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Lesson 1
Reply to post your assignment.
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17 Replies
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Subject: Sorry, Wrong Number Thriller Conventions
I this lesson I learn how to discover the the Big Mystery, Intrigue and Suspense as well as those involving characters, the revealing of many layers, the twists and turns, all that we are studying in this course.
I currently only have off air TV so finding a suitable film of short notice has to come from my collection. I chose this old classic because it seemed to be more suited than the many “thrillers” with or supporting an action genre.
Good choice. It fit our conventions so closely this class could have been written about it. And afterward I had two great break-outs: 1) a woman in danger with a simple two line concept can really become a sensational thriller, and 2) I realised a visual approach for my story which I will try to weave in the script within the confines of a writers script.
I hope I can do it justice.
Unwitting but Resourceful Hero: A bedridden woman, Leona who overhears a phone call by two men planning to murder a woman and tries to stop it but every path she tries leads nowhere. As she struggles her past begins to surface, her own terrible character, her husband trying to cope, his ex-girl friend, her demanding father. As the truth is revealed we learn the unexpected about each, our loyalties constantly shifting with more surprises and reveals until her husband goes his own direction, beginning to with a mysterious stranger and finally his involvement with a gangster, his plot to kill his wife, his desperate attempt to reverse that course at the last minute.
Dangerous Villain: A gangster, Morano, finally revealed as the man behind the husband’s crooked activity near the very end, but has been doing his work through a mysterious stranger.
Life and death situations: Leona overhears a phone conversation of two men planning to murder a women at 11:15. As the layers are pulled away we learn she’s much different than she seemed originally, a how the other characters in her life led to the current situation. Our loyalty kept changing from one to another as their layers were revealed keeping us tightly engaged yet wondering which of these characters was what, pulling us to the edge of our seats, as Leona discovers at the last minute that she’s the intended victim.
This movie is thrilling because while we begin with support for Leona trying to stop a crime she keeps pulling us deeper into the tangle of her background, her husband, her millionaire father, her husband’s former girl friend and a mysterious stranger. Our loyalties are on a roller coaster ride as twist, turns, and layers reveal more of each character’s truth each slowly dragging us to the edge of our seats at the screaming end.
The Big Mystery: can Leona find the woman victim in the phone call and save her life?
The Big Intrigue: All the layers, twist, turns, surprises exposed about the background story, with each character revealed and how they change with interaction of events, shifting our hopes, loyalties in a blender. It’s almost hard to keep score!
The Big Suspense: How will it end? Can Leona stop the crime? How do all the other relationships play out, who is — or are — really the villian(s)? Each time you cheer you learn you’re backing looser!
Additional comments:
We are emotionally challenged, slowly engaged then dragged deeper and deeper to edge-of-the-seat panic and exhaustion at the climax.
We don’t learn about the murder until near the end of the second act and meet then real villain, Murano, then
We enter the story just before the end.
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Sorry for the line spacing, it was there in my original. Have to do some experimenting.
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Looks like it fixed itself — problem solve, we move on!
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Subject line: (Single White Female) Thriller Conventions
“What I learned doing this assignment is…?” I learned to distinguish between Mystery, Intrigue and Suspense. It all generally seems the same to me. But Hal’s definitions really help.
Unwitting but Resourceful Hero: Allison Jones: A young lady who finds out that her boyfriend is cheating on her. They break up and she decides to put an ad in the paper for a female roommate.
Dangerous Villain: “Hedy” Hedra Carlson, the new roommate that Allison chooses.
High stakes: Allison’s Life, Her boyfriend, Sam’s life, Her neighbor, Graham’s life, Her boss, Mitchell’s life, and the dog’s life.
Life and death situations: When Hedy feels unsafe and insecure, she loses her ability to reason and the person/animal that is near her when she is in that emotional state is now the target. For instance, when Hedy was first abandoned by Allison. Allison decided to get back with her boyfriend and was out with him. Hedy was home stewing and the puppy, that she bought for Allison was with her. The puppy who needed attention was eventually thrown off the balcony and killed by Hedy.
