Читать книгу 39 Steps to Better Screenwriting - Paul Chitlik - Страница 16

Step 10

Get Off the Phone!

One of the most common format questions I get from emerging writers is about how to write a telephone conversation. My gut answer is, “Get off the phone!” Most of the time, it would be better to have the conversation in person to make the interaction more immediate and visceral. But that’s not always possible, and we know that in today’s worldwide phone society, where nearly everyone carries a phone on them, people use the phone a lot more than they used to and meet in person a lot less.

And let’s not even talk about texting or its little brother sexting.

But if you want to get a really boring conversation into your screenplay you could use email and have your actors read it in voiceover. Of course, snail mail correspondence used to be a valid form of cinematic conversation — ever see 84 Charing Cross Road? Or The Letter?