Day 9 Assignments

[Rob Bertrand]

Rob Bertrand’s Completed Third Act

What I learned: I learned that you outline and plan your 3rd Act as much, if not more than your entire screenplay.

1. SETUP: A depressed girl, struggling with her sexuality tries to fit in by going on a date with a boy she met online. After she rejects him for the new girl at school, she begins to experience paranormal activity and soon comes to the belief that it’s the ghost of her dead mother. After Annie shares her first kiss with another girl, the paranormal activity escalates and injures the girl

2. PLOT POINT 2 — It’s revealed that the house is not haunted by Nora’s ghost. Danny Laplante has been living inside the walls, pretending to be the ghost to get revenge on Annie.

3. CRISIS — Annie must decide if she’s going back into her house to find her father, or go for help.

4. CLIMAX — Annie must face off against Danny, who’s taken on the identity of Nora Andrews and is holding Jack Andrew’s hostage. Danny wants Annie to kill her father, so that he can replace him as her mother. During the confrontation, Annie comes out to her father and Jack reveals he went to rehab and is 12 months sober. Annie uses her intelligence to trick Danny and rescues her father. Danny is caught on fire and retreats to hide.

5. RESOLUTION — Danny is found hiding in the walls and is arrested. Months later, Annie packs for college. Jack gives Annie a surprise gift. It’s her mother’s classic car, fully restored from the accident. Jack promises to take good care of Jessica. We also learn that Danny has escaped a mental hospital.

6. FINAL PAGE — The film ends with a new family entering their house with groceries. Furniture has been moved around. Food on the counter. Hints that Danny Laplante has found some new victims. Seeds for a sequel.

7. FINAL LINE/IMAGE — It ends with a voice over recall from earlier in the film. Danny’s speech about Childhood being over the moment you realize that monsters are real. They just look like you and me. He’s hiding in a closet, watching a new teenage girl brush her hair.

[Robert Smith]

You nailed it, Rob. Good execution. Wasn’t Danny the guy Annie went out with (who is living inside the walls? He is he guy she meets on the internet, right?

[Rob Bertrand]

Yes, Danny and Annie meet online in the beginning. After she rejects him, Danny starts living in her walls while pretending to be the ghost of Annie’s dead mom.

[Pablo Soriano]

What I learned: By coming up with ending, it was much easier to figure out what fat to cut. This still needs a ton of work but it is much leaner and I think that makes it much easier to work with.

1. SETUP:

Frank Kazakowski is caught by the Border Patrol smuggling drugs into the US using drones. Instead of turning him in, they force him to use the drones as surveillance along the borderwall. The deal is if any migrants make it across, he goes straight to prison. Frank will need to find a new way to make money.

Irma Escandon daydreams of leaving her deadbeat, gambling addicted husband, Ricardo, and making a new life in the US with her two teenage sons, Antonio and Andres. Ricardo is never around, always gambling. When he is around, he’s asking for or stealing money from Irma. After causing a scene at her place of work, Irma is fed up and buys three bus tickets to Texas. On her way to tell Ricardo she is leaving, she finds out that Ricardo had been murdered by the gangsters he owed money to. Now she is responsible for his debt.

Sapo, the casino kingpin, offers Irma a job to pay off Ricardo’s debt. Knowing that they were responsible for his death and that a job meant a lifetime of servitude, she refuses. Sapo threatens to kill her and take her sons under his wing. Irma immediate takes her sons and joins a migrant caravan headed to El Paso, TX.

2. PLOT POINT 2 —

After narrowly escaping town, Irma is en route to Texas. Sapo calls a business partner, Frank Kazakowski, and informs him of this caravan, revealing that the two of them are in cahoots in the drug smuggling operation. Sapo is the supplier and Frank is still secretly moving his stuff into the US while also watching for illegal immigrants.

When the caravan discovers that they are being watched, they realize that they specifically following Irma and they kick her out of the caravan. Irma and her sons must make their way to the border alone. When all seems lost, they come upon a bag full of supplies. This continues to happen throughout their journey. They discover that these supplies are being dropped by the drones. They must take them to survive, but they know that it is leading them to a trap. So Antonio and Andres come up with a plan to avoid them and in doing so, find a drone charging station in the middle of the desert. There, they destroy dozens of drones.

3. CRISIS — The decision point.

Without food or water, Irma and her family have no choice but to push forward. Turning back would be suicide. What’s worse is new drones find their location because a poker chip that Antonio was given by Sapo is actually a tracker.

4. CLIMAX – Irma lights one of the abandoned homes on fire, causing heavy smoke and blanketing their escape as the drones cannot see them. Antonio loses the poker chip and the drones lose them for a brief moment. Irma makes the hardest decision of her life and leaves her sons to lead the drones away from them to help increase their chances of making it across the border undetected. The final drone is being controlled by Frank. He has no choice but to follow her because of his partnership with Sapo. He’s in a bind. If Irma’s sons cross the border, he could go to prison.

5. RESOLUTION Irma is caught by the Border Patrol waiting for her. The boys make it safely across and are taken into government custody. As minors without a guardian, the US is obliged to care for them until the age of 18 when they will be deported back.

Frank is arrested for his crimes as he is unable to hold his end of the deal of never letting any immigrants across. Irma’s story gains national news coverage as all the drone footage is posted online. There is an outpour of support for Antonio and Andres as several Latino families volunteer for foster care.

6. FINAL PAGE — The final minute of the movie.

Irma is deported back to Chihuahua. But she’s tougher. She won’t be pushed around. Sapo tries to punish her for disobeying him but she threatens to try for the border again. Sapo is amused and backs off. It was a lot of trouble for nothing.

7. FINAL LINE/IMAGE

Do with me what you want. My boys are safe now. But one day, they will be back and I will be waiting.

[John Budinscak]

Pablo,

Would you like to exchange critiques? Please let me know – thank you!

Sincerely,

John B.

[Pablo Soriano]

Let’s do it!

[John Budinscak]

Thanks Pablo! I’ll have my analysis posted tomorrow morning.

JB

[John Budinscak]

Pablo,

Well done, Pablo – I like it. From the setup to all the 3rd Act structures, you hit a homerun. Your descriptions make the story easy to see, it flows well and the twists and turns keep it moving forward.

I did notice your story is a bit different from the one I read previously, and I’m glad Irma survives in this version. There’s a new main character, Sapo, and I like his role as Frank’s partner, how you’ve depicted him as becoming Irma’s nemesis and the role he played with Antonio’s poker chip/tracking device. You mention needing a ton of work – I think you’ve got a great outline to work with and to help flesh out your concept. I look forward to reading the next iteration.

[Pablo Soriano]

Thanks so much, John. Sorry for the delay. I’ll get back to you on your outline by tonight.

[Janeen Johnson]

Janeen’s Completed Third Act

What I’ve learned doing this assignment is that somewhere along the way, we are supposed to have written this entire screenplay and I’ve only written the scenes required by the classes. Did I miss something??

SETUP:

Morgan is the trophy wife of a wealthy writer who belongs to a craft guild of women jobs that all intersect with abused women in some way. Morgan has learned mind control and intentional healing in an effort to be more than just a trophy wife to herself, her husband and the guild. She has helped other women at a local women’s shelter and they have escaped, although a few fought back physically against their abusers.