– When the boss came to Graham’s apartment to look for Allison
– When Sam the boyfriend/fiancee threatened to tattle on Hedy for seducing him.
– When Allison sent out an email asking for help.
– When Hedy sneaks into Graham’s apartment and hides
– When Hedy is gives Allie pills to commit suicide
– When Allie’s boss tries to rape her
– When Allie discovers Hedy’s secret
– The list goes on.This movie is thrilling because? We are worried for Allison, because we have no idea what Hedy is capable of. She is a strange cat and you know she is up to something. Also, the men treat Allison in an awful way.
BIG MYSTERY: Who is Hedy, really?
BIG INTRIGUE:
Hedy is a twin, but her twin died when she was young and now Hedy is always looking for a replacement so she can relive her past and unconsciously tries to resolve it.BIG SUSPENSE: Will Allie break free from Hedy’s grasp?
Anything else you’d like to say about what made this movie a great thriller? It just shows us what can happen when you don’t work on your past trauma.
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This reply was modified 5 months, 3 weeks ago by Jolene Kim.
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This reply was modified 5 months, 3 weeks ago by
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Hi Cheryl,
How can I download the lesson?
Thanks!
Jolene
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What I learned doing this assignment is…?
Delivering on the conventions and expectations of a genre is essential.
Unwitting but Resourceful Hero: Dr. Richard Kimball a successful vascular surgeon
Dangerous Villain:
We are led to believe the one-armed man worked alone, but it turns out Dr. Charles Nichols, Kimball's long time friend & confidant was at the top of the conspiracy all alongHigh stakes: Dr. Kimball is an innocent man who has been sentenced to death for the brutal murder of his wife. No one seems to believe him, yet he's determined to avenge her death and track down her killer.
Life and death situations:
Bus crash & train collision
Manhunts
Ambulance chase
Diving off the dam
Face to face battles with the one armed manThis movie is thrilling because?
The suspense never stops. An innocent man narrowly escapes death row and attempts to solve his wife's murder while evading the police and US Marshalls at every turn. We can't wait to see how he will continue to slip through the fingers of the authorities again and again in order to buy time to find the real killer.3. What is the BIG Mystery, Intrigue, and Suspense of this story?
Big Mystery: Who is the one-armed man that murdered Mrs. Kimball?
Big Intrigue: Why did anyone want to murder her? We see Dr. Kimball deduce that the intended victim was actually him, not his wife. Which is even more intriguing, because we find out that the murder was part of a larger pharma conspiracy.
Big Suspense: Car chases, manhunts, subterfuge4. Anything else you’d like to say about what made this movie a great thriller?
The Fugitive is one of my favorite films because it follows the conventions of the genre without being convoluted. I love all the twists and turns. And, that Dr. Nichols, Kimball's close friend is someone Kimball and the audience fully trust until we don't. The suspense keeps going all the way until the end.
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This reply was modified 5 months, 3 weeks ago by Eileen Montelione. Reason: Spacing seems weird
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This reply was modified 5 months, 3 weeks ago by Eileen Montelione.
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Hi Eileen,
Noticed that you didn’t introduce yourself or sign the confidentiality agreement? I find it odd that when I clicked on your notification, something suspicious automatically downloaded onto my computer. So, I am a bit wary. Maybe I’m wrong. I hope so, but I’d feel better if you introduced yourself and signed the agreement since we are about to post all our ideas. Thanks.
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This reply was modified 5 months, 3 weeks ago by
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The Fugitive
Thriller Conventions
What I learned doing this assignment is…?
I learned that the intrigue can take a while to be revealed. In this case, we only found out the intrigue when Kimble uncovered the truth about Nichols. The real villain also doesn’t need to be revealed immediately. It makes the villain appear even more powerful to the audience. Waiting to reveal the true villain also allows for another thrilling twist in the movie.The thriller conventions of The Fugitive
Unwitting and Resourceful Hero:
Dr. Richard Kimble is the unwitting hero. He is forced to clear his name for his wife’s murder because he is sentenced to death. He also wants to uncover who is responsible for the murder of his wife.
