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Day 8 Assignments
Reply to post your assignment.
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37 Replies
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Mary Lynn Mabray, WIM2 – Module 3 – Lesson 3 – Character Subtext
Vision – Become an in demand high concept writer
What I Learned: Subtext makes a script much more interesting, intriguing, fun, scary, thoughtful, sexy
Movie: Title: The Second Mrs. Claus
Character Name: Helen Hunt
Subtext Identity: Lonely since becoming a widow
Subtext Trait: Burns the candle at both ends, tries to be all things to all people
Subtext Logline: Helen Hunt is America’s sweetheart dessert chef who lives her life on camera and would love to have a happy and fulfilling life out of the limelight and behind the stage.
Possible Areas of Subtext: studio audience advice, conversations with Stuart, her daughter Muffy and grandchildren, Alexann and Will, conversations with herself, pursuit of Nick, relationship with Rudolph, reindeer, Ralph and Wilbur
Nick (Santa Claus)
Subtext Identity: World’s jolliest fellow but unhappy since losing his magic and afraid he will let down the world when there is no Christmas, surprised that he likes being hot, equally surprised that he is as interested in Helen as she is in him, worried about how he will tell Helen who he is and how old is he and that he needs her and her culinary expertise to find the secret of magic cookies.
Subtext Trait: unsure of the confidence that he once had and unsure how he will ever get it back.
Nick has to redefine who he really is, Santa Claus and the world’s jolliest elf or a hunk of burning love in love with an older woman. Does he stay, does he go, how does he convince Helen to return with him to the North Pole especially when she discovers his motive and who he really is…
Possible Areas of Subtext – conversations with Ralph and Wilbur, Rudolph, Helen, Stuart, Helen’s family and grandchildren, actions to discover the secret to the magic cookies. Conflicting actions of romancing or using Helen. I think there are a lot of subtext possibilities for Nick, most likely the most opportunities in the script.
Stuart McCall
Subtext Identity: Helen’s controlling manager and son-in-law who always treats her like she is a dollar sign.
Subtext Trait – control freak, unsure when he isn’t in control, loves his family but doesn’t know how to show it, grateful for Helen but never tells her he appreciates the opportunity to manage her career
Subtext Logline – Stuart McCall is manages the career of America’s Sweetheart Dessert Chef with an iron fist that is really made of cookie dough.
Possible Areas of Subtext – suspicious of Nick, doesn’t want the children to believe in Santa Claus because he doesn’t want them hurt, doesn’t want to lose Helen as his family’s meal ticket, always plotting the next deal, conversations with Rudolph, thinks he is going nutter butters when he discovers Nick is who he says he is, immediately sets up a studio to broadcast from the North Pole
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Module 3 Lesson 3
My Vision: To write eight screenplays
that become Hollywood blockbusters (and maybe get a line or two in
them a la Hitchcock).What I learned from this assignment:
How to develop interesting subtext to my main characters.Movie Title: Death Voice
Character Name: Jim “Ace” McCarthy
Subtext Identity: An alcoholic TV Crime reporter battling the
emotional scars of his WW2 pastSubtext Trait: Personable, confident, underneath an
emotional wreckSubtext Logline: Ace’s deep seated guilt from the war drives
him to the depths of despairPossible Areas of Subtext: Jim’s suppression of his war past
results in drinking, gambling leading him into a double lifeCharacter Name: Carol Gentry
Subtext Identity: A Las Vegas newspaper reporter who befriends Jim
Subtext Trait: Suspicious, manipulative
Subtext Logline: Carol is really an undercover FBI agent
investigating Jim’s war pastPossible Areas of Subtext: Pretends to fall for Jim. He wants
her to use her influence with her Congressman father to investigate
a Las Vegas mob family who he claims is pressuring him to repay his
heavy gambling debt. -
Mary Lynn Mabray – Module 3 Lesson 5 – Audience Connection To Characters
Vision: To be an in-demand writer of high concept scripts
What I Learned: Likability can turn a dull paperdoll character into a piece of beautiful Origami.
Helen Hunt
Likability: the sweet way she loves her daughter and grandchildren, her instant laugh and fun with the reindeer, her joyful presentation with her studio audience and fans, her patience with Stuart.
Relatability: she has a wonderful infectious laugh that makes people laugh and instantly like her. Animals feel comfortable in her presence. She has great empathy when it comes to Stuart. She gets aggravated with him but knows he has her best interest at heart until he doesn’t. Her fans see her as their longtime friend.
Empathy: She understands Nick’s sadness Re: Mrs. Claus. She had loss, too.
Nick (Santa Claus)
Likability: Not sure how he will pull off appearing young, worried but so excited to be what he once was. He’s Santa Claus, what’s not to like?
Relatability: Nick can easily relate to children and adults and know their deepest fears, wants and dreams.
Empathy: Nick understands people of all races, creeds and backgrounds.
Stuart McCall
Likability: Muffy sees Stuart’s heart and knows that gold is in there, somewhere if he would just be the Stuart she fell in love with years ago. Alexann and Will love Stuart despite his many flaws. Helen knows Stuart has her best interest at heart and understands that his gruffness is is only to cover up a marshmallow heart.
Relatability – audience can relate when Stuart sees Rudolph for the first time and childhood joy begins to bubble at the surface. Realizing that Nick really is Santa Claus and now he can ask a question that has bothered him his entire life.
Empathy – audience will (hopefully) begin to understand that deep down, Stuart wants nothing more than to protect his family and Helen. He has their best interest at heart.
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Module 3 Lesson 4: Joel Stern’s
Character IntrigueMy Vision: To write eight screenplays
that eventually become Hollywood blockbuster films (and to get a
speaking line).What I learned from this assignment:
Creating layers beneath the main character’s surface.Character Name: Jim “Ace” McCarthy
Role: Protagonist
Secrets: Committed a war crime during WW2 but mistakenly
received a medal for braveryUnspoken Wound: Is haunted by this; suppresses mental
anguish; becomes an alcoholic and gambling addictCharacter Name: Carol Newhouse
Role: Las Vegas newspaper reporter; becomes Jim’s love
interestHidden agendas: Is really an undercover FBI agent sent
to investigate Jim’s war crime-
Joel – FBI investigates Federal US crimes.
Military Police, investigate crimes committed within the military. There are four – Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force. Each branch has its’ own investigators. The investigation always starts there, particularly for war crimes…unless someone reports it to the FBI…then the FBI would have the obligation to report to the specific branch of the military and it could be a joint task force; but generally, as I understand it, these investigations begin within whatever branch of the military the person belonged longed to…These rules are very specific. If you are going to write a script like this, research all these rules because a production company will require it as will a manager or agency that might want to represent you. Go to: My Lai Massacre…Vietnam. That is a famous war crime investigation and prosecution within the Army. The details of how it is all done will help you construct this script. I hope this helps. it is not meant to be critical…only to inform and help you make your script more believable.
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Module 3 – Lesson 8 – Purpose Driven Supporting Characters
Lisa Long’s Supporting Characters
My Vision: I will do whatever it takes to be comfortable saying that I am a writer by creating impactful stories with amazing characters in order to sell my scripts.
What I learned from this assignment is that even the secondary and background actors need something interesting to play. Filling out the other characters’ profiles make them feel as real as the main characters.
Supporting Characters
Support 1:
Name: Miss Aveline
Role: 73-year-old Chef at Ed’s Seafood Restaurant
Main
purpose: To impart wisdom to Edgar and
Molly and keep the restaurant going for Ed.
Value: Miss Aveline speaks the truth when others are afraid
to do so. She gives support to those hurting. She softens Edgar’s anger.Support 2:
Name: Chessie (short for Chesapeake)
Role: Edgar’s dog
Main
purpose: Chessie allows moments of
comfort and play for Edgar and Molly
Value:
Chessie cannot survive without
the love and attention of Edgar, thus showing him that he can
indeed take care of another being.Support 3:
Name: Ginny
Role: Restaurant server
Main
purpose: She a snotty teenager that
makes fun of Molly.
Value:
She serves to build Molly’s
backbone and instigates Molly’s change to being braver.Support 4:
Name: Bud
Role: Restaurant server and bus person
Main
purpose: He flirts with Ginny, and they
team up to give Molly a hard time.
Value:
Brings double trouble to Molly
while in the restaurant.Background Characters
Support 1:
Name:
Jimmy
Role:
Boyfriend of April
Main
purpose: He’s in the car when April
drops off Molly. April blames the situation on him when she tells Edgar
and Molly why she’s leaving her.
Value:
He takes April away. Then dumps
her later.Support 2:
Name:
Kim (male)
Role:
Sous Chef
Main
purpose: Supports Miss Aveline in the
kitchen
Value:
Reflects Miss Aveline as a bad
ass in the kitchen by the way he respects and works hard for her.Support 3:
Name:
Hobbit (nickname)
Role:
Cleaner of the restaurant in
any way needed.
Main
purpose: He is a little slow and Molly
feels sorry for him.
Value:
Molly is also afraid of him
because he’s different. -
Everyone–
This is Module 3 – Lesson 8. The DAY equals the LESSON number.
If you have posted anything else here it is in the wrong place. You can delete it and repost in the correct forum. CLICK on the 3 dots on the top right of your post to see options.
Thank you,
Lisa
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Thank you, Lisa…this is a totally new board for me and it is confusing. For instance, my Module Four is not showing up on the board at all…so I would not have even known we were in Module 4 had I not received the email today. I appreciate your posting this info. I would not have known had you not mentioned it. I did click the three dots but do not see a way to get to Module 4…so I am still not sure where to post the first lesson. I still have to complete supporting characters. I have just had too much on my plate. trying to catch up. Thank you, again. 😎
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Lynn Vincentnathan’s Supporting Characters
VISION: I am determined to become a great screenwriter capable of getting my screenplays in various genres produced into movies that inspire vast audiences to mitigate climate change.
