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Lesson 4
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<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Subject: Monica’s 10 Most Interesting Things
What I learned is when you look at your script from this perspective, it helps to see where you might need to re-write portions of it.
1. Go through your project and see which of these specific hooks you have:
A.
What is most unique about your villain and hero? <div>Hero:
A veteran with PTSD who sets up his own security service. Doesn’t believe
in extraterrestrial life until it stands in front of him!Villain:
Wants to rule the world. Will stop at nothing to do so, including murder
and mayhem.B.
Major hook of your opening scene?Hook:
Trying to make amends for all the times he put country before family but
his PTSD keeps getting in the way.C.
Any turning points?Loses
his family under suspicious circumstances.Meets
an alien – has to now question his belief system.Finds
out just how many people want to rule the world.D.
Emotional dilemma?Guilt
for not being there for his family and now they’re gone.E.
Major twists?Don’t
need a plane when you have a saucer!The
artefact can change the past.The
artefact was made by the alien, and he’s come back to change the past to
fix the future.F.
Reversals? Hero
is reluctant to help the villain and the alien.G.
Character betrayals?The
villain’s buddies betray him to get their hands on the artefact.One
of the hero’s “employee’s” changes sides.H.
Or any big surprises?Becomes
friends with the alien.The
alien changes the past to bring the hero’s family back.2. Make a list of any other things in your script that could interest a producer.
· Strong female secondary character who befriends the alien.
· Hero ends up in the past chasing the villain who jumped into a timeline. And trying not to do anything to change the future.
· The alien likes strawberry ice cream.
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Lynn’s 10 Most Interesting Things
I LEARNED that I not only did this list help me find some interesting things (maybe not all 10 are great), but the whole impetus for writing this script (global warming is worsening the freezes) was one of them, and I’d sort of forgotten that.
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GO THROUGH YOUR PROJECT AND SEE WHICH OF THESE SPECIFIC HOOKS YOU HAVE:
A. WHAT IS MOST UNIQUE ABOUT YOUR VILLAIN AND HERO? Antagonist Layo, a whacky misanthrope and alt energy inventor, wants to save the earth, but is unwilling to reveal his inventions to help save the earth.
B. MAJOR HOOK OF YOUR OPENING SCENE? Ellie unsuccessfully tries to get students eco-concerned, while Jim wants to lay guy-shy Ellie.
C. ANY TURNING POINTS? Worst-ever Texas freeze and grid failure brings the wedding to a halt
D. EMOTIONAL DILEMMA?
– Should Jim shaft his uncle and mom, go with Ellie, and follow his dream? ((Mack says, I warned you not to get involved))
– Should Ellie give up her life goals of saving the earth and helping Layo and go along with Jim, help him struggle with
his Uncle’s anti-environmental business?
E. MAJOR TWISTS? Jim is not obligated to Uncle Fred. His mom and Fred just wanted him to grow up.
F1. REVERSALS? The weather goes from extraordinarily hot to extraordinarily cold. Either way the characters have to “weather it.”
F2. REVERSALS (CHARACTER JOURNEYS):
– Ellie goes from shy and somewhat compliant to taking charge of Jim and the situation when she comes to understand her father abandonment wound & eco-despair and how she needs to confront rather than shrink back.
– Jim goes from playful playboy to serious young man intent on marriage and saving the earth with Ellie.
– Fred goes from hating alternative energy to being intrigued and willing to help Layo.
– Layo becomes open to engaging the world.
G. CHARACTER BETRAYALS? Fred betrayed Jim after his father died AND Layo decades ago.
H. OR ANY BIG SURPRISES? The big Texas freezes are not proof against global warming, but are actually caused by it.
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Amy’s 10 Most Interesting Things
What I learned doing this assignment is finding the hooks in your script will help you come up with a much better pitch.
Go through your project and see which of these specific hooks you have:
1. Stephanie is the quintessential princess who’s not actually a princess.
2. Stephanie’s efforts to discredit the historian are outed to the press when her private detective betrays her.
3. Stephanie’s efforts to try to legally stop the rightful princess from taking the throne are discovered when her lawyer betrays her.
4. Stephanie must give up what she loves (being the princess) to do the right thing (give up her royal position to the rightful princess.
5. Stephanie and Jack go from hating one another to falling in love.
6. Stephanie discovers the rightful princess living as a homeless woman on her walk through town one night.
7. Bruce, the historian, turns out to be related to the rightful princess calling his motives into question.
8. Jack’s father decides to step down and make Jack king when he realizes that he’s finally matured.
9. Even though Julie is related to Bruce, she fires him and banishes him from her life for being unscrupulous.
10. Jack and Stephanie’s relationship takes a turn for the better when Jack surprises her with toys and clothes for the orphanage.
