I've been doing a serious amount of research into writing a biopic, the narrative is pretty straight forward compared to the debate I am having with myself on how to offer the story to the reader.

To my mind we have 4 ways of presenting a biopic:

1. In Period. Told in a linear timeframe in the correct timeline. See Amadeus / The Queen.
2. Interaction. Interacting with events regardless of the timeline and timeframe. See The Da Vinci Code / Hollywoodland.
3. Retrospective out of time. A retrospective on a period in time and interacting with the timeframe regardless of the timeline. See Titanic.
4. Retrospective in time. Looking back on a timeline in the correct timeframe. Can't think of an example but a singer on his final concert looking back on his career - perhaps Walk The Line?

Are there anymore?

Can I ask members what they prefer, what works well for them personally and what is an absolute turnoff?

I'm more than happy to take posts that mention most and least favourite biopics and I can categorise them.

Any help would be most appreciated by the troubled writer.

Thanks all.

Kris

I think movies like Nixon, Malcolm X, Ray, Casino and W all fall into the number 3 (or 4) category. I guess The Clearing also falls into number 4 (though it's not a biopic).

Most biopics I've seen take the number 3/4 route and while it works for some it doesn't work for others. I personally have difficulties picking turnon/turnoff of the four, it all depends on how it's done and how engaging the timeline sequences are.

I think what other people favor should have nothing to do with the story you want to write.  Your character is going to dictate the structure and if he doesn't then you're not listening.  

Is it a life or a story that lends itself to a more conservative approach?  Straight linear story telling? Or something a little more out there?  If you're doing Jack Kerouac it's safe to say it's going to be a little more adventurous structurally than say a script about Katie Couric.

Quoted from Lakewood I think what other people favor should have nothing to do with the story you want to write.  Your character is going to dictate the structure and if he doesn't then you're not listening.

I'm just finding it an excellent exercise, to challenge myself. I'm always interested in what people enjoy and what turns them off. Perhaps understanding that will make my scripts more marketable.

I'm comfortable with my character and the narrative but how to tell the story is something that really interests me. Especially when I have ultimate control over it...not the character. How refreshing would it be to have a very formal narrative being told in a very informal structure. It could make it a great read...it could make it horrible.

It's a very interesting process to go through.

Quoted from krisg I'm just finding it an excellent exercise, to challenge myself. I'm always interested in what people enjoy and what turns them off. Perhaps understanding that will make my scripts more marketable. I'm comfortable with my character and the narrative but how to tell the story is something that really interests me. Especially when I have ultimate control over it...not the character. How refreshing would it be to have a very formal narrative being told in a very informal structure. It could make it a great read...it could make it horrible. It's a very interesting process to go through.

I agree with the advice given above. What form you use depends on the character and the story YOU want to tell. There isn't one type of structure that works for everyone.

People enjoy good stories.

But as a writer isn't it your job to challenge yourself and explore opportunities that can be ground out? Even if it leads down a garden path.

Otherwise we'd all be on a production line churning out simplistic scripts.

I have found some of my best work has come from a process where I am a long way from my comfort zone, maybe not the story I want to tell or the way I want to tell it. But in a way that fascinates me and makes me think even harder about the outcome I am trying to achieve. This process makes me a better writer, perhaps one that will get noticed.

We should be analysing different forms of the storytelling process and looking to see what fits and what doesn't, it will help us understand the structure more. It will help us understand our art.

My personal feeling is that what you are suggesting by writing what you want and it being dependent on the character and story is just plain lazy. The minute things just start to fall onto a page for me is the day I switch off the PC. Because it'll end up being some awful romcom starring Jennifer Anniston. That's what comes of lazy writing and I have too much pride for that. No offence intended.

Quoted from krisg My personal feeling is that what you are suggesting by writing what you want and it being dependent on the character and story is just plain lazy.

If you're not dependent on character and story in your scripts, what exactly are you dependent on?

Quoted from krisg The minute things just start to fall onto a page for me is the day I switch off the PC.

Really?  Do you not strive to get a good work flow going?

Maybe I'm totally misreading what you've written, but that makes absolutely no sense to me.

Shelton,

For fear of repeating myself. If we are totally dependent on the story and characters, we are being blindly led by them. Take control.

I'm looking for a different method to be able to tell the story, taking the lead myself somewhat. Using a principle used in postgrad education where the focus can lie in identifying the ocean and working upstream towards the source, this is what I am looking to do.

So, I have my story and characters. I have identified 4 ways to tell a biopic (first post). Now I'm working on the process backwards, identifying the best process and telling the story that way. Therefore taking the lead over the story and characters...the process takes the lead. The content is crafted into it.

With regards to switching off the PC, my belief is that this job shouldn't be easy. I too strive for a good work flow, but this (what I am doing right here, right now) is part of that process. Writing for me is more than just turning Final Draft on.

Once I am comfortable with all of this I start writing, and what a challenge it will be!

The end result could be something disasterous but it could also be something quite unique.

Look to Hitchcock, Renoir and some of the great auter film makers. Look to Robert Towne, Charlie Kaufman and Shane Carruth (to a certain extent). Clearly words and actions didn't just drop out of their minds onto the page. They all went through prcesses to get amazing results. This is what I aspire to. Keep Aniston away from me.

I hope this clarifies things, it certainly helps me to get what I want.

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on the types of biopics in the first post.