I LEARNED how to distinguish between supporting and background, though I’m not sure if one or more of my backgrounds might be supporting and vice versa. I also cut a role altogether, Ellie’s mother, since I will probably be able to pull off the story beefing up Uncle Rudy’s role a bit more & doing what Ellie’s mother may have done. I also learned thru IMDb that COLLATERAL had a 112 character cast, so I didn’t feel so bad about my “non-contained” cast list; but I’m assuming many are mentioned down the list because of the actions they take in that action movie more than speaking/important roles. Also Felix was down the list a bit, but surely he IS supporting.
HIGH CONCEPT: WEATHERING IT (Rom-Com) is about two college students who try to overcome family fights about global warming and get married during the worst ever Texas freeze.
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SUPPORTING CHARACTERS:
1. Fred Higson
2. Rudy Perez
3. Luz
4. Gecko ? (the other man)
BACKGROUND CHARACTERS (minor speaking, or one-time speech):
1. Rufina Higson (Jim’s mother)
2. Mack (Jim’s sounding board friend)
3. Students in Jim’s class (who speak out)
4. Gecko ? (the other man, Env Club member)
5. Professor in Jim’s class
6. Sea Turtle Rescue Center host (one-time speech about endangered sea turtles)
7. Environmental Club Members (5 to 10 students, some with speaking roles)
EXTRAS (non-speaking):
Students & professors walking around campus
People at the Turtle Rescue Center
People at the beach party
Non-speaking students in Jim’s class
Wedding guests — family, friends, Environmental Club members
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SUPPORT 1
Name: Fred Higson
Role: Jim’s uncle
Main purpose: Supports Jim’s education and family, obligates Jim to work for his oil engineering consultancy after graduation.
Value: He’s a cantankerous climate change denialist, ideologically opposed to Ely and environmentalists, who stole Ely’s love (causing Ely’s wound). He portends to destroy Jim and Ellie’s relationship and marriage plans.
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SUPPORT 2
Name: Rudy Perez
Role: Ellie’s uncle (mother’s brother)
Main purpose: He runs a small non-denominational church and The Marriage Barn, and gives help and advice regarding marriage and Jim, contrary to Ely’s negative impact.
Value: He helps Ellie and Jim get back together and offers at-cost wedding at his venue, making it possible before graduation. He is opposed to inviting Uncle Ely to the wedding, because he’d spoil it, which triggers the big mid-point fight between Ellie and Jim.
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SUPPORT 3
Name: Luz Cantu
Role: Ellie’s best friend and Environmental Club member
Main purpose: More a dynamic sounding board who confronts Ellie about her need for romance.
Value: Mainly a sounding board, but also opposes Ellie in many ways, such as her distrust of Jim’s motives. She tries to help and protect Ellie, but this mainly backfires.
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SUPPORT 4
Name: Gregg (Gecko) Reilly
Role: Ellie’s friend and Environmental Club member (minor role, might even be “background,” depending on how the story goes).
Main purpose: He also has autism, like Ellie, but much worse, so Ellie and he have decided they should not get romantically involved because it might be genetic.
Value: Jim assumes he’s Ellie’s boyfriend at one point in Act 2 or 3, which turns Jim off of Ellie.
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WIM2 – Dana’s Supporting Characters
My Vision: I intend to perfect my skills to become a successful screenwriter, scripting acclaimed and profitable films, recognized by my peers, and living an adventurous life.
What I learned during this assignment:
This lesson introduced me to the supporting characters I had yet to consider and how they would interact with the lead characters.
Support 1:
· Name: Camila
· Role: Drug dealer’s girl friend
· Main Purpose: Finds Ruth in the smelting pot and returns to the steel mill to help her
· Value: She provides Ruth with an unorthodox way to escape the smelting pot
Support 2:
· Name: Derelict
· Role: Drug addict who shows-up at the steel mill
· Main Purpose: To threaten Ruth with physical violence
· Value: Heighten the danger for Ruth and force her to realize she’s not safe and must escape
Support 3:
· Name: Bosa
· Role: Drug dealer
· Main Purpose: Arrives at the steel mill with his street gang to torture and assassinate an informer
· Value: To expose Ruth to greater danger and force her to capitulate to her kidnapper’s demands to be silent.
Support 4:
· Name: Sammy
· Role: Informer
· Main Purpose: To be executed by Bosa for being an informer
· Value: To heighten the violence surrounding Ruth.
Background:
· Name: Jules, Max, Javier
· Role: Bosa’s gang members
· Main Purpose: Bosa’s henchmen who torture and kill Sammy
· Value: Create the violence to threaten Ruth
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Module 3 — Lesson 8: Purpose Driven Supporting Characters
Subject Line: Monica’s Supporting Characters
Vision: I will continue to learn everything I can through all different media to apply what I learn to become the best screenwriter I can be. To be successful in getting my movies made and to win awards in the process.
What I learned from doing this assignment is to think about the cast around the lead characters—which I haven’t really done before I started writing a script. I would just plug them in. So I see the value in this.
Focusing on those supporting characters, fill in the basic profile for each.
Support 1:
Name: Evie
Role: Works for the
elite as their main security. Conall love interest?
Main purpose: Is tasked with finding Conall
after he steals the artefact.
Value: To increase tension
as she tries to find Conall. And when she does find him the conflict
between the two.Support 2:
Name: Elgar
Role: Second in
command of the five elites
Main purpose: Ensure Harry carries out the
mandate.
Value: To show Harry what
will happen if they don’t meet the deadline.<div>Background Characters: Special Forces team, museum workers, the rest of the “Five”, engineers, scientists
</div>
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Module 3 Lesson 8: Purpose Driven
Supporting CharactersMy Vision: To write eight screenplays
that become Hollywood blockbusters (and to get a line or two in at
least one).What I learned from the assignment:
Designing supporting characters who strongly impact the story arcs of
the main characters.Supporting Characters: Jane, Jim’s wife; Carol, undercover
FBI agent and Jim’s love interest.Background Characters: Ed, Jim’s News Director at the TV
stationSupport 1:
Name: Jane McCarthy
Role: Jim’s wife
Main purpose: Devoted; strong supporter of Jim’s ambitious
career goals; mother of his young childValue: Provides encouragement; a classic 1950’s TV
homemaker. Dies of cancer leaving Jim with their young child and
causing him additional emotional pressureSupport 2:
Name: Carol Newhouse
Role: Undercover FBI agent investigating Jim’s possible war
crimes during WWII; poses as a Las Vegas newspaper reporterMain purpose: To find out if Jim’s a war criminal
Value: Gets romantically involved with Jim causing him to
breakdown -
RON’S ChARACTER SUBTEXT
Vision: I want the success and recognition of being an in demand, A-list screenwriter who writes successful films that are financially profitable, award winning and of enduring quality
What I learned from doing this assignment is that I like this systematic and thoughtful approach we are taking in this course toward writing a screenplay…
Ron’s supporting characters
Support 1:
Name Rosa:
Role: mother of Lucia
Main purpose: Abusive mother. Reason Lucia wants to
escape her home environment
Value: helps set up the change that Rosa undergoes on
her journeySupport 2:
Name:Carmen
Role: Mother
Main purpose: The mob think she is senile, but she is
well aware of her surroundings and know what’s going on
Value: Likes Lucia and helps her escape Sylvio’s
murderous intentionsSupport 3:
Name :Max Wise
Role: police detective who investigates: the war going
on between Sylvio and Mateo
Value: His
investigation increases the tension and spurs plotSupport 4:
Name: Bruno
Role :consigliere to Syilvio
Main purpose: :sounding board for Sylvio
Value: He will run into conflict with Sylvio as he
tries to kill his fatherSupport 6:
Name:Mateo Kelmendi
Role: Albanian crime boss
Main purpose:chief rival of Sylvio.
Value: Facilitates conflict and plays a role in Lucia
escaping the clutches of Sylvio:Background characters:
consiglieres, street soldiers, cops, restaurant workers————————
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Renee’s Supporting Characters
My Vision: I will work hard to become a well-respected writer who has her movies produced and who has enough work to stay busy and keep the lights on.
What I learned doing this assignment is that you need to give some thought about supporting characters and background characters before you start writing.
Supporting Characters: Gracie, Jeff, Scott, Lexi, Craig, Johnny
Background Characters: search and rescue volunteers
Support 1:
Name: Gracie
Role:protagonist’s sister
Main purpose: to remind Claire what is at stake, not just her daughter’s life but their relationship as well.
Value: it motivates Claire to want to be better so she can mend their relationship.
Support 2:
Name: Jeff
Role: protagonist’s brother-in-law
Main purpose: to get under Claire’s skin and remind her why she doesn’t have a relationship with her sister and niece.
Value: It causes Claire to think her previous choice and reconsider her constant partying.
Support 3:
Name: Scott
Role: Volunteer/Antagonist’s lackey
Main purpose: to execute the Antagonist’s plan
Value: challenges Claire at every stage of the rescue.
Support 4:
Name: Lexi
Role: volunteer/protagonist’s former best friend
Main purpose: to expose Claire’s past and challenge her to be better.
Value: gives Claire a new perspective on how she acts and treats people.
Support 5:
Name: Jonny
Role: protagonist’s older neighbor
Main purpose: to warn the protagonist about going into the woods.
Value: It makes her more cautious when searching for her niece and more aware of her surroundings.
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I’m really good at creating purpose-driven characters.
My vision is to be a stronger writer.
What I learned: That supporting actors are like rafters supporting a structure. Without them, the structure is not as stable. Everything has a purpose and needs to be valued.
Karen Crider’s Supporting Characters
Supporting Profiles for:
Silla– I may make her a regular, I‘m not sure. She is the matriarch of the spotted hyena clan. The member’s bow to her every whim, and tremble in her presence. She demands respect, this larger, more powerful, more testosterone, dominated hyena than the males.
Silla controls the clan with her commanding presence, her rich, well-rounded howl– husky at times, but kin to a giggle when content. Which is often. She leads the clan, and decides who stays and who goes.
