Sometimes, A Title Can Be Everything
So the word going around now is that Samuel L. Jackson signed on to do SNAKES ON A PLANE without opening the cover.
"I didn't even read the script - I just saw the title "Snakes on a Plane" and said "Okay, I'm there'" says Jackson.
(Of course, one assumes that there was probably a nice cash offer already attached).
Still, titles can be everything. I often go to my CD collection when looking for titles; skim a song list, and often something jumps out at you.
I'm having a problem with titling my supernatural thriller, though. No one really seems to like my current title, "Hiding Billy", and I guess I sort of agree.
While being vague about the plot to those who haven't read it, suffice it to say that it's sort of a cross between "The Sixth Sense" and "Sleeping With the Enemy".
Anyone have any ideas?
If I pick yours, I'll name a character after you....
posted by Scott the Reader @ 10:05 AM
94 Comments:
HIDING BILLY is a pretty bad title for a supernatural horror-it somehow sounds like a broad comedy to me, maybe because "Billy" is a name with a little bit of built-in goofball factor.
But "Hidden" is a good word in a thriller title. THE HIDDEN ENEMY, maybe? Or how about just HIDING ? Or THE SECRET ENEMY?
I love titles. It's one of the best parts of writing I reckon. I even like giving things titles WITHIN my screenplays - names of shops etc, like my sausage shop Scott ; )
Supernatural thriller hey...how about HIDDEN DEPTHS?
HIDDEN SENSES? No idea of what it is about though, just a guess. Best of luck.
cheers
Dave
Yikes. Okay. No more titles riffing on the word "Hide".
Is there a recurring visual theme in your story? If so that can make for a nice title ala THE RING.
I'm guessing the film involves a young boy as a main character -- so perhaps something that plays on childhood fears: THE SHADOWS IN THE HALL.
Actually, a woman is the main character; she's helping to hide a boy from his crazed father. There are ghosts involved.
GHOST STALKER
MY DEAD PSYCHO BOYFRIEND
HEAVENLY RESTRAINING ORDER
ok... my dead stalker boyfriend doesn't work. so...
you could go with the one-word mystery like
FOSTER (as in, foster family)
or
THWARTED (for, thwarted efforts)
Maybe something riffing on classic Dylan then: God said to Abraham, KILL ME A SON?
hmm... Not knowing the specifics is fun. Like I'm writing my own script in my head.
VANISH-ENVY
WHEN GHOSTS FEAR THE LIVING
VANISH OR DIE
A LIFE AND DEATH STRUGGLE
BECOMING A GHOST
FATHER, SON AND HOLY SPIRITS!!!!!!!!
And...i'm spent
Joel Thomas is a boring character name, but, heh, after that last one, you're stuck with it.
CLINCH?
DEADLY VISITS?
HAUNTED?
Thicker Than Water
Blood bond
bound by blood
his eyes (as in, his father's eyes)
Dad
Woodshed (I don't know if there is a woodshed in your story, but I've always liked the title and you can have it if you wish)
Ties That Bind
&
The One Incredible Night Daddy Tried to Kill Me . . .
SPECTRE VISION
AFTERSIGHT
SECRET WORLD
GUIDING SPIRITS
or
THE EYES OF MAURA LARS*
.
.
.
title wave B
* yeah, yeah, that would require a minor character re-badging for you, but COME ON, BAYBEE! That's gold! GOLD!
HAUNTED isn't bad... except there are 8 different movies in imdb with that title.
Maybe GONE.
Jeez, HIDING BILLY isn't looking so bad all of a sudden.
Almost impossible to think of a title without knowing the story other then randomly lucking upon one.
All I could do is offer some sugguestions. Perhaps some play on Protectors or Guardians.
Yeah, I agree that the title kinda completely bites. I think it's a problem of ... a buncha things, really. It doesn't flow trippingly off the tongue, and it isn't ironic or riffing on any well-known phrases.
I haven't read the script, but would alliteration help? In other words, if you want to keep HIDING in the title, would changing the kid's name to Harry or Hank help? HIDING HAROLD is a better title than HIDING BILLY.
