Thoughts on characters as people

The following quote was posted on a local film networking site recently that had me thinking:
 

‎"Characters in scripts are people...not artifacts to be shuffled and manipulated like cards in a magic trick, to suit the contrivances of plot. I think that if filmmakers could approach characters more as if they were people, we'd have much better movies." 

~ Judith Weston, The Film Director's Intuition

It is a timely reminder as the discussion continues to rage over character motivation and actions in Prometheus. Yet there is an aspect that troubles me a little.

Simply this, characters aren’t people. I know this as a screenwriter because of this one essential truth – I DO manipulate them from above, God-like in what is known as the holy grail of screenwriting – STRUCTURE.

The moment you use words like “inciting incident”, “turning point”, “midpoint”, “reversal”, any screenwriting term, you are imposing your will on a character. Whether you use the three act structure, the Hero’s Journey, or any other structural template. Characters obey the rules of good storytelling craft; people do not.

That’s even before we discuss the requirements and expectations of genre and yes, the needs of the plot.

I’ve heard writers talk about characters not knowing that they’re in a movie or television show, not knowing that there is an audience. Then in the next breath tell me that a character has to do something interesting right before the first ad break so that the audience stays tuned in… huh? And my personal favourite – the script “that writes itself” where the writer supposedly lets the characters do as they will.

Well, firstly, scripts don’t write themselves, especially not feature screenplays. They are agonisingly hard to get right at the best of times and require more than their fair share of blood, sweat, tears, prescription medication, therapy, a healthy bar tab, an unhealthy level of bloody-mindedness and a singular focus on the task at hand.

Secondly, I simply don’t believe the mantra “I let the characters do what they want” – that leads to a three hour masterpiece (probably in French with subtitles) about a teenager deciding whether to get out of bed or not. People can be irrational, inconsistent, lazy, passive, unmotivated, goalless and maddeningly stupid. Characters can be all those things until they are propelled on a journey of some description with clear goals and stakes and forces of antagonism. That journey invariably has a shape and the characters an arc where they grow and learn some essential truth about themselves. Some people never learn (yes, you know exactly the sort of person I mean).

Sure, I absolutely agree that characters should act consistently based on the strengths, weakness, flaws, wants, needs and goals established within the context of the situation the writer puts them in. But if a character is left to his/her own devices I fear there would be a lot of “refusals of the call” because it’s rare that people are truly heroic. And isn’t that why we go to the movies? To see characters larger than ourselves do “heroic deeds” (however defined) that we can only dream of?

Aaron Sorkin was asked in an excellent article published in “On Writing” (February 2003, Volume #18) if one of his characters in The West Wing would “…react to a situation differently than [President] Bartlet?” This is his answer which I find most instructive: 

Possibly. But only when I want her to. When it suits my purposes. If I want to tell a story about a woman reacting to the severe oppression of women in a certain Middle Eastern dictatorship, then I’m purposefully having C.J. react differently than Bartlet would. But if I wasn’t interested in telling that story and I was interested in telling a different story about women in the Middle East, I would have no problem having C.J. and Bartlet react the exact same way. In other words, I don’t sit there and think, oh shit, C.J. wouldn’t do this. C.J. would do whatever I make C.J. do. Don Scardino directed A Few Good Men on Broadway, and there was this moment during rehearsal one time when an actor came up to him and said, “I don’t think my character would do this.” And he just said, “I think you’re playing the wrong character.” Of course he would do it—it’s right there in the script.

So what do you think? Character above all else and treated as people or a happy balance between character and structure? Thoughts? Rebuttals? Would love to hear people’s opinions…

Development of Script Development in Australia

After the release of three Australian feature films on the same day last week (surely an issue in itself) and their poor box office performance, the post mortem has been swift and brutal. One article that caught my eye was by Jim Schembri (here) with currently over 100 comments.

There are many aspects to the debate about why these films failed, marketing high amongst them, but one clear strand was about script development (and lack of third acts in Australian films). I would like to explore this as, being an aspiring feature film writer who happens to be Australian, it is a subject close to my creative heart...

"Writing is hard." So says veteran American film and television writer and film school professor Paul Chitlik who is in Perth conducting two intensive 5 day workshops on how to craft a treatment up to Hollywood industry standards.

Now, before we go any further, I'm not one of those Australian writers who equates the word "Hollywood" to something negative or downright embarrassing as some in the local industry seem to do. What "Hollywood" means to me is classic three act story-telling and yes, damn it, most likely with a "happy ending". Do they make bad films? Sure. Do they make enduring classics that are seen around the world by an astonishing number of people? Better than anyone else.

