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Day 10 Assignments
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Marc Lynch’s Outline Pass Part 1
Title: Flight of the Hawk Balloon
LOGLINE:
While a lethal mountain lion terrorizes peaceful hikers in the Sandia mountain wilderness, a depressive teenager, searches for medical assistance for her father, a hot air balloon pilot, after their balloon crashes during a test flight in New Mexico.
GENRE: Action/Adventure
Main Conflict: The mountain lion, “El Lion,” terrorizes and kills anyone who enters the mountainside.
Act 1: Introduce the characters and set up a conflict
Opening:
EXT. MOUNTAIN – DAY
Three youthful mountain hikers are killed by a vicious mountain lion: “El Leon.”
HOPE: The three hikers can have a pleasant hike overlooking the mountain valley.(Unpredictability/Not sure what or who the real threat is)
FEAR: The hikers see a dead, half-eaten animal on the hiking trail. But they keep walking. How was the animal killed and will the hikers run into the same fate? (Dangerous Environment)EXT. SCHOOLYARD – DAY
Helen is fist fighting the school bully in the schoolyard. The principal breaks up the fight and takes Helen to his office.
HOPE: I hope Helen survives the fight and wins. (Unpredictability/Out of control situation)
FEAR: What kind of punishment will Helen get from the principal. (Increasing Tension/What’s the worst that can happen)CHARACTER JOURNEY: Beginning: Helen has a fistfight in her schoolyard with the school bully.
INT. HELEN’S HOME – DAYCHARACTER JOURNEY TURNING POINT 1:
After Helen is expelled from her school, her mother sends her to live with her father, a hot air balloon pilot, in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Character Layers: Helen
Layers Surface: A loner and a self-destructive teenager/Layers Beneath: An A student but lazy/Layers Beneath that: A real fighter and not “quitter.” Very self-reliant.
How revealed: A conversation she has with her father on the drive from the airport to her new home.
Also, how she reacts to adversity in the desert wilderness.
EXT. SANDIA MOUNTAIN WILDERNESS – DAY
Inciting Indecent: Their hot air balloon, with Helen and her father, the pilot, crashes in the New Mexico Wilderness.
HOPE: After her father passes out in the balloon. Helen gets instructions from the crew chief on how to fly and navigate the balloon. (Unpredictability/ Person on the edge)
FEAR: What if Helen loses control and can’t fly the balloon. (Increasing Tension/What’s the worst that can happen.)Plot Layers:
Surface: Helen is sent by her mother to live with her father after being expelled from school/Beneath: Helen goes on a hot air balloon test run with her father days before the balloon festival is to begin/ Beneath that: Her father blacks out from a medical condition during the test run. Helen cannot fly the balloon and crashes it in the mountain wilderness.
How revealed: Helen survives the balloon crash but realizes her father has lost consciousness. Helen starts to walk into the wilderness looking for help.
HOPE: After the balloon crashes, she sees hikers and asks them for help. (Isolation/Alone)
Fear: Helen is alone in the wilderness with nowhere to turn for help.Until Little Joe Begay arrives and advises her to find Fatu. (Increasing Tension/Ticking Clock)EXT. SANDIA MOUNTAIN WILDERNESS – DAY
Turning Point 1: Helen meets Little Joe Begay, a Navajo Indian. Little Joe is a spiritual shapeshifter. He gives her food and water. He warns her to beware of “El Leon.” He removes his facial bandana and shows her the facial scars give to him by “El Leon.” He tells Helen to find Fatu and she can help her with medical assistance for her father.
Finally, Little Joe Begay gives Helen “an herb” to help her cope with the desert wilderness. She falls asleep. When she wakes Little Joe has disappeared. Helen walks into the desert wilderness searching for Fatu.
Act 2: Challenge the reality of the characters
EXT. DESERT WILDERNESS – DAY
New Plan: Helen walks into the desert wilderness. Crows fly overhead up in the sky. Helen follows them into the desert.
CHARACTER JOURNEY:
EXT. DESERT WILDERNESS – DAY
Helen walks into the wilderness looking for help.
