章 7: Adjustment of the script

Lyman sat at the desk with his legs crossed, surrounded by messy papers. A thick stack of scattered white papers faintly displayed various traces of writing. Writing a script was not an easy task, and Lyman was well aware of this fact.

Three days had passed since the confirmation of the film production. During these three days, Lyman had been staying in his room, working on this task every day, but he still encountered many difficulties. The progress of the script was not going smoothly, even though Lyman had visual memories of this movie in his mind. He lacked the corresponding life experiences and social knowledge.

He knew nothing about the background of the Iraq War or the details of the life of an American real estate contractor. The depiction of the plot would inevitably contain some logical fallacies, and Lyman didn't want the audience to mock the film for getting basic common sense wrong when it was released. Such a thing would be a sacrilege to the art form of cinema.

Moreover, the greatest highlight of the movie "Buried" was the chilling and slightly desperate sense of reality, as if there really was a person buried alive, and the audience's perception had to make them believe it was real. If this couldn't be achieved, the film would be a failure. That sharpness that fell between a documentary and a fictional film was exactly the characteristic this movie needed.

Perhaps he should ask someone for help. He could manage the basic framework of the script, but filling in the details was beyond Lyman's current abilities.

"René, do you have time?"

"Yes, I've been quite free recently." René's voice came through clearly on the phone.

"Then come over to my place. I have something I want you to help with."

"I'll be right there..."

When facing difficulties in writing the script, the first person Lyman thought of was his good friend, René. He was responsible for writing the script of Lyman's previous directorial debut, and he had the ability for it.

"Knock, knock, knock... Lyman, I'm here." With a series of knocking sounds, René's voice came from outside the door.

Lyman opened the door, and René enthusiastically greeted him, "What's up? Do you finally want to go to the beach with me and pick up girls?"

"No, I called you because I need you to polish a script." Lyman shook his head, dismissing René's unreliable idea.

"A script? Are you making a movie?" René seemed puzzled. Didn't Lyman say he was going to work a while ago? Why did he suddenly decide to shoot a movie?

"Cough, cough, cough..." Lyman's face turned red, but he still explained, "I thought about it later, and I realized that making movies suits me better. I also managed to secure an investment that can be used as the production funds for this new movie."

"You secured an investment? How much? By the way, why didn't you ask me about making a movie? I have money too." René unleashed a skillful series of three questions, dealing 100 points of damage to Lyman.

"€450,000." Lyman answered the first question first, then continued, "It's not that I didn't want to ask you. Making a movie itself implies risks. Do you remember how we ended up with nothing last time?"

This statement didn't have the intended effect on Lyman. Instead, René grinned and said, "Are you still concerned about that? I've said it before, it was just one failure, don't dwell on it. Everyone experiences failures at times, so why bother about it? Do you feel guilty about it? Tell me, do you?"

"Get lost." Lyman furrowed hisbrow, realizing that things were not as simple as he thought, and quickly yelled to boost his own morale.

"Alright, let's not talk about that. Show me the script. I want to see what kind of story you want to tell," René said as he walked inside. He continued, "If you're short on funds, let me know anytime. I'm the scriptwriter of this film, and I have an obligation to make it successful."

Lyman couldn't help but be amused by René's words about how a damn scriptwriter had an obligation to make the film successful. Looking at his figure, Lyman was convinced that he was truly a person who was good to "Lyman" and a genuine friend.

After entering the study, René picked up the script on the table, which was already more than half completed, and carefully flipped through it. Lyman sat quietly beside him, restraining himself from making any noise that could disturb René's thoughts.

After a while, René put down the script and spoke, "Doesn't this story seem too monotonous?" It was the first time he had seen a film with only one main character and most of the scenes taking place in a single space. When he was in college, the professor who mentored him also said that a one-man show was the most difficult to stand out among all film genres and the most challenging to shoot. However, Lyman chose this creative approach.

"Whether it's monotonous or not, isn't it about the director's narrative techniques? Even if there are many characters, there are still works with monotonous and uninteresting stories, right?" His confidence was evident in his words.

