Link to 'The Truman Show' shooting script by Andrew M. Nicol: http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~ina22/splaylib/Screenplay-Truman_Show,_The.pdf
Page 1:
Right off the bat, the script begins with our first look of
the main focus and protagonist of the film, Truman Burbank. The scene sees
Truman talking to his bathroom mirror as if he was on a talk show. His dialogue
differs between the script and the final film. Looking through the bonus
features of the DVD I can declare that the script’s dialogue is kept as a
deleted scene. I’m sure the reason for this is the choice of actor. Jim Carrey
is well known for his improvisational work when acting as shown with films like
‘Dumb and Dumber’ and ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’ so I
imagine that he delivered many different lines on set and the editor chose the one
that fit best. In contrast, the line delivered “Truman, you’re gonna be late”
from Meryl (Laura Linney) is the same in both script and film. Already with the
first scene in the script, I’m impressed with how much detail has gone into the
description of what the writer want to convey. Even things that aren’t even to
be seen on screen such as the pyjama bottoms that Truman is wearing are written
in the script. There is also motivation written within the description in order
to guide the actors.
The next scene is interesting to note as it already deviates
away from what is in the final film. Another deleted scene, Truman is shown
having breakfast with his wife Meryl (only established by voice beforehand) so
that their already established relationship can be developed for the rest of
the film. I can tell exactly why this scene was cut and this was because of the
altered opening of the film. The script starts off with Truman at the mirror
however the film begins with a montage of fictional interviews that instantly
confirm that Truman’s world is a TV show. The script makes it more subtle
through the use of obvious product placement that Meryl gives to Truman which
simply implies that something is not right with the world.
Page 2:
Page 2 establishes Truman’s catchphrase “In case I don’t see
you, good afternoon, good evening and good night” which is repeated several
times throughout the film. What page 2 also does is strengthen the ‘life is a
TV show’ idea. We’re introduced to some of Truman’s neighbours who help
emphasise how happy and joyful the world is with no visible problems.
Page 3:
The first big event of the film occurs on this page as a
light falls from the sky and onto Truman’s street with him being the only
person left around. The script emphasises this aspect which makes the situation
even more suspicious. It’s at this point the feeling of something being off is
more apparent. This is an example of a scene that makes me wonder how the film
would play out if the audience was as unaware as Truman was about the eponymous
show. It would give the a greater sense of mystery however us knowing what
Christof (Ed Harris), the reality show’s creator, knows would lessen the point
of the film.
The rest of the page is the beginning of Truman’s journey to
work. The relevancy of this scene is to establish the island town Truman lives
in, Seahaven Island. It’s important to show off this location in depth as this
film takes place in only two locations. These are Seahaven Island and the
observation desk that Christof resides in with the TV show’s crew and
equipment. The script uses some very descriptive words for the establishment of
the island and uses film terms such as “high-angle” to instruct the
cinematographer.
Page 4:
Reading through most the script before writing this in order
to see why certain scenes are missing or out of place, I found out that this
flashback is in a completely different part of the film in the final cut. In
the script, it occurs on this page in order to establish Truman’s relationship
with his ‘deceased’ father (Brian Delate). In the actual film, however, it is
moved to an hour into the film which features Christof interviewed about the
show after Truman’s father returns on the show unofficially. I believe that the
scene was moved in order to make it more relevant to Truman’s father’s return
later in the film and introducing too early would have been seen as unprovoked
and not needed at that point in the plot. It’s also interesting that the scene
was cut down. The moment where his father brings Truman down from the rocks is
the only part that makes it into the film and the establishing moments of his
father mingling on the beach and the moment after where he tries to restrict
Truman.