Plan of Action: As Helen walks into the desert, she meets several hikers coming down the mountain. They warn Helen of the destructive force of “El Leon,” and advise her to turn around and not go any further. Helen asks each group of hikers she meets to help her but each group refuses.
HOPE: Increasing Tension/What’s the worst that can happen.
FEAR: (Unpredictability/ Could attack at any moment) El Leon.
EXT. DESERT WILDERNESS – DAY
CHARACTER JOURNEY:
Midpoint turning Point: The herb that Little Joe Begay gave Helen starts to have an effect on her and the tone of the story changes in the desert from realism to magical realism. Birds, animals, trees, plants, talk to Helen and she walks through the desert mountainside. This is designed to express Helen’s insecurities and explore her internal conflict.
Location Layers:
Surface: The New Mexico Wilderness is peaceful and natural/Beneath: A vicious mountain lion terrorizes all humans who enter her territory/Beneath that: When Helen arrives into the New Mexico wilderness it changes the tone of the story changes from “realism” to “magical realism.” How revealed: As Helen walks the wilderness looking for medical assistance for her injured Father, animals, trees, cactus talk to Helen. This technique helps expose Helen’s internal conflict.
Exhausted. Helen drinks water from a mountain stream. A snake appears and talks to her in the form of her mother. It bites Helen in the face and swims off.
Fatu appears standing over Helen. She sucks the poison from Helen’s face and carries her out of the desert.
Hope: Can Helen overcome her internal conflicts. (Isolation/Psychological Issues)
FEAR: Increasing Tension/What is the character afraid of.Act 3: With Mid-Point change, everything must change
INT. FATU’S STAW BALE MOUNTAIN HOUSE – DAY
Rethink everything: Helen has finally found Fatu. She pleads her case to help with medical assistance. Fatu agrees due to her own conflict with “El Leon.” He kills her favorite dog and bit off part of her hand while trying to save her dog.
She now wants her own revenge on “El Leon.”
HOPE: Incompatibility/Forced to deal with each other
FEAR: Incompatibility/ Opposing Needs and desires.
CHARACTER JOURNEY:
EXT. FATU’S BACKYARD – DAY
New Plan: Fatu and Helen practice using weapons to fight El Leon. They also go over strategies on the best approach to win the fight.
INT. FATU’S STRAWBALE HOUSE – NIGHT
They sleep on it and go out the next day. Helen’s dreams what the battle with El Leon might turn out to be.
HOPE: Will Helen and Fatu’s new plan work. (Increasing Tension/How many things could go wrong.
FEAR: Incompatibility/Triggering each other.
EXT. MOUNTAIN WILDERNESS – DAY
Major shift: Fatu and Helen come face to face with El Leon. El Leon defeats and kills Fatu. El Leon runs off after the kill. Helen is left alone again in the wilderness.
HOPE: Can Helen now get inspiration from Fatu’s death to continue to look for help. (Isolation/Loss of Companion)
FEAR: Where is El Leon hiding. (Unpredictability/Danger/Could attack at any moment)Act 4: Test the change in the character
CHARACTER JOURNEY:
EXT. MOUNTAIN WILDERNESS – DAY
Final Plan: Take off parts of Fatu’s bloody clothes. Walk in the wilderness and leave Fatu’s scent to a location when El Leon will follow and be vulnerable to an attack and final battle
Climax: Final battle between Helen and El Leon.
HOPE: What method will Helen use to defeat El Leon. (Unpredictability/Out of control situation)
FEAR: Danger/Threat/AttackCHARACTER JOURNEY:
EXT. MOUNTAIN WILDERNESS – DAY
Resolution: A helicopter Search and Rescue team, which has been looking for Helen all through the story, has finally found her. The leader puts Helen in the helicopter to take her home.
INT. HELICOPTER – DAY
While in the helicopter, Helen has a vision and asks the pilot to go to Fatu’s house. A cloud of crows circles Fatu’s house overhead. Helen sees her father at the doorstep of Fatu’s house.
