John August

QandA

Actors and dialogue

Directors, QandA

Do you allow your actors to own the words of a script without any intervention
or do you sometimes change the way they speak the dialogue?

–Ruble

In terms of feature films, that’s a better question for the director, because
ultimately it’s the director who guides the performance. But in times when
I’ve been on set as a writer (such as GO), I try to step back and let the actor
find the right way to get the words out.

When you tell an actor exactly how to say something, that’s called "giving
a line reading," and it’s considered one of the biggest no-no’s, sure
to raise the hackles of actors everywhere. But there are subtle ways to influence
a line’s delivery without explaining it word for word.

For instance, an actor might be directed to "throw the line away," (play
it as unimportant, even if it’s not), or "really let it sting." Another
technique is to offer an alternative line that the actor can play in his head
while saying the line written. For instance, "When you say, ‘It’s really
nice to see you," let it mean ‘Go to Hell.’" The important thing
is to let the actor find the means – the tone and inflection – while getting
across the intended message.

Genres and structures

Genres, QandA

Do you have a clear idea of the genre of the film before
you start to write? Do you write to a model, like the three-act structure?

–Lydia

Usually you have a pretty good idea what genre the movie is before you start
writing, at least in the broadest sense – a comedy, a thriller, an action movie.
And of course, within any category there are sub-genres. "Comedies" can
be romantic comedies, black comedies, action comedies, family comedies, spoofs
and so forth. You could spend a weekend listing all the different sub-genres
and still find movies that don’t fit into any.

More important than knowing where to put the video at Blockbuster is figuring
what approach you’ll be taking, and that’s where the real work comes in. For
instance, CHARLIE’S ANGELS is an action comedy, so logically it should do some
of the same things as LETHAL WEAPON or RUSH HOUR. But from its inception,
there were always going to be things about CHARLIE’S ANGELS that would be unique
and difficult.

First, the characters. The movie has three heroines who need roughly equal
screen time, each with their own subplots and love interests. Bosley needs
enough to do so that an actor will want to play it, but not so much that it
takes away from the Angels. And then there’s Charlie himself. He’s the disembodied
voice on a speakerphone box, yet we need to believe he’s a real person.

Second, the tone. Trying to escape the cheesiness of the TV show, early drafts
of the script played the world very cold and high-tech, almost like a MISSION:IMPOSSIBLE
movie. While we wanted the Angels to be super-competent when they were in danger
mode,
we needed them to be huggable when they were off-duty.
They needed to be like your best friends: rowdy, caring, impetuous and fun.
Also, we wanted the movie to be a love letter to Los Angeles: the sun is always
shining, colors are hot, and everyone looks great.

Finally, the action. Early on, we agreed the Angels wouldn’t carry guns. The
decision was less because of the social message than the action possibilities.
Gun fights are about people hiding behind things; we wanted the Angels punching
and kicking. We ended up hiring the fight team behind THE MATRIX to train the
actors in martial arts, and I can’t imagine the movie any other way.

Notice that all of these decisions were made BEFORE we started talking about
plot or structure. That was the right choice, because it meant we could develop
a storyline that would fit the movie we wanted to make, rather than dress-up
a pre-existing plot with details from our movie.

The actual outline we used for the movie was simply a list of 20 sequences.
It was less than half a page. But it took months to get there. During production,
some of the sequences changed for budget, schedule or location reasons, but
the underlying spine remained exactly the same.

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.

Finding the rights

QandA, Rights and Copyright

My friend and I translated a French novel whose English translation
has been out of print for many years. We have found no takers for our translation,
but also have a screenplay, which we think could be a blockbuster for the right
studio. The only problem is that the author of the original novel is dead and
securing rights, let alone locating them, is a difficult task for two college
students. Is it worth seeking representation in hopes that a studio would like
the screenplay and do their own research to pick up the rights?

–A

You need to hire an honest-to-goodness copyright attorney, preferably one
that speaks French, and have him or her investigate the copyright situation
on the original novel.
Since you obviously speak French, you might be able
to track one down in Paris or Montreal who could handle it. Another option
would be to consult the French business league in either New York or L.A.
and look for a contact there.
One final thought would be to find a small American
pubisher that specializes in French translations and try to sweet-talk
their rights department into giving you a hand. It’s one case where being college
students might help you out.

I think you’re much better off doing this homework at the outset, because
no buyer will be interested in reading a screenplay based on work they may
never be able to buy.