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Day 2 Assignment
Reply to post your assignment.
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21 Replies
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Subject line: (Ramsey Anderson) Big M.I.S.
LOGLINE:
When a long-haul truck driver learns he’s driving a series of Fight-To-The-Death, live-streamed matches, in his trailer, he must decide if he will ignore the brutality or risk his life to stop it.
What I learned doing this assignment is…?
It’s great to set this story into the M.I.S. tool.
I feel like I can more clearly see the thriller elements.
I might need to enhance the mystery element.
1. What are the conventions of your story?
Unwitting but Resourceful Hero:
Drew’s a military veteran that drives a semi-truck long distances for different clients in the Mid-West. He’s haunted by a friendly-fire accident, that happened overseas many years ago. His only goal is to pay for the college tuition for the dead soldier’s son that is due.
Dangerous Villain:
Seth is a trucking company owner that live-streams fight-to-the-death matches from moving trailers. He’s a previous MMA fighter that inherited the trucking company and kidnaps enemies and forces them to fight-to-the-death. Along a wall in the trailer are hand-weapons that drop when gamblers pay for them online, via an app.
(A traveling BLOOD SPORT with THUNDERDOME weapons for the entertainment of gamblers)
High stakes:
The deadly trailer that Drew has is being followed by Seth’s armed men and the FBI are tracking it.
If Drew stops he will be killed. If Drew helps the FBI, he will be killed or thrown in jail. All the while, pairs of innocent men die in the trailer.
Life and death situations:
Opening sequence is a fight-to-the-death with some behind-the-scenes in the video studio.
Drew is robbed by a knife, wins the fight, but then is held up by gun point.
Drew has the saved money / tuition stolen from his truck and reluctantly takes a shift from Seth.
Armed men follow the trailer and Seth’s wife, Jules, jumps in the cab (In an effort to escape Seth).
Drew learns from Jules about the fights in the trailer and that the FBI are tracking the trailer.
Drew meets a fighter at a warehouse where he learns the fighters are kidnapped.
Drew is unable to ignore the brutality as it triggers his wound and he tries to help the FBI.
Seth finds out about Drew and has him fight-to-the-death in the trailer against a prize fighter.
Drew manages to choke the fighter unconscious. Once back at the warehouse, during an FBI raid Drew chases after Seth in a semi vs semi then fist-a-cuffs battle where Jules almost dies.
2. Tell us the Big M.I.S. of your story?
Big Mystery: What’s the mystery that will keep us wondering throughout the story?
Can Drew ignore the brutality & if he risks his life, is it enough?
Big Intrigue: What is the covert plot that will live under the surface for most of the movie?
Seth counts on betrayal to legitimize throwing the men in the trailer to fight. He sees himself as a proprietor feeding the market. All the men that have died ‘deserved it’. (SEVEN)
Big Suspense: What is the danger to your Hero that will escalate throughout the script?
Drew finds himself closer and closer to the trailer and once he steps in it.. he will have to fight to get out.
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This reply was modified 3 years, 6 months ago by Ramsey Anderson.
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This reply was modified 3 years, 6 months ago by
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David’s Big M.I.S.
“What I learned doing this assignment is…?” It can be difficult to find the bigger themes among the smaller ones.
TITLE. Treasures of the Santa Elena.
LOGLINE. A bullied 18-year-old must face his personal fears to solve the mystery of a treasure map or his family will be murdered by a psychopathic Cult descended from the Spanish Inquisition.
1. What are the conventions of your story?
Unwitting but Resourceful Hero:
Paul is an 18-yearold Cajun who has retreated into a world of books and fear after his father dies during an heroic rescue. He finds he belongs to a family of treasure hunters who have been looking for a sunken galleon, the Santa Elena, for two-hundred years. The family has a map, known to be authentic, to the wreck, but many searches have not found it. Paul uses his mind to discover the secret. Then, he must destroy a homicidal Cult descended from the Spanish Inquisition, the original owners of the treasure, before it destroys him and his family.
Dangerous Villain:
The Santa Elena was the last treasure ship belonging to the Spanish Inquisition. A Cult, descended from the original Inquisitors, is also still hunting for it. Driven by perverted religious fanaticism they have become even more blood thirsty. They will stop at nothing to retrieve the treasure and restore their order. The new Grand Inquisitor has ordered maximum effort.