Morgan’s fashion designer, Daniel, has been abusing his wife, Amber, and when Morgan tries to help her, Daniel gets a restraining order against her. She continues to use mind control from a distance, to help Amber have more confidence, creativity, and resolve in escaping from her husband’s abuse. She has no way of knowing if it is helping Amber whose abusive husband is escalating.

PLOT POINT 2 — Amber drugs and then kills her husband and is arrested for premeditated murder. Morgan and the rest of the guild are arrested for incitement to murder and aiding and abetting in a murder.

CRISIS — Amber’s lawyer says it wasn’t Amber’s fault because Morgan and her group used their mind control to get her to kill. She was acting in self defense made lethal by their meddling. Morgan’s husband is furious about the bad press she has brought him and the danger to herself. The guild is angry about being dragged into the courtroom like this.

CLIMAX — Amber is acquitted of all charges after members of the guild and other experts on abuse testify that she was on track to be murdered by her husband due to the escalating abuse. The prosecution comes after Morgan and the guild who use a “there’s no proof that this works” defense and say that they were there to support Amber with nothing more than “thoughts and prayers”.

RESOLUTION — Morgan and the guild are acquitted for lack of evidence that their “thoughts and prayers” directly influenced Amber.

FINAL PAGE — Since Morgan is vindicated and exonerated and so is Amber, maybe this is the new model for fighting abuse, but at what cost to the practitioners? Look what they all went through. Vilifying Morgan got Amber off, vilifying Amber and Daniel gets Morgan off.

FINAL LINE/IMAGE: Amber, now working as Morgan’s designer, says “Let’s help <this woman> the way you helped me.” There is a nod of understanding as they admire Morgan’s new gown.

[Amy Falkofske]

Janeen,

I’ve only written about 60 pages of mine, so if you missed something, so did I.

Amy

[Julia Keefer]

What I realized is that this is the worst thing I have ever written but I must plough ahead, finish these forums, and try to improve my third novel that is now so messy I can’t stand looking at it. Dramatic rules are fine but I desperately need my Muse to return. All the plot points are there but it is deliberately too long so I can cut once I figure out how it works with the three novels.

EXT. LA ROCHE HOUSE – DAY Is this the beginning of the third act?
Joan is laid to rest in the backyard, but their son Jake will not rest. His Parkinson’s is worse, and he is terrified it will progress to Lewy Body dementia. He has trouble walking around. Betty takes care of the funeral rites in her usual efficient manner. Townspeople show up like shadows on a cold winter day. No real conversation, just murmurs, and ritualistic actions.

JAKE

This is not how a village doctor should be remembered. Such a contrast to Dad’s party funeral. Strange that Litonya didn’t come. Where is she?

AANADI
I want to be the village doctor like grandma Joan.

EXT. PALISADES – DAY

Jake tries to master the scrambling in the Palisades. He starts strong and then keeps falling.

ANAHU
Because we aren’t related, we will get married and continue to live together forever happily ever after.

AANADI
I love you, Anahu. But no rings.

JAKE
I have heard that before. Have you two seen your mom anywhere?

ANAHU
We would have told you immediately, dad.

JAKE
I am jealous. I wish we could have gotten married. She has been gone for six months now, longer than her Sandy Storm retreat.

Jake hugs them into a trio and shakes from the contact.

ANAHU
Maybe Kisele knows where she is, but he might not tell.

Jake forces his PD body to scramble along on all fours, but his pace is slower than a snail’s as his kids run ahead. Frustrated, he squeezes the igneous rock.

JAKE
Fuck you, Magma Monsters. Why can’t you help us? Why can’t you strengthen me the way the Gunks did when I was a teenager? Why do you hate humans so much?

He throws small pieces of rock back up the landslide causing Anahu to run down./

ANAHU

Don’t have a temper tantrum dad. We don’t have to scramble. We can walk calmly on the path.

Aanadi comes down and takes his other arm. Tears fill Jake’s eyes.

JAKE
It was never supposed to be this way. Where the hell is Litonya? I hope she is okay.

INT. TUDOR TOWER
Litonya is standing naked in the solar greenhouse attached as Ibrahim admires her from the door. The greenhouse is a lush forest of tropical vegetation furnished with schist and gneiss rock providing the inspiration that Litonya needs. The sunset licks her silhouette making her glow like spectacular sculpture. Ibrahim approaches from behind, touching her beautiful bronze shoulders with a possessiveness from which she doesn’t shrink.

IBRAHIM
I knew you’d like this view of the Palisades. It is yours.

Litonya nods and tightens her lips. Ibrahim takes a purple suitcase out of the closet marked Bright Space Brain Buffet.

IBRAHIM
This is also yours.

LITONYA
I told you that I don’t want these artificial things. My brain and body are fine for my age.

IBRAHIM
Some of it is preventive. Look what it did for me at 71.

Ibrahim shows off his shiny black hair and trim body.

IBRAHIM
But the best is inside.

Litonya says nothing as she looks out to the igneous rocks, communing with her Higher Powers.

IBRAHIM
I can read your mind. You want to know about my Will in case Big Pharma can’t help me conquer death?

Litonya looks yes into his eyes.

He presses her beautiful body into his as she tries to yield.

A few minutes later they are naked on the rug. He has finished quickly, because her orgasms are not important, and she knows it. Conquest is key.

LITONYA
Where is it?

IBRAHIM
You have everything. You don’t need it.

LITONYA
The kids need as much power as they can get in the cruel world.

IBRAHIM
They already own the future.

LITONYA
You promised.

IBRAHIM
You’ll get it but you know what you must do. I may never die.

LITONYA
I will probably die by 85 because I won’t prolong life artificially.

IBRAHIM
I keep going backwards. By then I will be middle-aged.

LITONYA
God bless.

IBRAHIM
Remember I give Him up? Science is my god. And you believe in rocks. That is why I made this rock palace for you. Enjoy.

Litonya swallows her thunder and digs her rock climbing fingers into his tight back muscles, releasing the steam from his jaw and elsewhere. Her belly smells of his semen, a scent of death, unlike Jake’s life-giving seed. Kneeling, she squeezes out her feelings to profit from his stealing and dealings as the planet is reeling.

INT. CITY HALL – DAY
Ibrahim and Litonya marry without recognizable witnesses, dressed in drab business clothes.

LITONYLA
The last time I was in this august marble building was for murdering my father.

Ibrahim nods politely. Instead of a ring, he circles her throat with a necklace made of gold, diamonds, and black obsidian. His secret is that it used to be his Muslim prayer beads.

IBRAHIM
I made this just for you. You will look magnificent tonight.

EXT. MET MUSEUM ROOF
And she does! Litonya, who never dresses up or wears make-up, has donned a sexy backless black evening dress to match her show-off necklace, eyes made up dramatically, and hair coiffed around other jewels. She even wears heels, making her tower over Ibrahim. But he is confident, dressed in the most expensive Brunico suit, royal blue to offset the black of his hair.

