Aug. 28, 2026

A Script By: Stanley Kubrick - Dr. Strangelove or: How I learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

A Script By: Stanley Kubrick - Dr. Strangelove or: How I learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

Before it was a film, it was a script. Brad Koszo dives deep into some of Hollywood's most celebrated screenplays to analyze their structure, themes, and page-to-film journey. Get ready for a look at the writers behind the words as he explore their...

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Season 7 A Film By...
Before it was a film, it was a script.

Brad Koszo dives deep into some of Hollywood's most celebrated screenplays to analyze their structure, themes, and page-to-film journey. Get ready for a look at the writers behind the words as he explore their process, what influenced them, and how they inspired some of the iconic cinema we enjoy today.

This month, Brad welcomes an old friend, Dayton Johnson of the Docking Bay 77 Podcast, to join him in the War Room for Stanley Kubrick's political satire, Dr. Stangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb!

Check out our NEW YouTube Channel and subscribe now!

Head over to our Patreon and get started with a FREE 7-day trial. We've got plenty of exclusive content and episodes that you'll only find there! You can also sign up as a free member!

www.afilmbypodcast.com/ for more information.
Email us at afilmbypodcast@gmail.com with your questions, comments, and requests.
Find us on Instagram, X, and Facebook @afilmbypodcast.
WEBVTT

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Welcome to A Film By Presents, A Script By. I'm

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your host, Brad Kozo. On this show, we break down

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some of Hollywood's most celebrated screenplays to discover what makes

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them enduring works of cinematic storytelling. Today, we are heading

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to the war room of Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove, or

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How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb,

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a screenplay that took one of humanity's greatest fears, nuclear annihilation,

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and transformed it into one of the greatest dark comedies

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ever written. This is a script buy. Let's turn the page.

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Welcome to A Script By, and we are talking Dr. Strangelove,

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or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.

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Screenplay by Stanley Kubrick, Terry Southern, and Peter George, based

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on the Cold War novel by George. But before we

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dive into the screenplay, I'm excited to welcome today's guest.

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I've known him for nearly 30 years. You may know

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him as the creator and host of Docking Bay 77,

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but I know him as a longtime friend collaborator and

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probably the biggest Axl Rose fan I've ever met. Please

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welcome Dayton Johnson.

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Wow.

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How are you?

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Um, I'm good. Uh, I'm going to have to, I

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don't know how to react to that comment, but no,

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I'm good. Uh, I'm, I'm super excited to be on this.

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I remember when you sent out the list of scripts

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you were talking about, I was like, yeah, I want Dr. Strangelove. That's, that's,

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that's a no, no brainer. It's, uh, That's a must, must.

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So I'm super excited to be here and really, really excited.

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Well, I'm especially glad that you're here for this episode

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because in many ways, you're the reason I became such

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a Stanley Kubrick fan.

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Really? Yeah. Okay.

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You were the first person to lend me 2001 A

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Space Odyssey to watch for the first time. We worked

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together at a video store when Kubrick passed away.

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Right.

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Eyes Wide Shut was in the theater. And when that

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Stanley Kubrick DVD collection came out, Right.

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Oh, that's right.

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I bought that set having only seen about half of them.

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And after that, I just became obsessed with Kubrick's Worth. So, yeah.

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So now, do you remember the first time you saw

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the film? You know, what were your initial impressions? And

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why do you think the screenplay accomplishes so much with

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so little?

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So yeah, actually, it was my senior year of high school,

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and I was taking a fine arts class. And each quarter,

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we focused on something different. We did theater, drawing, we

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did music, and then we did film for one of

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the quarters. And this was one of the movies we

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got to watch in class. So I was probably 17,

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18 when I saw it for the first time. And

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I remember really thinking it was very funny. I really

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enjoyed the social commentary. Love the dark humor. I'm always

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a fan of anybody that can do a good job

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making us laugh with such a serious topic. So yeah.

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So from the first watch, I was really into it

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and it is actually my favorite Kubrick film. So with

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everything else he's done, this one for me is, I

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think is pinnacle, you know, but I, people would disagree

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with me and I, and that's fine. And it's one

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of those also that I try to watch pretty frequently.

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And yeah, I remember just even in the 80s how

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relevant it was, even though it's based in the 60s.

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It was written and shot in the 60s. And then

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in the 80s, of course, we had the whole Cold

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War thing going on. There was so many movies. We

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had war games. We had the day after, the TV movie.

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So it was still relevant then. And What impressed me,

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because I had never read the screenplay until I got

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ready for this. Me neither. Yeah. So it was like, wow.

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It blew me away how little there was as far

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as description in the screenplay. And I know you don't

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usually get a lot, but knowing that Kubrick was one

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of the writers, you figured there would be something else

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in there, a few more details, and there really wasn't. Right.

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What surprised me was when I was reading it, how

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much I still laughed out loud, how funny the dialogue was,

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how just right to the point. And it was so

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strong that– because sometimes you can read a screenplay and go, okay, yeah,

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I see this. And then when you watch the movie,

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it makes it better. You got good performances or whatever.

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And you get great performances in this film. But the

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humor was already there. It was just ready enough. you know,

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to be put on the screen. It was almost plug

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and play. And it was just, you know, Kubrick did

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a great job getting, you know, over the top performances

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from everybody. And, but the fact that there's like no

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description of what the war room is supposed to look

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like or what Ripper's office looks like, or even what's

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going on inside the B-52. And you're thinking, man, you know,

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you have the screenplay and then Kubrick, you know, came up, well,

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we're going to do this. We're going to put this here.

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And then of course you have the set designer, Ken Adams, who,

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was bringing, you know, trying to bring what Kubrick was thinking,

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you know, and we all say, how about this? How

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about this? And of course it works. And yeah, there's

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just so much, it's all, I mean, it's literally, I

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know a lot of screenplays are a lot of words

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and just a lot of dialogue, but this, you know,

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this is literally just nothing but dialogue. And then Kubrick

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just nails it. It's like, okay, we're going to do

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this and we're going to do this. And we're so, yeah,

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it's great. It's great.

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Yeah. Well, before we dive into the screenplay, let's talk

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about how Dr. Strangelove came to be, because its journey

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to the screen is almost as fascinating as the film itself.

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It all began with Peter George, a former Royal Air

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Force officer who wrote the 1958 novel Red Alert. Now,

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it wasn't a comedy. It was a deadly, serious Cold

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War thriller built around one terrifying question. What if one

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man accidentally started a nuclear war? That premise fascinated Stanley Kubrick.

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Fresh off of Lolita, he immersed himself in books on

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nuclear strategy, military policy, and Cold War politics, intending to

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adapt Red Alert as a tense political thriller. But the

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deeper he researched, the more he realized something unexpected. I mean,

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the logic of this nuclear deterrence was so absurd that

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it was.

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Funny.

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I mean, and instead of fighting that realization, he just

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embraced it. You know, but to really help with that

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was getting the screenplays, you know, satirical voice. And that's

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when he brought in satirical novelist Terry Southern. Together with George,

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the three writers, they transformed a serious thriller into one

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of cinema's greatest political satires. Now, for this episode, I

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studied an early January 1963 production draft, and one of

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the things immediately stood out. Kubrick never stopped rewriting. Scenes

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became tighter, dialogue sharper, and the screenplay leaner throughout the production.

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The finished script is only about 55 pages long, roughly

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half the length of an actual typical feature screenplay. Yet,

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it became a 95-minute classic. To me, that's one of

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the screenplay's greatest lessons. Great screenwriting isn't about page count.

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It's about giving filmmakers everything they need and nothing they don't.

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And here's what's remarkable. audiences in 1964 weren't laughing at

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an impossible nightmare. They were laughing at a nightmare they

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genuinely believed could happen. So, with the writers established, let's

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head into the war room and see how this remarkable

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screenplay unfolds. Now, one thing that really surprised me while

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researching this episode was how much Kubrick kept rewriting, as

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you were saying before, during production. Does it surprise you?

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Does it seem exactly something that Kubrick's just going to

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keep doing?

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Well, one thing I've always known about him after– once

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I got old enough to do research and read about

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and see all the behind-the-scenes things for filmmakers, Kubrick was

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a control freak. And he liked to have his hand

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in everything. And it doesn't surprise me because he could

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write as well. So he does multiple takes and you

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just know– That he was getting something– like he'd see

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something and go, hey, let's do this. Let's do that.

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Let's add this. And no, I absolutely– it tracks. To me,

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it makes sense that he was seeing stuff and then

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he would probably go back to his room and he

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would type it up or write it up and then

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here's some more pages for the next day. So no,

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it's– it does not surprise me a bit. In fact,

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I would be shocked if, you know, if it stayed

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like the front, you know, the first draft is what,

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what he shot. Cause that, that does not make any sense.

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I wouldn't believe that for a second, but yeah.

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And the fact that he also worked with not just

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George on this film, but with screenwriter on a Lolita

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from the novel, he worked with RC Clark on two 2001.

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I think Anthony Burgess on clockwork, he's working with all

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these writers, but yet, obviously not Stephen King, but he

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convinces them to become Kubrickian in this way. So, you know,

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somehow with their own work.

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Yeah.

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Well, we're going to take our first ad break, but

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when we return, we will get into the first 10

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pages and act one of Dr. Strangelove. Welcome back to

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a script by, and we are diving into the first

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10 pages of Dr. Strangelove. Now, with the first 10

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pages of the script, they accomplish an incredible amount in

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very little space. The early production draft actually opens with

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narration about rumors of a Soviet doomsday machine. Kubrick ultimately

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removed it, allowing the audience to discover the danger alongside

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the characters. Either way, the stakes are immediately clear. One

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mistake could end the world. The screenplay then introduces one

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of the film's most memorable images. As a B-52 refuels

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in midair, try a little tenderness plays over the opening credits.

