#Black Screenwriters

[melodylsimpson]

Book-to-Movie/TV Adaptations From Black Writers

Did you know that only 160+ movies/shows have been adapted from books by Black authors since 1908? 4 of these were sci-fi/fantasy. Of the 160+ adaptations, 61 are adaptations of 2 books. Meanwhile, in YA alone, 50+ adaptations have been released in the past 20 years, half of which were sci-fi/fantasy. But that's not all.

My findings can be found in the essay, "Dear Hollywood, Where Are the SFF Book-to-Movie/TV Adaptations From Black Writers?" over on Reactormag.com, previously Tor.com.

Also, be sure to check out:

My Spreadsheet of ALL Black Book-to-Movie/TV Adaptations From Black Writers

My Letterboxd List of ALL Black Book-to-Movie Adaptations From Black Writers

Happy Black History Month!

[yourdailyqueer]

Tourmaline

Gender: Transgender woman

Sexuality: Queer

DOB: 20 July 1983

Ethnicity: African American

Occupation: Activist, artist, screenwriter, director, producer

[toadlessgirl]

when you guys said Interview with the Vampire was good I thought you meant like 'horny campy melodrama' good, not 'prestige television 2x5 may be the single best tv episode i've ever seen everyone involved in this deserves an Emmy HOLY SHIT' good

[ronniaugust]

How To Write Good Dialogue (Part 1)

I'm gonna start this by saying I'm not trying to sound like a know-it-all. I am just tired of posts like these being absolutely fucking useless. I am aware this is basically me screaming into a void and I’m more than okay with that.

This guide is meant for intermediate screenwriters, but beginners are also absolutely welcome. :)

(about me)

-♠︎-♠︎-♠︎-♠︎-

I've noticed a rise in film students who want to make films that have no dialogue. Probably after your professor showed you Doodlebug, right? Fuck that.

I'll make another post about writing a short film, but all you need to know is: Don't waste the audience’s time. Most of these no-dialogue shorts have very little substance and take way too long to tell the shortest possible story. Not a good idea.

Useless Dialogue

Plain and simple, don't write useless dialogue. Useless dialogue is dialogue that just doesn't fucking matter. Dialogue matters by having ✨subtext.✨

What is subtext? Subtext is the meaning behind the action. That's it.

If I tell you that I love you and I got big doe eyes while I say it, it means I love you. If I tell you I love you through a clenched jaw without looking at you, I don't necessarily love you right now.

Simple, right? Great.

Now think about the subtext behind every line. Does your character mean what they're saying? Are they doing it to get what they want? What is going through their mind as they say it? As long as you know your character, you’ll have these answers ready to go. If you don’t, you’ll figure it out eventually. Just keep writing.

When you write your character walking into a Starbucks and saying, "One venti iced coffee," does that do something? Why do I need to see someone's boring Starbucks order? Do I need to know that your character's boring? Why are you writing a boring character? [Of course, in the rare situation where this is some revealing clue to the massive crime investigation, then it makes sense.]

Useless dialogue is any dialogue that has no meaning or purpose in your script. Delete and move on. You don't need to write entire conversations or scenes that bore us, just write what we care about.

I took a class once where my professor called a version of this "trimming the fat." Get us into your scene and out of your scene in as little time as it takes to have it achieve its full purpose in the script.

[P.S. You don’t “inject” subtext into your lines. Idk who started that vernacular in subtext teachings but I hate it.]

Show vs. Tell

I remember a glorious fight I got into with a Redditor last year about show vs. tell… TL;DR: Dialogue is “show” if you write it with intention and subtext. If someone says that dialogue is inherently “tell,” they’re wrong and can go fuck themselves.

Dialogue that is “tell” is expositional dialogue. But, hot take: Exposition isn't just in dialogue. It’s also those annoying clichés that make you roll your eyes in the theater (which we just call clichés and not exposition). I’m sure every professor I’ve had will disagree with this and then get me into a long conversation about it, but let’s ignore that for right now.

Have you ever seen a movie where a character rubs an old, worn-out photo of a young girl while looking depressed? That's exposition. That character has a dead daughter. No shit.

Clichés are incredibly annoying. We all know that. Assume that any cliché you see - in this context - is exposition and try your best not to write it. (Tropes are different and sometimes necessary, so I’m not talking about that.)

Point blank: When you have subtext in your lines, they are "show,” not “tell.”

Before moving on, I'll bring up that while technically the dead daughter photo is subtextual, it is as close to the character saying “My daughter is dead,” as you can get. Don't treat the audience like we're fucking stupid.