High stakes:
The lives of Paul, his family and friends are far more important than the $100-milllion treasure. All will be lost if Paul fails.
Life and death situations:
Paul’s family and the Cult have been enemies for two-centuries. Even if the treasure is found, their hostility must be resolved by death of one or the other in this generation.
This story is thrilling because?
There is a race to find a sunken treasure by solving the mystery of a treasure map. Once the mystery is solved, can the treasure be recovered? Can the Cult be destroyed? Who of Paul’s family will be murdered by the Cult. Is everyone who they say they are?
2. Tell us the Big M.I.S. of your story?
Big Mystery:
Will Paul be able to conquer his fears and take charge of the crisis? Can the treasure be found?
Big Intrigue:
What evil will the Cult do to destroy Paul’s family and find the treasure?
Big Suspense:
Attacks by the Cult.
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Edward Gadrix’s Big M.I.S.
What I learned in this assignment is to conceptualize the conventions of my thriller/story. I now need to refine those conventions.
Logline:
A high school band director joins a military veteran’s band to craft his interest in march music, but finds he has step into an international scheme of sex trafficking and a “right wing” plot to overthrow the U.S. government.
What are the conventions of your story?
Unwitting
but Resourceful Hero:My protagonist is an educated, but naive, high school music `teacher, but he is cleaver enough to stay one step ahead of his students.
Dangerous Villain:
My protagonist will meet up with the director of a military operation who is a former KGB operative – and deadly.
High Stakes:
My protagonist will find his life and the lives of his family are at stake as he becomes embroiled into the international scheme.
Life and Death situations:
When my protagonist learns more of what he stepped into, there are attempts made to destroy both him and his family.
This story is thrilling because it is relevant to what is going on in America as we speak.
Big
Mystery: What is the main mystery of your story that will keep us
wondering throughout the story?Why are so many military people coming and going with a military band when they have nothing to do with music or the group?
Big
Intrigue: What is the covert, clandestine, underhanded plot that will live
under the surface for most of the movie?
The
use of sex to attract both the military and my protagonist further
involves them in this international plot to overthrow the government.Big
Suspense: What is the main danger to your Hero that will continue to
escalate throughout the script?
As
my protagonist learns more about the scheme, the threat on his life
accordingly increases. -
SOPHIA BANKS
LOG-LINE – Set in 2040, where the new instagram, is pictures the when you touch them you experience all perceptions only catch is you have to record them yourself. Ryan our hero looses his sister after she goes to a paid experience for online content, and as he starts to investigate comes across the new human trafficing, people who sell there experiences, he winds up on the run from these people who will do anything to keep there secret safe.
I learned- that these frameworks do help me come up with more ideas and that was a great feeling.
1. What are the conventions of your story?
• Unwitting but Resourceful Hero:
Ryan, 25, lost both parents in an accident he was in. Due to that accident, Ryan can not get a chip
• Dangerous Villain:
The owner of Kinfeed, the futuristic instagram, where you touch on an experience and feel all the sensations.
• High stakes:
Ryan sister is killed and he is being hunter by the owners of this and needs to be assisnated.
Ryan comes into a placebo get a clue and essentially he is set up, over a dead body and its streamed to the police making him seem like the killer and the police become on the run for him,
Odds are stacked against him until all the user of knifed are even after him.
• Life and death situations:
Several times Ryan is almost killed.
His sister is killed in the beginning
As Ryan starts to investigate, he comes home to find his friend and cat dead.
• This story is thrilling because?
Its essentially Ryan on the run being changed.
2. Tell us the Big M.I.S. of your story?
• Big Mystery: What is the main mystery of your story that will keep us wondering throughout the story?
Who is after Ryan, and why?
• Big Intrigue: What is thecovert, clandestine, underhanded plot that will live under the surface for most of the movie?
That Kinfeed is essentially a cover for Human trafficking, in that the owner knows about the dark feed and that people are selling each other on there.
• Big Suspense: What is the main danger to your Hero that will continue to escalate throughout the script?
As he is not killed, more and more people will come at him to take him out. Including at ne point the police as the owner of kin feed has so much power he is able to set Ryan up and frame him.
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What I learned from doing this assignment is how powerful MIS is in identifying what kind of thriller/story this will be. I’ve had a basic idea based on a dream I had several weeks ago. Thinking about the MIS that could come from this dream is helping to visualize and feel what the story could be. Pretty exciting!!
