There are probably two different kinds of screenwriters. The kind who start with a blank sheet of paper and just bull through to the end of the thing, and the expanders, like me.
People like me work as if they’re applying coats of paint to the same surface. The only blank sheet of paper is the original premise document. When it comes to writing the outline, I paste the original premise document into a new file and start writing over the top of it: expanding it, rewording it, moving scenes around. And when it comes to the screenplay, I paste the outline into a new document, and start writing over the top of it.
It lets me control the shape of the thing exactly — which is vital when you’re working to a hard runtime, as we are with CASTLEVANIA. Stops me getting too extemporaneous, and it also lets me see where I’m running short and might be able to lengthen a scene after all. (The trick to this kind of writing is entering a scene as late as possible and getting out as quickly as possible, which involves killing a lot of your darlings, as they say. So it’s nice to be able to see where you might be able to bring one or two back from the dead.)
So, at the top of the outline, there is the line:
1475: DR LISA FARENHEIGHTS is working in her keep on the edge of WALLACHIA’s CAPITAL CITY.
The outline goes straight from there to activation of the plot. But that’s not how you write a story. For one thing, the top of a film is the only point at which you have time. You’ve got five minutes of the audience’s indulgence, so you can take a little bit to look around. For another, story is not plot. Even the most superficial reading of Shakespeare will show you the characters doing things unrelated to the needs of the plot, talking, being people, being real, before they get around to activating their bit of plot.
So I start with that line, and I start making notes. This isn’t screenplay. I put myself through two drafts of the official First Draft — I nail down the rough action and dialogue in note form, and then rewrite as I go back and convert everything into screenplay format. So that one line turned into a few pages of notes that started like this:
FADE IN:
on rolling storm clouds, dark and evil.
We push down through them, emerging into rain over EUROPE.
SUPER
(date)We drop down with the rain, down over Eastern Europe, the dark forested territories of Wallachia.
SUPER
WallachiaLIGHTNING crashes down past us, filling our POV with a WHITE-OUT:
CUT TO
Our vision returning as we find ourselves in front of LISA TEPES’ HOUSE, a wooden structure outside a village. We see the rooves of the village in the mid-distance beyond the house, lit up by a lightning strike on a day twilit by heavy cloud. The rain drizzles down on the carefully-tended herb and vegetable garden at the front of the house.
LISA (O.S.)
You stay right there, Mrs ***. I’m just going to get something for your cough.
SUPER denotes text superimposed on the screen, and O.S. denotes a voice issuing from off-screen.
How much of this survives to the screenplay? Well, despite the requests of people in the comments sections, I’m not going to be posting the screenplay to this production blog. As ever with this blog, we’re just giving you a look at the process. And this is how a screenplay starts.
44 responses so far ↓
Danial // May 17, 2007 at 7:13 am
very cool
Franco // May 17, 2007 at 7:29 am
Intriguing!
Nightrider // May 17, 2007 at 9:03 am
Warren,
I love the fact that you are exploring parts of the Castlevania universe that until now have only been hinted at. If you don’t me asking what specific elements of the game drew you to the project?
Thanks,
Nightrider
Douglas Cartland // May 17, 2007 at 9:50 am
I’ve never attempted screenplay writing, so I have no fellow screenplay-writer comments to make on this. Regardless, I find it interesting to see the world of Castlevania through a screenplay, hopefully more snippets at a later occasion.
Looking forward to reading more on the development!
Otaku-Man // May 17, 2007 at 11:02 am
VERY educational! I can’t wait to learn more of how the production is going.
And if that is the opening of the movie, I can NOT wait to see the finished product.
~Otaku-Man
Arikado // May 17, 2007 at 1:48 pm
If this is truly the beginning then perhaps in the movie we will see Dracula courting Lisa and even the birth of Alucard ( a great way to fill in time on three movies based solely on a NES game).
Doom Saber // May 17, 2007 at 1:51 pm
Cool. Lisa is in the script. I bet this will make some fanboys happy!
I like how you explain your process of writing a screen play. It reminds me of how I do research/essay papers since it is similar.
Jerkofwonder // May 17, 2007 at 3:44 pm
Arikado… the year in that snippet is 1475, one year before Cv3. I doubt we will see the courting, or birth.
And Warren… is there going to be any mentiones of Leon? Or any kind of reaction from Drac when he finds out that Trevor is a Belmont? Given the backstory from Lament Of Innocence it would make sense. But if not, that’s still cool. Great work so far. Keep it up.
Benny C. // May 17, 2007 at 9:02 pm
(not sarcastic)thanks for the tease, boss.
I’m serious, I’m not being sarcastic, please don’t hit me with your cane.
