Day 4 Assignments

[julie Beckett]

Julie’s 10 Most Interesting things

what I learned was some of these are missing in my script and I will use this list for my next script.

· What is most unique about your villain and hero?

o Hero, millennial college football player used to sheltered life on campus. Will need to self-actualize to win over the battle-hardened cops to make his plan success

o Mack, old school door kicker, kicks ass and keeps the peace. Wants to keep status quo.

· Major hook of your opening scene?

o Teaser: A family fight turns deadly, and we hear three shots. As it fades to black, we’re left to wonder, who shot who?

· Any turning points?

o Facing public pressure from a video of a high school girl punched in the face by an officer, the mayor launches the DART program 3 weeks early, forcing Cameron to scramble to pull it together.

· Major twists?

o Daryl is filmed punching a HS girl but there is more to the story. We see in a flashback that there was another person there pointing a gun at Daryl and the girl had taken Daryl’s gun.

· Or any big surprises?

o Tre punches Daryl in front of both teams and the mayor. The mayor ends the fracas with a smackdown with of her own and demands that they have to work make this program work and needs optics for PR and daily status reports.

Other interesting things:

· Budget is manageable; Quite a few scenes are set in the police station.

· The police have a betting pool going on the Smiths, a well-off couple with a history of domestic violence.

· To get a drag queen jumper off of an eight-story ledge, Mack points his gun at him and he scrambles inside.

· Bteam responds to a domestic call that could be a murder or assault.

· Daryl hazes claustrophobic Tre by leaving him locked the back of a hot police car while he goes to get some coney dogs.

[Frances Emerson]

POWER PLAYERS LESSON FOUR

FRAN’S TEN MOST INTERESTING THINGS

WHAT I LEARNED: This makes you really think about what you’ve written and ask yourself “why should anyone come to see this movie?” It’s a real eye-opener and it gets you thinking like a producer.

The ten things I came up with:

1. UNIQUE STORY: The story itself has never been done by Hollywood in my recollection or researches. Real people inhabit my story—“real captains” from the “real steamboats.” And the two lovers and villain who comes between them were also real, live historical people.

All have colorful, larger than life personalities any movie star would kill to portray.

2. UNIQUE CHARACTERS: Charles may be far from a unique hero, but he portrays the type of hero only hopeless romantics would fall in love with instantly. He goes from a mild-mannered, milk-toast, the ultimate average and average looking Joe to a super hero defending Frances from villainous Albert and aiding Cannon in his effort to save the race for the Robert E. Lee. And Albert’s too handsome, too slick an operator for his own good. A totally untrustworthy suitor. The two captains are total opposites and yet they seek the same recognition: to be the king of the Mississippi River, to be the best and the best known at what they do. Leathers is a bullheaded, blowhard with a soft heart for the underserved. And Cannon is a gruff old man who’s more than a father figure to all who serve under him and comes to be a kind of father figure for Frances, too, before the race is over.

3. TURNING POINTS: There are plenty of exciting turning points for the race enthusiast.

Dangers lurking on the Lee: a water pump pipe breaks, a boiler loses water and is ready to explode, what the captains call Devil’s Country, a dangerous stretch of the river that’s a gamble for any boat that sails through it, and the FOG.

For the Natchez: the steamboat, almost brand new, built for this race, yaws. And it has a water pump that breaks down in the middle of the race.

4. BETRAYAL?: The only one I could come up with is Charles’ betrayal of himself. His own feelings toward his dead fiancé. It’s all Charles can think about and vows he will never love again. But he finds himself during the course of the race he’s falling in love with Frances. He doesn’t want to betray the love he has for his Abigail by falling for Frances.

5. CLIFFHANGER!: Part II serves up a great cliffhanger at the end. Frances gets a proposal from Albert. Does she accept? Charles has to watch from the shorelines at Memphis—needing to leave the boat on urgent business for the paper.

6. THE BIG HOOK: We are led to ask the question in the opening scene: WHO IS CHARLES WELBOURNE KNAPP? And WHY SHOULD WE CARE ABOUT HIM? We learn just who Charles is on his journey for his father’s newspaper—AND THE VERY END OF THE MOVIE! Also, the Lee in the first opening scenes of the race proper we see the Robert E. Lee looking very much like a “skeleton.”

7. THE TORTOISE AND THE HARE STORY: But slow and steady doesn’t win this race. Just steady determination to remain in the lead until the very end does.

8. SURPRISES AND DELIGHTS: There are plenty of surprises and delights as well: Fourth of July fireworks, daring stunts. Charles punches Albert’s lights out. The state of the art, newly built Natchez vs. the on its last legs Robert E. Lee. The reporter John Kay gets tossed into the drink.

The voyage on the Natchez turns into a comedy.

9. TWISTS: Frances decides to stow away on the Lee in order to be with Charles and win his heart.

Frances shows Charles and Cannon she’s not just another hairbrained debutante after all. We have Frances getting advice from Cannon about Albert after we learn when they first meet it’s not exactly friends at first sight for them. And we have a “miracle” with the breaking up of the thick as pea soup fog to help Cannon win the big race in the end.

10. IT HAS COMIC RELIEF: On the Natchez, reporter John Kay is a thorn in Leathers’ side to get his story.

[Michael O’Keefe]

Lesson 4 -The 10 Most Interesting Things – Assignment

Mike O – Ten Most Interesting Things

What I learned doing this assignment is a script must entice a producer as well as an audience. It has to be “marketable” and you need to give the prospective producer as many marketable ideas and slants as possible so that he “gets” it.