Sixteen projects will go through this workshop. Having been in the first group of eight I can unequivocally say every project has improved exponentially. The focus is on structure and character and how the two interact, particularly in regard to the protagonist's flaw. Is it formula? Maybe. Does it work? Absolutely. Does it mean we have to write $50 million plus Hollywood style blockbusters? Of course not. Good film structure doesn't cost a fortune.

This workshop comes hot on the heels of a 2 day seminar on The Hero's Journey as outlined by Joseph Campbell and popularised in Hollywood by Christopher Vogler in his book The Writer's Journey. Conducted by Karel Segers, it gave local writers and animators another model on how to structure a classically told story, in this case, literally from the classics!

In just over a fortnight's time I will embark on a rewrite of my other feature project with a high profile American script guru (conducted over Skype). I find this both exciting and intimidating as it feels like I'm "playing with the big boys." Being outside my comfort zone and stretched as a writer is essential. It's the only way to make me and the script better.

Last year that script went through ScreenWest's Feature Navigator program where consultants were flown in for a week to give expert feedback and, in my case, a few whacks behind the ear. It is an initiative committed to improving the quality of local feature scripts. Those consultants ranged from a working producer to an Australian writer-director now developing projects in LA to two script gurus from the UK. Not only was the script dissected in great detail but also the marketing aspects ("who is the audience?") and strength of the creative team.

The Development Manager at ScreenWest, a former WAAPA graduate, worked in Hollywood for 5 years as a producer. Most conversations I have with her are more writer-producer than writer-funding bureaucrat as we discuss the marketing aspect of my projects as much as the story details.

The WA Branch of the Australian Writers' Guild does an excellent job in bringing out people to Perth to hold talks and seminars on screenwriting including such Aussie luminaries as Linda Aronson and Duncan Thompson.

In fact there is enormous focus in trying to improve the quality of scripts and screenwriters certainly on this side of the country (and I am sure over east). The thing is this:

It doesn't get handed to you.

You have to put yourself out there and mix it up. Some of these seminars/workshops are by competitive application. A lot of them are free or subsidised if you are a member of an industry body such as the Writers' Guild.

Make sure you apply! Make sure you attend!

"Getting in the room" is a term I use all the time. These people and programs are a boon for craft skills and storytelling knowledge. A lot of the time I see the same familiar faces - they are the ones serious about the craft of screenwriting. But there are many people I know working on feature projects who are never seen at even the free seminars. Writing is hard... and doing it by yourself well nigh impossible!

Finally, a quick comment on Third Acts. They are excruciatingly, mind-bogglingly, insanely difficult to pull off and I suspect that's why many Australian films struggle with them. I only recently cracked the third act of The Red Bride after many false starts. Indeed, in the last draft - a page one rewrite - I wrote the third act first because I knew if I didn't nail it we still didn't have a movie.

So while it may be valid to criticise the quality of many Australian scripts please Please PLEASE don't think it's because of a lack of effort or application of talent. There are people out there serious about their craft who are trying to do exactly what is being demanded - write entertaining film scripts that have mass audience appeal.

It just takes time and is damn hard work!

Update or It's about time there was a new blog post!

Since my last post:

Prince William is getting married... but Australia is not getting hitched to the pork barrel buffet known as the FIFA World Cup;

Victoria has a new government by bucking the trend of being well hung... while the Federal government hangs the new paradigm out to dry to the tune of $50 billion dollars and counting (surely the most expensive doodle on a coaster in Australian aviation history aka the National Broadband Network);

North Korea is menacing the south... while Sarah Palin continues to menace the English language, commonsense and possibly bears;

Americans are up in arms about arms being up places they shouldn't be at airport check-ins... while Qantas just hopes bits don't fall off the damn plane.

In other words, a fair bit has happened! Except for blogging... (insert: shameful expression).

On the personal front, this being made redundant lark agrees with me! I can now keep hours more suited to a writer, namely never having to get up before 9am. I have, however, become quite the denizen of cafes and pubs, a kind of surreal limbo that I imagine equates to Hell's waiting room. Not that the mindless babble of my fellow patrons isn't interes-- oh, who am I kidding? There are times I have been tempted to drive a fork into my skull... but they tell me you must suffer for your art.

The rewrite for The Red Bride is going well... though a little different to my usual practice. I always write chronologically but this time, to move forward, the Third Act had to work much more coherently. I'm finally clear on the mechanics of the climax and the rewritten version plays far better. Next was a rethink of the set-up in the First Act given where we now end up and that's taking shape nicely. Which leaves the treacherous wastelands of the Second Act to navigate. A place where some screenwriters wander off track only to die a slow painful dea-- okay, enough with the melodrama!

