Working title
A working title, which may be abbreviated and styled in trade publications after a putative title as (wt),[1] also called a production title or a tentative title, is the temporary title of a product or project used during its development, usually used in filmmaking, television production, video game development, or the creation of a novel or music album.[2]
Purpose
Working titles are used primarily for two reasons – the first being that an official title has not yet been decided upon, with the working title being used purely for identification purposes, and the second being a ruse to intentionally disguise the real nature of a project.
Production title
Projects usually have a fixed working title throughout production to prevent confusion, because ideas for release titles can keep on changing.
Examples include the film Die Hard with a Vengeance, which was filmed under the title Die Hard: New York, and the James Bond films, which are commonly produced under numerical titles such as Bond 22, until an official title is announced. Titles may also change because of significant changes to the plot during production, as was the case with Disney's The Emperor's New Groove, whose working title was Kingdom of the Sun,.
Ruse title
A title ruse is a practice by which a high-profile film or television series is given a fake working title to prevent undesired attention, price gouging by suppliers[3] and casual or targeted theft. Notable examples of ruse titles include Blue Harvest (Return of the Jedi), How the Solar System Was Won (2001: A Space Odyssey), Planet Ice (Titanic),[4] Greenbrier (El Camino),[5] Red Gun (House of the Dragon)[6], the Batman films Batman Returns, Batman Forever, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises, which were produced under the titles Blinko, Dictel, The Intimidation Game, Rory's First Kiss, and Magnus Rex,[7] respectively and Tenet, under the title Merry-Go-Round.
In some cases a working title may ultimately be used as the release title, as in the case of leading man Samuel L. Jackson insisting on title Snakes on a Plane, after he learned the title was going to be changed to Pacific Air Flight 121 upon release.
See also
References
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie. "'Dune: The Sisterhood' Creator Diane Ademu-John Steps Down As Co-Showrunner Of HBO Max Series". Deadline.
- ^ Librarians, Reference. "Research Guides: Organizing Academic Research Papers: Choosing a Title". library.sacredheart.edu. Retrieved 2022-05-07.
- ^ Bloom, Jim, Production Supervisor; Ch. 9, bonus material disc of the 2004 Star Wars Trilogy DVD box set.
- ^ Lambie, Ryan (2011-06-03). "The working titles of Hollywood blockbuster movies". Den of Geek. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
- ^ Goldberg, Lesley (November 6, 2018). "'Breaking Bad' Movie From Creator Vince Gilligan in the Works". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on March 19, 2019. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
- ^ Albrecht, Louis (2020-07-18). "HBO's Game of Thrones Prequel House of the Dragon is looking for two female leads". Redanian Intelligence. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
- ^ Nolan Fans article "The Dark Knight Rises As Magnus Rex"