America 1987

Chapter 22 Narrative Laziness

In fact, David was also very disgusted and annoyed by this scene itself.

There's no other reason than that this scene reminded him of those third-rate novels common in old-school online literature, where authors, having run out of ideas, resorted to cuckoldry plots to create conflict and drive the story forward.

He has always believed that any work of art, whether it is a movie or a novel, that uses cuckoldry to drive the plot can only mean two things: either the creator himself is psychologically distorted and has a unique aesthetic sense, and just likes this kind of thing.

Either the creators themselves have limited abilities, or they are simply too lazy to think, leading to a path dependence on the narrative method of using cuckoldry to drive the plot forward.

Wuxia (martial arts) works, in particular, have a natural preference for this narrative method.

However, after several attempts, David Ovitz ultimately gave up on changing this part of the story.

As mentioned earlier, this scene is the most important scene in the movie, bar none. The revenge plot in the second half of the movie is almost entirely driven by it. It has far-reaching consequences. If David were to change this scene, the entire second half of the story would have to be overhauled.

He is aware of his own storytelling abilities. He can fix minor plot points and details, but if the major plot direction is changed, it's questionable whether he can still achieve the same high box office results as in the original timeline.

Since the original movie was filmed this way, and the final box office results showed that the audience liked it, there was no need for him to take that risk or go through that trouble.

only……

"Why?" Catherine put down her fork and swallowed the food she was eating. They were eating a classic pasta salad. The salad was brightly colored and stood out against the white bowl, which was very eye-catching and fit the aesthetic of "visual impact" that Americans in the 80s pursued.

"Why did you design this kind of plot, David?"

They are currently dining at an Italian restaurant, a small family-run eatery that isn't very upscale, but is known for its generous portions, affordable prices, and strong social atmosphere.

During filming, Hollywood crew members can choose to eat at nearby restaurants if they get tired of the meals provided by the production company, as long as it doesn't delay the filming schedule.

"You mean the one this morning?" David Ovitz asked, savoring the sweet, sour, and salty taste.

In his previous life, when he was in junior high school in the Eastern Continent, this dish was also served in the school cafeteria. It was quite expensive, costing 12 yuan. He enthusiastically tried the legendary Western food, but it was so bad that he almost had to complain.

After arriving here, I heard from everyone around me that this dish was delicious, so I brought Catherine along to try it.

Catherine didn't speak, but gave him a knowing look.

"Hmm...do you think there's something wrong with that scene, Cathy?" David couldn't pretend to be confused any longer, so he had to ask. Actually, he could probably guess what she wanted to ask, but he still wanted to hear it for himself and see just how sensitive she was to the character.

"Don't you think," Catherine paused, carefully choosing her words, "that Molly's reaction in that scene was somewhat out of character?"

The 80s were the formative period for Hollywood screenwriting methodology, and the term "character design" already existed as a screenwriting term, so the term "character design" did not just appear in the Internet age.

However, David was clearly unaware of this. Before his transmigration, he studied directing, not screenwriting, and therefore didn't have a deep understanding of when the technical terms used in these scripts originated.

The script for "Ghost" was also translated into text one-to-one from the clear movie plot in his mind. It reads like a novel and is much richer in content than a script with only dialogue, which makes it easier for the actors to understand the effect he needs to achieve.

It wasn't just a vocabulary word; after a brief moment of surprise, he still answered the other person's question.

"You mean she shouldn't have accepted Carl's advances so soon after her husband's death, Cathy?"

"Of course, aren't we making a romance movie? Sam stayed by Molly's side to protect her after his death. In that case, if the audience saw Molly... well, almost had a relationship with Carl, they'd probably be very disgusted, right?"

After receiving such a reply, David Ovitz looked at her with the eyes of someone who had found a kindred spirit. "To be honest, Cathy, that's what I think too."

"Um?"

"This is also the part I'm most dissatisfied with after writing this script. However, I thought of many other methods, but none of them could provoke Sam and the audience's anger as much as this one."

For the sake of the tension in the later plot, this is the only way I could write it in the end.

David paused for a moment, then continued, "As for the aversion you mentioned, it's not a big problem. The female lead had just lost her boyfriend, and someone told her that her boyfriend's ghost was still around."

Anyone who has experienced something like this would suffer a mental breakdown and have their psychological defenses weakened. It's somewhat understandable that they were passively exploited by Karl at that moment.

And in the end, it didn't succeed, so if it didn't succeed, most viewers would actually direct their anger at Karl.

You don't need to worry too much...

David took a bite of salad, then looked up and grinned, "Besides, your crying scenes were so well acted, the audience will only sympathize with you, how could they possibly hate you?"

He was telling the truth. In the 80s, or even in any era, crying scenes were often the best proof of an actor's acting skills, especially for actresses.

Moreover, due to the advantage of gender, actresses are naturally more likely to gain audience sympathy than male actors if they perform crying scenes well. In Hollywood in the 80s alone, many actresses won the audience's love and Oscar favor with their superb crying scenes.

To put it simply, Whoopi Goldberg was nominated for Best Actress at the 1986 Academy Awards for her portrayal of Celie, a woman who had suffered long-term abuse. Her performance, from suppressed emotions to the emotional outburst when she finally reunited with her sister, especially her belated crying scene, successfully moved the Academy judges.

Sigourney Weaver, who played Ripley in the Alien series, also earned an Oscar nomination for her role as a zoologist who develops an emotional bond with gorillas in the upcoming film Gorilla in the Mist, where she sheds tears in the face of the threat of species extinction.

Therefore, crying scenes are actually a huge plus for actresses in Hollywood in this era, and Katharine's worries were completely unnecessary.