Day 2 Assignments

[Dexter Miller]

ASSIGNMENT #2:

Penny Maze (Hero), Senator Hall – Government (Villian)

I learned a little about creating a story and thinking about some plot points along the way

1. Fill in the blanks and see what shows up.

<strong style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Concept: Penny has the right to let the American people know what the Government has been planning to scare the population into seclusion.

Hero Morally Right: Saves her daughter’s life.<div>

Villain Morally Wrong: Killing and kidnapping.

Hero

A. Unique Skill Set: Highly trained Special Ops goes undercover as highly trained Scientist.

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B. Motivation: To get revenge for being passed up on several promotions because she didn’t take cash to look the other way.

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C. Secret: Her husband was killed by a special team of terrorists that she’s been trying to get vindication.

Villain

A. Unbeatable: The Government special forces try to discredit and humiliate her while she’s trying to expose them.

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B. Plan/Goal: Her daughter is kidnapped and the Organization threatens to kill her if she continues her research.

C. What they lose if Hero survives: She threatens to expose the Organization that is creating the virus which will in turn lose the election, his funding and his exposure lead to his death.

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Impossible Mission

A. Puts Hero in Action: She sets out to discover where the first virus was created and track its effectiveness.</div><div>

B. Demands They Go Beyond Their Best: She travels to San Francisco experimenting and then is suddenly thrashed into chaos while evading exposing her cover and jail.

C. Destroy the Villain: Penny kidnaps, torture, and kills two terrorists that suspect her intentions.

2. Once you have filled in a quick answer to each, go back and extrapolate (If _____, then how might _____?) to elevate any answers you can.: If Penny is exposed the government will kill her and her daughter to keep their secret.

3. Tell us your improved answers.: If she fails, lives are at stake.

4. Answer the question, “What I learned doing this assignment is…?” and put it at the top of your work.

5. Post your assignment in the forums at http://www.ScreenwritingClasses.com/forums

Subject line: (Your Name’s) Hero and Villain (place in first line)

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[Dawn Rochelle]

<font size=”2″>Dawn’s</font> Hero and Villain

What I learned doing this assignment i<font size=”2″>s thinking through major points helps lay solid foundation for story.
</font>

Concept:<font size=”2″> </font>Government agent suspected of betraying her country must find the real traitor before her bosses capture or kill her.

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Hero Morally Right<font size=”2″>: She is not a traitor but a victim of seeing her mother murdered and being taken away from her father (kidnapped).</font>
</div><div>

Villain Morally Wrong:<font size=”2″>
Has hero’s mother murdered and hero kidnapped as a child without anyone
knowing his true identity
</font>

<font size=”2″>
</font>

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Hero<font size=”2″>: </font>Government agent with<font size=”2″> </font>specialized technology that enhances her physical abilities<font size=”2″> and allows her body to become an unhackable information database.
</font>

A. Unique Skill Set<font size=”2″>: Enhanced physical abilities; ability process/carry stored information in her blood
</font>B. Motivation<font size=”2″>: Clear her name and find out who killed her mother
</font>C. Secret or Wound<font size=”2″>: Mother murdered. Kidnapped and used for technology testing.
</font>

Villain<font size=”2″>: </font><font size=”2″>Agent White who controls the secret government agency the hero has been a part of.
</font>

A. Unbeatable<font size=”2″>: Access to special technology used by hero; armed agents; and his identity is secret
</font>B. Plan/Goal<font size=”2″>: Kill hero to keep secret government technology testing on certain people
</font>C. What they lose if Hero survives<font size=”2″>: Found out, shamed and jailed
</font>

Impossible Mission<font size=”2″>: </font> Less than 18 hours to find traitor, avoid agents hunting her and stabilize the unique tech woven into her blood stream. <font size=”2″>l</font>

A. Puts Hero in Action<font size=”2″>: Flees initial attack with agent’s help and goes on the ru
</font><div>B. Demands They Go Beyond Their Best<font size=”2″>:
Must use her enhanced abilities like never before and keep her
“modifications”steady; pushing her beyond the norm may cause tech
embedded in her blood to kill her</font>
</div><div>

C. Destroy the Villain<font size=”2″>: Avoids or kills agents; kill villain</font>

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[Judith Resell]

I see that legends are well-suited for action scripts. They usually have the moral opposition, the impossible villain and an interesting hero. The legend I’m using checks off all of the action boxes. The weakness in this story as action is the area of high skills for the hero. To be great, I think she needs a more novel fighting skill, so I am brainstorming that.

[Kay Hones]

#2 Subject line Lee vs. MacNeel Lab chairman

“What I learned doing this assignment is expand ideas about villain ?”

