Lesson 2: Roles that Sell Actors

[Pamela Rice]

PAM’S ACTOR ATTRACTORS!

One-Sentence Vision: I will turn my ideas into produced movies and live a happy, successful life as a writer and industry professional.
What I learned from doing this assignment: I realized that I needed to add more layers to my characters, in order to attract actors.
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EVE GARDNER – Protagonist / Washed-up Graphic Designer in a midlife crisis

1. What about this role would cause an actor to want to be known for it? She undergoes several amazing transformations throughout the movie, both physically and emotionally. From mousy has-been to a force-to-be-reckoned with.

2. What makes this character one of the most interesting characters in your story? Does not give in to fountain-of-youth temptation like the rest of the town, once she realizes the dangers.

3. What are the most interesting actions the Lead could take in the script? She wages war against LeZarde Cosmetics, gathering evidence of the night cream’s danger. She makes an adorable lizard. She paints an amazing self-portrait, that also goes through many transformations.

4. How can you introduce this role in a way that could sell it to an actor? She loses it at her surprise 50th birthday party. She’s a polite person who finally snaps at the culmination of events from a bad day.

5. What could be this character’s emotional range? From a Calm Exterior to Enraged. From Resigned to Inspired.

6. What subtext can the actor play? There is a passionate person beneath her blasé exterior. She is very polite on the surface, but her true feelings show up in her “graphic imagination” (it will appear on screen for the audience, Eve will make mental “edits” like we’re in a Photoshop program.)

7. What’s the most interesting relationships this character can have?
– With Zivia, her best friend since high school, who always seems to outshine her.
– With Henry, the new love interest she meets in the Home Depot where he works.

8. How will this character’s unique voice be presented? Through creativity: she sees things differently than most.

9. What could make this character special and unique? She’s ultimately able to reinvent herself, even without the use of the night cream.
She “re-designs” herself.

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JESSICA LeZARDE – Antagonist / Greedy Cosmetics Entrepreneur

1. What about this role would cause an actor to want to be known for it?
She has many layers: she’s beautiful, greedy, insane… and a part-time Reptilian.

2. What makes this character one of the most interesting characters in your story? She justifies the carnage she orchestrates by telling herself she’s “making the world a more beautiful place.” She will kill to achieve the riches of her dreams.

3. What are the most interesting actions she could take in the script? Eats mice as appetizers. She kills (and covers up the murder of) her company’s research scientist. She hosts eerie, bizarre infomercials for her anti-aging product line.

4. How can you introduce this role in a way that could sell it to an actor? She gives product demos at a home cosmetics party that seems mostly normal (except for some odd mannerisms that will make sense later), then eats a stray mouse when all the guests leave.

5. What could be this character’s emotional range? From Sophisticated to Carnivorous.

6. What subtext can the actor play? She’s beautiful, cultured and elegant on the surface — pure evil on the inside.

7. What’s the most interesting relationships this character can have?
– She has a volatile relationship with her seemingly much older (and wealthy) husband, Louis LeZarde.
– She hooks up with Eve’s cranky Uncle Hank, who transforms himself for her.
– She uses her niece Zivia, a local TV celebrity, in a number of ways.

8. How will this character’s unique voice be presented? With a flowery vocabulary, strange metaphors, and her philosophy re: youth and beauty.

9. What could make this character special and unique? She has a secret, dark past, but won’t let anything get in the way of her success. She looks like a runway model in her mid-thirties, but she’s really 70.
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• This reply was modified 1 year, 4 months ago by  Pamela Rice.
• This reply was modified 1 year, 4 months ago by  Pamela Rice.

[William Whelan]

William Whelan – Actor attractors

Vision: To write a screenplay which will become a successful movie.

What I learned from doing this assignment is to develop a character attractore

Lead Character Name: Liza Valente

Role: Protagonist

1. What about this role would
   cause an actor to want to be known for it?

The role of Liza is the classic transformational character where they leave their old life behind and embrace a new life.

2. What makes this character one
   of the most interesting characters in your story?

The character is three dimensional with a distinct character arc.

3. What are the most interesting
   actions the Lead could take in the script?

Liberating herself from the old-world mafia mentality to adopt a new life.

4. How can you introduce this role
   in a way that could sell it to an actor?

Show the liberated women, assertive, straight forward side of Liza with her first encounter with Professor Shaw.

5. What could be this character’s
   emotional range

Liza would have a panoply of scenes from the assertive and self-confident to the despondent and hopeless.

6. What subtext can the actor
   play?

She must lead a double life is her pursuit of an acting career while still appearing to be an active member of the mafia family.

7. What’s the most interesting
   relationships this character can have?

Her relationship with Professor Shaw who will become her mentor/romantic interest in her pursuit of her acting career.

8. How will this character’s
   unique voice be presented?

She will start out with an uncultured Brooklyn accent and transform into a having a cultured, English accent.

9. What could make this character
   special and unique?

Liza will play Juliet with a hot body, dark hair with blue streaks, copious make-up and a Brooklyn accent.

Lead Character Name: Big Dom Valenti

Role: Antagonist

1. What about this role would
   cause an actor to want to be known for it?

This is the quintessential mafia boss role which would be attractive to several actors with experience in mafia/crime movies.

2. What makes this character one
   of the most interesting characters in your story?

Big Dom will have the character arc of being an old-world mafia boss but have the conflict that his love for his daughter demands that he changes his ways.

3. What are the most interesting
   actions the Lead could take in the script?

Big Dom will be caught between the love for his daughter Liza and preserving the mafia family and its business.

4. How can you introduce this role
   in a way that could sell it to an actor?

Big Dom will be introduced interrogating/torturing a stool pigeon showing his violent old world mafia ways.

5. What could be this character’s
   emotional range.

Big Dom will go from being a violent, vicious mafiosi to a caring, loving father.

6. What subtext can the actor
   play?

The conflict between being a crime boss and a loving father.

7. What’s the most interesting
   relationships this character can have?

Being a caring, loving father to Liza and bringing sympathy and compassion to the role.

8. How will this character’s
   unique voice be presented?

Being a tough guy but also displaying a softer, compassionate.

9. What could make this character
   special and unique?

The combination of a vicious, ruthless side with a compassionate, caring side.

[John P. Hallar]

Subject Line: John P. Hallar’s Actor Attractors.

My vision: To be a successful, highly sought after, highly paid writer who has had multiple movies produced and optioned.

What I learned from doing this assignment is: How to build attractors for actors into a script that actors would like.

Lead Character Name: Melody Burton

Role: (Protagonist/Central Character)

1. What about this role would cause
   an actor to want to be known for it?

1. It’s an emotionally rich
   character which speaks to the actor’s ability. It also challenges stereotypes
   about aging and contributes to a film that depicts helping a noble cause,
   which we all should do.