Writing the Photoplay Part 42

Blinker misunderstands. Bill comes near to throttling him, before Blinker can gasp:

_Cut-in leader--_

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND--IT WAS ONLY A DIFFERENCE OF--OPINION--"

Bill waits to find out. Blinker hesitates, then, seeing threat, begins to explain.

146--Ella's room.

Florence seems to be asleep, and Ella sneaks off for some milk or something. Florence gets up, sad and despondent.

Slowly begins to dress.

147--Blinker's apartment.

Bill amazed at Blinker, who ends up:

_Cut-in leader--_

"IT'S A QUESTION OF ETHICS--"

Bill glowers and snaps:

_Cut-in leader--_

"ETHICS BE d.a.m.nED! IT'S A QUESTION OF--ARE YOU GOIN' TUH BLAME HER FOR THE VERY THING YOU MADE HER DO?"

Blinker begins to consider.

148--Ella's room.

Florence dressing (suspense: Does she recall that revolver and want to add her tragedy to the dreary ones of "Brickdust Row?")

149--Blinker's apartment.

Big realization--"All my fault." Blinker goes off with Bill.

150--Ella's room.

Ella soothing Florence. Latter does not wish to live. All life is black before her.

151--Hall outside door.

Comedy relief as Bill and Blinker come on and latter draws back in a natural suspense as to his reception and Bill tells him to "beat it on in!" Blinker knocks, and goes in.

Bill pauses.

152--Ella's room.

Florence looks up. Ella surprised. Blinker pauses. Ella seems to be attracted by something.

153--Crack of open door.

Bill is making violent gestures to get Ella out.

154--Ella's room.

Ella catches Bill's idea, and moves unostentatiously out.

Then Blinker strides to Florence. He says:

_Cut-in leader--_

"IT'S ALL WRONG. I'VE COME TO SQUARE IT."

Florence is reserved, chilly, as she says:

_Cut-in leader--_

"YOU MEAN--ABOUT THE PARLORS?"

Blinker is beside her, and catching her hands he cries:

_Cut-in leader--_

"I MEAN--ABOUT _YOU_!--AND _ME_!"

In spite of herself, Florence is forced to lift her eyes, and as she reads the look in his own she is compelled to realize that the air is cleared at last and that the happiness that seemed dead is again alive--palpitant happiness that draws her into his ready arms.

155--Hall outside Ella's room.

Bill "fixes it up" with Ella to "travel double." She wants to rush in and tell her chum, but Bill stays her: "Nix--let 'em do some clinchin' first!"

156--Ella's room.

Florence and Blinker embracing.

Circle diaphragm closes to blackness.[60]

[Footnote 60: This is the script before it reached production. If you see the picture you will no doubt observe directorial alterations that came up during production. In that case you will have valuable experience in seeing the difference between the original--the script-writer's conception--and the directorial interpretation.]

CHAPTER XXI

MARKETING THE PHOTOPLAY SCRIPT

Writing the photoplay is essentially an art; marketing the photoplay script is a business; and the sooner the writer adopts intelligent, up-to-date business methods in offering his stories, the sooner he is likely to find the checks coming in. It is not enough merely to send out your script; it must be sent to that editor who is in the market for the kind of script you have written. As one editor has said, "Don't send a Biblical photoplay to a firm that makes a specialty of Indian and cowboy subjects."

Your first care, then, should be to have as complete a knowledge as possible of what every company is doing, what kinds of stories they need at the time, where their field-companies are working, and, above all, what kinds of scripts certain companies positively do _not_ want at _any_ time. For of course, there are companies with definitely fixed policies, besides concerns that announce from time to time that they are unable to use stories of this or that sort.