Meanwhile, an older script has been dusted off and found favour with a director I've recently met courtesy of some 'match-making' by the local funding agency. A development round looms and while I don't have time to do a rewrite, detailed notes on the direction of the next draft are being prepared. Options and deals are being discussed so this one's back on the front burner.

Throw in some de facto script editing on a short and a feature I have high hopes for and it's been a pretty busy time.

Hence the reason for my tardiness in blogging. Though I note I am much better than one of my producers (who shall remain nameless), the one who always kills off my female supporting characters! But that's another story...

Three Act Structure for Beginners

Everybody else is having a go - laws, rules, theories, paradigms, tips, tweets and blogs relating to the craft of screenwriting - so I've jumped on the bandwagon!

Here now, my model for the aspiring screenwriter on how to understand and handle the three act structure:

Act 1 - Full of inspiration & energy

Congratulations! You've decided to write a feature script. Surely your ideas are better than that old tosh you saw at the megaplex the other night and/or your award winning short is wowing them on the festival circuit. Should be a snap to dash off your masterpiece. Inspiration - check; energy - check; self belief - off the charts.

Important things to remember:

Set-up: Have you got a really good laptop. I mean the sort that will draw envious glances from patrons of the upmarket cafe you intend to frequent? Screenwriting software - optional.

Character: Beret mandatory, scarf desirable, cocky attitude essential.

Theme: Does the screensaver of said laptop scream tortured artistic genius?

About halfway through the first act you should come to the Inciting Incident. This is usually where you tell your mum/partner/secret crush you are writing a feature script and she smothers you with (well deserved) praise.

This kicks you along to another important milestone --

The First Act Turning Point

This is often described as the page number past the length of your longest short film script. It signifies you have crossed the threshold into the special world of the feature script! Yes, it's really happening - you're writing a feature!

Act 2 - Wandering in the wilderness but still certain of success

Now you've crossed into this magical world you will discover vast tracts of barren pages waiting to be filled. This is where you need to be really carefully as a variety of archetypes lie in wait. Some of the common ones - procrastination, self-doubt, apathy, bewilderment and vacillation.

They will set increasingly difficult obstacles for you to traverse. Here you will come to embrace Allies such as caffeine, nicotine, red wine and, as you approach the midpoint of this desert, various illicit substances.

Be mindful though of shadow characters like Research that will appear to occupy you in useful activity but ultimately lead you away from your goal of adding tendrils of blackness to the whiteness of your life. Research has powerful vassals - Internet, Video store and X-Box whose siren calls may become irresistable. Stay alert!

Once you have navigated these treacherous parts the midpoint appears like an oasis. It is common at this time for your want to write a feature screenplay to be replaced by a need to --

- find gainful employment to pay the rent; or

- reintroduce yourself to loved ones; or

- start taking Vitamin D tablets.

It's all downhill from here - the slippery slide to death point and impending Second Act Turning Point. Everything turns to quicksand as you flail around desperately for character arcs, plot developments and heightened stakes. All seems lost - dreams of red carpet premieres. Imagined discussions on the chat show circuit. Yachts at Cannes. Big breasted starlets. Astronomical bank balances. All fading fast.

Never fear, such suffering is an essential part of the process. Wide-eyed and impotent in front of the keyboard at three in the morning, lost. Stakes are high. You really shouldn't have told your boss to [censored] during your First Act bliss. There's no turning back - you have to finish the damn thing!

Like a miracle, a helping hand will arrive to prod you into action and energise you for the final assault. Perhaps your mother/partner/secret crush will remind you of your undoubted potential for genius. Maybe one of your many allies finally kicks in before the paramedics arrive.

Act 3 - Mad Panic and dash to the finish

As the danger of mockery and being ostracised grows, you plunge head first into the final challenge where you ultimately overcome your flaw. Okay, maybe you did underestimate how hard this screenwriting lark was but damn it, you're determined to slay the dragon, sieze the sword and win the day.

Flush with new purpose you rise to the challenge and fingers fly over the keys. None of it makes any sense but that's not going to bother you until you get to peck out Fade to Black as you pass out unconscious on your laptop.

Well done. You have finished!

But WAIT... what's this nagging voice that whispers in your ear - "all writing is rewriting".

Bleary eyed you lift your head, untangle that tattered scarf and let out a feral bellow.

If you dare revisit the mess you have made, struggle to make it better, persist through every setback then you really will have crossed the threshold into a special world...that of being a screenwriter.