He holds her hand and looks at her as if she were more outstanding than the MET sculptures. They are on the roof of the MET, watching the sun set over the west side. They both sip colored water, never alcohol. This gala is for STEMGARCHS that has given a fat donation to the MET. The socializing is mechanical but convivial.

Then they go down to the

TEMPLE OF DENDUR, lit up in an immortal way with candles, for the presentation. SLOWLY ZOOM into his acceptance speech.

IBRAHIM
It is our pleasure to set up a foundation and annual grant as well as a big Christmas donation. STEMGARCHS stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Medicine, but we use our funds to support humanity—culture, history, and the arts. No American institution is more worthy of our philanthropy than the MET. Our foundation will nurture educational programs for all ages. The annual grant is for Green projects to make the MET sustainable and ecologically correct while renovating and respecting history. And this year’s avalanche of cash will set up a science and art section to make people appreciate the aesthetics of science, the beauty of cells, and the spiritual and religious reflections of human endeavor. We will build an enormous wing into the drive that used to be for cars. STEMGARCHS has been essential in ending fossil fuels.

Thunderous APPLAUSE. As the CEO of the MET talks effusively and gratefully, Litonya’s eyes drift towards the park where runners and bikers can still express their freedom no matter what society organizes. She wishes she was out there running but not with them. She prays it will be over soon. Ibrahim returns to her and wraps his arms around her possessively.

LITONYA

I wish Kisele could have been here.

IBRAHIM
You wanted to keep this secret. Kisele is too honest to keep secrets. I must leave tonight for a trip—
LITONYA
Where?

IBRAHIM
Not sure.
As they walk down the grandiose steps of the MET they run into Jake, jogging through the fountains. They walk faster. Litonya feels like jumping in the fountain.

Jake doesn’t. He stops and stares at his true love,

JAKE
Here you are. What the fuck—

He is sweaty and stinking. When he stops, the PD shaking begins. The jog was fueled by his Levodopa and now he is coming back to earth.

IBRAHIM
You look terrific, Jake. So glad you can jog on the UES like the old days. Hope you had a client. Litonya has been working hard to save the earth, so we came to schmooze and find Green donors.

As they chat, participants stop to congratulate Ibrahim so his lie isn’t going over that well. For the first time in her life, Litonya shrinks. Thank God she is not wearing a ring. The black necklace is her marital chain.

JAKE
Lovely necklace. I thought you hated jewelry.

LITONYA
These are rocks, not jewels.

JAKE
So was my diamond, but I guess it wasn’t big enough.

IBRAHIM
Look, guys, I have a plane to catch so I will leave you here and see you when I get back.

LITONYA
Plane? I thought you said you were done with planes?

IBRAHIM
It’s ecologically correct.

JAKE
Blue Origin for your blue suit? Outer space?

IBRAHIM
Perhaps. Life is an adventure.

He kisses Litonya on the cheeks French style and shakes Jake’s hand. Then he hails an empty limousine, always parked on Fifth after galas.

JAKE
Why didn’t you tell us where you were? The kids were worried. I was hysterical.

LITONYA
Throughout my life I have taken breaks. Baby Kisele and I disappeared for months with winter camping, but Rodney was patient.

They hug and then kiss passionately.

JAKE
Now that you are all dressed up, would you like to spend the night here rather than take the boat or car upstate?

Jake hails a cab, and they go to restaurants and bars, party in Harlem, drink alcohol, listen to jazz, and make their way to

EXT. INWOOD by dawn, ironically passing by the west side of Ibrahim’s Tudor Tower. In the cove, Betty, dressed gender fluid, is working on the boat.

BETYY
Night owls partying?

JAKE
Yes, we did something different. Changer les idees as Delphine would say.

BETTY
I love Delphine. And you, Litonya, look spectacular.

There is a hint of the old Leo in Betty’s eyes as they move up and down her athletic frame in its morning after disarray.
Jake is still wearing the sweats,

JAKE
She dresses up, I dress down, and we painted the town red before we are dead.

BETTY
You look happy but almost dead. She looks twenty years younger instead of five older.

JAKE
Women are stronger and smarter than men.

BETTY
That is why I became one.

JAKE
You’re looking pretty sniffer skipper.

As they chat, Litonya begins to row to balance her body after the damage done by high heels.

JAKE
Good work Litonya! Once I recover, I will join you and leave Betty at the helm.

EXT. HUGUENOT ST. – DAY

Betty is swinging blissfully on a hammock strung between two pine trees beside the boat garage. Jake hobbles over, trying to mitigate his PD shakes by pressing down on ski poles but he tips over as he approaches.

BETTY
You used to be so agile.

Jake’s fury is slower than it used to be,

JAKE
Fuck Parkinson’s.

BETTY
Love to, but he died over a hundred years ago.

Jake is not in a good mood this time.

JAKE
We need them.

Betty bats her eyes innocently, and amplifies her fake Southern accent,

BETTY
What, sugar? My cookies?

Jake’s son Anahu walks by carrying a thick history book.
But Jake does the talking,

JAKE
My son has done the research and we know your past. All of it.
Betty swings silently.

JAKE
You were the infamous serial killer/rapist/arsonist.

Silence: Betty swings in her hammock, ignoring this outburst.

JAKE
We almost caught you when you assaulted Priceless, but she was too strong for you. If you hadn’t bought her off and funded her dance career, you would have spent your life in prison.

Action incongruent with words: Betty fusses with her hair and dress in a “ladylike” fashion.

BETTY
Do I look like a malicious man? You have no proof.

JAKE
We have all the proof.

JAKE
Oh yes we do. You were a stalker who sneaked up killing without a sound, a walking match in a sea of gasoline, a rapist who banged from behind after they burnt, and an antiseptic liar who hid your crimes in the icing of immaculate hygiene.

BETTY
My hands are for cooking and cleaning and caretaking.

JAKE
Your paws were always weapons.

Jake uses one of his ski poles to tip over the hammock,

JAKE
You can’t row this boat forever. Our evidence will drown you..

Betty falls on the grass gracefully and gets up,

BETTY
So, what do you want me to make for dinner tonight?

JAKE
How could you do that to so many innocent women?

BETTY
You aren’t so innocent yourself, sweetie. You basically raped Fadma.

JAKE
You raped, burned, and killed multiple women. You set tenements on fire. You poisoned seniors. You may have done other things–

BETTY

You have such wonderful family members, a great fitness career, despite your PD. You don’t want anyone to hurt your beloved kids do you?

JAKE
You wouldn’t dare.

BETTY
STEMGARCHS is more powerful than either of us. Maybe I can help you with your PD. The worst thing would be for you to get Levo Dopa dementia.

Jake is silent.

Betty chuckles pleasantly.

BETTY
I loved the Bright Space Brain Buffet, no side effects, and my memory is as good as a college student’s. Twenty years from now when we are dead, everyone will be Bright Spaced. Our brain buffet is for the one percent. I only got it because I work for STEMGARCHS and I was hit hard by that gang. I don’t have the power to–

JAKE
They’re in that lab. I can’t have Delphine risk her life, but you can get them. It’s not just us. The world is desperate for this buffet.

