Blog #7: "Angels Live In My Town"

Boogie Nights, written by Paul Thomas Anderson, turned out to be quite the entertaining read. The script is full of wonderful and rich characters that seem to be fully developed. Also, while the writer (who is also the director of the piece) knows the characters, surroundings and environments in which Dirk and company play out their lives, the script is very sparse with the actual physical description of the characters and the look of the locations. I like the fact that the script is less wordy and very dialogue heavy.

The only real problem I have with the script is the fact that it is basically directed for us. Again, this is because the writer is also the director of this particular picture. But the fact that many shots, camera movements and angles are already pre-planned for the reader is kinda irritating. I personally like to envision the scenes my own way, in my imagination. The writer accomplishes with the actions the characters take part in, but goes overboard with the directing the script. However, this is a special case, since the writer is also the director.

While I don't really dig the fact that the whole script is directed for us, Boogie Nights was still a wonderful read, thanks to the many entertaining characters and interesting storyline.

Juan Sanchez

1) Do you believe writer/directors should put so much of their directions on the script?

2) This sort of story has been told before: the rise and fall of a great talent. Even though this is a tried and true tale, did you still feel for the characters and the situation? Or do you feel a sense of been there, done that?