introducing character(s) late

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  • introducing character(s) late

    hey - what's the latest you can intro an important character?
    Midpoint? Somewhere in Act 2? page 53.6 ? it's not everyone has to be in Act I is it?

    just looking for opinions, not the gospel.

    thanks, tt

  • #2
    Re: introducing character(s) late

    Here's something to think about: Just because you intro a character, doesn't mean the character has to be physically present.

    In my latest script, I did intro a vital character in the beginning (his action is what set the story in motion). However, he did not appear until ACT III.
    Stupid tv. Be more funny - Homer J. Simpson

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    • #3
      Re: introducing character(s) late

      if you're stuck you can always cheat a bit and slide in a casual mention of the character or a hint such as maybe the guy is a cowboy and somewhere in the opening scenes is a pair of cowboy boots in a closet (and someone says "who's boots are these?) and the cowboy doesn't physically show up until page 50, but he was still technically mentioned earlier
      "you have to write right, right?" -- Todd Gordon

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      • #4
        Re: introducing character(s) late

        It depends on your story. In my case, an important character doesn't make an appearance until page 25, one of the antags (not a villain) just someone the protag has to deal with. They meet on page 35.
        "What's worse than being talked about? Not being talked about."

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        • #5
          Re: introducing character(s) late

          Originally posted by theturnaround View Post
          hey - what's the latest you can intro an important character?
          Midpoint? Somewhere in Act 2? page 53.6 ? it's not everyone has to be in Act I is it?
          Sin city has multiple protags, Hartigan doesn't appear till the second act? If i remember right, and he's the protagonist of that act.

          If i remember right Dwight doesn't appear till the 3ed.

          Nancy seems to be in all three acts, but's not the protagonist.

          BTW, it was #1 in the Box Office, too.

          Side Note: I wonder where QT and Rod guys got the idea for a structure like this. QT used Kurosawa's 'Rashomon' for Pulp Fiction and Kubrick's 'The Killing' for Jackie Brown. Might find some answers there.
          But this wily god never discloses even to the skillful questioner the whole content of his wisdom.

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          • #6
            Re: introducing character(s) late

            In a film structure that comes out of the USC Graduate Program in Screenwriting, they disapprove of introducing new major characters after the midpoint.

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            • #7
              Re: introducing character(s) late

              Originally posted by Joaneasley View Post
              In a film structure that comes out of the USC Graduate Program in Screenwriting, they disapprove of introducing new major characters after the midpoint.
              As long as their presence is felt, or mentioned, it's not an issue, otherwise, I agree with USC.
              "What's worse than being talked about? Not being talked about."

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              • #8
                Re: introducing character(s) late

                Originally posted by Leech View Post
                Here's something to think about: Just because you intro a character, doesn't mean the character has to be physically present.

                boo radley comes to mind.

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                • #9
                  Re: introducing character(s) late

                  When you switch to a new location you can introduce new important characters.

                  I'm pretty sure nobody is saying you can't have a new location after the midpoint.
                  "I am the story itself; its source, its voice, its music."
                  - Clive Barker, Galilee

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                  • #10
                    Re: introducing character(s) late

                    Boo Radley is a great example, because he's a major character who has a presence in the story from the get-go... but we don't see his face until close to the end of the movie. He *is* in the Radley house that all of the kids dare each other to touch the door of (and he isn't seen, but does return Jem's coat or whatever in that scene). So much of the story revolves around him - yet he remains unseen until, I think Jem gets in trouble.

                    I think if the character is introduced (and becomes a real character to the audience) early on, you can hold off their actual introduction until later.

                    Later this year I'm doing a massive page one rewrite on a thriller script of mine, and one of the things I'm fixing is a character who comes into the story late. I'm going to have people talk about her earlier in the script, so when she shows up, the audience already knows her. The challenge here will be to introduce her in a way that the audience doesn't know she's going to be a physical character (because that would give away part of the story).

                    I like to do all of my introductions in act 1. Now, some other characters may be introduced later, but they aren't important characters.

                    - Bill
                    Free Script Tips:
                    http://www.scriptsecrets.net

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