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Michael’s Outline
What I learned: once again its amazing how much creativity is a process, and amazing how the pieces come together. I learned that sometimes the best way to find what’s missing is to put all the pieces in around it, and then – like a puzzle – the shape of what’s missing will begin to show in what’s around it.
Whats missing? Comedy. From the food, the bathroom, the “just hold it out of the way.” a bidet? Basically just, more comedy.
Act 1:
Opening – Casey, Fred and Gerry run, carrying the plates.
Casey – Now!
Gerry lights up an explosion behind them.
Alarms blare. Gunfire lights behind them.
Other side of the fence, George fiddles with dials, carrying his equipment, hiding from alarms.
George
Yes! Ok, cue copter!
George looks to the sky, anxious.
Back to the compound. Casey, Gerry and Fred get to a barbed wire fence.
Gerry pulls out bottle of acid and sprays an arch on the metal fence. Acid sizzles.
Fred pulls out a machete and starts hacking through it. Casey pulls out her automatic rifle and starts trading fire.
Fred finishes. “Lets go!”
Casey and Gerry dive through the fence as Fred puts away his machete.
Fred gets hit. Screams.
Casey and Gerry turn.
Casey grabs the plates. Gerry moves the grenades to her other arm to help Fred.
Casey
There isn’t time.
Flashlights behind them, voices. Gerry and Casey look back. Fred moans.
Gerry
Do we–
Casey whips out her gun and fires. Gerry reacts with shock.
They share a look. Run.
George stares at his instruments.
Where is it! Come on, Its’ time!
He looks at his dial and sees three dots moving towards him. He talks into his radio.
Guys, your tail is hot!
They come over the hill.
Gerry
Where the hell’s our wings?
George
I don’t know, nobody’s answering–
Casey
The car!
They turn and run towards a car. Helicopters come towards them
George
Is that ours?
Casey
Wrong direction get in
George takes a bullet. Casey starts the car.
Gerry throws a grenade behind her. Opens the back seat and helps George in. Glares at Casey who rolls her eyes.
Gerry’s in.
Drive.
George moans in pain.
‘Where’s Fred?’
Gerry (cold)
Didn’t make it. Where are you hit?
George
Missed my heart…. Maybe got my lungs…
Coughs up blood.
Gerry
He needs a hospital
Casey
Not a chance.
Gerry, in the back, starts bandaging George.
George
So, where are we going?
Casey
Far. Fast. I dunno.
They pass a sign. “Ashram and Hospice”
Gerry
Hospice! Casey–
Casey
No.
George
Maybe they got drugs…
A deer on the road. Casey swerves.
Suddenly they burst through trees and Casey drives erratically, dodging foliage.
George is laughing. At least I get to go in style.
Ahead, a massive wooden (sign? wall?) Casey screeches to a halt and the car runs into a tree.
The Engine billows smoke. Gerry helps George out, coughing. Casey comes out, gun ready to fire, staring around them.
Guru, gardening naked, stands up slowly. “Ah, hello travellers. I wondered why I wanted to garden at two in the morning. Come, come. Your friend needs attention.”
Act 2:
Monks come out of the Monastary. One brings a stretcher, “I just had this weird urge”
George makes a quip, and passes out. They whisk him away.
Casey is like “but the car” – isn’ going anywhere.
“Can we move it?” – sure, pull it wherever you want.
Exhaustion hits Casey – she is still human. Gerry pulls her along, she carries the plates. Guru shows them to a room.
Next Day
Casey has a rough night.
wants to get going, Gerry suggests they check on George
George is dying, Healer says they will pray for George, Casey and Gerry believe that means he is dead. Reveal Casey is Christian but thinks they are all not worth saving and Gerry is staunchly atheist and doesn’t believe in ghosts or souls.
Casey wants to leave, worried they will get caught. Gerry says ‘so what – leave George, or shoot him like Fred?’
Guru shows up as if magic, “how? Where are you going? You have no car. Stay, you are safe here.” (Maybe points out that main road is very busy ie. with cops?)They go out to the car. Casey wants to fix it, doesn’t super know how. Gerry has no idea, “I just blow things up”. Gerry meets Anu, and they hit it off.
