Lesson 2

[Bob Rowen]

Bob Rowen’s Hero and Villain.

What I learned doing this assignment is a way to draft a story idea, then follow it up with if-then creative logic to discover ways to improve, or perhaps even further develop, the storyline.

Concept: A highly skilled combatant former Marine Force Recon Pathfinder trained in ABC Warfare refuses to kowtow to a company placing its employees and the public in danger of radiation poisoning.

Hero Morally Right: He knows what the real dangers are of the company’s approach to radiation exposure and leads a limited employee resistance to it.

Villain Morally Wrong: The nuclear plant engineer wrongfully denies the danger of radiation exposure and engages in what’s necessary to silence the former Marine.

Hero: Virgil Prater: Former Marine force recon pathfinder who is now a nuclear control technician for the Far-West Electric Company; Prater uses his knowledge and experience to confront the company’s misguided approach to radiation safety.

A. Unique Skill Set: Trained and educated in atomic battlefield conditions, hand-to-hand combat. Fearless. <div>

B. Motivation: Driven by truth, honor, and a strong sense of duty to do the right thing!

C. Secret or Wound: The guilt of not stepping up to reveal what actually happened in a Marine Corps fatality incident because of the misguided Unit’s Honor Code– NEVER AGAIN!

Villain: Edgar Skaggs: Nuclear plant engineer who is motivated and capable of doing whatever it takes to promote and protect the failed technology at the Far-West Electric Company’s Mendocino Bay Nuclear Power Plant.

A. Unbeatable: Has overwhelming and unlimited resources of the corporation and the government at his disposal.</div><div>

B. Plan/Goal: Issues threats, stages mishaps on site, then attacks off-site.

C. What they lose if Hero survives: His prestige within the company and the public disclosure that the plant was never “safe, clean, and economical” as he and the company had repeatedly claimed.

Impossible Mission: When Prater reports the radiation safety problems to the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, he learns the agency believes Far-West Electric is simply exercising its management prerogatives, and he concludes the agency and company are in bed together.

A. Puts Hero in Action: He very publicly confronts Edgar in the reactor control room and all hell breaks loose over what happened at the last company safety meeting (TBD).</div><div>

B. Demands They Go Beyond Their Best: Prater reveals what’s happening at the nuclear plant to the County grand jury; his testimony is leaked, and the local press publicizes the story.

C. Destroy the Villain: Edgar is publicly exposed and humiliated; he is diagnosed with terminal cancer, and commits suicide.

My improved answers:

1. The Villain has overwhelming and unlimited resources of his company and the government at his disposal.

2. The Hero testifies before the grand jury; his testimony is leaked, and the local press publicizes the story.

3. Edgar is publicly exposed and humiliated; he is diagnosed with terminal cancer, and commits suicide.

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[Ira Drower]

Ira Drower’s Assignment: Hero and Villain.

Concept: Frank, an apathetic, genetically modified convict can obtain a pardon if he captures an unauthorized alien Predator terrorizing a local town.

Hero Morally Right: Caturing the predator will stop the killings.

Villain Morally Wrong: Predator kills anyone it deems a threat.

Hero: Frank Walters, the last descendent of a group of humans genetically modified thousands of years ago to be trackers for Alien visitors.

A. Unique Skill Set: Advanced senses, sight, hearing, touch, smell, in addition to seeing UV and IR light, Frank can pick up electrical signals such as heartbeat, and map out gravitational and magnetic waves.

B. Motivation: Frank can receive a full pardon for war crimes and prevent more deaths.

C. Secret or Wound: The crimes he committed cost the life of his fiance.

Villain: Alien Predator – sees Frank as a threat and a target. 8 feet tall, strong, advanced weaponry, race of warriors.

A. Unbeatable: Extremely strong, well-versed in blades, advanced plasma blasters, grenades, and cunning.

B. Plan/Goal: Kill Frank and his wolf pack to obtain access to Prof. Warner’s teleportation device.

C. What they lose if the hero survives: Capture by Frank, imprisonment, and possible death.

Impossible Mission:

A. Puts Hero in Action: Frank discovers human blood inside restricted military base, Area 54.

B. Demands they go Beyond their Best: Alien Predator makes a game as they hunt each other.

C. Destroy the Villain: The stakes are raised as the body count increases and force Frank to more lethal means of dealing with the Predator.