His intelligence is his super power. It is what allows him to figure out the case and stay one step ahead.Dangerous Villain:
Dr. Charles Nichols. He comes across as Kimble’s friend. He does not turn Kimble in and speaks very highly of him. He even gives Kimble money. Nichols explains to Gerard that Kimble will not be caught because Kimble is the smartest person he knows. This is what makes him a great red herring. Why would someone who cares about Kimble so much speak so highly of him?
Nichols ordered the one armed man to kill Kimble because Kimble discovered that Provasic (a drug) had harmful side effects.High Stakes:
Kimble’s wife is murdered. Police think he killed his wife because of his wife’s 911 phone call.
Kimble is sentenced to death. He has to solve the mystery to clear his name and to find who killed his wife.
Gerard is a relentless deputy. He summons all the powers that his position has to track down Kimble. Surveillance, search teams, helicopters, dogs.
Media is involved with the case which shows that Richard Kimble is big news.
This movie Involves the pharmaceutical and medical industry. It is frightening to think that one person can have the power to harm sick people in the pursuit of money.Life and Death Situations
His wife is murdered. Dr Kimble is sentenced to death. If he doesn’t clear his name he will be killed.
Survives bus/train crash. Survives jump from the dam.
Gerard kills the missing prisoner which shows how ruthless he can be.This move is thrilling because?
Samuel Gerard is always closing in.
Kimble has to put himself directly in harm’s way to figure out pieces of the puzzle.
When Kimble discovers who the one armed man is, there is a plot twist that indicates a bigger mystery. Turns out Dr. Richard Kimble was the actual target.What is the BIG Mystery, Intrigue, and Suspense of the Fugitive
Big Mystery:
Who killed Dr. Richard Kimble’s wife?Big Intrigue:
Nichols was making a lot of money from Provasic (a new drug) and wanted Kimble killed along with anyone else who found out about the harmful side effects.Big Suspense:
Samuel Gerard is chasing Richard Kimble down. Will he Kimble be caught by him or anyone else?Anything else you’d like to say about what made this movie a great thriller?
Samuel Gerard was absolutely relentless in his pursuit of Dr. Richard Kimble. The fact that he doesn’t want to let up on Kimble gives the film a lot of stakes. Gerard comes off as a highly intelligent individual who has been dealing with criminals for years, and always gets his guy. As an audience you want him to believe that Kimble is innocent, but when Kimble tells him that he didn’t kill his wife, Gerard responds with “I don’t care.” It is a brutally honest retort. It shows that Gerard is committed to bringing him down. Eventually, Gerard becomes suspicious about the greater mystery because the Dr. wins him over.-
This reply was modified 5 months, 3 weeks ago by Kevin Aguilar.
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This reply was modified 5 months, 3 weeks ago by
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Thrillers: Lesson 1 Conventions of a Thriller
What I learned from this assignment is that a comedy thriller can be well written if it follows the conventions of a thriller while throwing in some comedic elements.
The thriller: The ‘Burbs (1989)
Unwitting but resourceful hero: Ray, who’s on vacation from week and refuses his wife’s idea to go to their cabin instead of staying home. Along for the ride are Ray’s neighbors, Rumsfield, a military vet who still acts like he’s on active duty, and Art, who’s just gung-ho about investigating the new neighbors.
Dangerous villain: the Klopeks, the 3 strange new neighbors on the block
High stakes: Walter, the older neighbor with the beloved dog and very obvious toupee, disappears leaving behind the dog and the toupee. Did the Klopeks kidnap him and kill him? Also, would the Klopeks kill other neighbors on the block?
