Lesson 2

[mark.napier2022@gmail.com napier]

SUBJECT: Mark Napier’s Character Profile Part 1

8) What did I learn doing this assignment? I almost forgot to answer this question. I learned a good deal that interviewing the characters using the format below helped to develop my characters further to human stature that the audience could relate to. I incidentally had already written a 10 page Treatment that paralleled or that I could draw from to answer most of these questions.

2) Pick a role for the Protagonist and give a few sentences on how they fulfill role:

The protagonist is a Victim of Injustice and Dreamer. The protagonist’s use of his military values (loyalty, duty, honor, respect, integrity, personal courage and selfless service) as a US Army Reserve officer lands him in hot water when he reports a mismanaged investigation involving child pornography on two CIA Top Secret computers. Other issues are raised by the protagonist that adds salt to the ego wounds of the antagonist. After being Blacklisted and left chronically homeless on the streets for five years from a fabricated ruse, the protagonist seeks to restore his honor and continues to challenge the CIA to hold those involved in child pornography accountable, but to also hold senior Agency leadership who abuse their title, positions and authority, as well. The CIA does not normally prosecute those involved in child pornography, but merely fires them, due to their access to sensitive material of national interest.

3) Pick a role for the Antagonist and give a few sentences on how they fulfill role:

The antagonist is a Villain/Predator who pursues the protagonist over a period of 4 years to get even for (in essence) bruising his ego and tarnishing his name Deputy Chief of Station in Iraq where the event takes place. The antagonist finally tracks the protagonist down in Afghanistan and has no problem destroying the protagonist’s livelihood as he (as the antagonist) is considered “a god like deity” at the CIA who is highly decorated and respected.

4) What other characters are involved?

–Supporting: Chief of Station-Iraq (later to be Chief of Counterterrorism Center that the protagonist works for later on) and Chief of Operations-Iraq who was responsible for the mismanaged investigation.

–Minor roles: Two persons who sat in the military cell with the protagonist who side with the antagonist.

–Background characters: Middle Eastern (Iraq and Afghani) personnel, Case Officers

5) Pick Genre: Action/Drama

6) Lead character profiles using 9 question interview process:

Protagonist Profile

• Role in the story: Begins as Military Liaison Cell Leader in Iraq, before eventually transitioning to Counterterrorism PSYOP Officer along the Afghan/Pak border where his career comes to an abrupt ending landing him on the streets homeless.

• Age range and Description: a rugged adventurer, prangster and sarcastic. 44, stands 5 ft 9 inches and 180 pounds, brown hair, hazel eyes, smooth shaved, caucasian of German-Scottish descent.

• Internal Journey: After the Blacklisting the character finds out he has HIV and his Army Reserve Unit moves quickly to discharge causing him to fall into severe depression and struggles to fight against suicide and eventually drug addiction. His life is further complicated as the Internal Revenue Service takes his last $600 from his bank account. With perseverance and fortitude, the character leaves the streets 5 years later and begins to slowly heal his wounds and eventually speak freely with 3 real friends he has developed along the way about his ordeal.

• External Journey: The protagonist shifts from a comfortable lifestyle to living on the streets initially in a 2 seat car and eventually off the land after losing his home. The only work he can find is strip dancing at gay bars in competition with ‘twinkies’ half his age. He is able to use his core strength to perform gymnastics on the poles that his young competition cannot due. He fortunately looks 12 years younger that he is and his worldly experience gives him better opportunity to engage customers in a more intelligent conversation than the 20 year olds. Eventually, with the assistance from the VA disability pension the protagonist is able to afford a small studio at an estate formerly owned by Al Capone in 1928. The protagonist provides security at the house owned for 45 years by an elderly woman who holds the royal title of Countess from the last king of Poland. The protagonist spends his time tending to the property to take his mind off the ordeal he has faced for 5 years. Eventually the woman dies and her niece hires the protagonist to come work for her. Over the course of 7 years, the protagonist manages to restore a good deal of his morale and some self esteem to run for the office of US Congress for the “discarded and forgotten.”

• Motivation: The hero wants to fully restore his honor and seek justice, while contemplating vengeance.