Page 5:
The script delivers another deleted scene which sees Truman
mingle with the townspeople and vendors. The important of this scene is the
show that, because Truman is restricted to living in Seahaven, is a regular at
several places as he is now on first name basis with the coffee vendor. He
greets him with his name and makes a joke claiming that his “Vital signs are
good” in response to being asked “How are ya, Truman?”. The place where Truman
parks his car is close to a school bell which initiates his next flashback to
further develop Truman’s character. This is the first example of a scene that
was cut yet isn’t featured on the DVD bonus features. The scene opens with
Truman during his days in class and Marlon (Noah Emmerich as an adult), who
goes on to be Truman’s best friend, make his debut in this scene. I would
imagine this scene was cut in order to establish Marlon earlier as an adult
(he’s in the opening montage). I just find it fascinating that a half of a page
was just thrown out completely. Perhaps it didn’t work and my previous point
about Marlon is right.
Page 6:
The flashback continues with lines that are actually present
in the film. Truman identifies that he wants to be an explorer when he grows up
(he specifies “like Magellan” implying that he has done his research in the
subject and taken a keen interest) however the teacher rejects the idea
claiming that there is nowhere left to explore. The main word I took away from
this scene is the word the writer uses for Truman. He says that he wants to be
an explorer “with reverence”. This strengthens Truman’s passion for exploring
and becomes ironic that the one man picked to be isolated in a fake world is
one that wanted to explore. Of course, the teacher’s response is an attempt to
put Truman off of traveling and keeping him in Seahaven, much like the previous
scene with his Dad was trying to reinforce. Just like the scene with his Dad,
this scene is used much alter in the film too. It’s just in the same scene that
the beach scene was when Christof is showing off his methods of keeping Truman
on the island.
We return to the present and we see Truman buy a magazine
from another vendor. Continuing from the last time he met with a vendor, they
use their names and have a light-hearted chat. This time, however, it was kept
in the film to no doubt reinforce the point I had made with the coffee vendor
and the film makers simply didn’t want to have two different scenes with the
exact same point. This scene actually reinforces this further when Truman tears
out a page from an open magazine on the stall while the vendor was distracted.
The vendor’s reaction implies that this is a regular occurrence as the script
describes this as “the Vendor makes no effort to confront Truman, almost as if
he were expecting it”. The fact that he didn’t react negatively implies they
are on very good terms and that this happens often. The film changes this by
having Truman buy the magazine he wants the page from. This was probably done
to make Truman a more civil and law abiding character.
Page 7:
Another shortened scene in the film (as the film only has
this scene’s content from page 8), we actually have a call back to the
classroom flash back as we finally see what Truman does for his job. He enters
a building labelled “Seahaven Life and Accident Inc.” and the script reinforces
that “He has evidently taken his teacher’s advice” and now works in a boring
industry, exaggerated by the description of his office. “A cramped, cluttered
cubicle”. The dialogue featured in this
scene isn’t that interesting in terms of content, rather in the inflections and
attitude it’s said with. Truman spouts out financial jargon however he says it
in a disjointed and jagged way that implies he really has no passion for this
job and dreams bigger, most likely recounting his childhood passion for
exploring.
Page 8:
This passion for exploring is brought back again as the
scene continues (which is the part used in the film). The person he was on the
phone to has hung up and part of Truman’s character is conveyed “with an
apathetic shrug” implying that he just doesn’t care that he’s lost a potential
customer. While on the job, he begins to talk into his phone in a lowered tone
about Fiji. This scene is necessary for two reasons. The first is that Fiji
will play a bigger role in the film later on so establishing this plot point
means that there was always a mention of it and this scene becomes more
important upon re-watching the film and builds up the mystery of why he has
picked Fiji. The other point is that he asks for a listing for Lauren Garland
before switching the name to Sylvia Garland. Being a married man, the audience
is left wondering why Truman is asking for a specific person in such a random
location.
Page 9:
Once again we have another deleted scene that continues to
reinforce the point that the coffee and magazine vendor was signifying. This
scene has a longer interaction between Truman and the vendor with a jolly back
and forth between them and more humour thrown in. Truman asks the vendor,
Tyrone, “what if I said I didn’t want meatball today?” and Tyrone (who the
script specifies doesn’t miss a beat) responds “I’d ask for identification”.
After three scenes that have this interaction, it has become very apparent that
Truman, a man who we’ve establish dreamed big when he was younger and
travelling the world, has fallen into a dull routine in life that three people
have displayed with the last actually jokingly pointing it out.
