DZ-11: Adventure for the MacGuffin!

Show Notes

Stu and Chas are joined by a special guest - Scriptmag contributor Brad Johnson - to discuss how the choice of the MacGuffin can impact on the quality of an action/adventure film. To test this thesis, our heroes compare the auspicious originals of two iconic franchise with their, um, less-than-auspicious 4th instalments (in other words we compare RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK with KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL and THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL with ON STRANGER TIDES) as well as look at two recent & original entries into the genre, namely NATIONAL TREASURE and PRINCE OF PERSIA.

Our heroes uncover how key the relationship between the protagonist and the MacGuffin is and how this can impact on writing in any genre, not just action/adventure. Suprisingly, Brad brings up STAR WARS before Stu does…

Thanks to our Patrons, especially Khrob, Theis, Sandra, Jesse, Randy, Paulo, Thomas, Jennifer, Malay, Alexandre and Lily.

As always: SPOILERS ABOUND and all copyright material used under fair use for educational purposes.

Chapters

00:00:00 – Intro: Adventure for the MacGuffin!
00:01:27 – What is a MacGuffin?
00:06:14 – Raiders of the Lost Ark
00:11:59 – Indiana Jones & The Kingdom of the Cystal Skull
00:26:38 – Pirates of the Carribean: Curse of the Black Pearl
00:41:24 – Pirates of the Carribean: On Stranger Tides
00:55:00 – National Treasure
01:17:00 – Princes of Persa: The Sands of Time
01:37:00 – Wrap Up & Key Learnings

Films

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981) — (w) Philip Kaufman, George Lucas, Lawrence Kasdan (d) Steven Spielberg
INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL (2008) — (w) George Lucas, David Koepp, Jeff Nathanson (d) Steven Spielberg
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL (2003) — (w) Terry Rossio, Ted Elliott (d) Gore Verbinski
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES (2011) — (w) Terry Rossio, Ted Elliott, Tim Powers (d) Rob Marshall
NATIONAL TREASURE (2004) — (w) Jim Kouf, Cormac Wibberley, Marianne Wibberley, Jim Kouf, Oren Aviv, Charles Segars (d) Jon Turteltaub
PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME (2010) — (w) Boaz Yakin, Doug Miro, Carlo Bernard (d) Mike Newell

Scripts

Study the script: RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981) — Philip Kaufman, George Lucas, Lawrence Kasdan
Study the script: INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL (2008) — George Lucas, David Koepp, Jeff Nathanson
Study the script: PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL (2003) — Terry Rossio, Ted Elliott
Study the script: PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES (2011) — Terry Rossio, Ted Elliott, Tim Powers
Study the script: NATIONAL TREASURE (2004) — Jim Kouf, Cormac Wibberley, Marianne Wibberley, Jim Kouf, Oren Aviv, Charles Segars

Links

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