General Discussion

Hi

I wrote a zombie movie and right now we're in pre production.

The Director told me that there are to many curse words in the script. Now this is a rated R zombie film;

The words he had a problem with were "hell" and "damn" that were repeated a number of times.

I only used the F word 3 times in the whole script.

I understand the fact that that we shouldn't use the same words over and over again.

What do you think of this and swearing in movies. does hell and damn still count as swears?

Templar Entertainment here is our facebook page if anyone is in the Chicago area and interested in being a zombie extra :).

I think swearing in films is alright as long as it isn't being used as a crutch. It's a good method of characterization--harsh dudes use harsh language. It can be used to set a tone, but when used too much it just comes across as lazy writing. Hell and damn are fine words to use in a script, but, like any strong words, shouldn't be used as a crutch.

i agree with what @Red says. and I think the MPAA considers the max numbers a PG13 film can use the f word is 2.

depending on the script, damn and hell are viable words to use, provided you use them well and not have them thrown about

Nobody cares as long as it's good. If the cursing is excessive and gets annoying, then it's bad. A local filmmaker (she is A-list) made a great short film where the only word said by any character was 'fuck'. It was well made, so everyone was impressed and the short was well received at festivals.

As long as the dialogue sounds natural, then swearing isn't a problem.

@GiveUpNed: What is the name of that film? I would really like to see that lol

As long as the swearing sounds natural then I think it's fine. Can depend on the performers too I suppose. But swearing can sometimes come off as forced if used excessively in a short amount of time. In a zombie film though, I think hell and damn are fine. Characters are bound to say "what the hell is that? What the hell is that noise? Where the hell is he?" They're in a state of panic and stress where swearing seems appropriate and a natural response.

But I'm not filmmaker.

One of my favorite scenes in "The Wire"'s only lines of dialogue are "motherfucker."

It's all about the context.

If any word is repeated too often and becomes a distraction then it should be edited. Whether 'damn' or 'hell' are curse words is almost irrelevant. And personally I think it's completely irrelevant if it's an R-rated movie. It could be that your director was just looking for a blanket term to explain those two instances in particular, and in that case again, it's the content, not the label that's the problem.

You do have to be careful not to use 'curses' as an alternate to good character development or as a replacement for style, but that's not something I can level at your work having not seen it.

If zombies were chasing me I know i'd be releasing a never ending stream of F-bombs, so I say rock on. Don't dip your toes into the R-rating, dive right in.

'Hell' and 'damn' are rather pedestrian terms. Like 'oh poo' or 'crap, zombies.' You can dirty it down, or you can finesse it. If the director's girlfriend (I am not starting with that beehive) says that hell and damn are curse words and there are too many of them, then maybe going full blown AIDS CUNT MOTHERFUCKIN ZOMBIE BAT may not be the way to go. You are going to have to figure out how to finesse things, like perhaps the way Seth Grahame-Smith did with Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

Self-censor in the name of your vision only. If you do it for any other reason you are not making your art but someone else's.

It depends really. Having not read the script I don't think any of us can tell you if it's excessive or if it fits. Proper use of swear words can be fantastic, but so much that it feels unnatural will just break people out of it. I would just have someone else read it, don't tell them about this, and see what they think. If they don't openly give any thoughts on the amount of hells and damns then ask more specifically.