Casey struggles with the car. No joy.
George wakes up to healer. He’s not doing great, but Healer is kind. He expresses wish to die, reveals estranged child. Healer is understanding but still calls him out a bit. He is taken aback… and drifts into pain>unconsciousness.
Casey and Gerry hide the plates together,buried in the mountainside. Then on their way back, they snoop around a bit – and notice a room full of gold. Casey wants to steal it.
They run into Guru, who gives them robes. Casey and Gerry refuse – and then look up to see FBI vehicles. They put them on.
Guru goes to see FBI. They are like “how long this car been here?” “Oh, who knows.” Gerry and Casey look – sure enough, its covered in vines and moss. The FBI look around, Guru covers, they leave.
As they leave, the monks come and look at them warily. Anu is distant to Gerry.
Guru says, they can rest there tonight, but it’s uneasy.
Casey has nightmare of Ghost of Fred. (or sees him at dinner?) But Guru sees Fred too.
Guru reaches out to Casey, they go for a walk, seems like they will connect – then hard emotions come up for Casey and she rejects Guru with harsh words.
Gerry goes to Anu and is real with him. Wants to hook up. Anu goes to Guru, uncomfortable about this. Guru tells him “what do you think you have a body for?”
Anu and Gerry hook up.
George wakes up, and is jonesing. He sees some of the medicinal herbs the Healer put on him, and does way too much.
He borderline OD’s, trapped in a scary pace in his head, but the Healer notices and goes into a trance. The Healer reaches George and pulls him out.
George almost “pulls the healer in with him” but healer pulls him out as he finds some inner strength/light. Guru comes in and chastises Healer, but then they look at George – who is floored, changed. Weeps, vows to live better.
Casey wakes up from bad dream to find everyone happy. Gerry and Anu work on garden together, flirting, having fun. George is reading in infirmary, learning how to meditate, and tells Casey about it – Casey is livid.
Midpoint Turning Point
Casey goes for a walk alone, and starts reliving childhood trauma. She gets angrier. Guru shows up, reaches out, and Casey loses it, screaming.
Casey gets her gun, pulls it out, and prepares to hold up the Ashram for the gold. She goes to get George and Gerry – they say No. They stand up to Casey to not rob the Ashram. Casey turns on them, says will take it all – alone. They stand firm, and Casey says, fine, she will take the plates. Alone.
Then goes to the plates – gone.
Act 3: Loot is Missing
Casey is enraged and starts fighting with George and Sarah. It looks like they are going to kill each other
They decide to question the Ashram instead
They round everyone up with their weapons, to start questionning
The Guru denies knowledge, and says that everyone is innocent.
Casey starts to get dark, violent.Roughouses Anu, Gerry steps in, and George chimes. Anu still looks at Gerry with hurt, and Gerry is hurt by this but stays business like.
Guru tells them, its’ time for bed. Casey says, nobody leaves until its found. Guru says, “where is it going to go? Lets go to bed – you stay up and keep watch, if you want.”
Guru goes to bed, and the monks follow. Gerry reaches out to Anu, who rejects. Anu now knows she is a criminal and thinks she is evil – and Gerry agrees
George and Gerry and Casey stay up, keeping watch together, two people at a time. The night is long. George finally sees Ghost of Fred, they ask Ghost, ghost is silent.
Next day, Casey ready to round everybody up, but Guru reaches out with kindness and calms Casey down a bit. Suggests, why do you need your treasures? It has only brought you unhappiness.
Anu reaches out to Gerry again, offers her acceptance, forgiveness, and she decides to love him.
George discovers Guru has old cache of weapons and loot. Feels betrayed, calls Guru out, everyone back out to the yard for conflict.
Guru reveals that once, she was like them… so there is hope for them as well.
Casey still wants the plates, but is mollified… Then they look and see Black SUVs, and Guru says “trouble”
Act 4: Save the Ashram from Mob-Boss and his thugs
With not much time, Guru tells everyone not to fear, and George and Gerry each set a trap. (Or do the monks do that while the criminals talk). Gerry tells Anu to go hide in the hills, insists, Anu agrees but lies and doesn’t go.
