Lesson 2

[Tony Scott]

Tony J Scott Intentional Lead Characters

My true vision as a writer is to fall in love with writing and stay motivated to write from the love of writing and not a chore and then hoping others will love my creations and be well known as a top writer in the screenplay community.

I learned how to create intentional lead characters for my screenplay and get started seeing the vision of the outline.

· Protagonist: Najah Blackman: a 21 year old black history student.

· Triangle Character Grimmet Freedman: A 2 century year old Vampire from Sierra Leone.

· Antagonist: CPT. Jacob Stanley: US Army Infantry commander and Vampire Hunter.

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· CHARACTER: Najah Blackman

· LOGLINE: A desperate timid 21 year old history major dying from a rare blood disease who must time travel to kill her ancestor before someone else does or live her life as a vampire in the future.

· UNIQUE: Grimmet Freedman’s great-great-great granddaughter.

· CHARACTER: Grimmet Freedman

· LOGLINE: A two century year old pure blood vampire who voluntarily came to America from Sierra Leone as a slave.

· UNIQUE: A Vampire who is hungry for power and wants to start a new race of powerful humans in the colonies.

· CHARACTER: CPT. Jacob Stanley

· LOGLINE: while under the cover of spreading news of the Emancipation Proclamation, a by the book Army Captain with the 1^st Infantry Hunting Regiment; a special unit commissioned to hunt and kill vampires throughout the southern regions during the civil war has long set his focus on seeking out and killing Grimmet Freedman.

· UNIQUE: Vampire Hunter.

[Tully Archer]

Hi Tony,

This is such a unique concept. I’m curious WHEN most of the story takes place?

[Tony Scott]

Hi Tully

I’m trying to tie in the years 1863 and 2023. It’s an alternate world where vampires and humans live together.

[Tully Archer]

Okay so we’re sort of popping back and forth equally?

[Natasha Paris]

I am a uniquely amazing, inspiring, prolific, and successful writer/director whose name alone sales. I have a huge following because I help change the world for the better.

What I learned from doing this assignment is my antagonist is the missing sister – even though she won’t be “present” in the story.

Missing in Costa Rica

Genre: Thriller

Based on a true story, a sister retraces the steps of her missing sister in a foreign country.

• Protagonist Character: Victoria

• Logline: A newly wed, newly immigrant writer desperately tries to find her sister lost in Cost Rica while keeping her family afloat.

• Unique: She’s an immigrant, a newly wed, and now she has to save her sister while keeping her family and parents together.

• Antagonist Character: Mia

• Logline: A suicidal, abused newly married, who seeks revenge against her abusive husband.

• Unique: She’s suicidal, but also missing. She left clues, but also erased some, making it impossible to find her.

[Tully Archer]

Hi Natasha,

I love that your sister is your antagonist. Does she get her revenge?

[Natasha Paris]

Great question! Not the way she wanted, no! LOL

[Tully Archer]

LOL revenge rarely goes the way we want it to! 🙂

[Claudia OBrien]

Claudia O’Brien’s Intentional Lead Characters

My vision: To become the best screenwriter I can be, and to find success in the industry.

What I learned from doing this assignment is, again, I am loving how this process helps me flesh out my concept in a much more organic way than anything I have done before.

Character: Grace O’Malley

Logline: Grace is White and falls in love with Booker, a Black man.

Unique: A young Irish Catholic woman from South Boston, Grace was raised to be obedient to her family and the Church – neither of which will accept an interracial relationship.

Character: Ann Wahl

Logline: Ann is Grace’s best friend in the Army and is secretly in love with Grace.

Unique: A tough-as-nails independent woman, Ann teaches Grace to make her own decisions – thinking (and hoping) that Grace will realize she is in love with Ann as well.

Character: Booker Thomas

Logline: Booker is a Tuskegee airman who falls in love with his nurse, Grace.

Unique: A proud, strong and intelligent – but realistic – man, Booker fears what American society would do to Grace if they pursue a relationship.

[Tully Archer]

Hi Claudia,

This seems so solid. I’m curious, is this a contained thing? Like does it mostly happen just in the hospital?

[Will Jennings]

Will Jennings: Intentional Lead Characters

My Vision: I will write movies that are extremely funny and entertaining that bring a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment to a world starving for true enjoyment.

