format A few questions about story logic, format issues and queries in Screenplays

[Inarius]

I have a few questions about story logic and query letters.

1) - Some people say that it might help if I write "I'm an Israeli Screenwriter who...", because Hollywood producers are looking for something exotic. Others say I shouldn't mention my country (even if I write my address in the queries), because "foreign writer" might say that my English is probably bad and not suitable for screenwriting.

2) - If I write a SCi-Fi, and there are people with superpowers, should those powers be scientifically possible? I mean, if someone can shoot Sonic Waves or use Anti-Gravity, should I go into physics and learn, how and if that's possible? Or it's just a useless perfectionism?

3) - If one of the characters mentions a name from a different story as a joke, for example, - "Enlighten me, Master Yoda!", - of course, there is no master Yoda in my story. It's like Robocop would see Shwarzenegger's poster on a motorbike holding a shotgun, as an actor in Terminator. So can I do that without finding a way to give credits to George Lucas?

4) - If there's a character speaking in (V.O.), who is currently ON the screen, but does not speak right now. He just stands and looks ahead, or doing something else, but we hear his voice speaking. Is this a simple Voice Over, or something different?

 

[photon]

1) - Some people say that it might help if I write "I'm an Israeli Screenwriter who...", because Hollywood producers are looking for something exotic. Others say I shouldn't mention my country (even if I write my address in the queries), because "foreign writer" might say that my English is probably bad and not suitable for screenwriting.

2) - If I write a SCi-Fi, and there are people with superpowers, should those powers be scientifically possible? I mean, if someone can shoot Sonic Waves or use Anti-Gravity, should I go into physics and learn, how and if that's possible? Or it's just a useless perfectionism?

3) - If one of the characters mentions a name from a different story as a joke, for example, - "Enlighten me, Master Yoda!", - of course, there is no master Yoda in my story. It's like Robocop would see Shwarzenegger's poster on a motorbike holding a shotgun, as an actor in Terminator. So can I do that without finding a way to give credits to George Lucas?

4) - If there's a character speaking in (V.O.), who is currently ON the screen, but does not speak right now. He just stands and looks ahead, or doing something else, but we hear his voice speaking. Is this a simple Voice Over, or something different?

2. There are a different levels/ types of sci-fi. Hard sci-fi tries to be scientifically accurate, while soft sci-fi doesn't. Most stories with superpowers in them are soft sci-fi.
3. You can reference other people's work in the dialogue. Having a copyrighted image in the film is a different matter.
4. It's just normal voice over.

 

[Aspiring Mogul]

Hello, Inarius,

I can't say anything about #1 or #4.

#3 would probably be a no, but you should get advice from a lawyer who specializes in intellectual property.

As for #2, I would go with what Robert Heinlein said.

"Let's gather up the bits and pieces and define the Simon-pure science fiction story: 1. The conditions must be, in some respect, different from here-and-now, although the difference may lie only in an invention made in the course of the story. 2. The new conditions must be an essential part of the story. 3. The problem itself—the "plot"—must be a human problem. 4. The human problem must be one which is created by, or indispensably affected by, the new conditions. 5. And lastly, no established fact shall be violated, and, furthermore, when the story requires that a theory contrary to present accepted theory be used, the new theory should be rendered reasonably plausible and it must include and explain established facts as satisfactorily as the one the author saw fit to junk. It may be far-fetched, it may seem fantastic, but it must not be at variance with observed facts, i.e., if you are going to assume that the human race descended from Martians, then you've got to explain our apparent close relationship to terrestrial anthropoid apes as well."

Of course, if you're a bookworm like me, before you start writing sci-fi, you may want to do a literature review on what it means to write SF and the literature as it currently exists on the market. Good luck.

 

[Birdman]

Okay, I'm not buying most of what Heinlein is saying.

Spielberg didn't have to explain how that dorky ET dude was able to fabricate a spaceship with those long unwieldy fingers or how he was able to levitate shit while eating fruit.

And not one single construction crew, earthquake or natural disaster uncovered a single "Martian Land-walker" in the latest "War of The Worlds" before the were brought into use?

Robert Heinlein's rules are too strict. True, it has to be conceptually believable, but there is a lot of room for "crazy technology" and super powers within the scope of a SciFi.

The "liquid metal" Terminators were pretty fucking far-fetched. I mean, c'mon! A liquid that turns itself into machines and people? ... But the audience didn't care. Have Bruce Willis shoot at a bad guy in a Die Hard movie and the guy splits in two, dodges the bullet, and miraculously returns back to his original shape? ...Now ya got a problem!

On the flip side, take off your space helmet in outer space, strike a match and fire up a cigarette ...yah, you're gonna have a problem with your audience.

-Birdman

 

[Inarius]

Aspiring Mogul, what Robert Heinlein says, is basically about following your own established logic throughout the story. If you say that gravity drags people up, then it should always drag people up, unless someone does something logical by the story to make the gravity drag people down.

My question is about what can I establish and what I cannot. I'm confused because some people say that everything we see in modern Sci Fi movies is real. It can happen. And I don't know, whether they are right or not, because today's science really explains things like Time Travel or Teleport... So, maybe every Sci-Fi is based on science theories or proofs?