The First 15

If you don’t know what the Inciting Incident is, please look up “3 Act Structure” before reading this.

The first 15 pages of your script is the part that comes before the Inciting Incident. This is the part you want to get right because, although people probably won’t leave the theater, they will absolutely find something else on the streaming service they’re using. The people making said movie will also just toss your script in the trash before it’s even produced, so it's best to get it right.

Dialogue in the first 15 generally follows the same rules, but carries a heftier additional rule. All dialogue in the first 15 minutes must, must, must tell us something about your character.

Remember when I talked about that boring Starbucks order? Why is your character boring? Don’t write that. Don’t write nice characters. Or pleasant characters. Or friendly characters. No one cares.

You want empathy. This does not mean “relatable.” It means “empathetic.” There is a difference.

I personally relate to Vi in Arcane, but I empathize with Theo in Children of Men. Both are excellent, but one personally resonates a bit more with me. You cannot write a character that deeply resonates with every single person, it is impossible.

With each line of dialogue, you must be saying something about your character that generates the empathy. Instead of telling you how to do this, I’ll direct you to a movie that will do better than an explanation: Casablanca.

Watch how Rick interacts with the world. What kind of man is Rick? Watch what he does, what he says, and how he treats people and himself. Watch that empty glass on the table. Watch his contradictions. Everything. Those things matter and it’s what makes you want to watch Rick for the entire duration of Casablanca.

“Realism”

This is maybe more directorial, but make your characters human enough, not too human.

Too human is when you’ve tried your best to capture all those little life-like speech patterns. You know, the ones that no one fucking cares about.

If your character coughs, they’re sick. If they clear they’re throat, they’re uncomfortable. If a bruise isn’t going away, they’re going to die. Simple.

Every moment on screen matters. Everything the audience sees is meant to lead them to a conclusion. Not the conclusion, just a conclusion.

The realism you want is in the choices your character makes, not how many times they say “Uh,” in a sentence.

Conclusion

Dialogue matters and should not be treated lightly or without care. Once you have this all engrained in your mind, dialogue should become effortless.

If you want an excellent way to think about this, Robert McKee's Story has an excellent chapter that helped clarify this all for me. Here's an excerpt and the context.

Warning, spoilers for Chinatown.

"If I were Gittes at this moment, what would I do?"

Letting your imagination roam, the answer comes:

"Rehearse. I always rehearse in my head before taking on life's big confrontations."

Now work deeper into Gittes's emotions and psyche:

Hands white-knuckled on the steering wheel, thoughts racing: "She killed him, then used me. She lied to me, came on to me. Man, I fell for her. My guts are in a knot, but I'll be cool. I'll stroll to the door, step in and accuse her. She lies. I send for the cops. She plays innocent, a few tears. But I stay ice cold, show her Mulwray's glasses, then lay out how she did it, step by step, as if I was there. She con-fesses. I turn her over to Escobar; I'm off the hook."

EXT. BUNGALOW-SANTA MONICA

Gittes' car speeds into the driveway.

You continue working from inside Gittes' pov, thinking:

"I'll be cool, I'll be cool ..." Suddenly, with the sight of her house, an image of Evelyn flashes in your imagination. A rush of anger. A gap cracks open between your cool resolve and your fury.

The Buick SCREECHES to a halt. Gittes jumps out.

"To hell with her!"

Gittes SLAMS the car door and bolts up the steps.

Story by Robert McKee, pg 156

The context of this page is McKee's way of explaining how to write characters. I found it very helpful.

-♠︎-♠︎-♠︎-♠︎-

Thanks for reading! I probably forgot something, so I made this a “part 1.”

I hope this helps someone since I’m really tired of finding short films on YouTube that are all fucking silent. The few who have done it well have been copied to death, so please write some dialogue. I promise you it’s so much better if you do.

Asks are open! :)

[tllgrrl]

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A post shared by Jocelyn Bioh (@jjbioh)

I was today years old when I found out that Jocelyn Bioh —writer of the Tony Award nominated play “Ja-Ja’s African Hair Braiding” —is a writer/consulting producer of Star Wars “The Acolyte”!!

See, when you have Black writers and producers behind the camera, sometimes you get Black characters and things like this:

And it’s a beautiful, story-enriching thing.

(BTW, Ms. Bioh’s play is still on Broadway, and one of the stars is Dominique Thorne, our very own Riri Williams aka Ironheart!)