• Wound: The protagonist is deeply hurt for being judged, betrayed, discarded and forgotten. In essence, the protagonist is figuratively handed a dual-career ending epitaph that reads:

“For Outstanding Service and Loyalty to Country

Stigmatized and Slandered

Betrayed and Dishonored

Impoverished and Homeless

Discarded and Forgotten

Blacklisted by a Grateful Nation”

• Mission/Agenda: The character having been ignored four previous occasions over the years to contest the CIA’s action, while homeless, makes a last ditch effort to flag his case simultaneously to not just the Agency’s Inspector General and Office of Public Affairs, but to over 80 members of the US House and Senate, 13 Congressional Committees, The White House Special Counsel, the Director of National Intelligence and key media personalities (Fox News, CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC and MSNBC). His agenda is to raise awareness of the atrocity that occurred, force change on CIA’s policies in handling Whistleblowers and accountability of senior executives who abuse their title, position and authority, but also force the prosecution of personnel engaged in child pornography. As it stands the Agency only fires the individual because of their access to sensitive classified material.

• Secret: The protagonist is closeted Bisexual (light) which is against CIA policy.

• What makes them special? The character is a former CIA officer with 20 years of Agency experience who is falsely accused of a ruse and is forced into the streets to strip dance at gay bars to survive in competition with “Twinkies” following the Great Recession of 2009, when no one was hiring. The character embraces his new sexual orientation in the end.

Antagonist Profile:

• Role in the story: Is a Case Officer by trade in the CIA’s elite Special Activities Division. The antagonist is the Deputy Chief of Station in Iraq and one of the largest Stations in the world. He eventually moves on to be the Chief of Station in Afghanistan where he crosses paths with the protagonist once again to carry out his act of vengeance.

• Age range and Description: 52, stands 6 ft 4 inches and 195 pounds, blondish graying hair, blue eyes, goatee. The antagonist is of Irish descent and caucasian.

• Internal Journey: Like many Case Officers, the antagonist has a chip on his shoulders and is use to rubbing shoulders with world leaders, power brokers and Washington DC. He seeks to continue to move up into the CIA to finish off his career as Deputy Director for Special Activities Division within the Director of Operations.

• External Journey: The antagonist seeks to have an unblemished record. After his success as the assistant team leader to enter into Afghanistan to overthrow the Taliban government 4 years earlier, the antagonist seeks to climb the Agency ladder to become the Special Activities Division’s

• Motivation: Pure vindictiveness to get even and destroy.

• Wound: The antagonist’s ego.

• Mission/Agenda: The antagonist mission is to destroy the livelihood of the protagonist for making Iraq Station who looked like a Three Stooges operations to the Director of the CIA. The antagonist’s agenda is to fabricate a ruse falsely accusing the protagonist of a felony.

• Secret: The antagonist who was part of the first CIA team into Afghanistan. He was in constant communications with the Northern Alliance following the 9/11 attacks and knowingly ignored the intentions of the Northern Alliance to stuff nearly 3,000 captured Taliban into train box cars to ship into the desert to die. This was known as the ‘Massacre of Mazar’ in November 2001. Attempts to investigate this war atrocity by the United Nations was squashed by the US and Afghan governments.

• What makes them special? The antagonist is a high level CIA executive who can operate with autonomy without accountability.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 2 months ago by  mark.napier2022@gmail.com napier.

[Caitlin Stryker]

Assignment 2

Caitlin Stryker’s Character Profiles Part 1: What I learned doing this assignment is how much fun it is to develop characters!

2. Pick the type of role your Protagonist will play and give us a few sentences on how they will fulfill that role.

• Dreamer

• Carla (30s) is a dreamer. She imagines a happier life for herself, she just doesn’t know how to get there in the beginning. Carla knows deep down that she is capable of being a dynamic player in the advertising world but since she cut her career short to have her son she can’t figure out how to get back in the game. She is currently stuck in a role as a part-time substitute English teacher which doesn’t fill her soul and expand her mind–she’s under-employed outside the home and stuck in a loop of laundry and groceries inside the home. Her confidence will grow and she will start to put herself out into the world more.

3. Pick the type of role your Antagonist will play and give us a few sentences on how they will fulfill that role.

• Change Agent

• Harriet (30s) is a change agent. She shows back up in Carla’s life to lift her out of her depression. She is at once a teacher, coach and guide. Harriet is loud and vibrant and unafraid. Harriet believes in living as if there is nothing to lose. She doesn’t suffer meek behavior. Harriet is an imaginary friend and she knows this about herself, she prefers to consider herself as an alter-ego (like Beyonce’s “Sasha Fierce”) but Harriet chooses to not tell Carla that she isn’t real, because the way Carla treats her like she is real boosts Harriet’s power.

