I just read a script that used the double dashes a lot to break up action. Before I knew it I was through half of it. I was searching for grammar/screenplay rules regarding this style and GITS just read my mind.

There you go, Huqleberry. Synchronicity at work!

Compare this scene to the one that is similar to the John Carter scene you posted a while back -- similar in that they "punch" through each scene to get to a conclusion. Network works because the ALARM connects each scene and when she finds it she also finds the Howard Beale. In John Carter it does not work because there is no connecting thread -- only a constant pushing of the conclusion forward to the point that it's not relevant or funny because there's no ALARM - only an over played idea that John Carter cannot be held down. The ALARM makes the difference and also the fact that she finds Beale awake while it's ringing only deepens his character.

The alarm as connective tissue. Good point.

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