John August

Search Results for: protagonist

Vampires are the imaginary numbers of modern literature

Genres, Reading

After a [bad beginning](http://johnaugust.com/archives/2006/to-the-guy-sitting-in-7a), I spent the flight home from Colorado reading Barry Mazur’s [Imagining Numbers](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0374174695/), which looks at how we might best conceive of imaginary numbers, those uncomfortable gremlins that occur when you start looking for the square root of negative numbers.

The book was only okay. It tried to be history lesson, philosophical study and math review all at once, and in its scattershot approach never quite achieved its stated thesis.

But one benefit of a mediocre book is that one’s mind is free to wander. Over the course of reading Mazur’s book, I decided:

1. To paint a giant number line on my daughter’s playroom wall. Addition and subtraction make a lot more sense with some geometry behind them, and Mazur’s description of numbers as verbs rather than nouns is revelatory.

2. The sense of needing “permission” to do something is generally an indication of an unasked question: “What would happen if I *did* take the square root of a negative number,” or “What if my protagonist *could* hear the voice-over narration?” (c.f. [Stranger Than Fiction](http://imdb.com/title/tt0420223/))

3. Vampires are the imaginary numbers of modern literature.

This last point merits further elaboration.

Vampires do not exist. That is, they do not exist in the same way you or I do. You’ve never met an undead blood-sucker, and neither have I. Yet we can both agree on quite a few characteristics of these non-existent beings:

* They drink blood.
* They avoid sunlight.
* They’re strong.
* They are undead and undying, except by special procedures.

This checklist is by no means complete: different writers may choose to add or subtract abilities. Shape-shifting and hypnosis were once pretty common traits that have all but disappeared from the modern vampire. Likewise, flight and coffin-sleeping seem to be on the wane.

In films, books and television, you can find urban vampires, feral vampires and even white-trash varieties. Yet the sense of “vampire-ness” seems fairly fixed. Here’s a test: grab a random teenager and ask him how to kill a vampire. Then ask him how to change a tire. I suspect the more complete answer will involve a wooden stake.

So how are vampires the imaginary numbers of modern literature?

Neither vampires nor imaginary numbers exist, yet we treat them like they do, simply because it suits our purposes. Imaginary numbers let us posit hypothetical mathematical scenarios; vampires let us imagine hypothetical human scenarios. Want an addiction analogy? Vampires. Epidemic? Vampires. Alienation? Vampires. Need to have your protagonist exist both now and two hundred years in the past? Just make him a vampire.

Modern literature has substituted vampires into every conceivable genre. And I don’t think it’s any accident that our bitey friends have become the go-to supernatural beings. Werewolves are only part-time monsters. Ghosts lack a consistent mythology. Vampires, well, *they’re just like us.*

But different. They’re imaginary numbers, who can’t be reduced beyond their glamorous other-ness.

I haven’t written a vampire movie yet, but the key word is “yet.” I came close last year, and it’s almost a given that I will at some point. It’s like a screenwriter’s rite of passage. And when I do, I intend to invoke some serious calculus on that shit.

10 things I hate about me

First Person, Meta, Rant

[Kevin Arbouet](http://tenspeedbrownshoe.blogspot.com/) tagged me to answer [10 questions](http://tenspeedbrownshoe.blogspot.com/2006/03/one-of-greatest-things-to-do-is-talk.html) about mistakes and bad practices.

Taken the wrong way, the whole exercise could be kind of negative and bleak. But one (hopefully) learns from one’s errors, so it’s in that spirit that I further the meme.

1) WHAT’S THE WORST THING YOU’VE EVER WRITTEN?

With hindsight being 20/20, probably _Fantasy Island_. My concept was probably interesting only to people familiar with the show. (Short version: Roark dies on page 13, and shit goes haywire.) There were too many characters, and it was all too arbitrary. Years later, “Lost” did everything I was trying to do, and so much better.

2) WHAT’S THE WORST LINE YOU’VE EVER WRITTEN?

From _Demonology_: “Somewhere between fuck me and fuck you — there’s the problem.” I held onto that dumb line for far too long, until the exec finally called me on it.

3) WHAT’S THE WORST ADVICE YOU’VE EVER GIVEN?

