ADAPTATION 101

Brimming with confidence, you’ve just signed the check purchasing the rights to adapt John Doe’s fabulous, but little known novel, Lawrence of Monrovia, to screenplay form. Suddenly, panic sets in. “What was I thinking? How the devil am I going to convert this 400-page novel to a 110-page screenplay?”

The answer is: “The same way you transport six elephants in a Hyundai… three in the front seat and three in the back!”

Old and very bad jokes aside, how does one pour ten gallons of story into a one-gallon jug?

In this article, we’ll take a look at this challenge and a few others that a writer may encounter when adapting a novel to screenplay form.

CHALLENGE NUMBER ONE - LENGTH
Screenplays rarely run longer than 120 pages. Figuring one page of a screenplay equals one minute of film, a 120-page screenplay translates into a two-hour motion picture. Much longer than that and exhibitors lose a showing, which translates to fewer six-cent boxes of popcorn sold for $5.99 at the refreshment stand. It took the author of your source material 400 pages to tell the story. How can you possibly tell the same story in 110 pages, the ideal length for a screenplay by today’s industry standards?

And the answer to this question is no joke. “You can’t! Don’t even try!”

Instead, look to capture the essence and spirit of the story. Determine the through-line and major sub-plot of the story and viciously cut everything else.

By “through-line” I mean, WHO (protagonist) wants WHAT (goal), and WHO (antagonist) or WHAT (some other force) opposes him or her? It helps to pose the through-line as a question.

“Will Dorothy find her way back to Kansas despite the evil Wicked Witch of the West’s efforts to stop her?”

The same needs to be done for the major sub-plot.

“Will Dorothy’s allies achieve their goals despite the danger they face as a result of their alliance?”

One workable technique is to read the book, set it aside for a few weeks, and then see what you still remember of the story’s through-line. After all, your goal is to excerpt the most memorable parts of the novel, and what you remember best certainly meets that criterion.

In most cases, everything off the through-line or not essential to the major sub-plot has to go. Develop your outline, treatment or “beat sheet” accordingly.

CHALLENGE NUMBER TWO - VOICE
Many novels are written in the first person. The temptation to adapt such, using tons of voiceovers, should be resisted. While limited voiceovers can be effective when properly done, remember that audiences pay the price of admission to watch a MOTION (things moving about) PICTURE (stuff you can SEE). If they wanted to HEAR a story they’d visit their Uncle Elmer who drones on for hour upon hour about the adventures of slogging through the snow, uphill, both ways, to get to and from school when he was a kid, or perhaps they’d buy a book on tape.

The old screenwriting adage, “Show, don’t tell!” applies more than ever when writing an adaptation.

CHALLENGE NUMBER THREE - “LONG-THINKING”
Some tribes of American Indians had a word to describe those of their brethren who sat around thinking deep thoughts. Literally the word translated to, “THE DISEASE OF LONG-THINKING”. Quite often, lead characters in novels suffer from this disease.

“Mike knew in his heart that Judith was no good. Yet she caused such a stirring in his loins, he could think of nothing else. He feared someday he would give in to this temptation named Judith, and his surrender would surely bring about the end of his marriage!”

If adapted directly, how on Earth would a director film the above? All we would SEE is Mike sitting there, “long-thinking”. That is not very exciting to say the least. And as mentioned previously, voiceovers are rarely the best solution.

When essential plot information is presented only in a character’s thought or in the character’s internal world, one solution is to give this character a sounding board, another character, to which his thoughts can be voiced aloud. Either adapt an existing character from the novel or create a new one. Of course as always, you should avoid overly obvious exposition by cloaking such dialogue in conflict, or through some other technique. Even better, figure out a way to express the character’s dilemma or internal world through action in the external world.

CHALLENGE NUMBER FOUR - WHAT STORY?
Mark Twain is quoted as saying about Oakland, California, “There’s no there, there”. Similarly, some novels, even successful ones, are very shy on story and rely for the most part on style and character to create an effect. Some prose writers are so good at what they do, that their artful command of the language alone is enough to maintain reader interest. Such is never the case in screenwriting.