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It's a beautiful, almost romantic image, yet it's introducing machines

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built for nuclear war. Right away, the screenplay establishes the

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uneasy blend of comedy and catastrophe that defines the story.

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When we meet General Jack D.

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Ripper.

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who orders an unauthorized attack on the Soviet Union and

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group captain Mandrake, who has every reason to believe those

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orders are legitimate. That's what makes these opening pages so unsettling.

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Nobody thinks they're doing anything wrong. Everyone is simply following procedure.

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From there, the screenplay quickly shifts between Ripper's base, Major

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Kong's bomber, and General Turgeson, showing the crisis from multiple perspectives.

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Rather than following a single protagonist, The story follows a

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system that's already spiraling out of control. By the end

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of 10 pages, we know everything we need to know. One,

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the world is living under the constant threat of nuclear war. Two,

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Ripper has launched an unauthorized attack. Three, the bomber crews

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believe they're carrying out a legitimate order. Communication has been

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cut off, making the attack difficult to stop. And the

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real conflict is in one man against another. It's a

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system racing toward catastrophe. Kubrick and his co-writers establish all

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of this without lengthy exposition, proving that efficient screenwriting isn't

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about explaining more, it's about revealing exactly what the audience needs,

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exactly when they need it. With all the pieces now

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in place, the countdown to Doomsday has officially begun. The

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screenplay moves between Ripper, Mandrake, Major Kong, and Turgeson without

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giving us one obvious main character. Do you think that

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makes the opening harder to follow or does it make

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the crisis feel larger than any one person?

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I don't think it makes it hard to follow at all.

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I think because ultimately with this film, even though it's

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called Dr. Strangelove, there is no main character. In the

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first 10 pages, you kind of meet the characters that

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really matter. I mean, yes, eventually we get the president

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and the Russian ambassador or whatever. But it's these main

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characters that– represent different aspects of what's going on. You know,

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as you mentioned, you got the guys in the B-52.

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They think this is real. You know, you got Mandrake

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who's kind of like, you know, are you sure this

220
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is what we're supposed to be doing? He's following orders.

221
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He's doing what he's supposed to be doing. And, you know, Turgeson,

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you know, he's hilarious. Sorry, we'll get into him a

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little more later. But yeah, and Ripper, it's like he

224
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just seems, you know, at first you're thinking, well, is

225
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this guy the hero? Is he doing the right thing?

226
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But no, they kind of give you four different views

227
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on what's going on. And the fact that on some level,

228
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each one of these has a little bit of responsibility

229
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for the incident. Granted, Mandrake does everything he can to

230
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prevent it ultimately. But it's the Cold War paranoia that

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everybody's buying into. But yes, I think it's great. It

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sets the stage and we get the The important character

233
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is right out of the way in the first 10 minutes.

234
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Yeah, yeah. Well, let's get into Act 1. One of

235
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the things that makes Dr. Strangelove so unusual is that

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its first act isn't about introducing a hero. It's about

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introducing a crisis. The screenplay's inciting incident comes when General

238
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Jack D. Ripper issues Wing Attack Plan R and orders

239
00:14:09.769 --> 00:14:13.259
an unauthorized nuclear strike against the Soviet Union. From that

240
00:14:13.299 --> 00:14:17.970
moment on, every storyline is reacting to a single catastrophic decision.

241
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Rather than slowing down to explain the Cold War, Kubrick

242
00:14:21.669 --> 00:14:26.769
immediately expands the conflict. We move between Burpleson Air Force Base,

243
00:14:27.049 --> 00:14:31.200
Major Cogs B-52, and the Pentagon, watching the same crisis

244
00:14:31.299 --> 00:14:35.440
unfold from different perspectives. Each scene raises the stakes and

245
00:14:35.480 --> 00:14:38.539
reminds us that time is running out. By the end

246
00:14:38.580 --> 00:14:42.570
of Act I, the bombers are beyond recalled, Burpleson has

247
00:14:42.610 --> 00:14:45.750
been sealed off and President Muffley has assembled the war room.

248
00:14:46.210 --> 00:14:49.450
The question is no longer whether Ripper acted alone. It's

249
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whether anyone can stop a global catastrophe before it's too late.

250
00:14:54.110 --> 00:14:57.600
That's what makes this first act so effective. It establishes

251
00:14:57.659 --> 00:15:02.039
the conflict, introduces the major players, and creates relentless momentum

252
00:15:02.120 --> 00:15:06.919
without ever getting bogged down in exposition. Now, Dayton, we've

253
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talked about the inciting incident and how efficiently this first

254
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act is put together. What do you think Kubrick and

255
00:15:13.519 --> 00:15:17.320
his co-writers accomplished best here? Is it the pacing, the tension,

256
00:15:17.879 --> 00:15:20.840
or the introduction of all these characters, or is it

257
00:15:20.879 --> 00:15:21.279
something else?

258
00:15:22.350 --> 00:15:26.100
Well, actually, it really does all those things. It also

259
00:15:26.129 --> 00:15:28.500
gives us a timeline because it tells you in the

260
00:15:28.580 --> 00:15:31.100
intro that each of these bombers is two hours from

261
00:15:31.139 --> 00:15:35.500
its target, right? So now we know this takes place

262
00:15:35.519 --> 00:15:38.519
over the course of two hours, right? And they consistently

263
00:15:38.559 --> 00:15:41.100
give us a timeframe throughout the first act. Well, they're

264
00:15:41.120 --> 00:15:43.460
going to be in radar range of 20 minutes. So

265
00:15:43.480 --> 00:15:46.120
they're telling us, you know, kind of building the tension.

266
00:15:46.690 --> 00:15:50.389
you know, and, uh, but what I really, really love

267
00:15:50.710 --> 00:15:53.899
is the introduction of the characters because each of our

268
00:15:53.960 --> 00:15:57.919
characters do represent a different aspect of the incident, you know, um,

269
00:15:57.960 --> 00:16:01.120
for instance, Ripper and, you know, and this whole communist

270
00:16:01.139 --> 00:16:04.919
fluoride conspiracy is the origin for everything. And which is great.

271
00:16:05.000 --> 00:16:07.799
And the fact that it, that even means so much

272
00:16:08.000 --> 00:16:12.720
more now than it was going back, just saying, but, um, uh,

273
00:16:13.600 --> 00:16:17.100
Ripper's great. He's kind of, he kind of embodies a

274
00:16:17.159 --> 00:16:20.799
lot of the paranoia, the Russian influence and the whole

275
00:16:20.820 --> 00:16:25.120
paranoia of that timeframe. Mandrake represents the innocent, represents the

276
00:16:25.179 --> 00:16:28.720
people on both sides that are going to suffer for

277
00:16:28.740 --> 00:16:31.100
the mistakes of the people in charge. So he is

278
00:16:31.139 --> 00:16:33.029
an innocent that has a voice, but nobody's listening to him.

279
00:16:33.080 --> 00:16:35.500
You know what I mean? He's trying to fix everything

280
00:16:35.639 --> 00:16:40.120
and nobody hears him. Major Kong, he's just one of

281
00:16:40.139 --> 00:16:42.480
the grunts. He's one of the soldiers. He's one of

282
00:16:42.500 --> 00:16:46.549
the everyman that, you know, He's doing his job. He

283
00:16:46.570 --> 00:16:49.529
sees the instructions and he's just following out the orders

284
00:16:49.570 --> 00:16:52.889
from the people above. He's bought into the whole Cold

285
00:16:52.909 --> 00:16:57.220
War propaganda and he's just following the orders of his superiors. Now, Turgenson,

286
00:16:58.159 --> 00:17:01.600
of course, Kong's indirect superior, shows a little bit of

287
00:17:01.639 --> 00:17:04.640
the corrupt side of the military with his secretary girlfriend

288
00:17:05.019 --> 00:17:05.940
answering the phone.

289
00:17:06.019 --> 00:17:06.700
Oh, yeah.

290
00:17:07.259 --> 00:17:09.440
Which is awesome. Just so funny. He doesn't want to

291
00:17:09.460 --> 00:17:11.640
come out of the bathroom to talk. Just whatever.

292
00:17:11.660 --> 00:17:15.220
It tells you everything about him. Yes, exactly.

293
00:17:15.619 --> 00:17:19.220
Exactly. So, you know, and he gets even funnier as

294
00:17:19.240 --> 00:17:21.720
he goes on because even though he knows what's happening,

295
00:17:21.759 --> 00:17:25.380
he still tries to go, well, you know, I don't

296
00:17:25.400 --> 00:17:26.700
want to make that kind of judgment to all the

297
00:17:26.769 --> 00:17:28.720
facts are in. He says that a few times about

298
00:17:28.769 --> 00:17:32.029
different things. He's just like, he's okay with it. So

299
00:17:33.130 --> 00:17:35.049
what is so cool about that is he's, you know,

300
00:17:35.609 --> 00:17:37.529
all these characters, and of course we meet the president

301
00:17:37.569 --> 00:17:41.170
and whatever, but those are kind of very representative of,

302
00:17:41.950 --> 00:17:45.960
you know, who's being impacted and how these different people

303
00:17:46.160 --> 00:17:48.980
and their positions in the situation are impacting other ones.