Story Conventions
Unwitting but Resourceful Hero: Carol and Max, married – taking a second honeymoon to save their marriage.
Dangerous Villain: Bruce and Helen, archeologists on holiday with a big secret.
High stakes: Murder; Death by cop; Untold riches; Love
Life and death situations: Mistaken identity; on the run from the police; capturing/killing villains before they are killed.
This story is thrilling because? No one can be trusted, no one is who they say they are, identities are switched, kidnapping/disappearance, artifact theft, hero’s must kill or be killed.
Big Mystery: Who are Bruce and Helen? What did they do? Where have they gone?
Big Intrigue: The psychological manipulation of one couple that allows the other couple to get away with murder and art theft.
Big Suspense: Will Carol and Max kill Bruce and Helen before they can kill them?
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Hi Cheryl,
I did not receive the assignment for day 2 and I can’t find day 1 assignment to post my results.
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DAY TWO — ASSIGNMENT
BIG MIS – Michael O’Keefe
* What I learned doing this assignment is…?” The difference between mystery, intrigue and suspense. I
did not separate them out, or look at them as building blocks to creating
a thriller. I was going on gut (and not quite there).1. Give us your logline? “A teacher turns up dead leaving her underage student/lover as the only suspect in the investigation, which leads to the detective catching feelings for him.”
2. What are the conventions of your story?
[1] Unwitting but Resourceful Hero: Yes, Dino
[2] Dangerous Villain: Yes, Jim, Dino’s stepfather
[3] High stakes: Yes, Dino’s freedom as he is being framed for murder
[4] Life and death situations: Yes, Dino’s accused, APB is issued and he becomes a target
[5] This story is thrilling because? Events unfold, evidence keeps getting leaked to the police implicating Dino
3. Tell us the Big M.I.S. of your story?
[1] Big Mystery: What is the main mystery of your story that will keep us wondering throughout the story? Who killed Dino’s Spanish teacher, Cindy.
[2] Big Intrigue: What is the covert, clandestine, underhanded plot that will live under the surface for most of the movie? The stepfather’s real reason for the manipulation of the police: he is forcing Dino’s father, Luke, a brilliant counterfeiter who is in prison, to give him the engraving plates so he can make millions of dollars. If Luke doesn’t, his son, Dino, will go to prison for a murder he did not commit.
[3] Big Suspense: What is the main danger to your Hero that will continue to escalate throughout the script? The threat of arrest and incarceration as the accumulation of circumstantial evidence framing Dino keeps “materializing.”
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Renee’s Big M.I.S.
What I learned doing this assignment is how to think about the conventions and the important aspects of your thriller before you write a single scene.
Logline: When the daughter of the city’s District Attorney is kidnapped, she must find a way to escape before she is killed.
1. What are the conventions of your story?
• Unwitting but Resourceful Hero: a young woman majoring in Criminal Justice must use her knowledge and strength to escape her kidnappers.
• Dangerous Villain: the leader of the local KKK will do whatever it takes to get the D.A. to drop the charges against his son, including kidnapping and torturing the D.A.’s daughter.
• High stakes: if she can’t find a way to escape, she will die.
• Life and death situations:
o She is grabbed from the street and thrown in the trunk of a car for what seems like days.
o She is locked in a small, bare room, chained to a bed.
o She is sexually assaulted.
o She is tortured.
o She is tracked through the woods.
• This story is thrilling because?
2. Tell us the Big M.I.S. of your story?
• Big Mystery: Who is behind the kidnapping.
• Big Intrigue: the man behind the kidnapping is using the girl to manipulate the city’s D.A. into dropping charges against his associates.
• Big Suspense: Will she be able to escape before she is killed?
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Jim Fisher
What I learned doing this assignment is<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”> how determining and inserting
the conventions of a thriller creates guideposts that shape the story.“Merry Xmas”
LOGLINE: While a bumbling, suspended beat cop is serving his mandated 200 hours of Community Service as Santa Claus, he stumbles into a blackmail threat of the US Government.
Big Mystery: Who would go to such lengths as to detonate an A-bomb?
Big Intrigue: Is it a militia group’s threat to use an A-bomb to achieve their goal or is somebody using them as a diversion?
Big Suspense: The closer Santa gets to unraveling the plot, the more it increases the chance of the A-bomb being detonated.