She allows howling competitions, honors the victors, leads the clan on hunting safari’s where her and her cubs, (that inherit her standing at birth,) lavishly dine on ribs and steak, while the suffering males– vie for gristle and bone. Silla is highly valued.
Hilly- the offspring of Silla. Female, carries the same standing as Silla, a bully who pushes lower-level hyenas around and gets away with it. Pushes Shadow’s mom into the dirt, when Shadow nips her and became ousted from the clan. Her main purpose is to add conflict and connection between the hyenas. Hated by others, not valued.
Sorus: the brother to Shadow that was supposedly eaten by Mortimer. Shadow hears a battle, over the top of Sorus’ howling. Outside the den, the intruder, Mortimer, is battling with another predator. Mortimer loses. A hyena from another clan saves Sorus, adopts him, and raises him as their own. No one knows this except the hyena that takes him home.
Background characters:
Axle: A wise wolf that watches Shadow. After killing Mortimer, he watches Shadow grows fearless, powerful, and unafraid of conquest. A hyena who tracks down his old clan undetected. One that can bring success to the wolf pack.
Brimsley: Brother to Shadow. His role is the perfectly confident brother who can howl, smells like a river, is self-absorbed and contrasts Shadow: the coward, the smelly, the insecure–one thwarted by Brimsley, who is highly valued, whereas Shadow is not valued at all.
Ivy: the mother to Shadow and Brimsley. A strong parent, mournful at times knowing her son, Shadow, is vulnerable to predators and it’s her fault. She is older, nervous, haggard…
There will be spot characters, who may sneak in as background players. I’ve seen that happen before.
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MODULE THREE LESSON EIGHT
FRAN’S SUPPORTING CHARACTERS
MY VISION: I want to write great movies. Movies that are magical, movies that move people and tell the truth. I want to write movies that stars will want to be in.
WHAT I LEARNED: This is coming so easily now. Stuff just pops into my head, whether I go with it later or not.
MEREDITH:
Support 1
Name: Meredith’s Agent
Role: She supports Meredith’s work, she is like her best friend, confidante
Main Purpose: She knows Meredith’s worth, conveys it often to her, gets her to where she will be in the end—winning an Oscar
Value: a great friend and supporter, sounding board, helps Meredith see her work as a valuable artist.
Support 2
Name: New Director/Producer and the old flame
Role: New Director/Producer and Meredith’s old flame
Main Purpose: helps to guide her, see her worth as a writer on his film. Helps her become the “star” of scriptwriters
Value: He offers her the kind of love she didn’t have with Jerome
JEROME:
Support 1
Name: His Assistant
Role: Besides being his right hand on the set, he enables Jerome to carry on his affairs behind Meredith’s back.
Main Purpose: is to cater to Jerome’s every need, whim without any thought or consideration for Meredith’s feelings—or others
Value: he helps Jerome to fail in his attempt to be a great director/producer. He helps him be a failure in his marriage.
Support 2
Name: Leading lady
Role: To star in Jerome’s movie, to be his paramour.
Main Purpose: She undermines Meredith and her work on the set as the screenwriter. She is a diva to contend with.
Value: She is there to open Meredith’s eyes to the fact that her husband is cheating on her and they together are trying to undermine her career as a writer.
OLGA:
Support 1
Name: Valentina
Role: is Olga’s best friend at the Military infirmary She is the writer of the diary, Olga’s story
Main Purpose: She is there to help Olga get through the dark days of the war and of her love for Dmitri number 2
Value: She gets Olga to see her worth as a human being, not just the Grand Duchess of Russia and she helps her see her worthiness of being loved by the right man
Support 2
Name: Tatiana
Role: Olga’s sister
Main Purpose: To support Olga, to be her best friend within her family, to help her be a happy person despite her role, help her cope with their mother who is all taken up with Rasputin and his antics in the court.
Value: she is family and she loves her older sister unconditionally. She helps her cope with the nonsense of Rasputin and her mother’s infatuation with him
Support 3
Name: Alexandria
Role: mother
Main Purpose: to keep Olga on the straight and narrow as the Grand Duchess, to crush Olga’s heart by banishing Dmitri, her love, from the kingdom for plotting and assassinating Rasputin.
Value: Mother, family, not caring about how Olga feels about Rasputin, being absent with her family under Rasputin’s influence.
Support 4
NAME: Nicholas II
Role: Father, czar of Russia
Main Purpose: there to totally support his daughter Olga
Value: he dotes on her, gives her the freedom she craves
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Module 3, Lesson 8 – Supporting Characters
Subject: Rob Ingalls’ Supporting Characters
MY VISION:
To be a Talented writer that delivers quality fast, with the film industry seeking me out.
WIL: Keep filling in blanks.
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Support 1:
Name: Memaw
Role: Josh’s grandmother
Main Purpose: To show a caring-for-others side of Josh
Value: There’s a sweet caring side to Josh, despite his early attitude
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Support 2:
Name: Tom (Thailand native)
Role: Jungle/Adventure Guide for Josh
Main Purpose: Push Josh further than he’s ever been with challenges
Value: Strengthens Josh
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Support 3:
Name: Somchai (Real Man; Man of Worth)
Role: Village Chief
Main Purpose: To provide background info on locals and their beliefs about golden Buddha
Value: To provide way for Josh to grow internally
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Support 4:
Name: Lek (Small)
Role: Elephant lead
Main Purpose: Banter against Cashus
Value: Push Cashus in verbal twists
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David’s Supporting Characters
My vision is to increase my skills to become an A list writer.
What I learned from this assignment is the value of creating meaningful supporting character that aid and abet the plot/main character’s growth.
Supporting Characters: Janeane, RJ, Trey, Dicker
Background Characters: Chas’ parents, Coddington, Patrick, Keith, Haynes, security guard, border guard, Heidi, Dr. Stu
Support 1:
Name: Janeane
Role: Christie’s co-worker and mentor
Main purpose: To help Christie navigate the perils of the real world
Value: Helps Christie mature, protects her
Support 2:
Name: RJ
Role: Chas’ best friend and confidant
Main purpose: To lend Chas his apartment and car so Chas can pull off his charade.
Value: Challenge Chas on his lifestyle, help him grow up
Support 3:
Name: Dicker
Role: Lawyer in law firm, Christie and Janeane’s adversary
Main purpose: Helps Keith track down Chas, constantly flirts with Christie
Value: Shows growth in Christie- she finally stands up to him
Support 4:
Name: Trey
Role: Chas’ Little Brother
Main purpose: Show that Chas is caring, charitable
Value: Challenges Chas’ on his lying, lifestyle
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Paul Dees’ Supporting Characters
My Vision: I am a writer/director/producer that writes and makes films of all kinds, and I am recognized by the industry as both a highly successful filmmaker and as a person that’s easy to work with.
What I learned from doing this assignment is how to create supporting characters that are in the screenplay for a reason, that are compelling and that an actor would want to play.
Supporting Character # 1:
Name: Michelle O’Brien <div>
Role: Special Agent Rick O’Brien’s
wife
Main purpose: She is one of the last
people the terrorist sends one of his masks to that takes over her mind,
so that she’ll plant a bomb in a building for him. And unlike all the
others he’s used before, she’s instructed to stay there, so that she’ll be
a casualty when the bomb goes off.Value: Having the protagonist’s wife
be one of the terrorist’s unwilling pawns, up the stakes in the final act,
and gives Rick extra incentive to find who’s behind the attacks so he can
stop them from happening and save her, in addition to all the others who
are in danger.Supporting Character #2:
Name: Jack McCready <div>
Role: Reporter
Main purpose: He’s a reporter for
the national news, who’s out to get his next big story.Value: Jack shows up like clockwork
at every scene where a terrorist attack has occurred, so much so, that we
begin to suspect he might be behind them all.Supporting Character #3:
Name: Norman Myers </div>
Role: Copycat Terrorist
Main purpose: Norman is inspired by
the serial terrorist and carries out an attack of his own.Value: Norman shows up at the
midpoint of the film, leading one to believe the serial terrorist has been
caught. It provides a false victory that sets up the real terrorist coming
back in spades as the film continues.</div>
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Joe’s Supporting Characters
My vision is to persevere and stay the course of building steady daily routine, and disciplines that produce consistent writing of exceptional quality. Ultimately, the fruit of those habits and disciplines will be a track record of great marketable scripts that will make other successful talented pros seek me out.
What I learned: I learned to just go with your ideas, let them flow. Its ok to have too many characters, so long as they have a role. I can condense/evolve/consolidate, as I write. But conceiving each of these was great. This “realm” is really starting to come to life for me.
2. Tell us your supporting and background characters.
Supporting Characters:
Lorenzo’s 2 main employees Nelson and Liz
Lorenzo’s 2 most devoted customers, Freddie and Roxanne
Emily’s 2 most devoted students Tanner and Ashton
Emily’s sister
The town Zoning commisioner
Lorenzo’s Italian great uncle
Background Characters: Other employees of Lorenzo, other students of Emily’s.
Lorenzo’s other Italian relatives
Emily’s parents.
local townspeople who are potential customers of Lorenzo and Emily.
3. Focusing on those supporting characters, fill in the basic profile for each.
Support 1:
Name: Lorenzo’s 2 main loyal employees, Nelson and Liz
Role: They keep the shop running when Lorenzo isn’t there.
Main purpose: Lorenzo feels totally guilty when he wants to leave the shop to go see Emily, but the two of them can handle it. Really, they can!
Value: To show that Lorenzo does have options if he wants to cut back on work and/or train them for other responsibilities. They also do much of the heavy lifting of the typical “best friend” role in the standard Rom Com, asking questions like “don’t you get lonely? Emily called again. What do you really think of her? Did you hear what our competition is doing now? you won’t like it!
Support 2:
Name: Freddie and Roxanne
Role: Lorenzo’s 2 most devoted customers.