The next scene is yet another cut scene (which means that
the entirety of page 9 was left on the cutting room floor) that was definetly
cut for sake of continuity as it involves the sandwich Truman bought in the
last scene. On a bench, Truman is reading “To the Ends of the Earth – The Age
of Exploration” and he is so enthralled in his book that his sandwich hasn’t
even been touched. What his means is that Truman has actually held onto his
dream despite falling into a rut. Truman’s personality is also brought out when
he is approached by a poor looking man in a wheel chair. After snapping out of
his book, Truman hands the man his sandwich. This shows that Truman is a
selfless man who helps out those who clearly have it worse than he does. In the
script, the audience still doesn’t know that this is a TV show; however at this
point in the film we already know Truman’s life is fake and we therefore know
that this man is just an actor.
Page 10:
Truman returns to the office where he is making yet another
soulless call to someone who probably cares about as much as he does about the
proposal. Truman’s lack of empathy is conveyed what he talks about: “When will
death occur? Could be a week, a month, a year. Could happen today…a sunbather,
minding his own business, gets stabbed in the heart by the tip of a runaway
beach umbrella”. This statement proves that he clearly isn’t taking the job
seriously and just doesn’t care. Truman is confronted by his supervisor who
hands him paperwork regarding a prospect he needs Truman to close. This scene
introduces one of the more memorable traits about Truman in a rather subtle
way. When Truman realises the prospect is on a island across the bay, he tries
to come up with an excuse on the spot to get out of it. We will later learn this
is due to his fear of water but, at this point, he just know he clearly has no
desire to go there which is peculiar for someone who dreams of travelling.
Page 11:
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Page 14:
The scene carries on with Truman debating what to do and he half gets out of his car to shout that them. We’ve seen Truman make a moralistic decision earlier when he handed his sandwich to the crippled man so we know that is a good person therefore we would expect him to help. The pause to think out it is justified too since it is a much more escalated and threatening situation. Before he can come to a conclusion though, a truck appears behind his car, “the driver hurling abuse”, and ultimately “retreats back into his car and reluctantly drives on”. Afterwards, we see the thugs, being actors, release the woman and the four of them talk about how Truman did nothing. On one of them says that “physical violence paralyzes him. Always has”. It is important to remember that his life is scripted so Christof would have had to come up with the idea of a woman being attacked. For all we know, Truman may not have even noticed. I believe this whole scene was cut because it was in contrast with the tone of the film and the pacifist side of Truman is never addressed in the film ever. In contrast with the violent scene that just happened, it is very sudden that we jump back to the scenic garden of Truman’s house. It’s comforting for both Truman and the audience after either the violence in the script or the dock scene in the film which this scene follows.
Page 15:
This scene is notable for being one of the scenes that might tip Truman off to the fact that his life is a show. Meryl arrives with groceries and shows off her new knife in a manner that imitates a commercial for the product claiming that it’s a “dicer, slicer and peeler in one. Never needs sharpening. Dishwasher safe”. Truman shrugs it off with “gee, that’s great”. The importance of this scene is to establish a character trait Meryl implements with constant product placement as shown in her first scene in the script in an effort to break the fictional fourth wall.
Page 16:
For the film viewers, this is their introduction to Truman’s best friend Marlon. He previously appeared as a boy in class in the script yet was omitted in the script. It seems like a good time to introduce the character as Truman needs someone to vent his frustrations about his unfulfilling life to. The scene is set up very nicely with a strong description of the scenery and location, a half built bridge at night. The meaning behind the bridge could be that, in another attempt to keep Truman in Seahaven, the bridge will never be finished and is simply another dead end for Truman. The scene’s opening dialogue is different between the script and film. In the script, Marlon delivers a cheeky line “whose nuts were those?” in response to how hard Truman hits the golf ball. No doubt this was to be a character establishing moment. In the film, however, it was changed to reinforce the previous scene where Meryl delivers blatant product placement as Marlon sips from a beer can claiming “that is a beer”, no doubt to show off the brand with a compliment.
