![]() ![]() He goes on to specify three questions that writers must ask themselves when looking at each scene they write: Mamet gives perhaps the best definition of drama - and conflict - as far as what it is, how it affects the characters, and how the audience is affected by it as well. "WHAT IS DRAMA? DRAMA, AGAIN, IS THE QUEST OF THE HERO TO OVERCOME THOSE THINGS WHICH PREVENT HIM FROM ACHIEVING A SPECIFIC, ACUTE GOAL." ![]() When they suffer, the eventual episode of the movie suffers. When the script suffers, the cast and director suffer. Yes, we need to relay information at times within our dialogue, but when such non-drama overtakes each and every scene for the mere purpose of explaining the plot and characters, the script suffers. Or any form of storytelling for that matter. And non-drama has no place in a story written for television or film. Call it information or call it exposition - in the end, it's non-drama. The worst of shows and features clearly don't know the difference between the two. Mamet was referring to the difference between drama and non-drama. THE AUDIENCE WILL ONLY TUNE IN AND STAY TUNED TO WATCH DRAMA." ![]() "THE AUDIENCE WILL NOT TUNE IN TO WATCH INFORMATION. Note: Because the memo was written in all caps, we will follow suit here as well for "dramatic" effect. Here we share the best nuggets of wisdom from that memo and elaborate on how those words can change the course of any writer's craft for the better. The many nuggets of wisdom and direction found in the memo can be applied masterfully to both television and feature writing. Mamet also wrote feature screenplays for classic films like The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981), The Verdict (1982), The Untouchables (1987), Hoffa (1992), the film adaptation of his play Glengarry Glen Ross (1992), The Edge (1997), Wag the Dog (1997), Ronin (1998), and Hannibal (2001). When the memo later surfaced online, shortly after the series was canceled, one of the greatest lessons in television writing was shared with the world. As potential witnesses start disappearing, Decker and White are inexorably pulled down a twisted tunnel of secrets, crimes, and scandal-at the end of which lies Decker’s deadliest threat yet.Almost a decade ago, celebrated playwright, film director, screenwriter, author and producer David Mamet - one of the kings of dialogue - wrote a memo to the writing staff of his then critically-acclaimed CBS show The Unit, for which he was the creator, producer, and frequent writer. and forces him to reckon with his future. Meanwhile, Decker must contend with a series of unsettling changes, including a new partner-Special Agent Frederica “Freddie” White-and a devastating event that brings Decker’s own tragic past back to the present. Who was the real target in this vicious attack? What at first seems cut and dry is anything but: Not only did the judge have more enemies than Decker can count-from violent gang members, drug dealers, and smugglers to a resentful ex-husband-but the bodyguard presents additional conundrums that muddy the waters even further. When Amos Decker is called to South Florida to investigate a double homicide, the case appears straightforward: A federal judge and her bodyguard have been found dead, the judge’s face sporting a blindfold with two eye holes crudely cut out, a clear sign that she’d made one too many enemies over her years on the bench. From the author of The 6:20 Man, “Memory Man” Amos Decker-an FBI consultant with perfect recall-delves into a bewildering double homicide in this new thriller in David Baldacci's #1 New York Times bestselling series. ![]()
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