The hero, Santa Clause, appears to be way in over his head.
The dangerous villain knows no limits in furthering the expansion of his/her empire.
The stakes are nothing short of a huge land grab.
Life and death situations arrive around every corner when Santa continues sticking his nose into affairs that should be of no concern to him.
The story is thrilling because we need to know if a temporary Santa Claus can prevent setting off an A-bomb.
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Subject Line: (Gledé Kabongo) Big M.I.S.
What I learned during this assignment.
It forced me to take a closer look at the M.I.S. moments of my thriller.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>LOGLINE:
A married Boston scientist is framed for the murder of her physical therapist with whom she had an affair.
Unwitting but resourceful hero:
Dr. Shelby Cooper is framed for the murder of her physical therapist and sent to jail until trial, and while trying to protect her family and prove her innocence, she discovers the real killer had been hiding in plain sight.
Dangerous villain
Mia Lansing, a bipolar psychopath who wants Shelby’s life completely and irrevocably ruined. She leaks incriminating evidence against Shelby to the police, and enlists Shelby’s disgraced former colleague to stalk Shelby’s teenage daughter.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>High stakes
Shelby’s freedom, her family’s safety, her career and reputation.
Life and death situations:
A mysterious SUV tries to run Shelby off the road, the threat to Shelby’s kids’ lives, death of the Mia Lansing’s accomplice (he could have helped prove Shelby’s innocence), Jason Cooper’s confrontation with the accomplice in an abandoned parking lot, late at night, and finally ending with Lansing’s death (a huge plunge down a long flight of stairs at Shelby’s home).
This story is thrilling because throughout, we’re worried that Shelby will spend the rest of her life in prison if exonerating evidence doesn’t surface in time. Every time progress is made, more evidence surfaces, pointing to Shelby’s guilt.
Tell us the Big M.I.S. of your story?
Big Mystery: Who is Mia Lansing and why did she frame Shelby for murder?
Big Intrigue: Why is Mia Lansing always one step ahead of investigators? Promising clues end up as dead ends.
Big Suspense: Will the real killer be exposed before it’s too late?
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Leo’s Big M.I.S.
What I learned doing this assignment is that I need to make the villain’s motivations stronger.
LOGLINE
Movie star Matt needs a kidney transplant to survive. His only potential donor is his father who has become a recluse, in a cabin on a mountain protected by traps, explosive devices, and his father’s hatred of all things living. Can Matt break through and save them both?
1. What are the conventions of your story?
Unwitting but Resourceful Hero: Matt has faced every kind of threat and monster you could think of on screen. He now must put those talents to use to get to his father, Luke, who abandoned him when he was a child.
Dangerous Villain: Matt accepts an offer of help from Hank, a military consultant on set, to help find his father. Hank’s real motivation is to get to Matt’s father and kill him. He is seeking revenge against Luke because when Luke returned from combat, he found Hank cheating with Matt’s mother. Luke beat Hank and disfigured him. He has wanted revenge for 30 years.
High stakes: Matt must get through to his father to save his life, without being killed by his father or Hank.
Life and death situations: Matt, Hank and a sidekick Bill must get through the maze of traps and attacks from Luke. Matt and Bill are also threated by Hank, but they don’t know it.
This story is thrilling because: The closer they get to Matt’s father, the more violent his efforts get to stop them, and the more determined Hank becomes to kill Matt in front of his father.
2. Tell us the Big M.I.S. of your story?
Big Mystery: What is Hank’s motivation to help Matt and why do things keep going wrong?
Big Intrigue: What is Hank’s secret and why does he know things about Matt that he shouldn’t?
Big Suspense: Will Matt succumb to his disease, be unintentionally killed by his recluse father, or be executed as an act of revenge by Hank.
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Rachelle’s Big M.I.S.
Logline: Cynthia (Cyn) Bardot has a photographic memory, the problem is, she can’t remember anything. Lured back to her hometown by the death of her mother, Cyn must remember the past to save her sister and protect both of their lives and futures.
1. Conventions:
Unwitting but resourceful hero: Cyn thinks she’s going home to help her sister sort out their mother’s death, but she returns to a past she would rather forget.
Dangerous Villain: Xander is a sociopath bent on controlling to the point of ruin. His main focus is the Bardot family.
