John August

Search Results for: characters

Character caps

Formatting, QandA

My question concerns the use
of character names in screenplays, specifically, should they be capitalized
throughout the script wherein they are actually in a scene, or should they
just be capitalized when they are first introduced?

This is really driving me crazy as the screenplays I have
read adhere to the capitalization throughout, the logic being that the actor
can see at a glance
that their character is in a scene if the name of the character is in capitals.
Indeed I was taught this as well in a University Degree in screenwriting. But
I have had feedback from some producers who say this is wrong.

–Brendan

In stage plays, the characters’ names are generally capitalized throughout.
In screenplays, characters’ names in the scene description are capitalized
only when a character first appears in the script. (And by capitalized, I mean
in all caps, like MIKE or BOB.)

Yes, I’ve seen exceptions to both rules, but I think the conventions make
sense and should be followed. Here’s what it looks like:

Bartender BOBBY DENTON is 29, with a mullet haircut and pit stains.
If your drink takes more than two kinds of liquid, Bobby’s not your man.

Subsequent mentions of Bobby, in this scene or later, would not be capitalized.
One possible exception (which came up in BIG FISH) is when a character’s age
changes so much that it obviously involves another actor. In that case, you
might capitalize YOUNG BOBBY the first time the five-year old version is introduced.

I can’t tell you with any certainty how stage plays and screenplays evolved
to do things differently. One theory might be that in a stage play, it’s very
important that an actor enter a scene at exactly the right time, thus the rampant
capitalization to make it more apparent. (In fact, stage plays often use "small
caps," which are a point size smaller than the regular typeface, just
to make it more readable.)

In movies, on the other hand, it’s often very important to know in what scene
a character is first established, particularly because scenes are often filmed
out of sequence. Thus, his or her name is capitalized only that one time.

The Script Police are not going to arrest you if you decide to capitalize
your characters’ names all the time, but it does make for a messier page, considering
the other things that need capitalization: sounds, sluglines, scene headings
and such.

So forget what you learned in university. Leave the caps to Shakespeare.

Foreign languages

Formatting, QandA

I’m curious about the use of foreign languages in predominately
English scripts. In CHARLIE’S ANGELS, where the Angels speak a
‘secret language’ in front of Eric Knox and his partner, how did you go about
writing it? Is
it standard to write the scene in English and later translate it? Could you
offer any tips or ‘guidelines’ to be used when placing foreign languages in
a script?

–Jaklene

The "secret language" spoken in CHARLIE’S ANGELS is actually Finnish,
although the pronunciation is probably spotty. The screenplay only printed
what they were saying in English. A translator came in quite a bit later, just
before filming. (Incidentally, the subtitled English is completely different
from what they’re actually saying in Finnish. Because some scenes got flopped
around in post-production, we used the subtitles to switch a major part of
the Dylan/Knox timeline.)

In terms of your own screenplays, obviously, most readers won’t be able to
read dialogue in a foreign language, beyond the occasional "hola" or "s’il
vous plait" which can go untranslated. So you need to make a decision
how you’re going to handle it in your script. There are no hard-and-fast rules,
but here’s how I usually do it.

  1. If it’s just a word here and there, and the meaning is obvious in context,
    don’t bother translating it. An example is when a ubiquitous foreign bad
    guy shouts at his men to do something. Since it doesn’t really matter what
    he’s
    saying, just use the foreign word if you know it. Sometimes, this type
    of dialogue doesn’t even make it on to the dialogue line, and gets summarized
    in the action
    like, "Moldona SHOUTS at his men to stop the angels."

  2. If you think the dialogue would probably be subtitled in the movie, italicize
    it in the script.

  3. If characters are speaking in a foreign language for the duration of a
    scene or scenes, put a parenthical like "(in Russian; subtitled)" for
    the first speaking character, then just use italicized English for the
    rest of the scene or scenes.

  4. This is more of a pet peeve, but a lot of words that are technically foreign
    are pretty common in Engish too, so don’t italicize things like gringo,
    taco, samurai or vis-a-vis. It sticks out and feels pretentious.

Script adaptations

Adaptation, QandA

How does someone go about adapting a written
story to film format? Thanks.

–Sam Ruin

Probably half the movies made are adaptations of one sort or another. The
original source material might have been a novel, a short story, an article
or even a 1970’s TV show (such as "Charlie’s Angels," coming to a theater near
you November 3).

Sorry for the blatant plug. Back to the question.