4. What other characters might be necessary?

• Supporting characters:

• Mark = (30s/40s) is Carla’s husband. He’s a tough love advocate. A loving husband but very human. Cheats on Carla mostly because he’s always away for work and he can’t connect with his wife.

• Sam = (7) is Carla’s son. Smart only child who talks a lot and is obsessed with video games. He’s a fun loving kid who thinks his mom is the greatest person on the planet. As long as Carla thinks Harriet is real Sam can see Harriet, but when Carla learns Harriet is imaginary then Sam can no longer see Harriet even though she is still around. (This plays into how Harriet is stronger when Carla believes she is a real person.)

• Minor roles:

• The Moms = Marisca; Alice; Kumiko

• This is a group of 3 other moms who Carla knows that have kids in Sam’s class at school.

• Marisca: (30s Latina) totally grounded and suffers no fools. Marisca runs the best taco truck in town! Her son is Sam’s best friend.

• Alice: (40s white) top brass at THE coolest hottest athleisure wear company on the planet. She has it all and can do it all at the same time.

• Kumiko: (50s Asian) this woman is hip and put together. She makes 50 look like the new 20. Think Ali Wong type.

• Background characters:

• Bartender Jake: (25) He’s young, he’s hot and somehow able to give really sage advice. An old soul.

• Bouncer Ron: (40s) a total teddy bear but will kick you out of the club and into the drunk tank if necessary. He is not judgemental and very understanding.

• Teacher Dunn: (30s white) the social emotional elementary school teacher we all need. She gives out heart confetti and know how to handle the firehose to the face that is life.

• Old Boss Jennica: (30s white) Younger than Carla. A serious go-getter. It’s all work for Jennica. She is a girl boss with no time for romance. Hates kids.

5. Pick your genre.

• Rom-Com or Buddy Movie

6. Fill in whatever answers come to you about your lead character profiles.

Carla

• Role in the story: protagonist/lead

• Age range and Description: 30s any ethnicity. Stay-at-home mom who sometimes works as a part-time substitute English teacher.

• Internal Journey: starts off totally stuck in life with low self-esteem and depression. Ends with her dream job, high self-esteem and tons of confidence.

• External Journey: her marriage is crumbling, her clothes are drab, her job is beneath her and in the end her marriage is back on track, her clothes are fierce and she is at her dream job.

• Motivation: Carla wants recognition and to belong. She feels like she is stuck on the outside looking in. She’s lonely.

• Wound: Never being cool enough as a kid. Carla has always felt like an outsider.

• Mission/Agenda: Carla is determined to get unstuck.

• Secret: Ever since Harriet left when Carla was a kid her life has been less fun. Harriet is an imaginary friend.

• What makes them special? A childlike delight in the world. Carla is great at being present and being kind.

Harriet

• Role in the story: antagonist/lead

• Age range and Description: 30s Black. Harriet is the coolest chic you’ve ever met. She is fun and confident. Wears bright clothes that are ahead of fashion. Strong and intelligent. Mischievous.

• Internal Journey: overcompensating with exuberance to calm and confident in her role.

• External Journey: from imaginary friend who is loud but unseen (except by Carla and Sam) to an accepted part of who Carla is, a recognized alter-ego almost as well-known as Sasha Fierce.

• Motivation: love

• Wound: terrified of being abandoned again.

• Mission/Agenda: to get Carla out of her depression. To bring Carla back to her vibrant true self.

• Secret: she’s not real but wishes she was.

• What makes them special? Can be seen by children or those who are truly young at heart if her person truly believes she is real.

7. Answer the question “What I learned doing this assignment is…?” and put it at the top of your work.

What I learned doing this assignment is how much fun it is to develop characters!

[mark.napier2022@gmail.com napier]

On Part one of my Character Profile for my Antagonist, I made a mistake and referred to the November 2001 “Massacre of Mazar” when it was suppose to be the November 2001 “Massacre: Convoy of Death-Kunduz.” I tried to edit directly to correct, your system only permits that on the day I am posting apparently. I wanted to edit something else, but I ll just do so on my document. Thanks!

Question for you. I had previously wrote a 10 page Treatment. Of course I dug it up off the internet. Do you all have an example of a Treatment to follow? Nat Mundel from “Pitch the Producer” is who advised me to take your class, by the way.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 2 months ago by  mark.napier2022@gmail.com napier.

[Michael Montiel]

#7 (written first ): What I learned doing this assignment is : That even though no one will probably read this, it has given me a quick format to quickly outline the core characters of my screenplay. Many ideas came to me, and i was losing focus of what my story would be, but I kept going. Hopefully, this format will become second nature to me for future screenplays or tv pilots.

