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Lesson 6
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What I learned doing this assignment is laying out my screenplay’s structure first, the adding the layer of the profound moments.
- Tell us your Transformational
Logline.
- As a 93-year-old veteran
chases love with a captivating younger woman, he unwittingly jeopardizes
his own family ties. In a poignant tale of deception and redemption, he
discovers that the family he almost lost is the one he has needed all
along.
- Tell us who the main character
will be.- Change Agent: Judith, the
43-year-old caregiver/con artist. - Transformational
Character(s): Em, the retired veteran and Kimberly, Em’s daughter.
[MM1] Ordinary World:
We meet our 93-year-old veteran, Em, living a lonely life and yearning for love and family.
The inciting incident occurs when he encounters a captivating younger female caregiver, Judith, sparking a desire for companionship.
[MM2] Denial of the Call:
Initially, Em denies the unconventional nature of his newfound connection and the potential consequences.
As Em becomes increasingly involved with Judith, he inadvertently becomes locked into a conflict that jeopardizes his family ties.
[MM3] First Attempts:
Seeking fulfillment, Em turns to the traditional means of solving his loneliness, reaching out to his only friends Arthur and Michelle. Jackie and his neighbor Victor.
However, these attempts fail, closing off conventional avenues for resolution, leaving Em with limited options.
[MM4] Bigger Plan Gone Wrong:
Determined to find love, Em hatches a bigger plan, unaware of the true intentions of the captivating Judith.
Em proposes to Judith. She accepts but first she must get divorced from her current husband. As the supposed divorce that Em paid for is going on, the two plan a vacation to Em’s past residences but also to move into a two bedroom together.
The plan goes horribly wrong due to crucial information about Judith’s motives that Em lacked and Em’s failing mental capabilities due to his extreme age.
[MM5] Confronting the Need to Change:
Judith and Em move into a two-bedroom apartment together. Immediately Em confronts Judith about not sleeping in the same bed as him. Weeks later Judith has an unannounced friend over to cook dinner. Em is not invited to the dinner which they eat in the other bedroom. Faced with this new arrangement and realization and the consequences of his actions, Em realizes his own weaknesses and the need for change.
Judith makes an excuse that she is sick and cannot take the vacation they had planned months ago. Em begins to realize that Judith is not who she seems. He retreats to reflect and internalize the lessons, acknowledging that he cannot continue the same path. He goes through the classic stages of grief, denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and finally, acceptance. Judith has taken Em for all his money.
[MM6] New Plan with Change:
Em spawns a new plan, this time embracing change in his approach to love and family. After only two months together, Em notifies Judith that he cannot continue to live with her and must move back into a one-bedroom apartment.
As Em puts the plan into action, he is nearly destroyed by a revelation from his request to Kimberly to give him back the inheritance money he gave her six months prior. Kimberly refuses, thus creating a major, almost irreconcilable divide. One that threatens the family bond between Em and Kimberly forever. Kimberly is correct to assume the money will go to Judith.
[MM7] Revelation and Turning the Tables:
The revelation transforms the veteran’s understanding of love and family, giving him the strength to face the conflict.
After Kimberly’s refusal to bail out Em, he has only one option, to stand on his own two feet with the help of his rollator of course.
He rejoins the battle against the wishes of his family, friends, and his growing awareness with renewed fervor, turning the tables on the forces threatening his family ties. Em continues with Judith, first bailing her out of jail on a shoplifting arrest, paying to get her towed car out of storage then providing one last payment for her rent and car payment.
[MM8] Resolution and New World:
Em overcomes Judith’s blatant motive to not be involved with him when immediately after he gives her money for rent and a car payment, which she had her daughter pick up because she was supposedly sick, she blocks his number making it impossible for Em to call or contact her. She cuts him off cold turkey right before the Thanksgiving holidays. This is the final, hurtful, and devastating straw for Em. He now knows Judith never had any intention of marrying him and creating a family with him.
The story concludes with Em, now transformed and understanding why Kimberly refused to send the money, reconciles with Kimberly thus moving into a new world of genuine connections with Kimberly, realizing that the love he needed was always within reach.
- Tell us your Transformational
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