Main purpose: They are Lorenzo’s main source of successful advertising: word-of-mouth. They’re almost like business partners and clue him in on what the competition is doing.
Value: They help to serve as the voice of reason, best-friend role. They also help to deliver the message to Lorenzo that he’s got Emily all wrong.
Support 3:
Name: Tanner and Ashton
Role: 2 of Emily’s most devoted students
Main purpose: Voice of Reason/Best friend role for Emily. She doesn’t talk to them like friends because she’s trying to keep it professional, but it’s all there in the subtext.
Value: a nice twist on the best-friend role. Because of their interactions, we will know what Emily is thinking and feeling through the subtext of their conversations, even when Emily is in denial about it.
Support 4:
Name: Sarah Reisling
Role: Emily’s sister
Main purpose: She’s a smart lawyer, and Emily finally goes to her for legal advice about the landlord, but she resists for a long time ’cause of “you’ve always been Mom & dad’s favorite” chip that Emily has.
Value: Brings to light Emily’s stubbornness and pride, and unwillingness to admit she needs help in legal and business decisions.
Support 5:
Name: Brandon Wells
Role: Town Zoning commisioner
Main purpose: Helps to reveal the history of the building and the landlord, and affirms that the problems they are having are not Emily and Lorenzo’s fault, but are really the landlord’s problem. He’s also kind of afraid to stand up to Landlord until he has to.
Value: Helps reveal the truth about the Landlord to a fearful Emily, as well as to the audience. Also affirms that its ok to feel fear; making the situation more relatable to the audience.
Support 6:
Name: Luigi Locatelli
Role: Great Uncle in Italy who watches over Lorenzo from afar.
Main purpose: He is dying and has lots of money that he will give to Lorenzo, if Lorenzo makes the right decision of sacrificing his pizza shop for the girl.
Value: Will move the final plot along by helping provide the final test for Lorenzo. Lorenzo doesn’t know it yet, but if Lorenzo chooses the girl over the pizza shop, he gets Luigi’s money.
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<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>WIM, Module 3, Lesson 8, Andrew Boyd’s Purpose-Driven Supporting Characters
My Vision:
For Hitler’s Choirboys to be such a compelling screenplay that Steven Spielberg and Mel Gibson will battle it out to produce their best WW2 blockbuster since Hacksaw Ridge or Schindler’s List.
What I learned from this assignment:
In adapting an almost completed book into a screenplay, I have realised just how many scenes and characters will have to be cut to keep this down to length as a film and to within a workable budget. The following is a list of all the supporting characters in the book, excluding extras. I’ve yet to complete that process of cutting back. This has been the most demanding assignment so far, and has certainly taken the longest, but it’s an essential job to do in boiling down a book into a screenplay.
Supporting Characters
Name: Shia Morontz.
Role: Lead violinist at Auschwitz, witness.
Main Purpose: Jewish voice of outrage, demonstrate humanity of these ‘non-humans’. Appears at various times pre-trial, during the trial and post-trial.
Value: Provide key evidence that opens the way for the protagonist to overturn Nazi denial.
Name: Colonel James P Sullivan.
Role: Protagonist’s boss in Munich.
Main Purpose: To order him to Nuremberg.
Value: To confront Protagonist with Nazi atrocities, to challenge his worldview, to harden his attitudes.
Name: Sergeant Brannigan.
Role: Fuller’s NCO.
Main Purpose: Demonstrate racist attitudes in the US military.
Value: To show the racism that underpinned Nazi ideology is a universal problem.
Name: Henry Gerecke (aged 13)
Role: Protagonist as a boy.
Main Purpose: Revealing character in ordinary world.
Value: The child becomes the man. Reveals Henry learning to stand up to bullies.
Name: Hermann Gerecke.
Role: Protagonist’s father.
Main Purpose: Demonstrating German upbringing in Missouri – between two cultures.
Value: Awkward relationship, leading to the wound of humiliation and fear of humiliating others.
Name: Lena Gerecke.
Role: Protagonist’s mother.
Main Purpose: Demonstrating ordinary world.
Value: Pacifier of Hermann, bridge between Protagonist and father.
Name: Kent
Role: Protagonist’s best friend and love rival.
Main Purpose: Love rival for his girl, then his wife.
Value: Substantially ups the stakes for Henry when he decides to stay on in Nuremberg – risks losing his marriage.
Name: Willard (as a kid and as a youth).
Role: Beefy bully.
Main Purpose: To beat the crap out of the Protagonist, and humiliate him in the recruitment line, demonstrate unthinking racism.
Value: To teach Henry you have to stand up to bullies.
Name: Alma Gerecke.
Role: Protagonist’s love interest.
Main Purpose: To raise the stakes. By staying in Nuremberg, the Protagonist puts his marriage at risk.
Value: Add to the Protagonist’s guilt and conflict over responsibilities, to deepen his wound.
Name: Col Burton C Andrus.
Role: US commandant of Nuremberg Prison, martinet, Threshold Guardian.
Main Purpose: ‘Keep these Nazis alive so we can hang ‘em.’ Maintain security. Brings in Protagonist.
Value: Tries to get Henry to spy on his congregation. Comic relief.
Name: Gustave Gilbert.
Role: Jewish psychologist.
Main Purpose: Understand the Nazis and the nature of evil, extract every ounce of understanding from them before they hang, declare them sane so they can stand trial, and spy on them for military intelligence.
Value: Jewish perspective, Mentor and foil for Protagonist. Helps him get tough with the Nazis.
Name: Sixtus O’Connor.
Role: Chaplain to Catholic Nazis in Nuremberg.
Main Purpose: Buddy and Mentor to Protagonist.
Value: Helps Henry to overcome his wound and get tough with the Nazis.
Name: Rudolf Hess.
Role: Deputy Fuhrer, on trial in Nuremberg.
Main Purpose:
Value:
Name: Julius Streicher.
Role: Nazi Jew-baiter number one, on trail.
Main Purpose: Reveals rabid Nazi anti-Semitism.
Value: Reveals criminal types employed by the Nazis, absurd figure providing comic relief.
Name: Joachim Von Ribbentrop
Role: Hitler’s former foreign minister, defendant.
Main Purpose: Authenticity.
Value: One of first Nazis to crack under Protagonist’s interrogation, success story for Henry, both militarily and spiritually.
Name: Baldur Von Schirach.
Role: Former head of Hitler Youth, on trial.
Main Purpose: Reveals systematic poisoning of a generation.
Value: Another success story for Henry Gerecke, who finally gets through to him and persuades him to denounce Hitler.
Name: Ernst Kaltenbrunner
Role: Director of Nazi Reich Main Office, Defendant.
Main Purpose: To lie and plead not guilty.
Value: Reveals Nazi denial and cowardice of bullies.
Name: Chief Justice Sir Geoffrey Lawrence
Role: British chief judge, who leads the trial.
Main Purpose: To see that justice is done and seen to be done.
Value: British fair play.
Name: Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel.
Role: Nazi Chief of Armed Forces, defendant.
Main Purpose: Hitler’s yes man. Reveals Nazis’ obsession with blindly obeying orders.
Value: Major success for Protagonist, who manages to turn him by destroying his arguments, and succeeds spiritually as well.
Name: Hans Frank.
Role: ‘Butcher of Warsaw’, Head of Nazi General Government in Poland, Defendant.
Main Purpose: First Nazi to renounce Hitler, declares conversion back to Catholicism to O’Connor.
Value: Major source of encouragement to Protagonist.
Name: Albert Speer.
Role: Hitler’s genius armaments’ minister and architect, defendant, Shapeshifter.
Main Purpose: Success for Protaganist’s get-tough approach, denounces Fuhrer.
Value: May just be trying to save his skin, gives chilling speech about out-of-control technology and future wars.
Name: Fritz Sauckel.
Role: Hitler’s slave procurer.
Main Purpose: Hung out to dry by Speer who benefited from his slave labour.
Value: Demonstrates denial and cowardice. Success for Protagonist in his spiritual agenda.
Name: Robert Jackson. (The Comeback Kid).
Role: Chief Prosecutor at Nuremberg.
Main Purpose: Try the Nazis on the overwhelming weight of documentary evidence against them.
Value: Gifted orator, poor at cross-examination. Demonstrates moral authority, and highlights power and manipulative skills of Goering, who runs rings round him in court, underestimates the imperative for the story, and not just the facts, to come out, for the need for witnesses and for visual evidence to capture the imagination.
Name: Dame Laura Knight. (I’m trying to see; A matter of perspective)
Role: Court artist (British).
Main Purpose: To paint the scene in the dock.
Value: To expose the true character of the Nazis, and inspire Henry to help them to see themselves as they really are, to add female appeal to the story.
Background Characters
Name: SS Hauptmann.
Role: Officer in charge of gassing at Auschwitz.
Main Purpose: To murder the orchestra conductor to prove who is in control.
Value: Exemplar of ignorance, arrogance and brutality masquerading as cultural supremacy. Barbarian at the gates.
Name: Lt Schaeffer, MP
Role: Showing Henry and Fuller’s the sights of Dachau, unfolding its full horror. Losing his gun to Fuller who threatens to kill a Nazi.
Main Purpose: To show what the Nazis have done so Henry can decide whether to go to Nuremberg – and overcome his resistance to the death penalty.
Value: Schaeffer, who hates Krauts, is of German descent. Henry points out the irony of his racism. This scene confronts Henry with his own hatred and desire for revenge, which he later must overcome.
Name: Pastor Martin Neimoller.
Role: Lutheran Pastor, sent to Dachau for opposing the Nazis.
Main Purpose: To show there are good Germans, but they did too little, too late.
Value: To highlight the need for principled resistance and self sacrifice, to confront racism against Germans, to encourage Henry in his task.
Name: Private Francis Mancini
Role: Protectionist.
Main Purpose: Helping educate the Protagonist, challenge his worldview.
Value: Reflect the attitudes and questions of the audience, highlights blind eye turned by Germans to atrocities.