High Stakes: Cyn can leave whenever she wants, but she won’t because of her sister. Xander lures her in, because she is in love with him (they have history together).
Life and death situations: Cyn and her sister are both under Xander’s spell. They don’t realize the past he’s a part of or the future he is trying to construct. He has killed and will kill again.
The story is thrilling because: Xander is enmeshed with their family history, whether they realize it or not. The audience may see things the sisters do not yet recognize. His purpose is to control and dominate the only way he knows how – by any means necessary. It’s going to come down to him or them.
2. The Big M.I.S.
The BIG MYSTERY is how has Xander fucked with this family for twenty years, relentlessly (and why)? Will Cyn recover her memory and save her sister and herself?
The BIG INTRIGUE is what Xander really wants. He’s a sociopath. His reasoning doesn’t follow conscious or anything our audience would recognize as something they would do in most situations.
The BIG SUSPENSE is that Cyn is in danger every minute she remembers the past or figures out anything about Xander’s character.
3. What I learned doing this assignment: I originally envisioned this idea to be a “thriller” but it turned into a drama because I didn’t know how to make the thriller happen… I’ve got all the scenes layed out on note cards ready to go…
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Joe’s BIG MIS
What I learned: I am pretty clear on most of the conventions of my story and the BIG MIS. What I need to work on is my Unwitting but Resourceful Hero, and my Dangerous Villian. Super important to get these characters right.
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Noree’s Big M.I.S.
What I learned doing this assignment is the difference between a thriller that delivers consistently throughout, and slipping into drama. This lesson actually demystified a recent producer’s note on my last draft of this project saying “you’re getting dramatic on me”.
Logline: After a traumatic night, a geneticist escapes into a neighborhood that technically doesn’t exist. A sinister connection between her company & the neighborhood emerges, and she is launched into finding a way to liberate the residents, without getting herself or the people killed. And most of all, without being exposed as a murderer herself.
1. What are the conventions of your story?
Unwitting but Resourceful Hero: A geneticist that believes she has accidentally killed her parents.
Dangerous Villain: Dr. Morado, head of Hermetix medical research corp.
High stakes: Raven’s life and reputation. The lives of the people living in Neighborhood H.
Life and death situations: Raven gets kidnapped in subway tunnels, Raven gets stuck inside of Neighborhood H, Raven confronts her coworker/friend who may be involved.
This story is thrilling because? We don’t know if Raven will survive it.
2. Tell us the Big M.I.S. of your story?
Big Mystery: What is the main mystery of your story that will
keep us wondering throughout the story? Who set Raven’s parents up to die? Are they the same ones involved with holding Neighborhood H in captivity?
Big Intrigue: What is the covert, clandestine, underhanded
plot that will live under the surface for most of the movie? The
descendants of Henrietta Lacks are being held captive to harvest their superior
immunity.Big Suspense: What is the main danger to your Hero that will
continue to escalate throughout the script? Will she survive helping the people of Neighborhood H from under the control of Hermetix Corp? -
Gordon’s “72 Hours” MIS
What I learned doing this assignment is this: defining and refining my story’s MIS.
Log – She extorts one of the world’s wealthiest individuals. He retaliates, hiring the world’s most formidable killer. But none know of the binding connection between them all that in 72 hours could eliminate any one or all of them.
1. What are the conventions of your story?
Unwitting but Resourceful Hero: GWEN, a resourceful security specialist seeks “pay back” from one of the world’s richest men.
Dangerous Villain: JEB. One of the world’s richest men who because of his evilness and wealth, can and does out-resource Gwen, to her detriment.
High stakes: Someone will die. And it’s likely Gwen. Jeb faces prison and would do anything to avoid it.
Life and death situations: Plenty. Break-ins by hooded hit person. Attacks by a bear. Death on a foggy jogging trail. Mixed martial arts combat perhaps to the death of one. A professional execution.
This story is thrilling because: The audience doesn’t know who will live and how they would survive, who will die and how death would come, and who would go to jail should they survive. One even rises to life after what was seemingly his most certain death.
2. Tell us the Big M.I.S. of your story?
Big Mystery: What is the true connection between Jeb, Gwen and Mara that drives the story?
Big Intrigue: Besides being the world’s deadliest hit woman, who, really, is Mara?
Big Suspense: Will Jeb finally catch up with Gwen? When he does how could Gwen ever survive his wrath?