[bypreciousugo]

I'm starting my own podcast. I've been wanting to start one for a while now, but so much has been going on. I really love the idea I came up with, and I feel like it's going to take me far if I stay consistent. I don't want to say too much, but just know I'll be promoting that mf right on here lol <3

[feckcops]

Joan Is Awful: Black Mirror episode is every striking actor’s worst nightmare

“A sticking point of the near-inevitable Sag-Aftra strike is the potential that AI could soon render all screen actors obsolete. A union member this week told Deadline: ‘Actors see Black Mirror’s Joan Is Awful as a documentary of the future, with their likenesses sold off and used any way producers and studios want. We want a solid pathway. The studios countered with ‘trust us’ – we don’t.’ ...

“If a studio has the kit, not to mention the balls, to deepfake Tom Hanks into a movie he didn’t agree to star in, then it has the potential to upend the entire industry as we know it. It’s one thing to have your work taken from you, but it’s another to have your entire likeness swiped.

“The issue is already creeping in from the peripheries. The latest Indiana Jones movie makes extensive use of de-ageing technology, made by grabbing every available image of Harrison Ford 40 years ago and feeding it into an algorithm. Peter Cushing has been semi-convincingly brought back to life for Star Wars prequels, something he is unlikely to have given permission for unless the Disney execs are particularly skilled at the ouija board. ITV’s recent sketch show Deep Fake Neighbour Wars took millions of images of Tom Holland and Nicki Minaj, and slapped them across the faces of young performers so adeptly that it would be very easy to be fooled into thinking that you were watching the real celebrities in action.

“Unsurprisingly, Sag-Aftra members want this sort of thing to be regulated, asking for their new labour contract to include terms about when AI likenesses can be used, how to protect against misuse, and how much money they can expect from having their likenesses used by AI.”

[blkgirlsreadfanfic2]

hello, gorgeous

for black girls, by black girls

stranger things

series

who you gon' call? (steve harrington x black!fem!oc)

headcanons

dating jonathan byers headcanons

[keepersofnostalgia]

Members of The Tea Room get exclusive access to short scripts written by A.G. Marie. Subscribe to the AGM Media Patreon's Tea Room tier and read The Last Time - a five-page drama about an estranged couple temporarily reunited under strange (but for them, normal) circumstances.

[yourdailyqueer]

Dani Balbi

Gender: Transgender woman

Sexuality: Queer

DOB: 3 April 1989 

Ethnicity: Afro Brazilian

Occupation: Politician (Communist Party of Brazil), professor, screenwriter, activist

Note 1: First transgender parliamentarian in the Rio de Janeiro state's legislative assembly and first transgender person to be awarded a doctorate.

Note 2: On 28 June 2023, International LGBTQIA+ Pride Day, the state assembly building was lit with the Rainbow Flag on her initiative.

[luckyluan]

What happens when the world fades?

Use the first hashtag to read.

[x-files-scripts]

The X-Files - “The Red and the Black”

Written by Chris Carter & Frank Spotnitz

February 17, 1998 (GOLDENROD)

Deleted scene:

Deleted scene:

[gingerylangylang1979]

Sydney Adamu, Love, and Black Women’s Opinons

No matter how The Bear handles Sydney’s love life or lack of one, people are going to be pissed. The truth is she can’t live up to everyone’s expectations as a black woman character. Is that even possible? Is too much social weight being put on how her personal life is portrayed? 

I’m a black woman. I get that we are the most vilified demographic in the media and in fandom. A lot of battles have been won, but there is still a way to go. But does that mean every black woman character has to redeem all the sins of the past in every story? Can storytelling ever be truly just storytelling if a black woman is involved or are there certain social criteria and personal expectations that need to be met? 

As a huge Sydney fan it’s been interesting to see all of the different discourses about who she is, what she means to people, what she represents culturally. Some of it good, some of it bad, but all thought provoking, especially when voiced by black women. 

I recall debates back in the day about how black characters should be represented. From the beginnings of cinema black characters were at the whims of a system not made for them. Black women in particular were mostly tropes and rarely complex, vulnerable, desirable characters. 

Times have changed somewhat but there are still challenges facing black actresses. There is still rampant colorism, nepotism, classism, unconscious bias, egregious racism, misogynoir, navigating the streaming landscape, and just trying to exist like we always have. My question is in this environment what should we expect from Sydney Adamu as black women. 

Expectations about her love life kind of spell out all of the varying opinions. And each one carries a certain weight, whether the opinion holder means to or not. 

I’ve noticed it doesn’t matter what view you have, you will be accused of being racist and misogynist. So what is really going on?

