GERRY...SORKIN STYLE
A couple of years ago, Gus Van Sant (director of Good Will Hunting among others) wrote and directed a movie called Gerry. It starred Matt Damon and Casey Affleck, yes Casey Affleck...not Ben, and it consisted of two guys named Gerry walking around in the desert for an hour and forty-five minutes. Although the visuals are absolutely stunning, there's only about ten minutes of dialogue and the average shot length probably hovers around seven minutes.
Needless to say the movie didn't catch on at the big movie houses. I'd be willing to bet most people couldn't get past the first five minutes which consisted solely of the two Gerries driving down the road.
But Gus Van Sant wasn't about to let his little pet project fall by the wayside. Determined to get Gerry released nationally, he called in Aaron Sorkin, Emmy award winning writer/creator of Sports Night and the West Wing. True to form, Sorkin took a day and a half to whip up one hour and thirty-five minutes worth of dialogue. Earlier this week, Van Sant called in Damon and Affleck and they added voiceover to the existing movie. The resulting film is a talkfest with some of the best visuals ever captured on film.
What follows is a scene from the middle of the movie, after the two men realize that they are lost, but before they work themselves into a panic. In the original version, the two of them just walked along. Let's see how Sorkin was able to punch it up.
EXT. DESERT - DAY
MATT and CASEY walk. A trail of their footprints stretches behind them as far as the eye can see. They look tired. Thirsty.
CASEY: It's hot.
MATT: Yeah.
CASEY: I mean it's really hot.
MATT: It's the desert. What do you want?
CASEY: I could really use some water.
MATT: You're not the only one.
CASEY: I can't begin to tell you how thirsty I am.
MATT: You could try but I'd probably stop listening after a while.
CASEY: You know why I'm so thirsty?
MATT: Cause you haven't had anything to drink in the last 24 hours.
CASEY: Well, there's that. Plus, you can't drink sand.
MATT: Yeah.
CASEY: I mean, if you could drink sand, I'd be set.
MATT: We'd both be set.
CASEY: Yeah, but ya can't drink sand.
MATT: Well, you could, but it wouldn't be very satisfying.
CASEY: There's the rub.
MATT: You know what we need?
CASEY: To find some water?
MATT: No, we need to find the car.
CASEY: Is there water in the car?
MATT: No. I'm saying if we had the car, then we could drive and get water.
CASEY: Actually, we couldn't.
MATT: Why's that?
CASEY: Cause we used all the money we had to keep the fire going last night.
MATT: That's right.
CASEY: So even if we had the car, we'd still be thirsty.
MATT: Maybe we could find a water fountain or something.
CASEY: Are you kidding me? With out luck we'd wind up back in the desert.
MATT: Good point.
They stop walking, and look around.
MATT: What do you think?
CASEY: Which way to go?
MATT: Yeah.
CASEY: I don't know. I picked last time. It's your turn.
MATT: Straight?
CASEY: You wanna keep going straight?
MATT: Sure, it's treated us well the last five hours.
CASEY: It hasn't treated us well. I'm still hot and thirsty.
MATT: Well yeah, but we haven't run into any big ravines or anything.
CASEY: I see your point.
MATT: Yeah?
CASEY: Straight it is.
They continue walking in the same direction. The camera doesn't follow them. They walk away with their backs to us.
CASEY: Isn't there water in cactuses?
MATT: I don't know.
CASEY: But have you heard that before?
MATT: Sure I've heard it. I don't know if it's true or not.
CASEY: It's worth a shot though, right?
MATT: I don't see any cactuses, do you?
CASEY: No.
MATT: Then what does it matter?
CASEY: I'm just saying, if we run across any it might be something we could try.
MATT: Fine if you want to try it, you can.
CASEY: Are you gonna try it?
MATT: No.
CASEY: You're not gonna try it?
MATT: Not a chance in hell.
CASEY: What are you gonna do then?
MATT: I'm gonna stand there and watch you choke on a cactus.
They disappear over the horizon just as the sun begins to set.
