Writing Intelligent Characters for Dummies

An intelligent character thinks _____
Welcome to the Pickle Game! Here you must guess what a movie character will do to get out of a pickle. We'll play it to talk about an essential lesson in screenwriting and storytelling: what makes an intelligent character different from everyone else?
Once you've learned the secret you can create a brilliant character who can escape from any pickle even if you're a dummie (which I know you're not, you wonderful video-watcher and description-reader you!).
00:00 Pickle Game
00:19 Round 1
01:09 Round 2
02:01 Round 3
03:16 Conclusion
We'll start off by going through a scene from "The American", starring George Clooney and Thekla Reuten, directed by Anton Corbijn, written by Roman Joffe, based on a novel by Martin Booth. Then we're off to Clooney's "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind", written by Charlie Kaufman, based on Chuck Barris's autobriography or something and starring Sam Rockwell and Julia Roberts. And on the final and hardest round we'll journey back to the silent era and watch Douglas Fairbanks as "The Thief of Bagdad", penned by himself and Achmed Abdullah, directed by Raoul Walsh (those sets by William Cameron Menzies also deserve a mention - did you know he invented the term "production designer?). Look, I just want to give credit to whoever wrote the great solutions I'm praising in the video and I figure the names must be in this paragraph by now. Yes, and keywords.
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#videoessay #screenwriting #georgeclooney #samrockwell #confessionsofadangerousmind #theamerican

[@Moviewise]

And what was your score in the Pickle Game?

[@eumesma-jj9yt]

1 of 3 I thought the gun was gonna jam but it still counts

[@flanderleisen]

0. Kept expecting a last minute save...

[@dr_volberg]

3 but I had seen all three movies.

[@acriticwithoutacause8983]

2 , I thought the thief switches the bags with a similar looking another one.

[@hikari_manekineko]

2, 'cause I was resting my brain and so missed the easiest answer (2). Very proud of having guessed the last one using Logic. :D

[@garypatterson2857]

In each case, the intelligent hero needs a moronic adversary. Who buys a rifle and doesn't test it before the big day, not even sighting it in? What would happen if instead of poisoning the coffee, Julia Roberts pulled out a pistol and shot the hero dead? Serving poisoned coffee and then not watching it every second afterwards is a bit stupid. I like the Thief of Bagdad one though. That's actually a bit clever.

[@toomuchcandor3293]

Not necessarily. Even if she did try out the rifle in private it would have left to same consequence. But yes more importantly the ideas are the there it's upto the story teller to 'seal' up the setup so the punchline becomes inevitable

[@Ghost_Text]

I could offer up Hans from Die Hard as a better example falling for John's unloaded beretta, but then the question would come up. whyd he abandon his original gun.

[@andrelegeant88]

This is great for writing in general. People love twists, but most writing consists of characters responding to plot. A character already avoiding the pickle is a twist readers / audiences always enjoy.

[@mehwhatever9726]

There is an issue with using only the "Ha, I outplanned you!" method, as a way to show your characters are smart. Because it can twist into "Ha! I predicted that you will switch our cups places, so I'd poisoned my own cup instead!" And it becomes silly. Characters using good ol' logic and knowlege to solve immidiate issues is better imo.

[@johnjay370]

Or thay poison both cups and have built up an immunity to the poison over the years.

[@mehwhatever9726]

@@johnjay370 Oh yeah, this is actually something that action-focused anime overuses. Especially JJBA franchise. It is initially enterntaining, but repeated over and over gets very dull.

[@paulminh3525]

Make character 3 dimensional is the best because they always ask themselves if it is the best decision despite knowing their plan or decisions carry potential immense risks, they does their best with current information and rolled with it! They display self awareness, which is a sign of 3 dimensional characters itself! They think thing through, but they know their will be mistake along the ways and makes the best with it to move forward!

[@madmartigan21]

That's exactly what happens at the end of The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane. Martin Sheen has Jodie Foster make them some tea. The audience knows from earlier in the movie that she killed her mother by poisoning her tea with Martin Sheen doesn't know that. For some reason he suspects and forces her to drink the one she poured for him first. Of course she is fine and he relaxes and drinks the tea it was originally in front of her and he dies a minute later. But he has no reason to suspect that she did something to the tv. It makes her look like a genius unless you give it a little bit more thought and realize it's contrived.