To my former assistant, [Rawson](http://imdb.com/name/nm1098493/): “I don’t think anyone is clamoring to see Vince Vaughn playing dodgeball.”

4) WHAT’S THE ONE TIME YOU KNOW YOU SHOULD HAVE SPOKEN UP BUT YOU DIDN’T?

I did a rewrite of a movie for a pretty big producer. In the original script, the sister of the protagonist was a flight attendant. I changed her into a pilot, just because I thought it was more interesting. The producer insisted that I change it back, because, “That’s absurd. I’ve never seen a female pilot. I just don’t believe it.”

I know a female commercial airline pilot; I had recently been on a flight with a female pilot; four seconds of Googling could give me the exact statistics that I needed to prove that female pilots are not the Yetis of aviation. But I said fuck it, it’s not worth fighting about and changed it back. I regret not making my point, though it wouldn’t have really amounted to anything meaningful.

5) WHAT’S THE WORST PITCH MEETING YOU’VE EVER HAD?

Just this year, I pitched my take on _Black Monday_ to Paramount. I had this bad feeling going in, sort of like when you think you might be catching a cold. Except this wasn’t a case of the sniffles, but rather some kind of aphasia. I couldn’t get three words together. It was awful.

David Hayter is writing it now. God bless him.

6) WHO’S THE ONE PERSON YOU’D NEVER WORK WITH AGAIN AND AREN’T AFRAID TO NAME?

Don Murphy. Runner up: Bernard Rose.

7) WHAT’S THE WORST SCRIPT IDEA YOU’VE EVER HAD?

_Highlanders_. Early in my career, I was up for writing one of the sequels. I probably spent a solid week working on my take, without ever once stopping to think, “Seriously, Highlanders?”

8) WHAT’S THE WORST THING ABOUT YOU BEING ON SET?

After a certain point, I have a hard time masking my boredom. Every other person on set has a job to keep him or her busy. My job is to watch rehearsals, then stare at the monitor during each take, silently whispering the dialogue I wrote. During the 95% of the time we’re not rehearsing or shooting, I get incredibly restless.

Come to think of it, the script supervisor has largely the same job (and lack thereof). I could probably never be a script supervisor.

9) WHAT’S YOUR WORST WORKING HABIT?

Particularly when I’m re-writing a script, I suffer from what my friend [John Gatins](http://imdb.com/name/nm0309691/) refers to as the line-painter dilemma. Here’s the short version:

A guy is hired to paint the yellow line down the middle of a country road. The first day, he paints five miles. His supervisor is impressed. The second day, he only paints two miles. His supervisor thinks, “Well, maybe he had a bad day.” But the third day, the guy only paints half a mile. The supervisor asks the guy what’s wrong — why is he getting so much less done?

“Well,” the guy says, “I have to keep walking back to the paint can.”

The screenwriting equivalent, of course, is that at the start of each day’s work, one’s instinct is to go back to page one and read-slash-revise up to where you left off. Which is a very counter-productive habit.

10) WHAT’S THE WORST MISTAKE YOU’VE EVER MADE?

I could have bought Muhammad Ali’s old house. My real estate agent got me in to see it, and I loved it. I went back to see it twice, once with my contractor, to figure out exactly how I’d redo it. But I chickened out at the price. Now, of course, it’s worth three times that. I drive by it twice a week when taking my dog to swimming lessons. And every time, I think, damn. That should have been my house.

Not that my current house isn’t perfectly fine. It’s great. But it’s not epic-great. It’s not a house that I’d happily die in. That’s the Muhammad Ali house, my San Simeon.

Looking back, almost all the things I regret are non-actions — chances I didn’t take. I actually got a tattoo to help me remember that.

Why is Charlie so passive?

Charlie, Projects

questionmarkIn Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, why is Charlie so passive in the movie?

As the main character I would think he would do something during the big adventure in the factory but he does nothing. He faces no challenges. He is not tested in any way. He doesn’t even have the opportunity to make a single mistake.

He is simply the blandest and most uninteresting character in the entire group. He doesn’t even merit a song. I just don’t get it.

–Gilbert

Congratulations, Gilbert. You are now a studio executive.

The one consistent note Tim and I got from Warner Bros. about the script was, “Shouldn’t Charlie be trying harder?” To which we answered, “No.” And because Tim Burton is Tim Burton, they eventually stopped asking.