Life and death situations: The swarm of bees that pours out of the Klopeks’ house and attacks Ray and Art. Ray’s dog digs up a femur bone from under the fence that divides Ray’s backyard from the Klopeks’. Art electrocutes himself turning off the power for the Klopeks’ alarm system. Ray hits a gas pipe while digging in the Klopeks’ basement and the house blows up with Ray inside. Dr. Klopek tries to stab Ray with a needle while Ray is in the ambulance. Hans Klopek steals the ambulance into Art’s house.
The movie is thrilling because more and more clues emerge that the Klopeks are up to no good but you want to know exactly what it is that they’re doing.
Big Mystery: Are Ray’s new next door neighbors, the Klopeks, Satanic ritual killers? And what happened to previous owners of the Klopeks’ house?
Big Intrigue: The Klopeks killed the previous occupants of the house, moved in, and built a powerful cremation system in the basement.
Big Suspense: Will Ray figure out what the Klopeks are up to and also save Walter?
Anything else you’d like to say about what made this movie a great thriller? There’s kind of a false ending where we discover Dr. Klopek is a well-regarded pathologist and perhaps just eccentric. Then, Dr. Klopek tries to kill Ray and the police discover Dr. Klopek has a car trunk full of human skulls and other bones. Also, the music, camera angles, and jump shots contributed to the suspense.
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This reply was modified 5 months, 2 weeks ago by Leslie Magee. Reason: trying to fix spacing
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This reply was modified 5 months, 2 weeks ago by
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Thank you for your concern and your suspicion, Jolene.
Always nice to be wrongfully accused of something. Makes for quite a first impression.
But hey, you got the genre right, it’s textbook Thriller, so I’ll give you that.
Rest assured, I have infinite ideas of my own, verging on too many, and my mental real estate is at capacity. No room in here for anyone’s ideas but mine…just ask my husband:)
Jo, can I call you Jo? I would highly advise you to contact tech support if something is downloading on your computer without your consent. It’s usually a better plan than jumping to the conclusion that it must be a fellow classmate who didn’t introduce herself or sign a confidentiality agreement.
By the way, thanks for asking, or did you ask? Hell, it doesn’t matter, I’m gonna tell ya anyway. The reason I didn’t introduce myself or sign the agreement isn’t because I’m some evil mastermind lurking on indie screenwriting forums (although that’s a fun idea that’s up for grabs). The reason is: I wasn’t even given login information until well after the class officially began. It took three attempts of reaching out to support. Finally, when I threatened to dispute the charges, someone got back to me with login credentials. So, forgive me, I’m still playin’ catch up.
But, thanks for bringing my poor manners to my attention.
Hello, everyone, I’d like to formally introduce myself:
Name’s Eileen.
I’m a damned good writer and an even better person.
Been writing for a long time, and am excited to be dipping my toes in the Thriller genre.
Hope we all have fun, and stay respectful of one another.
P.S. No hard feelings, Jolene. I’ve got one hell of a sense of humor. It’s what’s gotten me through life. I got quite a kick out of your reply to my posted assignment, and had fun defending myself:)
P.P.S. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I gotta go see a man about a confidentiality agreement…
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Ha! I appreciate it. You being a real person on the other side is great to hear. So many AI things these days and since this is all done on our own accord, I wanted to send a message knowing that you might be offended but if it was a bot, hoping it would disappear. Sorry you had to go through such trouble. And I’m sure you’re a damn good writer. I look forward to your critiques on my stuff. I welcome it. I saw your idea, have you seen Secret Obsession? It may or may not be similar or supply inspiration. Have a great day! We are so blessed to be able to do what we love.
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No, I’ve never heard of it, but will check it out. Thx for the recommendation:)
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Subject line: Mr. & Mrs. Smith Thriller Conventions
What I learned doing this assignment is I need to pay more attention to the details of a movie. I’ve watched this before but missed a few key elements. Once I start writing my own screenplay, I will come back to this and make sure I utilize the notes.
• Unwitting but Resourceful Hero: John & Jane Smith
• Dangerous Villain: The companies they work for
• High stakes: Life or death
• Life and death situations: Their companies find out they are married and they can’t allow them to live.
