I'm writing a screenplay and my MC starts off with the name she gives herself later in life, not her birth name, and she changes her name several times throughout the script.

I start with her as an older woman and then go into her story as an 18 year-old, before she changed her name.

Do I keep her name as it is later in life for her Character line or do I change it to her birth name?

I don't know the answer to this, but it seems like a great question. If you can think of another film that does this (I know there are plenty of examples, but I can't think of one off the top of my head), you could look up the screenplay on script-o-rama.com or simplyscripts.com to see how that screenwriter handled it.

===

"Words. Words. They're all we have to go on."
- Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead

My situation is he is the narrator and then it switches to third person kind of like Defintely, Maybe or any of those and I'm at loss with the same question.

I'm still trying to get a definitve answer for this!!!
_______________

Frenzy 08: who knows what will happen?

While checking out my handy-dandy ScriptWriter's Bible, it says:

"What if a character changes his name from Ton to Harry? One solution is to refer to him as TOM/HARRY or TOM (HARRY) after the name change.

In the movie North By Northwest, we have a case of mistaken identity, but the Cary Grant character is referred to by his true name in each character cue of the entire script. Whatever you decide, make sure you don't confuse the reader.

In stories that span a person's lifetime, you might refer to JOE BROWN and YOUNG JOE BROWN. That maintains the identity of the character while, at the same time, making clear the approximate age of the character."

And then it goes onto other formatting issues with names. But I think the easiest way is to do what they did in North by Northwest. Make sure the reader knows that it's the same person (call them by one name through the entire script, unless a character calls them something else).

In the movie North By Northwest, we have a case of mistaken identity, but the Cary Grant character is referred to by his true name in each character cue of the entire script.

True, but we know him as Roger Thornhill right from the start and he keeps insisting that he's Roger Thornhill all the way through.

ADAM
Oh, come on!


Well so far I've been referring to her as Cecilia through the entire script even though her birth name is different than Cecilia, and she has a period in her life where she has another name.

so she is born Francine, becomes Eden for a while, and then stays with Cecilia for the rest of her time.

if you look on my page i do have an excerpt from one of the opening scenes, she is being interviewed and explains how she was born with a different name and then it kind of tells her story.

Do you think this is an okay format?
_______________

Frenzy 08: who knows what will happen?

I'm no expert, but FWIW, I'd say that was perfect. There's no confusion there, and in fact it would be more confusing for me if you were to start using another name.

In Charade, it would be more confusing to use one name all through because you'd basicaly have to explain the whole film before it made any sense, and as the audience, we're following Reggie (Regina) through the story so we see it through her eyes. If we saw it through the Cary Grant character, we'd know that he's really one person playing another. Following Reggie, we don't, and the effect is better if, like her, all we know is what he tells us.

I'd say you've done exactly the right thing.

Ian

In Tools of the Screenwriting Trade by Esther Luttrell, she gives this example. Ex: someone named Carmen changes her identity, moves to another town, and becomes Sharon. 1st part of the script: Carmen 2nd part of the script: Carmen/Sharon.

I get that, I just don't want to refer to her as Francine/Eden/Cecilia the entire time. it takes up a lot of room
_______________

Frenzy 08: who knows what will happen?

The only people who see the character tag line are the actors and director. Pick Cecilia or her birth name, and stick with that through out the script. (To make things easier on your actors/director, I'd pick the name she has when we first see her, unless you want to put a note at the beginning of the script letting them know that Cecilia is Francine.)

Criss, la Reina
www.crisswrites.com
www.xanga.com/reinacristina

Help me find a cure for cancer! www.active.com/donate/tntntx/Criss4shay