The woman is protecting the boy, right? How about something like:
GUARDIAN
SALVATION
SANCTUARY
Or you could just name the movie after the kid: BILLY. Like Billy Madison or Billy Bathgate or Billy Elloitt ...
I think it's impossible to set a title unless you know a detailed plot, but do I've got to lose.
Releasing the Boy.
Releasing Billy.
Hide Away.
Punish.
Time of Punishment.
Against Punishment.
Permanent Inheritance.
Of course, if you're in need of something really good, you have to tell us more.
Home Secluded Home
Lost and not to be Found
Unfounded
5150 Jr.
Daddy's weekend
It's really hard knowing so little, but I know being too close causes problems as well. Play around with titles from the dad's POV or an outsider's POV. Maybe something to do with the surroundings, something only Billy can see.
Good Luck
Between the Shadows
?
What the hell, one more... Grounded.
Riffing here...
(THE) HIDDEN CHILD
(THE) INVISIBLE CHILD
(THE) GHOST CHILD
(THE) GHOST GUARDIAN
GUARDIAN OF THE GHOST
RUN(NING) FROM SHADOWS
(Leaning toward something closer to the last few, because it's her story, not Billy's...)
Titles are interesting things too, because often titles that just seem dumb, wind up working once you have seen the movie.
Lethal Weapon is sort of a dumb title. The Shawshank Redemption. Sleeping With the Enemy. The Sixth Sense is even kind of generic and basic. Pretty Woman. Working Girl. Say Anything.
The Invisible
David Goyer is currently directing a movie by that title.
If you ask me, I like titles that don’t have any particular meaning in the movie. Maybe it's something a character says or what starts it all up.
Your post begs the question, which came first, "Snakes on a Plane" or "Alligators in a Hellicopter?" Forgive me if you've already explained...I'm new to your blog!
How bout
NOT BY BLOOD
ENTITY
RIVER GHOST
THE HIDDEN
GHOST HAUNT
SLIVER
ON MY WATCH
My blog title is an ironic riff on Snakes in a Plane, of course. Though blog titles are tough too.
The Hidden and Sliver were already movies. Getting closer, though.
Another couple came to me:
IMMORTAL DANGER
HINDERED SPIRITS
Warmer? Colder?
I'm trying to think of something that feels like that awesome chase scene... I think that's the tone you want to capture in the title.
(LOL!!! The word verification I just had to type was "xohorno" Snort!)
Colder. Colder. Ice cold.
The only "ing" words worth even considereing for a title are "king" and "ring".
Mind you, without knowing the story I can't really help that much...
THE FATHER, THE SON, AND THE UNHOLY...
SOUL DECEPTION
SPIRITUAL DENIAL
WHOLE, IN THE WALL
THE BRATS IN THE WALLS
and, of course.
BILLY GO GRUFF
The first thing I thought of was SHELTER. I haven't read the script, but it seems easily modified to make a better fit.
MAKING THE NIGHT (or whatever time period you feel is appropriate)
BILLY'S SECRET
or
(FEMALE CHARACTER)'S SECRET
depending on the images used, something like
BEHIND THE BROKEN DOOR
or
DANGEROUS EYES/ DANGEROUS LIES/ DANGEROUS LIVES
or
BROKEN GLASS/SHATTERED GLASS
I like the image of broken, because of broken families, dreams, hearts. If anything breaks prominently in the script, I'd use that in my title. Like "broken vase" or something.
ESCAPING DAD(DY)
PERFECT PRISON
NEVER GOING BACK
WHEN IT RAINS, IT POURS
THE GHOST WITHIN /THE SPIRIT WITHIN
HIDING IN THE SHADOWS
(The)SHADOWS IN MY MIND/HEART
SHADED SANCTUARY
DEFENDING THE BOY / DEFENDING BILLY
It's really hard to do this without knowing if it is the woman or the boy who's at the center of the story... :(
A few more:
GHASTLY GETAWAY/DELIVERANCE
DADDY'S WRATH/DADDY'S WRAITH
SPECTRAL SALVATION
ONE WAY TRIP/ROAD/PATH/VOYAGE
I bolded my favorites, to make it easier to read. Sorry if my ideas are crap :(
I'll take any feedback though!