BETTY
Let me see the proof you have.

JAKE
We matched your DNA, all over your hammock and our house, with hats and gloves left in the woods years ago near unsolved murders but we have more than this. We can’t tell you but trust us that you have a choice—get us the drugs and we forget, but not forgive, or keep them to yourself and everyone dies. Some things in the past never happened if we want to insure a brighter future.

Jake bites his teeth. He hates to be in a position where he doesn’t have the last word.

BETTY
I know how to cook delicious meals for a last supper. Then I will be free to end my life peacefully on the boat and you will get your drugs.
(This is the crisis.)

INT. IBRAHIM’S YACHT – NIGHT Climax
Betty cooks a delicious Mediterranean meal. Ibrahim is depressed because he lost his position as CEO and billions of dollars and has the last supply of Brain Buffet drugs. As they sit down to eat, Betty tries to give Ibrahim the poisoned part, but Ibrahim wants to share everything. Torn between a possible death with him now or exposure of her past crimes and imprisonment, Betty chooses the former, but eats more slowly.

TIME SLOWS DOWN.

Ibrahim sinks forever into his sofa, or so we think.

Betty can barely walk, and her eyes are rolling as she greets Jake and Litonya who arrive in a rowboat. Ibrahim is conked out on a couch on the deck with the remains of an elegant meal on a table before him.

BETTY
I did what you said. I am not a doc, but he looks gone and I am going. Go ahead. The drugs are downstairs.

When Jake’s back is turned, Ibrahim springs from the sofa and grabs him. The fight makes Jake lose his PD balance. Betty is floundering near the table but Litonya rushes towards us. She still has the strength of a forty-something woman or even man. She separates them as Ibrahim glares at her.

IBRAHIM
Choose.

Litonya backs off. She never liked people enough to be a martial artist. Betty’s southern drawl comes to the rescue.

BETTY
Since it’s the drugs you want, yall can just mosey down to the hull where you’ll find ’em in bright blue boxes labelled Bright Space Brain Buffet.

As Jake and Litonya walk down those short, rickety stairs, Betty slams and locks the door.

INT. CRUCIBLE – TIMELESS
This lab only has four high tech computer stations, no animals of course, and no active vials and tubes. Jake rushes towards that blue door to open it, grabbing two boxes that look purple but are correctly labelled Bright Space Brain Buffet. It opens like a suitcase. He grabs the pills labelled “hormone balancing.” Done. Then he assembles the injection kit for the “plaque clearance.” Suicidal people hit the temple. Did it! Last, he applies the non-invasive brain stimulator around his scalp. It is like a vibrator, nothing invasive or painful. Then he sits beside Litonya and opens up a computer, looking at sights, listening to sounds, typing almost as quickly as he used to, but gets distracted by her beautiful face, youthfully smooth and cinnamon, her long, straight, silky, newly dyed black hair, and the strong body that makes him feel love in his crotch, a gift from the Bright Space Brain Buffet. He squirms and smiles. Litonya is not distracted. She never is. She is a genius.

JAKE
Darling, here they are. Don’t you want your suitcase of precious drugs?

She shakes her head. Always a woman of few words.

JAKE
I can inject you.

She shakes no, her eyes stay on her screen.

JAKE
Put this fabulous stimulator on your brain to improve whatever you are doing now. Feels great—just like a vibrator. I remember you never needed vibrators. When I first saw you in 1998, you were having orgasms naked while climbing a rock waterfall.

But now Jake wants her, so his fingers find the right spot through her clothes, and off they cum. He slips down to the floor under her computer. It doesn’t take long for her orgasms to warm this frigid lab. He stands up with a mastery that melts into making love. Never romantic, Litonya buttons up and returns to her work at the computer.

JAKE
Thank you. I love you. Listen darling, I realize you are in top form now, but these drugs are prophylactics. They are for our future. No human is immortal. You need your brilliant brain for at least another thirty years. Please take something. We risked our lives to get them.

LITONYA
I don’t take artificial man-made drugs, woman-made, or LGBTQ-made drugs because I am linked to higher spirits in rocks, trees, and water. I must finish this now.

JAKE
I wonder what they are doing on the deck. The agreement was that Ibrahim was supposed to be poisoned and dead. Betty was supposed to sacrifice herself.

Jake goes up the stairs and tries the door, knocking and banging. He screams. Nothing. He looks out a small window to see they are slowly making our way north up the Hudson.

JAKE
Unlike Betty, I am not hypnotized by the gentle rocking of a boat going nowhere. Litonya, where are they? Where are we going? I hear nothing. Shit, I can’t get into my email or social media. Help me.

LITONYA
The server’s down. I am doing research. Our phones are dead.

Time moves too slowly for Jake’s new drug-infused energy. Litonya’s patience is endless.

JAKE
We need food, water, a place to pee. There is a sanitized toilet, thank God or rather Betty’s obsessive cleanliness. There is a dorm fridge with skim milk and oranges. Here, take one.
You are human enough to eat, drink, and pee. But where will we sleep? Or do these drugs make sleep optional? That would be great if we felt rested. I look around. There is nowhere to lie down. I hate sleeping in a chair like the homeless. I think of the comfortable chaise lounges on the deck. I scream, Betty, and bang again. Have they abandoned ship? Then we’ll crash but maybe we can get out. I realize you often live in Deep Time but where were you when you disappeared for ten months? We need to have a conversation.

At night the only light is a 1960 brass vintage flashlight Jake uses for sex. It works.

TIME PASSES with a repetition of shots, taking drugs, having sex three times a day, using the toilet, working at the computer, but they are starving.

Suddenly the door opens, and Betty hands Jake a huge platter of fresh food as well as preserved and packaged goodies. Her eyes say shut up, so he nods gratefully, and she shuts the door. I can only imagine what is going on. Litonya and Jake eat this Mediterranean marvel slowly, savoring everything so they don’t throw up, then put some of the perishable leftovers in the empty fridge.

JAKE
It looks like they plan to leave us here for a while, but what are they doing? Now that my brain is functioning on a higher level, we must have an intellectual conversation. I know nothing about the science of climate change, and you could care less about fitness, wellness, popular music, and my interests. I am smarter but not about to take on physics and geology. So darling, now that I am slowly recovering my mental faculties and cleansing my body of the terrible Parkinson’s disease, I think we should marry legally before we die.

LITONYA
I am not into social contracts.

JAKE
Are you afraid we must be married forever if we never die? Do you think these drugs or the new ones they are working on will give us immortality or another century?

LITONYA
We shouldn’t tamper with nature.

JAKE
Come on, Litonya. Nature can be a bipolar serial killer worse than small-time Betty or any human.

LITONYA
We will be recycled.

JAKE
Into what? I was never good at recycling. I don’t want to be someone or something else. I want to be a better me with perfect you.
“
LITONYA
Just enjoy life.

Jake kisses her passionately and twinkles his dimples.

JAKE
So where were you for the past ten months? You disappeared longer than your Sandy Storm runaway with Kisele.

LITONYA
That is the point of these vacations, to vacate. To take a break. To have a recess.