• This movie is thrilling because? First, they go after each other and realize they still love each other. It’s action packed and you don’t know if they’ll make it out alive.What is the BIG Mystery, Intrigue, and Suspense of this story?
• Big Mystery: Who’s the true assignment?
• Big Intrigue: John and Jane thought the assignment was Benjamin “The Tank” but it turned out they were the mark.
• Big Suspense: An army of people are after them. They each have a $400,000 bounty on their head. Will they get out of it alive.Anything else you’d like to say about what made this movie a great thriller. They looked like a normal couple until you looked under the oven or game board. They thought their partner had a normal job until they each figured out they were in the same line of work. As the movie went on, I learned a little more. Between the action sequences and hints of what was really happening, it kept my interest.
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Subject line: “Out of Time” Thriller Conventions (2003, a crime thriller starring Denzel Washington and Eva Mendes; written by Dave Collard)
What I learned doing this assignment is to establish the big must-haves (conventions) before taking up the details.
CONVENTIONS:
UNWITTING BUT RESOURCEFUL HERO: Chief Witlock
DANGEROUS VILLAIN: Ann Harrison
HIGH STAKES: Chief Witlock will be framed for stealing the drug evidence money, murder of Anna and Chris, and go to prison for forever.
LIFE AND DEATH SITUATIONS: In a fight with Cabot, the Chief hangs from a 7<sup>th</sup> floor broken balcony. Cabot falls to his death but Chief climbs back up. Ann calls Chief to tell him her life was at risk if she didn’t help with the set-up. He goes to her but Chris is there to kill him. They fight. Ann shoots and kills Chris. She then aims at Chief. She shoots him but only injures him. Chief’s detective wife, Alex, arrives at the scene and shoots and kills Ann when Chief is about to be killed by Ann.
THIS MOVIE IS THRILLING BECAUSE? The parts of the conspiracy fit together so nicely, we know who did the set-up and how, but we don’t know if the Chief will figure it out before he loses everything.
MIS:
BIG MYSTERY: Chief Witlock is tricked into stealing almost a half-million dollars of drug money from evidence and is framed for murder of Ann and Chris Harrison. The Chief must figure out how they did it before the frame job is successful.
BIG INTRIGUE: Once the Chief realizes he’s been set up, Ann and Chris go missing, two bodies are found in their arson-burned house. Alex is the detective in charge of the murder investigation and sets up her investigators in the Chief’s office. Chief manages to stay barely a half-step ahead of the investigators up until nearly the last scene.
BIG SUSPENSE: Chief discovers he’s been set up after the murders were discovered. The DEA wants the drug money in evidence. Chae covers for him. Chief repeatedly must help with the investigation, but by being involved he’s able to tamper with evidence and interfer with the investigation. Alex finds glass in his Chief’s hair after Cabot’s death and gets suspicious of the Chief. The DEA is closing in on him. His wife is zeroing in on him. At first, she doesn’t believe he was set up as she falls for the set-up. She discovers where the Chief has gone and pursues him. One there she finds Ann revealing details of the set-up and she’s about to kill the Chief so Alex shoots and kills Ann. She opens a briefcase that is supposed to have the stolen money, but the money isn’t there. It’s just a phone with tracking data. Chae shows up with the money just as DEA agents show up to get the money.
ANYTHING ELSE you’d like to say about what made this movie a great thriller: I like the level of humorous personal interactions between the Chief and his friends. It adds a level of contrast that is quite entertaining throughout the intensity of the investigation.
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Under Paris, Sci-Fi/Horror Thriller
Conventions – Unwitting biologist teams up with eco-terrorists/climate change activists to track a mutant shark that threatens Paris. This is thrilling because sharks, confined spaces and underwater conditions are rife with survival challenges — humans out their element.
Big Mystery – will they find the shark and kill it, before its spawn cause catastrophic damage in one of the world’s most beautiful cities?