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Renee’s 10 Most Interesting Things
What I learned doing this assignment is in order to have a pitch that will hook producers you have to find the gold nuggets in your script.
1. Most unique thing about the hero or villain?
* hero is a deeply troubled woman who struggles with drug addiction and alcoholism.
* villain is a mysterious creature that can tear a person apart in seconds.
2. Major Hook of the Opening Scene
* we can see the kind of damage the creature can do in seconds. Sets up the antagonist’s motivation.
3. Turning Points
* 1st Act – One of the team members wanders from the group and is killed by the creature.
* 2nd Act – They realize they aren’t dealing with an ordinary forest animal.
* 3rd Act – Claire is taken alive by the creature.
4. Emotional dilemma
* Claire must decide to remain sober and save her niece, or give in to her disease and risk the life of her niece and destroy the fragile bond with her sister.
5. Major Twists
* The missing girl is not Claire’s niece but her daughter.
*Claire must not only fight the creature but fight Mark as well.
6. Reversals
* I don’t have any reversals.
7. Character Betrayals
* Mark is willing to sacrifice Maddie for revenge on the creature.
* Adam is working with Mark.
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WIM2 Module 10 Lesson 4 – The 10 Most Interesting Things
Lisa Long’s 10 Most Interesting Things
What I learned doing this assignment is there are many reasons that can be pulled out from the story that are interesting and important to selling the script.
10 Most Interesting Things –
1. The villain is the hero’s mother.
2. Molly is left with a man she doesn’t know. Who is he? Why would her mom abandon her with him?
3. Molly meets a renowned choreographer who decides to help her dance which causes her to lie to Edgar who has forbidden her to dance.
4. April has scoliosis but doesn’t tell her family about her surgeries.
5. Mars gets permission for Molly to go to NYC from April without Edgar’s knowledge.
6. Edgar has been hurt by April; does he let her back into his life?
7. Edgar sees Molly dance and realizes he can’t stop her dream.
8. Jane dies unexpectedly.
9. Small cast.
10. Set in only two locations.
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MODULE TEN LESSON FOUR
FRAN’S 10 MOST INTERESTING THINGS
WHAT I LEARNED: This took some thought, having to go through the script almost scene by scene in my head to come up with something that the producer would find interesting. But there were a few in there that still made me smile as I thought about them. If I can do that with my scenes, I think the producer can, too.
MY VISION: I want to write great movies. Movies that are magical, movies that move people and tell the truth. I want to write movies that stars will want to be in.
What’s interesting about my steamboat race is that it’s a true story. While the love story between Charles and Frances, even though they were real people, is but speculation, a fanciful whim created in my own heart hoping that their “love story” would make my three and one half day, grueling race a more interesting piece of entertainment. At times, when I was writing my scenes, I did learn how boring it was for the passengers. It was hard to come up with some great things to make the story sing. But in the end, I had to tell the truth about the major part of the story. The race and what happened on each steamer was true to the best of my research findings. As for Charles’ story, he was an obscure part of the grand scheme until I uncovered his name in the annals of an old history book that began my journey to discovering what this man was all about. There are still many gaping holes, but I find that the one thing that really did tell the truth about the real Charles Knapp were his eyes. There was no mistaking the look in them in one of his last photos. The man, at some point, had a major heart break, but what was written about him told me he also had an amazing life. A life that should be up on the major screen and celebrated. After all, newspapermen and women celebrate a part of that life every year as they attend the annual Grid Iron Dinner. I am going to do everything I can to make his life’s story come to life. So that everyone, not just the pages of an old history book know, are the only things that know anything about him.
THE 10 most interesting things about my script:
1. Charles wears his broken heart on his sleeve. He acts like a proper milktoast, but he has a strength, fortitude inside him that allows him to go on no matter what.
Frances is a “thoroughly modern Millie” type, a free spirit, though still caught in the dilemma of the times she was born in.
Albert is a gentleman, but a cad, a diametrically opposed soul.
Captain Cannon is a practical, pragmatic man, but an ardent self-doubter. Subdued.
Captain Leathers is a big blowhard, with a soft heart. Has a major blind spot—his own self worth and expertise.
John Kay is a very self-confident peacock
2. Who was Charles Welbourne Knapp? Why should we care about him? How is did his story come to be entwined with the “race of the century”?
We all kind of know the story about the race between the Natchez and the Robert E. Lee. It is celebrated in song. But what really happened during the race? Who were the captains who took part?