Successfully adapting a “no-story-there” novel to screenplay form is a daunting task. One approach is to move away from direct adaptation toward, “story based upon”. Use the brilliant background and characters created by the original author as a platform from which to launch a screen story. In fact, if for any reason a screenplay doesn’t lend itself to screenplay form, consider moving toward a “based upon” approach, rather than attempting a direct adaptation.

Congratulations! You’re now an expert on adapting novels to screenplay form! Well maybe not an expert, but hopefully you have a better understanding of how to approach the subject than you did ten minutes ago. And if the subject still seems too daunting, you can always get professional help as outlined on our web page http://www.coverscript.com/adaptation.html

Copyright © 2004 Lynne Pembroke and Jim Kalergis, Coverscript.com

About the Author

Lynne Pembroke is a writer, poet and screenwriter. Over 18 years of experience in screenwriting and screenplay analysis, helping individual writers and a variety of areas within the industry. Services include screenplay, TV script and treatment analysis, ghostwriting, rewriting and adaptation of novel to screenplay. Jim Kalergis is a working screenwriter experienced in the art of adaptation. Visit http://www.coverscript.com for details.

Mosquito spraying is one of the most commonly used methods to stop the breeding of these nasty insects. Due to the fact that there are chemicals that are spread over areas where people live, mosquito spraying raises a lot of question like : are those pesticides safe for my health? Does it affects my pets ? What about the objects left outside are they affected by mosquito spraying? And so on. In this article we will try to answer to some of these questions.

Mosquito spraying is done using mounted fogging units to apply insecticides as an ultra-low-volume (ULV) spray. These units spray units dispense very fine aerosol droplets (fog) that stay aloft and kill mosquitoes on contact. The amount of insecticide used in mosquito spraying is small compared to the area treated, usually about 3 to 5 ounces per acre, which minimizes exposure and risks to people and the environment. Mosquito spraying is also done by thermal foggers that use an oil carrier that is heated to disperse the pesticide in a dense smoke-like fog.

During mosquito spraying , flying mosquitoes within the treated area are killed. Although the local mosquito population is reduced for a few days, fogging does not prevent mosquitoes from re-entering the area.
The most commonly used products in mosquito spraying are pyrethrins, synthetic pyrethroid insecticides (such as Scourge ® and Anvil ®)and malathion. Pyrethrins are insecticides derived from the extract of chrysanthemum flowers. Pyrethroids are human made forms of pyrethrins. Both of them act as contact poisons, affecting the insect’s nervous system. For mosquito spraying they are combined with a synergist (such as piperonyl butoxide) that allows the insecticide to be more effective by restricting the enzyme that insects use to detoxify the pyrethrins.

Pyrethrins and pyrethroids are use in mosquito spraying without posing unreasonable risks to human health when applied according to the label although, in high dosage, pyrethroids can affect the nervous system, coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, chest pain, runny or stuffy nose. Regarding the wild life and the environment these two insecticides do not pose unreasonable risks, also. When used in mosquito spraying they are low in toxicity to mammals, and are practically nontoxic to birds. However they are toxic to fish and to bees. Therefore E.P.A (Environmental Protection Agency) prohibits the mosquito spraying to open water or within 100 feet of lakes, streams, rivers or bays.

Malathion is an organophosphate insecticide that has been registered for the first time in the United States in1956. It is used to kill insects on agricultural crops, on stored products, on golf courses, in home gardens, and in outdoor sites where trees and shrubs are grown at home and also used in mosquito spraying. Malathion comes in two forms: a pure form of a colorless liquid and a technical-grade solution (brownish-yellow liquid), which contains malathion (greater than 90%) and impurities in a solvent. The technical-grade malathion smells like garlic.