Big Intrigue – It’s plausible to think that all the plastic in the ocean can cause mutations, as wildlife adapts to survive; add to this the selfish interests of short-sided politicians ignoring the real dangers of humans impact on their environment, makes it more desperate, sad and realistic.
Big Suspense – Will the heroes survive? Will Paris survive? Will the shark survive?
This was suspenseful and entertaining and better in the original French version vs. dubbed.
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Ron Neustrom – Lesson 1(Thriller)
Film -MICHAEL CLAYTON
THRILLER CONVENTIONS:
LIFE AND DEATH SITUATIONS – In this film the life and death situations are unique. It is designed to develop and focus on two life or death situations and how these deaths resonate and change people throughout the story. We saw the way these situations developed, connected, and progressed the story. Gilroy built up, executed, and transitioned these moments as a master.
MYSTERY – They story begins with an attempt on Michael Clayton’s life and then cuts back to four days earlier. The big Mystery surrounds the moment of How did we get here…to the car bomb? Who tried to kill Michael? Why did they try to kill him? Who was involved? It was so sophisticated the way the story unfolds. He begins at the end yet also weaves in the inciting incident of him getting the assignment to reign in and fix the situation with the lead attorney in a massive civil lawsuit against U-North.
HERO/VILLAIN – Clayton was given a tough assignment. Reign in Arthur. Karen Crowder was given a tough assignment. Take over as President of U-North while navigating a massive class action lawsuit. I loved the way everyone felt justified in committing murder and breaking the law. They were just doing their jobs and operating at the top of their intelligence. Gilroy used each character as a way to put more and more pressure on Clayton who ultimately chooses to break the law to find out the truth about Arthur’s death and use the law to expose/trap his killer.
MAIN EMOTIONS – This film is a master’s class in emotions. Gilroy chose to spend a lot of time with the antagonists to establish their motivations and the creative way he exposed their decisions. Some of the scenes are classics that are built around the complex and powerful emotions Gilroy wrung out of the story. The scene where Karen Crowder puts the Hit through Mr. Verne on Arthur is a classic. “Yes you understand or yes proceed?”
THIS MOVIE IS THRILLING BECAUSE…Gilroy throws conflict on Clayton from every level you mentioned in the conventions…physically, emotionally, mentally…and does it in ways we have never seen before. His level of creativity is breathtaking. The hit on Arthur is brain surgeon level.WHAT I LEARNED DOING THIS ASSIGNMENT…could not possibly be summed up in a few sentences here. But I’ll hit a some of the highlights…Gilroy is a master at two things. One is dialogue. The characters never state the obvious. They are corporate lawyers and the dialogue is crisp and brilliant. Gilroy makes the situations so interesting through dialogue and character that some are the best ever put on film. ie…the scene where Karen Crowder orders the hit on Arthur. The end where Clayton gets Crowder to agree to pay him off instead of trying to kill him again. The second thing I learned is the way Gilroy developed every layer. Nothing was not connected or not part of a progression. There was not one situation that was isolated. Everything was part of a set-up, betrayal or pay-off. The way he connected the main mystery to the job Clayton had to do was unique, thrilling, and showed a level of mastery that earned academy award nominations.
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This reply was modified 5 months, 1 week ago by Ronald Neustrom.
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This reply was modified 5 months, 1 week ago by Ronald Neustrom.
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This reply was modified 5 months, 1 week ago by Ronald Neustrom.
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This reply was modified 5 months, 1 week ago by
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Thriller Lesson 1
Sorry, Wrong Number Thriller Conventions
I this lesson I learned how to discover the the Big Mystery, Intrigue and Suspense as well as those involving characters, the revealing of many layers, the twists and turns, all that we are studying in this course.
I currently only have off air TV so finding a suitable film of short notice has to come from my collection. I chose this old classic because it seemed to be more suited than the many “thrillers” with or supporting an action genre.
Good choice. It fit our conventions so closely this class could have been written about it. And afterward I had two great break-outs: 1) a woman in danger with a simple two line concept could really become a sensational thriller, and 2) saw a visual approach for my story which I will try to weave in the script within the confines of a writers script.
