So, I've been working on a screenplay for a while now. I've attempted writing others with generally no knowledge of proper formatting, so I read through a couple of screenplays from my favourite films to help me write this one. There are still a few formating issues in here that I haven't fixed yet, and I think some of the descriptions (non-dialogue parts) could you some work.
The plot follows Spencer, a 15 year old boy who struggles to express himself in the society he lives in, and his 12 month journey to find out who he is and the kind of lifestyle his future will promise. The screenplay is split into four seasons, with the exception of the very first scene which is set up as a prologue to introduce Spencer's character. The four seasons in chronological order of the plot are :
-Fall (the discovery).
-Winter (the build up).
-Spring (the struggle, the confusion and the fall).
-Summer (the climax/all hell breaks lose)
The whole play is generally centred around Spencer's sexuality. He has an attraction towards someone of the same gender, and his inability to keep a secret causes word of mouth to spread. It's not really a love story. It's more of a dramatic thriller that intensifies as it progresses.
As a heterosexual male, I felt that the gay theme fit the story and Spencer's character perfectly. Spencer is quiet and talks with his mind. He confines his feelings in his head, which works as a metaphor with Spencer being confined inside the prison his social peers keep him in when it comes to coming out and being the person he really is. The screenplay is inspired by this song, hence the title:
HTML Code:
FROM THE BLACK WE HEAR--
HAILEE
(Over telephone)
Do you want to know why I hate talking to you over the phone?
SPENCER
(Into telephone)
Why?
HAILEE
(0ver telephone)
Because I don’t know what the hell you mean whenever you say something.
Your voice is so soft and cold; I need to read your eyes to even
understand what you’re trying to tell me.
SPENCER
(Into telephone)
Sorry.
HAILEE
(Over telephone)
Stop saying you’re sorry.
SPENCER
(Into telephone)
Well what do you want me to say?
HAILEE
(Over telephone)
I don’t know. If you want me to be perfectly honest with you,
I don’t know if you could do anything at all that doesn’t annoy me.
Look Spencer, you’re nice, and I admire that, but I don’t feel
compatible with you at all. I think we should break up.
FADE IN - SCENE ONE
INT. SPENCER’S BEDROOM - DAY
SPENCER is a quiet 15 year old boy that doesn’t know how to express his
personality to people. He is often socially awkward, and has trouble
talking to girls.
In this scene we see him talking on a CELL PHONE to HAILEE who has
grown sick of his very existence.
(Beat)
HAILEE
(Over telephone)
Look, I don’t mean to come off as mean or selfish but, you’ve just
become so boring. You never speak to me unless I speak to you,
and you just-- Never talk about yourself. I want to know things
about you, I want to know your interests, your opinions, what you did
on the weekend, I want to all there is to know about you. You’re always
just there, and I don’t even think you want to be there. You seem so
disinterested in me. I try and bring myself to like you, but I-- can't.
SPENCER doesn’t know how to reply.
HAILEE
(Over telephone)
Also, I’m seeing someone else.
(Beat)
HAILEE
(Over telephone)
Aren’t you going to say something? You do realise you’re making this
incredibly awkward for both of us.
Again, SPENCER does not what to say. He is shocked by what she is
saying and is not sure how he feels about the situation.
HAILEE
(Over telephone)
Fine.
The cell phone beeps to tell us Hailee has hung up on him.
Opinions? The only feedback I've had on this is from a friend of mine who has never read a proper screenplay before, and he only read three scenes. I've written about 14 scenes now, I'll post more later.
Fun fact: Me and Spencer share the same age, and one of the things that influenced me to write this was recently finding out one of my close friends (not the one who read the script) was gay. Alot of Spencer's decisions and actions are similiar to how my friend reacted to the situation.
__________________
"Just look above you... If it's something that can be stopped, then just try to stop it!"
I've read TONS of screenplays, and this is good. If this is your only or first scene, I would have the characters establish who the other is. For example: Hailee could say "Spencer,..." in her first line. It would tell the viewer of the film who the boy on the phone is. Otherwise, great work!
__________________
"There's a little girl waiting in a garden. She's going to wait a long while, so she's going to need a lot of hope. Go to her. Tell her a story. Tell her that if she's patient, the days are coming that she'll never forget. Tell her she'll go to see and fight pirates. She'll fall in love with a man who'll wait two thousand years to keep her safe. Tell her she'll give hope to the greatest painter who ever lived. And save a whale in outer space. Tell her, this is the story of Amelia Pond. And this is how it ends."
Well, hm, I can't say I've read many screenplays, but I love to read play scripts, so I guess it's sort of the same thing in some ways. Anyways, I really enjoyed it; I'd love to see more. I also love the idea of attraction over love. It's much more natural for someone of that age to feel. My only suggestion pertains to this:
Indicate breathing/stuttering/silence/some form of explanation for Spencer. Is he silent or does he try to speak, but fails? As for Hailee, delete the also. It feels unnatural. Both are minor, but it would help add to the script, in my opinion.
Thanks for the feedback! It's great to have someone review your work who is very familiar with screenplays. I will go back and edit Hailee's dialogue to put Spencer's name back in somewhere. And MorbidDelight, I wasn't originally intending Spencer to say anything, but now I think about I like the idea of him stuttering and nothing coming out. Thank you very much.
__________________
"Just look above you... If it's something that can be stopped, then just try to stop it!"