Movies change facts all the time. In fact the ones that get it right are in the minority. The important thing is to tell a great story.

RJSchwarz
San Diego, CA

quote:

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Originally posted by atenasaori

Hello,
I???m currently working on a film script and need your opinion. The story takes place in the past (mythology to be exact), but my question is: Is it acceptable to change events from the past in order to make a better movie?

For example, change or rewrite a past event that we have read about in mythology books in order to make it a better film, and maybe later in the script explain why this did not happen the way we had learned or were taught. Will this still be valid or will it lose its credibility?

I want to keep it as authentic as possible, but there are some things that don???t seem to work with my characters??? emotions and also other things that I know I could rewrite to make it a more enjoyable movie, that???s why I was thinking of possibly changing the past but explaining later on in the film why all this time we were taught the opposite.

Thanks

All opinions and suggestions are welcomed!

Peace

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If you are writing ANY movie, it is almost always "BASED ON" something. Unless you are making a documentary (and even then), you can never really capture the reality. Even films made from popular books are only "based on" those stories as a page-for-page adaptation to screen isn't feasible or necessarily possible in the language of film.

Since you're dealing with mythology, you are beholden to no one to be 100% accurate. A myth itself is most likely an interpretation of something that may or may not have actually occurred in reality. Myths are generally in existence to help explain a mystery (unscientifically), such as the story of Genesis in the Old Testament. That was a myth created by uneducated primitive people who needed a story to explain the world around them. That same story also serves a second purpose of myth in that it attempts to impart a message and teach the reader something. A third purpose of myth is to provide a "hero" or someone who we can aspire to be.

A movie saga, like the Original Trilogy of Star Wars, generously borrows from various myths and legends but uses updated imagery and characters to tell classic stories. Joseph Campbell's The Power of Myth is a wonderful explanation of how Star Wars weaves so many well-established myths can be used to tell stories that impact modern audiences.

Since your own story seems to use myths in a similar fashion, it might help you to read Joseph Campbell's book or watch the PBS Series.

Good luck!

http://www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Power-DK-Publishing/dp/0789455919

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/faithandreason/perspectives1.html

Brian Dzyak
Cameraman/Author
IATSE Local 600, SOC
http://www.whatireallywanttodo.com

Happens all the time. You've seen Braveheart right? Well, you remember the scene where William Wallace fights off the Brits at a bridge? No? Because that's what he was famous for before the movie came out .... so you'd think the bridge scene HAS to be in the movie right? Nope .... budget constraints prevented it.

http://www.connectedtvfilms.com

Speaking of Braveheart, the Princess was something like 7 years old in real life. They changed that because the romance just wouldn't have worked.

RJSchwarz
San Diego, CA

Did not know that.

http://www.connectedtvfilms.com

Thank you all so very much! You have been great help! 😀

Sorry for taking so long to respond.

Or look at "Clash of the Titans" in classical myth, at no time did Perseus flop a saddle on Pegusus... They mooshed those myths together because it gave the film some great visuals, and explained how Harry Hamblin could get from one place to another so fast.