Page 17:
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Page 11:
One of Truman’s most prominent traits is exemplified here
with the introduction of Truman’s fear of water. The previous page showed
Truman reluctant to take a boat trip and here we see why. As Truman approaches
to buy a boat ticket, “mustering all his nerve” to do so, two ferry workers
discuss Truman’s fear and debate over whether Truman will actually take the
trip or not. They turn this into a bet while Truman is ”unaware of the scrutiny
and he is faced with a crowd of people that he has to fight through. You could
make the argument that the crowd is the physical version of his fear and has to
force himself through the crowd into order to make it across the water. The
film drops the crowd and instead shows a sunken boat that instantly identifies
the reason for his fear. Since the film is a visual medium, it is more
interesting to have the boat as a symbol rather than use many extras since the
boat proves the meaning can be more subtle.
Page 12:
The previous scenes that had been pushed back were moved
very far into the film, around an hour in. This time, the scene was only pushed
back by a couple of minutes so that there is room to introduce Truman’s
friendship with Marlon. In the script, we go from the scene on the dock on the
last page to a flashback involving why Truman has a fear of water. We see
Truman as a young boy and his father sailing off shore when a big storm hits,
sending Truman’s father off the boat where he seemingly drowns. We later learn
that Christof script this event in order to traumatise Truman and makes sure he
has no desire to sail off the island. The rest of the page seems Truman making
up an excuse as to why he is unable to take the boat by shouting down the phone
while honking his car horn in an effort to imitate a traffic jam. This scene is
omitted from the final film most likely because the effectiveness of the dock
scene was more long lasting if we jump back to Truman at home rather than
continue with his work life.
Page 13:
A bizarre thing happens on the next page which sees a
significant amount of content cut from the final film. In an effort to develop
Truman as a more moralistic person, a woman is confronted by two young thugs
while she reads a book on a bench, just as Truman was doing on page 9, as
Truman watches from his car. As the situation escalates, the woman exchanges a
glance with Truman and the thugs look at him too. It gets worse when the thugs
grab her and drag her towards surrounding woods.
Page 14:
The scene carries on with Truman debating what to do and he half gets out of his car to shout that them. We’ve seen Truman make a moralistic decision earlier when he handed his sandwich to the crippled man so we know that is a good person therefore we would expect him to help. The pause to think out it is justified too since it is a much more escalated and threatening situation. Before he can come to a conclusion though, a truck appears behind his car, “the driver hurling abuse”, and ultimately “retreats back into his car and reluctantly drives on”. Afterwards, we see the thugs, being actors, release the woman and the four of them talk about how Truman did nothing. On one of them says that “physical violence paralyzes him. Always has”. It is important to remember that his life is scripted so Christof would have had to come up with the idea of a woman being attacked. For all we know, Truman may not have even noticed. I believe this whole scene was cut because it was in contrast with the tone of the film and the pacifist side of Truman is never addressed in the film ever. In contrast with the violent scene that just happened, it is very sudden that we jump back to the scenic garden of Truman’s house. It’s comforting for both Truman and the audience after either the violence in the script or the dock scene in the film which this scene follows.
Page 15:
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Page 17:
The scene continues as Truman expresses his desire to go to
Fiji. This marks the second mention of Fiji and so the mystery builds up
further as to why Truman wants to go to Fiji. This conversation takes a more
subtle yet sinister side with Marlon’s response to Truman claiming that he’s
unsatisfied with his job. Marlon exclaims “what the hell’s wrong with your job?
You’ve gotta great job. You gotta desk job. I’d kill for a desk job.” This
gives the indication that, because Truman’s world is synthetic, Christof made
sure that Truman was given a well off job so that he wouldn’t be miserable at
work and would therefore be a more interesting person to watch on TV except
that he didn’t anticipate Truman dreaming of a life of exploration.