The first issue you face with any adaptation is rights. The author of the
original material generally holds the copyright, which means he or she has
say over whether or not a movie can be made based on the material, and for
what price. So if you’re serious about adapting the work, you’ll want to check
with the original author’s publisher (in the "sub-rights" department)
and get contact information so you can start the process of buying or optioning
these rights. ("Optioning" is something like "leasing-to-buy," where
you pay a fraction of the money up front, with a promise to pay more later
if the movie gets made.)

It’s important to note that copyright expires, so if you’re looking at adapting
something originally written in the 1800’s, there’s a good chance the work
is considered to be "in the public domain," which means you won’t
have to secure any rights at all.

Of course, there’s a big difference between having the rights to a story and
actually having a movie to make. Adapting a story into movie form is a lot
harder than it might seem at first.

The basic problem is that movies work so differently than most fiction or
other prose.

In novels or short stories, the prose is the final product. Screenplays, on
the other hand, are blueprints. They’re a plan for making a movie, but not
the movie itself. While the author of a novel has the final say about everything
that happens in a story, the screenwriter is by default only one of many hands
in making the movie, and everyone who becomes involved with the project will
change it in one way or another. Thus the screenplay has to communicate the
overall vision for the movie, above and beyond all the details of character,
plot and theme. In short, a book is just a book, but a screenplay has to be
a story, a plan, a sales tool and a mission statement all in one.

Fiction can ramble. Screenplays have to be ruthlessly efficient.

In fiction, the author can say what a character is thinking. In movies, a
screenwriter doesn’t have that option, without resorting to some device like
a voice-over or flashback.

The reader of a book can put a book down and think about it, or flip back
a few pages if something was confusing. Sitting in the theater, the audience
doesn’t have that opportunity. The movie keeps going, 24 frames per second,
no matter what. Therefore, the screenwriter has to be extra attentive to make
certain the audience will be able to follow the story at every moment.

Finally, movies are fundamentally a visual medium, so the screenwriter has
to be able to tell the story with images. Yes, there’s sound and dialogue,
but the picture is king. In a book, the author can say what a character tastses
or smells or feels. In a movie, all the audience can experience is sight and
sound, so the screenwriter needs to communicate everything through only these
two senses.

Given these challenges, it becomes clear why adapting a book into a movie
isn’t a matter of feeding the pages into a projector. It also explains why
so many bad movies are made from good books.

So how do you begin an adaptation? The most important thing is to approach
the project as a movie, with all the strengths and limitations of the medium,
rather than as a novel or short story. Focus on the primary characters, their
goals and obstacles. Rather than trying to winnow down the source material
to fit into 120 pages, try to invite in only the elements you really need;
that is, build up rather than strip down.

And most importantly, remember that adaptation isn’t any easier than writing
a screenplay from scratch. So don’t beat yourself when certain aspect worked
in the novel but not in your script. They’re different beasts.

“Fictional events” disclaimer

QandA, Rights and Copyright

At the end of the credits of every movie, I read the
message saying, "The
events depicted in this movie are fictitious. Any similarity to any person
living or dead is merely coincidental." However, in a number of interviews
with screenwriters and on several DVD commentary tracks I hear a writer talk
about a real person or experience that he or she used in the script. Why do
you they get to put that message at the end?

–Ryan

This disclaimer is there strictly to help protect the studio and filmmakers
in case someone comes after them, claiming libel or defamation. Let’s say the
movie has an evil drug dealer named Joe Thompson. If some guy named Joe Thompson
in Wayzata, Minnesota decides the movie has defamed him and tries to sue, the
studio can point to that disclaimer and say, "Look, we said this character wasn’t
based on anyone."

Since you seem to like to watch the credits – God bless you – pay close attention,
because that disclaimer isn’t always exactly the same. In the case of a movie
like ALI, many of the characters obviously DID exist, and a lot of the events
portrayed in the movie DID happen. So the disclaimer at the end might say something
like, "This story is based on actual events. In certain cases incidents,
characters and timelines have been changed for dramatic purposes. Certain characters
may be composites, or entirely fictitious."

Among recent movies, CHICAGO, ADAPTATION and CATCH ME IF YOU CAN are based
on true stories, but each has taken considerable dramatic license. You’ll see
that reflected in the disclaimers at the end.

When you listen to DVD commentary tracks, you’ll often hear that a character
was "inspired by" a real-life person or events. For instance, GO
features a telepathic cat named Huxley, who is based on my friend George’s
telepathic cat named Huxley. The threeway, the strippers and the burning hotel
room all happened – at different times, to different people – but in stringing
them together, I created a fictious work that is not really "based on
actual events."

By the way, the screenwriter gets no say in what kind of disclaimer is put
on the movie. That’s generally handled by the studio lawyers.