There’s something about screenwriters that they just can’t leave well enough alone in providing direction to actors. Instead of a character simply saying a line, there seems to be an unwritten rule that they have to deliver the line with lots of embellishment. (This is not unlike, I've discovered, fiction writers who attempt to come up with clever substitutions for the word "said".) In honesty, I’ve sometimes spent more time trying to decipher these quirky parentheticals than following the dialogue itself. They do, however, make for a great party game
1. laughing maniacally
2. cackling hysterically
3. sniffling furtively
4. laughing satirically
5. smiling aggressively
6. whistling angrily
7. blushing fiercely
8. glaring impassively
9. staring aimlessly
10. blanching uncontrollably
11. swallowing lazily
12. chuckling wistfully
13. shouting hesitantly
14. seething wholeheartedly
15. coughing defiantly
16. chuckling contagiously
17. leering mightily
18. shouting orgasmically
19. blinking rhythmically
20. shrugging moronically
21. smiling soberly
22. staring wildly
23. sighing incessantly
24. yawning cavernously
25. gloating boldly
26. sneering leerily
27. sighing soulfully
28. smirking ruefully
29. groaning disparagingly
30. nodding emphatically
31. stretching indifferently
32. smiling rhetorically
33. fainting forcefully
34. sneezing emphatically
35. smiling successfully
36. smiling diagonally
37. whispering haughtily
38. yawning seductively
39. grinning gnashingly
40. breathing darkly
41. thinking sporadically
42. whimpering mincingly
43. scowling convincingly
44. chirping amicably
45. fidgeting wildly
46. guessing blindly
47. grinning indifferently
48. listening suggestively
49. barking congestedly
50. swearing gracefully
51. blinking embryonically
52. gesticulating dramatically
53. pointing stupidly
54. wheezing weakly
55. deciding definitely
56. retorting repetitively
57. laughing suspiciously
58. plotting purposefully
59. murmuring dejectedly
60. singing hauntingly
61. sneering smugly
62. replying avuncularly
63. gushing falsely
64. staring imperceptibly
65. exploding unexpectedly
66. sighing sensitively
67. crying needlessly
68. parroting annoyingly
69. accusing hotly
70. reminiscing stoically
71. badgering bullishly
72. snickering silently
73. needling relentlessly
74. pausing mysteriously
75. imploding sporadically
76. grinning gregariously
77. spewing effusively
78. thinking desperately
79. gazing majestically
80. looking dangerously
81. lisping angrily
82. weeping woefully
83. responding effectively
84. exclaiming spasmodically
85. reacting plausibly
86. answering painfully
87. replying snootily
88. arguing uncompromisingly
89. threatening forebodingly
90. squealing rowdily
91. quipping facetiously
92. whispering mischievously
93. shouting softly
94. pleading sinfully
95. giggling whimsically
96. digesting ardently
97. demanding truthfully
98. confessing unenthusiastically
99. screaming half-heartedly
100. guffawing bawdily




"Crying needlessly" is my
"Crying needlessly" is my fav. Oh, no, maybe it's "weeping woefully" or "giggling whimsically."
Too funny!