Day 4 Assignments

[Sky Canyon]

Sky Canyon’s 10 Most Interesting Things

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

Hero – Jack – he lost his father when he was young – his bravado and arrogance and humor are a cover-up, and his desperate attempts to “win” are trying to make up for his emptiness.

Unbeknowst to Jack, Villain Zhang has reason to crash Jack’s career because of a run-in with Jack’s boss years ago.

B. Major hook of your opening scene?

Opening scene: A mysterious figure is in danger – who, and why?

C. Any turning points?

1^st act into 2^nd act – Just when Jack thinks he might be getting his life back together after it falls apart, with a new job, it turns out the job is. . . in India!

2^nd act into 3^rd act – Just when the monks are getting successful trading the market, the Chinese appear, smash computers and arrest Miyagi. Jack is in the dumps again.

D. Emotional dilemma?

Jena confronts Jack on his issues, Jack finally fesses up to his insecurities.

And, Jack is desperate to save Miyagi, but it turns out he must give up the codes to the Monks’ proprietary technology or the Chinese will execute Miyagi and Jack

E. Major twists?

Setup/Twist:

1) Fong has a job for Jack – finally, Jack “will be in luck now” – but it is literally Lucknow, India.”

2) Miyagi mentions Jack’s father – a shock to Jack – what does Miyagi know? The Chinese arrest Miyagi before Jack can learn the truth.

F. Reversals?

Setup / reversal: Jack makes “the trade of his career” except it goes completely south, crashing his career and marriage.

Setup / reversal: Jack confidently offers Zhang, in Beijing, that he’ll provide the technology if Zhang frees Miyagi, only to be thrown in jail and threatened with execution if he doesn’t give up the codes to the machine.

G. Character betrayals?

Fong is in an emotional turmoil when his boss, Zhang, orders him to give Jack false info about China’s stance on the dollar. Jack is totally betrayed.

Zhang confronts Miyagi in the jail, we discover they were best buddies when young in the Chinese army, and Zhang felt betrayed by Miyagi when he deserted.

H. Or any big surprises?

The structure for a surprise is “Setup / Surprise.” Tell us the normal situation, then the big change that surprises us.

Setup/Surprise – Miyagi brings up Jack’s father, a shock that Miyagi knows something about Jack’s father, interrupted by the Chinese arriving, shut down the trading, haul Miyagi off, and Jack must come up with a plan to free Miyagi, only to learn that Miyagi tried to save Jack’s father’s life in Vietnam and has his journal.

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

Jack teaching the monks to trade the market – hilarious and out of left field in normal reality.

There is a “nerdy, techno-monk” at the Monastery who invents the device that will save China from disaster.

Budding, slow growth love interest for Jack with Jena.

What I learned doing this assignment is to think about what elements of a pitch really stand out – this was a good exercise!

[Ron Horton]

Ron Horton’s 10 Most Interesting Things about “Charley’s River.”

A. Charley is young, a multi-millionaire, and feels stuck in the rat race. His only escape is in his daydreams, which are high energy.

B. Charley jumps off the top of his high-rise office complex in full rappelling gear, only to be yanked back up by the sound of his cell phone.

C. The main turning point comes when Charley is faced with a serious prison sentence if he can’t clear his name. That sends him off on his quest for the life he really wants.

D. Charley’s dilemma is in trying to figure out how to justify leaving a seven-figure salary, his ailing father, and a possible special love interest, in order to find happiness back at a life he remembers.

E. The industry hot lady, Marla, who is seducing Charley turns out to be someone with a vengeance. Charley must now, not only figure his future out, but must figure out how to stay out of prison.

F. The reversal would be when Marla comes up against Charley’s ace-in-the-hole, Felicity, who is two steps ahead of her in cunning and intelligence.

G. Both Lenny, a business associate, and Marla, turn against Charley. Lenny does so for money, Marla for revenge of something that happened way back in high school.

H. Charley and Susan end up fully alive… with their deaths on the river.

The excitement of White-Water Rafting, to the right producer, could be very enticing. This is also the type of move that can feel like a big tent production, yet fall into a lower budget production cost. The strong roles of the lead characters should be an easy sell to A list actors.

In thinking about the Top 10 List, I was able to see a couple flaws that were easily fixed, once brought out in the open. Again, thinking about what a producer would want is very beneficial in getting a script sold and a movie made.

