How does a writer turn the ordinary into something extraordinary? There are many films based on true stories that are inherently dramatic, such as Titanic, Goodfellas, or Apollo 13, just to name a few. But there are just as many films based on true stories that take an unknown hero or heroine and show their journey of triumph with dramatic and successful results. One example is The Pursuit of Happyness, which grossed over 300 million dollars worldwide.
Turning True Story Into Film
Many people feel they have a great story to tell, if only they could get it down. How will they know if it’s worthy of the big screen? There are a few elements to look for, such as character growth, valuable lessons learned, visuals and action conducive to film, and surprising, unique situations. But beyond that, it’s up to the writer to take a true story and make it engrossing for the audience. The writer must capture the most meaningful moments and condense long periods of time down into just a few well-paced scenes. The writer must inspire what really happened with imaginative, evocative details.
Film Based on Autobiography
For example, in The Pursuit of Happyness, screenplay by Steven Conrad, based on the autobiography by Chris Gardner, Will Smith plays Chris, who is down on his luck in San Francisco, with a young son and a dead-end career selling medical supplies. He applies for, and amazingly secures, an internship with Dean Witter, which if completed successfully, will garner him a seat at the table of the financial firm.
However, Chris is broke, with barely a clean shirt to put on his back, and therein lies the film’s essential dramatic question. How will this man, who becomes homeless before our very eyes, care for his son as a single parent AND keep up the pretense of respectability enough to complete his internship and get the job?
Create a Strong Hook in a Film Based on Real Life
At the heart of any great film is the dramatic question, and the careful screenwriter takes any event, be it the sinking of a grand cruise ship, or the efforts of a single man to provide for his son, and shapes it, early in the story, into a hook, or dramatic question, which keeps audiences on the edge of their seats.
Another essential filmic writing technique employed in The Pursuit of Happyness is the creation of a visual metaphor. For Will Smith’s character Chris, the streets of San Francisco, filled with traffic, delays to day care and his office, lines outside shelters, buses and cable cars that wait for no one, all combine to evoke frantic imagery of an obstacle course, paved with the downtrodden on Chris’ hellish journey to financial security.
Focus the Facts for an Autobiographical Screenplay
It’s also useful to note that there is very little mention of Gardner’s past, or extensive development of the relationship with his wife, who leaves him early in the film. The story stays focused on Chris and his son, (played by Will Smith’s own son) and Chris and his pursuit of happiness. This sharp focus along a plotline also works to enhance the dramatic impact of this true story.
Finally, time is almost always reshaped when transforming true story into screenplay. Events which actually happened to Gardner over several years were dramatized in the course of several months, and the age of Gardner’s son was changed from a toddler to a five-year-old.
Candace Kearns Read - I am the creator of the website and blog: The Movie of Your Life: Shaping True Story into Screenplay. Are you interested in writing ...
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