What I learned from doing this assignment is finding the right attributes to make the characters very different.

Character: Gwendolyn

Logline: Gwendolyn (dual protagonist) is the spunky kid who has moxie and is loyal to the end and is not one to give in or give up.

Unique: She hides behind her sarcastic wit.

Character: Abigail

Logline: Abigail (dual protagonist) is a free spirit who is fun-loving, energetic, and makes decisions with her emotions and only interferes in people’s lives with the best of intentions.

Unique: She makes the experience worthwhile in her zany, high-spirited way.

Character: Brandi

Logline: Brandi (antagonist) is the boss of the local junior high cool clique whose goals are far more important than anyone’s hurt feelings and is unconcerned when she ruffles a few feathers or steps on some toes.

Unique: If someone gets in her path, she will be blunt and brash and mow down anyone to obtain her goal.

[Tully Archer]

Hi Will,

This sounds delightful. I’m curious, is it meant to be animated?

[Mahee Sanapareddy]

Mahee’s Intentional Lead Characters

My Vision – I want to be a great writer who is well-respected and recognized in the industry, with successful books published and blockbuster movies produced. I want to create a successful movie franchise that audiences all over the world will love, rave about, look forward to, and continue to enjoy many years from now.

What I learned from doing this assignment is to have my lead and supporting characters make up the important pieces of the puzzle and deliver powerfully on my concept.

Character: Trevon Campbell

Logline: Trevon Campbell (protagonist) is a young black kid who must embark on an interdimensional journey to find the assassin who killed his father.

Unique: His unwavering quest to seek the ultimate truth puts him on a path of self-discovery.

Character: Sean Madden

Logline: Sean Madden (protagonist) is a reluctant interdimensional traveler who must use his abilities to assist Trevon in his pursuit of the assassin.

Unique: He is a dimension hopper, often finding himself in dangerous and uncharted waters, facing unforeseen consequences.

Character: 1ONTAE

Logline: 1ONTAE (antagonist) is a sinister Dark lord who is determined to do anything to keep Trevon away from realizing the ultimate truth.

Unique: 1ONTAE is a ruthless power monger who is willing to destroy anyone that stands in his way.

[Tully Archer]

Hi Mahee,

This is neat. I’m curious, what did the supervillain have against this guy’s dad?

[Maureen Tilyou]

Nice!

[Ron Johnson]

Ron’s Intentional Lead Characters

My Vision: I want a space that is dedicated to writing, so I can have an entire wall for notecard storyboarding. I want my projects to advance in competitions and then be requested by the studios. I want to see those projects in festivals, in theaters, on streaming platforms. I want writing and producing to be my full time job.

What I learned doing this assignment is having a strong title helps me focus on getting started on my main characters to fit the title which should work with my pitch.

Character: Eddie

Logline: Eddie is a forklift operator who gets caught up in a local drug operation.

Unique:Lives life unaware of past childhood trauma

Antagonist:Dirty Cop

Logline:Dirty cop is a DEA/State Police officer who uses his position to gain power and Money

Unique:doesn’t fear being caught.

[Tully Archer]

Hi Ron,

I’m curious about your dirty cop who isn’t afraid of getting caught. Is that because the entire department is so corrupt that nobody who might be the one to catch him would care? So… it’s not really “caught” per se?

[Tully Archer]

Tully’s Intentional Lead Characters

(FEARLY BELOVED, a horror/comedy: An engaged couple on the verge of a breakup is brought together again by the daily challenges of living in a haunted house.)

KAVISH MANDAL is engaged to Lacey Peterson, and buys the house in a panic.

LACEY PETERSON is engaged to Kavish Mandal, and becomes obsessed with solving the ghost’s problem.

MATTHEW WEITZEL is a ghost, with clear unfinished business.

KAVISH is an accountant who feels his fiancé slipping away but responds with frantic energy instead of listening to her or telling her what he really wants.

LACEY is a grocery store employee whose family has bad tall poppy syndrome but who is desperate for a change and can’t see the forest or the trees.

MATTHEW is dead, and going through the same daily routine he did for the last 30 years of his life, which essentially ended the day his wife went missing.

[Natasha Paris]

Hi Tully,

Your story sounds like a lot of fun! I’d watch it! Great work on exploring so many of your characters!

