Casablanca and Writing.

Recently, the Daytime Renegade revisited one of the all time classics of cinema, Casablanca, and discovered in its presentation lessons for storytellers. For instance, the film is a veritable clinic on dialogue.

Dialogue. Much of this movie’s classic lines were written on the fly, or improvised (“Here’s lookin’ at you, kid.”). But what stands out to be is how each character in Casablanca speaks in a unique way, and there is not a wasted line of dialogue. 

Every word uttered in this movie had to be spoken. The dialogue is snappy without sounding forced, particularly Bogart’s lines and his delivery. The responses characters give sound unique without seeming too clever. 

Lesson: Trim the fat. Sometimes us writers try to make things sound more “realistic” with “Well” and “so” and “um” and lots of ellipses. But it doesn’t work in movies, and it doesn’t work in print. 

And think through how your characters speak: Do they have certain verbal tendencies? Say very little? Offer quips or asides? Everyone should sound different without sounding written. It’s difficult, but watching Casablanca, you can get an idea of how it’s done.

Soon after, Brian Niemeier explained one of the enduring legacies of Casablanca, the Hollywood formula:

The Hollywood Formula utilizes three archetypal characters whose interrelationships drive the story across three acts. 

The Protagonist — the character whose pursuit of a goal drives the story. The goal must be concrete, definable, and achievable. Not "I want to be happy" or "I want to be rich", but rather, "I want him to fall in love with me so that I will be happy." "I want to win the game show that I'm going to be on so that I will be rich." 

The Antagonist — the person who places obstacles between the protagonist and his goal. The antagonist is not necessarily a villain. The antagonist's goals may be diametrically opposed to, or even the same as, the protagonist's. 

The Relationship Character — accompanies the protagonist on his journey. Typically a more experienced character who has wisdom to share with the protagonist, which the protagonist rejects at first. The theme of the story, what the protagonist needs to understand in order to succeed, is expressed either by or to this character. In many cases, this happens as part of an actual conversation. At the end of the story, this conversation or expression of the theme will be revisited, and the protagonist and this character will reconcile with each other. 

The story ends when the protagonist achieves or relinquishes his goal, defeats or is defeated by the antagonist, and reconciles with the relationship character. The closer together these things happen, the more emotional impact the story will have.

 While most common writing formulas are plot centered, the Hollywood formula is instead centered on the relationships of the story. And while Hollywood tends to blend the relational formula with traditional three act structure, the Hollywood formula can be used to complement any plot structure.

But don't take my word for it. Check out both articles and learn from a classic.