JAKE
Yeah, I guess relationships need sabbaticals too. Never thought of it that way. But they publish their books when they come back. What did you learn, see, hear, or do? Anything you want to share?

Litonya prefers silence to sharing.

EXT. IBRAHIM’S YACHT – DAY This is the end of the climax
Kisele, Delphine, Anahu, and Aanadi arrive in a boat and board Ibrahim’s yacht. They fight with Ibrahim and Betty, weakened by some of the poison but not dead and tie them up. They release Jake and Litonya from the lower deck. After the initial embraces and hugs, they sit facing the two villains.

JAKE
How could you do all this? Killed and raped at least ten young women including our beloved Felice, fixed your wife Natalia’s brakes so her car would crash in a snowstorm, attacked my wife Priceless who surprised you enough to stop temporarily and move to Manhattan where you set fire to rent stabilized apartments killing seniors or making them homeless like MC, dropped matches into outdoor restaurants, and sprayed sanitizer that was really condensed COVID that infected and killed the Feldmans,

Silence.

JAKE
You killed your own son Joe and CS with that fire you set in the antique car.

Silence.

ANAHU
Your own son burnt to death because you are a psychopath.

BETTY
I did not murder him on purpose. He was my hero.

JAKE
Collateral damage, like the seniors who burnt to death or were poisoned by your food boxes. Not just a psychopath, you are a sociopath.

BETTY
I thought we made a deal. You have the Bright Space Brain Buffet.

JAKE
Yeah, but then you locked us up.

Betty laughs.

DELPHINE
The real sociopaths are STEMGARCHS. They have killed billions.

IBRAHIM
Litonya, I thought you loved the earth more than anything.

LITONYA
More than you.

IBRAHIM
So you are a whore, marrying me for money.

LITONYA
No, for Kisele’s future.

JAKE
You married him?

They ignore his question.

IBRAHIM
He won’t have one. Sacrifices must be made to save the earth. Otherwise, no one lives.

ANAHU
You are sociopaths.

JAKE

Your footpath was a bloodbath not a steambath, but STEMGARCHS is a warpath.

ANAHU

We know your crimes Betty but now we must uncover Ibrahim’s secrets.

DELPHINE
Dad, I always thought STEMGARCHS was helping humanity.

KISELE
Some humans.

IBRAHIM
STEMGARCHS is a human organization—not God’s angels.

DELPHINE
I thought you gave up on God.

Orhan and Nikos arrive. Orhan plays his Sufi flute and Nikos says he has been listening to figure out what to do.

NIKOS
If we kill them, we are murderers. If they go to jail, taxpapers waste their precious money. The Greeks would have recommended that they drink hemlock of their own accord.

IBRAHIM
What if Kisele replaces me as CEO?

NIKOS
He might be crucified by the rest of the genocidal team.

IBRAHIM
When you are too ethical, you are run into the ground. Be smart.

EXT. IBRAHIM’S YACHT – DAY
Kisele, Delphine, Anahu, and Aanadi arrive in a boat and board Ibrahim’s yacht. They fight with Ibrahim and Betty, weakened by some of the poison but not dead and tie them up. They release Jake and Litonya from the lower deck. After the initial embraces and hugs, they sit facing the two villains.

JAKE
How could you do all this? Killed and raped at least ten young women including our beloved Felice, fixed your wife Natalia’s brakes so her car would crash in a snowstorm, attacked my wife Priceless who surprised you enough to stop temporarily and move to Manhattan where you set fire to rent stabilized apartments killing seniors or making them homeless like MC, dropped matches into outdoor restaurants, and sprayed sanitizer that was really condensed COVID that infected and killed the Feldmans,

Silence.

JAKE
You killed your own son Joe and CS with that fire you set in the antique car.

Silence.

ANAHU
Your own son burnt to death because you are a psychopath.

BETTY
I did not murder him on purpose. He was my hero.

JAKE
Collateral damage, like the seniors who burnt to death or were poisoned by your food boxes. Not just a psychopath, you are a sociopath.

BETTY
I thought we made a deal. You have the Bright Space Brain Buffet.

JAKE
Yeah, but then you locked us up.

Betty laughs.

DELPHINE
The real sociopaths are STEMGARCHS. They have killed billions.

IBRAHIM
Litonya, I thought you loved the earth more than anything.

LITONYA
More than you.

IBRAHIM
So you are a whore, marrying me for money.

LITONYA
No, for Kisele’s future.

JAKE
You married him?

They ignore his question.

IBRAHIM
He won’t have one. Sacrifices must be made to save the earth. Otherwise, no one lives.

ANAHU
You are sociopaths.

JAKE

Your footpath was a bloodbath not a steambath, but STEMGARCHS is a warpath.

ANAHU

We know your crimes Betty but now we must uncover Ibrahim’s secrets.

DELPHINE
Dad, I always thought STEMGARCHS was helping humanity.

KISELE
Some humans.

IBRAHIM
STEMGARCHS is a human organization—not God’s angels.

DELPHINE
I thought you gave up on God.

Orhan and Nikos arrive. Orhan plays his Sufi flute and Nikos says he has been listening to figure out what to do.

NIKOS
If we kill them, we are murderers. If they go to jail, taxpapers waste their precious money. The Greeks would have recommended that they drink hemlock of their own accord.

IBRAHIM
What if Kisele replaces me as CEO?
NIKOS
He might be crucified by the rest of the genocidal team.

ANAHU
What part of the brain is damaged in psychopaths?

DELPHINE
The study showed that psychopaths have reduced connections between the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for sentiments such as empathy and guilt, and the amygdala, which mediates fear and anxiety. MAO-A is a gene is responsible for making a protein that breaks down certain types of chemical mean impaired mirror neuron system — that is, difficulties with the neurons that, in a healthy brain, activate both when we perceive someone else doing an action and when we do that same action ourselves. Hormones such as dopamine, noradrenalin, and serotonin, which are all linked to mood and the ventromedial and anterior cingulate sectors of PFC are theorized to mediate social and affective decision-making functions that appear to be disrupted in psychopathy. While psychopaths show a specific lack in emotions, such as anxiety, fear, and sadness, they can feel other emotions, such as happiness, joy, surprise and disgust, in a similar way as most of us would.

AANADI
We know the BBBB balances hormones, but everyone is a bit different.

IBRAHIM
When you are too ethical, you are run into the ground. Be smart.
AANADI
It is always nature and nurture because there are neuroscientists whose brains look the same as psychopathic murderers.

BETTY
I had a terrible childhood, abandoned by parents, placed with the nuns to kill my religion forever, and then adopted by morticians who put me to work as a slave. I had a technical mind but no college education. I was beaten up by gangs in my E Harlem neighborhood, so we moved into a back portion of our funeral parlor. My first orgasm was over a dead body. When I moved to New Paltz, the almost naked rock climbers fueled my fantasies and the wilderness hid my crimes. When I moved back to Manhattan, my only job was secretly setting fires, spraying COVID sanitizer, and poisoning food to get rid of seniors, homeless, and other non-essential humans. Ibrahim gave me some respect and boats. I did some good things for my son and Priceless, both dead now, and taught Kisele about boats. When I became a woman, my testosterone no longer fueled violent crime.

