I planned it out methodically drawing inspiration from Frost Nixon by Ron Howard 2008 where the two men go head to head one trying to get the other to confess. Similar was the aim for my piece Ben thought he was simply getting a platform to get his cause across as that was all that was on the table. BUT I wanted to get the dirt, scandal and inside information on Joes murder, Bens 40 year disappearance and the conspiracy theories surrounding these. The interview would be like a game of chess as I reveal my true colours and Ben tries to keep moving back to the issue to keep him sweet. before chancing my arm again. I was looking to make it about 10 minutes so about 10 pages in total.
I decided that it would play like a mini narrative in itself and following Syd Field plan as follows.
- Set-Up: Crew being granted a short IV and being taken to a secret location blindfolded.
- Plot point one: I reveal my true colours to the audeince somehow that I am going to try and get him to talk about the conspiracy theories.
- Conflicts: Me trying to get him to talk about the scandal and conspiracy theories and him rebuffing me with ever increasing frustration
- Plot point two: I push Ben over the edge he erupts and we have a very heated discussion.
- Resolution: Ben storms out of the interview very early and the disappears again?
I had carried out lots of research into the global warming topic from lots of different academics, scientists, sociologists and commentators and through these I had compiled nots on topic Ben would cover in the interview. I digested all of this information and became the gatekeeper of it I would be the conduit and Ben would be the composite character from all of this thinking and my subjective opinion.
Having worked on documentaries personally and in industry I was aware of the structure of them soft easy questions at the start to settle the interviewee in and then getting every more deep and personal. This suited the way I wanted the interview to play out perfectly.
I was playing me so my dialogue should be easy although I had to remember that it was in the context of an interview.I was pretty sure I also had Bens voice controlled, calm thoughtful, passionate and animated as well as being no messing and taking no prisoners. He would tolerate me as long as I was promoting his cause and would see through any underhand tactics and ambushes quickly. We were also subservient to him and on his home turf dependent on him to get home so in his mind he had the upper hand.
Draft One
This was a bit of a dog and I just sketched in the key areas. the interview flowed OK but I found the opening scene tricky and over theatrical of the crew being blindfolded somehow and taken to the location. Rather than getting bogged down in it I moved straight onto the interview section. I realised that the research I had was good but it was honing in on the facts figures and statistics and making them sing in the script and not just be a list. I got out something as a starting point but barely that. It did show the weaknesses though and that was too much flat information and preachy at that.
Draft Two
This was much longer and although I was worried about too much information on global warming I wanted to get it all out there and then decide what to leave and keep. This version ran to 15 pages. I also added in much more scene direction to build atmosphere and to set the scene. It was still a little flat and a lot of Bens answers too wordy BUT he drama and conflict was starting to creep out of the pages. It was getting a little buried in a landslide of data and facts BUT was getting there.
Draft Three
Still wrestling with the global warming answers about the cause. They need to go in as the fiction is just a Trojan horse for debating the issue. Possibly against my better judgement I threw everything I had and wanted to say on the issue at the script. This was to see what I had on the page and what I felt Ben would say and also to try and create a narrative flow to the topics as would occur in an interview. It was far too much but did get it all out of my system and once on the page it was easier to see what could be condensed and what needed to go. I suffered from too much good research and not being able to let go of it and cute little answers I had for Ben to say to communicate the information and ways to describe the issue.
Even though I was overawed by the material in the background Bens voice was sharpening in my head and how he could cut through the colossal amount of information and cut to the chase. Asking him to explain things in layman's terms to the audience was one as and the other was me being cuter with the dialogue. Another plus was that the confrontations were starting to sing a little more on the page too.
I needed some time away from the script to think and regather so I tucked it away and left it to marinate in my head and to ruminate on. I would come back to it with a clearer head and a fresh perspective. BUT all of the material was in there it just needed a good pruning.
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