[Brenda Noonan]

Brenda Noonan’s 10 Most Interesting Things

4. What I learned doing this assignment is that pitches don’t need to be like book reports! I’d always assumed that the interesting things were mentioned within the structure of the story, making my pitches more of a book report with highlights.

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

A. What is most unique about your villain and hero? Hero is a London Detective Superintendent with a high IQ. Villain appears to have all the advantages he could want in life and went to university with the hero.

B. Major hook of your opening scene? During the excavation of an historic abbey on an aristocrat’s estate, archaeologists discover a human skeleton.

C. Any turning points? The American writer is elected by the group to find out why the lead instructor is late, and she finds the lead instructor, who has been murdered.

D. Emotional dilemma? The detective has a crush on the main suspect, an American mystery writer, whose stories he admires.

E. Major twists? The American writer previously worked for the aristocrat on a history of his family and estate, and is familiar with the abbey and its grounds.

F. Reversals? The detective is beginning to rely on the chief suspect for information, then finds out that in the middle of a previous 6-week workshop, the American writer’s roommate disappeared, and he must re-evaluate his feelings for her. When the American writer realizes someone is trying to frame her for two murders, she competes with the detective in trying to solve the murder so she won’t be arrested.

G. Character betrayals? Someone is trying to frame the American writer.

H. Or any big surprises? The skeleton is not the American writer’s former roommate at the workshop. It turns out she married the aristocrat’s brother and they return from a trip while the workshop is going on. The skeleton turns out to be a defrocked priest who was buried outside the grounds of the abbey, and supposedly haunts it.

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

A. Comparable movies: Clue, Knives Out

B. Ensemble piece, possibly for some A-list actors

C. Semi-contained setting

D. Includes two distinct crime subgenres: the cosy mystery (amateur sleuth) and police procedural (cops)

E. The main suspects are successful murder mystery writers, who could probably devise the perfect murder.

F. Strong female lead

3. Organize both and select the 10 most interesting things. Post those to the forums.

1) Producer Interest: Comparable movies: Clue, Knives Out.

2) Producer Interest: Semi-contained setting (aristocrat’s estate and nearby village).

3) Producer Interest: Ensemble piece, possibly for some A-list actors.

4) Producer Interest: Includes two distinct crime subgenres: the cosy mystery (amateur sleuth) and police procedural (cops)

5) Producer Interest: The main suspects are successful murder mystery writers, who could probably devise the perfect murder.

6) Opening Scene: During the excavation of an historic abbey on an aristocrat’s estate, archaeologists discover a human skeleton.

7) Romance Subplot: The detective has a crush on the American writer who discovers the murdered lead instructor’s body (romance subplot).

8) The detective is beginning to rely on the chief suspect for information, then finds out that in the middle of a previous 6-week workshop, the American writer’s roommate disappeared,

9) Someone is trying to frame the American writer for two murders, and she competes with the detective in trying to solve the murder so she won’t be charged.

10) Producer Interest: Strong female co-lead.

[Tracy Lawson]

Tracy’s Ten Most Interesting Things

Logline: On a mission of mercy to Valley Forge, Anna is recruited as a spy—and now she holds the fate of the Revolution in her hands. Can she avoid capture and deliver the game-changing message to General Washington in time?

Unique Hero

She sets off to save her man and ends up saving the entire American Revolution.

Orphaned indentured servant; will do anything to spare her children from the same fate.

Betrayal:

Benjamin vows their marriage is an equal partnership. Then he enlists without telling her.

Her uncle bankrolls her trip—and tricks her into delivering funds to a smuggling ring.

Emotional Dilemma:

Sacrifice herself to save her husband.

Delays getting provisions to her sick brothers to save the Revolution.

Major Twists:

In the final mile of the 200-mile trip, Anna’s horse throws her. Disoriented in the dark, she remounts and rides the wrong way—right into the path of her pursuer.

Traveling alone broadens Anna’s experiences and challenges her beliefs and perceptions.

Reversals

Fears enemy soldiers—but Hessians rescue her from some robbers

Big surprises:

Anna and Benjamin defy her family’s wishes and elope—then Anna’s sister-in-law goes into labor at the wedding.

Anna, once a healer, becomes a saboteur–and meets Washington, Hamilton, and the Marquis de Lafayette.

[Lisa Molenda]

Lisa’s 10 Most Interesting Things

Jane is a vegan activist who gets turned into a vampire

The vampires are farming humans for blood

The vampires “clean up” the streets of orange county by taking homeless people to the blood farms.

A bunch of rednecks believe the vampires have a secret society that is controlling every aspect of their lives through brainwashing.