Name: Parole Board Chair.
Role: Deciding whether Fuller should be released from Menard.
Main Purpose: To draw out backstory from Fuller.
Value: To reveal Fuller’s character arc.
Name: Two officials on Parole Board
Role: Supporting Parole Board Chair.
Main Purpose: To sympathise with Fuller.
Value: To draw out his backstory and demonstrate his character arc.
Name: Crippled SS veteran.
Role: Watchman for the Werwolves, the German resistance.
Main Purpose: Staging a possible breakout for Hermann Goering.
Value: Bitterness and resentment overturned by the persistent kindness of the Protagonist.
Name: Roy Gerecke
Role: Protagonist’s youngest son.
Main Purpose: To demonstrate Protagonist’s Ordinary World.
Value: Hero worship of boisterous older brothers who will one day go to war.
Name: Hank Gerecke.
Role: Protagonist’s older son who goes to war and is almost killed.
Main Purpose: To demonstrate Protagonist’s Ordinary World.
Value: The Protagonist’s wound – his guilt over encouraging his sons to go to war.
Name: Corky Gerecke.
Role: Protagonist’s middle son who goes to war and is almost killed.
Main Purpose: To demonstrate Protagonist’s Ordinary World.
Value: The Protagonist’s wound – his guilt over encouraging his sons to go to war.
Name: Military Police.
Role: Checking passes.
Main Purpose: Keeping order among the military.
Value: Highlighting tensions below the surface, revealing Fuller as a hustler.
Name: Fritz Gerecke (aged 8)
Role: Protagonist’s kid brother.
Main Purpose: Demonstrating ordinary childhood world of Protagonist.
Value: Revealing childhood character of protagonist. The boy becomes the man.
Name: Nora (aged 4)
Role: Protagonist’s kid sister.
Main Purpose: Demonstrating ordinary childhood world of Protagonist.
Value: Revealing childhood character of protagonist. The boy becomes the man.
Name: Billy Sunday.
Role: Tent evangelist, Mentor and Herald.
Main Purpose: Persuades young Protagonist to become a committed Christian.
Value: Redirects the Protagonist’s life and establishes his values.
Name: Young SS POW
Role: Broken, seeing death, challenges Fuller to kill him.
Main Purpose: To reveal the depth of Fuller’s wound and to highlight him as a potential killer in waiting.
Value: The catalyst in the scene that is the breaking point in the relationship with the Protagonist.
Name: Robert Ley, Nazi Minister for Labour
Role: Reveals moral bankruptcy of Nazis, commits suicide.
Main Purpose: Second Nazi to commit suicide, leading to appointment of chaplains.
Value: Points to Germany’s crisis of faith and racism in suicide note, highlights determination of leading Nazis to escape justice and responsibility.
Name: Dr Ludwig Pflucker.
Role: Elderly German doctor at Nuremberg.
Main Purpose: Medical go-between to Nazi big wigs, pronounces suicides dead.
Value: Possible threat to security.
Name: Lt ‘Tex’ Wheelis
Role: Guard of Nazi leaders, suspected of passing cyanide to Goering.
Main Purpose: Facilitate Goering’s death.
Value: Reveals manipulative side of Goering’s character.
Name: Pte Ricci.
Role: Guard, mischief maker.
Main Purpose: Friend of Sam Fuller.
Value: Articulates Fuller’s everyman philosophy when Fuller is absent, peacemaker, clickbait for female moviegoers.
Name: Rudolf Hess.
Role: Deputy Fuhrer, on trial in Nuremberg.
Main Purpose: Defendant, clearly mad, but pronounced fit to stand trial.
Value: To reveal the narrow grasp on sanity of the Nazis, to highlight Gilbert’s blind spot towards justice.
Name: Alfred Rosenberg.
Role: Hitler’s philosopher, on trial.
Main Purpose: Demonstrate shallowness of Nazi philosophy.
Value: Vain and unrepentant, clinging to his ego to the end.
Name: Admiral Karl Doenitz.
Role: Head of Navy, defendant at Nuremberg.
Main Purpose: Opponent of Goering and Nazi politicians.
Value: To judge Henry Gerecke on his actions rather than his words.
Name: Admiral Erich Raeder.
Role: Extra. Defendant.
Main Purpose: To plead not guilty.
Value: Authenticity.
Name: General Alfred Jodl.
Role: Nazi Chief of Operations Staff, defendant.
Main Purpose: Authenticity.
Name: Walter Funk.
Role: Reichsbank President.
Main Purpose: Authenticity
Value: To show bankers in cahoots with SS over Jewish gold teeth from concentration camps.
Name: Wilhelm Frick.
Role: Nazi apparatchik, drafted Nuremberg race laws. Defendant.
Main Purpose: Authenticity.
Name: Franziska Goering.
Role: Hermann Goering’s mother.
Main Purpose: To reveal the sense of abandonment at the heart of his wound.
Value: To illustrate Goering’s wound.
Name: Hermann von Epenstein.
Role: Goering’s ‘godfather’, Cuckold to Goering’s father, lover of his mother. Jewish.
Main Purpose: To reveal the sense of divided loyalties, conflicted feelings over Jews, upbringing with Teutonic myth and legend.
Value: To illustrate Goering’s wound and conflicted character.
Name: Goering’s head teacher.
Role: Chastises and humiliates young Hermann over his hero-worship of the Jewish Epenstein.
Main Purpose: Humiliate and wound Hermann Goering, over his Jewish ‘godfather’.Value: To illustrate Goering’s wound.
Name: Adolf Hitler
Role: Fuhrer.
Main Purpose: Madman at the heart of Nazi Germany.
Value: To reveal the madness at the heart of Nazi Germany.
Name: Dr Gunter von Rohrscheidt.
Role: Defence Counsel to Rudolf Hess.
Main Purpose: To try to defend Hess on grounds of insanity.
Value: To demonstrate the madness of Hess, and the system that still puts him on trial.
Name: General Roman Andrejovych Rudenko (Hess’s Crackers; An Iron Curtain; The Russian Card).
Role: Furious Russian prosecutor.
Main Purpose: To see every Nazi hang, to insist Hess is fit to stand trail, to introduce in court the Russian film against the Nazis, to deal the death blow in court to Keitel.
Value: To demonstrate the Russians are implacable enemies, for whom justice can only means execution, comic relief.
Name: Dr Douglas Kelley.
Role: Prison psychiatrist, Gilbert’s boss.
Main Purpose: Evaluate the Nazi personalities, clash with Gilbert.
Value: To chillingly reveal that the Nazi psychopaths were nothing special – their personality types could occur anywhere, even the White House.
Name: Emmy Goering.
Role: Hermann Goering’s actress wife.
Main Purpose: To reveal the human side of Hermann Goering.
Value: To show that even psychopaths are men, rather than monsters.
Name: Edda Goering (4 then 7)
Role: Goering’s beloved daughter.
Main Purpose: To reveal the human side of Hermann Goering.
Value: Almost the Protagonist’s last chance to get through to Goering.
Name: James B Donovan.
Role: Robert Jackson’s assistant, OSS.
Main Purpose: In charge of visual evidence.
Value: Understands it is the story that will get these Nazis to swing, not the documents, shows a film on the Nazi Plan, but hasn’t figured on the sheer vanity of the Nazis as they celebrate themselves on screen.
Name: Lt Col. n SS Politzei.
Role: Decent Nazi.
Main Purpose: Play organ in chapel in lieu of Fuller.
Value: Show some Nazis were cultured men, and not all Nazis clung on to their Nazi beliefs after the war.
Name: Man in Homburg, Werwolf.
Role: Points out Judensau to Henry.
Main Purpose: To show that the roots of anti-Semitism go back to Luther and beyond.
Value: Reminder that racism has ancient roots, including in religion, to add menace.
Name: Thomas Dodd
Role: No2 to Chief Prosecutor.
Main Purpose: Convinced visual evidence – storytelling – is more powerful than documentary evidence.
Value: Begins to turn the tide of the trial with his film Nazi Concentration Camps.
Name: Arthur Gaeth. (The Comeback Kid; Tod Durch Den Strang)
Role: Broadcaster.
Main Purpose: Friendly rival to Protagonist, aid to exposition.
Value: Revealing Henry’s attitudes, putting him under pressure to reveal him to think quickly on his feet.
Name: Anna Melville (‘The Reichstag is Burning…’)
Role: On prosecution staff.
Main Purpose: To help Protagonist in his research to undermine Nazi denial.
Value: Female appeal, highlight Henry’s grasp of how to turn this around, hint to Gilbert not to underestimate him.
Name: German POW from US. (America First)
Role: Construction worker.
Main Purpose: To show some Americans supported the Nazis.
Value: To show racism cuts both ways, to highlight Gilbert’s commitment to anti-Semitism and his hot temper under the surface.
Name: Rudolf Hoess [not Hess] (An Earnest Little Man)
Role: Auschwitz Commandant.
Main Purpose: To expose the extent of the mechanised murder at Auschwitz and the quiet pride he took in increasing its efficiency.
Value: To reveal the chilling banality of evil.
Name: Dr Kurt Kaufmann (An Earnest Little Man).
Role: Defence lawyer for Ernst Kaltenbrunner.
Main Purpose: To expose the chilling testimony of Rudolf Hoess.
Value: To reveal the scale of the holocaust and the moral bankruptcy of the technocracy that made it possible.
Name: Col John Harlan Amen (An Earnest Little Man)
Role: US Chief Interrogator.
Main Purpose: Hard man who interrogates Hoess and reveals the extent of the Holocaust.
Value: Breakthrough in Nuremberg – the testimony that clinches the trial.
Name: Baron von Neurath (The Champagne Peddler)
Role: Nazi defendant.
Main Purpose: Authenticity.
Value: To expose the Nazis denial and denounce von Ribbentrop as stupid and shallow.
Name: Sir David Maxwell-Fyfe (The Champagne Peddler)
Role: Chief British Proesecutor.