2. Protagonist: EXPLORER/DREAMER :Dr.ROBERTO AMADOR: Astrophysicist (40s), Bookish, requires eyeglasses, physically fit. Roberto is confident his hypotheses has potential to discover intelligent life in outer space. He knows his discovery of intelligent life in outer space will change humanity forever.

3. Antagonist: CHANGE AGENT: DR. PETER ROSINSKI:ASTROPHYSICIST(60s), Small frame, but commands attention. Peter has been down this road before; looking for intelligent life in the universe is a fools errand. It be better to profit from Roberto’s work and then discard him for economic gain. He also has side hustle with US Military : to share knowledge on how to win the arms race in outer space.

4. What other characters might be necessary?

Supporting actors: *GENERAL PORTMAN(50S), Commanding presence; when he speaks, everyone is at attention:Authority figure(antagonist) befriends Roberto in order to win the Space Race against the Russians.

* Dr. Roberto’s ex-Wife: Sandra Blanc, Psychologist(40s), Admonishes Roberto for not making more money with his degree instead of staring at the stars all day.

* Lexie (11) believes in her dad. She loves waiting up for him and listen to his stories about the cosmos, the possibility of life on other planets.

* Anna Amador (70s), Roberto’s Mother, admonishes him for losing his marriage and losing custody of her grandchild, Lexie. She’s always pushed him to do better, to make something of his life instead of being a dreamer.

MINOR ROLES: ROBERTO’S PhD. Students, DR. Peter Rosinski’s Assistants, General Portman’s Pentagon Assistants, Government Lobbyists/insiders/lawyers

Background characters: Students, Scientists, Soldiers,Reporters.

5. Genre: Sci-fi / Thriller: (LOGLINE will eventually go here)

6. Fill in Whatever answers come to you about your lead character profiles:

Protagonist: Roberto Aguilar:

Role in Story: Protagonist: Dr. Roberto Aguilar must push through bureaucracy and challenge his mentor to prove his discovery will benefit the human race.

Age range and Description: Male: Mid 30s to Mid 40s: Scientist, Book smart but not street smart, still in good shape despite hours in study, research, Lab work, Observation facilities.

Internal Journey: Protagonist: Roberto must go from gullible naive scientist to believing in himself and taking a stand against authority.

External Journey: Roberto must show he’s capable of designing project for finding life on other planets and fight against authority figures that want to use his knowledge for profit and self-aggrandizement.

Motivation: To Be first scientist to discover intelligent life in outer space! : To be a “Christopher Columbus” of the 21st century.

Wound: He never knew his father. He abandoned him when he was a baby. He’s always felt he’s had to prove himself and to prove himself to his mother.

Mission/Agenda: Roberto is hired by General Portman to run a secret high-level government assignment to build man-made blackholes in outer space so we can reach exoplanets with earth like environments.

Secret: his propensity towards aggression and violent confrontation when he’s challenged. He’ s easily triggered with childhood memories when he’s called a coward, a fatherless bastard.

What makes my protagonist special? His ability to make people dream, his behavior with his daughter, his ability to laugh, to explain complex things in a friendly approachable way.

DR. PETER ROSINSKI: Antagonist:

Role in the story: Antagonist : Changing- Agent: at first mentors and motivates Roberto to move forward with his project , but then he challenges Roberto to stop dreaming and learn to make money and humanity be damned.

Age Range and Description: 40s to 60s, always in suits, when he speaks people sit up and listen. he’s not very tall , but he commands attention.

Internal Journey: goes from mildly enthusiastic to calamitous cynicism. He’s taken shit his whole life now he wants to make money and live the rest of his life in luxury.

External Journey: at first mentor to Roberto, but then sabotages the project for monetary gain.

Motivation: Wants to gain fame and notoriety and financial prosperity.

Wound: he was once a promising astrophysicist, but his work was taken from him and someone else was rewarded. This time he’s out to do the same to someone else. Also, he’s lonely and needs love but was rejected in the past.

Mission/Agenda: He wants to takeover the project from DR. Roberto Aguilar and use him to his own benefit.

Secret: He knows our species is doomed and is hopeless to look for intelligent life on other planets as we will never be here–at least he won’t be here– to receive the response from intelligent life out there in the cosmos.