I hope I can do it justice.
Unwitting but Resourceful Hero: A bedridden woman, Leona who overhears a phone call by two men planning to murder a woman and tries to stop it but every path she tries leads nowhere. As she struggles her past begins to surface, her own terrible character, her husband trying to cope, his ex-girl friend, her demanding father. As the truth is revealed we learn the unexpected about each, our loyalties constantly shifting with more surprises and reveals until her husband goes his own direction, beginning to with a mysterious stranger and finally his involvement with a gangster, his plot to kill his wife, his desperate attempt to reverse that course at the last minute.
Dangerous Villain: A gangster, Morano, finally revealed as the man behind the husband’s crooked activity near the very end, but has been doing his work through a mysterious stranger.
Life and death situations: Leona overhears a phone conversation of two men planning to murder a women at 11:15. As the layers are pulled away we learn she’s much different than she seemed originally, a how the other characters in her life led to the current situation. Our loyalty kept changing from one to another as their layers were revealed keeping us tightly engaged yet wondering which of these characters was what, pulling us to the edge of our seats, as Leona discovers at the last minute that she’s the intended victim.
This movie is thrilling because while we begin with support for Leona trying to stop a crime she keeps pulling us deeper into the tangle of her background, her husband, her millionaire father, her husband’s former girl friend and a mysterious stranger. Our loyalties are on a roller coaster ride as twist, turns, and layers reveal more of each character’s truth each slowly dragging us to the edge of our seats at the screaming end.
The Big Mystery: can Leona find the woman victim in the phone call and save her life?
The Big Intrigue: All the layers, twist, turns, surprises exposed about the background story, with each character revealed and how they change with interaction of events, shifting our hopes, loyalties in a blender. It’s almost hard to keep score!
The Big Suspense: How will it end? Can Leona stop the crime? How do all the other relationships play out, who is — or are — really the villian(s)? Each time you cheer you learn you’re backing looser!
Additional comments:
We are emotionally challenged, slowly engaged then dragged deeper and deeper to edge-of-the-seat panic and exhaustion at the climax.
We don’t learn about the murder until near the end of the second act and meet then real villain, Murano, then
We enter the story just before the end.
Thriller Lesson 1
Sorry, Wrong Number Thriller Conventions
I this lesson I learned how to discover the the Big Mystery, Intrigue and Suspense as well as those involving characters, the revealing of many layers, the twists and turns, all that we are studying in this course.
I currently only have off air TV so finding a suitable film of short notice has to come from my collection. I chose this old classic because it seemed to be more suited than the many “thrillers” with or supporting an action genre.
Good choice. It fit our conventions so closely this class could have been written about it. And afterward I had two great break-outs: 1) a woman in danger with a simple two line concept could really become a sensational thriller, and 2) saw a visual approach for my story which I will try to weave in the script within the confines of a writers script.
I hope I can do it justice.
Unwitting but Resourceful Hero: A bedridden woman, Leona who overhears a phone call by two men planning to murder a woman and tries to stop it but every path she tries leads nowhere. As she struggles her past begins to surface, her own terrible character, her husband trying to cope, his ex-girl friend, her demanding father. As the truth is revealed we learn the unexpected about each, our loyalties constantly shifting with more surprises and reveals until her husband goes his own direction, beginning to with a mysterious stranger and finally his involvement with a gangster, his plot to kill his wife, his desperate attempt to reverse that course at the last minute.
Dangerous Villain: A gangster, Morano, finally revealed as the man behind the husband’s crooked activity near the very end, but has been doing his work through a mysterious stranger.
Life and death situations: Leona overhears a phone conversation of two men planning to murder a women at 11:15. As the layers are pulled away we learn she’s much different than she seemed originally, a how the other characters in her life led to the current situation. Our loyalty kept changing from one to another as their layers were revealed keeping us tightly engaged yet wondering which of these characters was what, pulling us to the edge of our seats, as Leona discovers at the last minute that she’s the intended victim.