The world is full of movies where scrappy young heroes succeed by trying really hard, by being clever and saying witty things. But that’s not Roald Dahl’s Charlie Bucket at all. We didn’t want a classic Disney protagonist, so we left Charlie the way he was: a good kid.

Here’s what I wrote a [few weeks ago](http://johnaugust.com/archives/2005/whats-the-difference-between-hero-main-character-and-protagonist) about this issue:

However, Charlie is not a classic Protagonist. Charlie doesn’t grow or change over the course of the story. He doesn’t need to. He starts out a really nice kid, and ends up a really nice kid.

In terms of Classical Dramatic Structure, that leaves us one Protagonist short, which leads to the biggest change in the screenplay versus the book (or the 1971 film). In our movie, Willy Wonka is the protagonist. He grows and changes. We see his rise and fall, along with his nervous breakdown during the tour. Charlie’s the one who’s always asking – ever so politely, in the Freddie Highmore Whisperâ„¢ – the questions that lead to Wonka’s flashbacks upon his rotten childhood. (In Classic Dramatic terms, that makes Charlie an Antagonist. Not to be confused with a Villain. Are you sure you don’t want to read about some squirrels?)

As I pitched it to Tim: Charlie gets a factory, and Willy Wonka gets a family. It’s the whole want-versus-need thing. Charlie doesn’t need a factory. Wonka really needs a family. Otherwise, he’s going to die a giggling misanthropic weirdo.

Charlie “wins” because he’s genuinely good, in a quiet, unassuming way. He doesn’t get a song because the Oompa-Loompas only sing about rotten children.

I’m sorry that doesn’t float your boat, Gilbert, but I think the real issue may be how much you’re preconditioned by all the movies you’ve seen with plucky kids who outthink the adults. If you hurry, you can probably catch one at the multiplex.

[Deciding which parents get to visit the factory](http://johnaugust.com/archives/2005/deciding-which-parents-get-to-visit-the-factory)

Glossary

ACT
A collection of scenes forming one of the main sections of a script. In stage plays and teleplays, acts are explicitly indicated in the script (e.g. "End of Act One"); in features, they are not. One-hour TV dramas are usually broken into four acts, plus a teaser, coinciding with commercial breaks. Half-hour sitcoms fall into into two acts, plus a teaser. Made-for-TV movies are divided into seven acts. Stage plays can have any number of acts. One and two-act plays are common, while Shakespearean dramas often have five acts. Since screenplays never show act breaks, an "act" is really a theoretical concept. Screenwriters talk about three acts, meaning "the beginning," "the middle," and "the end."

ACT BREAK
The end of an act. Generally, it’s a highpoint in the story in which something important occurs that thrusts the audience into the next chapter or stage. In television, an act will end just before a commercial break. In stage musicals, the act break is usually preceded by a big song to keep people humming through intermission.

ANTAGONIST
A major character in a screenplay whose values or behavior conflict with those of the protagonist. Sometimes, the antagonist does not have to be personified, but can be the elements, society, etc.

ASSOCIATE PRODUCER
See the Producer page.

BASE CAMP
During production, the area where most of the trailers are located. Sometimes base camp is several miles away from the set.

BIO-PIC
A film that tells the true story of a historical figure (e.g. A Beautiful Mind, Patton, Nixon).

BUMP
An increase in pay. For a writer, this would come on a new assignment. A writer may deserve a bump for having written a successful movie, gotten a big director attached, or winning a major award.

BUY
To understand and accept the logic of an assertion. “I buy that the hooker didn’t want to call the cops, but I don’t buy she would actually bury the body herself."

BUSINESS
A character’s action during a scene , which is generally not related to the content of the scene itself. “Can we give Rachel some business over by the copier while Joey and Chandler are talking?"

CHARACTER
Essentially, any person in a story who does or says something. It’s the addition of unique and meaningful details that elevates a character beyond purely functional status.

CIRCUS
The Canadian term for "base camp ." (Example: "If you’re going back to the circus, would you get me some coffee?")

CLOSE UP
A shot in which a character or item takes up a large portion of the frame. Often used for dramatic effect or to highlight something the audience should be paying attention to.

CO-EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
See the Producer page.

CO-PRODUCER
See the Producer page.

