Have you guys ever had a title that did you in when you submitted the script in for competitions? I had one script I submitted to a competition last year and the feedback was pretty solid until the reader went off on how my title was a contradiction and didn't go with the story at all so for that reason they were going to pass it. Now I'm freaking out after finishing up my rewrites to find the best title for my script and it's just giving me a hard time. Anyone else have that happen to them?
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your title is really your 'log line' in 2 or 3 words. "Dead Pool", "Batman V Superman", "Creed", "Die Hard", "Fast N Furious". simple words that explains the entire story.
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Titles are sometimes hard. Sometimes easy. I suspect that in cases where the forename is used as a title there is weeks of struggle behind, that didn't end well.
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My agent had me change the title on a script because he said it was too on the nose. I recently resubmitted it to a contest I sent it to last year. Will be interesting to see how it does with a new name (and lots of rewriting of course.)
Usually titles come naturally for me. I think this one is just giving me a hard time because I liked my original one for so long that it's hard for me to think of a different one. Also, I hate it when movies titles are so clearly and awkwardly placed into dialogue, it makes me laugh.
Let me know how it goes, Jody Ellis! Good luck!
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I've never had a problem with my titles but I don't understand why a competition reader "passed" on your script, title or not. Competition readers simply give you feedback but don't determine your progression and competition judges determine progression but don't give feedback and even if I'm wrong, surely you'd have to be in the finals to be knocked back just because of a bad choice for a title.
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Emi, I'm sorry that happened to you. Clearly, that particular reader missed the forest for the trees.
On a message board I frequent there's a writer with the worst titles ever. There are like those Chinese translations of American movie titles: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/film-news/11148825/The-Greatest-... Seems weird to kill it for the title, but that shows how important titles are.
Working title. No mess no fuss. They often change anyway.
sometimes the title and the name of the Writer sells the scripts. BITCH SLAP. developers/producers loved the title and the Writer. nobody read the script :)
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This is a general statement and has nothing to do with Emi's title (since I have no idea what it is) or situation: Your title is the first thing they read of your screenplay, and if it sucks they are going to go into your script thinking that it will suck, too. Now, the script may win them over, but you're starting off on the wrong foot. Better to start with them loving the title.
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Hi Emi, This reminds me of an action script I wrote way back during yester-year. I'll save the majority for a book and I'm sure I posted something similar one Quora many moons ago. With that said, I'll continue. I wrote a script for an actress who had tremendous success in the early nineties and still is considered a big name. I really rate her. I titled the script 'Radical Extremes' and it centered around a female FBI Agent who used extreme sports to catch a serial killer. The pitch was 'Point Break' meets 'Seven'. The producer at the time who was attracted it by it, was working on a project I really wanted 'in' on and 'Radical' was my entry card in. He really liked it, but said that 'x' actress didn't mean anything to anyone anymore and that the title made it sound like 'a Muslim movie'. Oh how I argued that one. Among many a statement, I said that radical was 'radical dude' and extreme was 'extreme sports, man!'. He disagreed and said he'd think of another title. He also said that the female role should be changed to that of a man - and so - the husband became a wife, the best girlfriend became a guy and so on and all the dialogue changed with it. The whole point was to have a female action movie, bit a generic standard, usual hyper-masculine male that he thought it should be. Leaving out a great deal of pain, personal anguish and other issues, he came up with his title that sounded like a porn film and said he had a star-to-be interested. The script was taken off my hands and 'led elsewhere' and became 'something'. He explained his title to me by saying 'I don't get why you don't understand my naming it this. It's out there. It's radical, baby. It's extreme.' Also: A sci-fi I produced a couple of years back was originally called 'Chrononaught'. It was about time travel and lots of other bits and pieces. The distributors changed it to 'Death Machine' and released it someplace and then for another territory called it 'Doomsday'. I could go on. Call it what you like. Things may or may not change on it, as long as your name doesn't! Thanks for reading. Ben @BenTrebilcook Day 22 of the 'RB Content Challenge'. Have a good weekend.
I was taken aback a bit when I read the feedback, but I guess it made me think a little more on my title. I decided to change it to something else. Here's to hoping that it's a good one.