Screenwriting : Non US scripts for US contests. by Cherie Grant

Maybe in general, if there's something in your script that would only be understood by Australians (or Brits, or Thais or Texans) it's worth rewriting to be understood universally by everyone? Wouldn't that help for selling the script and any resultant film as well? Not saying remove the local flavor... I assume that's a plus. But if it's really as serious as "not understand", maybe you want to universalize it a bit? (Out of curiosity, what are we talking about? Dialogue? Quirky local laws or customs? How certain are you that it would baffle we 'merkins?)

I don't quite understand. Your script s specific to Australia. I'll make an assumption that that is it's charm, that's what makes your script what it is. While I lead toward agreement with Kerry when it comes to selling the script you are asking about contests. That's why I don't understand why you want to change your script. Will your script be just as good if you "Americanize" it? Will it be better?

honestly it doesn't matter where it is located, but I have to say I don't think Americans will get some parts and I'm worried i'll lose points for that. surely that's not hard to understand? kerry there are aspects to aussie culture that won't be picked up on by foreigners. it just occurred to me that it might slip past or be seen as a fault. I'm not stressing about this though.

I apologize, Cherie. I didn't understand which is why I asked my questions. I will be more careful in the future.

nothing to apologize for D Marcus. I have a pretty thick skin.

Okay, let's try a concrete example. The scene is set in the Australian bush (forest, woods, whatever) and there's a line that reads: "A kookaburra laughs." Now every Aussie would understand this line immediately, but would the average non-Australian reader know what it means? And (assuming it's important to the story) if the chances are that non-Australian readers wouldn't understand, how would you communicate this without breaking the flow? FYI, a kookaburra is an iconic Australian bird (of the kingfisher family) known for its loud, raucous, cackling call. Due to its call it was sometime nicknamed "the Laughing Jackass".

We've all had the experience of watching foreign movies where we don't EXACTLY understand what we're seeing but we understand the emotional or narrative import ("Hmm, what's this scene with lanterns in the rain? Oh, I guess that's the ancient Chinese funeral ritual... I understand how terribly sad how Li Chun must be feeling and, uh-oh! He just tore the buttons off his shirt! What does that mean? He's declared revenge?? I'm not sure, but I can definitely tell from the performance and the music cues that something big is coming!") But maybe you could run some specifics by us? I personally am not a good test case... while I am American, I'm a bit of an expert on Australian culture. (I have a toddler who watches 4 or 5 hours a day of The Wiggles, so I'm well acquainted with that whole singing dinosaur/dancing octopus aspect of your national character.)

Sure, okay, so you change that to "The cackle of a kookaburra shatters the silence." Don't lose the local flavor, but if there's a connotation that may be lost to non-locals, make sure it's spelled out. But I'd say that's a best practice, period. My current spec script is set in a Manhattan brownstone. There are architectural quirks relevant to the plot that would be instantly familiar to any New Yorker, but I'm making sure to provide supporting details so that foreign readers (Los Angelinos, primarily) won't be confused.

I am an Indian and I try to Americanise it with the help of my FB friend however my mc are Indian Americans or Asian Indo -Americans.

Thinking about it i won't worry about it. I did have a sort of panic moment, but I won't worry about. I just had some concerns about my secondary characters being Greek and Melbourne has the largest Greek community outside of Greece and there's that aspect to our culture that I grew up. Also some other little things in my script, but it's all good. Thanks for all your replies people.

No, if it seemed like I was recommending that, I was unclear. Like in the kookaburra example above: I didn't suggest changing "kookaburra" to "pigeon". I suggested writing the action such that it wouldn't require that the reader be from Australia (pop. 22 million) as opposed to any other nation on Earth (pop. 7 billion). [Population data courtesy of Google.]

Having lived there many years ago, I would be careful not to use old fashioned 'Ocker' type words for the sake of getting your 'Aussieness' across. Many localisms (today's new word??) are less than a few years old in many cases and Aussies may think they are original, but might have been imported from other English speaking territories. Keep 'mate' to a minimum, it's an old English/Indian word anyway....

haha yeah thanks I don't do 'ocker' ugh.

Personally, I believe you should follow your instinct. If the story is good the rest will just fall into place.

My screenplay is also set in Australia and the feedback from coverage readers and producers on this matter has consistently been about clarity. It's possible to keep the meaning without getting rid of the Aussieness. Ultimately it will depend on your intended audience. If you think the story has international appeal or will be costly to produce you might be well advised to ensure it also has good comprehension internationally. If you are writing it for a local Australian viewer then your best bet will be writing it for Australian producers and therefore lower budgets.

Some great comments here. The classic balance of writing for your audience vs. authenticity of voice, isn't it. I have a script set in Russia in 1918. Some references were cultural/historical-specific. I reckoned as long as they didn't get in the way of the the story itself, they seemed to work fine.

If your target market is competitions, your audience US readers and your goal placement, then, without any doubt, you need to align with that marketplace as best you can. This is an exciting challenge as a writer. I say embrace the issue and turn it into an opportunity. Try to work out a way of keeping that charm and Aussieness while bringing the audience onboard. Look at scenes like Vincent and Jules chatting about European culture vs US Culture in Pulp Fiction, it's a fascinating conversation because it combines the interesting topic of cultural differences and our emotional reaction to them. Now I'm not saying copy it, but perhaps you should think more like that. Look at the scenes in Moonrise Kingdom where the Narrator breaks the fourth wall to explain the situation. Its pure exposition in a very compelling way. Another example is Lock Stock And Two Smoking Barrels where an entire short story is retold in pure cockney rhyming slang and English subtitles. You could have an American character in your story who's learning this with the audience, or you could have a character who's obsessive about Aussie culture and occasionally rants about what makes it Aussie. It's up to your imagination. Basically, what I'm saying is, Cherie, is we need a chicken salt monologue, and we need it now.

I understood everything you just said except the chicken salt bit. Which I love on chips. Are we talking about chips?

No, I just recently tried chicken salt and wont shut up about it.

Personally, I think US Contests (unless specifically looking for US stories) just want good scripts. What makes your script Australian? Is it the setting, the characters or the tone of the script? Most international producers (and contest judges) are very capable of taking a script written in a different country and imagining it wherever they prefer... Just write your script with the best story, told by the strongest and most interesting characters - Australian or not. And don't just send to contests, send to as many producers, directors and film-connections as possible - it's so much easier now with the WWW. When they come back with comments and ideas on how it could be 'improved', listen only if they have some experience or knowledge in judging scripts - again, look them up on the net. Most people can't tell a good script from a bad one.