Great Scene: “Big”

The piano scene at FAO Schwartz.

It’s a wonderful thing for a screenwriter when you confront a story issue and come up with a great solution that not only services the plot, but also create a memorable scene. Such is the case with this famous keyboard-dance scene from the movie Big (1988). The credited screenwriters are Gary Ross and Anne Spielberg (Steven’s sister). I don’t know which of them came up with this idea, but let’s imagine the situation with you, the screenwriter, doing a bit of creative problem-solving

You’ve gotten Josh a job at the toy store, but he’s just a low-level worker bee with nothing exciting for him to do. Wouldn’t it be great if you (screenwriter) could jump him up to a high-level executive position so Josh (Tom Hanks) could bring his childish sensibilities to the business of toys? But how to do that? Perhaps he could do something to impress the owner of the company Mac (played by Robert Loggia). But how to intersect the two, then what could Josh do to win over Mac?

Well, on a weekend, it makes sense that Josh would go to the toy store — after all, he’s a boy (inside) and he likes toys. It’s also logical to think that Mac, who’s a rather old school businessman, might visit toy stores in order to stay in touch with consumers. In fact, earlier in this sequence, Mac says to Josh, “Me too … I come here [ toy store] every Saturday.” So there’s your point of intersection: Josh will run into Mac at the toy store.

But what can you, the screenwriter, have Josh do to really blow Mac away? Okay, how about Josh gives Mac an earful about some toys Mac’s company produces. That’s how this scene begins with Josh’s honest appraisal of a toy. But you want something more. You want something to go beyond logic and hit Mac in a way that moves him emotionally.

That’s when you remember seeing that news piece over the holidays about FAO Schwartz and the floor keyboard. “Holy crap! I could have Josh start to play the keyboard, just mess around… then, then… uh, a song… he could tap out a song. What’s a simple song that a kid would know… ‘Heart and Soul,’ of course. And whoa! What if Mac used to play the piano when he was a kid? And he joins in to play the song!”

Here’s the scripted version of the scene:

Here’s the movie version of the scene:

So you, the screenwriter, sit at the premiere of Big. And when the scene comes up, it’s a hit with the audience who laugh and cheer. You just smile. It played on the page. You knew it would play on film.

Maybe the creative process was something like that, maybe not, but this scene does everything you could want in a scene from its primary point for existing — to get Josh promoted — to creating a memorable moment. And when you think of the movie Big, this has got to be one of the scenes that jumps to mind. All that makes it a great scene.

For more articles in the Great Scene series, go here.