Is there a way to win as a creator in this scenario? How much of a story needs to solely rest on vision and how much should answer to social justice concerns? Even if you try, who are you trying to please and how? Is there even a “right” way? 

Black women aren’t a monolith. Some think it’s racist to want her with a white man, others think it’s racist to think she should only be considered with a black one. Some think she should be queer and want the representation. Others think it would just add to the history of black women being masculinized and made queer to erase them as love interests. Some want her to be single because she is a highly ambitious professional. Others think that sidelines her as a strong black woman that doesn’t need a man. Some welcome a new character so the romantic focus doesn’t have to be on her. Others see the new character as a threat purposely brought in to marginalize her. 

So what is the truth? I think there is no real truth to be had other than whatever the hell plays out and if it makes sense. But many things could make sense for Sydney. I know what I want and think makes sense but it could go several ways and still be enjoyable. Others are way more militant and bringing a lot of non-negotiables to the end game. 

So if we can’t even decide as black women how Sydney's love life should be portrayed, how the hell do we expect fandom, the cast, and crew to have conclusions that are “right” according to our perceptions when our perceptions don’t even align as a demographic and most are valid in light of any person’s lived experience, political views, idea of a good story, and interpretation of media? 

I’m going to delve into the should she be with Carmy debate briefly, just to highlight what I’m getting at. 

What about Ayo’s opinion? She voiced not wanting a romance with Carmy but it seems everybody but her has been questioned in an accusatory way regarding that stance. She may be the only black woman afforded that. Rightfully so, it’s her character. She made some vague statements contradicting that later, maybe she still says no, is neutral, or maybe she is open to it. Maybe she likes what we have already seen and where it’s going and isn’t putting all of these heavy implications on the character like we are. 

And as far as Storer, he knows who he wants this character to be or at least had a blueprint. The endgame could change but I have a feeling he largely modeled her on his sister, who is queer BTW. Maybe Sydney could have been played by a white character. He didn’t do that because he seemed to want Ayo in the role when final decisions were made. We do know the character was older and seemed more stoic in the OG script. But other than that we don’t know a lot about intention. How much the differences between Courtney and the character are impacted or not by race, organic story development, Ayo’s performance, and dynamics with individual characters we won’t know. But a lot of assumptions are being made. 

As far as Jeremy’s opinion. He’s been pretty consistent with saying he thinks it should remain platonic. I don’t think that says much beyond he’s looking at his character season by season, scene by scene, and concluding he doesn’t think Carmy is good for her and isn’t thinking about romance. That’s all he’s said. I’m taking it as just that for now. He could change his opinion if dynamics change or not. But a lot of assumptions are being made. 

But back to black women fans. 

The main reason I wrote this is because it’s getting really tiring when I see people trying to police black women’s opinions. It’s really, really interesting when an opinion someone doesn’t like is voiced online and when it’s a black woman they have this shocked oh, so I wonder why they said that response, or oh she must have internalized hate or something. As if liking a different ship, or no ship at all, turns one into Candace Owens. I see this coming from black women towards black women and non-black women towards black women and it needs to stop. 

Me and another black woman who share opposite opinions were recently harassed and called racist simply for not agreeing with others. We both agreed it was ridiculous. The irony of calling black women racist, just because they don’t agree with you, when discussing black women characters is mind boggling. 

We can have various opinions and they may not agree with yours no matter what race you are and if you are indeed racist, an ally, or anything in between. Stop labeling us, stop harassing us, stop thinking we have to have the exact same vision for black women characters. 

I’m open for respectful discussion on this but will not waste my time with bad faith replies. 

[pureanonofficial]

LES MIS LETTERS IN ADAPTATION - The Rose Perceives that it is an Engine of War, LM 4.3.5 (Les Miserables 1967)

The first day that Cosette went out in her black damask gown and mantle, and her white crape bonnet, she took Jean Valjean’s arm, gay, radiant, rosy, proud, dazzling. “Father,” she said, “how do you like me in this guise?” Jean Valjean replied in a voice which resembled the bitter voice of an envious man: “Charming!” He was the same as usual during their walk. On their return home, he asked Cosette:— “Won’t you put on that other gown and bonnet again,—you know the ones I mean?” This took place in Cosette’s chamber. Cosette turned towards the wardrobe where her cast-off schoolgirl’s clothes were hanging. “That disguise!” said she. “Father, what do you want me to do with it? Oh no, the idea! I shall never put on those horrors again. With that machine on my head, I have the air of Madame Mad-dog.” Jean Valjean heaved a deep sigh.