[@simplegarak]

Pretty good. Though there are good and cheap ways of doing this. On grading just from what you showed (I need to watch all 3 of these films) I'd put Thief at A+, American at A-, and Confessions at B+ though if I watch the entire scene its grade could increase. But that's also because I'm grading Confessions against the greatest drink switching scene of all time: The Princess Bride. Which obviously would also get an A+ in this pickle game.

[@toweypat]

That's the first scene I thought of, too. "Never go against a Sicilian--ugh!"

[@Trazynn]

The American was so forgettable that I honestly couldn't remember what would happen next.

[@genin69]

you forgot about the princess bride! full of smart characters doing inconceivably clever things

[@yashicat5950]

great work through all of your videos. Very entertaining, funny and well thought out! Many thanks

[@AnnoyingMoose]

"Clearly I cannot choose the cup in front of me." ;)

[@bockmaker]

Never get into a duel of wits when death is on the line. Both cups were poisoned. Spend five years becoming immune to Iocane Power

[@abrahemsamander3967]

I think the movie trilogy that does this perfectly in a non cliche is the dollars trilogy. Each climax has a clever trick by the protagonist. But each is built up, and makes sense in the context of the story, without feeling too much like an ass pull. Plus, each feels unique, and I haven’t seen them copied in too many movies.

[@davidwallace9416]

The poison coffee escape is weird. How does he know which poisoning symptoms to mimic? In the words of Critical Drinker: "Don't know.". Thief of Baghdad escape is very nice, but where did he find the time to empty the purse? Don't know. As for a gun that fires a bullet backwards, even though the cartridge will shoot it forwards? Don't know. The hero should be clever, sure, but 200 IQ is pretty rare, and these characters arent 200 IQ people anywhere else. I guess the test is how long it takes you to think "Wait..whut?" If it's after the end credits, that's great writing.

[@gaopinghu7332]

The sniper didn't shoot backwards, it just exploded in her face. Maybe he put extra gunpowder in it and removed the bullets so during the shot it would blow up.

[@czwarty7878]

Yeah this is exactly what I thought. There are so many poisons that give opposite effects. Barbiturates would make you sleep, strychnine will give you seizures. How would he know what she used? As for gun, barrel obstruction will make the gasses trapped and they will go opposite side, causing small explosion - sending the bolt, parts of receiver and scope into shooters' face.

[@PanteraRossa]

You could have also used any episode of McGuigan's Sherlock.

[@thomasd4738]

does example four involve spending years building up a tolerance to iocane powder?

[@abrahemsamander3967]

The big sleep kinda has this, but it shows the main character thinking ahead. So, we the audience know how he tricked the villain. It was pretty clever and original.

[@JosephTPorter]

The clever twist in Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind is that he never switched the cups, he makes her think he switched the cups so she does the switching instead

[@jayallman]

Like Abbott and Costello? kzbin.info/www/bejne/j5iZpI1ondmNnMU

[@albertoflanolombardo4155]

Well, at least you mentioned a Charlie Kaufman's movie.

[@johnjay370]

Fun.

[@ConradSpoke]

Another great video, but I'm not sure if this one will make me re-write my screenplay. Maybe a little. The Thief of Bagdad (Cohen Collection restoration) is miraculous, highly recommended. Here's a suggested topic: male versus female nudity. Thief of Bagdad is the film that started me thinking about this years ago. 1) Above-the-waste male nudity is actual nudity. 2) There has always been far more male nudity than female nudity in film. 3) For women these scenes are embarrassing, for men they are TORTURE. 4) Male nudity means something: either this character is going to die or people will try to kill him. 5) Female nudity means: let's look at this nice body, and usually NOTHING ELSE. Notable cross-over exception: Scuba diver Susan at the beginning of Open Water. Fun fact: There is a spectacular topless scene in a 1990 Disney movie (because side lit mosquito net pajamas counts as nothing).

[@Moviewise]

I'm glad you enjoyed the video! Interesting idea about the different types of nudity. There's a subject I never thought about, though I wouldn't say I see it the same way. Shirtless men aren't always condemned, I think, they're often just proud of their bodies. That's how I see it in The Thief of Bagdad (which is indeed miraculous) at least. Chris Hemsworth really wanted to show off his phisique in Thor, and so did Matthew McConaughey in a bunch of rom-coms.

[@zinv08]

I got 2 out of 3 at least.

[@hpoonis2010]

Try The Internecine Project (1974).

[@WilliamJames48]

She wouldn't have checked the rifle? ...