Elevated answers:

The Alien Predator can also cloak itself and mimic sounds and animals making it more formidable.

Frank is more motivated when his current love interest has a run-in with the Predator..

[Chris Hollo]

What I learned doing this assignment is how to give hero and villain their motivations

Concept:

Hero Morally Right: Saving the cartel accountant from capture/torture.

Villain Morally Wrong: Bringing massive amounts of drugs into the US.

Hero

A. Unique Skill Set: Elite military training.

B. Motivation: Protect someone from a grizzly death and take out the cartel.

C. Secret or Wound: Released from military for exposing corruption.

Villain

A. Unbeatable: Has seemingly unlimited henchmen at his disposal.

B. Plan/Goal: Capture and kill the accountant to keep him from going to DEA.

C. What they lose if Hero survives: Loss of his entire drug trade.

Impossible Mission

A. Puts Hero in Action: Sees accountant’s murder-for-hire listing on Craigslist

B. Demands They Go Beyond Their Best: Protecting the accountant and getting close enough to the cartel boss to take him out.

C. Destroy the Villain: Has to kill the cartel boss and anyone in her way

Improved Answers:

The Hero initially wants to protect the accountant but then has to go on the offensive to kill the cartel boss.

The accountant places an ad on Craigslist for someone to murder him quickly so that he won’t be tortured to death by the cartel boss because he is unable to commit suicide.

[Chris Spizuoco]

Chris’s Hero and Villain

What I learned doing this assignment is the 2^nd iteration combined with the first added more detail toward fleshing this out re Outline.

Concept: A war hero arrives home with PTSD and finds himself accused of putting his billionaire father on his death bed.

Hero Morally Right: find the true assassin.

Villain Morally Wrong: attempted murder based on greed and power.

Hero

A. Unique Skill Set: special ops military; repressed and understated until provoked.

B. Motivation: to clear his name, find the killer, and maintain the family dynasty set up for good of the people.

C. Secret or Wound: PTSD and strained relationship with his father; conflict over power and money.

Villain

A. Unbeatable: ability to stay a few steps ahead of our hero as a disciplined psychopath.

B. Plan/Goal: follow the psychopath “playbook” to get rid of the son and giving him direct control of billions fit for evil.

C. What they lose if Hero survives: their freedom and ultimate power/control, and wealth.

Impossible Mission

A. Puts Hero in Action: after being framed for his father’s near-death, attempts to allude authorities while going after known mercenaries that must be responsible.

B. Demands They Go Beyond Their Best: must arm himself with new skills in this new type of battle while fighting PTSD.

C. Destroy the Villain: using his new techniques and himself as bait to lure them out for capture/kill.

[Frances Williams]

Frances Williams Hero and Villain,

What I Learned doing this Assignment was what actions the Hero would take to save a life.

Concept: A highly trained Female Assassin is seeking Revenge for the death of daughter

Hero Moral Right. She was totured and beaten and her daughter kidnapped.

Hero Moral Wrong.Russian Mafia trying to start a War.

Motivation: Seeking Revenge for her daughters death.

[Christopher Confer]

What I learned doing this assignment is:

Concept: Grieving the loss of his wife to a distracted driver, a judge joins a star chamber of fellow judges and prosecutors to exact real justice and stop a subversive foreign gang that is harming his city.

Hero Morally Right: Judge Ken is trying to avenge his wife’s death and stop a Ukranian gang posing as Russian SVU agents doing subversive acts in his city.

Villain Morally Wrong: Kirill poses as Russian gang leader but is actually Ukranian SBU and not Russian SVU; running US citizens via hypnosis to cause traffic deaths and other possible mayhem.

Hero: Judge Ken (and Judge Jason)

A. Unique Skill Set: As a judge he has the power to sentence offenders and as a star chamber judge he can exact a more precise justice with his Tae Kwon Do skills and cross-bow skills.

B. Motivation: To avenge his wife’s death, stop societal decay and impede a foreign gang messing up his city.

C. Secret or Wound: Devastated by careless actions of scumbag people who drive and cause mayhem with almost no repercussions.

