Quiz Show Comparison PDF

Preview

Summary

Comparing the Film Quiz Show with the working script...

Description

Dakota Carnes ENL 272-01 14 April 2019 Quiz Show Opening Sequence/Working Script Comparison The transfer of script to screen does not always mean that the directors or the actors are going to like the way the working script appears on film. Changes might be made on the spot, things may be added or taken away, or the script may be thrown away as a whole and a new one put in. For Quiz Show , directed by Robert Redford, some stylistic changes were made as well as acting changes, making the final product a little different from the working script. Timing choices were added, longer radio segments were integrated, and different ending decisions were made, giving the final product an added layer of drama and urgency. After the opening credits end and Robert Redford’s name fades from the screen, we see a hand curve around the headlight and skim down the side, and we watch as actor Rob Morrow follows the script as closely as possible (0:18). The script states, “A HAND caresses the luscious curves of a 1958 CHRYSLER 300D CONVERTIBLE, lacquered white, dripping with bright showroom light” (2). The script continues with a description of Goodwin, but what it doesn’t say is how the salesman pulls out a handkerchief and whips down the spaces that Goodwin touched (0:24). The script does mention it, but changes were made as to the timing of the motion. Instead of the cleaning being done towards the end of the scene, it is right in the beginning, before we even get to see the characters faces. It brings a sense of drama right from the start. Richard Goodwin is young, he’s new, he doesn’t quite know what he is doing, and that characterization is shown through the salesman not trusting Goodwin with a new car. Repeatedly throughout the film, we hear Richard Goodwin state that he works with the government. He says it in the beginning scene, establishing his role as the investigator quickly. The radio seems to mirror his work, making a statement about Sputnik as soon as it is turned

on. Quiz Show states, “The Russians have beaten us into Outer Space. You are listening to the sound of Sputnik, a satellite launched this morning via rocket, in orbit, right now, directly over our heads. A sound that says ‘all is not well with America’” (1:57). This scene isn’t featured in the working script, instead the radio automatically plays “Mack the Knife,” leading into the next scene. Mentioning Sputnik gives the film not only a date to work with but a sense of urgency. America is rushing to win the Space Race, something that seems so much more important than what Goodwin attempts to do later in the film. It ups the urgency of not only what Richard is doing, but what the world is doing. Both the film and the screenplay ends the same way. Goodwin turns the radio on and eventually, “Mack the Knife” starts playing and the scene skips into the next. The only difference is in the way the actors play out the scene. In the working script, “the salesman goes to get the paperwork. Goodwin turns on the radio…” (4). But, in the film, the radio is already turned on, and Goodwin changes the station while the salesman hovers next to the car (2:20). Goodwin doesn’t go home with a car that day, only a catalog that alerts his wife to his whereabouts. The choice to omit the buying of the car shows that Goodwin is able to rein in his impulses, even though the very beginning shows how impressionable he is. The film showed how much he wanted that car, and the childlike curiosity he had when Sputnik was over their heads. And yet he didn’t give in to peer pressure and left with his wallet intact. It really shows his strength in making decisions for himself. The changes that were made from script to screen really showcased the drama and the urgency in what Richard Goodwin was doing. It showed that even though Goodwin is young, just out of Harvard Law School, he’s not one to be pushed aside and walked all over. He’s kind but not one to give in to peer pressure, and it is proven when he goes after Van Duren after he gave a statement. A lot of the film focuses on the drama of the quiz show scandals, and the fact

that the nation was lied to. And because of the beginning showcasing how young he is, it makes what he is going up against seem so much larger. Adding Sputnik into the mix gives it a worldly perspective. The urgency comes into play also with Sputnik and the Space Race, making it seem that everything is rushed and people are scattered. The changes that were made really enhanced the film as a whole, instead of letting things get lost in the mix.

Notes Quiz Show. D  irected by Robert Redford. Performed by Rob Morrow, Ralph Fiennes, and John Turturro. Hollywood Pictures, 1994. Quiz Show. S  creenplay 1994....