.<BR/><BR/>Although that would have destroyed her credibility as a protag.<BR/><BR/>I wonder if Katherine Fugate thought about that and couldn't think of a way to do it without making Rosalind totally unlikeable?Mimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11590214841424958129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30413383.post-66022462107016105242007-05-31T09:03:00.000-04:002007-05-31T09:03:00.000-04:00Yup. Yup. I agree.To Mim's point, if there had b...Yup. Yup. I agree.<BR/><BR/>To Mim's point, if there had been a scenario where Rosalind had illustrated that she had some of her background still with her in the sense that she could still get down and dirty like Donny, then I could maybe believe more that they had a connection of some kind.<BR/><BR/>Am I wrong?<BR/><BR/>-MMMystery Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17486331815227364944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30413383.post-77847567519405782102007-05-30T23:11:00.000-04:002007-05-30T23:11:00.000-04:00For one thing they were too different. They both ...For one thing they were too different. They both came from the wrong side of the tracks, but the tracks ran through different neighborhoods. He was from Hell's Kitchen (had to be) and she was trailer trash.<BR/><BR/>PLUS she had been working her whole life to get away from that. I know part of her arc was to accept that part of herself, but I think re-embracing it was going a little too far (which is what it seemed like she was doing).<BR/><BR/>No. Her whole persona was to get far, far away from people like Donny.Mimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11590214841424958129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30413383.post-59250700961070161192007-05-30T22:58:00.000-04:002007-05-30T22:58:00.000-04:00I knew he was supposed to be falling for her when ...I knew he was supposed to be falling for her when she was described, during the clogging sequence, as looking very natural. But this was an item of description - not any action or even reaction on either character's part.<BR/><BR/><BR/>As for her end of the attraction - I guess she fell for him because he punched someone out for her. Chicks dig that.Laura Deerfieldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06481017193764065233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30413383.post-20982374708619407682007-05-30T21:20:00.000-04:002007-05-30T21:20:00.000-04:00I don't mean to change the subject, but I loved Mi...I don't mean to change the subject, but I loved Mim's point about the budding romance between Donny and Rosalind. Was there anyone who felt that this romance wasn't completely forced? Did anyone feel that there was any interest between them throughout Act Two? <BR/><BR/>Knowing how it ends, I look back on Act Two and think that there were quite a few missed opportunities. They could've first bonded just by outsmarting little Joel and taking control of this situation. Or Donny could've done SOMETHING physical that would've sparked her interest.<BR/><BR/>-MMMystery Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17486331815227364944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30413383.post-73669656638251717122007-05-30T20:20:00.000-04:002007-05-30T20:20:00.000-04:00Great review, Mim. Interesting conversation abou...Great review, Mim. Interesting conversation about the fragmented lines. I liked them. I actually want to try and write my action lines more like that. Screw da engrish teachers. :-)<BR/><BR/>-MichelleAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30413383.post-2526599080535769962007-05-30T17:02:00.000-04:002007-05-30T17:02:00.000-04:00Finally figured out how to post under my name. Mim...Finally figured out how to post under my name. Mim,you can write complete sentences to your heart's content. Just don't expect anyone to read them. Again, you can be visual and "paint" pictures, but what if it's the wrong picture? I believe it's better to PLANT pictures ie. give the reader just enough to form their own visual. Anything that draws the reader into your story can only help, but leave vision to the director. Film is a director's medium. We are storytellers.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30413383.post-41832059764940500652007-05-30T15:31:00.000-04:002007-05-30T15:31:00.000-04:00Boy howdy, Mim. I was a total curmudgeon in my re...Boy howdy, Mim. I was a total curmudgeon in my review compared to yours! I feel kinda bad now.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05537155200839804221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30413383.post-1605474287768072082007-05-30T14:03:00.000-04:002007-05-30T14:03:00.000-04:00Sounds about right, Pat. One thing I hear consist...Sounds about right, Pat. One thing I hear consistently about my writing is how easy it is to read and visualize what's happening.