What makes him Special? : my antagonist, Peter is charming, he knows “how to play the game” of bureaucracy and research facilities. He’s witty and always has a good comeback and always has a good line to put someone down. At first he can appear to be a father figure for Robert–as this is Robert’s wound (not having a father)–but then he exploits Roberts knowledge and ingeniousness.

[Trish]

Subject line: Trish’s Character Profiles Part 1

What I learned doing this assignment is the same as last time. It’s hard to pick just one idea! But it’s also fun. I kept coming up with the same wounds for Richard and Emma. I think that’s a good thing. Hopefully, they’ll mirror each other.

2. Pick the type of role your Protagonist will play and give us a few sentences on how they will fulfill that role.

Emma Harper is a hero, though very reluctant. She’d rather other people deal with the threat or pretend it doesn’t exist. She’s also a fighter, but at not at first. She succeeds as a hero by fighting the villain. Emma sees how Richard Blackwell manipulates and terrorizes the guests, herself included, and eventually figures out how to defeat him (maybe by killing him). Circumstances force her to remain at the hotel to keep her in the “battle”.

3. Pick the type of role your Antagonist will play and give us a few sentences on how they will fulfill that role.

Richard, the hotel manager, is a villain and predator. He terrorizes the guests by realizing their shameful secrets or fears in a misguided attempt to make them better people. If they don’t overcome/accept their secrets, he kills them. (I’m still figuring out how to make it life or death stakes.) I think he also uses blackmail and the like to get them to do what he wants.

4. What other characters might be necessary?

Supporting characters: 1) Samuel, the ancient bellhop, who won’t retire, because he feels guilty about his role in the hotel’s happenings. He might be a mentor to Emma (though unreliable). 2) Dr. Olivia Turner, a doctor on her honeymoon, who has a need for control, because she had a patient die under suspicious circumstances. She and Emma become friends. 3) Lucas, a journalist retreating from a mistake he made that had bad repercussions. He might be the one to buddy with Emma to solve the hotel mystery. (I’d like to avoid romance, but a strong male lead might be needed).

Minor roles: other hotel staff and guests. Richard will need people to help him in his doings.

Background characters: hotel staff and guests

5. Pick your genre.

This will be a psychological thriller. While this setup could become horror or sci-fi, I want to avoid that. I want everything to be based in reality, if possible. I want Emma to constantly be questioning her sanity, not knowing who to trust or what to believe. The storyline is her trying to solve the puzzle and defeat the villain.

6. Fill in whatever answers come to you about your lead character profiles.

Protagonist:

Role in the story: Emma is the lead character

Age range and Description: She’s in her 30s-40s. She needs to have enough life experience to have worked for a number of years with some success and to have a failed marriage. She’s all business and doesn’t have time or the inclination for emotions.

Internal Journey: She goes from a victim of bad circumstances and poor life choices to a victor, who loves herself.

External Journey: She defeats (kills?) the hotel manager who terrorizes hotel guests.

Motivation: She wants to escape the stress of her job for a while. Internally, she wants to feel loved.

Wound: Her wound stems from a failed marriage due to her obsession with work, leading to a fear of being alone and unloved.

Mission/Agenda: At first, she resists the mission of solving the hotel mystery, but eventually, she wants to get to the bottom of it and stop it. She has to confront her issues during the process.

Secret: Emma’s mother died when she was very young. Her father remarried but Emma felt left out.

What makes them special? She willing to change herself and become a better person (this is fairly generic, but the other hotel guests will not be this way.) She works hard and is determined to succeed in whatever she does.

Antagonist:

Role in the story: Richard, the hotel manager, is the villain

Age range and Description: he’s 40s or 50s. Old enough to be established both as top person at the hotel and his bad-guyness. He’s well-groomed and fit and judgmental of people who aren’t. He’s secretive and observant. He has a god complex.

Internal Journey: He is too damaged to have an internal journey. Emma either kills him or has him arrested at the end, but he is the same.

External Journey: Richard becomes increasingly desperate to maintain control over the situation. This involves orchestrating a series of challenges and psychological games to thwart Emma’s progress and keep the truth hidden.

Motivation: He seeks power and control. By manipulating others and thinking it’s noble, he’s really just getting revenge for wrongs he’s received.

Wound: His father’s betrayal devastated him. He controls others to protect himself.

Mission/Agenda: He believes that forcing the past out of people and making them confront it, makes them a complete person and, if they don’t, they aren’t worthy of living.

Secret: His father had a secret family elsewhere and that secret destroyed both families.

What makes them special? He’s a master at uncovering people’s secrets, through computer hacking and psychological analysis. He’s charming and charismatic.