The bear is part of the character's story thread - and shows up in several later scenes as it is stuffed and posed and eventually Teddy has his picture taken with it. Each scene with Teddy has some small bit about the bear - or maybe a large bit. He jumps up on his desk at one point to show the pose he wants for the stuffed bear.
The great thing about this "bear subplot" is that it allows the character to talk obliquely about elements of the main plot (a kidnaping in Morocco that may start a war) without being obvious or on the nose. In some ways, the dead grizzly is a "code" or a symbol that allows him to speak about the political situation without ever talking politics. I have a script tip about "symbolic dialogue" - when a character talks about one thing but is actually talking about something else.
This is a great technique to use if having your character talk about the plot situation would result in dull or obvious dialogue. Let them talk about something else... and let it have a second meaning about the plot situation.
Here's the blog entry I did on the film just over a year ago when it was about to play at the New Beverly Cinema...
THE WIND AND THE LION.
I love the Goldsmith score, but also love the cinematography and direction. Just in that Grizzly clip, there are some images so beautiful they could be paintings. Millius is one of those directors who is kind of forgotten now, but made some amazing films... and needs to be rediscovered by a new generation.
- Bill
TODAY'S SCRIPT TIP: Writing Sequels - there are only 27 of them coming out this year - a record!
Dinner: Slice of pizza.
Pages: 3 pages... but needed 5 or more.
Bicycle: Medium bike ride.
Movies: ADJUSTMENT BUREAU for the second time.... still kinda blah. So, I was either in the same mood both times I saw it or the film is kinda blah.
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