304
00:17:49.039 --> 00:17:53.220
So yeah, I, I, I love the introductions of the characters,

305
00:17:53.299 --> 00:17:55.660
especially once we get to the war room and, you know,

306
00:17:55.680 --> 00:17:59.220
with the president and his interactions with Turgenson. So yeah, I,

307
00:17:59.720 --> 00:18:01.799
I think it's, it's a little bit of everything, but

308
00:18:01.859 --> 00:18:04.789
for me, it's what we learn about each of our

309
00:18:04.829 --> 00:18:06.569
characters in the, in the first act.

310
00:18:08.210 --> 00:18:11.250
And you're just like, Oh, no. It's hopeless.

311
00:18:11.759 --> 00:18:15.019
Yes. Oh, yeah. And 100%. 100%. Okay.

312
00:18:15.140 --> 00:18:18.839
Well, we're going to take our second and final break.

313
00:18:18.900 --> 00:18:21.359
And when we return, we will close out Act 2

314
00:18:21.359 --> 00:18:25.660
and 3 of Dr. Strangelove. Welcome back to A Script By.

315
00:18:25.720 --> 00:18:30.009
We're talking Dr. Strangelove and Act 2. Now, if Act

316
00:18:30.009 --> 00:18:33.769
1 establishes the crisis, Act 2 is where Dr. Strangelove

317
00:18:34.269 --> 00:18:38.309
fully embraces its satirical voice. As the tension rises, so

318
00:18:38.329 --> 00:18:41.430
do the laughs. One of the screenplay's central ideas is

319
00:18:41.470 --> 00:18:44.170
that the people entrusted with running the world's most powerful

320
00:18:44.230 --> 00:18:48.910
nation and controlling its deadliest weapons are often incompetent, arrogant,

321
00:18:49.250 --> 00:18:53.720
or hopelessly out of touch. Whether it's General Turgenson treating

322
00:18:53.759 --> 00:18:57.779
nuclear war like a strategic game, the Russian ambassador playing politics,

323
00:18:58.000 --> 00:19:01.299
or President Muffley struggling to keep everyone focused, the war

324
00:19:01.339 --> 00:19:05.490
room becomes a stage for oversized egos and bureaucratic absurdity.

325
00:19:06.099 --> 00:19:08.900
Instead of inspiring confidence, these leaders make us question whether

326
00:19:09.000 --> 00:19:12.369
anyone is truly in control. At Purpleson Air Force Base,

327
00:19:12.869 --> 00:19:16.730
Mandrake finally realizes the horrifying truth. As General Ripper launches

328
00:19:16.789 --> 00:19:21.930
into his rant about communists contaminating America's precious bodily fluids,

329
00:19:22.450 --> 00:19:25.880
Mandrake and the audience understand that the fate of the

330
00:19:25.940 --> 00:19:29.200
world rests in the hands of a man who's completely unhinged.

331
00:19:29.839 --> 00:19:32.279
It's one of the screenplay's funniest scenes, but it's also

332
00:19:32.380 --> 00:19:35.400
one of the most terrifying. Meanwhile, Major Kong and his

333
00:19:35.539 --> 00:19:39.680
B-52 crew remain calm, disciplined, and completely unaware of the

334
00:19:39.720 --> 00:19:43.890
chaos unfolding around them. They aren't villains. They're professionals carrying

335
00:19:43.970 --> 00:19:48.309
out what they believe are legitimate orders. That contrast creates

336
00:19:48.349 --> 00:19:52.420
some of the screenplay's sharpest irony. That's what makes Act

337
00:19:52.420 --> 00:19:56.200
2 so effective. Kubrick, Peter George, and Terry Southern find

338
00:19:56.279 --> 00:20:01.220
comedy in incompetence, paranoia, and professionalism without ever losing sight

339
00:20:01.289 --> 00:20:05.140
of the catastrophic consequences behind every laugh. This is the

340
00:20:05.220 --> 00:20:08.509
actor I find myself laughing the most. Was there one

341
00:20:08.529 --> 00:20:11.890
scene or one character that consistently got the biggest laugh

342
00:20:11.930 --> 00:20:13.910
out of you?

343
00:20:13.930 --> 00:20:18.470
So it's actually a couple. But with Ripper and his

344
00:20:18.609 --> 00:20:23.589
theory and his paranoia with the whole– how the conspiracy

345
00:20:23.609 --> 00:20:26.710
to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids,

346
00:20:27.269 --> 00:20:31.839
which is just ridiculous. So the bodily fluids remark is

347
00:20:31.930 --> 00:20:35.170
what makes me laugh every time. And it comes back

348
00:20:35.230 --> 00:20:38.569
again when Turgeson is reading the transcript from Ripper's phone

349
00:20:38.589 --> 00:20:41.490
call to Sack. He said, you know, this makes me

350
00:20:41.529 --> 00:20:44.380
laugh so hard. He goes, so let's get going. There's

351
00:20:44.420 --> 00:20:47.059
no other choice. God willing, we will prevail in peace

352
00:20:47.140 --> 00:20:49.940
and freedom from fear and in true health through the

353
00:20:50.039 --> 00:20:53.630
purity and essence of our natural fluids. God bless you all.

354
00:20:54.130 --> 00:20:55.230
And then he says, then he hung up. And we're

355
00:20:55.250 --> 00:20:57.490
still trying to figure out the meaning of that last phrase.

356
00:20:57.630 --> 00:21:00.789
And the president's like, he's psychotic. And Turgeson's like, well,

357
00:21:01.289 --> 00:21:04.670
I like to hold off judgment until we have all

358
00:21:04.690 --> 00:21:08.000
the facts. And I'm like, what facts do you need?

359
00:21:08.079 --> 00:21:11.259
I mean, come on. Turgeson just cracks me up. And

360
00:21:11.279 --> 00:21:14.900
it's those two guys. Because as funny as Sellers is

361
00:21:14.940 --> 00:21:19.240
in the three different roles he plays, it's Turgeson and

362
00:21:19.299 --> 00:21:23.069
it's Ripper that make me laugh. the most with one

363
00:21:23.109 --> 00:21:25.769
slight exception. We'll get that in a little bit. But no,

364
00:21:26.009 --> 00:21:28.009
through the bulk of Act II, Turgenson is the one

365
00:21:28.190 --> 00:21:32.529
that ultimately brings the humor. His whole, you know, everything

366
00:21:32.549 --> 00:21:35.269
for explaining the plan R and why it ultimately failed,

367
00:21:35.670 --> 00:21:38.630
you know, and then getting upset with the Russian ambassador

368
00:21:38.690 --> 00:21:40.210
coming into the room. He's like, you know, I don't

369
00:21:40.230 --> 00:21:42.289
know how exactly to put this, sir, but are you

370
00:21:42.309 --> 00:21:45.410
aware of the serious breach of security that would be?

371
00:21:45.730 --> 00:21:48.519
I mean, he'll see everything. He'll see the big board.

372
00:21:48.539 --> 00:21:48.930
Yeah.

373
00:21:50.150 --> 00:21:52.230
And then he gets his phone call from his girlfriend again.

374
00:21:52.529 --> 00:21:56.880
I'm like, this guy is ridiculous. And then, so yeah.

375
00:21:56.990 --> 00:22:00.839
And the fact that George C. Scott, you know, played Patton,

376
00:22:01.279 --> 00:22:02.339
you know, such a serious role.

377
00:22:02.359 --> 00:22:03.700
I was just thinking about that.

378
00:22:04.059 --> 00:22:06.619
Yes. And then he goes and does this. And he did,

379
00:22:06.640 --> 00:22:09.440
I did read that he got mad at Kubrick for

380
00:22:09.480 --> 00:22:12.210
making him play these, do these different takes and making

381
00:22:12.250 --> 00:22:14.230
him go over the top. And then after he watched it,

382
00:22:14.230 --> 00:22:15.950
he was like, nope, that was the right thing to

383
00:22:15.990 --> 00:22:20.890
do because it's so, so funny. So, Ultimately, I think

384
00:22:20.930 --> 00:22:22.410
it's Turgeson that makes me laugh the most.

385
00:22:23.410 --> 00:22:26.049
And I think with that dialogue, you have to kind

386
00:22:26.069 --> 00:22:26.809
of go big.

387
00:22:27.450 --> 00:22:27.869
Oh, yeah.

388
00:22:27.890 --> 00:22:31.430
Or else it kind of falls flat, I think. Going big,

389
00:22:31.829 --> 00:22:33.319
it just sells it.

390
00:22:33.990 --> 00:22:36.650
Oh, yeah. Yeah, because then it would feel like he's

391
00:22:36.670 --> 00:22:40.549
being too serious. But his expressions, the chomping on the gum,

392
00:22:40.589 --> 00:22:46.220
he's delivering it well. in a way that you think,

393
00:22:46.259 --> 00:22:48.839
and he believes everything, but in the way that you're like,

394
00:22:49.309 --> 00:22:52.549
he's nuts. He's nuts, but that's what makes it funny.

395
00:22:52.910 --> 00:22:53.730
So yeah, it's great.

396
00:22:54.349 --> 00:22:56.730
I know, but his prior and his priorities, you know,

397
00:22:56.789 --> 00:22:59.849
the girlfriend is like, they're in a serious situation and you're, you're,

398
00:22:59.869 --> 00:23:03.750
you're answering the phone from your girlfriend. Right. Right.

399
00:23:03.829 --> 00:23:04.069
Yeah.

400
00:23:04.089 --> 00:23:06.930
It's just shows everything of, like I said, where their

401
00:23:06.970 --> 00:23:11.230
head is. Yep. All right. Let's get into act three.

