Screenwriting : Tips for writing biopics by Theresa Clark
Tips for writing biopics
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I think the most important element in writing a biopic is doing your research. Know your subject really well so that you can comfortably write their character.
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One of my tips for writing biopics is to pick a specific time in that person's life to focus on - not their whole life birth to death. Choose a focused time where there was the greatest conflict/dilemma/excitement or hook to their life, and focus on that. Don't try to do too much, because you'll just be slighting their life and experiences.
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Danny: That is a terrific piece of advice. I've written several biopics and always pick out a limited section of subject's life.
100% agree with Danny Manus. That's the #1 mistake I see too when I read biopic scripts. Spielberg's LINCOLN is a perfect example of how to focus on one event in a figure's life. Don't sacrifice impact/depth for breadth. IMHO.
What Danny said and Regina agreed with - don't tell their whole life's story, find one fascinating conflict they dealt with. There's a movie called YOUNG MR. LINCOLN that's only about a year in his life as a lawyer in Springfield and a big murder case where he defended the accused... and proved them innocent. The movie is about that trial. Not about him becoming President or anything else in his life (though he meets Mary Todd during the course of the trial). So find the one thing in their life your story will be about and focus on that.
WM: John Ford's 'Young Mister Lincoln" is a brilliant example and remains the best film using Honest Abe as the lead character. I much prefer it to Spielberg's Lincoln biopic.
I totally agree with the above about selecting a time of a person's life, not doing birth to death. They are more easy to coerce into a narrative. But I would say that recent highly lauded films like THE IMITATION GAME and THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING do cover vast chunks of their subjects lives but have selected those chunks carefully and intercut them to create narrative drive and tension.
@Chas, excellent counter argument.