This movie is thrilling because while we begin with support for Leona trying to stop a crime she keeps pulling us deeper into the tangle of her background, her husband, her millionaire father, her husband’s former girl friend and a mysterious stranger. Our loyalties are on a roller coaster ride as twist, turns, and layers reveal more of each character’s truth each slowly dragging us to the edge of our seats at the screaming end.
The Big Mystery: can Leona find the woman victim in the phone call and save her life?
The Big Intrigue: All the layers, twist, turns, surprises exposed about the background story, with each character revealed and how they change with interaction of events, shifting our hopes, loyalties in a blender. It’s almost hard to keep score!
The Big Suspense: How will it end? Can Leona stop the crime? How do all the other relationships play out, who is — or are — really the villian(s)? Each time you cheer you learn you’re backing looser!
Additional comments:
We are emotionally challenged, slowly engaged then dragged deeper and deeper to edge-of-the-seat panic and exhaustion at the climax.
We don’t learn about the murder until near the end of the second act and meet then real villain, Murano, then
We enter the story just before the end.
Corrected
Thriller Lesson 1
Sorry, Wrong Number Thriller Conventions
I this lesson I learned how to discover the the Big Mystery, Intrigue and Suspense as well as those involving characters, the revealing of many layers, the twists and turns, all that we are studying in this course.
I currently only have off air TV so finding a suitable film of short notice has to come from my collection. I chose this old classic because it seemed to be more suited than the many “thrillers” with or supporting an action genre.
Good choice. It fit our conventions so closely this class could have been written about it. And afterward I had two great break-outs: 1) a woman in danger with a simple two line concept could really become a sensational thriller, and 2) saw a visual approach for my story which I will try to weave in the script within the confines of a writers script.
I hope I can do it justice.
Unwitting but Resourceful Hero: A bedridden woman, Leona who overhears a phone call by two men planning to murder a woman and tries to stop it but every path she tries leads nowhere. As she struggles her past begins to surface, her own terrible character, her husband trying to cope, his ex-girl friend, her demanding father. As the truth is revealed we learn the unexpected about each, our loyalties constantly shifting with more surprises and reveals until her husband goes his own direction, beginning to with a mysterious stranger and finally his involvement with a gangster, his plot to kill his wife, his desperate attempt to reverse that course at the last minute.
Dangerous Villain: A gangster, Morano, finally revealed as the man behind the husband’s crooked activity near the very end, but has been doing his work through a mysterious stranger.
Life and death situations: Leona overhears a phone conversation of two men planning to murder a women at 11:15. As the layers are pulled away we learn she’s much different than she seemed originally, a how the other characters in her life led to the current situation. Our loyalty kept changing from one to another as their layers were revealed keeping us tightly engaged yet wondering which of these characters was what, pulling us to the edge of our seats, as Leona discovers at the last minute that she’s the intended victim.
This movie is thrilling because while we begin with support for Leona trying to stop a crime she keeps pulling us deeper into the tangle of her background, her husband, her millionaire father, her husband’s former girl friend and a mysterious stranger. Our loyalties are on a roller coaster ride as twist, turns, and layers reveal more of each character’s truth each slowly dragging us to the edge of our seats at the screaming end.
The Big Mystery: can Leona find the woman victim in the phone call and save her life?
The Big Intrigue: All the layers, twist, turns, surprises exposed about the background story, with each character revealed and how they change with interaction of events, shifting our hopes, loyalties in a blender. It’s almost hard to keep score!
The Big Suspense: How will it end? Can Leona stop the crime? How do all the other relationships play out, who is — or are — really the villian(s)? Each time you cheer you learn you’re backing looser!
Additional comments:
We are emotionally challenged, slowly engaged then dragged deeper and deeper to edge-of-the-seat panic and exhaustion at the climax.
We don’t learn about the murder until near the end of the second act and meet then real villain, Murano, then
We enter the story just before the end.
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