402
00:23:12.299 --> 00:23:14.440
Act three begins with what appears to be a glimmer

403
00:23:14.480 --> 00:23:18.130
of hope. Mandrake discovers the bomber's recall code and President

404
00:23:18.190 --> 00:23:22.170
Muffley successfully transmits it to the remaining aircraft. For a

405
00:23:22.309 --> 00:23:26.910
brief moment, it seems like the crisis has been averted. Yeah,

406
00:23:26.950 --> 00:23:31.289
but Kubrick has other plans. One damaged B-52 commanded by

407
00:23:31.369 --> 00:23:34.769
Major Kong continues towards its target. Now, when the bomb

408
00:23:34.789 --> 00:23:37.930
bay doors fail, Kong rides the nuclear bomb to its

409
00:23:37.990 --> 00:23:41.240
destination in one of the most unforgettable images in film history.

410
00:23:42.160 --> 00:23:45.740
With disaster now inevitable, the screenplay reaches the height of

411
00:23:45.779 --> 00:23:49.500
its satire. Rather than mourning the end of civilization, the

412
00:23:49.539 --> 00:23:52.200
leaders in the war room immediately began planning for life

413
00:23:52.480 --> 00:23:56.960
after the apocalypse. This is where Dr. Strangelove's character finally

414
00:23:57.009 --> 00:24:01.670
takes center stage. His proposal to preserve humanity in underground mineshafts,

415
00:24:02.369 --> 00:24:05.910
including the idea that each man should have multiple female

416
00:24:05.950 --> 00:24:10.069
partners to repopulate the earth, is treated not only as insanity, uh,

417
00:24:11.500 --> 00:24:14.480
but as a serious solution. Some of the men even

418
00:24:14.539 --> 00:24:20.259
seem excited by the prospect. That's Kubrick's final satirical statement.

419
00:24:20.980 --> 00:24:22.789
Faced with the end of the world, these leaders remain

420
00:24:22.809 --> 00:24:27.869
consumed by power, politics, and self-interest instead of the unimaginable

421
00:24:27.910 --> 00:24:31.910
tragedy unfolding around them. As We'll Meet Again plays over

422
00:24:31.930 --> 00:24:35.390
the montage of nuclear explosions, the screenplay leaves us with

423
00:24:35.609 --> 00:24:39.710
one final reminder. Humanity's greatest threat isn't the bomb itself,

424
00:24:40.380 --> 00:24:45.299
It's the people trusted to control it. Dayton, what amazes

425
00:24:45.359 --> 00:24:48.680
me is that once the bomb can't be stopped, I mean,

426
00:24:49.519 --> 00:24:53.079
nobody in the war room really grieves. They almost immediately

427
00:24:53.119 --> 00:24:57.839
start planning for it immediately. Do you think that's Kubrick's

428
00:24:57.880 --> 00:24:59.460
funniest joke or is that his darkest?

429
00:25:01.349 --> 00:25:04.150
I think it's the darkest because it's laced with truth.

430
00:25:05.089 --> 00:25:10.279
The disconnect from... reality these characters show us is unfortunately

431
00:25:10.299 --> 00:25:13.940
a little bit too real. And so, you know, here

432
00:25:13.980 --> 00:25:15.339
these guys are at the top of the food chain.

433
00:25:15.759 --> 00:25:18.019
You know, we'll figure out how to survive because, you know,

434
00:25:18.220 --> 00:25:21.000
they have all the resources. They have all the ability to,

435
00:25:21.480 --> 00:25:23.460
you know, they have the computers. They have the ability

436
00:25:23.500 --> 00:25:25.029
to go, yeah, we're going to take, you know, find

437
00:25:25.049 --> 00:25:27.740
these mine shafts. We're going to have the computer decide

438
00:25:28.049 --> 00:25:31.049
which people come with us. And yes, 10 women for

439
00:25:31.109 --> 00:25:32.710
every man. And of course, the women have to be

440
00:25:32.750 --> 00:25:39.859
chosen for their physical appearances. because that's important. Ultimately, the

441
00:25:40.319 --> 00:25:42.640
way I look at this is, this is Kubrick pointing

442
00:25:42.720 --> 00:25:46.089
out that the danger is that they don't learn from

443
00:25:46.109 --> 00:25:49.130
the past. Here they have you know, the situation that

444
00:25:49.150 --> 00:25:51.250
happened at one point, even Turgeson says, I wish we

445
00:25:51.269 --> 00:25:53.250
had one of those doomsday machines, which is just funny.

446
00:25:53.769 --> 00:25:57.369
But then he goes off on this rant that, you know,

447
00:25:57.690 --> 00:25:59.230
we have to do everything we can to not have

448
00:25:59.250 --> 00:26:02.490
a mineshaft gap with the Russians. Now we're, now that

449
00:26:02.529 --> 00:26:05.410
we've had a nuclear, you know, Holocaust, you know, that's over.

450
00:26:05.430 --> 00:26:07.490
Now we have to worry about a mineshaft gap. And

451
00:26:07.529 --> 00:26:11.460
it's just like, these guys have no idea what's going on. So,

452
00:26:11.940 --> 00:26:14.980
you know, we, we, it's not only just the fact

453
00:26:15.000 --> 00:26:17.160
that these guys on top have no concept of anything.

454
00:26:17.640 --> 00:26:22.819
But it's also showing us there's a class warfare. The

455
00:26:22.839 --> 00:26:25.319
rich and powerful will go on. They'll find places for

456
00:26:25.759 --> 00:26:28.329
them to survive. And yet the workers, the soldiers, and

457
00:26:28.349 --> 00:26:31.869
the poor all get left behind. They're the cannon fodder.

458
00:26:32.650 --> 00:26:36.130
Yeah. And I mean this immediate thing of like, okay,

459
00:26:36.150 --> 00:26:40.609
there's the threat of the extinction of humanity. And the

460
00:26:40.650 --> 00:26:42.549
first thing you can think of is how do we

461
00:26:42.589 --> 00:26:45.329
get over the Russians? How do we beat the Russians?

462
00:26:45.490 --> 00:26:51.349
And you're just like, And it's believable, but yeah, very, very,

463
00:26:51.529 --> 00:26:52.069
very funny.

464
00:26:52.549 --> 00:26:52.789
Yep.

465
00:26:54.029 --> 00:26:56.809
Well, we have now closed out Acts 1, 2, and

466
00:26:56.809 --> 00:26:59.910
3 of Dr. Strangelove, and we're going to be going

467
00:27:00.289 --> 00:27:03.900
beyond the page. And our first section is going to

468
00:27:03.930 --> 00:27:08.619
be foreshadowing, symbols, and setup. Now, one of Dr. Strangelove's

469
00:27:08.680 --> 00:27:11.839
greatest strengths is how naturally it plants information that pays

470
00:27:12.079 --> 00:27:16.200
off later. The best example of this is wing attack

471
00:27:16.299 --> 00:27:20.230
plan R. It sounds like routine military procedure, but it's

472
00:27:20.349 --> 00:27:24.670
carefully established so the audience understands how one man's actions

473
00:27:24.730 --> 00:27:31.029
can triple global catastrophe. The screenplay also foreshadows General Ripper's instability.

474
00:27:32.009 --> 00:27:35.150
He first appears calm and authoritative, making his later rant

475
00:27:35.190 --> 00:27:39.400
about precious bodily fluids both shocking and believable. Major Kong

476
00:27:39.440 --> 00:27:43.960
and his B-52 crew provide another clever setup. Their professionalism

477
00:27:44.240 --> 00:27:48.509
makes them sympathetic, but it also... what makes them impossible

478
00:27:48.529 --> 00:27:52.549
to stop. Finally, the war room itself becomes the screenplay's

479
00:27:52.670 --> 00:27:57.519
strongest symbol. It represents power and control, yet it's filled

480
00:27:57.720 --> 00:28:01.440
with leaders whose egos and poor judgment push the world

481
00:28:01.539 --> 00:28:04.960
closer to destruction. That's one of the screenplay's greatest lessons.

482
00:28:05.519 --> 00:28:10.839
Great writers don't rely on surprises alone. They earn them. Kubrick,

483
00:28:10.900 --> 00:28:14.380
Peter George, and Terry Southern plant important information early, making

484
00:28:14.640 --> 00:28:20.160
every payoff feel both surprising... and inevitable. Dayton, was there

485
00:28:20.180 --> 00:28:22.599
a setup or a payoff in the screenplay that you

486
00:28:22.680 --> 00:28:25.549
didn't fully appreciate until you went back and read it?

487
00:28:28.319 --> 00:28:33.200
Honestly, no. What really surprised me after reading the screenplay

488
00:28:33.220 --> 00:28:35.819
for the first time and knowing the film was the

489
00:28:35.880 --> 00:28:38.119
fact that, and I mentioned it a little bit earlier,

490
00:28:38.180 --> 00:28:43.970
that with Kubrick being a writer on the film, And

491
00:28:44.009 --> 00:28:46.690
I've seen– I've read enough screenplays that are written by

492
00:28:46.769 --> 00:28:51.240
the director as well. And there's usually more description within

493
00:28:51.279 --> 00:28:54.000
the room or there's some more camera directions and things

494
00:28:54.039 --> 00:28:57.279
like that. There was none of that. So when I

495
00:28:57.339 --> 00:28:59.920
watched the film after reading it, I'm like there are

496
00:28:59.960 --> 00:29:04.049
so many details that were developed after the fact. Like

497
00:29:04.470 --> 00:29:09.150
I mentioned Turgeson's gum chewing, constant gum chewing. Like he's

498
00:29:09.269 --> 00:29:11.230
forcing– I swear he went through like 10 packs of

499
00:29:11.269 --> 00:29:15.329
gum in like a half hour. That was nowhere in

500
00:29:15.349 --> 00:29:18.910
the screenplay. And then when we first meet Kong, when they're,

501
00:29:19.069 --> 00:29:21.859
you know, when they get the orders, he's reading a Playboy.