Page 18:
This page marks the most important character introduction,
despite having already debuted in the film ironically as the first character
introduced. Christof is finally brought into the script very briefly just to
establish the link to the TV show. He doesn’t say anything; he just observes
Truman and Marlon’s conversation. It’s interesting that the description doesn’t
even imply it’s a TV show since it is just in a “dimly-lit room somewhere” and
Christof “stares into camera”. The only indication of his role is that he has a
“news anchor-style earpiece” that “disappears down the neck of his suit”. The
conservation itself does look deeper into Truman’s desires of going to Fiji as
he says that “there are still islands in Fiji where no human being as ever set
foot”. We know that he dreams of exploration however we learn later that this
isn’t the only reason he wishes to go there.
The script continues the conversation even further despite
the film jumping forward. Marlon reveals that he tried leaving once and came to
the conclusion that there was no point before gazing out the sea claiming “I
released, what the hell could be better than this?” and proposes that Truman
should just focus on having kids instead. In a deleted scene, we see Truman and
Marlon packing up and Truman sees the light the fell from the sky back on page
3 in his trunk. Marlon simply brushes it off as a light from an airliner to put
an end to Truman’s suspicions.
Page 20:
The changes that emerged from transferring page 20 into the
film are interesting. The scene in both the script and the film take place on
the beach at night with Truman looking off into the sea however the context is
different. In the script, Truman is recording the sound of the ocean and we get
a close up of his face as the waves are heard. In the film, he just sits on the
beach, lamenting. We then cut back to the flashback of Truman’s father
drowning. This is the first time in the film we’ve seen this however this was
previously seen earlier in the script. There is also no aftermath in the final
film with Truman sitting on the boat, alone, with his Dad’s ring.
Page 21:
After sitting on the beach, the script cuts to show two old
women watching Truman on the television which seems out of place since it isn’t
100% confirmed that Truman’s life is a TV show at this point. It has only been
strongly hinted with Christof’s appearance and the falling light. Other than
that, the script is almost the same as the film. Rain falls on Truman but only
exclusively on him. A minor difference
would be when the rain starts. The script describes it from a POV before
cutting further out to show the rain over just him. The film sees a pillar of
rain dumped on him instantly from a wide shot. There’s no mystery.
Page 22:
Interestingly, this page is represented in the film almost
word for word. The only bit cut is the line that explains that Truman doesn’t
have a passport despite his desire to explore. Another change is what Meryl is
doing before Truman arrives. In the script, she is comparing wallpaper samples
for the nursery that the scene takes place in (although the film gives no
indication of that. It’s just an unfinished room) while in the film she is
reading what appears to be a children’s book. It keeps the idea that having
children could happen.
Page 23:
The scene continues with the small bit about the passport I
had previously mentioned. The script indicates that “the words sting” after
Meryl explains about the passport and adds on “I bet you don’t even know how to
get one”. Further evidence that Truman is being forced to stay in Seahaven. We
then cut to two guards in uniform watching the show. In the script, they
discuss how Truman and Meryl could actually have a child on the show while in
the film the guard on the right explains how sex is conveyed on the show by
claiming that you never see anything. “The camera moves, music plays, wind
comes in and the curtain moves”.
Page 24:
The next day begins with a deleted scene as Truman begins by
doing an exercise that he has clearly made up most likely due to lack of
exposure to the real world. He is wearing the gear he was given way back on
page 1. We cut between him and a couple watching TV who are also doing his
routine in the same gear. This was most likely cut because it looks back on a
scene that was already cut meaning this would be a bit out of place. Instead of
cutting to Truman in his car, the film begins with Truman already downtown,
getting magazines from the vendor again. As Truman is on foot, the moment where
he stops and notices something odd about a passing homeless man is easier as
there is no filler with shots that don’t add much such as interior car shots or
parking lots.
Page 25:
As this is one of the most important parts of the film and
marks the end of Act 1, the script and the film are identical. The dialogue is
the same, word for word, and the actions and directions are the same. Truman
realises that the homeless man is his father but before they can speak, the man
is grabbed by two passers-by and bundled onto a bus with Truman giving chase. What
sticks out about this scene is the behaviour of the extras who passive aggressively
turn on Truman. A group of joggers block his path, the bus driver ignores
Truman completely and everyone else stays oblivious.
