h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Good stuff. Kinda like McKee's 10 rules for writing a succesful screenplay - if ur life was a screenplay, who would the director be?! Hehe, thats easy; love ya, Sofia. But we get to write our own scripts, with fate and coincidence as our only collaborators. In the end we get all the credit, and all the blame. Your central protagonist is essentially a good guy, but you can show him in different lights... depending on the angle of the shot, he can be an angel or a demon, a saint or a monster. And remember, you don't get to choose the shots, that's the director's job. It's up to you to mould the character through his words and more importantly his deeds - there are some actions that are hard to show in a good light, and some that simply can't be made to look bad.

So how's your screenplay coming along? Remember, the film is still in pre-production, some of the sets are already constructed but you still have the majority of the important artistic decisions to make. Your central character has a lot of development to undergo, and the genre hasn't yet been established. And bear in mind, that when you run out of inspiration, as you surely will from time to time, you can always call on a friend for ideas, suggestions and support. Maybe their screenplays have stalled too; maybe you can work it out together.

As always, casting is a pivotal step - how is your character going to be represented? Obviously, ideally you'd like to play the character yourself - after all, you wrote him. But it doesn't work that way, every role requires a player; an actor better suited to the part than you could ever be. Sometimes you get to pick him, if you feel strongly enough about it - there's a casting director making intuitive judgements, but you can always tell him to piss off.

Possibly the hardest thing to do is write another character into your screenplay. The main character is compelling, but one isn't enough. The trouble is you've already spent so much time on your protagonist, how do you find a character who fits the picture? There are various ways you can introduce someone new into the frame, many of them are old, tired cliches that don't work very well. The best way is to have it happen with an organic feel, the natural course of events is the most realistic. But realistically, that can take a long time and may never happen at all - how long can you afford to wait before you go looking? An audience can sense desperation in a screenplay, they can smell it at fifty paces. But don't worry, a good film need not be easy to watch. Those who are just looking to be entertained might stay away in droves, maybe your box office figures don't look so good. Understand that this is not the true measure of your work, and never forget that you might just have an underground following you didn't know about.

With a good set of principles, you can't go too far wrong. Keep it simple where you can. Make the most of every scene. Choose your words wisely. If a character does not improve your screenplay, cut them out. Maybe there are characters who deserve more screen time. A million decisions and an infinite number of paths your story can take - but do it step by step, and understand how the place you are now is related to where you've been.


There's so much potential. You'll be fine.

GGS and SCB, I want to write something heartfelt about how amazing you are - both of you - but I don't have the words.

I'm glad you're my brothers.

Awww, thank you. The felt of your heart is much appreciated.