502
00:29:22.299 --> 00:29:26.619
So there's these little details that weren't in the screenplay

503
00:29:26.660 --> 00:29:30.000
that I would kind of expected knowing that Kubrick was

504
00:29:30.019 --> 00:29:32.769
one of the writers. So what impressed me and what

505
00:29:32.789 --> 00:29:35.170
kind of set it up and I started like, you know,

506
00:29:35.190 --> 00:29:36.710
when I went back to rewatch it, I was like,

507
00:29:37.309 --> 00:29:40.309
you know, that wasn't there. That wasn't there. Although things

508
00:29:40.369 --> 00:29:43.279
that they thought up on you know during the making

509
00:29:43.319 --> 00:29:46.339
of the film that fleshed out and gave it made

510
00:29:46.359 --> 00:29:49.119
it more feel more real you know because everything on

511
00:29:49.140 --> 00:29:52.059
the page is is believable and it's funny and it's

512
00:29:52.200 --> 00:29:54.940
you know has a lot to say but it's the

513
00:29:54.980 --> 00:29:57.880
things that they came up with while during production that

514
00:29:57.960 --> 00:29:59.539
made it feel more real.

515
00:30:00.529 --> 00:30:05.549
Yeah, it just, it seemed like, yeah, just, they were like, yeah, oh, today,

516
00:30:05.589 --> 00:30:08.339
let's do this. Or let's try this. They did a

517
00:30:08.380 --> 00:30:10.099
lot of experimenting, I feel like, with that.

518
00:30:10.559 --> 00:30:12.740
Yeah, and it worked to a huge degree.

519
00:30:13.839 --> 00:30:17.019
For our next section, we're going to dive into dialogue

520
00:30:17.140 --> 00:30:20.920
and subtext. One of the reasons Dr. Strangelove remains such

521
00:30:20.940 --> 00:30:24.119
a brilliant screenplay is that its dialogue is almost never

522
00:30:24.200 --> 00:30:28.289
just about what's being said. Beneath nearly every conversation is

523
00:30:28.329 --> 00:30:32.509
a deeper satirical target. The clearest example is the screenplay's

524
00:30:32.549 --> 00:30:36.369
constant use of sexual innuendo, from General Ripper's obsession with

525
00:30:36.410 --> 00:30:40.130
his precious bodily fluids to Dr. Strangelove's proposal that each

526
00:30:40.210 --> 00:30:43.470
man should have multiple female partners to repopulate the Earth.

527
00:30:44.190 --> 00:30:49.970
Sexuality becomes a metaphor for power, masculinity, and domination. Kubrick

528
00:30:50.009 --> 00:30:54.509
and Terry Southern repeatedly connect nuclear aggression with male ego.

529
00:30:55.250 --> 00:30:58.630
The screenplay also reflects the political paranoia of its era.

530
00:30:59.359 --> 00:31:02.980
Ripper's accusations of communist plots echo the fears of the

531
00:31:03.019 --> 00:31:07.299
McCarthy era, when suspicion and conspiracy often replaced evidence and reason.

532
00:31:07.980 --> 00:31:11.230
His dialogue is absurd, but it's rooted in a very

533
00:31:11.309 --> 00:31:17.769
real chapter of American history. Finally, many of the military

534
00:31:17.829 --> 00:31:22.819
leaders speak with complete confidence while making catastrophically bad decisions.

535
00:31:23.470 --> 00:31:26.880
The screenplay suggests that blind certainty can be just as

536
00:31:26.920 --> 00:31:30.579
dangerous as ignorance. That's what makes the dialogue so memorable.

537
00:31:30.980 --> 00:31:33.839
It's hilarious on the surface, but beneath every joke is

538
00:31:33.880 --> 00:31:38.740
a sharp critique of power, politics, and human behavior. Now

539
00:31:38.789 --> 00:31:41.730
for screenwriters, that's one of the biggest takeaways from Dr.

540
00:31:41.769 --> 00:31:42.289
Strangelove.

541
00:31:42.670 --> 00:31:48.329
Great dialogue doesn't just reveal character, it reveals theme. In Dr. Strangelove,

542
00:31:48.589 --> 00:31:52.650
almost every memorable line entertains the audience while reinforcing the

543
00:31:52.670 --> 00:31:58.349
screenplay's larger satirical message. Dayton, what's your favorite line of

544
00:31:58.390 --> 00:32:01.950
dialogue in the screenplay? And is it funny simply because

545
00:32:01.990 --> 00:32:04.750
it's just well-written or because of what it's saying beneath

546
00:32:04.769 --> 00:32:05.230
the surface?

547
00:32:06.390 --> 00:32:10.680
So, okay. So before I answer that, it's both. But

548
00:32:10.720 --> 00:32:12.359
before I answer that, I want to mention I love

549
00:32:13.220 --> 00:32:17.920
your description of how the whole sexuality and the macho

550
00:32:18.000 --> 00:32:23.119
and how war makes these guys stronger or whatever. And

551
00:32:23.480 --> 00:32:26.319
one thing that I did not catch early on but

552
00:32:27.500 --> 00:32:31.210
I have a theory and I would love to get–

553
00:32:32.160 --> 00:32:36.730
but when we're hearing about Ripper's theory on the whole

554
00:32:36.789 --> 00:32:39.970
fluoridation and everything else and he was talking about– he

555
00:32:39.990 --> 00:32:42.549
developed this theory when he was having sex and when

556
00:32:42.569 --> 00:32:46.059
he was not having sex, he felt empty. OK? Now–

557
00:32:46.279 --> 00:32:51.900
What's funny– and then he's like– I honestly believe that

558
00:32:51.940 --> 00:32:56.049
the subtext is he's gay and he's blaming– he doesn't

559
00:32:56.069 --> 00:33:00.210
want to accept it, so he's blaming the fluoridation. Because

560
00:33:00.250 --> 00:33:02.650
if you think about it, he's like– he changes it.

561
00:33:02.650 --> 00:33:04.630
He says, I don't avoid women, but I don't give

562
00:33:04.650 --> 00:33:08.299
them my essence. So I think it's a real subtle thing,

563
00:33:08.619 --> 00:33:11.700
just one little line that could be a conversation piece that,

564
00:33:11.779 --> 00:33:15.269
you know what? I think he's lashing out. because he's

565
00:33:15.309 --> 00:33:16.789
hiding the fact that he's gay. He doesn't want to

566
00:33:16.809 --> 00:33:18.500
deal with the fact that he's gay. I think that's

567
00:33:18.539 --> 00:33:21.319
actually ultimately what starts the whole war is because, you know,

568
00:33:21.839 --> 00:33:24.799
I just saying that one little line, I don't know

569
00:33:24.819 --> 00:33:25.920
that for true.

570
00:33:25.940 --> 00:33:29.109
I mean, it was something that made him snap.

571
00:33:29.710 --> 00:33:29.869
Yes.

572
00:33:29.890 --> 00:33:32.710
So, I mean, it had to be something big.

573
00:33:33.289 --> 00:33:33.529
Yeah.

574
00:33:33.569 --> 00:33:36.079
So I could, Definitely, definitely see that.

575
00:33:36.359 --> 00:33:39.039
Just see that. That's just good writing if that's what

576
00:33:39.059 --> 00:33:41.700
they intended. But, you know, because it's real subtle, real subtle.

577
00:33:42.420 --> 00:33:44.759
But it was just something I, you know, in the

578
00:33:44.859 --> 00:33:46.940
last few years kind of picked up on. But anyway,

579
00:33:47.640 --> 00:33:50.359
so back to your actual question about the funniest line

580
00:33:50.400 --> 00:33:52.839
in the whole movie. And I think it actually made

581
00:33:52.880 --> 00:33:59.259
AFI's quotes. And it's when Turgeson and the ambassador, Russian ambassador,

582
00:33:59.279 --> 00:34:02.599
start fighting. And Muffley comes over and says, gentlemen, you

583
00:34:02.619 --> 00:34:05.299
can't fight in here. This is the war room. Just

584
00:34:05.460 --> 00:34:11.820
like the absolute absurdity of that statement is fantastic, you know,

585
00:34:12.219 --> 00:34:15.380
because it's honestly a microcosm of the absurdity of the

586
00:34:15.480 --> 00:34:18.360
arms race and the whole policy of mutual short destruction.

587
00:34:18.920 --> 00:34:22.860
It's so stupid and it's funny at the same time.

588
00:34:23.110 --> 00:34:27.130
But yeah, I absolutely adore that line because it's just

589
00:34:27.250 --> 00:34:31.030
genius writing those, putting those words together. It was great.

590
00:34:31.090 --> 00:34:34.179
It was absolutely great. Love it.

591
00:34:34.510 --> 00:34:37.900
You can almost hear the laughter as they're writing it.