COPYRIGHT
The legal protection of creative ideas. A writer automatically owns copyright on anything she writes, even without official governmental registration. One exception is works-for-hire, in which the copyright rests with the entity paying for the work. Registering written material with the Writer’s Guild of America (WGA) is not the same as copyright, although it does help prove exactly when something was written.

COURIER
The standard typewriter font in which all screenplays are written. Twelve-point is the proper size. You could use a different font, but you’d look like an amateur.

CUT TO:
In screenwriting, a quick or marked transition from one scene to another. Moving from one scene to another automatically implies a CUT TO:, so you don’t need to use it unless you’re trying to convey a certain pace .

CUTTY
Using many quick edits between shots in a scene , often making the audience feel dizzy. Michael Bay movies tend to be cutty, even in non-action scenes.

DAY PLAYER
A non-star actor who is paid a flat daily rate, generally speaking only a few lines in a film. Characters who appear in only one scene are generally played by day players. This is sometimes a “bump " for an extra who is asked to read a line on-set.

DEVELOPMENT
The lengthy and often painful process in which a screenplay is re-written time and time again to satisfy all those involved with the project, namely studio executives, directors, and cast members. To quote Howard Rodman: “Development is the process of taking the screenplay only you could have written, and turning it into something anyone could have written.

DEVELOPMENT EXECUTIVE
A studio executive who is in charge of shepherding the writer through the “development process," giving them notes and feedback on the script.

DOCU-DRAMA
A film that tells the true story of a historical event (e.g. Schindler’s List, Tora! Tora! Tora!, Gettysburg).

EARNED
The sense that a story moment has come about organically and logically, particularly in terms of character motivation. (“I don’t think you really earned Megan’s decision to give up the baby on page 21.")

EDGY
A term used to describe a story or writing style that is unusually unsettling, exciting, or dark. Everyone claims to want edgy material, but then they end up making generic comedies.

EIGHTH
A unit of a written page, used for production. Script pages are broken down into “eighths of a page," approximately one vertical inch of text. A scene might be listed as 1 1/8th long, which means one page plus one-eighth of the next.

ENTRANCE
A character’s entry into a scene. “The scene is really wonky up until Chandler’s entrance."

ESTABLISHING SHOT
A written description of an exterior location, usually to set up the logistics of a place, rather than a specific story purpose.

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
See the Producer page.

EXIT
A character’s exit from a scene . “Could we have him exit on Monica’s line instead?"

EXIT LINE
A character’s last line as he or she exits a scene . “I hate Joey’s exit line. Can we do a recall on the hoagie business?"

EXT.
A scene header that tells the reader the following scene takes place outdoors (e.g. EXT. BOB’S DINER – NIGHT).

EXTREME CLOSE UP
A shot in which a character or item takes up the entire frame of film, often used for dramatic effect or to tell the audience that this is important.

EYE CANDY
Something on-screen that is meant to be looked at and ogled, but rarely has anything to do with the development of the story. Examples include big pyrotechnic explosions, cool CG effects and gorgeous alien vistas.

FANTASY SEQUENCE
A scene or sequence that occurs outside the reality of the story, often to visualize a character’s dreams or wishes.

FLASH CUT
A quick edit in which a scene flashes to white before entering the next scene, often used to transition into dream or fantasy sequences .

FLASHBACK
A scene from the past used to explain something happening in the present. See also NON-LINEAR .

FLASHFORWARD
This is a scene from the future that appears out of the linear telling of the story, usually to highlight a dramatic moment.

GENRE
A category of films lumped together based on subject matter, theme or tone. Film genres include action, drama, comedy, horror, noir, musical, mystery, western, thriller, documentary, or science fiction. Many genres then have sub-genres, such as dark comedy, teen comedy, romantic drama, historical drama, sci-fi thriller, or sci-fi horror.

HACK
An unflattering term for a writer or director who carelessly puts together a script or film with little talent or regard for craft or storytelling.

HALF-HOUR
A television term for a comedy that lasts for a half-hour (eg. Friends, Sex and the City, Malcolm in the Middle).

HERO
The main character in a story, who drives the plot, or around whom plot is structured. Often, but not always the protagonist .

IN
The moment or manner the writer begins a particular scene . ("Could we come in later to the party scene, after Rich has eaten atomic goldfish?") See OUT .