The vampires are actually brainwashing people with their powers

Vegans can’t be compelled by the vampires, and they want to put an end to veganism.

The vampires had planned on killing Jane all along, but don’t know that Marc turned her into a vampire

Jane finally gives in and bites her coworker

Being out in the sun causes extreme flatulence

When Dr. Berkwood and her husband are talking about cheating on veganism, her husband is talking about cheating on their relationship

The Villian, Lucy, has been around for hundreds of years and she is still shallow and vapid as she was when she was young, and still out for herself.

What I learned sign this assignment is that I have a lot of interesting things about my series, but that there’s a smart way to deliver it to make it more appealing to producers.

[Danielle Dillard]

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

My hero comes across as shallow and arrogant, but underneath she’s hiding a lot of fear as she embarks on adulthood. My villain is two-faced; he’s a famous heart throb but only cares about his own personal gain.

B. Major hook of your opening scene?

My protagonist is gifted with a BMW at her birthday party but throws a tantrum in front of guests at the fact it’s not the Bentley she wanted. Her parents are insulted and embarrassed, which is one of the main reasons they decide to financially cut off the protagonist

C. Any turning points?

My protagonist gets kicked out of her home and has to fend for herself for the first time. She goes from a mansion to a motel room. She becomes the laughingstock of the media.

D. Emotional dilemma?

My protagonist gets discouraged as she gets fired from many jobs.

E. Major twists?

My protagonist begins working at a homeless shelter and helps the residents get on their feet, in return they teach her about triumphing over struggles.

F. Reversals?

My protagonist’s boyfriend makes a bet with the paparazzi that he can get her back on the right side of the tracks, she takes him back but uses him to save the homeless shelter.

G. Character betrayals?

When my protagonist turns to her boyfriend for help and support, he dumps her for one of her best friends.

H. Or any big surprises?

Those who turned their back on my protagonists during her time of need end up getting financially cut off by their parents

[LEE SKORE]

Lee Skore’s 10 Most Interesting Things

(4) What I learned doing this assignment is:

Some of these hooks seem similar to me — turning points, major twists, reversals. However, I chose different hooks for each category.

(1) Go through project and see which hooks I have:

Going through my script I listed 23 hooks that fit the different categories listed.

(2) Make a list of any other things that could interest a producer:

I thought of 2 others.

(3) Organize both and select the 10 most interesting things. Post those to the forums.

(A) What is most unique about your villain and hero?

The person you suspect is the villain, is not the actual villain.

The hero learns she is not who she believed she is.

(B) Major hook of your opening scene?

A Figure dressed head-to-toe in black, bursts into a cottage, gun drawn. GUNSHOTS. SCREAMS. Three dead. Who are the Figure… the dead… and why?

(C) Any turning points?

The hero learns her DNA matches the DNA of 2 of the victims murdered in the cottage.

(D) Emotional dilemma?

The hero has romantic feelings for the sheriff but doesn’t trust he’ll solve her parents’ murders (which happened 25 years ago and were never solved) or protect her from whoever is trying to kill her now.

(E) Major twists?

The hero learns her adoptive parents found her in the cottage where the 3 people were murdered, but lied to protect her.

A fireman removes the hero’s body from a devastating fire.

(F) Reversals?

The hero is alive.

(G) Character betrayals?

The suspected villain is killed by his wife, the actual villain.

(H) Or any big surprises?

The hero learns the mother of her birth father is alive and chooses to meet her.

[Rodney Cavin]

Rod’s Ten Most Interesting Things

Specific hooks.

Most unique. The villain is a charismatic businessman but in reality is a sex crazed psychopathic killer. The character of the hero is uncertain until midway, adding to our victim’s fear of reprisal.
Major hook. The victim almost escapes from the villain but caught and left to die.
Turning points. The hero discovers the victim’s identity and decides to help hep her.
Emotional dilemma. The victim is afraid to trust anyone with her deadly secret as her life depends on it.
Major twist. After the victim finally confides in the hero, the story suddenly twists into a fight for life and the villain attacks.
Reversals. The victim just begins to trust the hero when she discovers he may be worse than the villain.
Character betrayals. The victim’s trust suddenly destroyed when she learns he, too, could kill her.
Big surprises. The victim discovers the body of the villain’s young mistress.

Additional producer interest.
Intensity of the opening chase.
The reveal of the victim’s deadly secret.
Finding the Sheriff dead.

