What I Learned from the Screenwriters and Filmmakers of Yellowstone, The Sopranos, and the Harry Potter Movies
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by Carol Pouliot
Yellowstone: An expansive setting will support larger-than-life characters
Created by Taylor Sheridan and John Linson
Big sky country Montana is the backdrop for the drama of Yellowstone and the immense ranch owned by John Dutton, played by Kevin Costner. Dutton is a complex character with one goal in life: to hold onto his family ranch. He’ll do whatever it takes to achieve this. He’s clever, driven, secretive, and ruthless. When I first watched this TV series, my immediate reaction was “The Sopranos on horseback.” Like Tony Soprano and his lieutenants, nothing is off limits when achieving an end. Dutton and his ranch manager go so far as to physically brand their ranch hands—you can hear the sizzle when the red-hot branding iron touches the skin. Dutton’s daughter is equally ruthless—she lives to destroy their enemies and never holds back. The actions of the characters fighting to save their land are often over the top, but the sweeping vistas, vast plains, and majestic mountains support them. The series is shot with long lenses so the viewer gets the wide panoramic scene with the characters comfortably embedded. Every character is strong enough to hold their own in this vast setting.
Kaycee Dutton, favorite son, and Rip, ranch manager, confer in Yellowstone Season 2. (Paramount)
The Sopranos: It’s the characters that keep us coming back for more
Created by David Chase
I rarely watch (or read) anything that contains graphic sex or violence. So, why did I absolutely love The Sopranos? The characters. This series shows a rare inside look at the hidden side of mobsters and their families. Yes, the violence and justification for their illegal and immoral behavior are on view but also present is normal, day-to-day family life. I find the juxtaposition of the two fascinating. It’s a behind-the-scenes look at people whose jobs and lifestyle are foreign to me. Tony Soprano is a classic antihero and I found myself rooting for him. He’s violent and ruthless but he truly loves his wife and children and believes he’s doing his best for them. I watched him worry about his kids, struggle with his domineering, elderly mother, try to sweet-talk his wife. I was fascinated by the secret and revealing sessions he has with his psychiatrist. These are complex and intriguing characters. Despite the fact that the mob world is far removed from our daily lives, we can relate to what the characters go through each day. We keep coming back to find out if they solve their problems, how they deal with the familiar challenges they face, and if there’s a happy ending.
Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) with the cast of Sopranos.
Harry Potter Movies: To make it believable, ground the magic in reality
Based on the books by J. K. Rowling, produced by David Heyman
During a book club discussion about Doorway to Murder, the first in my Blackwell and Watson Time-Travel Mysteries, a reader said, “I've read a lot of time-travel books and they never seem believable to me. But somehow I feel like yours could really happen.” Three other people spoke up and agreed. That was a serious consideration when I started writing—I wanted the time travel to feel real and seem possible. I sensed I could accomplish this by incorporating it as one aspect among many. After their initial meeting, my characters—Depression-era cop Steven Blackwell and 21st-century journalist Olivia—go about their days with time travel as just one part of their lives. The reader sees, hears, smells, and identifies with normal everyday items found in all of our houses and lives. Paul Franklin, visual effects supervisor on the movies, notes, “There are things we hope the audience will recognize from their own experience in the real world. Because...that allows them to become emotionally invested.” Nick Dudman, special effects designer, comments, “If you can create a false reality that people buy into ... it works.” And finally, Alfonso Cuarón, director of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, says, “We have to be sensing the magic all the time. You just accept that this is a universe in which this kind of stuff happens.”* These insightful comments are always in my mind while I’m writing in the hope that my readers will feel that the time travel is—or could be—real.
We can all relate to Diagon Alley, the main street in town where witches and wizards do their shopping. Photo by Carol Pouliot
Top photo by Thought Catalog on Unsplash
*Comments from: “Creating the World of Harry Potter,” A & E Television Productions.