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I. Go through your project and see which of these specific hooks you have:

The more succinct you can be, the better. Most of the interesting things you pitch can be said in a single sentence. Some can be said in 3 or 4 words. Succinct often equals more powerful.

a. Protagonist clings to childhood memories of her estranged father for artistic inspiration.

b. She carries on entire conversations with his ghost.

c. Protagonist receives a Christmas card from her father. Suddenly, her ghost has a home address!

d. Instead of an olive branch, it turns out to be her father’s last correspondence.

e. ‘Love’ and ‘loss’ are both four-letter words that begin with “L” in the protagonist’s eyes.

f. Managing her loss means she must make a stand and embrace the changes taking place.

g. Charming, manipulative and a sociopath, the antagonist lies to the protagonist about a lot.

h. Protagonist learns “lies” is the third, four-letter word she must overcome; the trifecta so to speak.

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[1] What is most unique about your villain and hero?

Our hero, a sheltered painter who clings to childhood memories of her estranged father for artistic inspiration, imagines him beside her, whenever Brooklyn paints and carries on entire conversations with his ghost.

Week before Christmas, she receives a greeting card from him. Suddenly, her long, lost ghost has a home address!

Our Villain is manipulative, gracious and easily charms people. He has dozens of acquaintances, but no true friends. He possesses a great eye for artistic talent and has ‘discovered’ a number of artists. In truth, Richard has no innate talent himself and this failing drives him to compensate in other ways.

Both villain and hero want the same thing, the art gallery owned by Joshua, Brooklyn’s father. While our hero vacillates on whether or not she wants to sell the place, our villain plants doubt, lies, and forges documents to make it appear he was a partner in the gallery.

Joshua’s posthumous love for his daughter prompts Brooklyn to keep the gallery. It is his legacy, a connection the two share, if only after the fact. Her decision proves to be the villain’s tipping point as he steals the gallery’s best art pieces, then burns the place to the ground.

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[2] Major hook of your opening scene? Your opening scene may start with a bang or it may end with a twist. We aren’t looking for the drama here, but instead, for the one thing that is most interesting!

Major Hook: “Hope springs eternal for Brooklyn. Unfortunately, instead of an olive branch, it turns out to be her father’s last correspondence as she receives a certified letter later that evening informing Brooklyn of his passing. “ (The Juxtaposition of our hero’s joy over receiving a Christmas card from her estranged father, with the audience knowing the man died after sending the greeting card.)

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[3] Any turning points? In general, every turning point has some type of twist or surprising moment…or at least they should. This is a moment of change; therefore, it could be a candidate for one of your interesting things.

At her father’s cabin, Brooklyn discovers ‘lies’ is another four-letter word that begins with ‘L’ when she finds a shoebox filled with letters addressed to her. Written across each one, the words: ‘return to sender’ in her mother’s handwriting. For the second time in as many days, Brooklyn’s world is flipped on its head.

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[4] Emotional dilemma? State the character’s emotional dilemma in a single “either/or” statement…and make sure it really is a difficult or impossible choice.

Does Brooklyn remain single and pursue her blossoming career or does she forsake the big city and embrace the love of a man from a small mountain town.

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[5] Major twists? Any major twist carries surprise and change with it. Give us the Setup / Twist.

Will Brooklyn end her romance with the man she just met and sidle up to the wealthy art patron who loves her work. She flies back to Chicago to meet with him, giving the audience the allusion she will follow in her mother’s footsteps and forsake love for financial security.

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[6] Reversals? A reversal causes us to go in the opposite direction. State it powerfully as a “Setup / Reversal.”

Brooklyn’s behavior at the wealthy, art patron’s party gives the illusion that Brooklyn is going in the opposite/wrong direction.

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[7] Character betrayals? – Betrayals are both shocking and emotional. If set up well, these can engage readers on a deep level.

Brooklyn’s mother – her deception and the lies she told about Brooklyn’s father. Similarly, the fact she returned all her father’s letters addressed to Brooklyn without Brooklyn ever knowing he was attempting to stay in contact with her.

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[8] Or any big surprises? The structure for a surprise is “Setup / Surprise.” Tell us the normal situation, then the big change that surprises us.

Brooklyn setting up the antagonist at the climax. Their final showdown reveals Brooklyn has learned to use another person’s foibles against him/her in order to arrive at the truth.

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II. Make a list of any other things in your script that could interest a producer.

1. Minimal # of locations: Warehouse renovated into a work studio, a mountain cabin, small art gallery.

2. Small cast: protagonist, antagonist, love interest, a best friend and two supporting actors.

3. CGC: Only one or two scenes where a momentary “ghost” must appear.

[David Harper]

What I learned doing this assignment is that I have several hooks I could expand on in my pitch.

1. Go through your project and see which of these specific hooks you have:

A. What is most unique about your villain and hero?<div>

The villain is the hero’s father. Because the hero is trying to build a relationship with his father, and because family is desperately important to him, he blinds himself to his father’s true nature and gets caught up in his violent lifestyle.

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B. Major hook of your opening scene?

This is an interesting one, because it’s a cold open wherein we actually see two supporting characters first. It’s somewhat reminiscent of the opening of “A History of Violence,” in that it sets the tone for the film in a way that foreshadows the hero’s journey downward.

C. Any turning points?

Several. The arrival of the two characters from the cold open, the hero jumping in to protect his father, and promising to get them their money, the hero getting arrested and put in jail, the hero’s love interest turning on him … And more.

D. Emotional dilemma?

The biggest dilemma for the hero is deciding to turn on his dad in order to do the right thing.

E. Major twists?

It turns out his father deliberately started the wildfire that is threatening them all.

G. Character betrayals?

Both the hero and the villain betray each other, at various times throughout the film.

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