592
00:34:38.579 --> 00:34:43.699
There's like, oh, that's good. That's good. Yep. Well, let's

593
00:34:43.739 --> 00:34:47.340
get into page versus screen. One of the most fascinating

594
00:34:47.360 --> 00:34:50.480
parts of reading Dr. Strangelove is seeing how much change

595
00:34:50.519 --> 00:34:53.840
between the screenplay and the finished film. Some of its

596
00:34:53.940 --> 00:34:56.760
most memorable moments either look very different on the page

597
00:34:56.940 --> 00:34:59.880
or aren't there at all. biggest change comes right at

598
00:34:59.900 --> 00:35:03.980
the beginning. The January 1963 production draft opens with a

599
00:35:04.059 --> 00:35:09.070
narrated explanation of the Soviet doomsday machine. Kubrick ultimately removed it,

600
00:35:09.320 --> 00:35:13.280
allowing audience to discover that information alongside the characters. By

601
00:35:13.340 --> 00:35:17.980
withholding that revelation, the film creates a much stronger midpoint surprise.

602
00:35:18.639 --> 00:35:22.469
Another memorable change is the opening aerial refueling sequence. While

603
00:35:22.510 --> 00:35:25.789
the screenplay describes the action and includes try a little tenderness,

604
00:35:26.250 --> 00:35:30.869
The famous sexual metaphor comes primarily from Kubrick's direction, editing,

605
00:35:30.949 --> 00:35:35.210
and the finished film rather than the screenplay itself. Finally,

606
00:35:35.329 --> 00:35:38.010
one of the screenplay's most famous endings never made it

607
00:35:38.070 --> 00:35:41.949
to the theaters. Kubrick originally filmed a massive pie fight

608
00:35:42.280 --> 00:35:44.980
in the war room after the crisis reached its climax.

609
00:35:45.719 --> 00:35:49.380
He ultimately cut the sequence, realizing that ending with Major

610
00:35:49.420 --> 00:35:52.599
Kong's ride and the montage of nuclear explosions set to

611
00:35:52.659 --> 00:35:57.300
We'll Meet Again created a far more haunting conclusion. Sometimes

612
00:35:57.530 --> 00:36:01.070
the best adaptation isn't about adding more, it's about knowing

613
00:36:01.110 --> 00:36:05.489
what to leave out. Reading screenplays reminds us that a

614
00:36:05.550 --> 00:36:08.809
script is a blueprint, not the finished product. One of

615
00:36:08.829 --> 00:36:11.449
the greatest lessons writers can learn is to study both

616
00:36:11.469 --> 00:36:14.900
the page and the screen, because sometimes the most important

617
00:36:14.940 --> 00:36:20.800
storytelling decisions happen during production. Dayton, after reading the screenplay,

618
00:36:20.960 --> 00:36:25.400
what surprised you the most that either changed or disappeared

619
00:36:25.420 --> 00:36:26.059
in the finished film?

620
00:36:27.159 --> 00:36:30.239
So it was actually what was added that does not

621
00:36:30.280 --> 00:36:33.139
appear in the screenplay, but it pops up all over

622
00:36:33.760 --> 00:36:37.199
Burbleson Air Force Base. And that is the banners and

623
00:36:37.219 --> 00:36:40.860
the posters with their slogan. The signs. Peace is our profession.

624
00:36:42.809 --> 00:36:47.550
Absolutely love it. It's everywhere at that Air Force Base.

625
00:36:47.730 --> 00:36:49.769
And of course, you know, it's just another way of

626
00:36:50.190 --> 00:36:52.590
the whole paradox to maintain peace. We must prepare for war.

627
00:36:53.300 --> 00:36:56.639
It's just so funny, especially when the other troops come

628
00:36:56.739 --> 00:36:59.800
in and they're fighting alongside these big signs that say

629
00:36:59.860 --> 00:37:03.889
peace is our profession. It's hilarious. It's such a fantastic

630
00:37:03.929 --> 00:37:10.289
addition and just a glorious touch that really, really speaks

631
00:37:10.510 --> 00:37:13.630
to the satire level of this film. It's just so funny.

632
00:37:14.190 --> 00:37:14.630
So funny.

633
00:37:15.369 --> 00:37:18.869
Well, that's awesome that you picked that because they were

634
00:37:18.889 --> 00:37:22.510
saying that like, we didn't make that up. That's at

635
00:37:23.429 --> 00:37:25.960
you know certain bases and stuff they go we we

636
00:37:25.980 --> 00:37:28.420
didn't put that there that was that was there you

637
00:37:28.460 --> 00:37:32.679
know as they yeah well it's still funny yeah i

638
00:37:32.739 --> 00:37:37.269
guess i had hoped during reading it that some of

639
00:37:37.309 --> 00:37:40.969
the the background stuff would i guess like you said

640
00:37:41.010 --> 00:37:46.730
descriptions would be there like the signs or um maybe

641
00:37:46.769 --> 00:37:49.619
even the camera angles like you know shooting up at

642
00:37:50.019 --> 00:37:53.960
you know uh general ripper's face yeah you know um

643
00:37:54.619 --> 00:37:58.360
and you just as each time you're reading jack d

644
00:37:58.599 --> 00:38:03.239
ripper you're just you can't and all the names all

645
00:38:03.300 --> 00:38:06.300
the names like things are just like absurd in so

646
00:38:06.340 --> 00:38:09.340
many ways or mean mean other things.

647
00:38:09.699 --> 00:38:11.949
Well you have kiss off you have bat guano and

648
00:38:12.639 --> 00:38:16.130
there's just so they're fantastic names i love it yeah

649
00:38:16.150 --> 00:38:17.469
it's just so good so.

650
00:38:17.309 --> 00:38:21.849
Good yeah Well, now we come to the moment that

651
00:38:21.889 --> 00:38:25.750
defines the script. Every great screenplay has one scene that

652
00:38:25.829 --> 00:38:31.400
perfectly captures its voice, themes, and purpose. For me and Dr. Strangelove,

653
00:38:31.539 --> 00:38:35.059
it's President Muffley's phone call with Soviet Premier Dmitry Kassov.

654
00:38:35.840 --> 00:38:38.539
On the surface, it's one of the screenplay's funniest scenes.

655
00:38:39.039 --> 00:38:41.670
The president is trying to explain that the United States

656
00:38:41.789 --> 00:38:46.000
has accidentally launched a nuclear attack. Yet the conversation plays

657
00:38:46.099 --> 00:38:48.579
out like an awkward phone call between two old friends

658
00:38:48.719 --> 00:38:52.559
trying to smooth over a misunderstanding. But beneath the comedy

659
00:38:52.619 --> 00:38:56.679
lies a screenplay's central message. The two most powerful leaders

660
00:38:56.900 --> 00:39:00.510
in the world aren't acting like decisive statesmen. They're acting

661
00:39:00.570 --> 00:39:05.150
like ordinary people trapped in an unimaginable situation. While millions

662
00:39:05.190 --> 00:39:09.250
of lives hang in the balance, they're worried about hurt feelings, misunderstandings,

663
00:39:09.650 --> 00:39:14.050
and diplomatic etiquette. That's what makes the scene so brilliant. Kubrick,

664
00:39:14.280 --> 00:39:16.949
Peter George, and Terry Southern transform what should be the

665
00:39:17.010 --> 00:39:21.809
most terrifying conversation imaginable into one of the screenplay's funniest moments.

666
00:39:22.389 --> 00:39:25.590
In doing so, they expose the absurdity of political power

667
00:39:25.969 --> 00:39:29.289
and remind us that people shaping history are often just

668
00:39:29.349 --> 00:39:32.940
as flawed as they are. emotional, and ridiculous as everyone else.

669
00:39:33.539 --> 00:39:36.579
To me, no other scene captures the spirit of Dr.

670
00:39:36.619 --> 00:39:40.909
Strangelove better than that. Dayton, if somebody asked you to

671
00:39:40.949 --> 00:39:44.269
show them one scene that explains what Dr. Strangelove is

672
00:39:44.309 --> 00:39:46.869
all about, Would it be the phone call between Muffley

673
00:39:46.889 --> 00:39:50.190
and Dimitri, or is there another moment that better captures

674
00:39:50.210 --> 00:39:50.949
the screenplay's voice?

675
00:39:51.730 --> 00:39:53.989
I mean, that is a fantastic scene, and it does

676
00:39:54.030 --> 00:39:57.949
speak volumes. But honestly, for me, it is the conversation

677
00:39:57.969 --> 00:40:01.550
that Turgeson has with President Muffley. And he says, you know,

678
00:40:01.659 --> 00:40:03.179
I have a couple of things I'd like to say.

679
00:40:03.199 --> 00:40:05.400
And it turns out to be six different points where

680
00:40:05.420 --> 00:40:08.440
he's basically trying to convince the president that, well, since

681
00:40:08.500 --> 00:40:10.840
Ripper did this, You know, let's go ahead and just

682
00:40:11.079 --> 00:40:13.239
keep going because we can get out in front of

683
00:40:13.280 --> 00:40:15.219
this and be, you know, there won't be as many

684
00:40:15.639 --> 00:40:18.639
casualties as we do this. But some of the lines specifically,

685
00:40:18.679 --> 00:40:21.300
you know, Muffley is like, generalists are a valid policy

686
00:40:21.590 --> 00:40:23.849
that our country never strike first with nuclear weapons. And

687
00:40:23.889 --> 00:40:26.429
Turgeson responds, well, Mr. President, I would say that General

688
00:40:26.449 --> 00:40:29.130
Ripper has already invalidated that policy. And then laughs, which

689
00:40:29.190 --> 00:40:32.670
is just great. And then a little bit later, Muffley says,

690
00:40:33.090 --> 00:40:37.809
you're talking about mass murder, General, not war. And Turgeson says, Mr. President,

691
00:40:37.829 --> 00:40:40.940
I'm not saying we wouldn't get our hair mussed. But

692
00:40:41.000 --> 00:40:43.519
I do say no more than 10 to 20 million

693
00:40:43.599 --> 00:40:49.010
killed tops, depending on the breaks. So with that exchange,

694
00:40:49.170 --> 00:40:53.070
it truly sums up what Kubrick thinks of the Cold

695
00:40:53.110 --> 00:40:57.070
War and its absurdity. It's the theme of the film.