Philomenus // May 18, 2007 at 12:03 am
I’m very pleased with what you’ve shared with us, but it wouldn’t be unexpected of me by anyone to point out that Lisa died, and the war began in, 1470. But be that as it may! Five years makes little difference to the progression of the war to the point in time of the story in the screenplay (ergo, the amount of time it takes the Church to realise their defencelessness against Dracula’s army and seeking the aid of the descendant of Leon Belmont, the knight who served their cause but was denied their aid to fight the source of the very same dark power they have failed to neutralise themselves). This change is not a significant one, and in light of word of extensive collaboration with and assistance from IGA on most every detail, one that may make more sense in due time…or a simple mistake in a rough outline.
Victor // May 18, 2007 at 4:36 am
Awesome post.
MAX_LE_FOU // May 18, 2007 at 4:58 am
Very nice, thanks for the update on the writing techniques used (which is different from what I’m used to). Can’t wait to hear more about the project.
Warren // May 18, 2007 at 8:34 am
Philomenus gets this week’s Turd Cape Of Shame™.
Greg // May 18, 2007 at 12:12 pm
Look, do whatever you want with the movie, so long as there’s a special box set edition with replicas of those ‘Goth Spoons’ you mentioned, I’ll be happy.
Jerkofwonder // May 19, 2007 at 3:18 am
Warren… I was just wondering… have you actually met IGA? If so, is he cool, or a douche?
Arikado // May 19, 2007 at 5:55 am
I would think that IGA is “the man”.
Thomas Belmont // May 19, 2007 at 10:33 am
I wouldn’t say IGA is “the man.” He hasn’t come up with a decent story since SotN.
Jerkofwonder // May 19, 2007 at 11:15 am
LoI,HoD,CoD AoS,DoS,PoR all good stories. MUCH better than aything in the series before IGA.
RJG // May 19, 2007 at 11:39 am
I’d have to agree with Jerkofwonder here, even though IGA does seem to rub me the wrong way sometimes. Before he came along it was pretty much “100 years have passed, Dracula’s about tno rise again, here’s a whip now get cracking”.
Since then we’ve seen the introduction of Soma (which I’d love to see as an easter egg in the production, even if it’s just a portrait on the wall or something), the Morris family and some interesting plot devices, such as the portraits from Portrait of Ruin.
Of course, his striking of Sylvia from the Belmont family tree becase “a woman couldn’t start a family as powerful as the Belmont’s” was just mean, and some of the things he had to say about Circle of the Moon, especially the dual card system which he lambasted at first and then ripped off, was just out of place.
Thomas Belmont // May 19, 2007 at 11:59 am
LoI was such a lackluster origin story, especially when it came to the Vampire Killer. It was just given to him by Rinaldo. HoD’s storyline was basically the same as CotM’s, CoD was a total mistake. Hector is such a redundant character. Leave defeating Dracula to the Belmonts. With Trevor in the game there was no need for Hector. And why the hell would Dracula need “Devil Forgemasters?” It was never even mentioned who St. Germain really was and there was no mention of what happened to Trevor at the end of the game. AoS’ and DoS’ storylines were jokes. Castlevania in the future? Barf! PoR was also very predictable. I can go on and on but I don’t want to hijack this thread. I understand that we disagree so let’s just keep it at that. This isn’t really the proper place for arguments so I apologise.
Jerkofwonder // May 19, 2007 at 1:18 pm
Ok, I didnt realize that you were just someone who hates change and good storytelling. Calling a story a “joke” and using cv in the future = barf shows you really have no backing. You’ve obviously pointed out that you hate the ideas of these, and didn’t take into account the actual story telling. You just hate anything that isn’t Belmont kills Dracula. Your post made that very clear.
Philomenus // May 19, 2007 at 2:07 pm
Bitching about IGA/continuity & timeline should be banned from discussion here. This isn’t about any of that, and Castlevania fans get enough of that everywhere else on the Internet having to do with the games.
Arikado // May 19, 2007 at 3:02 pm
Thomas Belmont:
Wow… Have actually even played any Castlevania games? Obiviously you have attempted some and then found out you suck.
First off; Rinaldo gave Leon the Vampire Killer this is true. But it never even got its’ true power until Leon had to use to kill Sara who was becoming a vampire. A perfect example that you suck at Castlevania (I say this because you obviously didn’t get very far)
Secondly; Dracula needed devil forgemasters to
a)help control his minions and
b)stop anyone who wished to stop him. Issacs power was said to (by Trevor mind you) rival that of Death’s
Thirdly;999999 out of 100000 people probably did not guess that Wind was actually Eric Lecarde.
Fourthly;Again you obviously suck at Castlevania to not appreciate the story in Aria and Dawn of Sorrow (whic led me to choose my screen name; Alucard’s fake name).
