DZ-78: Interweaving Timelines 1 - Destroyer

Draft Zero: a screenwriting podcast

How does interweaving two timelines change how the audience feel?

Stu and Chas are joined by Mel Killingsworth to dissect interweaving timelines. Not anthology films. Not Cloud Atlas. But films where two plot lines featuring the same characters, but from different timelines, are woven together.

How do you manage stakes when you know a character’s future? What questions does this prompt in the viewer? And how the hell do you orient the reader?

To answer these questions, it will take three episodes. In this Part 1, our intrepid team (and Mel’s 42 pages of homework) tackle the 2018 film DESTROYER directed by Karen Kusama, written by Hay & Manfredi and starring Nicole Kidman.

Meanwhile, Part 2 will cover THE SOCIAL NETWORK and Part 3 will compare the 1994 Gillian Armstrong version with 2019 Greta Gerwig version of LITTLE WOMEN. Whew.

Stay tuned! SPOILERS ABOUND!

Audio quotations used for educational purposes only. Timestamps indicated below. Chapter markers included in the mp3.

Thanks to Chris Walker for editing this episode.

RUNNING ORDER

• 00:00:10 Intro
• 00:01:46 Interweaving Timelines?
• 00:14:54 Destroyer & Timelines
• 00:35:28 Indicating Timelines
• 00:39:21 Ordering the Key Events
• 00:51:50 Theme & Timelines
• 01:06:44 Questions prompted by the ending
• 01:20:58 Key Learnings & Wrap Up
• 01:37:37 Backmatter

EPISODE LINKS

• WATCH: Destroyer (2018)
• FOLLOW: Melanie Killingsworth – @mehlsbells on twitter
• READ: "A Game Designer’s Analysis Of QAnon"

RELATED EPISODES

• DZ-05: Shifting audience point of view and heightened emotions
• DZ-46: Structure & Point of View

This episode brought to you by ScriptUp - https://www.scriptupstudio.com - use promo code DZ10 to get 10% off.

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