Main Purpose: Authenticity.
Value: To denounce von Ribbentrop as stupid and shallow.
Name: Waldemar Schacht (Tod Durch Den Strang)
Role: Nazi defendant.
Main Purpose: Convinced of his innocence as a Nazi banker who helped set up the regime, turned opponent who was sent to Dachau.
Value: Authenticity, and to show later that the German people need justice, too.
Name: Hans Fritzsche (Boy Scouts)
Role: Nazi defendant.
Main Purpose: Authenticity.
Name: Sgnt J C Woods (The Collector)
Role: Hangman.
Main Purpose: Hang the Nazis and do a botched job.
Value: Demonstrate callous indifference, lack of empathy by the Allies, imply causing slow and painful deaths at Fuller’s instigation.
Name: Pte Joseph Malta (The Collector)
Role: Hangman’s assistant.
Main Purpose: To assist Woods in the hanging.
Value: To reveal indifference to errors by Woods, to demonstrate a relish for revenge.
Apologies for such a long post! Thank you.
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Amy’s Supporting Characters
Vision: I want to become known as an expert in the family-friendly genre and make a full-time living as a screenwriter.
What I learned from doing this assignment is looking at your supporting characters in this way makes sure that they have a purpose and are meaningful.
Supporting Characters:
Name: Chloe
Role: Stephanie’s best friend
Main purpose: A sounding board for Stephanie. An accomplice in Stephanie’s quest to remain princess
Value: Helps Stephanie realize her feelings for Jack
Name: Ava
Role: Stephanie’s mother
Main purpose: A mentor and example to Stephanie
Value: Helps Stephane come to terms with her situation. Stephanie’s voice of reason
Name: Brandon
Role: Jack’s father
Main purpose: a mirror to Jack’s struggles and a catalyst for his change
Value: Drives Jack’s desire to help Stephanie to spite his father
Name: Nicole
Role: homeless woman who is actually the princess
Main purpose: an obstacle to Stephanie who wants to keep being a princess
Value: When Stephanie finally accepts that she’s not the princess and helps Nicole, it’s an indication that Stephanie has changed and become selfless.
Name: Willis
Role: the queen’s advisor, oversees the palace staff
Main purpose: to advise the not-so-royal family on how to handle their predicament
Value: Serves as sort of a shape shifter. At first, he’s on Ava and Stephanie’s side, then he’s not
Name: Clara Bane
Role: News reporter
Main purpose: to report on what’s going on with the not-so-royal family
Value: puts a spotlight on the scandal of the royals not really being royals and is a catalyst for the ensuing chaos and public frenzy
Name: Rob
Role: Jack’s best friend
Main purpose: advises Jack in his dealings with Stephanie and his father
Value: Jack’s voice of reason
Background Characters: palace staff, townspeople, kids at the orphanage, people at the homeless shelter
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Vic Valleau Purpose Driven Supporting Character Profiles Module 3, Lesson 8
VISION: As a writer, I am an alchemist, turning the ordinary into gold.
WHAT I LEARNED DOING this assignment: Working from premise, then leading characters, creating purpose driven supporting characters is a logical extension of that story line.
NAME Molly
ROLE Sperm Clinic Charge nurse, stay away from Eve, manager
MAIN PURPOSE: Mia asks Molly for help . Molly helps. hiding donation, friend helps Mia even in a bar, no alcohol,
VALUE (INCREASES humor, tension, suspense) , helps Mia escape divorce and husband with lies.
NAME: EVE
ROLE: Clinic manager Hard nose, manager no nonsense.
MAIN PURPOSE: Snoops for trouble at clinic or with services. Is Mia a customer or just a friend of Molly???
VALUE: unravels twisted story lines, we4 see thru her eyes. Becomes a detective, follows Mia. Bob follows Mia, H follows Mia.
NAME ZAK
ROLE: Bobs work nemesis
MAIN PURPOSE: Defines Bob’s character,
VALUE: Pushes plot, humor
NAME: Snoop
ROLE: Neighbor Kid
MAIN PURPOSE: Spies, pushes Bob’s character arc, tension, humor
VALUE: Outsider sees foolishness
DINNER DATE:
NAME: Therapist Driver
ROLE: BOB AND Mia’s uber driver.
MAIN PURPOSE: Sounding board to escape H. Driver is a psychologist moonlighting. Charges.
VALUE: Challenges Bob to be a man.
COSTUME PARTY:
NAME: H Girlfriend#1
ROLE: H GIRLFRIEND#1.
MAIN PURPOSE: Shadow like woman like Mia
VALUE: Humor, pushes plot, 2 Katharine Hepburns. Mia and gf#1.
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George Petersen SUPPORTING CHARACTERS
My Vision is to direct one of my screenplays as a low-budget indie feature
What I learned from this assignment is a supporting character better have a purpose or else
Support 1:
Name: Maggie
Role: Detective
Main purpose: to support and hinder Longfellow’s investigation of Youngblood.
Value: to serve both as Longfellow’s lost love interest and as an agent that follows through on Longfellow’s amateur investigation of Youngblood
Support 2:
Name: Alfred
Role: Butler
Main purpose: to keep Longfellow informed of what Youngblood is up at the mansion
Value: to communicate the distress that Youngblood is putting the staff through at the mansion as well as the source of Jonathan’s drugs in the Haight (Cowboy)
Support 3:
Name: Charlie
Role: Crazy Hippie
Main purpose: to organize and implement a trap to catch Youngblood red-handed in the act of murder
Value: to show the viciousness of Youngblood’s murders
Background 1:
Name: Cowboy
Role: Drug Dealer
Main purpose: to show Jonathan’s dealings with the drug world
Value: to show the distress Jonathan was under when the supply of the illusive drug he was seeking went sideways
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Module 3 Lesson 8 – Purpose Driven Supporting Characters
Nancy’s supporting charactersMy Vision: To create a polished portfolio and do whatever it takes to get a manager, and then sell multiple TV and or feature scripts.
What I learned doing this assignment is that I need to flesh out further the purposes of my supporting characters.
Supporting Characters: Noah, Camille, Dr. Britton, Gudrun, Lotte
Background characters: Camille’s boss, village shop owners/restaurant proprietor’s local weatherman, NYC friends and colleagues
Support 1:
Name: Noah
Role: Freya’s deceased husband
Main purpose: Represent that Freya is worthy of love
Value: His death is the catalyst to send Freya on this trip and their relationship woes help push her to be a better person.
Support 2:
Name: Camille
Role: Freya’s editor and boss
Main purpose: Her rejection (“fires” Freya) pushes Freya to take this journey and write again
Value: To give Freya a goal to strive for and not give in, face her fear of water to do so
Support 3:
Name: Doctor Britton
Role: Freya’s psychiatrist
Main purpose: Sounding board, tool for Freya to discover her past life as Lisbeth
Value: Helps increase the mystery as he guides Freya to understand the meaning of her dreams
Support 4:
Name: Gudrun
Role: Freya’s massage therapist and energy worker
Main purpose: Freya’s confidant, good friend
Value: Pushes Freya to seek the truth, opens Freya’s mind up to the possibilities of past lives and guides her to memory that proves Noah is innocent
Support 5:
Name: Lotte
Role: Mainlander “mayor”
Main purpose: Reveals the mystery of the island to Freya
Value: Establishes the stakes of the island and the storm
Support 6:
Name: Detective Lanning
Role: Detective
Main purpose: Investigating the cold case of fugitive Noah Ericksen and the murder of his wife Lisbeth, and daughter Hanna
Value: Investigation increases tension that Noah may be found out that he is the fugitive before Freya has a chance to discover the truth – that he’s innocent
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Dave Holloway’s supporting characters
My vision: I would like to be a successful writer in Hollywood, with a number of successful movies to my credit that put forward a core belief about environmental, political, or personal development.
What I learned doing this assignment is that looking individually at them allows me to bring them into greater focus and give them a little more depth.
Supporting characters
Livia, wife of Nigel
Vernon Trask, warden of prison where Livia is held
Amelia McGrath, pilot who flies Nigel and Roger across several states.
Background characters
Senior partner of law firm where Nigel works
lawyer friends of Nigel at the firm
pilot of plane Roger and Nigel fly to North America
Man on bus who talks to Nigel and Roger, who Roger defends in a fight
Notah, Native-American man the two meet
June, security guard at prison where Livia is held
Support 1:
Name: Livia Williamson
Role: as Nigel’s wife, she sets the story in motion when she is imprisoned in a military state on a false charge of espionage
Main purpose: She is the goal toward which Nigel strives throughout the story, knowing that if his courage fails him he will be unable to forgive himself
Value: She is such an admirable person that we see she is well worth Nigel and Roger risking their lives for.
Support 2
Name: Amelia McGrath
Role: she is the pilot of flies the two across several states.
Main purpose: By flying them, she saves them a great deal of time, enabling them to reach the military state on time
Value: As a pilot and a courageous young woman, she enables them to succeed
Support 3
Name: Vernon Trask
Role: He is the warden of the prison where Livia is held.
Main purpose: His iron control of the prison makes freeing Livia seem nearly impossible
Value: He exemplifies the fascist spirit of control and domination that characterizes the military state and makes Livia’s imprisonment and death sentence believable.
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Mod 3; lesson 8: I want to write memorable scripts that actors want to perform.
WIL: I now have the suggestion of a more powerful antagonist.
Name Laurel Goode
Role: attempts seduction to pass finals
Main purpose: adds to Cole’s inability to attract a woman, so he stays a loner.
Value: She is fickle, selfish and untrustworthy to the entire class a is the weak link in the investigation.
Name: Hunter Devane Champion
Role: opposes Cole in class. Arranges fraudulent straw contest and shows up with Redmond Bragg,
Main purpose: He is the one who suggests that one of the class members has to go look for the attacker and the manuscript and is of interest to the people who want to destroy the manuscript and/or the professor.
