110 pages or BUST…

I get a lot of email from you readers out there asking about page count.

*NOTE: Yes, I am in the business. Yes, I am a professional screenwriter. Yes, I have sold a screenplay.

I realize that a lot of the screenwriting books out there talk about your screenplay NOT going beyond 120 pages.

I’m probably going out on just a bit of a limb here but I have to disagree with the 120 page count.

The NEW SPEC script page count should really not go over 110 pages. Notice that I said SPEC script page count.

If you’re already in the industry… Already sold a script… Already have quite a few contacts… No problem. Write what you want. Write it as LONG as you want even.

Don’t have any contacts?
You haven’t sold a screenplay yet?
You’re not already in the industry?

Better get that page count down to 110.

Getting your page count down to 110 pages will cause people in the industry to draw several conclusions without even haven read the fucking script yet…

1) You could very well be writing at a professional level since the page count is PERFECT.

2) You’ve done your homework.

3) Your SPEC is TWEAKABLE.

By the same token, a SPEC script with more than 110 pages can cause people in the industry to draw several conclusions without even haven read the fucking script yet…

1) This person does not know how to write a screenplay.

2) This person didn’t even bother to tweak it to 110 pages.

3) This person is in LOVE with their work.

4) This person didn’t do their homework.

5) This person won’t have the ability to do a rewrite.

Having said that… It’s important to note that this goes for SPEC scripts that you’re trying to market. If you’ve already got the contacts… Already sold a script… Already in the industry… No problem. At that point, people just want to read what you have.

Unk

June 21, 2006 | Filed Under Uncategorized

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Quintessential characters…

Along with DILEMMA, I’ve also been noticing a concept called quintessentialism…

Here’s the definition of quintessential from Dictionary.com:

quin·tes·sen·tial adj

1. Representing the perfect example of a class or quality
2. Of, relating to, or having the nature of a quintessence; being the most typical.

What the hell is Unk talking about?

Your characters in your films… They should ideally be the QUINTESSENTIAL example of that type of character… If you have a bum as a character, he should be the quintessential bum.

If you have a rookie cop, he should be the quintessential rookie cop…

*NOTE: Quintessentialism doesn’t necessarily mean “the best” or “the most cliché.” It simply means the very best representation of that TYPE of character.

This should immediately tell you that RESEARCHING YOUR CHARACTERS is very important here.

In other words, you must reveal this characteristic of being quintessential in this person’s actions and dialogue as well as what other people think of them through dialogue.

I have yet to see a screenwriting book mention this but the very best movies I am watching lately seem to SCREAM this element.

For example, let’s take A FEW GOOD MEN.

Tom Cruise’s character is the quintessential plea bargaining Jag officer. This is revealed when Cruise meets Demi Moore’s character for the first time… i.e, “One more and I’ll win a set of steak knives…”

Demi Moore’s character is the quintessential rules of law attorney. She certainly knows the law but she doesn’t know how to use it in court… This is revealed by the two officers that ask her to leave the room… Through dialogue, they reveal that she dragged a case on for weeks when it could have been concluded a hell of a lot faster.

Jack Nicholson’s character is the quintessential commanding officer. Totally ego maniacal and expects to be treated with much more respect than is usually offered up in the military. Again, this is revealed through a lot of his own actions and dialogue where he acts as though he is beyond reproach.

I could go on but I hope you get the idea.

This is a big key in making your characters stand out and thus, making your screenplay and film stand out.

Unk

June 20, 2006 | Filed Under Characters

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Give your hero a DILEMMA…

I just thought I would share this…

In my ongoing quest to reverse engineer my favorite films to see what makes them tick, I recently stumbled upon DILEMMA.

I was actually surprised to find out and realize that I didn’t exactly know what DILEMMA means… Here’s the definition as pulled from Dictionary.com:

di·lem·ma n.

1. A situation that requires a choice between options that are or seem equally unfavorable or mutually exclusive.
2. Usage Problem. A problem that seems to defy a satisfactory solution.
3. Logic. An argument that presents two alternatives, each of which has the same consequence.

I’ve really never thought of DILEMMA before… Especially when working with my main characters in my screenplays… Don’t get me wrong… I’ve given my characters dilemmas but truth be told… I’ve never really given the concept of DILEMMA much thought.

To me, a dilemma wasn’t too much of a big deal… Just a choice of whether to do THIS or whether to do THAT.

I am now beginning to realize that the main character’s dilemma is often what separates mediocre films from outstanding films… The more intense the main character’s dilemma, the better the film.

From watching quite a few films in the last several days and mapping out DILEMMA, I am now fairly certain that most screenplays could be drastically improved by making the Protagonist’s DILEMMA enormous…

So out of watching these films, I can easily see that DILEMMA is now defined as a DAMNED IF YOU DO — DAMNED IF YOU DON’T CHOICE.

Or, a situation that you find yourself in where no GOOD CHOICES exist to get you out of the dilemma. Normally, you only have 2 choices and they both suck.

Take for instance, THE FIRM with Tom Cruise… Great dilemma in that story. His character, Mitch has quite a dilemma… Does he stay with the firm and continue to represent mafiosos or does he become a witness for the FBI and lose his license to practice law?

Both choices SUCK.

Now to take this even further…

I’m also noticing that the better films will have the Protagonist come up with their very own 3rd solution to their DILEMMA just as Tom Cruise did in THE FIRM. Remember, he didn’t pick either of the 2 obvious crappy choices and instead, created a separate 3rd choice and got out of the dilemma.

Of course the Protagonist doesn’t have to come up with a 3rd alternative to get out of his or her dilemma… He or she can certainly pick one of the 2 crappy choices and let the chips fall where they may…

Take for instance, Ethan Hawke’s character, Jake in TRAINING DAY. Quite a DILEMMA he has… Does he become a bad cop on the take and go against all his morals or does he turn in Denzel Washington’s character, Alonzo and become a rat cop? Huge dilemma and he chooses to turn in Alonzo.

Most recently, I watched DERAILED with Clive Owen and Jennifer Anniston… Not a bad film but not one I would want to own but I noticed in that film that Owen’s character’s DILEMMA is not nearly as strong or enormous as either of the character’s dilemmas in THE FIRM or TRAINING DAY and I think the film truly suffers from this…

So from what I am able to see from over 25 films so far, DILEMMA can be (it’s definitely NOT the rule) the element that makes your story, screenplay, and hopefully, FILM break out from the rest of the pack… Set up the dilemma of your Protagonist right from the beginning… Probably all the way through the 1st Act assuming you use basic 3 Act Structure…

Upon Act 2, it’s time to keep PUSHING the Protagonist’s DILEMMA back into his or her face every chance you get… Keep it escalating. He or she will run away from making a choice but you, the screenwriter, must make the Protagonist keep facing the dilemma and pushing it until it reaches the BOILING POINT.

For 3 Act Structure, that means by Act 3, your Protagonist must now make a decision from the 2 crappy choices or in fact create a 3rd alternative choice.

In other words, no more running from the dilemma. Your hero must now CHOOSE.

If the dilemma you put your hero in is HUGE enough, you should have a very interesting story… And, it doesn’t have to be physical… It can certainly be character driven…

Hope this helps with your screenplays…

Unk

June 19, 2006 | Filed Under Characters

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