As far as the topics in your first post go, I don't really have a preference.  I'm not one for films like Amadeus and The Queen, but I do like ones like The Buddy Holly Story and Little Big Man.  It's more about the film itself than the approach it takes.

Taking that a step further, it's probably why I'm not too sure of what you're doing.  If it's just a way to challenge yourself, that's fine, but how your script is ultimately decided as a success or failure will be in how you tell your story and portray your subject, regardless of method.

Quoted from Shelton Taking that a step further, it's probably why I'm not too sure of what you're doing.  If it's just a way to challenge yourself, that's fine, but how your script is ultimately decided as a success or failure will be in how you tell your story and portray your subject, regardless of method.

But you have to admit it is an interesting approach/exercise. And I agree the story is the heart and if it doesn't have a heart it is doomed to fail. However I think the story is good enough, I'm just interested it making more of it through the method.
Don't laugh when I fall flat on my face!!!!

Quoted from Shelton As far as the topics in your first post go, I don't really have a preference.  I'm not one for films like Amadeus and The Queen, but I do like ones like The Buddy Holly Story and Little Big Man.  It's more about the film itself than the approach it takes.

Buddy Holly with Gary Busy?
I've not seen Little Big Man (to my shame) - I'll get an order in, thanks for the tip.

All the best.

Another direction you can go with a biopic is a snapshot; a "moment in time" of your subject. The recent Freddie Mercury biopic script that was completed (and as of yet, unproduced) is rumoured to focus on a single day of Freddie's life. It's an interesting take and I'd like to see how it flows. I've yet to get my hands on the script (I'm a big Queen fan), so no idea if it actually works well.

Just an idea.

Stew

krisG, you're a riddle, inside an enigma, wrapped in a copy of the New York Review of Books.  You're really going to pay to see Blake Snyder, the reigning king of high concept formula, and yet you want to reinvent the screenwriting wheel?

Inconsistency is at least interesting.

How about Jungian Analysis?  Not for you, but as a means of structuring a screenplay.

Tell your biography in metaphor only?

Write it as an autopsy or a surgery in progress?

There are a thousand ways to do it if you want to impose an artificial structure on a story.  Why bother with four of the usual suspects when you can do anything you want?

Quoted from Lakewood krisG, you're a riddle, inside an enigma, wrapped in a copy of the New York Review of Books.  You're really going to pay to see Blake Snyder, the reigning king of high concept formula, and yet you want to reinvent the screenwriting wheel? Inconsistency is at least interesting. How about Jungian Analysis?  Not for you, but as a means of structuring a screenplay. Tell your biography in metaphor only? Write it as an autopsy or a surgery in progress? There are a thousand ways to do it if you want to impose an artificial structure on a story.  Why bother with four of the usual suspects when you can do anything you want?

Shelton, I really like this guy.  Where did you dig him up, anyway?

There are perhaps a half-dozen subtle things tucked into this post that make me smile.

Very well put, indeed, Lakewood.

Quoted from bert Shelton, I really like this guy.  Where did you dig him up, anyway?

Asking that is like asking where I like to go in my free time.  Do you REALLY want to know that?  Only one other person has dared to find the answer to that question, and she's still up on the fifth floor, talking to store brand cheese crackers*.



*Her family still doesn't believe me when I say that it really had nothing to do with her sleeping with me.  That was a different kind of emotional damage.

Lakewood, thanks for the sarcasm, but I try to stay open to all concepts and ideas. I have my own views on how to try and do things, I listen to Blake Snyder, I read Syd Field and try a different approach.

I didn't ever talk about reinventing the screenwriting wheel, just a personal experiment for me to have a go at. But I seemed to have stirred up some feelings.

What is so wrong with trying to do something a little different, take a different angle? I'm a bit confused, do I threaten you?

I suppose time will be the judge. But let's remember we are all here because we haven't sold a script for a million yet...we are all in the same boat. None of us are right...might be worth remembered that.

A little support would be nice, "shit Kris you are crazy trying to do that but good luck to you, i hope it works."

I'm not trying to tell anyone how to write, to impose my feelings on anyone, I just started out by asking some thoughts and advice about biopics. It's only my time I am wasting by writing it, don't get so defensive about the art.

Shit, Kris, you are crazy trying to do that but good luck to you, I hope it works.

Easiest post eva!

oh and I apologise if I sound like a whinger or anyone takes offence. It's not my intention. Just confused as to why you would take this line towards me.

With all sincerity, have a good weekend.

Kris

Quoted from sniper Shit, Kris, you are crazy trying to do that but good luck to you, I hope it works. Easiest post eva!

yep, I asked for that   But thanks nevertheless.

cheers

Kris

I'm just here to help the ball club, and the good lord willing, things will work out.

Seriously though, Kris, I dig that you want to do it different. Lotsa people out there are slaves to the whole Trottier / Snyder / Field thing - I used to be one. But once you're comfortable enough with your writing I think it's necessary, in order to take yourself to the next level, to step outside the box.

Hell yeah, if you want to get noticed, you have to stand out - just make sure you stand out in a good way.

I mean it, good luck with it.

Quoted from sniper Hell yeah, if you want to get noticed, you have to stand out - just make sure you stand out in a good way. I mean it, good luck with it.

Thanks chap. You know it also helps that I am prepared to fall flat on my face, as long as I can drag myself back up again...no problem.

So glad I didn't tell you all who the subject of the script is...you'd all be laughing your asses off at me right now.