For mosquito spraying, this substance is applied at a maximum rate of 0.23 pounds (or about 2.5 fluid ounces) of active ingredient per acre, so it doesn’t pose unreasonable risk to human health. However, at high doses, malathion, like other organophosphates, can overstimulate the nervous system causing nausea, dizziness, or confusion. Severe high-dose poisoning with any organophosphate can cause convulsions, respiratory paralysis, and death. Malathion degrades rapidly in the environment, especially in moist soil, and it displays low toxicity to birds and mammals, but is highly toxic to beneficial insect (ex honey bees) too. Therefore E.P.A set a few regulations for the use of this product.

So these would be the most important aspects of mosquito spraying that you should be concerned about along with the main chemical components used in this process.

Raul Gallu is the author of control-home-mosquitos.blogspot.com
- a website full of information for those who got tired of mosquitoes and wanna do something to get rid of them.

Winner of two Academy Awards including Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Kevin Spacey), The Usual Suspects is not only one of the most intriguing films of the 1990s, but has built quite a cult following as well. With a parade of top-grade actors rounding out the cast, the film deploys a high level of suspense and attempts to keep its audience in limbo until its very last moments. Winner of the Academy Award for Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen (Christopher McQuarrie), The Usual Suspects is packed with an abundance of quotable one-liners and memorable scenes…

The Usual Suspects follows an unusual week in the lives of five criminals who team together for a big score. Following a waterfront explosion and the discovery of numerous dead bodies, the police take Roger “Verbal” Kint (Kevin Spacey) into custody for questioning. A cripple, the eyewitness tells his story to US Customs Agent Dave Kujan (Chazz Palminteri) during an interrogation that runs the length of the entire film.

Various flashback scenes tell the story of what happened in the week leading up to the massacre… Several months earlier, a truck was hijacked. Hoping to catch the true culprit, the local authorities round up “the usual suspects” for questioning. Among them are Dean Keaton (Gabriel Byrne), a former criminal turned legitimate; Mike McManus (Stephen Baldwin), a sharp shooter with his own criminal background; Fred Fenster (Benicio Del Toro), a street wise thief with a long rap sheet; and Todd Hockney (Kevin Pollak), a petty thief with his own track record of criminal activity. All four are gathered together in a lineup with Verbal Kint, a known petty criminal in his own right.

Hoping one of the suspects will crack, the lineup ends up bringing the men together for a new criminal enterprise. Keaton exhibits reluctance due to his recent love affair with a powerful attorney and his desire to leave the criminal life behind, but he eventually caves. Following their initial job, the men are approached by a man named Kobayashi (Pete Postlethwaite) who informs them that he represents the powerful lord of the underworld Keyser Soze. According to Kobayashi, each of the men was secretly working for Soze without his knowledge, and he intentionally gathered them together in order to perform a job for him. Soze will be extremely grateful if they pull off the job, which requires them to attack a foreign tanker loaded with cocaine. In exchange, the men can keep all cash onboard and Soze will receive the elimination of his chief competitor. With a detailed dossier on each man, Kobayashi explains that if the men do not cooperate, horrible things will befall their loved ones, each of whom he personally names.

As Kent continues to reveal the details of the ill-fated harbor mission, the audience learns that an eyewitness saw Keyser Soze at the harbor that night. As the police sketch artist completes his rendering, Kent and Kujan reach a surprising conclusion…

Directed by Bryan Singer, producer of such commercial hits as X-Men (2000) and X2 (2003), The Usual Suspects is, from a suspense standpoint as well as cinematic effect, one of the best written movies of its era. If you enjoy violent dramas, then it’s very doubtful you will not thoroughly enjoy this film. Memorable in every respect, The Usual Suspects deserves a high rating on the scale of must-see films. Treat yourself to an evening of intrigue, and give it a try…

About the Author

Britt Gillette is author of The DVD Report, a blog where you can find more reviews like this one of The Usual Suspects (DVD).

TOUCH TIME! Yeah! Its touch time once again. It’s the time to
polish maintain and accessorize our bikes. This is the moment
when we can have quality maintenance and repair time with our
bikes. We’ve got to feel the mean and affable machine up close..