Concept:

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Hero Morally
Right: eliminate source of fatal drug</div><div>

Villain Morally
Wrong: profit from fatal drug

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Hero

<div>
A. Unique Skill
Set ju jit su
</div><div>

B. Motivation
family member died from fentanyl

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C. Secret or
Wound used drugs in youth & best friend died

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Villain

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A. Unbeatable
huge corporate with unlimited funds
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B. Plan/Goal
make billions on drug production in China & Tasmania

C. What they
lose if Hero survives court cases

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Impossible Mission

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A. Puts Hero in
Action find corporate person behind the drug
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B. Demands They
Go Beyond Their Best: physical & mental excess

C. Destroy the
Villain without killing?

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[Christopher Sequeira]

<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Psychologist Sandra and the Unknown Killer called “The Hidden”

1. Fill in the blanks and see what shows up.

Concept: A psychologist who can tell when people are lying is stuck in a bizarre prison for inhuman beings that goes into lockdown when one of the inmates has found a way to get out of his cell and kill the staff. Unless she can solve the murders the prison will be destroyed with her and other staff in it. If it’s a variation on a prison / hidden psycho-killer with strange inhuman beings, then, how might that effect the psychologists’s ability to read the killer’s actions?

Hero
Morally Right: Sandra, a psychologist who wants to solve the murders but
also save the innocent staff – and even the ‘innocent’ prisoners from
being killed by the prison being imploded with them in it . If the clock is ticking for all of them, then
how might we set up simple, convincing rules that make this terrifying and
edge of the seat but still grounded?
Villain
Morally Wrong: The mysterious killer and the effects his murders are
causing to make the warden consider destroying the whole place rather than
letting the killer get free. If the killer prowls uncaught
can we play with the possibilities he’s not a prisoner, but perhaps a
warder or other staffer? Set up a powerful twist on this?

Hero

A.
Unique Skill Set: Sandra, brilliant brave psych who has a knack of judging
when people are lying, but because of her (failed) past she also understands
need for redemption, and that just because you are a prisoner doesn’t mean
you should be left for dead. If Sandra understand liars and
desperate people so well, then how might we show this and has she used those
gifts in disturbing, semi-criminal or actual criminal ways herself – and did
she do so without getting caught – but knows it was wrong – hurt someone she
cared about and paid a price?
B.
Motivation: Saver herself and the ‘innocents’ (staff and prisoners) in the
prison from murder and death. If her powers are great, then
how might this lead to stunning revelations at story’s end. Rveals unlike
anything we imagine, shocking? Characters who are just not what they seem.
C.
Secret or Wound (she had a past where she misused her power / authority /
knowledge and was branded a criminal – because she actually was. If the usual thing is to see a character redeem
themselves out of guilt what if she has no guilt?

Villain

A.
Unbeatable; The mysterious, powerful killer, is it one of the five inhuman
‘gang leaders’ or a completely unsuspected prisoner or staffer? This
villain leaves a series of taunting cluses at each murder scene. If we have this great set-up anyone can be a
suspect so there should be moments when we a re sure we know but we are
shocked by wrong and that means people we don’t expect to die have to die,
and maybe we can’t figure out how, because they were so powerful.
B.
Plan/Goal: To sow havoc and then escape. If the murderer has a bigger goal than we
thought that might create even greater intrigue. Revenge? Personal? Suicide?
Infect the world?
C.
What they lose if Hero survives: the ability to escape If they have other designs then a clue could be
people who don’t get killed. Which puts suspicion on them!

Impossible Mission

A.
Puts Hero in Action: First murder and then prison goes into lockdown, and a murderer
who is unfazed by lockdown, seemingly gets everywhere exhibiting murderous
rage and great strength in killing people. If no one sees it it can be a shocking reveal of
the inhuman nature of the inmates which kicks the story to a new level?
B.
Demands They Go Beyond Their Best: if Sandra can’t be smarter, more canny
and more empathetic and capable of seeing through lies—and is also still
willing to forgive herself– – she will fail and die as will the others. If Sandra’s ostensible skill is picking liars
and their lies but she also KNOWS how to lie brilliantly, and she will use
this! Is she the greatest monster / inhuman of all?
C.
Destroy the Villain: By unmasking the villain, stopping the ticking clock
of the prison being destroyed with herself in it. If truth is resolution, then everyone’s truth
must ne revealed. A movie about devastating secrets and lies.

2. Once you have filled in a quick answer to each, go back and extrapolate (If _____, then how might _____?) to elevate any answers you can.

3. Tell us your improved answers.

4. Answer the question, “What I learned doing this assignment is…?” and put it at the top of your work. If you visualise the movie while you do this Mission-Hero-Villain exercise you realise the fundamentals of your hero have to be challenged by the nature of this story and the villain. All three of these elements feed each other for conflict and allow creativity to flow on doing fresh things to address the very story.

5. Post your assignment in the forums at http://www.ScreenwritingClasses.com/forums

Subject line: (Your Name’s) Hero and Villain (place in first line) Sandra and “The Hidden”