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screenplay Can you turn this paragraph into a screenplay?

Back again, everyone,

Anyway, the late science fiction legend, Robert Heinlein, said

A science fiction story should involve at least one scientific or technological change, such that, without the change, the story would not be possible. And, aside from that change, the science should not be at odds with what we understand science to be. For example, if you write a story about humans being from Mars, you should explain why we're genetically similar to apes.

Those may not be his exact words, but they sum up what he did say. Can this paragraph be turned into a screenplay? I'm not taking about people talking; I'm talking about this paragraph being the script.

I have a reason for asking, which I will explain once I get the answer. Thanks for your help.
 
In my opinion, the only way that information could be conveyed in a screenplay would be via a discussion between two or more characters, unless you want to include it as "SUPER," meaning it would appear on screen.

Others may have a different idea :)
 
Nick Young Wtf GIF
 
Thanks everyone. I thought as much.

I was asking because I've been doing quite a bit of writing, and part of the fun in the sci-fi genre is world building. IOW, we have to get into the minutiae of the universe that the story takes place in. One topic would be the nature of the vessels - in Star Trek, it's just the Enterprise and smaller versions, all adapted from the basic model. In the navy, however, there are supply ships, harbour repair ships, barges, and so on. The creative part is in adapting these ships to the space navy.

Another topic would be the nearby stars - I have done some research on the ships that can be used, but I have no idea how to get a map of the nearby stars, so I may have to retain a couple of grad students.

All of these would involve ...... wait for it ...... talking. So I have been thinking of paying conferences to flesh out these ideas. Again, that's the fun in the creative process, and every aspiring mogul will have to decide how much to spend on it. If these conferences are to be held, there would be no script, just essays and discussions.

By the way, in the movie, "Arrival", the producer apparently hired three linguists to develop the language of a more advanced species. The story was a bit slow, and the Star Trek episode, "Darmok" was much better - in fact, that episode has become iconic among Trekkies. Again, the story, not the background, must be the primary focus, but the background can still be fun to build.

OK, I got my answer, which was what I expected. Thanks again, and I will be posting soon about what we can film.

@indietalk, I'm not sure what your emoji is getting at.
 
Thanks everyone. I thought as much.

I was asking because I've been doing quite a bit of writing, and part of the fun in the sci-fi genre is world building. IOW, we have to get into the minutiae of the universe that the story takes place in. One topic would be the nature of the vessels - in Star Trek, it's just the Enterprise and smaller versions, all adapted from the basic model. In the navy, however, there are supply ships, harbour repair ships, barges, and so on. The creative part is in adapting these ships to the space navy.

Star Trek is an excellent example. On the 60's TV series, due to
budget,we never see the full fleet of ships. And it didn't matter.
We were invested in the story. As the stories expanded into movies
and other series we saw more ships; supply ships, harbor repair
ships, barges, and so on. But story was always what made the
Star Trek world relevant, engaging and interesting. Not talking
about ships.
Another topic would be the nearby stars - I have done some research on the ships that can be used, but I have no idea how to get a map of the nearby stars, so I may have to retain a couple of grad students.
I wonder if you have typed "a map of the nearby start" into a search
engine.
 
@directorik, when I tried to be a novelist, I did do that, and, though a major publisher in NYC liked my work, I nearly but never quite made the cut. I then put my dream on the side and went back to law. When we met, you said to focus my story on the characters, which, after doing some research, made me realize I have been wanting to do that all along.

That said, part of the fun for a sci-fi fan/writer is to talk about, well, you know, anything and everything. The hard core fans are quite opinionated on everything, and they will focus on details on anything.

OK, let's talk some scenes - coming right up.
 
@directorik, as for the star map, I have done that, but I think in terms of books and other forms of paper, not maps, especially 3-dimensional ones. And I know that people who often do research in isolation can take things out of context and become crackpots, so I will need feedback from those who have some knowledge of the subject matter And that is why I'm thinking of hiring a couple of (starving) grad students in astronomy to assist me. They would also tend to be sci-fi fans and so would love to get involved.

I will post some suggestions for filming scenes soon so we can ...... talk about filming a story about an interstellar war.
 
I would say, "No." In fact, I would go further and admit that I am at a loss as to why you would think it would be. Do you know what a screenplay is? If the above quotation is your screenplay, I would be most interested to see your shot list.