I think the above are the ten most interesting things.

From this session I learning to teach out the most interesting things in the script from the producer’s viewpoint but ten items seems a lot like a book report. I assume we’ll learn how to condense these into a tighter pitch presentation in future lessons.

[Jeryl Parade]

Jeryl Parade 10 Most Interesting Things

A. What is most unique about your villain and hero? Villain is D who can be physically scary but ultimately holds back because to engage IRL takes too much effort. Crystal is the heroine who is successful in business but has a dream to be a singer/songwriter.

B. Major hook of your opening scene? Cybersex in the 1990s

C. Any turning points? Crystal & D (cybersex buddies) discover they live in the same city & decide to meet.

D. Emotional dilemma? Crystal tells D he looks & feels like the man she always thought she would marry, but knows he’s not.

E. Major twists? Crystal is trapped in D’s house because her expensive car is locked in his garage, he has no landline (just a modem) & she has no cell phone in 1996.

F. Reversals? Crystal lunges for the garage door opener.

G. Character betrayals? D pins her. Tells her to stay until 8 AM when he will make her breakfast. H. Or any big surprises? She leaves when he is asleep at the crack of dawn.

2. Make a list of any other things in your script that could interest a producer. There are other men that embody 90s trends, such as a corporate hotshot whose pager keeps going off, a grunge rocker & a dot com investment banker.

3. Organize both and select the 10 most interesting things:

Crystal’s news Website makes her a ton of money when her dot com goes public. Crystal takes the first steps toward becoming a singer/songwriter. Crystal is ahead of her time in doing whatever she wants sexually & unapologetically.

[Marian]

Marian’s 10 Most Interesting Things – Wetsands

What I learned doing this assignment is, that the MIT process helps me to focus on the major content highlights of my story.

1. The dangers of a tidal flat crossing in the vacation paradise North Sea, the impressive nature and the fight for survival in the Wadden Sea, as well as the rescue with a Hovercraft, have never been seen in a movie before.

2. Hannah and her sister Tessa miss the ferry to an important beach volleyball tournament on an island. The only option is crossing the tidal flats at low tide. Should they take this risk for their dream?

3. Hannah wants to get her life back on track after a mental breakdown, win back her sister’s love and find new courage to face life.

4. Her sister is not as successful as she seems, has been fired, wants to get married and move to Australia. She has long since given up their shared dream of competing in the Beach Volleyball Olympics with her sister.

5. Islander Felix, who is secretly in love with Hannah, doesn’t know his way around the mudflats and hasn’t told anyone where they’ve gone.

6. Nature is a much stronger antagonist than expected. While wading through a tideway, Hannah, Tessa, and Felix are swept away, lose their bearings, and the tide comes in earlier. Felix sinks into the silty sand (aka quicksand) when he is sent for help.

7. Strong emotional sister and family drama: Hannah is secretly pregnant by Marcus, her sister’s ex-boyfriend. Hannah learns a dark family secret. Her father Joachim is not her real father at all.

8. Survival with thriller elements: Felix’s best friend Björn is Hannah’s brother and wants to kill her. His father Walter raped Hannah’s mother. A dark look at human abysses and at the vacation paradise North Sea, that you don’t see as a vacationer.

9. Hannah’s friends, Paula and Jackie don’t turn out to be saviors in distress, but make things even worse. Paula ends up pushing Hannah into the muddy sand (aka silty sand/ quicksand) where Felix is already stuck and Hannah is in danger of drowning.

10. Female-focused YA characters, tough girls, sporty boys, vacation feeling, and beach volleyball.

[Ben Ather]

Subject Line: (Your name’s) 10 Most Interesting Things

What I learned doing this assignment is

It forced me to find interesting things in my story, which I have never thought of, or knew they were there.

ASSIGNMENT:

TEN MOST INTERESTING THINGS IN MY STORY

– Nora’s father abandoned her because she is too ugly to learn magic and bring honor to the family.

– There is a rule that magic is taught only to the pretty ones.

– Breaking the rule means execution without trial.

– An ugly beggar girl must venture into dangerous world.

– A disguise that requires one’s life force to retain its nature.

– Nora uses losing her life while trying to find her own way to get into the Affinity Academy to threaten her adopted father into helping her.

– Wearing the disguise for too long will lead to Nora’s demise.

– Nora goes ahead with the disguise knowing that it will kill her.

– Nora’s adopted father is the head of the Affinity Academy.

– Mani conned Nora and informed authorities about her plan to break the rule.