IBRAHIM
So you killed sweetly.
AANADI
Psychopaths and sociopaths will never feel compassion. Compassion melts the obesity of grief, letting the fat fry with a gentle fire. Only many humans will never have compassion. Compassion fatigue is something I know well. Porous boundaries or too shielded in PPE.

BETTY
So compassion is something you can run of, like natural gas?
ANAHU
We know Leo/BB/Betty’s crimes but why do you become a sociopath Ibrahim?
IBRAHIM
Agreed that I had a privileged childhood, adolescence, career, and financial and emotional support but when Hurricane Ida demolished my family—

BETTY
Liar. We were squirting COVID from the beginning.

IBRAHIM
Like Litonya, I wanted to save the earth and it was a way to depopulate. I didn’t understand all of the implications because I am not a bio scientist but an engineer.

BETTY
Bullshit.

IBRAHIM
If you divorce me or kill me, you won’t get the estate you wanted

LITONYA
For Kisele.

KISELE
Maybe I don’t want his polluted hierarchy. Let his sandcastles flatten into the sea. Genocides to save the earth are not my values. I would rather be a poor hiker.

NIKOS
Agreed that we won’t live forever and most will not make it to the twenty second century, but what do we do with two criminals? Hemlock is the best solution.

ORHAN
Or spin till you stop –dead—released into the universe.

IBRAHIM
Blasphemy. If you imprison me or kill me, STEMGARCHS can retaliate and torture you and yours for the rest of the century.

BETTY
Or longer.

ANAHU
Leo/BB should have been convicted in the twentieth century and none of this would have happened. Apologies are useless unless there is public exposure and apology with speeches to stop further assaults. Prison increases crime and costs too much. The criminal justice system is another cog in the economy. It is horrible for victims and taxpayers.

BETTY
Agreed that neither of us want to go to jail. I don’t mind dying now. But Ibrahim must be coaxed.

JAKE
Are you sorry for the lives you ruined or extinguished?

BETTY
Not really. The planet needs to be depopulated. I don’t feel compassion because Ibrahim and I never took the fusion drug. But now that you have it, you could cure antisocial personality disorder and end these crimes forever.

KISELE
Are you sure? That would be miraculous.

BETTY
It is worth a try.

DELPHINE
I could sign on to something like that. But how can we access a constant supply of the Brain Buffet?

BETTY
I never had that. Only Ibrahim.

JAKE
He must die so Litonya can be his widow instead of his wife. That is what you want, isn’t it?

LITONYA
Maybe. But I am not killing anyone else. My father was enough. I am done with jail.

BETTY
Me too.

NIKOS
Humans love thrillers, mysteries, or dramas about humans more tortured than they are. What does it take to end a story or terminate a job?

DELPHINE
How could we keep Ibrahim alive until he can gather enough Brain Buffets for most of the world?

AANADI
Why does the best research have to be connected to political corruption and in this case, genocide?

LITONYA
Things never really end. They are recycled like rocks.

The following conversation is simultaneous and synchronous, so it is hard to know what words are attached to who. The effect is like maggots swarming around a fresh corpse. Why this fuss about living forever? Telomeres shorten, snip off, and cells break down. Like cars.

I thought you hated cars.

It’s an analogy.

Health is a temporary gift in short shrift like spring lilies until you drift into the land of the stiffs.

I thought hospices were in charge of healthy dying.

No. They make dying bearable for survivors. And they need to make a living too.

Like maggots.

Sort of. But hospices are cleaner.

Sometimes.

When people die, they pee and poop and smell horrible.

Brain buffet is to make our brains better while we are living so we don’t have all these geriatric vegetables to care for.

I thought it also helped mental illness.

Yes. It helps. But doesn’t cure.

Anahu searches Ibrahim’s office and pulls out a photo album.

ANAHU
If you just castigate criminals, you never understand their power. Look at these beautiful images.

They gather round to see pictures of Ibrahim, Sandrine, and the triplets lined up for their bike brigade on the rail trail and the Minnewaska and Mohonk carriage roads, Ibrahim with De Blasio, Trump, Biden, Bloomberg, and a plethora of politicians and celebrities at events, masked and mask-less, secular and religious, BB and Joe in fire hats receiving awards from the Mayor’s office for their work cleaning up the Summit collapse after Hurricane Ida, and Betty on the dock, sorting a string of fish.

KISELE
I like that one the best! Betty looks like Jesus about to turn his two sardines into a feast for thousands.

BETTY
And I cook better than Jesus ever did.

Silence. Kisele and Delphine have tears in their eyes. Is it because of the poisoned fish or the loss of a dear friend?

BETTY
I am an old woman. My best days are over. I want to choreograph my death the way Hitler did. Only no cyanide or gunshots for me. This poison tastes delicious. I will eat more of it and rock myself in the boat back to the womb. As for Ibrahim, he must be killed because he has too much responsibility to do it himself.

JAKE
No one else wants to be a murderer but you.

BETTY
I have never used a gun and lack the stick strength I used to have. He knows this is poison, so he won’t eat more.

LITONYA
We still have his estate in the Will, but STEMGARCHS would investigate his death.

KISELE
Or could Ibrahim be trusted to make me his prodigy?

DELPHINE
I was always his prodigy. But doing some lab work with musical comedy is enough. I don’t want to fly around the world and get involved in depopulation.

KISELE
Mom thought I would save the world and I will try in my own small way, but I can’t be CEO of STEMGARCHS like Ibrahim. I have never even been overseas. Like Betty, I love boats around here. But STEMGARCHS must be exposed just as Hitler was exposed.

AANADI
I want to be a country doctor like Grandma Joan, not a world leader for the rest of my life.

ANAHU
And I want to be a history prof like Grandpa Jean and neither of us want to live forever. We don’t need Ibrahim’s toxic power.

NIKOS
Orhan and I don’t mind living past 2060 because we are philosophically resilient enough to handle anything.

JAKE
Fine. But we need a constant supply of the Brain Buffet. Could we keep Ibrahim, inject him with something so that he is a perennial Ted Talks guy promoting Brain Buffet for everyone the way they gave out COVID vaccines in the States?

ANAHU
He is still responsible for the deaths of millions like Hitler, Mao, Stalin, Mussolini, Trujillo, Genghis Khan, Attila the Hun,

JAKE
So what do we do? So what is the moral lesson? If you have the courage to kill people and yourself, you can die well at the right time?

Suddenly Ibrahim pulls out a small, soundless gun and extinguishes himself but is stopped before he kills Betty. Betty throws him into the Hudson but eats more of her poisoned fish food.

EXT. INWOOD COVE – NIGHT
Jake, Litonya, and the kids put Betty on her boat as her lights are going out.

LITONYA
One last question: you said you stalked me for years when I was climbing pitches and swimming naked in waterfalls. Why didn’t you kill me?

BETTY
You don’t fuck with Nature’s people. Your corpse would have been haunted.

JAKE
But the other women were just pieces of meat?

BETTY
I was a man then.

JAKE
So Litonya is the only woman who scared you? Guess what, bro? Me too. What do you want honey?

