Script to Scene: Rian Johnson Breaks Down Pivotal Moment in ‘Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery’
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Johnson says this scene came to him before he figured out Glass Onion‘s structure. “I thought, ‘How fun would it be to do the denouement scene, the Blanc-wrapping-the-whole-thing-up scene, somewhere in the first act, to basically clear off the table the expectation that the mystery they’re all there for is going to be the mystery?’ ” he says. “This is the scene that announces [what] you think you’re settling in for is not what the movie is actually going to be.”
“My general approach when I’m writing is to write for the reader,” explains Johnson of his stage directions, which are not meant to be an “instruction manual for shooting the movie.” Instead, the script gives a sense of what the film will be. “I’m trying to make it a great read [for] all the departments, including the actors,” he adds. “The most useful thing I can do for them is to give the experience of what watching the movie is going to be.”
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The humor in the scene comes from Blanc’s self-satisfaction amid Miles’ shock and disappointment, explains Johnson: “The fact that Blanc is having the time of his life, and that him doing this is not being mean — it’s not like he’s needling Miles intentionally.”
With limited “real estate” for a large ensemble, Johnson admits his dialogue was strategic. “Every single line, even if it’s a throwaway joke, should reinforce in the audience’s head what the deal is with that character. That ties exactly into [Birdie’s] oblivious[ness], not quite knowing the pain that she causes by being glib about that. Things that seem like little toss-aways, you have to take those and make sure they’re actually serving a purpose.”
Johnson and Daniel Craig came up with this line in rehearsal. “When I’m in the process of rehearsing with the actors, I am never precious about the words, actually,” says Johnson. “I’m precious about why the words are there. Most of the time, we end up just doing it as written, but if we can ever beat it, or find a little thing that makes sense and amplifies it, I always take joy in that.”
“When our amazing effects guys rigged up the blood, and when our prop master Kris Peck rigged the arrow popping up, we got kind of a magical take,” Johnson recalls. “That was the only take we did. Everyone on set just started applauding, because that’s just the luck of the draw.”
This story first appeared in the Feb. 15 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
