Lesson 4

[Mark Lynch]

Subject: Marc’s Subtexts Plots

My Vision: Win the Nicholl Fellowship contest and score a 10 rating on the Black List.

What I learned: A variety of subtext plots makes for a more interesting story and keeps the viewer completely engaged.

Title: The Corporation versus Andy Beal
High Concept: A Billionaire, amateur poker player, challenges a notorious group of Las Vegas professionals known as the Corporation, to high-stakes winnings and bragging rights over a period of six years.

1. Fish out of Water: Andy Beal is completely out of his element. He is comfortable in the world of corporate banking and finance but he has no clue what he is doing in the world of high-stakes poker.

2. Superior Position: Andy Beal creates a computer program algorithm to give him an advantage over professional players. Suddenly, Andy starts winning and the professionals can’t figure out how he is doing it.

3. Competitive Agendas: The Corporation feels Andy is a fool and an easy mark to take all of his money. Andy feels the professional players are a bunch of “hicks” and are not as smart as him. On the surface, they are civil in their manner and tone but underneath they are trying to destroy each other.

[Mark]

Looks like you’ve set yourself up with a story rich in potential for tense scenes and escalating stakes. Just one thought, though: Every time I see “Andy Beal” it makes me think of Ally McBeal. And so “The Corporation versus Andy Beal” sounds like a legal drama.

[Mark]

Subject: Mark’s Subtext Plots

My Vision: I am going to work as hard as I can to be a writer who is sought-after for both spec scripts and writing assignments, because people in the industry know the scripts I write will be entertaining, thought-provoking, and emotionally satisfying.

What I learned from doing this assignment is:
What I described as the two Subtext Plots below, I had in my head already before we started this lesson, only I didn’t know exactly what they were. They were just nebulous ideas in my story. Putting labels on these ideas and describing them explicitly gives me a more clear picture of what is going on and will help me write a better story.

Concept: What if a socially awkward college freshman’s daydreams of being an international spy turned out to be real?

Subtext Plot 1: Scheme and Investigation
In Bart’s (MC) fantasy life, Dr. Sometimes is scheming to set up a global satellite system to jam people’s brains so no one can dream anymore. Bart and his spy handler, Simone, are investigating how Dr. Sometimes is going to accomplish this so they can stop him.

Subtext Plot 2: Someone Hides Who They Are
In his real life, Bart thinks Simone is his psychiatrist who is helping him deal with his timidity, social awkwardness, and his penchant for escaping reality into fantasies of being a spy. But Simone really is his spy handler, who, along with her receptionist Penny, are trying to keep Bart believing that his spy life is just a fantasy. The whole spy organization is so secret, they don’t even want Bart to know about it.

[jeffrey jeff glatz glatz]

My Vision: To create commercial studio size films that move people. To create characters that can live forever and bring electrifying memories to those that have watched one of my films.

What I learned from doing this assignment – The subtext is what makes a story rich and deep.

Concept: Descendants of mythical Gods throughout the world secretly live among us today and fight behind the scenes to save mankind from itself.

Major Story Hook: A Columbia University student is the unknowing descendant of Zeus, and she possesses an ancient key that will unlock the past and cause the world to end if its power ends up in the wrong hands.

Subtext Plots-

1. Shock she is a descendant!

2. Distress that she is a Descendant, and she fears she may not be able to do what is necessary.

3. Relationship with James, her new “protector” who is a Descendant.

4. The Power of Man v. the Power of Nature

A. Descendants are broken up into four “tribes” each responsible for their respective elements.

• Earth
• Wind
• Fire
• Water

5. She was “adopted” (placed with family).

• She was whisked away from her birth mother to save her and placed with a family of “protectors” (not Descendants).

6. Nothing is at it appears.

• Descendants exist in our World, but no one knows or can find out.

[Mark]

Yes, this is shaping up to be a rich and deep story.

[Pam Ewing]

My Vision: Professional. Produced. Prolific. Popular.

What I learned: I’m having fun – oops future panic – pushing future issues further out

Concept: Divorcing couple find themselves trying to claim an inheritance in Transylvania.

Subtext and how it plays out:

Subtext Plot 1 – Fish Out of Water

o Snooty socialites in dark Transylvania.

o Surface-driven people in land driven by history and blood.

o American’s who don’t catch on to international intrigue.

Subtext Plot 2 – Competitive Agendas

o Protag wants inheritance to maintain her lifestyle and honor her commitment to her sainted mother.

o Vlad wants to keep it because it funds life. He’s confident he’ll win he plays with different scenarios: lover, relative, demonic overlord, ?

o Ex-husband wants it so he can have a trophy for his time in the marriage. He’s already earned it so it pisses him off to have to fight this new battle for the money.

[Mark]

I like the Fish-Out-of-Water notes. That’s going to generate a lot of conflict and humor.

[Cameron Martin]

Cameron Martin’s Subtext Plot

Vision: To write a story that connects with audiences on a deep, spiritual level, regardless of background, while prioritizing quality time with my family.