INDUSTRY
Short for the film and television industry. At a party: "So, do you work in the industry?"

INT.
A scene header that tells the reader the following scene takes place inside (e.g. INT. BOB’S DINER – NIGHT).

LINE PRODUCER
See the Producer page.

MANUSCRIPT
The typed (as opposed to type-set) version of a novel, as originally submitted to the publisher by an author. Much of the editing and revision of a book takes place at the manuscript stage.

McGUFFIN
Often associated with Hitchcock, PageWise has a good definition: A device or plot element that catches the viewer’s attention or drives the plot. It is generally something that every character is concerned with. The McGuffin is essentially something that the entire story is built around and yet has no real relevance. That is, it’s what the movie says it’s about, even though it really isn’t. In the first Charlie’s Angels, the McGuffin was stolen voice-identification software; in the second, it was Federal Witness Protection List. In both cases, the villain’s real motivation was greed and revenge. In early drafts of Full Throttle, the Angels had to retrieve a glowing vial labelled “McGuffin Industries.”

MEET-CUTE
In romantic comedies, the moment when the destined-to-fall-in-love couple meets for the first time, typically in ironic or unexpected fashion.

MOMENTUM
The inertia within a story as it approaches its climax. "I really feel the five-minute break-dance number is slowing the momentum in the second act ."

MONTAGE
A series of short scenes , often used to show the passing of time, or the process by which something is done. In screenplays, the individual scenes within a montage sometimes don’t use scene headers , but rather list each action on a separate line.

MOTIVATED
When a character’s dialogue or action makes sense based on the information that preceded it. "Monica’s tirade about the dish drainer doesn’t seem properly motivated."

MOTIVATION
The wants, needs and beliefs that drive a character . "I don’t understand the drug lord’s motivation for wanting Salazar dead."

NOIR
A genre of film with a dark or disturbing tone. Noir films are typically thriller or crime stories.

NON-LINEAR
A style of storytelling in which plot does not unfold chronologically (e.g. Go, Pulp Fiction, Rashomon). One or two flashbacks does not make a film non-linear, but an extended flashback might (e.g. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon).

ONE-HOUR
A television term describing a dramatic series that lasts for one-hour (e.g. ER, The West Wing, The Sopranos).

OUT
The moment or manner the writer ends a particular scene . ("Could we find a better out for the dinner party scene?") See IN .

PACING/PACE
The speed at which events unfold within a story. Action scripts are often described as fast-paced, while character dramas can be slow-paced.

POLISH
A small rewrite of a screenplay before it enters production, typically with the goal of smoothing out storylines or spicing up dialogue.

POST
The period after principal photography in which a film is edited, visual effects are completed, sound work is done, and a musical score is laid down, all leading up to the theatrical release.

PREP, PRE-PRODUCTION
The period prior to principal photography in which directors are hired, actors are cast, sets are built, costumes designed, and writers work on polishes.

PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY
The main period of filming for a movie, lasting days, weeks, or months.

PRODUCER
The person who (in theory) brings together all the elements to make a film. A producer shepherds an idea from scripting through the theatrical release, hiring and firing personnel as needed. The “Best Picture" Oscar goes to them. For information on the different types of producers, see the Producer page.

PROTAGONIST
The central character in a story, generally synonymous with hero . This character drives the plot and is typically changed the most based on what he or she encounters.

QUEST
The journey a hero takes to achieve his goal. Sometimes the quest is literal (take this ring to Mordor; win the cheerleading championship). In other stories, the quest is more abstract (improve the relationship with your brother).

RESIDUALS
Payments made to a film or television writer when his or her work is sold to another venue, such as a feature film sold on DVD, or a network television episode shown in syndication. These fees are negotiated and collected on behalf of the writer by the Writers Guild of America.

REVEAL
The moment in which previously withheld information about characters or plot is unveiled. “Could we move the reveal of Carrie’s father to the end of the first act?"

SCALE
The minimum amount of money a writer must be paid for their work, if the employer has signed a contract with the Writer’s Guild of America (WGA).

SCENE
A unit of story that occurs in one location at one time.

SCENE HEADER
The top of scene , which lists the location, time of day, and whether or not a scene is inside or outside. INT. BOB’S DINER – DAY tells the reader the scene takes place inside Bob’s diner during daylight hours.

