This is work.  I will present this assignment to lierature students in the morning.  We will spend the second half of class in the library so they can find materials. 

First

Review the Academy Awards for Adapted Screenplayshttp://www.listal.com/list/academy-award-writing

 Second – Obtain Materials

Choose a movie that interests you.  You will read the original text, view the adapted film, and if possible review the adapted screenplay.

 1.       You will need to examine the list of adapted screenplays and search for the original texts in the library.  If a text you want is not currently available at our library please meet with the librarian soon to see if you can obtain the text for free through interlibrary loan.

2.        You can Google for videos of most older films (YouTube is a frequent source) or use inexpensive outlets such as Netflix to obtain a copy of the film.

 3.        You can find the screenplay by using library resources or by Googling the name of the movie followed by the term screenplay.  You may have to request the screenplay through interlibrary loan.

Third -- Make a Reference List

Your reference list for the research paper should include at least four sources: 

1.  the original text

2.  the film

3. the screenplay

4. Portable Literature. 

 Use the Purdue OWL and citation generators available through library resources to generate a proper resource list.  We will work in class on how to properly cite research sources in the text of the research paper.  You can also include two other research sources about the movie. 

 The majority of this paper (70%) should be your own presentation and analysis of the four main sources.  The other two sources can be quoted as supporting evidence for assertions you personally make in your analysis.  This is not a copy and paste research paper and your original assertions should be the driving force of the paper.

Fourth – Write Your Rough Draft

This paper is a logical extension of your first two papers.

In the first paper you explicated a favorite song/poem from the textbook that explored a similar theme for the use of voice, word choice/word order, imagery and figures of speech.

In the second paper you revised a fairy tale for the elements of plot, character, setting, and point of view.  You then performed an analysis of your own work discussing how revision of each element of the story works with or against other elements of the story.

In this third paper you should find a change in the story from the original text to the adapted screenplay that interests you.   

For example if I was writing this paper the change of the Uncle’s flat  character in Hamlet to the fully rounded Scar in The Lion King was interesting because many other aspects of the movie were also changed.

  We will discuss the four elements of drama in class: plot, character, staging, and theme.  In my paper I would discuss how the rounding of character supported a dominant theme of good/young vs. old/evil that was one of several themes in the play that became of most important in the film. 

 When you examine your movie and screenplay feel free to focus on any of the elements.  A change in setting would be considered a change in staging.

You should not simply summarize the original text and movie in your paper because that will not result in a desirable grade.  You should

1.       Discuss the change from the original text to the movie that you found to be significant in detail.

2.       Provide quoted material from the original text and screenplay to support your discussion of the change.

3.       Provide quoted material from Portable Literature to support your discussion of the elements of drama changed and affected by the change.

4.       Discuss how the use of voice, word choice/word order, imagery or figures of speech affected the screenplay adapted from the original text.

 The rough draft is due by Thursday 11/18.  Your rough draft should at least address the first two tasks of the assignment.  You MUST turn in your rough draft on time and in class in order to be able to turn in a final draft for a grade.

The final draft is due by Tuesday 11/30.