Villain:

A. Unbeatable: Works in secret so that almost no one knows he exists, almost no one knows his secret weapon of hypnosis to run Manchurian candidates.

B. Plan/Goal: Destablize US society via subversion in order to have his enemy Russia blamed for the subversion.

C. What they lose if Hero survives: He will be exposed and not make his enemy look bad. His enemy, Russia, won’t get blamed for the subversion. Kirill will cause his country to lose the propaganda war if he fails.

Impossible Mission:

A. Puts Hero in Action: He and Judge Jason run their star chamber and at first go after individual LilPutin Manchurian candidates and expand it to Kirill once they discover it. One of the “candidate’s” spouse are not subject to the brainwashing and tell Judge Ken and Judge Jason how she was programmed along with her husband.

B. Demands They Go Beyond Their Best: They are not just doing extra-judiciary star chamber activities, they are fighting a foreign intelligence agency’s gang operating on US soil.

C. Destroy the Villain: They punish offenders one by one at first but then kill Kirill the SBU ring leader.

[Jeannine Hegelbach]

Jeannine Hegelbach’s Hero and Villan

Concept:

Hero Morally Right: Jordan Silverman, the hero is trying to
find out what happened to his missing brother
Villain Morally Wrong: Wayne Beckster, the head of the sleeper
agent program abducts the twin brother and claims that the hero murdered him

Hero Jordan Silverman – prisoner

A. Unique Skill Set: trained during his time in prison in
bacom, one of the deadliest martial arts in the world, learned from other
criminals about weapons
B. Motivation: wants to find his brother or what
happened to him and if he is really dead, wants to reestablish his honor
C. Secret or Wound: his brother saved his life when they
were 8 years old

Villain Wayne Beckster – head of sleeper program CIA

A. Unbeatable: has an army of sleeper agents at his
disposal, is in a high position in the CIA
B. Plan/Goal send out his twin brother himself to
kill Jordan ironically
C. What they lose if Hero survives: expose the program and that the CIA is
working with brain implants

Impossible Mission Jordan has to find out what happened to his brother and redeem his honor.

A. Puts Hero in Action he has to infiltrated into the CIA,
fight other agents, work with explosives and gets involved in gun fights
B. Demands They Go Beyond Their Best: he has to ultimately fight his own
brother to not get killed by him
C. Destroy the Villain – expose the CIA program
and kill his brother

[Gary Holland]

Gar Holland – Hero and Villain

What I learned is that things can change at the drop of a hat in a screenplay.

Concept –

Morally Right – The hero’s military way must protect the alien artifact at all cost.

Morally Wrong – The villain wants the artifact to rule the universe.

Hero –

Skill set – Military procedures and tactics… an expert marksmen and fighter.

Motivation – Save his girlfriend… save Earth.

Secret – The artifact has been compromised… only the hero and one other know to what degree.

Villain – A good cop turned bad… instead of fighting his criminal father, he joins him.

Unbeatable – He must rely on his father’s vast criminal network.

Impossible Mission – The hero must battle heavily armed men… find the girl… and finish his mission.

Hero in action –

In stealth mode (invisible), he quietly subdues the guards on the landing pads and thinks he has it made.

Demands beyond best –

A dampening field, just off the pads takes his invisibility and now he’s on his own.

Extrapolate –

If the hero has a superior intellect the villain can only rely on brute force.

[Robert McCord]

Bob McCord’s Hero and Villain

What I learned doing this assignment is that I have to coalesce tension on two fronts, business maneuvering and desperate violence, within the world of business competition, while escalating the action.

Concept: A whip-smart business consultant can secure a huge military contract to save his underdog client and the community that depends economically on that corporation and the local base.

Hero morally right: He plays by the rules yet pushes hard to overcome the stronger competitors who don’t. He knows he can be the linchpin to preserve economic livelihoods and his own reputation.

Villain morally wrong: Long-time contractor doesn’t care about the rules as long as he bribes, manipulates, and kills to feed his greed; plus, he’s cheap, smart, and unto himself.