SCENE NUMBER
Scripts in pre-production (and thereafter) have each scene numbered to the left and right of the scene header , in order to facilitate production (e.g. “Today we’re going shoot scene 17.") Before this point, most scripts do not number individual scenes .

SCREENPLAY
A script written to be a feature film (or possibly a made-for-television movie).

SCRIPT SUPERVISOR
The on-set person responsible for keeping track of “continuity of filming," ensuring that everything will cut together logically in the editing room. For every take, they make sure the actors repeat the same actions and dialogue. The script supervisor is also responsible for noting which takes of a scene the director prefers.

SET-PIECE
A scene or sequence with escalated stakes and production values, as appropriate to the genre. For instance, in an action film, a set-piece might be helicopter chase amid skyscrapers. In a musical, a set-piece might be a roller-blade dance number. In a high-concept comedy, a set piece might find the claustrophobic hero on an increasingly crowded bus, until he can’t take it anymore. Done right, set-pieces are moments you remember weeks after seeing a movie.

SEQUENCE
A collection of shorter scenes that tell a larger part of the movie (e.g. a car chase, a heist, a prom).

SINGLE-CAMERA
A television show that is shot more like a feature film, using one or two cameras with several setups for each scene , rather than recording all the action from multiple cameras. Most dramas are single-camera; most comedies are three-camera . "Sex and the City" and "Malcolm in the Middle" are examples of comedies that are shot single-camera.

SLOW-MOTION
The appearance of time slowing down, often used to heighten tension. In film, it is achieved in film by shooting at a higher frame rate, such as 48 frames per second rather than 24.

SLUGLINE
In screenwriting, a piece of description placed on its own line, in uppercase letters, to signify its importance in the scene . Often used to break longer scenes into manageable chunks.

SPLIT-SCREEN
A shot that is “cut" down the middle of a frame to illustrate action happening at the same time, but in two different locations.

STUDIO
In film, a company that finances, produces, markets and distributes motion pictures. Major American studios include Columbia, Universal, DreamWorks, Paramount, Warner Bros., MGM and Disney. In television, a company that finances and produces television shows. The marketing and distribution is handled by the network, which may or may not be related to the studio.

SUB-RIGHTS
The division of a publisher one calls to find out who owns all underlying rights to a creative property, be it a magazine article, novel or other written material.

TELEPLAY
A script written specifically for television.

TENTPOLE
A major motion picture, generally released in the summer or Christmas season, which is the primary focus of a studio’s marketing attention. The term comes from this analogy: if the tentpole fails, everything will collapse around it.

THREE-CAMERA
In television, the format of most situation comedies. Scenes are filmed in their entirety by multiple cameras in front of a live audience.

TRACKING
In regards to feature films, the process of measuring a soon-to-be-released film’s popularity within the general public. Tracking allows a studio to know whether or not a film’s marketing is effectively reaching the target audience. In regards to screenplays, the process of checking the internal logic of the plot. “Something about the HALO rings just isn’t tracking." In regards to development , the sharing of information between development executives about what screenplays are coming onto the market.

TRANSITION
The movement from one scene to the next. It can be as simple as a cut, or more dramatic such as a dissolve, fade out, fade in, etc.

VIDEO VILLAGE
On-set, the bank of monitors where a director watches what is being filmed. Generally, the script supervisor , director of photography and producers are also huddled around video village.

VILLAIN
The hero’s primary opponent in the movie, who must be defeated in order for the hero to succeed.

WE’RE-NOT-IN-KANSAS-ANYMORE
The moment, generally at the end of the first act , in which characters recognize their dilemma or setting has suddenly changed (generally for the worse).

WONKY
A moment that feels out-of-place or forced. “There’s something really wonky about how we get to the car chase."

WORST-OF-THE-WORST
The moment in the story, generally at the end of the second act , when things are at their absolute worst for the hero , and all hope seems lost. In an action movie, the hero’s plan to defuse the bomb may have failed. In a buddy comedy, the two friends may have gone their separate ways. In a romantic comedy, the guy and the girl aren’t speaking, and she’s about to marry the rich jerk. Even movies that don’t have a classic three-act structure tend to have a worst-of-the-worst, if only to allow the hero one last obstacle to overcome.