Ok, this is just what popped into my head...
THE SCION (or just SCION)
MATERNAL INSTINCTS
LEGAL GUARDIAN
They probaby suck, but, hey you asked!
Say Anything is one of my favorite titles ever -
Original title of Shawshank was Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption.
I still like Thicker Than Water (as in blood is) -
why not just DADDY?
or IRRECONCIABLE?
I like the one-word title thing. Try some of those.
Lost Shelter
Or: Family Sucks.
How about: Fuck Off, Dad!
I got it: Untitled Scott The Reader Project
If a woman is the main character, perhaps titles pertaining to a woman's maternal instinct would be more apt.
MATERNAL is about as straightforward as you can get.
Or you could go the very 70s/80s route and pick a declarative statement like:
HE'S MINE
I think it's a good instinct to get away from the gerunds. Titles with -ing verbs are passe, eh? I've had whole conversations with people about this. We (my mysterious "people") have decided that gerunds are out, and clever plays on words are out (like "Crossing Jordan" and "Judging Amy")
It's about screwed-up family dynamics with a supernatural twist, so my inclination is UNSPOKEN CURSES.
Or, of course, it's about concealing a child so he won't be killed, so perhaps something along the lines of FATHER HEROD.
Or if the ghosts are in some way monitoring the kid, I like the ring of THE WATCHFUL DEAD.
Hiding a child (who presumably sees ghosts no one else can) in one word:
Unseen.
Also, potentially thematic regarding family secrets and all that stuff. Hope you find a title. Or one finds you.
-Norm
Here are some one-worders.
Crawl
Captivation
Possession/ed
Preoccupied
Of course you can use them in two-worders too.
How about:
Haunt
Crazed
Father
Atonement
Fiend
Or am I just using tags...?
HAUNTED LIVES
DEADLY VISITS?
FLIGHT
PANIC
WHISPERS
DEADLY WHISPERS
FLIGHT, FIGHT OR DIE
LULLABY
A Shadow's Whisper
Shades of Fear
Shattered Shadows
A Shattered Shadow
Forgotten Fears
"Actually, a woman is the main character; she's helping to hide a boy from his crazed father. There are ghosts involved."
OK, I'm not going to read the bazillion suggestions preceding mine, so apologies to other posters if I duplicate.
First, the goofy titles:
Crazed and Confused
Paternity Blues
Father Knows Beast
Now, my not so goofy titles:
• Mine
• Hold Harmless
• Blood Between
• Outlive the Son
• The Reach (hmm, enough 'The ...' titles already!)
• Visiting Rites
For 1 word titles:
SANCTUARY
SHADOWS /IN THE SHADOWS
RUN
HIDE
(RUN/HIDE)?
BEWILDERED
MORTIFIED
MISGUIDED
UNHINGED
MYSFIT
DISUNITY
ACCOMODATIONS
TOUGH
TOUGH LOVE
BREACH
RUPTURE
TURMOIL
WANTED
DEPRIVED
PRECOGNITION
BREATHE
BREATHLESS
DEPARTED
DEARLY DEPARTED
BITE THE DUST
PUTREFIED
CURDLE AND CRUMBLE
How about...
Dance with the Devil
Deliver From Evil
Little Boy Blue
Ha! Naila beat me to it -- I just came in to suggest:
RUN
HIDE
RUN AND HIDE
Although I think the first two are closer to nailing the right tone.
Or... Maybe--
HIDE FROM SIGHT
--leveraging the dual meaning of "sight."
I LOVE "Deliver From Evil"
How about PARTI PRIS
It means "hidden agenda" in Latin (I think). Plus it kind of sounds like the child and woman can't be PARTED or PRISED apart...
Or is that just grasping at straws??
Wow this is hard (and thanks for all your efforts. Don't give up now).
I just looked through all my CDs, as well as the list here, to see what resonates.
It's tough because it needs to be something that suggests the tone and genre of the story, without being too on-the-nose.
This is my short list. I'm not married to any of them yet, but maybe it'll give the idea of the tone I'm looking for....
