So cool you're sharing this stuff with us, Scott. Wish I could be in Austin, but this will definitely do! I love Big Fish. Absolutely love it. As for the narrator thing -- I always get the sense that narration is used for writers who approach their movies from a novelists point of view. They have such a strong voice; it's almost as if they want to express their opinion about their own work or make sure we don't interpret anything incorrectly. I've always enjoyed narration, but I know it's kind of got a bad connotation in the scriptwriting world because people see it as a crutch. As long as you do it well, no harm no foul!

I agree with Kalen, it's a bummer that narration is looked down on. I think that the reason why narration is used is because it can be used just as a way to dictate plot with little apparent added. The great Gatsby (thinking about the Redford version) comes to mind because it starts with the same voice over "In my younger years.." It is telling rather than showing and not giving us any unique insight to a character. My opinion, when its done best, the words should show us a unique voice of a character, while the visual proves otherwise (like the Election example or one of my favorites The Black Donnellys see 0:00-1:35) http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=the+black+donnellys%27s+pilot+opening&go=&qs=n&form=QBVR&pq=the+black+donnellys%27s+pilot+opening&sc=0-0&sp=-1&sk=#view=detail&mid=011B20123B7CA87A3C6D011B20123B7CA87A3C6D