In fact, René was just asking. He respected Lyman's opinions when it came to filmmaking. The plot ideas for his previous debut work also came mostly from Lyman, and René was the one responsible for turning those ideas into words, filling in the details, and organizing the logic.

"This also involves the Afghan War." Upon closer inspection, René discovered the background of the film.

"Yes, do you have any materials on that?" Because the original plan was to shoot the film several years later, and the Iraq War had already started, but it was still 2001, so they couldn't use the Iraq War as the backdrop for the film. Lyman changed it to the Afghan War instead. After all, both wars had an American presence, and it would be reasonable for the protagonist, as an American real estate contractor, to be attacked overseas. After all, he was an American.

"I don't know much about that, but my mentor probably has some information. I can ask him later." René immediately thought of a solution. He then asked, "How do you want to develop the plot for the entire film?"

"I want to portray all the complex psychological changes that the protagonist undergoes in desperate situations, from confusion to struggle, self-denial, pain, and despair, and finally, their relentless pursuit of survival. So, we need more details and dialogue to build the character's image, allowing the audience to have a clear three-dimensional sense of this character, to experience the entire process of their transformation and empathize with them."

René nodded, understanding Lyman's vision for filmmaking. He wanted to emphasize the emotional details magnified to the extreme in the confined space so that the audience could always follow the character's transformation, avoiding the film from becoming dull or uninteresting. This would keep the viewers mentally focused throughout the viewing experience, providing great immersion and enjoyment.

"What about conflicts and contradictions? How should we design them?" The script provided by Lyman was vague in terms of character background, and the design of the background era was missing. René realized that a significant part of his work would be to perfect these two aspects.

"The protagonist is an American real estate contractor, middle class, and encounters an accident while working in Afghanistan. So, we need to establish a strong ironic element, which is the contrast between the slogan "never leaving any citizen's life behind" that the United States shouts loudly about the purpose behind the Afghan War and their complete disregard for the protagonist's distress call after being buried alive. Furthermore, after the protagonist manages to escape, they demand the news to be suppressed. This mockery of the prioritization of interests needs to be emphasized."

After the "9/11" incident, the anti-war sentiment among the American people became even stronger. However, the Washington authorities, with completely opposite thinking, didn't see it that way. They were, in fact, the biggest warmongers in the world. "Buried" aims to tell the conflicting core of a person who was attacked in Afghanistan but was forbidden to speak about their ordeal.

The people already had a strong aversion to war. How would they perceive this war when they learned that American citizens working in Afghanistan were facing life-threatening situations? How would the news media report it? The life or death of the protagonist was not important in this event; what mattered was the message conveyed—that the Afghan people's resentment towards the American people had reached its peak, to the extent that they were willing to kill an innocent ordinary American citizen, and even in a cruel manner.

Therefore, the U.S. government, in pursuit of its own interests in the region, naturally didn't want this incident to be exposed, hindering its international strategic deployment. Protests and demonstrations were troublesome, but the American people and the media loved to play these games, often leaving the Washington authorities embarrassed.

"Is there anything else we should focus on portraying?"

"We can also spend some ink on the protagonist's family aspect. It will make the audience sympathize more with his plight and let this emotion take root in the viewers' hearts."

"For example, a lovely daughter or a sweet wife." René understood Lyman's intentions very well and immediately responded.

"That works, but the camera will only briefly touch upon this aspect. There's no need for too many detailed settings; it's destined to be a supporting role. Even presenting it in the form of photographs might be better." When the protagonist is trapped in the coffin, he takes out a photo from his wallet or something like that. It can induce the audience to imagine these aspects. These camera techniques are familiar to everyone, and many movies use them to add depth to the characters. Besides, it's also cost-effective.

"Let's portray the family background in the form of photographs." Lyman spoke up with this idea.

"Alright, got it. Is there anything else we need to pay attention to?"

"That's about it. It's already a one-man show with an interesting background setting that can capture the audience's attention. Let's go with that."

After discussing for a morning and having lunch together, René left with the unfinished script. He had to find his mentor to inquire about some information on the Afghan War in order to depict the film's details more accurately. After all, Afghanistan and such were too far from France, and he wasn't going to delve into the tragic events happening on the other end of the world in great detail.