Question

If I have a conversation in Chinese as well as English, do I use the dreaded wrylies to define Chinese and English? Also, in defining film reality, can I avoid the language barrier by having my Chinese scenes in English?

Answer

First, let me explain the question. The writer refers to "dreaded wrylies." Wrylies are the parentheticals that sometimes appear before dialogue. The term developed because so many beginners use the term wryly to describe their characters' dialogue.

JOHN
  (wryly)
The night is still young, Cupcake.

And so the term wryly was born. The reason they are "dreaded" is because writers are encouraged to avoid their use. Only use a wryly when the subtext of the dialogue is not otherwise clear.

In working with other languages, realize there is one central principle: Write your script in the language of the eventual reader. In other words, avoid foreign languages. If a character speaks in Chinese, do not write the dialogue out in Chinese characters unless the eventual reader is Chinese. Simply write the line as follows.

JOHN
  (in Chinese)
The night is still young, Cupcake.

If the characters speak in Chinese throughout an entire scene, then make a clear statement in the narrative description that all the dialogue in the scene will be spoken in Chinese; then, write it out in English so the reader can understand it. But this begs the question: How will the audience know what is being said? They won't. That's why I recommend that you write a line or two in Chinese for flavor, and allow the characters speak in English so that the audience will understand what is going on.

There is another alternative-subtitles. If you want English subtitles to appear on the screen while the characters speak in Chinese, then include a special note in the narrative description.

NOTE: THE DIALOGUE IN THIS SCENE IS SPOKEN IN CHINESE AND IS SUBTITLED IN ENGLISH.

Then, simply write the dialogue out in English. After the scene ends, write:

END OF SUBTITLES