Muse across time

"John Connor gave me a picture of you once. I didn't know why at the time. It was very old - torn, faded. You were young like you are now. You seemed just a little sad. I used to always wonder what you were thinking at that moment. I memorized every line, every curve. I came across time for you Sarah. I love you; I always have. "John Connor gave me a picture of you once. I didn't know why at the time. It was very old - torn, faded. You were young like you are now. You seemed just a little sad. I used to always wonder what you were thinking at that moment. I memorized every line, every curve. I came across time for you Sarah. I love you; I always have." 

I love that Terminator quote.

Almost as much as I love the character who delivered it. Michael Biehn - the original Kyle Reese - pretty much ruined me for all other men. I regard him as my first real crush - even before Michael Pare in Streets of Fire, and Poison's Rikki Rockett. *blush* 

At Thrillerfest several years ago in New York, Dr. D.P. Lyle analyzed Terminator, dubbing it one of the most classic examples of a thriller. I agree, but I'd go a little further and deem it a pretty spectacular romance as well. Of course the action is what creates the thriller-esque pacing (not to mention Arnie looking all creepy and psycho robotic), but it's the dialogue that sets my heart aflutter. (And, uh, Kyle's abs...)

I'm doing a lot of script-work this week. Dialogue is so important in many writing forms, but for scripts and screenplays, it's imperative. You don't have the option to fall back on description, no matter how brilliant. The audience will remember the cinematography if the show is good, but they'll only remember the writer behind it if the characters' voices stand out.

Sometimes when I watch Terminator, I pause it just after "I came across time for you, Sarah" trying to analyze what makes that single sentence more memorable to me than "You had me at hello." (I can never remember what movie that's from!) Over the next few days, I'm going to pause after every line of dialogue I write and hold it up to Kyle Reese standards.

Oh heck, why stop there? Seems I should just print off this picture and hold it up to his image, no? Welcome back, Kyle - you're a perfect muse avatar for this week.

- Dawn

The Book In My Bag Today: The Hypnotist, Lars Kepler