What I learned doing this assignment is…I never thought about structuring subtext plots like this. I know my writing tends to have layers of thematic or metaphorical subtext, but they tend to get too confusing. This is a really simple tool to organize your story’s literary layers in a way that makes sense to the reader, and allow the thematic subtext to permeate the script without resorting to longwinded exposition. I brainstormed a bit with all of them. I was surprised by the results of a couple plots I didn’t think would work. I’ll try to maintain an open mind and refer back to this throughout the outlining process to create a story ripe with conflict that the audience can follow from a narrative point of view, and extrapolate deeper meaning on their own.

Concept: A sci-fi retelling of Dante’s Inferno, where an android quests to raise someone she killed back from the dead, while her copy acting as her shadow/conscience wants to murder and replace her as an act of justice.

Subtext plots:

Scheme and Investigation

Janus’ shadow is trying to uncover her origin, but Janus is hiding her past and the event that both created her shadow/copy and killed her friend.

Layering

The biblically inspired world that we see is a farce and only a tiny part of a vast universe of potential

Someone Hides Who They Are

Janus and Calvex hide their power. Janus assumes the part of a broken down robot. Calvex never shows that he can control any machine with his voice, unless it’s absolutely necessary.

Adam hides his “godhood” from others, or hides the secret that he’s a lesser version of himself who made the world

The Fish Out of Water

Janus is from “heaven” (so to speak) and interacts with citizens and denizens from the underworld

Superior Position

Copy wants to kill Janus and is plotting with Adam, but while the audience is privy to this, Janus doesn’t know.

Adam copies/splits himself when in a moral conflict, and kills the weaker version. He’s a warning of what Janus will become.

A Major Cover Up

Like a cult leader or an autocrat, Adam hides the real world from his followers and practitioners in his world, so that they don’t know they’re in a make believe reality.

Adam’s first split/source code is located in the “9th circle.” Janus’ quest to use the underworld’s source code to raise her friend will also raise a second Adam.

Competitive Agendas

On the surface, Copy is helping Janus and they’re working together. Below the surface, Copy is planning to betray Janus, and Janus is planning to assimilate with/delete Copy.

[Mark]

There’s a lot going on here. Looking forward to seeing how it all plays out.

[Cameron Martin]

(Revised)

Subtext Plots

Scheme and Investigation

Janice is hiding the dark past and secret she knows from her copy that’s trying to find out her origins and why she’s dead or died and is born again.

Layering

Null is in the middle of a plot set by Janice to exact vengeance on her attackers, and she’s just one more test created by Calvex to ensure Janice meets her goal.

Competitive Agendas

On the surface – Two versions working together with Calvex’s aid

Beneath the surface – Two versions working to outwit and destroy each other, scheming with Calvex behind the other’s back

[Heather Hood]

Heather’s Subtext Plot

Vision statement: I want to see my scripts optioned this year and turned into movies that profoundly affect the audience long after they leave the theatre.

What I learned from doing this assignment is: by planning your subtext plot(s) your movie plot becomes clearer as well. What seemed like a complicated journey at first became a lot less so once the subplots were clearly defined: suddenly each character’s motivation became clear.

1. Tell us your concept and your choice of one or two of these Subtext Plots.

Concept: An epileptic toddler disappears from her backyard and the local racist Sheriff suspects an Indian drifter is the culprit. As the Sherriff searches for clues to arrest the drifter, the girl’s mother teams up with the drifter and together they follow the almost invisible trail leading to the Forbidden Pass, a place the First Nations refuse to let anyone enter. Their dilemma: risk encountering whatever lurks there or abandon the search.

2. Give us a few sentences on how your Subtext Plot will play out inside this story.

There might be some Superior Position for the audience – they might figure out what took the toddler before the characters do.

Definitely Competitive Agendas between the main characters – between the Sherriff and the mother, who is a perfectionist and needs evidence before action. And between the Sherriff and the drifter.

There’s also the Cover Up of what the local First Nations are hiding in the pass.

[Mark]

This story is becoming more and more mysterious. I like it.

[Sara]

My Vision: I live a wonderfully happy life writing, collaborating and producing multiple Oscar and BAFTA-winning movies with more than enough money for two light and bright homes, each with its own indoor lap pool (heated using eco-friendly technology).

What I learned from doing this assignment is with the cumulative effect of the empowerment practice, I’m completing the assignments more quickly each time. Specifically re subtext, once I looked for subtext plots I became more excited about my story as a whole.

High concept hook: When a man’s memory is wiped in an accident, is it better for him to have good memories that are fake or bad memories that are true?

Main story hook: Cliff was burdened by grief until his memories were wiped in an accident and a new life is created for him by a well-meaning but impulsive cleaner pretending to be a hospital doctor and a cast of other characters she creates for a new happier version of his past.

Subtext plot: Someone hides who they are, scheme and investigation, superior position

How subtext plots play out: Shelley pretends to be a hospital consultant helping Mike to recover his memories, but she is creating false, if happy, memories for him and trying to suppress his real past instead. The audience knows that Shelley is trying to mislead Mike, although they don’t fully understand why. With every flash as Mike tries to access his real memories, the audience pieces together the mystery and tragedy of his past.

On surface: Shelley is being helpful

Under surface: She’s manipulating Mike – she tells herself it’s for his benefit, but it’s also to further her agenda for a romantic connection with him.