A couple of years ago, Gus Van Sant (director of Good Will Hunting among others) wrote and directed a movie called Gerry. It starred Matt Damon and Casey Affleck, yes Casey Affleck...not Ben, and it consisted of two guys named Gerry walking around in the desert for an hour and forty-five minutes. Although the visuals are absolutely stunning, there's only about ten minutes of dialogue and the average shot length probably hovers around seven minutes.
Needless to say the movie didn't catch on at the big movie houses. I'd be willing to bet most people couldn't get past the first five minutes which consisted solely of the two Gerries driving down the road.
But Gus Van Sant wasn't about to let his little pet project fall by the wayside. Determined to get Gerry released nationally, he called in Aaron Sorkin, Emmy award winning writer/creator of Sports Night and the West Wing. True to form, Sorkin took a day and a half to whip up one hour and thirty-five minutes worth of dialogue. Earlier this week, Van Sant called in Damon and Affleck and they added voiceover to the existing movie. The resulting film is a talkfest with some of the best visuals ever captured on film.
What follows is a scene from the middle of the movie, after the two men realize that they are lost, but before they work themselves into a panic. In the original version, the two of them just walked along. Let's see how Sorkin was able to punch it up.
EXT. DESERT - DAY
MATT and CASEY walk. A trail of their footprints stretches behind them as far as the eye can see. They look tired. Thirsty.
CASEY: It's hot.
MATT: Yeah.
CASEY: I mean it's really hot.
MATT: It's the desert. What do you want?
CASEY: I could really use some water.
MATT: You're not the only one.
CASEY: I can't begin to tell you how thirsty I am.
MATT: You could try but I'd probably stop listening after a while.
CASEY: You know why I'm so thirsty?
MATT: Cause you haven't had anything to drink in the last 24 hours.
CASEY: Well, there's that. Plus, you can't drink sand.
MATT: Yeah.
CASEY: I mean, if you could drink sand, I'd be set.
MATT: We'd both be set.
CASEY: Yeah, but ya can't drink sand.
MATT: Well, you could, but it wouldn't be very satisfying.
CASEY: There's the rub.
MATT: You know what we need?
CASEY: To find some water?
MATT: No, we need to find the car.
CASEY: Is there water in the car?
MATT: No. I'm saying if we had the car, then we could drive and get water.
CASEY: Actually, we couldn't.
MATT: Why's that?
CASEY: Cause we used all the money we had to keep the fire going last night.
MATT: That's right.
CASEY: So even if we had the car, we'd still be thirsty.
MATT: Maybe we could find a water fountain or something.
CASEY: Are you kidding me? With out luck we'd wind up back in the desert.
MATT: Good point.
They stop walking, and look around.
MATT: What do you think?
CASEY: Which way to go?
MATT: Yeah.
CASEY: I don't know. I picked last time. It's your turn.
MATT: Straight?
CASEY: You wanna keep going straight?
MATT: Sure, it's treated us well the last five hours.
CASEY: It hasn't treated us well. I'm still hot and thirsty.
MATT: Well yeah, but we haven't run into any big ravines or anything.
CASEY: I see your point.
MATT: Yeah?
CASEY: Straight it is.
They continue walking in the same direction. The camera doesn't follow them. They walk away with their backs to us.
CASEY: Isn't there water in cactuses?
MATT: I don't know.
CASEY: But have you heard that before?
MATT: Sure I've heard it. I don't know if it's true or not.
CASEY: It's worth a shot though, right?
MATT: I don't see any cactuses, do you?
CASEY: No.
MATT: Then what does it matter?
CASEY: I'm just saying, if we run across any it might be something we could try.
MATT: Fine if you want to try it, you can.
CASEY: Are you gonna try it?
MATT: No.
CASEY: You're not gonna try it?
MATT: Not a chance in hell.
CASEY: What are you gonna do then?
MATT: I'm gonna stand there and watch you choke on a cactus.
They disappear over the horizon just as the sun begins to set.
<< Home