A wonderful movie, indeed! “There is a part I want you to play in my movie,” I announced. “I don’t act,” he said quickly. “I won’t do it.” “It’s just a small part.” “Then I definitely won’t do it,” he fired back. In a flash, there it was, a strong reminder of the mind and the pen that had produced some of the world’s greatest dialogue. Seeing daylight, I continued to pitch him on the part, and after a few minutes, Wilder shrugged. “Let me read it. I might do it.” I left on a cloud and returned later to gift him with two rare cigars. He had already left, so I wrote a note – “To your acting debut.” Several months later, as I completed the final script, Wilder’s own agent indeed confirmed that they had discussed the acting project, and Wilder was very positive about the acting job, his first ever. With Wilder as Dicky Fox, the soul of the movie was golden. Jerry Maguire felt blessed already. Now there was just the simple matter of casting the man who was in every scene: Jerry Maguire. http://cinephilearchive.tumblr.com/post/26340485932

Terrific example! I hear all that all the time. Leave out the description. Write subtext - which always leaves room for misinterpretation or misunderstanding. As I'm switching from reading movie scripts to TV scripts, I see the emotional descriptions WRITTEN IN. Very on-the-nose, which is a big no-no in film school. Grrr. Other great examples are The Walking Dead series or Lost. They give the emotional context.

Excellent example. I have heard the same thing but the more I read scripts of brilliant films, the more I see the emotion of a scene described. And the less I see the actor being directed in terms of how to act it because it's already there, in the scene description or the dialogue. And it keeps me reading! And intrigued. What happens next? This is really good succint writing. And I have to admit read Juno last night & I revelled in the fact that it was only 102 pages. Even though I really love the film, I thought at the start "great, I'm not going to be reading this forever." THE WRITING HAS GOT TO HOLD YOU.