Hero and his:

Unique skill set: Knows the ins-and-outs of winning government money and has come up against the cheats and cons in this business. He’s smart, hard-driving, resourceful, and connected; he’s also a small arms expert who can eliminate foes with two shots.

Motivation: Uses his brains to turn a company’s prospects to success for money, reputation, and more opportunities. He likes being people’s best hope.

Wound: Humiliation over a long ago loss to the same adversary who accidentally on purpose killed his brother.

Villain:

Unbeatable: He commands and manipulates employees and base personnel who depend on him for current and ongoing jobs. He is the epitome of the military-industrial complex. He gets what he wants.

Plan/goal: Knows how contracts are awarded, does whatever it takes to game the system to win, qualified or not. An award here sets him up for more influence, follow-on contracts, and more personal wealth.

What loses if hero survives: Contract/money, plans for grandeur, pride/status/identity, dependence of and power over all around him. Big personal defeat.

Impossible mission:

Puts hero in action: He realizes what he anticipated–-under cover of contract competition he must pick off the inside saboteurs/hit men who want him not only to lose but to get dead.

Demands he go beyond his best: He’s not just defending a contract, he has to rely on his marksman skills to eliminate those who want to defeat him, his client, and people’s future.

Destroy the villain: Finalize the proposal so that his client wins the contract, the villain is exposed for what he is, and in his rage, the villain seeks out the hero to destroy him. But hero outsmarts him one last time, killing him with two shots.

My improved answers:

The villain is likable and thrives on the adulation, so he’s not entirely unsympathetic.

The hero builds his own counterforce of determined employees.

The hero can’t just shoot the villain; villain has to know at his core that he has lost, dies.

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[Beth Zurkowski]

Beth Zurkowski Hero: Velda Fabian Villain: Jamal Abed

What I learned during this assignment:

Concept:

Hero Morally Right: Save Haniya from honor killing.
Villain Morally Wrong: wants to kill for infraction of
not bringing dinner on time.

Hero

A. Unique Skill Set: black belt
B. Motivation: compassion
C. Secret or Wound: Velda was raped.

Villain

A. Unbeatable: family is large and are street fighters.
B. Plan/Goal: Stop westerners from interfering in Palestinian
life.
C. What they lose if Hero survives: lose honor more so.

Impossible Mission

A. Puts Hero in Action: Haniya needed medical care.
Velda’s husband is a doctor.
B. Demands They Go Beyond Their Best: Velda must fight Palestine
families.
C. Destroy the Villain: He’s being protected by Palestines.

3. My improved answers.

Haniya has an arranged marriage problem.

Velda knows Brazilian jiu-jitsu

I’m going to make the villains from India instead but that too might be a cliché.

Daughter got pregnant by the man she loves but she has an arranged marrige looming. And she doesnt know how to let her father know she is pregnant from her boyfriend.

The rich man who marries her soon finds out she’s not a virgin and wants to kill her along with her father and brothers.

They beat her almost to death, She runs to Velda’s house but loses the baby.

[Kathi Wahed]

Kathi Wahed’s Hero

What I learned: Detail helps deepen character and motivation

Hero Morally Right: Hero developed genetically enginered seed to save US from starvation

Villain Morally Wrong: China military infectedUS food supply in effort to starve US population. Can’t abide anything that will reverse this.

Hero: A Unique Skill: Accomplished in extreme outdoor sports, excellent scientist

Motivation: He invented technology to save US, his wife and family included (we see them starving)

Secret or Wound: CIA has charged him with espionage

Villain: Unbeatable — Top athlete, now military leader. Trained as an assasin.

Plan/Goal — Steal Hero’s technology (seed), reverse engineer to sell to countries to make allies and money.

What they lose if Hero Survives — his life

CImpossible Mission :

A Puts Hero in Action: seeds stolen, CIA shows up at work looking for him, suspects him of espionage, Hero set on road to retrieve seeds

B. Demands they go beyond their best: physcially very challenging (intentional from route set up by Villain). Bikes within crowd to lose his pursuers. Destroy Premier’s fields that grow seed poisoning US and Europe’s food supply. Retrieve his invention to reverse the impact.

C. Destroy the Villain : Rockclimb into Premier’s secret sactum and uselight lasers to retrieve his invetnion and kill Villain.