Sex, Lies, and Video Tape aka Blog 5

I can describe McKee's writing style in one word: Nazi. That's what it is, pure and simple. His systematic approach to the breakdown of scripts and classification of characters is so cut, dry, and organized its near robotic. What you'll be more amazed to hear is I actually prefer the in depth and more humanly ways of Weston when it comes to character development. Although I do understand why McKee's cold harsh treatment of characters is preferred by most students, I like deep character outlines and breakdowns.
As for Sex, Lies, and Videotape I believe that Graham is the driving action of this scene (11). Without his snide comments or "jackassery" behavior I could have cared less about this whole scene. But he is what makes it. The beats seem to be broken down by shifts in the conversations of the characters such as the one directly after Graham's Lawyer joke.

Discussion questions:

1) Do the beats of a screenplay read differently from Script to final production?
2) What do you feel Graham really meant by his key speech? Would that be shown in his character breakdown?

Allison Gawarecki
(Better late than never.)