Page 26:
Truman loses track of the bus as a taxi intersects him. A small
minor detail shown which is a dog on a lead wandering by Truman. It is the same
dog that one of people who grabbed the homeless man had which indicates they
were simply an actor with no attachment to the dog. In an interesting twist,
the entire rest of the page is cut from the film.
Page 27:
The scene that was started in the script on page 26
continues however the first half of this page is also cut from the film. The
film begins halfway through from the line “it doesn’t sound insane, Truman” as
we’re introduced to Truman’s mother (Holland Taylor). It is clear at this point
that the next act of the film has commenced as the film stay very true to the
script in both dialogue and actions.
Page 28 and 29:
One line is dropped from the ending of this scene after
Truman’s mother comforts him about supposedly seeing his father on the street.
She adds at the end a comment about dying her hair that Truman doesn’t respond
to. Instead in the film, the scene ends on the sombre note about Truman’s
father being dead. Next, we see Truman rummaging in his basement looking at
childhood photos until Meryl comes in. The script says that Truman also looks
at an old cardigan however he doesn’t find it in the film until after Meryl had
left. We get another product placement moment from Meryl as Truman works on the
mower in an attempt to cover up his reminiscing. We cut to more TV viewers. One
inquiring about what Truman is doing and the other explaining. In the script,
it’s a mother and daughter watching while in the film it’s people in a café dedicated
to watching The Truman Show.
Page 30:
Continuing the TV aesthetic, we transition to a flashback of
Truman in college with Marlon. In the script, Truman simply meets eyes with another
student Lauren (Natascha McElhone) and becomes infatuated with her. A big
difference between the script and film is the use of Meryl. In the script, he
is just with Marlon and Truman already however the film actually shows Truman
and Meryl meeting in a way that is clearly forced into Truman’s life,
especially having just noticed Lauren. A small portion of the flashback montage
is cut which sees Truman waving to Lauren who ignores him. This had to have
been cut because it makes no sense. It is between two scenes where the two
can’t look away from each other.
Act 2:
For the majority of the Act 2, the film stays very true to
the film so there isn’t much purpose looking at each page individually. Only
occasionally, such as on page 39 and 40, will there be a deleted scene featured
on the DVD. Like most previous deleted scenes, they were taken out as they
simply act as filler and/or reinforce a point that has already been reiterated.
For example, page 40 sees Truman recognising a jogger as the homeless man from
page 9 by pointing out the same trainers. This scene acts to reinforce Truman’s
growing suspicions about the world that the audience now knows for certain is
fake as Christof finally is revealed as a full character giving his first lines
as director of the TV show on page 36. In essence, the film simply makes the
script more subtle by taking away the filler.
An interesting addition not in the film is featured on page
46 where Truman goes back to the rocks he climbed on as a child before his
father intervened. Now an adult, Truman climbs it to reveal an identical
beach. The weird thing is that this
scene is technically in the film as Truman and Marlon sit on rocks by the
beach, delivering the same dialogue however there is absolutely no mention of it
being the same site that Truman was as a child. I can’t think of a reason for
cutting that outside of the placement of the rock climbing flashback. It seems
to me like it would be an important thing to keep in as it starts the beginning
of Truman’s suspicions and reinforces the use of that flashback.
A majority of the dialogue featured in the second act is
word for word. My theory for this is because the film has stopped with the
setting up and is now following through with the character development meaning
that every word is precious in order to have the characters capture in the film
what was in the script. Act 1 traditionally has the most filler and expendable
dialogue because it is compensating so that the audience is immersed.
