Need help with "alien" names

[Drifter]

Hi, folks!

I just finished my first feature-length screenplay. It turned out pretty well, except for one thing. I can't, for the life of me, figure out words to desribe two important elements of the film.

The crux of the film is a parasitic alien life-form that falls to Earth, takes over the body of the first person who finds it, and proceeds to feed off other victims. It is followed by a soldier from another planet who is out to destroy it. I need a title that the soldier would use to describe himself and one he would use to describe the monster.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

[AJ]

Sounds a lot like 'The Hidden' although, if I recall correctly, the creature in that movie was just out on a joyride.

I guess the title depends on the market you are aiming the film at, most b-movies seem to be titled from a list of words which are jumbled together until some thing fits, words like deadly, killer, mutant, unstoppable, horror etc. then teamed with words like alien, genesis, time, project, run etc.

So you quickly start getting titles like 'Deadly Time' or 'Mutant Run'

If you are intending to sell this screenplay, the title will probably change anyway, so it's probably not worth getting too bogged down in the search for a title.

A good script will find a purchaser, even if it is called 'untitled' on the front page.

Best of luck with your project.

[Drifter]

Thanks, dude, that is good advice. I haven't even thought about marketing it, yet.

Does anyone have any ideas on a name for the monster or the soldier? I suppose they should sound "alien," but I can't come up with anything that doesn't sound stupid.

[AJ]

Try and look at the kinds of names people use for thing in real life, they are usually derived from the 'correct' name for things.

For example, c*ckroaches become Roaches, so if you come up with a 'proper' name for your aliens, such as a scientific sounding name like "Muscipula-Alba" (White Mousetrap) and then your cop would refer to them as "Muskers".

Obviously this is just an example, rather than a serious suggestion.

Also, look at the way things are termed in both movies and real life, Aliens are refferred to as 'Bugs', Viet Cong are reffered to as 'Gooks' etc. etc.

As a rule of thumb, I would say that most nicknames are not that flattering, especially when they are used to denote an enemy or rival, so your cop should have a pretty derogatory name for your alien.