Charles wears his broken heart on his sleeve. But, in the end, he perseveres and he goes on to become a celebrated newspaperman.
3. Turning points include Charles spurning Frances, the boiler scene when the Lee is almost lost in a terrible accident that almost happened, Albert’s intrusion and then Albert’s advances, Frances kind of accepting Albert’s advances/proposal and then Albert’s harsh treatment/abuse of Frances.
Charles in the middle of the race discovers he has feelings for Frances. Suddenly, he finds he has a very serious rival in Albert.
Leathers realizes he’s losing the race though, at first, he won’t admit it even to himself.
The FOG rolling in, the boiler ready to burst, a major cooling pipe leaking. When Albert hurts Frances. Getting to Tower Island.
4. Twists include Albert’s early proposal of marriage, Albert’s hurting Frances, Charles finding he’s in love with Frances. And Charles doesn’t know he loves Frances until he’s left the Robert E. Lee and finds Albert on the Main Deck proposing to her as he watches them from the shores of Memphis.
5. Betrayals? This one was hard. But Albert never shows his temper until he learns Frances had meddled in his business. Both captains were betrayed by the great summer weather turning into a cold, treacherous fog for them to trundle through. The Mississippi betrays Leathers. He thinks he knows the river very well. The river says differently in the race. And Leathers is betrayed by his own steamer. His brand new, state of the art steamer. It’s not the perfect, state of the art creation he paid for.
6. Some surprises include John Kay getting thrown into the Mississippi by Leathers. The first proposal of marriage to Frances by Albert. And then the second proposal of marriage between Charles and Frances. We also meet Robert E. Lee’s daughter in the final scenes of the story.
AND THEN THE FOG!
7. Emotional dilemmas include Charles’ broken heart and his discovering his love for Frances. Leathers refuses to believe he can be defeated by Cannon, yet he sees it’s possible every mile up the river. Cannon cannot help, but chastise himself for racing, especially when he still feels responsible for the loss of his Louisiana, and for feeling he’s put his crew and passengers’ lives at risk because of it.
8. Reversals The Mississippi is a treacherous river in spots. And when the water levels are low most certainly a river you don’t want to be traveling on as a novice. The two captains suffer reversals along the river: faulty equipment, snags and hazards lying beneath the waters, daring tricks and feats of daring to up their game in the race, some successful, some not so. And then the constant threat of landing on sandbars and not getting out. And the constant threat of a boiler exploding ending the race and the lives of the people on board.
This is what I came up with for my race. I’m waiting to watch the tv shows on Blackbeard’s treasure on the history channel so I can go back to my Blackbeard’s treasure script in a short while. Thanks for understanding. This one, in the meantime, needs to get finished.
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Ten Most Interesting Things:
What I learned is the emotional dilemma could be stronger.
1. Uniqueness of Villian and Hero:
Villian Gloria: Narcissistic; manipulates/blackmails Michael to get him to come back to her.
Hero Michael: survived an abusive childhood and foster homes. Trust issues- wants to be loved.
2. Major Hook in 1st scene: Michael and DJ arrive at their concert in a stolen Lamborghini. Scene 2: Onstage, Michael spies his high school sweetheart, then suffers a massive nosebleed and is rushed to the hospital.
3. Turning Point: Michael is diagnosed w Stage IV cancer. His world is turned upside down, from rock star to cancer patient.
4. Major Twists: Anni accidentally discovers that Rose is not Michael’s biological daughter. Gina confesses she is not Michael’ sister, but is his birth mother. Father Joe leaves the priesthood to marry nurse Anni. Anni confides she was once married and her baby was stillborn. Michael wants to be with Seraphine, but she was just proposed to by her BF, Russell.
5. Emotional Dilemma: Anni is afraid to love again. Joe suffers extreme guilt for causing his father’s death. Michael is torn between his fear of Gloria outing his secrets and his soulmate, Seraphine. Joe must decide between leaving the Catholic church and risking if Anni will choose him. Gina must decide whether or not to tell Michael the truth- that she is his mother.
6. Reversals: Michael goes from confidant to terrified to step back onstage after Gloria publically betrays him. Russell goes from Sera’s lover to punching out Michael. Gloria realizes she couldn’t have been there for Michael and thanks Sera, saying Michael made the right choice.
7. Big surprises: I think the biggest surprise is that Father Joe, Anni, buddy DJ, all thought they were there to help Michael with his cancer and treatments, but all alone, Michael was the angel in the background, creating a legacy of love for all of them.
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