2. There are a different levels/ types of sci-fi. Hard sci-fi tries to be scientifically accurate, while soft sci-fi doesn't. Most stories with superpowers in them are soft sci-fi.
3. You can reference other people's work in the dialogue. Having a copyrighted image in the film is a different matter.
4. It's just normal voice over.

Can you give examples of Hard Sci-Fi and Soft Sci-Fi?

 

[directorik]

1) - Some people say that it might help if I write "I'm an Israeli Screenwriter who...", because Hollywood producers are looking for something exotic. Others say I shouldn't mention my country (even if I write my address in the queries), because "foreign writer" might say that my English is probably bad and not suitable for screenwriting.

Producers who are looking for something exotic are not looking for
a writer who may be exotic. Just because you are from outside of
the US does not mean you have an exotic screenplay that will
attract talent. Pitch your script in a query letter not where you live.

2) - If I write a SCi-Fi, and there are people with superpowers, should those powers be scientifically possible? I mean, if someone can shoot Sonic Waves or use Anti-Gravity, should I go into physics and learn, how and if that's possible? Or it's just a useless perfectionism?

How you research is up to you. If you feel the need to only include
super powers that are scientifically possible and prove that through
research you can do it. No one reading the story (or watching the
movie) cares. They care that your characters are interesting and
you story is compelling - not that your science is possible

3) - If one of the characters mentions a name from a different story as a joke, for example, - "Enlighten me, Master Yoda!", - of course, there is no master Yoda in my story. It's like Robocop would see Shwarzenegger's poster on a motorbike holding a shotgun, as an actor in Terminator. So can I do that without finding a way to give credits to George Lucas?

Saying the name of a character out loud does not require credit to
anyone. That is not like the poster on a wall. Two very different things.

- If there's a character speaking in (V.O.), who is currently ON the screen, but does not speak right now. He just stands and looks ahead, or doing something else, but we hear his voice speaking. Is this a simple Voice Over, or something different?

Anytime you have a voice spoken over the picture that is called a Voice
Over.

 

[photon]

Can you give examples of Hard Sci-Fi and Soft Sci-Fi?

Gravity=hard, Star Wars=soft

 

[Will Vincent]

On the flip side, take off your space helmet in outer space, strike a match and fire up a cigarette ...yah, you're gonna have a problem with your audience.

I mostly agree, but there are times this wouldn't always be wrong.. Iron Sky comes to mind.

Spoiler

I never watched that particular trailer before, didn't realize it premiered in Berlin, that's actually kind of hilarious and wrong.

 

[photon]

The science in sci-fi has to be believable and consistent within the story but not accurate.

 

[Birdman]

I mostly agree, but there are times this wouldn't always be wrong.. Iron Sky comes to mind.

Spoiler

I never watched that particular trailer before, didn't realize it premiered in Berlin, that's actually kind of hilarious and wrong.

It is funny! I have to admit! ...but is that really SciFi? That's just flat-out comedy. In comedy, the rule book gets tossed out just like the rules of physics.

Just like when Rick Moranis (Dark Helmet) slams into the front of the bridge when his ship hits the brakes. Gotta love those positronic brakes!

"Galaxy Quest" is one of my favorites! But it's a comedy more than a Sci-Fi.

If you REALLY want to be frightened, check this out (Linky).

...It's a scary world these days!

-Birdmam

 

[Caidh Mor]

2) - If I write a SCi-Fi, and there are people with superpowers, should those powers be scientifically possible? I mean, if someone can shoot Sonic Waves or use Anti-Gravity, should I go into physics and learn, how and if that's possible? Or it's just a useless perfectionism?

Aspiring Mogul, what Robert Heinlein says, is basically about following your own established logic throughout the story. If you say that gravity drags people up, then it should always drag people up, unless someone does something logical by the story to make the gravity drag people down.

You pretty much answered your own question. It's all a matter of suspension of disbelief. If you ask too much of an audience, as far as separating themselves from reality, they often disengage. If you disobey the rules of the reality you create, they often disengage. The question becomes: how much of the rules of reality are you able to justify changing. Typically, you want to change only that much, or possibly less.

Look at The Matrix. They through the rules of physics to the wind left and right, but their justification sold the audience on it. Then in the sequels they...well, they did lots of things wrong, but pushing beyond the initial breadth of their reality was among them.

 

[Inarius]

Ok thanks for your answers

 

[stef]

The answer for #2 is mostly that it doesn't matter if it's real science or not. It's the setting for a story, so it is what it is... Make sure it is compelling, suits the story well, and doesn't detract from it. An example of bad is if the science is so wrong without explanation that a 3rd grader would notice it. it should be explained, briefly, but also be consistent. If you're going to have lots of artificial gravity, don't suddenly have large spinning space stations. If you have plasma weapons, a slugthrower would be unusual. Firefly used slugthrowers and only the military had big guns.

Again, make it consistent, and an unquestionable part of the universe that adds to the setting, not detracts. Explanations might have to be cleverly shoehorned, or just do a star trek thing and use technobabble and reverse the polarity of the tachyon emitter to counteract the boson wavelets.

Remember in star wars when they tried to explain the force through midichlorians or something? That pissed off a lot of people. Instead of some unexplained, but accepted, phenomenon called the force, they were trying to explain it somehow and we had long previously abandoned our disbelief of the universe.