Value: He takes Laurel off Cole’s hands by promising she will get a diploma.
Name: Redmond Bragg
Role: Represents groups which are searching for the manuscript to destroy it.
Main purpose: There is no way a college student can find the manuscript before him, but just in case he has to follow Cole and Delaney, convince him to hand over what they find or he’ll stop them any way possible from succeeding.
Value: He is the real power behind the organization set on preserving the current beliefs in Shakespeare’s identity because it is financially imperative that they preserve them
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This reply was modified 2 years, 7 months ago by Joyce Davidson.
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This reply was modified 2 years, 7 months ago by
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Supporting Actors: Mod #3, Lesson 8
to write memorable scripts which actors will want to perform.
WIL: I now have the suggestion of a more powerful antagonist.
Name Laurel Goode
Role: attempts seduction to pass finals
Main purpose: adds to Cole’s inability to attract a woman, so he stays a loner.
Value: She is fickle, selfish and untrustworthy to the entire class a is the weak link in the investigation.
Name: Hunter Devane Champion
Role: opposes Cole in class. Arranges fraudulent straw contest and shows up with Redmond Bragg,
Main purpose: He is the one who suggests that one of the class members has to go look for the attacker and the manuscript and is of interest to the people who want to destroy the manuscript and/or the professor.
Value: He takes Laurel off Cole’s hands by promising she will get a diploma.
Name: Redmond Bragg
Role: Represents groups which are searching for the manuscript to destroy it.
Main purpose: There is no way a college student can find the manuscript before him, but just in case he has to follow Cole and Delaney, convince him to hand over what they find or he’ll stop them any way possible from succeeding.
Value: He is the real power behind the organization set on preserving the current beliefs in Shakespeare’s identity because it is financially imperative that they preserve them
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Marcus’ Supporting Characters
My Vision: I have well-founded confidence that what I write is excellent and will be acknowledged as excellent by everyone who reads it.
This assignment was a good primer on developing supporting roles and making sure there are no unnecessary ones.
Movie Title: “Beyond the Faded Trail”
Supporting Characters: Jake’s favorite prostitute, Saloon owner of Jake’s hangout (where prostitutes work and there is gambling), Isaac’s protégé, Sheriff of Jake’s town, Lucien’s girlfriend (formerly Isaac’s)
Background Characters: Jake’s workers, town businessmen who need buildings, gamblers, drinkers, prostitutes, Deputy Sheriff, townspeople, and Lucien’s gang
Support 1:
Character Name: Charlotte
Role: Jake’s favorite prostitute
Main Purpose: Shows some of Jake’s deep-down desires that he normally will hide.
Value: She plays along when being paid, but reveals one of his wounds when she rejects him. She can reveal some of his back story showing his primary problem.
Support 2:
Character Name: Alf Edmund
Role: Saloon owner of Jake’s hangout
Main Purpose: He tries to keep Jake under control and won’t sell him Charlotte’s contract.
Value: Reveals some of Jake’s deep-down wounds.
Support 3:
Character Name: Billy
Role: Isaac’s protégé
Main Purpose: A foil for Isaac.
Value: Let’s Isaac demonstrate some of his likeable traits, especially how he cares for those who are close to him.
Support 4:
Character Name: Arthur Edmund (Alf’s brother)
Role: Town Sheriff
Main Purpose: A semi-antagonist for Isaac.
Value: This character shows the respect that a sheriff can have. He will also represent stupidity which will reveal one of Isaac’s weaknesses – temper. He will put Isaac in jail. Causing problems for Jake and leading to the inciting incident.
Support 5:
Character Name: Adelaide
Role: Lucien’s girlfriend/Isaac’s girlfriend
Main Purpose: Isaac’s true goal is his quest to win Adelaide back.
Value: Her struggle to decide between what Lucien represents and what Isaac represents will reveal a lot about both of them and will move the story along.
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Bice-Stephens Supporting Characters
2022 is my year to break through!
What I learned: This lesson is adding very important pieces to the puzzle.
Profiles:
Supporting 1
Name—Jacob
Role—BFF of Alex
Main Purpose—Portrays normal guy friends, going out for a good time, in college together, saved Alex from bullies in grade school and have been best friends ever since.
Value—Loyal no matter what, always has Alex’s back
Supporting 2
Name—Jack
Role—Kidnapped baby girl portrayed as infant boy
Main Purpose—Show how desperate Brandy is to get a baby and trick Alex into being with her to be the parent he didn’t have
Value—Brandy’s focus is around using little “Baby Dearest” to manipulate Alex
Background Characters
Names—Mason and Macy
Role—Unborn Embryos
Main Purpose—Demonstrate Brandy’s psychopathic attachment to motherhood
Value—Show how mentally deranged Brandy really is
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Alan’s Supporting Characters
My Vision:
I do whatever it takes for me to be a true wordsmith that spins wildly original and entertaining screenplays that are passionately sought out by top industry professionals who turn them into critically and publicly acclaimed major motion pictures distributed by the top studios in Hollywood, all while writing from wherever I may be leisurely traveling the world at the moment.
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What I learned: A great way to give supporting characters meaning.
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Title: Ninja Burgers
Genre: Action/Comedy
Concept: A down on his luck, nineteen-year-old fast food employee finds a high tech bracelet that turns him into the world’s deadliest super soldier.
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Supporting Characters: Necessary characters who interact with the lead characters and/or are required to be in multiple scenes to make this journey happen.
Tiberius’ Best Friend
Tiberius’ Father
“Good Guys” Leader
Team Member 1
Team Member 2
Team Member 3
Team Member 4
“Bad Guy” Henchman
Crypto’s Wife
Background Characters: Can be played by Extras. Usually no speaking role, but maybe a line or two.
Other Fast Food Employees
Fast Food Customers
Homeless Guy
Other Bad Guys at Lair
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Support 1:
Name: Hannibal Byrd
Role: Tiberius’ Best Friend
Main purpose: The Believer
Value: He is the one person that believes in Tiberius. He provides a fulcrum for Tiberius’ internal dilemma of following his own dream or disappointing his friends.
Support 2:
Name: Harry Truman
Role: Tiberius’ father, depressed, dying, doesn’t believe in his son or anything after the death of his wife.
Main purpose: The doubter. He’s here to show how rough Tiberius has it and to help establish likeability etc for Tiberius.
Value: He’s here to show how rough Tiberius has it and to help establish likeability etc for Tiberius.
Support 3:
Name: Addison Grant
Role: Leader of the Super Soldier Test Subject group.
Main purpose: To bring Tiberius into his new world and provide a surprise twist to the third act.
Value: The betrayer, he adds at first a better father figure for Tiberius but then gives us a major twist with his betrayal.
Support 4:
Name: Patton
Role: Team Member 1 – Male – The Protector
Main purpose: Bonding with Tiberius. Fish out of water fuel.
Value: Shows how weak and out of place our hero is when he first arrives to training.
Support 5:
Name: MacArthur
Role: Team Member 2 – Male
Main purpose: Bonding with Tiberius. Fish out of water fuel.
Value: Shows how weak and out of place our hero is when he first arrives to training.
Support 6:
Name: Eisenhower
Role: Team Member 3 – Female – The Feeler
Main purpose: Bonding with Tiberius. Fish out of water fuel.
Value: Shows how weak and out of place our hero is when he first arrives to training. Helps him out with Washington.
Support 7:
Name: Washington – Female
Role: Team Member 4
Main purpose: Bonding with Tiberius. Fish out of water fuel. Out of his league love interest.
Value: Shows how weak and out of place our hero is when he first arrives to training. She and Tiberius hook up and then she dies.
Support 8:
Name: Shade
Role: “Bad Guy” Henchman
Main purpose: Boss fight.
Value: Gives us a truly evil and way more powerful bad guy for Tiberius to overcome.
Support 9:
Name: Clarissa French
Role: Crypto’s Wife
Main purpose: The love interest for Crypto.
Value: Shows us Crypto is human and trapped. The object of his greatest dilemmas.
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I’m not sure if I’m posting these the right places, but at least I’m posting. Still playing catch-up after missing a month due to surgery. Here goes:
Subject line: (Patty Ruland’s) Character Intrigue
My vision: To get better and better so that I might obtain representation and earn a good living in this profession.
What I learned from doing this assignment is: Character flaws make characters interesting—intriguing.
Character Name: Alexandra
Role: Protagonist
Hidden agendas: She’s cultivating ties with indigenous explorers by way of her best friend the orphan Meni*, in order to be able to supersede her parent’s expedition. [She thinks she knows more than her parents by now.]
Competition: She wants to be the preeminent explorer in the family, for it burns inside her that her brother and father have always claimed the limelight, while she and her mother had to settle for being “companions,” the “women behind the successful men.”
Unspoken Wound: She’s in her mid-teens and aching to be grown and on her own, for then she could step out from under her famous parents’ and brother’s shadows.
*[Menippe (Greek Origin), meaning ‘the courageous mare’, was a member of the Amazons.]
Character Name: Diablo
Role: Antagonist
Hidden agendas: He’s tracking Alexandra’s party in secret, hidden in the shadows of the rainforest.
Deception: He fronts as a friend of the family and conservationist, a ‘friend of the forest.”
Unspoken Wound: Flashbacks of watching his brother and dog drown in the raging rapids haunt his waking and sleeping hours, causing him to drink to blot out the memories then fly into rages that fuel his cruel acts.
Competition: He is offered a lot of money to cross a terrible line.
What I learned from doing this assignment is: Character flaws make characters interesting—intriguing.
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(Patty Ruland’s) Likability/Relatability/Empathy
Vision: To get better and better so that I might gain representation and earn a good living in this profession.
What I learned from doing this assignment is: These methods work! I indeed have fun doing the assignments.
2. Brainstorm one or more ways you can present your Protagonist through each of these:
Likability:
Alexandra simply shines in so many ways. She’s bright and lights up everyone she meets. With her black hair, and green eyes, she “looks like a night on the rainforest,” according to her beloved father. She’s a voracious reader and great student who learns quickly then applies her knowledge every chance she gets.
