Ghosts, Love, and Revenge

Do you like ghost stories? Ones that tell tales of love, loss, and revenge? Kaleidoscope Film and Television, in association with Cosmos Productions, CKR Casting, and Buffalo Speedway Film Company, announces it will be producing the paranormal thriller Never Can Say Good-bye in late summer and early fall in Northern Michigan. When possible, the cast and crew will be hired from the residents of the state or those who have a connection to Michigan. 

The primary goal is to produce quality entertainment based on age, gender, and ethnic diversity. However, the secondary objective will be to bring balanced messaging about Michigan and its people. With the loudest voices creating negative national and international controversies, the beauty of the state and its amazing population has become overshadowed. 

Never Can Say Good-bye will show Michigan's beauty within the film and in the associated marketing campaign called, Nowhere else like it. From lush forests, nearly endless shores, and communities from villages to the Detroit international hub, the campaign will take the cast and crew on adventures around the state, visiting the unique events, locations, and businesses that very few know exist.

Never Can Say Good-bye will tell the tale of how the spirit of a murdered child becomes imprisoned in her family home, waiting for her parents to free her. But they have reincarnated and have moved on to new lives as has her killer. Randi must bring them back together so that they can forgive themselves and each other. If she succeeds, they will all heal and she will be freed to reincarnate. If she fails and they seek the revenge they were denied in the past, they will all be damned. The past and the present intertwine to create an innovative spin on the ghostly genre as the characters are led down a path of love, guilt, betrayal, revenge, and murder.

The casting and the hiring crew have already begun. The location manager is currently looking for locations, including two Victorian mansions. Additionally, the team has begun contacting Michigan-based corporations that are seeking to promote their brand to the 18-49 year old demographic. More information can be found on the website

https://www.kaleidoscopefilmandtelevision.com/nevercansaygood-bye

 

 #Michigan #featurefilm #ghost #suspense #horror #Paranormal #NeverCanSayGoodbye #TheresaChaze

 

Screenwriting 101: One page doesn’t always equal one minute.

 

Screenwriting 101: One page doesn’t always equal one minute.

 

Most screenwriters are taught that one page of script equals one minute of screen time.  But that is a misnomer.  Timing depends on the amount of dialog versus action.  But more importantly, it depends on the director and actors involved; they are the ones who set the blocking and delivery of the lines. 

Scenes, which focus primarily on dialogue, more closely align with the one-page-one-minute concept.  These scenes open with a general description, which sets the stage.  Unless specifically written, the director and actors will set both blocking and emotional motivation. Both determine the context of how the lines are delivered.  The perfect illustration is how the different actors, who played James Bond, said the classic line “Bond, James Bond.”  Each of the actors had a unique tempo, which was only slightly altered by the scene settings.  Emotions and actions always affect how lines are delivered.   Strong emotions and intense actions will slow down the dialogue in some situations by creating necessary pauses, while fear and anger increase the speed of others.  The interactions between the character, whether with overlapping lines or long pauses between them, will either shorten or length the scene.

However, scenes that focus primarily on action might be described in a few sentences, yet they will run for several minutes on the screen.  For example:

The crowd’s cheers rapidly became gasps of horror as Jackson and Drake's cars murderously battle for the lead.  Using the other vehicles as weapons, they played bumper cars with each trying to knock the other off the track.

These two lines could very easily run for two to three minutes on the screen.  Without a word of dialogue, the scene and the motivation are set.  Nothing needs to be said.  Their actions speak louder than any words could convey.  The final length would be determined by how explicit the director wanted to make the violence and if there are intercutting scenes, which reveal actors inside the cars.

Most scenes combine both dialogue and action.  The following scene from my dark comedy, Completely Loyal to Me.  It’s just shy of two pages.  According to the formula, it should run for two minutes.  However, the action and reactions of the characters would more than double the screen time.  Walking and running on beach sand while trying to catch someone, who doesn’t want to be caught isn’t easy and will quickly lead to exhaustion.  The lines would be interspersed with action with the delivery becoming increasingly slower as actors portrayed the characters become breathless and tired.

 

EXT. BEACH: DAY

Cheryl and Karen walk down the beach. Lynne runs toward them from the other direction.

CHERYL

You are so grounded.

LYNNE

(excited)

I have proof!

CHERYL

You promised mom and dad--

LYNNE

But I have proof!

CHERYL

You broke your word!

LYNNE

Just listen!

KAREN

Let’s go home.

LYNNE

(Pulling away)

No! I won’t!

CHERYL

We’ll drag you back.

KAREN

We who? Don’t look at me.

 

Cheryl tries to grab Lynne. She eludes them. In a keystone cop chase, Cheryl and Karen try to catch her.

 

KAREN

Damn! She’s fast!

LYNNE

(frustrated)

Promise you’ll listen!

CHERYL

Do you want to be arrested?

KAREN

Arrested? Wait a minute. Just her? Right?

LYNNE

Just listen.

CHERYL

I will--at home!

Lynne continues to elude them.

LYNNE

NO! We have to go to the lighthouse.

KAREN

No! It’s off-limits.

LYNNE

But we have to.

CHERYL

Why? Why do we have to go there?

LYNNE

That’s where he went.

CHERYL

Who?

Lynne points up at the mansion.

CHERYL

If we don’t find anything, do you pinkie swear to stop playing Nancy Drew?

 

With one hand behind her back, Lynne offers her pinkie.

 

CHERYL (CONT.)

Let’s see your other hand.

 

Lynne shows her other and uncrosses her fingers.

 

CHERYL (CONT.)

Let’s go.

KAREN

(whining)

My feet hurt.

 

The dialogue implies the action and emotion of the characters, but it also gives the actors and director a great deal of leeway to enhance the action and emotions, especially for the actor playing the eight-year-old Lynne.  The comedic possibilities would be nearly endless as the twenty-somethings try to capture her  Realistically the scene would run about three and a half minutes.  Running it too short would stunt the humor; too long would be overkill.

 

 

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