Best, G
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Linda Kish’s Big M.I.S.
What I learned doing this assignment is it’s easy to take seed ideas and give them depth using the Big M.I.S. and conventions of a thriller.
Genovese-Napolitano, A Crime Thriller
Logline: The most feared prosecutor in Philadelphia is terrorized by a mafia don who will stop at nothing to bring his family back to prominence.
Conventions of your story:
<div>
Unwitting
but Resourceful Hero: A prosecutor who knows the law and has resources.
Dangerous
Villain: An Italian mobster whose goal is to build the Philadelphia + US mob
to higher prominence than it ever had.
</div><div>High stakes:
His life. His career. His family.Life and
death situations: Life threatened. A hit is put out on him. His family is
under surveillance and their lives threatened if he makes a misstep.
Someone killed right next to him in a drive-by.This story
is thrilling because: It combines
the natural intrigue of the mafia with an unsuspecting hero whose life, family,
and career are threatened. At first we don’t know who is targeting him or
why. As we learn who it is, they reveal what they have on him. He and his family are under constant
surveillance and he doesn’t know who is doing it or when or if they’ll
follow through with their threats.</div>
Big M.I.S. of your story:
<div>
Big Mystery:
Who has the guts to terrorize the city’s top prosecutor and what do they
want with him?
</div><div>Big
Intrigue: The mob wants him as their consigliere so they can build back
the Philadelphia and US mafia to what it once was. With his knowledge of
the prosecutors office, brilliance as an attorney and status in the
community, they have some legitimacy they can work under if he leaves the prosecutor’s
office to represent the family.Big
Suspense: Are they going to kill him or his family?</div>
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Robert’s Big M.I.S.
What I learned doing this assignment is how important the MIS is in the Thriller genre for a thriller to be successful.
Logline: Ben is a science post graduate, Impetuous and broke, who has invented a self charging car battery he believes will help to save the world and make him rich. He soon discovers Gavin’s east coast oil cartel is set on destroying his invention and his life. On his car journey down the east coast, Ben’s every turn is a life or death decision.
Unwitting but Resourceful Hero: Ben is broke and his life is in great danger as aresult of his invention attracting the wrong attention.
Dangerous Villain: Gavin, the head of the east coast oil cartel, activates his leaders to track down and destroy Ben’s invention and Ben himself.
High Stakes: Ben’s life, Lucy’s life, Ryan’s life, father’s life, his invention.
Life and death situations: Multiple attempts on Ben’s life; threat to his girlfriend, Lucy; the mistaken killing of Ryan, Ben’s brother; killing of Ben’s father; car chase; filling station explosion.
This story is thrilling because: We are constantly worried about Ben’s survival and the fate of the other people in his life.
Big Mystery: Who from the oil industry is trying to kill Ben and why?
Big Intrigue: Why is a battered car so valuable to make an oil cartel want to steal it and kill it’s driver?
Big Suspense: Will Ben be caught and killed?
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Meg [Tzu-yun Chiu] Stout’s Big M.I.S.
What I learned doing this assignment is the draft of this screenplay I wrote this summer wasn’t honoring the thriller genre and therefore would have been dead on arrival had I tried to take it to market.
Log Line: A young father becomes involved in historical secrets that threaten to destroy his church and everything he holds dear. Based on actual events.
1. What are the conventions of your story?
Unwitting but Resourceful Hero: Steve Christensen, young Mormon businessman and father
Dangerous Villain: Mark Hofmann, antiquities dealer focused on American documents, particularly regarding early Mormon history
High stakes: New historical findings call the validity of the Mormon faith into question, with devastating consequences for the family-focused religion. Someone is willing to kill to protect themself, and it’s unclear who that might be.
Life and death situations: The film opens with a woman approaching a package which explodes, followed by news of two bombings and fears that dozens of bombs may be hidden in the city.
This story is thrilling because we know someone will die, creating a dread that drives us to watch as our unwitting hero tries to uncover the man he comes to believe is a fraud, with fatal consequences.
2. Tell us the Big M.I.S. of your story?
Big Mystery: What is the main mystery of your story that will keep us wondering throughout the story? Will Hofmann get away with his fraud? Who set the bombs and will they evade detection?
Big Intrigue: What is the covert, clandestine, underhanded plot that will live under the surface for most of the movie? What is the truth the Mormon Church is trying so hard to hide?