696
00:40:57.309 --> 00:41:00.139
Collateral damage is fine as long as we protect our

697
00:41:00.360 --> 00:41:02.860
way of life, as long as we defeat the Russians,

698
00:41:02.900 --> 00:41:07.719
as long as rah-rah USA. And it's just– it's so–

699
00:41:08.139 --> 00:41:10.760
funny that well it's so it's okay if we you

700
00:41:10.780 --> 00:41:13.659
know there's a big difference between 120 million killed or

701
00:41:13.659 --> 00:41:16.460
20 million killed you know it to him it's just

702
00:41:16.519 --> 00:41:18.800
numbers they're not people he doesn't care he just he

703
00:41:18.840 --> 00:41:21.000
still wants to win he still wants to win.

704
00:41:20.840 --> 00:41:24.119
Yeah you know i mean you know we can catch

705
00:41:24.139 --> 00:41:28.889
him with their pants down like right why you know

706
00:41:28.929 --> 00:41:32.670
just just why it was like and it's almost to

707
00:41:32.690 --> 00:41:36.050
a point where i almost feel like he admires ripper

708
00:41:36.090 --> 00:41:40.070
just a little bit You know? Yeah. He's glad what

709
00:41:40.090 --> 00:41:40.380
he did.

710
00:41:41.030 --> 00:41:42.320
Oh, yeah. Absolutely.

711
00:41:42.449 --> 00:41:43.780
He sees it as opportunity.

712
00:41:44.659 --> 00:41:48.019
Yep. Yep. It's just, you know, only 20 million tops.

713
00:41:48.780 --> 00:41:50.059
Yeah. Depending on the breaks.

714
00:41:50.500 --> 00:41:52.059
Right. Yeah. Exactly. Great.

715
00:41:52.280 --> 00:41:57.059
Well, let's move on to Legacy and Lessons. More than

716
00:41:57.059 --> 00:42:00.400
60 years after its release, Dr. Strangelove remains one of

717
00:42:00.420 --> 00:42:04.219
the greatest screenplays ever written. Hollywood has produced countless films

718
00:42:04.260 --> 00:42:06.360
about the threat of nuclear war, but many of those

719
00:42:06.420 --> 00:42:11.110
thrillers have faded from memory. Dr. Strangelove endures because, instead

720
00:42:11.119 --> 00:42:17.309
of simply trying to terrify its audience, it's also friggin' hilarious. Kubrick,

721
00:42:17.349 --> 00:42:20.650
Peter George, and Terry Southern understood that comedy can sometimes

722
00:42:20.730 --> 00:42:25.900
reveal uncomfortable truths better than drama ever could. Its influence

723
00:42:26.039 --> 00:42:29.340
is everywhere. Major Kong riding the bomb has become one

724
00:42:29.360 --> 00:42:33.159
of the most iconic images in film history. referenced and

725
00:42:33.239 --> 00:42:37.429
parodied across movies, television, and pop culture. The film also

726
00:42:37.489 --> 00:42:41.789
received four Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director,

727
00:42:42.170 --> 00:42:46.010
Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Actor for Peter Sellers. Now,

728
00:42:46.070 --> 00:42:48.969
although it didn't win, it was later selected for preservation

729
00:42:49.050 --> 00:42:51.630
in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.

730
00:42:52.489 --> 00:42:56.510
For me, the screenplay's greatest lesson is its ending, when

731
00:42:56.550 --> 00:43:00.340
a Kubrick's boldest choices is refusing to give the audience

732
00:43:00.400 --> 00:43:04.440
a last-minute rescue. Instead, The screenplay reveals that the characters

733
00:43:04.480 --> 00:43:09.519
have failed, shifting its focus from preventing disaster to exposing

734
00:43:09.599 --> 00:43:14.550
how people rationalize and even embrace catastrophe. It's a daring

735
00:43:14.650 --> 00:43:17.769
ending because the emotional payoff comes not from victory, but

736
00:43:17.809 --> 00:43:21.809
from the film's final satirical statement. That's why Dr. Strangelove

737
00:43:21.869 --> 00:43:25.889
continues to endure. It isn't just about nuclear war. It's

738
00:43:25.969 --> 00:43:31.139
about arrogance, bureaucracy, political ideology, and the dangerous illusion that

739
00:43:31.179 --> 00:43:34.460
those in power always know what they're doing. As long

740
00:43:34.519 --> 00:43:38.320
as those flaws exist, the screenplay will remain just as

741
00:43:38.420 --> 00:43:44.659
relevant and just as funny as it was in 1964. So, Dayton,

742
00:43:44.679 --> 00:43:47.199
do you think Doctor Strange is more relevant today than

743
00:43:47.300 --> 00:43:50.780
it was in 1964, or do you think audiences view

744
00:43:50.820 --> 00:43:53.309
it differently now?

745
00:43:53.550 --> 00:43:57.889
I think it's still very relevant. Obviously, the Cold War,

746
00:43:57.949 --> 00:44:02.219
for the most part, has ended. We're no longer... I mean,

747
00:44:02.239 --> 00:44:05.539
there's still always that slight fear of nuclear war, but

748
00:44:05.559 --> 00:44:07.550
at the same time, there's a lot of other things

749
00:44:07.590 --> 00:44:11.670
going on. And with this one, ultimately what the film

750
00:44:11.730 --> 00:44:14.730
speaks to is that the people in charge don't always

751
00:44:14.769 --> 00:44:16.769
know what they're doing, you know, for the most part.

752
00:44:17.349 --> 00:44:22.659
And it's still, you know, the people at the top

753
00:44:22.679 --> 00:44:24.940
of the food chain risk nothing. You know, when they

754
00:44:24.980 --> 00:44:27.500
go to work, they're sending the poor, they're sending the

755
00:44:27.739 --> 00:44:31.909
working class, they're sending the soldiers, and... oh, that's acceptable losses.

756
00:44:32.070 --> 00:44:36.210
You know, they're basically just cannon fodder. So the commentary,

757
00:44:36.250 --> 00:44:39.849
the whole commentary, I think, has aged like a fine wine.

758
00:44:40.010 --> 00:44:43.809
It's still as relevant as it was the day that

759
00:44:43.849 --> 00:44:44.449
it hit the screen.

760
00:44:45.550 --> 00:44:48.630
I mean, I don't think it ever will, you know,

761
00:44:48.690 --> 00:44:51.849
kind of stop being relevant. I mean, the whole end of,

762
00:44:52.269 --> 00:44:56.670
you know, human civilization is just, you know, will be

763
00:44:56.710 --> 00:45:00.449
gone way past, you know, when people will still be

764
00:45:00.489 --> 00:45:04.739
exploring that. Hopefully they'll talk some Strangelove.

765
00:45:05.920 --> 00:45:08.719
I think they will.

766
00:45:08.739 --> 00:45:10.139
Now we're going to have a little fun as we

767
00:45:10.199 --> 00:45:15.380
talk about companion picks. Now my companion pick this episode, unfortunately,

768
00:45:15.480 --> 00:45:19.590
no actually fortunately, is another Stanley Kubrick film that pairs

769
00:45:19.630 --> 00:45:21.670
surprisingly well with Dr. Strangelove.

770
00:45:22.449 --> 00:45:22.909
Lolita.

771
00:45:23.469 --> 00:45:26.110
But not only does it feature an unforgettable performance by

772
00:45:26.170 --> 00:45:30.070
Peter Sellers, but It's another screenplay that tackles an uncomfortable

773
00:45:30.250 --> 00:45:35.630
and controversial subject through satire, dark humor, and layered storytelling.

774
00:45:36.250 --> 00:45:40.619
Like Doctor Strangelove, it's filled with symbolism, foreshadowing, and subtext,

775
00:45:40.719 --> 00:45:44.400
making it another fascinating screenplay to study for anyone interested

776
00:45:44.420 --> 00:45:49.889
in how Kubrick communicated ideas beneath the surface of the dialogue. Dayton,

777
00:45:49.969 --> 00:45:51.309
what is your companion pick?

778
00:45:52.949 --> 00:45:55.429
Uh, honestly, this was kind of easy. It was, it

779
00:45:55.449 --> 00:45:56.769
was the first thing that jumped to my head when

780
00:45:56.789 --> 00:45:59.210
I saw this on this, on the outline. And I

781
00:45:59.250 --> 00:46:03.070
have to go with war games because, um, it's, you know,

782
00:46:03.090 --> 00:46:05.269
you have another human failure at the very beginning of

783
00:46:05.289 --> 00:46:07.570
the movie that really kind of starts the whole story.

784
00:46:07.969 --> 00:46:10.170
You know, we have a machine, we have a, not

785
00:46:10.289 --> 00:46:13.050
quite a doomsday device, but the Whopper is kind of

786
00:46:14.210 --> 00:46:16.400
ultimately the thing that's causing all the problems is trying to,

787
00:46:16.670 --> 00:46:19.130
you know, launch the missiles and go to war. So

788
00:46:19.630 --> 00:46:22.190
there's a lot of the same Cold War paranoia themes, uh,

789
00:46:22.969 --> 00:46:25.710
You know, there was except the whole acceptable losses mentality

790
00:46:26.199 --> 00:46:29.860
is in the film, you know, but this time, you know,

791
00:46:29.940 --> 00:46:33.619
with with Broderick's character, you have somebody to root for.

