Question:
Can you abbreviate “Mister” into “Mr.” in a film script?
Answer:
Abbreviations are allowed in character headings (names) and Action, but not in Dialogue.
Any spoken words need to be fully printed, to keep an approximate page count/screen time ratio of 1p/min.
Question:
Does that mean I have to use ‘Missus’ instead of ‘Mrs’?
Answer: Well, err… Technically, yes. But I agree that it may distract from the reading, which may be good enough reason to keep “Mrs.”, even though it takes proportionally less page space than it should.
Karel Segers wrote his first produced screenplay at age 17. Today he is a story analyst with experience in acquisition, development and production. He has trained students worldwide, and worked with half a dozen Academy Award nominees. Karel speaks more European languages than you have fingers on your left hand, which he is still trying to find a use for in his hometown of Sydney, Australia. The languages, not the fingers.