[Tully Archer]

Thank you!! 🙂

[Maureen Tilyou]

Maureen’s Intentional Lead Characters.

MY
VISION: By nurturing fun and curiosity in the writing process,
I will do my very best to create a successful writing career full of
love, full of awe, full of productivity, and full of joy!

What
I learned doing this assignment is I need to overcome a little fear
that my characters may be wrong if I don’t let them come out through the writing.
My fear and I are now jumping into this process. 😉

Character:
Daniel

Logline:
Daniel is brilliant hacker, but also a compulsive, paranoid recluse who is forced out of his ‘safe cave’ only when he discovers a hidden plot to consolidate world power and trick nations into giving up their
sovereignty.

Unique:
The tension between his intelligence and his emotional responses
creates a unique way of looking at and confronting the of the world
around him, including problem solving.

Character:
Gideon

Logline:
Gideon is a world renowned Quantum Physicist and Professor who was
Daniel’s mentor in Quantum Mechanics. Loved Daniel like the son
he never had, but may betray him.

Unique:
A down to earth academic and renaissance man who maintains a deep
fascination with the universe and everything in it.

Character:
Johanna:

Logline:
Johanna is a Fusion Physicist married to Gideon, past professor to
Daniel, jealous of Daniel’s relationship to Gideon.

Unique:
Brilliant, Complicated, Enigmatic, Powerful Woman. Where Gideon
delights in the mysteries of the Universe, Johanna fears them and
wants to control them.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 9 months ago by  Maureen Tilyou. Reason: Unwanted font characters
• This reply was modified 1 year, 9 months ago by  Maureen Tilyou.

[Tully Archer]

Oooh, this sounds like a very strong triangle situation!

[Maureen Tilyou]

Thanks Tully!

[Jim Kanter]

Jim’s Intentional Lead Characters

My Vision: I want to be so much better that I look forward to writing and become much more productive.

What I learned doing this assignment is to be open to lots of different ways to consider how to make the characters more unique and fit the story better.

Character: John

Logline: John loves being a superhero, so when he loses his superpowers he goes on a quest to restore them.

Unique: He has always been someone whose mission in life has always been to protect and help others.

Character: Jane

Logline: Also an ex-superhero, Jane is John’s wife and joins him on his quest to restore their superpowers and their marriage.

Unique: She is incredibly strong, resilient and independent, torn between what she wants for herself and what others need.

Character: Ernest

Logline: Jane’s older brother who is also an ex-superhero and joins them on their road trip.

Unique: As capable and accomplished as he is, he always felt inferior to his younger sister.

[Tully Archer]

Noice, noice, I’m very curious what Jane wants? You said she’s torn between that and something else, what is that?

[Jim Kanter]

She’s torn between knowing that she has a remarkable gift that allows her to help others, but it also means she doesn’t have privacy and opportunity to just have a normal family out of the limelight. Not everyone wants to be a celebrity.

[Anna Burroughs-Merrill]

My personal goals: to get my writing mojo back.

What I learned doing this assignment: I’d already given significant thought to the main characters, but this helped me flesh out a few minor characters.

Title: La Sirène (The Mermaid)

Genre: Thriller

Concept: A Coast Guard maverick suspects that his wheel-chair-bound oceanography professor, who holds the fate of his career in her hands, is involved in a series of terrorist attacks against poachers by killer dolphins.

PROTAGONIST:

• Jacob Staats
• Character Logline: A Coast Guard maverick who must complete environmental certification in order to hang onto his current job.
• Unique: he’s a former surfman who can pilot any ship straight through the straits of hell.

Note: the term “maverick” denotes a former enlisted soldier who was elevated to the rank of officer, usually due to valor or a highly specialized skill.

ANTAGONIST 1:

• Lorelai Saba
• Character Logline: Jacob’s wheel-chair bound oceanography professor has a background in training dolphins – and a possible motive – for the recent eco-terror attacks on fishermen.
• Unique: Shh! Don’t tell anybody. She’s really a mermaid.

ANTAGONIST 2 (Triangle character):

• Identity unknown
• Character Logline: An eco-terrorist who communicates with dolphins to coordinate bombings of poacher’s ships.
• Unique: The terrorist remains in the shadows.

[Maureen Tilyou]

Love it! I suspected she might be a mermaid. Can’t wait to see how this develops!