To lay our very hands to our loyal companion make us certain
that the motorcycle parts are great and in good shape. It makes
us secure and confident of our every ride.

Motorcycle parts play a critical role in the motorcycle’s
performance and safety. It does not make sense if you try to
save a few bucks on cheap motorcycle parts in lieu of an
accident. The savings is not that valuable compared to your
life. Thus, you must purchase the best quality motorcycle parts
at your most trusted motorcycle parts store.

There are several reasons why you have to select the best
quality motorcycle parts. So do not be tightfisted in buying
motorcycle parts. They can save you from an otherwise
complicated and terrible ride. The best choice of motorcycle
parts are those of OEM parts. They are same as those originally
attached to your bike. However, if you want to deviate from the
ordinary, aftermarket motorcycle parts can be resorted to.
Aftermarket parts are those that you can utilize when you
customize your bike to achieve a more stylish and unique look.
Some of these parts have same quality as OEM parts. However,
there are also some that are of lesser quality. Be careful with
your choices. They can harm you and your bike if you mishandled
them.

OEM motorcycle parts feel and look different than aftermarket
parts. Taken in that perspective we can form query like - do
they perform differently? Well, the answer goes back to their
level of quality. Quality motorcycle parts perform excellently.
On the other hand, in so-so parts expect a lesser quality
performance. Thus, if you want to have a unique and stylish
motorcycle look, be meticulous about the quality. Next to
quality, you can now consider the price.

In ordering motorcycle parts and accessories, make sure that you
order the right ones. Better yet, just visit your motorcycle
parts store to personally throw queries and examine the parts.
That way you can be sure of its quality plus the chance of being
enlightened.

As a passionate rider, you must spend necessary touch time to
make sure everything is exactly what it is expected to be! Then
you can expect a fine performance.

Get your hands to work…

ATOMIC HIGH-SPIN TECHNOLOGY: - In 1950 B.C. there was a priest-king in Salem who understood the ‘highward fire-stone’ according to Gardner in ‘Genesis of the Grail Kings’. His name was Melchizedek, and there is a secret or inner sanctum group of Mormons who follow his lead. The Mason (Joseph Smith was a 33rd Degree Mason, Brigham Young was a Mason too.) who founded this religion followed a path tred frequently in the expansion of esoteric manipulation. It continues to this very day with the OTO offshoots, Scientology and many other cults who believe in some very ‘freaky’ things. Most of the lay people will never get to know the ulterior motives of those who lead such organizations. The whole of the United States is one of their experiments according to many authors who have done excellent research in the matter. We will leave that portion of the issue until the next segment even though it isn’t much of a ‘mystery’. There are many things a reader should consider before jumping (or attempting to) across that chasm.

“As to why the fire-stone was called ‘highward’ by the ancient Mesopotamians, we shall now discover as we enter the realm of high-spin metallurgy. {Solomon was a very adept person in metallurgy and other things of this order known as Rosicrucianism or Christian ‘mystery schools’ of the Masonic ‘octopus’. I use ‘octopus’ as a way of trying not to have to list names and titles that would fill this book.}

THE TRANSMUTATION OF GOLD

Before commencing this section, it must be stressed that because of the potentially dangerous nature of an enterprise which deals with high-spin atoms, the explanations will be purposefully veiled and guarded. The following is, therefore, presented as a general overview, without detailing specific weights, temperatures, conditions or laboratory burn-times. This will prevent any ill-advised experimentation by unqualified enthusiasts and will avoid the contravention of prevailing international patents which govern the practice. {Yes, Modern science is able to do the alchemical ‘Great Work’ as a purely physical thing now.}

To begin, we should consider statements concerning the Philosophers’ Stone made by the alchemists Lapidus and Eirenaeus Philalethes: ‘The Philosophers’ Stone is no stone, but a powder with the power to transmute base metals into gold and silver,’ (25) and,