Act 3:
As it is no longer a secret about the film being a fictional
TV show, more development and screen time is given to Christof by form of a
behind the scenes show interviewing him about ‘The Truman Show’. It is here
finally that we see flashbacks in the film that had been in the script since
the very beginning such as Truman climbing on the rocks and the death of his
father. A small moment with Christof is taken away in the film with the line
“Why is an artist plagued with these questions? I’ve never done this for any
monetary gain” in the script. I believe this line was cut because it made
Christof seem more pretentious and more of an antagonistic character. While it
is clear he is doing it for the art, it’s more interesting to have it be a
subtle aspect. A very big change is the second caller on the live show to
Christof. In the script, she’s actually the third caller and is left anonymous
while she rallies against Truman’s exploitation. In the film, it is shown to be
Lauren, or rather the actress playing her, rallying against the same point. We
are led to believe that she was kicked off the show after trying to tell Truman
the truth live on air before.
A scene taken away is featured on page 84 which sees
Christof gathering together actors from ‘The Truman Show’ to speak with them.
One reason this was cut was because Meryl had left the show off-screen after
being attacked by Truman and breaking down live. We also never learn her real
name, Hannah, in the film as a result. Another reason it would be taken out is
because it wouldn’t make sense for all of these big people in Truman’s life to
be taken out of the show to speak with
Christof in one room. Truman’s suspicions would skyrocket if everyone important
to him suddenly vanished, especially after having just reunited with his
father. The scene goes on for a while and ends on an interesting point never
brought up in the film with Marlon’s actor jokingly asking about what would
happen in Truman dies.
While the rest stays true to the script, the tone of one
scene is completely different. When Truman is missing on page 90, Marlon is
sent in to his house to find him. In the film, Marlon comes in with beers
speaking in a tone as if he just wants to hang out. Christof even comments
“Good. Keep it light”. In the script, however, Marlon acts as if there is a big
disaster happening outside and is trying to warn Truman. I prefer the tone in
the film as it plays more to Marlon’s laid back character and the contrast of
panicking once it’s revealed that Truman is missing makes the act stand out.
With the big search for Truman starting on page 93, there is
a very minor shot that the script describes that I feel robs the scene of some
of its sense of mystery and suspense. The
script briefly shows Truman in a disguise and the dialogue in the studio is
different. In the film, Christof explains to the executives that they’re
getting higher ratings with the “TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES” shot than they have
ever had on the show. The script has Christof joke about revealing the whole
façade to Truman in an attempt to flush him out. The rest of the scene plays
out the same visually with Truman being revealed to be escaping by yacht
however the film adds a great line with Christof looking at the footage and
saying “Truman, where are you going” in a subtle and quiet manner. He knows
that Truman literally has nowhere to go and there is nothing they can do to
stop him with threatening his life. For the rest of the scene, the script and
film beautifully convey Christof’s desperation for keeping Truman by having him
shouting demands to capsize the yacht until he finally realises the reality of
the situation and gives up. Truman was basically a son to him and he can’t bear
the thought of drowning him so he decides its best just to let him go.
Once Truman hits the edge of the set, Truman’s emotion is
different between script and film. The
script sees him laughing at the absurdity of the situation and the film has him
desperately trying to break through the wall. The film is more fitting due to
his own desperation however it wouldn’t be out of character to laugh at the
situation either. It is here that
Christof finally gets to speak to Truman. Most of the conversation is word for
word except for one small difference that, to me, sticks out because of how
subtle a meaning Ed Harris gives to Christof’s delivery. The line in the film
is “I am the creator of a television show” however Harris pauses very briefly
after saying the word “creator”. This, reinforced by the booming voice coming
from the clouds, invokes the comparison of Christof to God, often referred to
as the creator too. Both versions feature the most perfect line that captures
the very essence of the film which is Truman’s backhanded comment that Christof
“never had a camera in my head”. No matter what Christof could control within
the show, he couldn’t control what Truman was thinking nor could be even see
what Truman was thinking.
The most shocking discovery I had when looking through the
script is when I got to the very end. The very last line in the film is one of
the viewers of ‘The Truman Show’, having just witnessed the end of a television
phenomenon upon Truman’s escape, looks around for the TV guide and asks “what
else is on?”. This line perfectly encapsulates the very power that TV has and
sums up human nature. When something so powerful is over, we just shrug it off and
move on once the celebrations are over.
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