Just wondering

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  • Just wondering

    What is the longest character name used in a screenplay?

    Lets go produced first and also ones you might have come up with in your own scripts.

    I have a character named Sir. William Throughgood Hunter, a bar tender in a little bodunk Aussie town.
    He's introduced by his formal name to illustrate the varity of characters in the pub and the strange extremes of Oz. There are bums, cattle ranchers, and aristocrats. Everyone calls him Will and I identify him as such above his dialog.

    I'm just looking for cases of long names or titles like that and how many of you would shorten them up, write em all out, and just for fun what the longest name is and if it was shortened or not.
    Are you going to write "Trust me" in the query?"
    by BellaBella

  • #2
    Re: Just wondering

    I don't see a problem, except that "Sir" shouldn't have a period after it since it's not an abbreviation like Mr. or Mrs. You just use the full name once, when you introduce the character, then label his dialogue with HUNTER or maybe WILLIAM.

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    • #3
      Re: Just wondering

      Err - what is a 'bodunk' Aussie town ?

      I know 'bodunk' certainly isn't Strine, so what does it mean?

      Also, for some reason we tend to call them 'cattle farmers' not 'cattle ranchers'.
      I don't know why. Try googling 'cattle farmer' - the first few entries are all Australian.

      Sure, everyone knows what a cattle 'rancher' is - but it just doesn't sound right. (A little like someone in the pub talking about a 'trash can'. Everyone would know what it means, but nobody would seriously use it)

      Mac
      (PS: I hope you didn't put the words 'bodunk' or 'rancher' in your screenplay!)
      Last edited by Mac H.; 07-03-2005, 01:58 AM.
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      • #4
        Re: Just wondering

        I think the word you meant was Podunk and in Aussie it would be an outback woopwoop.



        (Not sure if itâ€TMs correct usage though.)
        Bill

        Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. ~Calvin Coolidge

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        • #5
          Re: Just wondering

          >an outback woopwoop ???

          Now I'm really confused.

          I'm guessing that a little 'bodunk' town was a little obscure, one-horse kinda place ?

          I think you are looking for 'out at whoop whoop'. I've no idea what it means, apart from it being roughly equivalent to 'back of Burke' or 'beyond the black stump'..

          But never an outback whoop-whoop....

          Mac
          New blogposts:
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          • #6
            Re: Just wondering

            'round these parts, we call it "bumfvck egypt."

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            • #7
              Re: Just wondering

              Originally posted by scripter1
              What is the longest character name used in a screenplay?
              Monty Python once interviewed a composer named Johann Gambolputty de von Ausfern- schplenden- schlitter- crasscrenbon- fried- digger- dingle- dangle- dongle- dungle- burstein- von- knacker- thrasher- apple- banger- horowitz- ticolensic- grander- knotty- spelltinkle- grandlich- grumblemeyer- spelterwasser- kurstlich- himbleeisen- bahnwagen- gutenabend- bitte- ein- nürnburger- bratwustle- gerspurten- mitz- weimache- luber- hundsfut- gumberaber- shönedanker- kalbsfleisch- mittler- aucher von Hautkopft of Ulm.

              And then there was the Very Silly Party candidate Malcolm Peter Brian Telescope Adrian Blackpool Rock Stoatgobbler John Raw Vegetable Brrroooo Norman Michael (bell) (whistle) Edward (car horn) (train impersonation) (buzzer) Thomas Moo "We'll keep a welcome in the..." (gunshot) William (silly noise) "Raindrops keep falling on my" (weird noise) "Don't sleep in the subway" (cuckoo cuckoo) Naaoooo Smith.
              Give it all and ask for no return/And very soon you'll see and you'll begin to learn/That it's alright, yes, it's alright...

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              • #8
                Re: Just wondering

                Originally posted by Mac H.
                (PS: I hope you didn't put the words 'bodunk' or 'rancher' in your screenplay!)
                Why not? An Australian audience might bridle at the oddity but an American or Brit audience wouldn't know any better. Adds a touch of color and "authenticity" to the script for the reader, maybe.

                -Derek
                Derek's Web Page - stories, screenplays, novels, insanity.

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                • #9
                  Re: Just wondering

                  Podunk is a somewhat obscure colloquial term for one horse town or redneck hamlet. There are several Australian equivalents but they are colloquial too.

                  Some of the Australian terms are similar to American English and some are similar to proper English. The term outback woopwoop is an obscure equivalent to podunk.

                  For an average American to listen in to an Australian or a regional English conversation it would seem almost completely alien to them.

                  For this usage it might be better to use a few regional colloquial terms which can be found on the internet for a flavor of the region and a majority of universal English terms for the rest of the dialog.

                  Itâ€TMs surprising how alien a foreign country can be, even one as close as Canada.
                  Bill

                  Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. ~Calvin Coolidge

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