Boss comes out, Guru asks to put away weapons, thugs holster but stay armed at Bosses nod.
George asks, “Where was the helicopter.”
Boss smoothly apologizeses, and then asks when they were gonna bring the plates. George and Gerry explain.
Boss, “when Casey called me, you had the plates.”
Gerry, “Casey called you?”
Casey “I … I wanted to get paid. All of us. To get paid. To finish the job.”
Boss “So now, we have a problem… where the fuck are my plates.”
George pleads for the Ashram. Says, we’re just trying to find them. But listen, you gotta try this stuff, its fantastic. “Is he high?” “only on the soul, man.” Boss has him smacked and says “I’d kill you if you weren’t so good at your job.”
Guru offers the Ashram Gold instead of the plates. Boss appreciates the offer, and says, ‘that’s great – we will take those too.”
Thugs load up the gold, as the monks watch, horrified. One of the monks loses it, and a Thug shoots them.
Guru runs over, and feels the pulse. “Their journey is over.” a moment of silence… Boss like, “… ok…. What. Ok so where are the plates.”
Guru denies knowledge, and Boss suggests they torture every single one of them.
George and Gerry stand up and say, don’t. Casey stands with boss but doesn’t fight.
Fight ensues, Monks release traps and snares which even things, George and Gerry (explosives) even things.
Guru calls for a Halt – as the thugs have won and everyone else s incapacitated. George and Gerry held at gunpoint, thugs enraged.
Boss looks at Guru – and recognizes. Calls out who Guru really is. Guru doesn’t deny. “We thought you died.” “I did. The parts of me that needed to.”
Boss, “well better late than never”
Casey jumps in front of the gun, and Guru yells “No!”
Time rewinds to a bird being startled on the mountain, speeds back up, and bird poop hits Boss in the eye. Boss misses, and Casey eats dirt but isn’t shot.
Boss is livid, and goes to kill again – showered in bird poop.
Guru walks forwards, Boss slips on the poop. Guru kicks the bosses gun away.
Boss gets up and starts swinging a knife. Guru sees him coming from miles off and just moves out of the way. Finally moves out of the way and flicks his hand and boss stabs himself in the leg. Tries to keep fighting, and slips again in poop.
Guru reaches down and pushes Boss down with a single finger…. Boss somehow cannot get up.(*Can the Ghost of Fred help them too somehow? That would be cool)
Anu sees the moment and takes out Gerry’s captor. Healer puts whiff of drugs under their thugs’ nose, goes down. George turns around and kisses a thug, rendering him shocked, and then takes his gun and whacks him with it.
At about this moment, the FBI show up, and the Thugs and Boss stop fighting and give up.
The thugs are in the car, and George, Casey and Gerry prepare to also be arrested. Guru confesses to them that, they are safe, because Guru traded the plates for their freedom. Casey ready to lose it – than they burst out laughing.
Sunset, Mountain. Guru is meditating, Casey and Gerry and George open their eyes to see Fred.
Casey whispers apology. Gerry and George whisper a farewell. Fred fades away.
Morning. The car is fixed. Gerry and Anu are packing up with George.
George is going to go try again with daughter. Anu says farewell to Guru and monks, Guru happy for him.
Casey hanging back. Guru asks, where next? Casey has no idea. Guru offers to stay, and Casey says no… then smiles. And says yes.
“Why aren’t you packing?” “I’m not quite ready to leave yet.”
Farewells are said.
The car drives off, leaving Casey and Guru. Casey jokes about staying for the gold. Guru says, “the gold worth having is inside you.” Casey snorts, thats too corny. Guru keeps it on, “no its true.” Healer comes over, “we need to get you on some herbs.” Gardener is like, “some good manual labour will help.”
We see Casey feeling overwhelmed, ready to bolt or fight… then smile ruefully, and realise she is surrounded by good people. She laughs, and lets them lead her in.
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