Developing Story Ideas, 3rd Edition

22 Catalyzing Drama

Today, vibrant cinema like Richard Linklater’s Oscar-winning Boyhood (USA, 2014) is emerging from actor-centered generative methods rather than from the traditional screenwriter working alone. To chronicle a Texan boy growing up into a young man, Linklater shot at intervals over twelve years, using the same cast in improvised scenes. In the film, people age visibly and develop in mind, behavior, and relationship as well as physically. Most touching is the unfolding relationship between mother and son, for which Patricia Arquette received an Academy Award.

Actor-centered fiction film goes back many decades. Ingmar Bergman, who knew his actors well from directing them in the Swedish National Theatre, gave them a prominent place ...