So I started working on my movie script consolidation again - putting all the drafts in one spreadsheet to highlight the differences. I'm currently working on the scene where Colonel Mustard and Miss Scarlet find the Motorist. Though the original script was very nearly the same as the movie, the shooting draft changed it a bit. I thought you guys might find it interesting. Sorry about the weird formatting.
"The gloved hand switches off the light. Now there's only a little moonlight coming through a crack in the shutters.
MISS SCARLET and COLONEL MUSTARD emerge into the room."
"COLONEL MUSTARD:
Why is it dark in here?"
"MISS SCARLET:
Because there's no light."
Suddenly she trips, or is pushed. She stumbles forward. He is pushed. He drops the flashlight. It goes out. Her foot catches the face of the dead MOTORIST. She falls over his body.
"COLONEL MUSTARD:
What's that? What happened?"
"MISS SCARLET:
Did you push me?"
"COLONEL MUSTARD:
No. Did you push me?"
"MISS SCARLET:
No. I fell over."
"COLONEL MUSTARD:
Did you hurt yourself?"
"MISS SCARLET:
No. I landed on something soft."
We can see what she's landed on. She feels around. Her hands finds the MOTORIST's head. She is shocked.
"MISS SCARLET: (continuing)
It's a body. (she realizes) Somebody else is in here!"
The flashlight is switched on. It moves across the room.
"MISS SCARLET: (continuing)
Who is it?"
COLONEL MUSTARD swings around, swinging out his arm. His hand hits the flashlight held by the GLOVED HAND. Impact! The flashlight flies through the air. It lands on the floor. A shoe kicks it. It slides across the floor. It goes out.
"COLONEL MUSTARD:
The murderer's in here!"
"MISS SCARLET:
I'm in here with a murderer!"
COLONEL MUSTARD crashes over the body and falls on MISS SCARLET. She gasps.
Movie Scene - Finding the Body
Movie Scene - Finding the Body
How do you know what kind of pictures they are if you're such a lay-dee?
It continues:
THE LOUNGE
COLONEL MUSTARD is still lying on MISS SCARLET. She's trying to get away. He's trying to calm her down.
"MISS SCARLET:
Leave me alone!"
"COLONEL MUSTARD:
It's me. Colonel Mustard."
"MISS SCARLET:
So it's you!"
"COLONEL MUSTARD:
Of course it's me!"
THE LOUNGE
COLONEL MUSTARD is still lying on MISS SCARLET. She's trying to get away. He's trying to calm her down.
"MISS SCARLET:
Leave me alone!"
"COLONEL MUSTARD:
It's me. Colonel Mustard."
"MISS SCARLET:
So it's you!"
"COLONEL MUSTARD:
Of course it's me!"
How do you know what kind of pictures they are if you're such a lay-dee?
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Lord Caspen
- Court Stenographer
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Ick
H'm. Doesn't entirely make sense, and it certainly doesn't fit with the author's stated premise of making any of the suspects possible solutions. How can Mustard kick the flashlight out of the murderer's hand, if he and the person he's with could have possibly been the murderer?
It's discouraging to think how many people are shocked by honesty and how few by deceit. -- Blithe Spirit, Noel Coward.
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Lord Caspen
- Court Stenographer
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wait
Wait, never mind. The script just wasn't explicit. The flashlight that *had been* held by the gloved hand *previously* is what Mustard hits with his hand. Not the flashlight *as it is held* by the murderer. Another round of hearty thanks to the abominable inventor of our murderous tongue, whosoever that august person was.
It's discouraging to think how many people are shocked by honesty and how few by deceit. -- Blithe Spirit, Noel Coward.
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Lord Caspen
- Court Stenographer
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- Joined: Fri May 06, 2005 8:50 pm
Michael
Much thanks to Michael, though!
It's discouraging to think how many people are shocked by honesty and how few by deceit. -- Blithe Spirit, Noel Coward.
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alwaysPeacock
- Fleet Street Look-Out
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Niteshade007
- "Master Detective is creepy!"
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alwaysPeacock
- Fleet Street Look-Out
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It's from the first written draft of the movie script, which Mochael has a copy of. He has this excerpt here to show us how the scene was originally intended to be shot. My comment was just that it is so much like the text from the novel that it must have been the first draft that McDowell used when writing the novel version.
"But look what happened to the cook!"
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Niteshade007
- "Master Detective is creepy!"
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- Location: Tampa, FL
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alwaysPeacock
- Fleet Street Look-Out
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- Joined: Sun Sep 26, 2004 12:45 pm
- Location: GA, USA
Really?! Odd...changes like that are usually done the other way around...Michael wrote:Sorry for the confusion! Actually, the text is from the Shooting Draft of the script. The first three drafts were all very similar to how the movie actually is. Only in the Shooting Draft was it changed to this.
-Michael
"But look what happened to the cook!"
Re: wait
Actually, given that the gloved hand switches off the light (the first sentence), I think it is meant to mean the murderer is actually in the room with them. Obviously, this couldn't work. It was probably some producer trying to make the scene more exciting without knowing the script well enough.Lord Caspen wrote:Wait, never mind. The script just wasn't explicit. The flashlight that *had been* held by the gloved hand *previously* is what Mustard hits with his hand. Not the flashlight *as it is held* by the murderer. Another round of hearty thanks to the abominable inventor of our murderous tongue, whosoever that august person was.
How do you know what kind of pictures they are if you're such a lay-dee?
All that is left, really, is proof-reading. I think overall it took about 45 hours. Whew. Glad that's done.