Lastly;You try to apologize after you say all this crap. Apology NOT accepted. You have’nt said anything about this films production. And by the by you spelled apologize with an s instead of a z.
In conclusion: You’re a jerk, you suck at Castlevania, you do not appreciate good storytelling and you can’t spell.
Thomas Belmont // May 19, 2007 at 5:24 pm
Arikado, stop your crying. All I did was state reasons why I don’t like the majority of IGA’s past storylines. I didn’t realize that you two were sleeping together. You’re so ignorant. You know nothing about me but yet you judge me for my views on video games. Yes,I know that the Vampire Killer did not receive it’s true power until Leon struck down Sara, but I found it to be weak. So much potential wasted. Secondly, no, Dracula did not need “Devil Forgemasters.” He’s the “Lord of Darkness” and he controls Death himself. Besides, after Isaac was killed and Hector left, there have been no more “Devil Forgemasters.” Looks like Drac did pretty well without them for hundreds of years. Third of all, if you played Bloodlines before PoR, it was totally obvious, it being a direct sequel and all, that Wind was Eric Lecarde. Knowing that Jon Morris has already died and that you play as his son, who did you think Wind was going to turn out to be? Fourth of all, if somebody doesn’t like a storyline for a game, he/she has to suck at it? That doesn’t even make sense. And last of all, you sure as hell shouldn’t be judging anybody on grammar. Go back and read your last post.
Dawnveil // May 19, 2007 at 5:33 pm
Calm down kids. This isn’t a place for cutting into one another about anything. This is their production blog.
On that note, thank you for the insight into how you’re writing the script Warren, and I look forward to more production blogs as they are very informative on how something like this can be done.
Nightrider // May 20, 2007 at 4:46 am
Lol at fanboys. You can never put more then one die hard fanboy in a room without a fight breaking out.
Arikado // May 20, 2007 at 5:52 am
Thomas Belmont:
Read my last post not the bestest grammaticals- whatever proffessor.
Anywho, you come and bitch Castlevania’s savior IGA, what do you expect to happen? IGA will come to house and say “please take over my job”.
IGA took a bland almost no story franchise and added some cool spices and flavors.
I say you suck at Castlevania because you obviously did not get to far to say you hated AoS and DoS’s story lines. Heck, in DoS you could end the game as Soma or by defeating him. That’s some IGA originality. Without IGA Castlevania would not even exist. IGA’s storytelling is so great that both Warren and even Paul Anderson are making movies out of it.
Thomas Belmont // May 20, 2007 at 9:17 am
First of all, don’t act like I’m the one who brought up the poor grammar. You jumped at me because I wrote apologize as apologise by accident. Look at the keyboard, the letters s and z are right next to each other. That was just an immature thing to do. And if you think that a high school exchange student, from the year 2035, turning out to be the reincarnation of Dracula and getting transported to Castlevania from Japan is a good story for Castlevania, that’s your problem. Also, how the hell would Castlevania not exist if it wasn’t for IGA? You act like he created it. And Warren is making a movie about Castlevania 3, a game IGA had nothing to do with.
Ralph // May 20, 2007 at 11:53 am
I love fanboys, they fight with eachother on hopes of converting someone else to their beliefs. It’s like Bible thumping.
Frank B. // May 20, 2007 at 12:04 pm
Philomenus, you were actually wrong about Lisa’s death. The japanese timelines state that she died sometime within the 1470s, not exactly in 1470. Her death could’ve been anywhere from 1470 up until right before the start of Dracula’s Curse(1476).
Arikado // May 20, 2007 at 1:50 pm
Listen Tommy boy, allow me to rephrase myself, Casltevania would not still exist if it were not for IGA. IGA got rid of the pull-your-hair-out-platforming and replaced with a glorius RPG masterpiece called Symphony of the Night.
You’re looking at the bare bones outline of AoS. What made it so great was the meat in between those slices of bread. The plotwists. Yoko gets stabbed, J is really Julius Belmont…. The list goes on….and on….and on….
Oh, and you call me “immature”? I corrected your spelling to add a little kick to my argument. YOU started the whole grammer buisness. Also you decide to insult IGA on a Castlevania forum and then try to “apologoise”? That’s immature.
Thomas Belmont // May 20, 2007 at 2:37 pm
You just admitted that you corrected my spelling to add a little kick to your argument yet have the audacity to say that I started the whole “grammer buisness?!” Wtf? Besides, you spelled both grammar and business wrong. And your trying to mock me by writing “apologoise” fails because you even misspelled the way I wrote apologize in the first place. And I never apologized for insulting IGA, I apologized for changing the subject of the thread, which you felt the need to continue. So to Warren and everybody else, I would like to apologize again. Let’s just leave our differences out and continue the original meaning of this blog.