The stone which is to be the transformer of metals into gold must be sought in the precious metals in which it is enclosed and contained. It is called a stone by virtue of its fixed nature, and it resists the action of fire as successfully as any stone - but its appearance is that of a very fine powder, impalpable to the touch (imperceptible, like talcum powder), fragrant as to smell, in potency a most penetrative spirit, apparently dry, and yet unctuous, and easily capable of tingeing a plate of metal. The stone does not exist in nature, but has to be prepared by art, in obedience to nature’s laws. Thus, you see our stone is made of gold alone, yet it is not common gold. (26)

Each of these testimonies refers to the enigmatic stone being, in actuality, a fine powder, and in talking of the precious metals within which the stone is contained, modern practitioners refer not only to gold and silver but also to those metals which comprise the platinum group. These metals, along with platinum itself, are palladium {Remember this when we get to cold fusion, under the Lithium heading.}, iridium, osmium, rhodium and ruthenium - and because of their ultimate strengths they are used in surgical, optical and dental instruments, crucibles and thermo-couples, machine-bearings, electrical switch contacts and all manner of precision devices down to the tipping of needles and pen-nibs.

The metal that, in jewellery manufacture, is commonly known as ‘white gold’ is an alloy of gold coupled with palladium, which is said to have been first discovered in Brazil, California and the Urals in 1803, and was named after the asteroid Pallas in that year. Iridium, osmium and rhodium are also given the same date of discovery, with ruthenium following in 1843. However, the platinum-group metals were not truly discovered in the nineteenth century, this was at least one of them, namely iridium, was rediscovered, for iridium was originally a key fire-stone of ancient Sumer. Because of its bright silvery colour and the then non-invention of its latter-day name (applied in 1803 by virtue of its iridescence), the mysteriously described shining metal was long presumed from the old records to have been tin.

Iridium is a very rare element on Earth, but geologists have discovered its existence in quantities up to thirty times the norm in crust layers where extraterrestrial meteorites containing the substance have landed in the distant past. (27) Iridium is, therefore, not so uncommon outside our own planet {He later notes that rhodium and iridium make up 5% of the brain’s clarified weight and suggests our alien ancestors needed it to maintain their power or Divine nature. This is one reason for eating live animal pineal glands to enhance psychic ability. If those ‘animals’ have some of their own DNA it is better; so you might know why they harvest fetal material from Scarlet Women now.} The Sumerians and ancient Egypt clearly knew about the properties of gold and of how to alloy it with other noble metals. The Master Craftsmen were adepts too in the workings of iridium, which just like gold, could be taken to the exotic ‘highward’ state of the ’shem-an-na’.

This means that they not only knew and worked with these metals, but that they understood the science of atoms and nuclei - for the ‘highward’ state of the white powder is only achieved through knowledge of the high-spin metallurgical experience. Only by understanding this part-physical and part-metaphysical science can one take a physical something and turn it into nothing by applying the principle of 0=(+1) + (-1). {The IO Torus, Logos and Harmonics are all associated}Interestingly, the high-spin powder of gold has a distinct effect upon the pineal gland {See entry on Thalami} and its increased melatonin production, while the equivalent powder of iridium has its similar effect on the serotonin production of the pituitary gland.

Although the current names of the platinum-group metals are relatively new to us, the metals themselves are far from new. Recent tests have shown that, by dry-matter weight, over 5 per cent of our brain tissue is composed of iridium and rhodium in the high-spin state. (28)

So, what precisely is the highward or high-spin state which converts these noble metals into an impalpable white powder? A normal atom has around it a screening potential - a positive screening produced by the nucleus. The majority of electrons going round the nucleus are within this screening potential, except for the very outer electrons. The nucleus goes to the highward or high-spin state when the positive screening potential expands to bring all of the electrons under the control of the nucleus. {Refer to Solid State chemistry and the work of Don Robins as it relates to ’scavengers’, microphages in the genetic structure also have an effect that may be similar. Can the meta-mind attune these electrons and bring their forward and reverse spins into conjunction?}