LITONYA
I’m not a honey, but I have always loved you Jake in a primal, visceral, illogical way.

JAKE
I am no genius like you and Ibrahim, but I know how to make love.

They kiss and Betty is lowered into her rowboat by the kids.

Betty gently rocks herself to death.

FLASHBACK to a shot of Bobby rocking in the womb.

EXT. PALISADES PLAYGROUND – DAY
The boat lands, leaving Jake and Litonya on the Palisades while the kids go back to Manhattan.

Jake and Litonya get on the seesaw just for fun.

JAKE

I am shaking as the earth is quaking and we are aching, but our kids are baking and making love.

Suddenly an earthquake unleashes a shower of igneous rocks killing both of them.

EXT. ALL SOULS CHURCH – DAY

Kisele is giving a lecture at All Souls Church like Ibrahim did.

KISELE
Yes, our Bright Space Brain Buffet is for all souls…

Delphine leads a communal dance with the privileged and homeless.

Conclusion Fate marries Will at least for now.

[Amy Falkofske]

Julia,

I feel your pain and I am doing the same, just plowing ahead. With my ending I have to rewrite everything I’ve already written.

[Amy Falkofske]

Amy’s Completed Third Act

What I’ve learned doing this assignment is…

I’ve just been digging into the lessons from this module more. What I’ve learned about what makes a great ending has caused me to change fundamental aspects of my story, so I now need to rewrite everything. The new version of my story has holes in it, but I have been wrestling with it for a few days now and have decided to just put what I have here and ask for feedback. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

SETUP: Andrea is the noon news anchor at the local TV station. Her dream is to anchor the network news. She pursues this like her life depends on it because to her, it determines her worth. Truthfully, she doesn’t actually enjoy covering hard-hitting news, but she’s in denial about that. She is married to Josh and has two kids, Benjamin and Chloe, but she is neglectful towards them because she is so focused on her career.

One day she goes to cover the new supercollider at the local university. She accidentally gets sucked into the machine and ends up traveling through time and visiting different memorable points in her life. When she eventually comes of the machine it’s a year into the future and she has been missing from her life for a year. The woman that Josh hired to be the kids’ nanny, Meagan, has taken over her life and is now engaged to Josh. Andrea isn’t that concerned about her family but distraught that she no longer has a career. After some begging, Andrea’s old boss agrees to hire her back.

Josh drops Meagan like a hot potato and tries to pick up where he and Andrea left off. He pursues her for a while, but gets tired of being rejected and decides he’s going back to Meagan. Once Andrea realizes what’s she lost, she starts to think twice about her priorities. Now she has to compete with Meagan for Josh’s attention. She also starts making an effort with her children, although she’s not doing a very good job because she’s still torn between them and her career.

While all of this other stuff is going on, Andrea is pressing the professor for information about the machine and whether Meagan knew that it was capable of time travel. She also pressures him to help her go back to the time period she came from so she can get her career back.

2. PLOT POINT 2 — Andrea gets a chance to cover the President’s visit to town for the network on the same night as Chloe’s dance recital.

3. CRISIS — Chloe refuses to dance at her recital unless her mom is there.

4. CLIMAX — On her way to cover the president, Andrea diverts to Chloe’s dance recital and covers that instead. She gets fired by WBEN. Choosing her family over her job causes Andrea to go back to the time period she came from a year ago.

5. RESOLUTION — Andrea shows back up at the lab. She goes home immediately to apologize to Josh and Chloe and Benjamin for not being more involved in their lives. That night she convinces the station to let her cover Chloe’s play at the middle school.

6. FINAL PAGE — Andrea is at Benjamin’s baseball game when she gets a call from the network saying they saw her story on the play and want to hire her as their cultural reporter. She happily accepts.

7. FINAL LINE/IMAGE — Andrea confesses to Josh that she’s not sorry she wasn’t hired by the network to anchor the news because she never really cared about the news anyway. The new job is perfect for her. It will give her more time to focus on her family. They kiss.

[Robert Smith]

BOB SMITHS COMPLETED THIRD ACT

I welcome exchange of feedback.

What I’ve learned doing this assignment is…?

The attention to setup and payoff at the end requires the most rigorous preparation.

SETUP:

ACT 1: Oscar-winning German actor, Emil Jannings, appeals to American security officer, Major Kent Kershaw that he seeks residence in the freedom of the American Sector of Divided post-war Berlin where he wants to revive his acting career. However, Major Kershaw, a fan, tells Janning that because he has appeared in Nazi propaganda films, he must effectively defend those involvements before a Security Commission, or they will assign Jannings to denazification which bans him from any stage or screen appearances, effectively ending his dream of reviving his acting career. As a fan, Kershaw would love to know about the making of “The Blue Angel” but as a security officer, he tells Jannings he will defend him before the Commission but asks him to explain his actions. Jannings says it began during the making of “The Blue Angel.” Jannings begins by retelling his experience during the making of “The Blue Angel,” his feud with newly-discovered Marlene Dietrich and conflict with director Josef von Sternberg and how on a night out, they and other cast-members (Kurt Gerron and Hans Albers) encountered an attack by Nazi Brown Shirts on the cabaret they were attending. This provoked the question among them What would they do to survive in Germany? Would they have to lend their talents to Nazi propaganda films in order to save their own lives and the lives of their families. What are the ethical and moral issues about such collaboration with an enemy? The questions are crucial: Gerron is Jewish and Jannings’ Russian-born mother is of Jewish origin.

While Jannings continues his feud with Dietrich and seeks support from Gerron and Albers, Gerron speaks to his Rabbi about the question of the ethics of cooperation with the enemy in order to save one’s own life. The Rabbi says that it is ethical as long as no lives are taken as a result. Meanwhile, Jannings is continually at odds with Dietrich and Sternberg. This comes to the breaking point when in a scene in which Jannings’ Professor-character strangles Dietrich’s unfaithful showgirl-character and actually injures her. Sternberg gets them to reconcile and partner-as-artists to make “The Blue Angel” a masterpiece. They do so, Dietrich’s does a riveting rendition of her signature song “Falling in Love Again” and Jannings does a moving scene as the Professor who was ruined by his infatuation with Dietrich’s showgirl, as he pathetically returns to his old school room and dies gripping his teacher’s desk. During a wrap party, Jannings takes Studio Chief Hugenberg aside and asks about his future. Hugenberg says his future would be in Nazi propaganda films. He returns to the company of Gerron and Albers. Gerron tells Jannings his Rabbis’ answer that collaboration is ethical in order to save your life as long as no other lives are taken. Dietrich encourages Jannings to leave German and come to America with Sternberg and herself.

ACT 2: Is a diversion in which Jannings says he will leave Germany. He returns to Hollywood and portrays Nazis in war movies, as well as a German opera director in the Marx Brothers’ “A Night at the Opera.” Then he falls in with Tinseltown’s biggest boozers (Lon Chaney, Jr. and Broderick Crawford). He is a passenger in the car when Crawford (at the wheel) is arrested for DWI. Crawford’s career soars to an Oscar, while Jannings’ flounders with more Nazi and other bad guy parts until he portrays a captured Nazi war criminal, Martin Borman and at the remarkable age of 80, he wins his second Oscar, 38 years after his first in 1929.