Relatability:
She’s a second child whose brother has upstaged her all her life. She adores her father, who doesn’t seem to realize he plays favorites by lavishing attention on his first-born child, his son. She is a jill-of-all-trades but wants to make her mark doing something unique, big.
Empathy:
We see it in her eyes, hear it in her voice, see it in her demeanor: she’s jealous of her brother and hurt she can never be No. 1 with her father. However, she and her brother adore each other, so we feel empathy for her in that she doesn’t want to bear bad will against him.
3. Just to get the experience, give us one or more ways that your Antagonist could be presented through each of these:
Likability:
Diablo’s an entertainer, singing and jigging and playing instruments to disarm potential detractors. He is known for his salty jokes.
Relatability:
We relate to his lust for adventure—doesn’t every human being?
Empathy:
We’re sorry to see his scars on his face arms and lets (if we could see them) due to his being mauled by a jaguar.
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(Patty Ruland’s) Character Profiles Part 1
My vision: To get better and better so that I might gain representation and make a good living in this profession.
What I learned from doing this assignment is: No matter the assignment, breakthroughs occur. This makes it all-important to do each and every lesson. For example, I was not happy with the villain’s name, and in the process of doing this module, I came upon one I like much better, which, in turn, allowed me to elevate the description of him.
Role in the Story:
High concept–
Protagonist: ALEXANDRA, the daughter of famous naturalist and initial leader of the expedition, who doesn’t want to play second fiddle to anyone, not even her father. Circumstances, a terrible storm that washes her father’s group away, force her to have what she wants—to be the leader.
Antagonist: Now JAG, who is trying to live down his reputation for cowardice by bullying people and animals of the rainforest. He wants to sell endangered species on the black market, as well as claim the prize for documenting the pink dolphin and show up his long-time rival, the father.
Triangle: Father? Orphan native child?
This character’s journey—
ALEXANDRA:
After a storm separates Alexandra’s craft from her parents’ expedition, she has a dual journey—should she focus only on finding her parents or could she also focus on finding the pink dolphin?
Age range and Description: ALEXANDRA
Age Range: 14-16, daughter of famed explorer, whose skills are rapidly catching up to his. Despite a falling out between father and daughter, it will be Alexandra who finally rescues and saves him.
Age range and Description:<s> Diablo</s> JAG
Description: He has the physique and charm of a swashbuckler do-gooder, but the secret soul of a criminal.
Core Traits:
ALEXANDRA: Teen Explorer, Naturalist
Intrepid
Inventive
Invincible
Adrenaline-addict
<s>Diablo:</s> JAG: Poacher, river pirate
Charismatic
Smart
Swift
Stealthy
Revenge-addict
Motivation: Want/Need:
ALEXANDRA:
Want: To find the pink dolphin and win the prize
Need: To come of age and be seen as an explorer in her own right
JAG: To find the pink dolphin and sell specimens to aquariums or dissectors under cover of darkness, as if they’d never been there, delighting in other explorers finding nothing [This is his MO.]
NEED: To show everyone who thinks he’s a heel and coward that money and power redeem his status
Wound: What they can’t face:
ALEXANDRA: She compensates for having to live the lesser life of a girl, in her family and in society, which makes her seethe with resentment toward her father and her older brother
JAG: He was born the sweetest child, but then a jaguar attacked him, he was ridiculed and ostracized, and he turned diabolical in showing no mercy.
Likability, Relatability, Empathy (from Lesson 5)
ALEXANDRA:
Likability:
Alexandra simply shines in so many ways. She’s bright and lights up everyone she meets. With her black hair, and green eyes, she “looks like a night on the rainforest,” according to her beloved father. She’s a voracious reader and great student who learns quickly then applies her knowledge every chance she gets.
Relatability:
Alexandra’s a second child whose brother has upstaged her all her life. She adores her father, who doesn’t seem to realize he plays favorites by lavishing attention on his first-born child, his son. She is a jill-of-all-trades but wants to make her mark doing something unique, big.
Empathy:
We see it in her eyes, hear it in her voice, see it in her demeanor: she’s jealous of her brother and hurt she can never be No. 1 with her father. However, she and her brother adore each other, so we feel empathy for her in that she doesn’t want to bear bad will against him.
<s>Diablo</s> JAG
Likability:
Jag’s an entertainer, singing and jigging and playing instruments to disarm potential detractors. He is known for his salty jokes.
Relatability:
We relate to his lust for adventure—doesn’t every human being?
Empathy:
We’re sorry to see his scars on his face arms and legs (if we could see them) due to his being mauled by a jaguar, but to mask them he wears intimidating native face paint making him look like a jaguar [Could his name be Jag? Yes.]
FATHER OR ORPHAN profiles to come.
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I know I’m not in the right spot, but I hope I’m in the neighborhood.
(Patty Ruland’s) Supporting Characters
Vision: To get better and better until I gain representation and earn a good living in this profession.
What I learned from doing this assignment is: The process always delivers something good!
Support 1: Orphan native child adopted sister of Alexandra, protagonist
Name: Yara, whose Brazilian name translates as “a small butterfly”
Role: Adopted sister and best
friend of Alexandra “first mate” of the raft crew headed down the
treacherous Amazon
Main purpose: To be the link
between Alexandra’s Western ways and the secret, sophisticated
indigenous ways of Yara’s former community
Value: She can escort Alexandra
where other Westerners could not go.Support 2:
Name: Alexandra’s parents
Role: To be the ostensible “adults
in the room” who are to spearhead the expedition.
Main purpose: They are lost in
a storm and struggle to find Alexandra as she struggles to find them.
Value: They are the cause of
Alexandra’s internal dilemma—should she wound their pride and “rescue them”
or make them proud by finding the pink dolphin?Support 3:
Name: Leo, Alexandra’s older
brother
Role: To be the golden boy of
the family
Main purpose: To justify his
parents’ existence and carry on their famous name as explorers
Value: To cherish his sister
while all the while competing with her. -
Chris Blanchett’s Supporting Characters
I am a brilliant, massively successful, professional screenwriter who writes incredible movies in a wide variety of genres which become instant-classics. I am respected by my professional peers and bring genuine, thought-provoking entertainment and uplifting emotions to hundreds of millions of movie-goers.
What I learned from this assignment is that characters are built one step at a time.
Unwoke
After his politically incorrect rant accidentally goes viral, a timid office-worker becomes a modern day thought criminal to one half of the country and an unintentional hero to the other. Can he elude the clutches of the “woke” mob and successfully avoid sparking a second American civil war?
1. Start this assignment by empowering yourself using our State-To-Activity empowerment process.
State: I’m really great at…
Activity: …creating purpose-driven supporting characters.
2. Tell us your supporting and background characters.
Supporting Characters:
Max Williams
Howard Withers
Conrad Acosta
Arthur Ingersoll
Background Characters:
Office workers
People at rallies
Protesters
Supporters
3. Focusing on those supporting characters, fill in the basic profile for each.
Support 1:
Name: Max Williams
Role: Tim’s best friend
Main purpose: Sounding board for Tim
Value: Gives us a sense of how public is perceiving Tim and a metric for his (Tim’s) changes in attitude and behavior.
Support 2:
Name: Howard (Howie) Withers
Role: Office manager
Main purpose: Show us the oppressive impact of the new Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion office culture
Value: Speaks volumes when we see him cheering enthusiastically at one of Tim’s rallies after 3 acts of his (Wither’s) going along to get along.
Support 3
Name: Conrad Acosta
Role: Cable News Investigative Reporter
Main Purpose: Portray the face of media bias
Value: Comic relief and a minor villain to have an early false victory over
Support 4
Name: Arthur Ingersoll
Role: The ultimate puppet-master
Main Role: Personify the men behind the curtain generating civil unrest and conflict for fun and profit
Value: Shows us there is a manipulative method to the madness
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Erin Ziccarelli’s Supporting Characters
Vision: I am going to create meaningful scripts that leave audiences remembering my movies and leave me excited to keep writing and moving up in the industry.
What I learned from doing this assignment is: the difference between a supporting and a background character, and the importance of having a value-adding supporting character.
Tell us your supporting and background characters.
Supporting Characters:
Background Characters: members of
the rival crime familiesFocusing on those supporting characters, fill in the basic profile for each.
Support 1: William Lawson
Role: Social worker <div>
Main purpose: the only main
character in the story that hasn’t spent time behind bars and has lived an
entirely honest life, victim of the conflict in BostonValue: Scarlett’s hero, offsets the
other characters who have all been in jail at some point or anotherSupport 2: Kitty Caden
Role: member of the Caden family,
counterfeiter, gambler </div><div>Main purpose: Alex’s true love, Ted’s
wife, Nathanial’s daughter, and Scarlett Brennan’s mother – shows Alex
that family is more than last nameValue: her death 20 years ago drives
a series of events that leads Alex to discover Scarlett and realize that
the family feud is pointlessSupport 3: Demi Gotwick
Role: Nathanial Caden’s lawyer </div>
Main purpose: Handles his estate and
financial affairs, one of the first people to know the identity of the
conservatee<div>
Value: leaves Boston at the end
because she’s had enough of the fight, the “outsider” looking into the
family feud and realizing what it’s doing to the citySupport 4: Patrick Doyle
Role: counterfeiter, gambler, Alex’s
old friend </div><div>Main purpose: Scheming for control
of the South End, destroys Alex’s business and livelihood, follows orders
to “get him back”Value: shows Alex’s old ways, shows
how the South End is not as united as it appearsSupport 5: Richard Brennan
Role: leader of the North End following
Nathanial Caden’s death </div>Main purpose: killed Kitty Caden 20
years ago, hated by Alex, Scarlett, and later on, the whole North End for
what he did to KittyValue: manipulates and controls
Scarlett, his death is the beginning of the end of the feud
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