SHELTER
DISAPPEAR
SALVATION
DAYLIGHT FADING
THURSDAY'S CHILD
HAUNT
GONE
By the way, I like THURSDAY'S CHILD a lot, because it resonates (the full quote from the poem is "Thursday's child has far to go").
Unfortunately, I'm not the first person to think of this, and there seem to be at least several novels with the same title.
I'm wondering how much title-duplication-worry should be a concern, particularly if the title is in another medium.
Hey, if THURSDAY'S CHILD is taken, you have six other days to choose from ... :-)
how bout THE HIDING PLACE? spooky, kind of menacing.. doesn't really imply ghosts though. HIDING IN CASKETS? Where does she hide him? ATTIC? Other words that mean hidden? SECRETED, or SECRETED AWAY? (too close to Spirited Away?).
So far the best title I've seen in this list was in the first post, HIDING.
Probably the wrong tone, by
CURTAIN CALL
NIGHTFALL
DO NOT GO GENTLE INTO THAT GOOD NIGHT (or some paraphrase)
HOME
This is like picking lottery numbers.
In Plain Sight
Away From Here
Under the Sun
Run Away
Seek and Find
Olly Olly Oxen Free
Holed Up
Chasing Dawn
Chasing Shadows
Someplace Else
The Hide Out
Side of the Road
Free Run
The Hunting/Hunter
i'd just warn you against two-word titles, because to me, they bring to mind images of Lifetime or USA movies. titles like CRUEL INTENT or DEADLY SECRETS, stuff like that.
why not look at some list of the Top 100 Thrillers of all time and see what kind of titles they used?
maybe look at scarier song lyrcis. some of the Rolling Stones old stuff is sort of weird and freaky.
MOTHER'S LITTLE HELPER, too bad that doesn't work. that's a great title. better for a horror movie though.
And no animals in the title, ever!
Sticking with one words:
Faded
Trace
Clemency
Absolution
Condemned
Chide
I'll get my coat.
HUSH
HUSH... LITTLE BABY
RUN
LAST LEG
PIECES
RUNNERS
SURVIVE
FOR SURVIVAL
NATURAL LAW
FAMILY TREE
ENDURE
UNSTABLE
EXIST
EXISTENCE
WINNER TAKES ALL
RACE
SLEEPING WITH SIX SNAKES ON AN ENEMY PLANE.
Concealment
Soem interesting titles getting thrown around, and some god-awful ones.
I like Shelter. I suggested Lost Shelter.
Or try Broken Shelter.
Or Broken.
Or Ain't No Thing But A Chicken Wing.
Play up the female protective nature towards children:
MATERNAL INSTINCT
MOTHER TIGER
HELL HATH NO FURY
(IN)SECURE
~Portia C.~
"The Quiet Place"
"fadeaway"
Both are titles that I've had for a while, but have never quite figured out a story for. Hope they can be of use to you.
I do this quite a lot. I come up with what I feel is a strong title and then figure out a story later. Sometimes I also try and imagine a poster for the movie. I guess I have a little bit of Samuel Arkoff in me.
SHELTERING SUN
FADING SUN
THE WANING
VENOM
UNSEEN
HARBOR
HARBORING SUN
S Warren,
I've done that, too. I've come up with a kick-ass title and then said, okay, what's the story now?! I wrote a post about it too. doesn't always happen that way, but sometimes it does.
His Father's Shadow
How about AEGIS?
Forget the fact that 75% of the nation will have no idea what it means. (I wouldn't know if it hadn't been my high school yearbook name.) It just sounds creepy.
I really like AEGIS.
It's catchy, and the fact that no one knows what it means is even better!
I had to look it up ;)
But yes... Aegis would be my choice
BLOOD TIES
GONE
HIDDEN
KEEP AWAY
DADDY'S LITTLE SECRET
HIDE AND SEEK
HIDE AND GO SEEK
HIDE AND GO SECRETS
~Portia~
Recycling my own material: "Lizards in The Lexus"
Half-serious: "Cold Eternity"
Not that mine are any good, but 88% of these sound like bad cable soft-porn movies.
Here's an idea, change the kid's name and call it the name of the 1st person who posted on this topic:
JACOB
I've got it!
I've got it!
