John August

Words on the page

The wall of newspaper clippings

Rant, Words on the page

newspaper clippings

[Gary Whitta](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1729428/) wrote in with his proposed moratorium: the wall of expository newspaper clippings. They’re a movie staple, but I’ve never seen one of these in real life.

However, I have in fact seen parents’ shrines to their children’s accomplishments, which is why I’m (barely) able to give myself a pass for this moment at the end of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory:

charlie clippings

Part of the difference may literally be the framing. Newspaper clippings pinned to the wall reads as crazy/obsessive. Clippings nicely mounted and hung reads simply as pride.

Breathe, damnit!

Words on the page

My friend Rawson points out his most-hated movie cliché, one that’s [due for a moratorium](http://johnaugust.com/archives/2006/air-vents-are-for-air):

Jack continues mouth-to-mouth, but Lara shows no sign of coming around.

JACK

(desperate)

Breathe, damnit!

A beat, then Lara suddenly COUGHS back to life, spitting up a palm-full of water.

She looks around, disoriented. Then sees Jack looking down at her. Smiles.

Double negative points for saying something quippy after being revived.

“No signal” is the new air duct

Genres, Video, Words on the page

This terrific compilation clip by [FourFour](http://fourfour.typepad.com)’s Rich Juzwiak demonstrates what a hoary cliché it has become to explain why movie characters aren’t using their cell phones.

I plead guilty, having used the “signal goes away” variation as a major element in Part Three of The Nines. (I feel both disappointment and relief to have not made the cut.)

Unlike the [air duct cliché](http://johnaugust.com/archives/2006/air-vents-are-for-air), the cell phone problem can’t be solved by a simple vow of chastity. Cell phones are real things people use every day, so ignoring them is rarely an option for a movie set present day.

Don’t write movies in which characters would call for help. That’s probably the best advice I can offer.

Should I include a list of characters?

QandA, Words on the page

questionmarkFrom what I gather, it seems to be almost “bad form” to include a list of characters with your screenplay or at the beginning of it. At least it’s something. However, in dense scripts, wouldn’t such a list be helpful?

Seeing a movie on screen has the advantage of visual recognition in a sea of faces ( “Oh, that’s the Joe Pesci character,” “There’s the guy with the red hat again”, etc.), which obviously the written word can’t always convey, except if you go into background or descriptions every time the character shows up.

So is it okay to include a brief list of characters for a particularly complex and character-rich script?

— Liam
Paris, France

No. Never do this.

The Godfather screenplay doesn’t include a list of characters. Ditto for Lord of the Rings.

If your script is so convoluted that readers won’t be able to remember which characters are which, you need to fundamentally rethink it. A list of character names won’t help.

Yes, in some screenplays it can be tough to recall who’s who. Be nice to your readers. If you have a character who hasn’t shown up for fifty pages, it’s okay to throw a line in the scene description to remind us who he is:

The elevator doors open to reveal Marcel -- Tiff’s obnoxious boyfriend from the race track -- lighting two cigarettes. He hands one to the blonde gamine beside him, who we’ll call FAKE EDIE SEDGWICK.

When I’m reading a script that I’ll need to discuss later, one trick I’ve learned is to write down the major character names on the title page as I’m reading it, like this:

Todd – stockbroker
Brett – meth addict brother
Wallengate – Todd’s boss, narcoleptic

It’s a cheat sheet for myself, based on my reading, and helps me remember the geography of the plot when I meet with the writer. A prebaked character list wouldn’t help the same way.