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Current Talk '24 I / Re: Happy 50th Anniversary, Night of Dark Shadows
« on: November 02, 2023, 11:14:16 PM »
Revisiting more of how Scene 80 appears in DC's script:
It's interesting that the quote from the script for today is:Page 30A/Scene 80 - Quentin: 'But I didn't see you. I saw a child...holding a teddy bear...'
Though as we know, what Quentin actually says in the film is "But I didn't see you. I saw a child...holding a doll...", and that's exactly what we saw him see. Apparently at some point after the script was written, it was changed to a doll. And honestly I think that works out better for what I'm holding off on getting into until later on. But what's also interesting is that in Grayson's version of the script, originally there was no dialogue referencing Sarah as holding anything - and as we'll see when I post Grayson's version of Scene 80, the holding of a teddy bear is something that was added by hand. So, apparently, first Sarah wasn't necessarily holding anything, then it was a teddy bear, then finally it became a doll.
And as far as DC's script goes, he has a notation that Quentin would turn to Carlotta before he delivers today's quote, and that's exactly what he does before he delivers the reworked version of the quote. However, DC also had some other notation - but he erased it so well that it's hard to decipher what he'd originally written - but if one really does look closely, it seems to be an intent to have panned to a close-up of Carlotta after Quentin turned to her and then to have panned to his close-up. And with the exception of panning to Carlotta's close-up (which will be dealt with when we discuss tomorrow's quote), that's pretty close to how things play out, so who knows why DC erased it?
Wrapping up DC's script's version of Scene 80, beginning with Quentin's followup action to claiming to have seen girl holding a "teddy bear":
He looks around the room.
And that's when yesterday's quote -Page 30A/Scene 80 - Carlotta: Yes, this is a little girl's room. It was Mrs. Stoddard's when she was a child. It must have been a trick of light.'
- comes up, followed by the script continuing with:
FLASH CUT - LITTLE GIRL IN THE WINDOW
as he remember's what he saw.
QUENTIN - CLOSE-UP
QUENTIN
Yes , it must have been.
Then not knowing what else to do
QUENTIN
Well I'd better get to work.
He EXITS toward the tower as she stands there watching
him go.
End of scene.
And when it comes to what's different with the dialogue, after mentioning the girl, Quentin actually asks "This was a child's room, wasn't it?" - to which Carlotta actually replies "Yes, it was. It was Mrs. Stoddard's when she was a little girl," and then there's a pause before she adds "It must have been a trick of the light."
And yes, there is an extra space in the script between "Yes" and the comma - and yes, there's no comma or period after "Well".
And when it comes to what's different with the descriptions and directions, Quentin doesn't actually look around the room - and interestingly enough, it's Carlotta who's in close-up when Quentin asks if the room was a child's room - but things return to a two shot when Carlotta answers that the room was once Mrs. Stoddard's - and as Carlotta finishes with that remark and as she offers that it must have been a trick of the light, the camera does indeed pan to Quentin as DC's erased notation once indicated that it would - and does Quentin really remember what he saw? - and DC also has a few other notations, like how Carlotta will be in close-up after Quentin recalls what he saw (and the way she looks at him, with a tilt of the head, seems to speak volumes), how Quentin will then be in close-up as he agrees it must have been a trick of the light (though in reality he's in more of a medium shot), and how as he exits the room, the camera would pan to Carlotta - however, we don't actually see Quentin exit the room in the direction of the tower because the camera doesn't actually pan from Quentin because it goes right to a close-up of Carlotta and we simply see Quentin's chest and left arm pass briefly in front of her face as she closely watches him leave.
And Grayson's script also has notations for this section of the scene, but I'll hold off getting into them until I post her script's version of Scene 80...