You should call it;
Sleeping with Six Enemies
ANONYMOUS
That's what Billy needs to become and that's how the dead father feels. Yup. That's the title. Done deal. End of thread. No need to improve upon it.
admit it.
This was just a clever game to see how many folks were reading your blog.
LEGACY
And why don't you have an RSS feed? I keep spelling alligator with one 'l,' and getting the dreaded 'not found' page. Argh.
If you use my title -- LEGACY -- then instead of a char name, get an RSS feed, k?
Blood Guide
Guarded
Rest In Piece (sorry, I couldn't resist)
Hidden Instincts
Ghostly Influences
Shattered
Abandoned
Can't See Me
Swayze
Trapper John, MD
The Ghost that ate the Sandwich
The Third Trinity
The Thrill is Gone
The Wraith of Crazy Sam
Ocean Spray Cran-Grape Juice
Great discussion. It absolutely proves that getting the right title is a big fat hairy bitch in heat.
To Kristen: I am absolutely stealing MOTHER'S LITTLE HELPER and writing a horror movie around it. Deal with it. You're correct - it's a great title. Hell, I can even see the poster ...
Scott, I promise to read your script and come up with the perfect title for you. Happy Birthday.
-danny boy
You can use MOTHER'S LITTLE HELPER, that's fine. I'll just work my way through the rest of the Stones songs. Maybe I'll start with NINETEENTH NERVOUS BREAKDOWN.
I'm glad somebody likes AEGIS, and I second Pat Rodio's last comment.
THERE'S NO SENSE IN SLEEPING WITH 6 ENEMIES.
I'm thinking of starting a blog called Salamander In A Spaceship and I'm hoping Samuel L. Jackson will read it.
"THE OSCAR once was given for title writing. By 'once' I mean one time only. Joseph Farnham won it in 1927 for "Wings," among other films."
-from the Chronicle
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/03/05/PKGU9GILVC1.DTL
Well I think titles there refers to the ones on the screen during silent movies... ir am I wrong?
no, you're right. it's titles writing for silent film. screenwriting's predecessor.
"You can use MOTHER'S LITTLE HELPER, that's fine."
Thanks, Kristen!
If I sell it, I'll ... uh ... send you a postcard that says "Thanks, Kristen!"
-danny boy
"Well I think titles there refers to the ones on the screen during silent movies... ir am I wrong?"
My bad, I didn't cross-reference it.
The correct answer for what to title your project is "Eight."
How about:
DADDY'S BOY
MAMA'S BOY
WAIT UNTIL YOUR FATHER GETS HOME -oops,that's not a title, that's what I'm currently yelling at the kids.
FATHER'S DAY (oops, that should be a slasher flick)
Go ahead and name a character Mom anyway.
Some of these might be repeats-
I SHELTER
SHELTER ME
COVER OF DARKNESS
SHELTER MY SOUL
SHELTERING ARMS
TWILIGHT SHELTER
SALVATION'S CHILD (tongue twister!)
TWILIGHT & THE CHILD
SHELTER & THE CHILD
THE DISAPPEARED (tho it might conjure up images of S. Amer political prisoners.)
STAY HIDDEN
WHAT'S HIDDEN
SAFETY
INVISIBLE SHELTER (back to shelter again... yeeesh.)
I really really like...
FADEAWAY by S.Warren. It's evocative w/o being too on the nose. It alludes to Billy's situation of hiding from his dad, & at the same time, ghosts, death & all that. An alternative would be the even shorter--
FADE
or...
FADED
And to riff on that--
ASTRAY
DISSLOVE
WANE
WITHER
DIMMER
DIMINISH
PERISH
VANISH
OPAQUE
OBSCURE
TRANSLUSCENT
LUMINESCENCE (I think this is a brand of lipstick.)
LUMINOSITY
IRIDESCENT
IRIDESCENCE
I cheated & used a thesaurus on the last dozen. :-)
Good luck w/ that title thing!
How about...
AFTER BILLY
? It has a play on words and everything!
In keeping with your comment that, “often titles that just seem dumb, wind up working once you have seen the movie”
Restraining Prayer
I Know
Father Kills Best
What You Don’t Know
A Curse and A Prayer
Ghosts
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