NARRATOR: We wish that was the story we could tell you, but what really happened is.

(The phone rings) and it’s Josef Goeebbels informing Jannings that they have a part for him to play, Bismarck. A montage follows of the posters of all of Jannings Nazi propaganda films and a closeup of Jannings in Bismarck makeup.

PLOT POINT 2 – Kershaw demands to know from Jannings (whom he will represent at the Hearing before the Commission), why he did it. Jannings reiterates his explanation that if he had refused he and his family might face Nazi arrest and incarceration.

CRISIS: But there is a further problem, surprisingly: Kershaw can understand fear as a motivator for Jannings to decide to act in Nazi propaganda films. However, in Jannings’ dossier Kershaw has discovered that Jannings had campaigned for the Nazi party in the Reichstag elections of 1938 and demands to know why? Janning explains he did so because of the same fear.

CLIMAX: The Commission rejects that explanation and assigns Jannings to denazification, effectively ending his dream of reviving his acting career.

RESOULUTION – FINAL PAGE – Jannings clutches his Oscar in a manner similar to the ruined professor he portrayed in “The Blue Angel,” who dies clutching his teacher’s desk. He is ruined.

FINAL LINE: KERSHAW: You will always have your superb acting as the professor in “The Blue Angel.”

SFX MUSIC; Dietrich singing “Falling in Love Again.”

Title: Emil Jannings never acted again. He died in 1950 of liver cancer at age 65. He was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Title: Marlene Dietrich and Josef von Sternberg went to Hollywood and made many acclaimed motion pictures until they dissolved their partnership in 1935. Dietrich condemned hitler and Nazism. She became an Amerian citizen and entertined the troops wven as they marched in victory against the German Army.

THE END

[John Budinscak]

Bob, I really like what you did here. You have comprehensive story recap of Acts 1 and 2, it leads in and flows nicely with the final Act, and I especially appreciated the twist with the Narrator. Nice touch on what could have happened. Highlighting the moral and ethical issues for Jannings (and Gerron) provide emotional insight for Jannings’ decision.

Bob, you’re constrained by what actually happened in the telling of historical events, but you’ve weaved a very engaging and enticing story. Helluva job, Bob!

[John Budinscak]

Budinscak Completed Third Act

Day 9

What I learned doing this assignment:

o How to expertly bookend a story/script with a compelling beginning and a meaningful ending.

o How to write a great ending.

o I enjoyed the concept of working backwards – first draft, elevate ending, go back and add setups to make your ending work.

SETUP:

Jack, our protagonist, saw something he shouldn’t have – a hearse unloading a very “actively moving” body bag to a funeral home, and he may have been spotted. A local crime boss, Don Vito, believes Jack saw it, too; but Jack will admit to nothing. So, Don Vito asks for a favor – personally deliver a package for me or Jack’s family’s restaurant will be burned to the ground. Given the options, Jack agrees to make the trip. The next day, after cooler is added to his Cadillac’s trunk, Jack heads out from upstate NY for Burbank, CA. Unfortunately for Jack, he never realizes his two annoying, preteen nephews – Puck and Sal – are stowaways on the trip.

PLOT POINT 2:

It happens in Las Vegas. Jack loses most of his money in the casino, the FBI shakes him down and steals the rest of his money then force him to work for them – including wearing a wire against Don Vito.

CRISIS:

When the nephews are knocked out from carbon monoxide poisoning and have trouble waking, Jack promises God he’ll change – he’ll put the life of Puck and Sal ahead of his own.

CLIMAX:

After making the delivery to Burbank on time, Jack is separated from his nephews and told Don Vito will not honor their deal. Jack soon realizes he may lose the restaurant, humiliate his family and never see his nephews again. Puck and Sal trick their captor, take his gun and rescue Jack his captor, Don Vito.

RESOLUTION:

After their successful escape, they trio takes a red-eye to JFK to pick up Jack’s sisters (Sal and Puck’s mothers). The moms question Jack on the ride home (where’s your Cadillac) and the boys come to his rescue. It’s obvious enough that their mothers notice it. When they arrive at Carmine’s, their restaurant, a picture is taken and posted on the wall of pictures inside. The picture triggers a time change from 1988 to present where we meet all our characters in today’s terms – and it’s the 30+ year of the “family RE-union”. It’s a celebration.

FINAL PAGE

A banner hangs over a stage in the parking lot – it reads “Happy Family RE-union! 30+ years.” A big party for family and friends with everyone in the movie \in attendance and having a blast. After a break in the music, Jack gives a toast and thanks everyone there.

FINAL LINE/IMAGE

A horn honks captures the attention of everyone at the party – it’s a flat bed tow truck with Jack’s Cadillac fully restored. Jack points to his nephews, they tell their uncle they love him. The last line is from Jack, “I love you guys.”

[Robert Smith]

Hi, John!

You did it. Setups and payoffs pay off and wraps up nicely with the reunion.

Bob

[John Budinscak]

Bob,

I appreciate your kind words – thank you!

JB

[Julia Keefer]

Sorry to hear this Amy. My problem is that this is the third novel of a trilogy that is no longer working. My head is scrambled and I pray I am not getting Alzheimer’s. The COVID lockdown and lack of money/jobs is not helping. I must finish this course as best I can and write the last novel any way I can and be done with it so I can work. Because I am a published writer, my trilogy will be published but selling a screenplay would be like winning the lottery.

In your case, it looks like you will be successful once you finish it the way you want.

[Amy Falkofske]

Julia,

I think you have a better chance since you are already a published author. That’s something positive.

Amy

[Michelle Damis]

PS 80 Michelle Damis Completed Third Act

What I’ve learned doing this assignment is that sometimes it helps to simplify your message to make sure it is one, then fill in the details.

1. SETUP: We meet the Vampire and learn about his existence. He loses his home. We meet the family that has conflict with their daughter. They decide to take in a renter and use the money to pay her to live elsewhere. The vampire is their new tenant. Everybody is happy, relationships develop and the vampire has a family for the first time, experiences all sorts of new things. Tension between vampire and daughter. She finds out about vampires, other vampires find out about the family, Osgood the Vampire decides he must leave to keep them safe.

2. PLOT POINT 2 – Osgood decides to leave to keep them safe but the vampire council decides to take them anyway because they found out there is something rare about their blood

3. CRISIS – Marin and Nina are kidnapped by Vampires, Jim and Osgood have to go save them.

4. CLIMAX – Everyone is in danger, Nina tells Marin why she has hated her(resolves their conflict) Osgood and Jim find out Jims blood is deadly to vampires. The nun from an earlier scene shows up(she was actually a vampire and discovered the blood too) has come to save them and reveal her plan for vampire future (revolution) Big fight, vampires are split into sides-given a choice, Nuns show up with blood weapons.

5. RESOLUTION – Family and Osgood escape only to be trapped by the sunrise, (all is lost again) Family saves him.

6. FINAL PAGE – Osgood explaining to the kids

7. FINAL LINE/IMAGE – Osgood found purpose and chooses to live.