These electrons normally travel around the nucleus in pairs - a spin-forward electron and a spin-reverse electron. But when these come under the influence of a high-spin nucleus {Is this a conscious act?}, all the spin-forward electrons become correlated with the spin-reverse electrons. When perfectly correlated, the electrons turn to pure ‘white light’ and it is impossible for the individual atoms in the high-spin substance to link together.” (29)

Whether or not they can do these things today: they (Alchemists or Rosicrucians of the Great White Brotherhood of Master Craftsmen) certainly have done such things in the past. Did they learn the process from the remnants of a previous ‘modern’ human? That seems more likely to us than the alien explanation they want us to accept. Was there a program to keep these things super secret? There certainly should have been. In Morning of the Magicians Pauwels and Bergier tell about a meeting they had with Fulcanelli as well as a presentation he made to the Paris Academy of Sciences. One of these authors was a member of Heisenberg’s team of scientists working on splitting the atom and the other was the editor of ‘Earth’ magazine. Fulcanelli warned about the dangers of the atomic forces that science was about to unleash and he explained how the Cathedrals were constructed to include the knowledge they were seeking. I’ve read his book which purports to include the keys to this knowledge. It is extremely cryptic in nature but I think if one was to be able to create the green vitreole of the stained glass windows (no easy art, but available in other places) then it might be true.

If these things are the explanation for Sodom and Gomorrah, or the vitrified rocks then we have some real concerns to address about our leaders and their willingness to do one thing and say another. It is very unlikely that this knowledge has not been the object of secret agents and the desire of monarchs and others’ concerns for many millennia. We know Crowley, Hitler, and guys like Barrett (’Secret Societies’) join the likes of Bacon and Dee in these quests. Truly power does corrupt and we know that when a few people have the power to do these kinds of things, it will eventually become a factor. The present situation seems to indicate that many people will have access to terrific uses of technology and we must not be as nave as the audience of Britannica was at the start of the 20th century when they wrote that torture was a thing of the past, as far as ‘civilized’ Europe was concerned.

Author of Diverse Druids
Columnist for The ES Press Magazine
Guest ‘expert’ at World-Mysteries.com

If you want to dramatically increase the overall readership of your ads…then this article will show you how.

Listen to this: One of my favorite all time copywriters is John Caples. In fact, I can’t think of one serious copywriter today who isn’t influenced by Caples in a big way.

And there is one powerful (yet little-talked about) strategy Caples used in many of his ads that, when applied today, practically glues people to your ad — reading every single word of it all the way through.

What is this strategy?

You simply structure your ads in such a way where you:

1.) Begin with NO “sales talk” whatsoever — and just give information.

2.) Then start to intermingle sales talk with information.

3.) Finally, after you’ve got your reader thoroughly interested and wanting more of what you have to say…you switch to pure sales talk and close the deal.

Sound simple?

It is simple. Which is probably why it’s so rarely used anymore.

You see, when you begin your ads in a way where people have no idea they’re reading a “sales letter”, you exponentially increase the chances of people interested in the subject you’re writing about reading your ad.

Why?

Because — and this varies from market to market — only about 5% of the people in your market will buy anything and everything. The other 95% need to be persuaded. And if you come right out the gate trying to “sell” them something — they will almost always automatically back away.

BUT — if you approach them as a friend, as someone who has some really fascinating information you want to share with them — then people will warm up to you, and hear you out.

It’s a lot like if you see a stray dog on the street who is scared. If you run up to him and try to pet him and stroke his coat, without letting him get to know you first, he’s probably going to run away from you. Maybe even bite you.

On the other hand, if you slowly walk up to that dog, let him sniff your hand first, offer him a milk bone and wait for him to start wagging his tail, then you will have made a new friend.

Same thing goes for selling.

Which is why if you get in “sync” with your readers first (using Caples’ formula), you’ll get more people reading and responding to your ads.

Ben Settle is an expert copywriter and direct marketer. If you liked this article then check out Ben’s website at http://bensettle.com — and get your hands on over 500 pages of advertising ideas, strategies and tactics just like this one — as well as rare swipe file ads and hot marketing information not easily found anywhere else.