Working titles are commonly used in
film and
TV,
gaming,
music, and
publishing. They are used mainly because an official
title has not yet been decided upon or to intentionally disguise the real nature of a project. It is often styled in trade publications as (wt).
Usage as production titles The terms "production title" and "tentative title" are sometimes used instead of "working title". Working titles are primarily a practical matter, just to prevent confusion as ideas for release titles can keep on changing for a variety of reasons. For example, while
James Bond films are commonly produced under numerical titles such as
Bond 22 until the official title is announced as part of its marketing, release titles may also change because of significant changes to the plot during production, as happened with
Disney's ''
The Emperor's New Groove,
whose working title was Kingdom of the Sun''. 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 the title
Snakes on a Plane, after he learned the title was going to be changed to
Pacific Air Flight 121 upon release.
Usage as a ruse title Fake production titles are frequently used by high-profile films or television series to prevent undesired attention by the press or fandom, price gouging by suppliers and casual or targeted theft. Notable examples of ruse titles include
Blue Harvest (
Return of the Jedi),
Incident of 57th Street (
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets),
Red Gun (
House of the Dragon), and the
Batman films
Batman Begins,
The Dark Knight and
The Dark Knight Rises, which were produced under the titles
The Intimidation Game, ''Rory's First Kiss
and Magnus Rex''. == References ==