<BR/><BR/>I think HW screenwriters use these sentence fragments because that's what they've learned. I know how to create a visual landscape with complete, grammatically sentences, and by golly I'm going to keep doing it until some producer with $$$ tells me to stop.Mimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11590214841424958129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30413383.post-7306120565543601482007-05-30T12:48:00.000-04:002007-05-30T12:48:00.000-04:00Looks like MM paired the scrooges, ehhh Ms. Mim?Looks like MM paired the scrooges, ehhh Ms. Mim?GimmeABreakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14681053662706062151noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30413383.post-28910707667738627942007-05-30T12:22:00.000-04:002007-05-30T12:22:00.000-04:00Hey, it's David. Anonymous was the quickest way t...Hey, it's David. Anonymous was the quickest way to post. Re: Sentence fragments. They're pretty much an industry standard now. Jeff Arch (Sleepless In Seattle) told me something related to this that I've taken very much to heart. "The less you write, the more they'll read." Most readers/producers will read down the middle of the page, and only read the action lines if absolutely necessary for clarity. An audience will only know what they see, not how cleverly you described it. Jeff sends me everything he writes, and each script is more spare than the last one. Sentence fragments aren't really bad grammar (provided you spell correctly and don't mix tenses). As long as they convey the essence of the visual, they're perfectly fine. Now don't get me started on coloful verbs.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30413383.post-69462051636910457842007-05-30T12:19:00.000-04:002007-05-30T12:19:00.000-04:00Well, that would explain some of the odd and out o...Well, that would explain some of the odd and out of place lines from Donny toward the end of the second act... Honestly never occurred to me that was supposed to be a romantic connection. <BR/><BR/>And if it's supposed to be comedy... I don't know if I laughed more than once. At least, not at anything that would be onscreen.<BR/><BR/>I took it for light drama.Laura Deerfieldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06481017193764065233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30413383.post-75089552205393419872007-05-30T08:37:00.000-04:002007-05-30T08:37:00.000-04:00To be fair to Ms. Fugate, she hasn't had the benef...To be fair to Ms. Fugate, she hasn't had the benefit of an online community like Triggerstreet.Mimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11590214841424958129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30413383.post-8795030370161721992007-05-30T08:10:00.000-04:002007-05-30T08:10:00.000-04:00Mim - I wouldn't feel too bad. There were a lot o...Mim - I wouldn't feel too bad. There were a lot of aspects about this script that was really great, and I think everyone respects Ms. Fugate, but at the same time, a lot could be said about things that could be fixed. That's as insightful as I can be in the morning before coffee. Everyone's reviews have been really great.<BR/><BR/>Laura - Hehehe... Exactly.<BR/><BR/>-MMMystery Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17486331815227364944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30413383.post-76190295699066194412007-05-29T23:51:00.000-04:002007-05-29T23:51:00.000-04:00... wait... this was supposed to be a RomCom?... wait... this was supposed to be a RomCom?Laura Deerfieldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06481017193764065233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30413383.post-28145186174054596612007-05-29T23:49:00.000-04:002007-05-29T23:49:00.000-04:00Yeah, yeah. Everybody's used to reading those fra...Yeah, yeah. Everybody's used to reading those fragmented sentences. I'm just a maverick.<BR/><BR/>I feel bad that we're trashing this script. It will probably do just as well as any of the other movies it can be compared to. If you think of the quality of movies as a bell curve, then the majority are not going to stand out as either terrible or wonderful. This falls right in the middle.<BR/><BR/>I guess that's the real lesson. How can we shift the curve so that scripts with better stories and better characters represent the top of the bell?Mimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11590214841424958129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30413383.post-1942276734846633872007-05-29T23:29:00.000-04:002007-05-29T23:29:00.000-04:00Thanks so much, Mim, for the great thoughts. While...Thanks so much, Mim, for the great thoughts. While the unfilmmables bugged the hell out of me, I wasn't terribly bothered so much by the fragmented sentences in the action lines. <BR/><BR/>And I gotta tell you, I completely agreed with your comments about this budding romance between Donny and Rosalind. I never bought it. Something more needed to be done there to earn that payoff between the two of them.<BR/><BR/>Thanks so much. Great job, Mim.<BR/><BR/>-MMMystery Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17486331815227364944noreply@blogger.com