Garrick Van Onselen // May 21, 2007 at 12:01 am
“carefully-tended herb and vegetable garden”
Nice touch. Was actually wondering how the gardening was getting along.
Also, how often do you find hobbies and interests of yours ending up in your writing?
Otaku-Man // May 21, 2007 at 8:06 am
Frankly, I’d like to see Thomas and Arikado duel to the death ala Spock and Kirk in that one episode of Star Trek.
You know the one.
Anyway, I think that on top of Philomenus, Arikado and Thomas Belmont both deserve No-Prizes.
Warren, what do you think?
~Otaku-Man
Arikado // May 21, 2007 at 11:32 am
Otaku-Man:
1)A fight to the death… Hmmm… Well, there’s definitely no chance of me losing… Cool!
2)My No-prize would be the “Crest of IGA” Thomas Belmonts’ No-Prize would probably be a “speleen Bee “trophy.
Thomas Belmont:
1)I noticed I mispelled your mispelled apoligize 2 seconds after I posted. I laughed at myself for.
2)I give up too.
Eli // May 21, 2007 at 10:16 pm
I think the only real prize that can result from a fight to the death between you two, is you two just shutting up, and letting this thing die.
Will // May 22, 2007 at 3:14 am
I’m just happy there’s a Castlevania movie in the works. Happier even that Mr. Ellis is writing it. All I’m going to do is wait until it comes out.
Arikado // May 23, 2007 at 11:25 am
Warren, can we please have a new topic to post on? Please?
Eli // May 23, 2007 at 6:07 pm
leave the man alone, he’s busy working on the movie.
Arikado // May 23, 2007 at 11:55 pm
Good point.
Brinstar // May 24, 2007 at 8:23 am
Let me just say, I’m not a fangirl of the Castlevania games. I don’t have the detailed knowledge that some of these commenters have.
I’ve played SOTN from start to finish. I didn’t finish the original Castlevania for the NES because I was a child and didn’t have the patience for the really hard jumping stuff. I played Castlevania: The Adventure for the GameBoy, and even though I put in a really good effort into finishing it, I couldn’t. The game was freakishly hard.
I _loved_ SOTN. I like the overall stories of the games in general, so I’m really interested in this project. I bet that we have all seen enough adaptations to understand that transferring a project from one medium to another often requires changes. Reading the fanboys debate the intricacies of these changes is informative, amusing, and irritating.
Quite honestly, I don’t care about the intricate details of how true it is to every little thing in the game. I just want to watch a good story that makes sense and captures the spirit of Castlevania, whilst still being reasonably true to the original.
Oh, and full confession time here: I haven’t read any works by you, Warren. This is shameful because I’m a longtime (but semi-retired) comic book reader, and I have friends who tell me that I “have to read Transmetropolitan” and whatnot.
I have taken steps to address this grave mistake. Some work colleagues go to the comic book store every Wednesday, and I joined them and bought Transmetropolitan vol. 1.
Your new novel also looks quite interesting, and I’ll look forward to picking that up as well.
Anyway, good luck on the writing, glad that you are feeling better, and all the best.
Kwizzy // Jun 3, 2007 at 12:53 pm
Lisa? O_O
*Changes dial on brain to “Cautious Optimism”*
Now I just have to worry if Dracula’s going to be a complete prick without any emotional depth to speak of. Completely evil, very not-nice individual, of course, but ever since Symphony of the Night (since I was 9 years old), I’ve had a soft spot for the guy being very angry and broken as opposed to just an ass.
But things look very nice so far. No time traveling were-ligers or stake-shooting miniguns, good good.
Alucard // Dec 6, 2007 at 11:41 pm
Yes this is amazing.. it gives insight on things that where only hinted at in the games. we really are going to see Castle vania for what it really is, im liking this. And on the screen play writing, its very intriguing to see how its all done, thanks alot for taking the time to write this for us, its good to see how its all going and how its done.
regards Alucard
TheUnbeholden // Dec 8, 2007 at 8:04 am
The ones that bull through are the ones who are not true screen play writers. When writing you need structure and a rule to go by, otherwise things will end up messy, on occasion one may even not put enough effort, as they just write it as they go, perhaps even missing parts. putting a integral part and then as you go back expand the parts .. you can do this until your overall satisfied that you’ve put enough into it. But at times you may feel a bit neglected as most of the “detail” won’t end up in the finished project and may not end up in the film.. even if it does end up in the film may be cut due to time constraints.. as a movie has to be certain length on minutes, but in the end you feel greatly honored that your work is what made the film, what you wrote became real…. beautiful indeed.
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