User:ThuranX/FutureComicsFilmsPage

Here's a plan for the organization and layout of future film articles.

Early Film Stages
In all cases, these early categories should transition to the later stages as citable information fleshes them out.
 * Premise - For use in cases where less than a full plot is known, Premise can be used for the basic themes and ideas which have been confirmed to be involved.
 * Background - the history leading up to the project. 'Avi Arad announced that X would be made in a press conference at Z Comicon on the 45th of julyuary'. Citation in such a section is important, so as to preclude the inclusion of ridiculous rumors. In cases where pre-productionoccurs over several years, as with The Punisher 2, use of years as section headers is acceptable.
 * Casting interests - This section should reflect those actors who the producers/directors/executives are publicly intersted in, and those actors who have publicly stated BOTH a desire AND contact with the aforementioned suits, or even just meetings. Simply having a desire to be employed isn't notable.
 * Other - Sometimes we hear odd things about a film, which won't fit other categories. News about CGI rotoscoping being used in A Scanner Darkly was reported quite a long time before much else was said about the movie. In that case, a 'technology' section might be appropriate.

Later Film Stages
When converting an Early Stage to a Later Stage, be sure to also edit the top level section. In other words, when the first actor signs or is announced, switch casting Interests to Cast, put the signed actor in Confirmed, and the rest in Unconfirmed.
 * Plot - An official synopsis or well cited collection of story bits from reliable sources. For example, Captain America might currently have the Premise that the famed soldier will be featured in a story showing his freezing, re-discovery, and subsequent fight against agents of the Red Skull, while Spider-Man 3 should have a Plot, in which details of the sandman's origin, the discovery, conflict with, and transfer of the black suit to Brock are all included, as well as the involvements of Harry and Gwen. In other words, when the actual layout of the plot arc is known, it's a plot. where major themes and characteristic parts of the character's origin are all that's known, it's probably a premise.


 * Cast - should contain a brief listing of actor, character, and description. from The dark Knight:
 * Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth: Bruce Wayne's trusted butler who tends to Wayne Manor.


 * Confirmed - official cast and/or characters announced by studio, director, and/or producer)
 * Possible returns - For those actors who have signed multi-picture deals for a role in a franchise, and who thus can be expected to return. Any such actors/roles listed should have the contract duration and their place in the contract mentioned - I.e. - Bob is expected to return to the role of Flobbo the drunken acrobat, fulfilling the third part of his three picture deal for the role.
 * Uncast roles - Separate from Unconfirmed, which speaks to the presence of actors, this category, used on The Dark Knight (film) page, reflects known roles with undetermined actors. Cite proof a character will appear when listing here.


 * Production
 * History
 * Pre-production
 * Budget
 * Screenplay - we need to check if this and 'script' can be used interchangably, or represent two stages of the film making process.
 * Character design
 * Locations
 * Filming
 * Score
 * Effects
 * Trivia (optional)
 * References (vital; should be filled only with " ")
 * External links (not a repository for fansites or even related links; try to keep it official and respectable)

Opening paragraph(s)
The opening paragraph(s) of a [comic book] film article should give a brief overview of the identifiable characteristics of a film, which are outlined below. The paragraph(s) should be written in an objective and informative tone, having the impression that a reader may not be familiar with the film or its comic book origins. The first sentence of the opening paragraph should indicate the title of the film and the year of its release. For films based on comic books or characters from the comic books, either should be identified and wiki-linked in the opening paragraph. For example, "The Dark Knight is a 2008 superhero film based on the fictional DC Comics character Batman." Other information to be included in the opening paragraph:
 * Director of the film
 * Major actors/actresses
 * Mention of preceding/succeeding films
 * Indicate years of these films' release

A brief lead paragraph outlining notable accomplishments (or disappointments) should generally be added post-release date. Emphasis must be placed on the brevity, as in-depth information can be provided in a later, appropriately titled section (e.g., "Reception"). Particularly, critical reception should be succinctly summarized based on the citations of the "Reception" section. Various items to mention in the lead paragraph include:
 * Academy Award nominations
 * Box office success or disappointment (with numbers provided)
 * Critical reception based on movie review aggregators (e.g. RottenTomatoes.com)
 * Note: General audience reaction is harder to gauge and should generally be left to box office numbers

Citing sources
When new information is included in the article, remember to cite sources. Reliable sources especially include information directly from prominent cast and crew that are part of the film project, including but not limited to the star actor(s), the director, and producer(s). Secondary sources such as reputable independent news sources (e.g., Variety, The Hollywood Reporter) that maintain a consistent form of veracity are encouraged to cite. Citations to avoid are citations based on anonymous reports ("inside sources", "scoopers") as they do not meet verifiability standards. If fan blogs or similar sources cite another news article for the news (such as Variety reporting the announcement of a new director), track back to the original article to verify the information and cite this more authoritative source in the Wikipedia article.

Writing style
The same way they're always defined. "Some say, few would disagree". When in doubt, just change/remove weasally statements, even if you're not sure about presenting something as outright fact or damaging the work of others. In most cases,—no, that's not weasally to my understanding.—the only acceptable weasal words are direct quotes from a person involved with the film at a high level.
 * Define weasel words that are so commonplace in these articles
 * Explain when to use "citation needed" tags or just revert (I could use an explanation for this myself)
 * Revert the wilder or disproven claims while giving limited acceptance to logical or believable. Yes, it's a hard, somewhat POV-influenced choice. When in doubt, just revert (with a possible mention on the talk page).

Relative, but should likely be based on the relevance of who "got the word out". Also goes back to differentiating sources in that direct nods to the source and words like "reporting", while not exactly weasally, may be a sign of low credibility of the assertion/assertor. Official press releases—indicated by all sorts of news media covering the same story with largely the same information—should be referred to as such, or not noted as the source in sentencing. Exclusives can be acknowledged as such, with a direct in sentence nod to who "broke the story". To put it simply, avoid doing it unless deemed necessary and question why someone else would. Wikipedia need only be verifiable, not advertise who said what. Directors, actors, producers, writers, et cetera are probably the main exception. It's always relavent important to mention that information came from someone directly related to the project. Yes, those people usually speak through the press, but rhe news media is still secondary. Thus, I guess it's best to say if something came from the people making the film, with secondary consideration for what medium they may used.
 * Appropriateness of mentioning citation in sentence (e.g., "Ain't It Cool News said that this actor was reportedly...")
 * Write in a timely matter when possible to limit "updating", such as "Filming was recently completed on October 3, 2006"


 * Got any ideas of your own? --Erik 03:21, 4 October 2006 (UTC)
 * Well, Yeah, sorta. ACS (Wikipedian); Talk to the Ace. See what I've edited. 06:52, 5 October 2006 (UTC)