Screenwriting

Common Mistakes Writers Make With Characters – Robert Rippberger

Filmcourage

Published

April 23, 2022

Film Courage: What mistakes do writers make when writing characters?

Robert Rippberger, Filmmaker: I think the mistakes that writers make when writing characters is that everybody kind of sounds like themselves or just sounds too flat or that they put too much of the characterization into the description. That’s ultimately just a tiny, tiny sliver of it that comes so much from the dialogue and how they interact with people and what they say in response to a line. If somebody says How is your day? Then they completely take it off topic or they fire back at them or it’s the way in which these interactions happen and I think ultimately film is about representing vitality and representing life. Characters too should be as engaging as possible and as fired up as possible. I think sometimes it’s maybe playing it a little bit too safe with certain characters and having the freedom to really go out there and be bold.

Film Courage: Are there certain screenwriters whose dialogue you love whether it’s understated or even like an Aaron Sorkin where there’s such a performance from each line, it’s great to listen to?

Robert: Certainly Aaron Sorkin is that. When anybody talks about dialogue it’s hard to not just zero in on him and what’s phenomenal about him is how the exposition can roll on and on and on but you’re still there. He also is so great at non-sequiturs and then sort of bringing it back home about why this particular story was important or why this was said and the nuance to language that he brings with different characters of why they say certain things and how it’s crafted…(Watch the video interview on Youtube here).

Robert Rippberger, Danny Glover and Joi Starr on the set of STRIVE (2019)

Scarlett Sperduto in THOSE WHO WALK AWAY

BooBoo Stewart (seated) and Grant Morningstar (TV screen) in THOSE WHO WALK AWAY

BIO:

Robert Rippberger is a filmmaker with a broad array of creative and executive experience. He most recently directed and produced the film “Those Who Walk Away” starring BooBoo Stewart (Descendants, X-Men) and prior to that directed and produced the Harlem drama, “Strive,” with Danny Glover. Both were released theatrically and received dozens of accolades worldwide. Directing and producing documentaries, Robert released in 2019 ‘Public Enemy Number One’ from Executive Producer Ice-T about the U.S. war on drugs. Prior, Robert directed/produced the documentary “7 Days in Syria,” a look at the human side of the war in Aleppo, Syria. The film was championed by Angelina Jolie, screened at Britain’s House of Lords, to senior members of the U.N., and was released on Hulu and Amazon. As an executive producer, along with Jason Blum, Robert did the feature doc, “Alive & Kicking.” The film was sold to Magnolia Films after its debut at the 2016 SXSW Film Festival where it received a Grand Jury nomination. The film is available on Netflix. Robert received a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from UC, Berkeley in 2012 where he was awarded the Eisner Prize for his film “In the Middle.” It is considered the highest achievement in the creative arts given on the UC, Berkeley campus. Robert is a member of the Producers Guild of America and is on the PGA’s Social Impact Entertainment Task Force. In addition to SIE Films, Robert is also the founder and co-executive director of SIE Society, a leading global alliance of Social Impact Entertainment filmmakers.

His latest film is Those Who Walk Away (Now in theaters and on VOD) starring BooBoo Stewart, Nils Allen Stewart and Scarlett Sperduto.