I don't want to kill your dream and I'm not trying to be insulting; there doesn't seem to be a way to say this except bluntly: Your level and breadth of movie-making knowledge is rudimentary, and the actions you are pursuing will not result in a movie. I suspect that you are a fellow Aspie; you're doing that stereotypical Aspie thing where you fall in love with a very narrow, personal interest and keep going on and on about it without realizing that it's interesting to nobody but you. In years of posts I have read, you have never stated an idea for a movie. Drama = Character + Plot, and you have neither of those. You have fallen in love with the world-building, and you're doing all the things that nobody but you will ever care about (seriously, hiring grad students to draw you star maps is not a good investment of time or money), while neglecting everything that will attract collaborators and audiences.

So I ask you: What is it that you want to do? What do you want to accomplish?

If you are really into the world-building, you can pursue that for the rest of your life, getting deeper and deeper into it, making it richer and richer. And that's fine! There's even a certain nobility in pursuing an interest just to see where it goes, with goals set by nobody but you, and nobody but you assessing whether you achieved what you set out to. Go you! But by doing that, you are choosing to accept that the interest you get from other people is of the "listening to Uncle John talk about his model railroad" sort of attention: we're pleased that you obviously have something that matters to you, but we're not really interested in hearing too much about it. And you are choosing not to make a movie -- because, even if other people like your fictional universe, there's no idea for a movie there.

On the other hand, if what you want is to make a movie, then I urge you in the strongest possible terms to concentrate on writing your screenplay. If you don't have a script, you don't have a project. We can't compete with Hollywood for big stars, multiple exotic locations, mind-stunning special effects, death-defying stunts -- but we can absolutely write a script as good as anything the big studios are producing. You need compelling characters with clear goals confronting serious obstacles and overcoming them (or not). That doesn't mean flat characters going through the motions of rote setpieces; that's where the art comes in. And it definitely doesn't mean two mannequins reading fictional-history textbooks at each other. If you're interested in great socio-political currents in society, can you come up with a metaphor that encapsulates a particular dilemma and dramatize it with three characters? You can't shoot socio-political currents (how would you do that? "CU on: Socio-political current"?) But you can shoot characters.

On the third hand, are you sure you're in the correct medium? Interstellar wars are very expensive to put in a movie, but they're the same cost as a conversation to put in a novel or short story. And didactic briefings are more tolerable in prose than in movies (though again, there's the art). I know "Asimov's" and "Analog" and such are still going; have you considered writing up a bunch of short stories about specific events in the interstellar war and submitting them for publication? The interconnectedness should always be subordinate to the story, but that could definitely find an audience.

And on the fourth hand, you can see why I failed Anatomy class in med school.

On the fifth hand: Best of luck in your ventures!
 
Lone Banana, welcome to the world of our very own Aspiring Mogul!

I recommend you read a bunch of his posts here: all the advice (and good advice
it is) has been offered - over and over and over. Reading more of his posts will
answer (or not) your questions "What is it that you want to do? What do you want
to accomplish?"

Have fun, it's gonna be a bumpy ride...
 
Lone Banana, welcome to the world of our very own Aspiring Mogul!

I recommend you read a bunch of his posts here: all the advice (and good advice
it is) has been offered - over and over and over. Reading more of his posts will
answer (or not) your questions "What is it that you want to do? What do you want
to accomplish?"

Have fun, it's gonna be a bumpy ride...
Rik,

Why don't you read his postings, to get a sense of where he's coming from.
 
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Okay, thanks, Directorik. I'd read some of his posts, but didn't fully appreciate what I was dealing with. I'll add him to my "Ignore" list with Drongo Bum, Spike, Nate North, Dean Jay, et al.
 
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I just saw bits and pieces of the documentary, "Empire off Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy", which I first saw at the turn of the millennium. At the same time, I came across the Readers' Digest version of the Forbes magazine article, "The Magician". I kept watching that documentary every time it came on, and I also kept reading that article. They would make me think of going into film. A few years later, I began studying for the NY bar, and I met @directorik online then, and we would meet up for breakfast.

At one point, I had said that my dream was silly, but Rik said it wasn't silly, just hard to reach - he then asked, rhetorically, that I didn't think it was going to be an easy path. Another member then said that this is the journey everyone with a dream has to go through. Again, those posts stayed with me all these years, and I've saved them on my computer.

I was going to be a director, like George Lucas, then, after meeting my mentor, a producer, I was going to be a producer. I now realize that my goal, given my inclinations and abilities, would be a Writer Executive Producer., because my passion is writing, not filming. My mentor in law, who had guided me since I started my law firm, is pushing me to take time off and write. He also says that I have to move on with my life, so my journey in law has to end.

I may be reaching that end. I may be starting an office in the US, and, if there's nothing for me, I will probably my law firm and licenses on the side, then surround myself with books and comics and write - and, if all goes well, do some filming on Youtube.

Thanks for letting me write things out, and thanks for taking the time to encourage me.
 
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