792
00:46:34.099 --> 00:46:36.719
And you also get a chance to see, you know,

793
00:46:38.360 --> 00:46:40.840
a little more like the people that's impacting this whole thing.

794
00:46:41.260 --> 00:46:43.400
It's not just the war room and it's not just

795
00:46:43.440 --> 00:46:46.679
the military. You actually see the human element as well.

796
00:46:46.739 --> 00:46:49.280
But yeah, I think this is a– it obviously has

797
00:46:49.320 --> 00:46:50.840
some humor but this is a little bit more of

798
00:46:50.929 --> 00:46:55.929
a serious take with its own points to be made too.

799
00:46:55.949 --> 00:46:57.849
So I think War Games is a perfect companion piece.

800
00:47:00.110 --> 00:47:03.940
I was wondering, have you ever read the Peter George novel?

801
00:47:05.019 --> 00:47:07.000
I have not. I'm going to have to add it

802
00:47:07.019 --> 00:47:08.599
to my list. I.

803
00:47:08.860 --> 00:47:12.059
You know– if you think of this script in serious terms,

804
00:47:12.159 --> 00:47:13.719
it just, it kind of scares me too much.

805
00:47:14.500 --> 00:47:15.500
Oh really? Okay.

806
00:47:15.539 --> 00:47:18.579
Yeah. I mean, I could even think of one reason

807
00:47:18.619 --> 00:47:20.780
they turned it into a comedy just because it freaked

808
00:47:20.800 --> 00:47:23.210
them out. You know, people don't want to see how

809
00:47:23.849 --> 00:47:26.489
easy this is, but if we make it funny, but yeah,

810
00:47:26.610 --> 00:47:28.889
I don't, yeah, it's hard to put there, uh, put

811
00:47:28.929 --> 00:47:32.150
your brain in that like, Oh no, this is, this

812
00:47:32.190 --> 00:47:32.710
is terrible.

813
00:47:33.849 --> 00:47:36.880
That's a terrible idea. Exactly. Exactly.

814
00:47:38.300 --> 00:47:41.539
Well, that is going to wrap up our discussion of Dr.

815
00:47:41.599 --> 00:47:44.110
Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love

816
00:47:44.139 --> 00:47:47.269
the Bomb, a film that not only found brilliant satire

817
00:47:47.329 --> 00:47:50.550
and one of humanity's greatest fears, but also further established

818
00:47:50.769 --> 00:47:53.690
Stanley Kubrick as one of the greatest filmmakers of all time.

819
00:47:54.869 --> 00:47:57.610
Next time on A Script By, we'll dive into one

820
00:47:57.630 --> 00:48:00.050
of the greatest crime thrillers ever written as we try

821
00:48:00.070 --> 00:48:04.440
to uncover the identity of Kaiser Soze with The Usual Suspects,

822
00:48:04.739 --> 00:48:08.710
a script by Christopher McQuarrie. I want to thank my guest,

823
00:48:08.750 --> 00:48:11.090
the great Dayton Johnson, for taking the time to join

824
00:48:11.130 --> 00:48:15.730
me and discuss this, like we said, incredible screenplay. Dayton,

825
00:48:16.190 --> 00:48:19.219
what's coming up on Docking Bay 77? Are you got

826
00:48:19.260 --> 00:48:22.340
any guest appearances you want to tell everybody about? Sure.

827
00:48:22.400 --> 00:48:26.420
Well, honestly, we're in the middle of a two-season run

828
00:48:26.460 --> 00:48:30.719
where we look at films and albums from the year 1977.

829
00:48:30.719 --> 00:48:34.530
That's been going pretty well. Movie-wise, we've talked about Annie

830
00:48:34.570 --> 00:48:38.420
Hall and Smoking the Bandit, Capricorn One. And album-wise, we

831
00:48:38.440 --> 00:48:42.329
discussed Rumors from Fleetwood Mac and Sin After Sin from

832
00:48:42.369 --> 00:48:47.210
Judas Priest, Grand Illusion from Styx. So it's really a

833
00:48:47.250 --> 00:48:49.730
great look at what was going on. And honestly, I

834
00:48:49.750 --> 00:48:52.949
think musically, maybe a better year. I mean, obviously you

835
00:48:52.969 --> 00:48:55.159
have Star Wars and whatever, but I think the music

836
00:48:55.239 --> 00:48:57.340
might just be edging it out. So that's been running

837
00:48:58.239 --> 00:49:01.400
all year and we continue through to next year. I'm actually,

838
00:49:02.300 --> 00:49:04.510
we just had John Reed from the 30-something movie podcast

839
00:49:04.699 --> 00:49:07.440
on And we discussed The Count of Monte Cristo from 2002.

840
00:49:07.440 --> 00:49:12.800
And I'm going over there to discuss the film Big Night,

841
00:49:13.909 --> 00:49:15.610
which is a fun movie, which a lot of people

842
00:49:15.630 --> 00:49:17.570
didn't see. It's a great little movie with Minnie Driver.

843
00:49:18.760 --> 00:49:20.530
It makes you want to eat. It's about a restaurant.

844
00:49:20.550 --> 00:49:23.260
It makes you want to eat a lot of food.

845
00:49:23.300 --> 00:49:25.699
We have that, and then we have our live-action Disney series.

846
00:49:25.960 --> 00:49:29.079
A lot of music, a lot of movies, and we're

847
00:49:29.099 --> 00:49:32.260
doing more books as well. It's a lot of fun.

848
00:49:32.300 --> 00:49:34.980
We're having a good time, and I'm already planning next

849
00:49:35.019 --> 00:49:37.119
year where we're actually going to do a series looking

850
00:49:37.219 --> 00:49:40.190
at movies and even some of the video games mentioned

851
00:49:40.409 --> 00:49:41.949
in the book Ready Player One.

852
00:49:43.630 --> 00:49:44.650
Oh, that's clever.

853
00:49:45.190 --> 00:49:47.409
Yeah, I figured why not. We've already done an episode

854
00:49:47.429 --> 00:49:49.409
on the book and on the movie. Now we're going

855
00:49:49.429 --> 00:49:50.989
to pull out some of the video games and some

856
00:49:51.010 --> 00:49:53.269
of the movies that were mentioned that were important. We've

857
00:49:53.289 --> 00:49:57.650
already discussed Rush's 2112, you know, and so we're going

858
00:49:57.670 --> 00:49:59.349
to kind of go, well, let's pull some of these

859
00:49:59.369 --> 00:50:01.110
things out because there's some of the games, the video

860
00:50:01.139 --> 00:50:03.019
games on there that I've never played, and they are

861
00:50:03.059 --> 00:50:04.599
available online. So I'm like, we're going to play some

862
00:50:04.619 --> 00:50:06.659
of these games. Most of the stuff that was in

863
00:50:06.860 --> 00:50:09.099
the into the gates that we had to get through.

864
00:50:09.420 --> 00:50:13.500
So you said the music as well too, right?

865
00:50:14.059 --> 00:50:14.599
Some of the music.

866
00:50:14.679 --> 00:50:14.780
Yeah.

867
00:50:14.800 --> 00:50:17.079
We'll probably pick, cause there, you mentioned a lot of songs.

868
00:50:17.099 --> 00:50:18.699
They don't mention a lot of albums. So whatever we're

869
00:50:18.739 --> 00:50:20.210
going to do, we're probably going to pull like a

870
00:50:20.210 --> 00:50:22.889
Duran Duran album or Oingo Boingo, something like that.

871
00:50:22.909 --> 00:50:25.989
Yeah. And you know what starts off that movie, don't you?

872
00:50:27.010 --> 00:50:29.710
Well, I'm talking about the book, not the movie.

873
00:50:29.730 --> 00:50:33.349
But you know in the movie, you know what band

874
00:50:33.409 --> 00:50:33.929
starts off.

875
00:50:33.869 --> 00:50:34.849
The entire film.

876
00:50:34.929 --> 00:50:35.809
Yes, I know.

877
00:50:36.650 --> 00:50:37.820
I'm sure that made you very happy.

878
00:50:38.550 --> 00:50:41.119
Oh, it made me smile immediately when I first saw it.

879
00:50:41.659 --> 00:50:43.820
So listeners, in case you don't know, it's Van Halen.

880
00:50:43.940 --> 00:50:44.840
Yes, of course it is.

881
00:50:46.699 --> 00:50:47.219
Oh, wow.

882
00:50:47.239 --> 00:50:47.519
Love it.

883
00:50:48.780 --> 00:50:51.699
Well, be sure to keep up with A Film By

884
00:50:51.719 --> 00:50:55.869
with new episodes every Monday and our continuing Star Trek series, Phaser,

885
00:50:55.909 --> 00:50:59.070
set to stun every Wednesday. You can also find us

886
00:50:59.269 --> 00:51:03.130
on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and X. Be sure to visit

887
00:51:03.170 --> 00:51:09.190
our official website at afilmbypodcast.com or email us at afilmbypodcast

888
00:51:09.349 --> 00:51:13.050
at gmail.com. We always love hearing from you, whether you're

889
00:51:13.070 --> 00:51:17.230
sharing your opinions, suggesting future episodes, or just debating great movies.

890
00:51:18.210 --> 00:51:21.530
Until next time, I'm Brad Kozo, and remember, every great

891
00:51:21.590 --> 00:51:23.250
film begins with a great script.