Changes

Another month, another blog entry. It's like I am my mother! (Do some digging and you can probably figure out what I mean. Were I less tired, I would probably be less obtuse. However, it's my blog so I'll be obtuse when I want to be obtuse. Thus ends my paragraph-long parenthetical statement.)

So...changes I know I need to make to this screenplay.

Max and Rick need to be more distinct characters. They are too similar. Being friends, it stands to reason that they would have a similar sense of humor, but in this case they are basically two versions of me. Ooh, there's a plot twist. They become aware of how one-dimensional they are and deduce that they are characters in a movie. They then go on to save the world from an impending alien attack and make profound life changes as they do it.

So anyway, Max is intended to be based on me, but somewhat more prone to stress-induced outbursts. Rick, on the other hand, is supposed to have a more laid back approach to things...except for when he discovers decomposing corpses, of course. However, since I subscribe to the "let's sit down and write whatever comes into my pretty little head" school of screenwriting, I often got the two characters mixed up. When I did a readthrough a few weeks ago (one I did not write about), there are whole sections of dialogue that I will have to switch around. In one scene (involving pigs in blankets), I have Rick saying things Max should say and vice versa.

This problem not only extends to my protagonists, but my villains as well. Rachel and Krystal are basically the same character. They need to become more distinct individuals.

So, what changes am I going to make?

Of the two pairs, Max and Rachel are the leaders of their respective groups. I need to make this aspect of their personalities more pronounced.

For the moment, Rachel (I think! Let me check...yes! I was right. However, if I wrote it and I get confused about the characters, they should be more distinct!) bursts into ghetto:

Krystal: [...]man, if I had a nickel for every time one of them said that...
Rachel: Fo shizzle my nizzle

At the time, it struck me as funny. However, it is currently cool for untalented white people to imitate Snoop Dogg. This detracts from the humor of the script. I like having my script be sort of quirky...and mainstream humor just detracts from the quirkiness. Well, that and the fact I didn't integrate it too well into Rachel's character. So I am giving her a South African accent.

Accents are a time-honored tradition that keep you from having to invent any sort of backstory. The viewer assumes they have an interesting one, leaving you, the screenwriting master of your craft, free to take other artistic shortcuts.

I'm also going to give Rick an accent; a Southern one. The story is set in North Carolina...at least one of my characters should sound like they're from the area. Rick will continue to become more laid back. All the freaking out will be left to Max.

One thing I'm going to add to draft #2 is a little heterosexual romance. Not much, mind you...and none of it successful...but a little dab will do. Rick is going to have some past relationships and be in between girls at the moment. Max, modeled after me, will seemingly have no luck with women until he falls (I love double entendres!) for Krystal. Krystal returns the love by shooting at him.

Speaking of Krystal, I'm toying with the notion of turning her into a Valley Girl kind of character. I don't mean that she's stupid; but adding Valley Girl mannerisms would be sort of funny. Ah, who knows?

I'm going to add some references to the fact that Max and Rick go to church. Why? North Carolina has a strong religious culture and it would add to the realism of the characters. The other reason is because I'm a born-again Christian. I would like to see characters that have faith in God that are not out to kill sinners (a la in Frailty, which I do like) or are crazy (as in just about every movie featuring with Christians in it).

Okay, brief diatribe.

Christians in general are out of touch with the culture around them. In part, this is as it should be, since we're commanded to be "in the world, but not of it." However, it's a trend that has gone way too far to the extreme. The reputation that we have in movies is well-deserved. We come across as crazy, religious fools that care for nothing except our own beliefs because this is how we have acted! We have placed our own opinions and need to be "right" above the needs of the very people we're supposed to be impacting in a positive way.

I don't feel the role of a movie is to convert people to a particular way of thinking (The Life of David Gale, anyone?). Movies can make points, though...and make people question the way they look at an issue. I feel that by making my protagonists churchgoers, I can make a small statement:

Not all Christians are homicidal maniacs or crazy.

Okay, well...you've got us on the crazy part. Heck, even I think a lot of Christians are kind of loony. But let's stick with the main statement. Not all Christians are homicidal maniacs. If you can accept this premise, I think you and Snafu will get along splendidly.

And the last change I'm going to discuss? I'm thinking about adding some mild profanity on the part of the villains. I mean...they're evil. It's a bit unrealistic for them to have a Sunday School vocabulary. On the other hand, I would like to prove that it's possible to have a successful film that doesn't utilize offensive language. I'm kind of on the fence about it. We shall see what happens. Tune in next month for my next exciting entry!