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Should you make a special notation in scene headings that are flashbacks or
dream sequences? If so, how?

–Michael Krieger

If the flashback is a single scene, then [FLASHBACK] is generally added to
the end of the scene header, like this:

EXT. LOUVRE – DAY [FLASHBACK]

If you have multiple short scenes clumped together in a flashback sequence (for instance, the location is changing, but the time-frame is the same), then
you can use [FLASHBACK] for each of those scene headings, or maybe [FLASHBACK,
CONT’D].

When in doubt, just use common sense. If the flashback is really another sequence
in the movie, like the three chapters in GO, then don’t put anything in the
header.

The same logic applies for dream sequences, e.g. [DREAM SEQUENCE], with the
caveat that sometimes you don’t want the reader to know at the head of the
scene that it’s not real. So obviously, you wouldn’t put the tag there at all.

In general, try to read the script as if you didn’t write it, then see what’s
clearest.

I have a character name question. Without giving anything away, I wrote a
screenplay that involves one character that has to use two names during the
duration of the script. You could probably say the same for when Superman or
Batman are Clark Kent or Bruce Wayne. What I was doing was just using the name
that the character is at that time.
My question is – am I right? I figured since I give an explanation a head
of time, that I could easily just call the character by his name or alias,
and there would be no confusion.

–Andy

You’re right in assuming that the most important thing is to avoid confusing
the reader. Every script finds its own way of doing things, so there’s no hard
and fast rule. If I were writing the next BATMAN, I suspect I would call use "Bruce
Wayne" when refering to the awkward billionaire, and "Batman" when
refering to the Caped Crusader. In a movie like this, the two different versions
of the character rarely appear in the same scene, so it would probably be less
confusing.

In the case of a movie like TOOTSIE, I’ve never read the original script,
but I suspect that when Dustin Hoffman’s character is dressed as either a man
or a woman, the script refers to him as Michael. When he’s in drag, his dialogue
headers probably read like, "MICHAEL (as DOROTHY)" to make it clear
which persona he’s playing at the time.

In the case of a movie like FIGHT CLUB (warning, spoilers
follow), since
the reveal that Brad Pitt and Edward Norton are actually the same person comes
so late in the story, you would obviously treat them like two completely separate
people.

I have written a few short stories that turn out to be 5
or 10 minutes. Now I am currently in the middle of writing a full-length screenplay
and was wondering,
what is a good amount for a full length? I heard that there is an amount that,
if it is under, studios will not except it. Is that true, and if so,
what is that amount?

–Ross

Most of the time, you’ll hear 120 pages, which is a good rule of thumb. Honestly,
a script could be anywhere from 100 to 145 pages and still be a reasonable-length
movie, but the majority of scripts that go into production fall between 110
and 120 pages. That’s generally what I aim for.

I thought it was Hollywood urban legend, but Warner Bros. actually has in
their screenwriter contract that a feature-length screenplay can’t come in
at more than 120 pages. I suspect they made an exception for the recent Harry
Potter movie, which based its running time, probably weighed in at more than
140 pages.