Big Suspense: What is the main danger to your Hero that will continue to escalate throughout the script? As Steve learns more, will he also lose the faith which means so much to his family? Will Steve be one of those we know at the outset has died in the bombings?
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Heidi Wolff- Big M.I.S.
What I learned doing this assignment is…?” The mystery, intrigue, & suspense of my story.
Logline: When a mysterious woman and bag wash ashore on a Scottish isle during a violent storm, a man must help the woman with her amnesia while piecing together events from her past before an international crime syndicate kills both of them.
1. What are the conventions of your story?
Unwitting but Resourceful Hero: A man who finds a mysterious woman on the shore.
Dangerous Villain: International Crime Syndicate.
High stakes: The information the woman has that the international crime syndicate wants.Life and death situations: The near encounters & encounters with the international crime syndicate.
This story is thrilling because? Will the man piece together the woman’s past & save both of them before the international crime syndicate kills them both.
2. Tell us the Big M.I.S. of your story?
Big Mystery: What is the main mystery of your story that will keep us wondering throughout the story? Who is the woman & what does she have that the international crime syndicate wants.
Big Intrigue: What is the covert, clandestine, underhanded plot that will live under the surface for most of the movie? Who are the international crime syndicate & why do they want the information the woman has.
Big Suspense: What is the main danger to your Hero that will continue to escalate throughout the script? Will the international crime syndicate kill the man & woman.
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What I learned: answering these questions tightened up my story
Logline: During a wedding anniversary celebration on their new luxury yacht, a wife discovers who bludgeoned her husband’s wealthy employers and now must masquerade ignorance and escape with her young daughter.
Unwitting but resourceful hero: Shelby, the talkative and charming life of the party wife of a wealthy elderly couples’ business partner.
Dangerous villain: Andrew – an abusive, cynical, and scheming man who enjoys showing off the accouterments of wealth, including Shelby, although he is socially awkward.
High stakes: Wealthy city leaders develop a flood control plan to create a reservoir and recreation area west of a river town, but century farms will be destroyed and tourism will relocate from the riverfront to the recreation area, creating more wealth for them; Andrew is extorting the rich and vindictively sabotaging them while growing his personal fortune.
Life and death situations: deadly floods, devastating storms, drug overdoses, fires from sabotaged gas lines, and the bludgeoning of a politically powerful elderly couple who are descendants of town founders.
This story is thrilling because – we want to find out who keeps causing the sabotage and death
Big mystery- What is the big secret city plan and who is killing people in horrible ways
Big intrigue – what business is Andrew in and how is he getting all of his money?
Big suspense – Shelby’s main danger is her inability to keep her mouth shut – she indiscriminately tells everything to all the wrong people and she can’t keep a secret to save her soul. But now, she must pretend she doesn’t know who the murderer is, keep secrets from Andrew, and plot a covert escape for herself and her young daughter to save their lives.
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What I learned doing this assignment is:
My story might not be a thriller as I have set it up right now. Maybe I need a detective investigating. She’s on the stepfather’s side and is out there to bring the girl back home. Until she finds out that he raped his stepdaughter and is the father of her child. Not sure if this is the right direction. She might lose the baby but has to keep it a secret to save her life. Once they know she’s lost the baby, they’ll kill her.
1. What are the conventions of your story?
Unwitting but Resourceful Hero: pregnant teenagerDangerous Villain: billionaire and wife but as a big surprise the gynecologist whom we thought of as the good guy + stepfatherHigh stakes: Once they have the baby they will get rid of her because she knows too much.Life and death situations: fleeing from the billionaire’s island. This story is thrilling because? The girl is pregnant and we constantly fear for her life and that of her unborn baby.
2. Tell us the Big M.I.S. of your story?
Big Mystery: What is the main mystery of your story that will keep us wondering throughout the story? Will the pregnant girl survive and safely deliver the baby before they catch her?Big Intrigue: What is the covert, clandestine, underhanded plot that will live under the surface for most of the movie? The dangerous pedophile network of the gynecologist trades young girls with the billionaire couple for babies. Big Suspense: What is the main danger to your Hero that will continue to escalate throughout the script? They will take her baby as soon as she gave birth and kill her.
3. Answer the question “What I learned doing this assignment is…?” and put it at the top of your work.
4. Post your assignment in the forums.
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