Post day 14 Assignment Here

[Emmanuel Sullivan]

Emmanuel’s Act 2 Middle Scenes

What I learned doing this assignment is setting up the protagonist’s roadblocks is an engaging way to reveal intrigue as a story progresses. It’s similar to our own lives when we reach a block in what we’re attempting to accomplish and have to figure out a way to solve it.

[Kimbal Thompson]

30 Day Script Lesson 14: Kimbal Thompson’s Finish Act 1 09.20.21

What I learned doing this assignment is that the further into the script, the more opportunities that arise..

ASSIGNMENT

1. Outline Key Scenes 2 & 3.

KEY SCENE 2: Rethink everything: Rory’s story begins after his prison escape goes to find the horse and finds it missing; meanwhile – Rory Background and following his escape

KEY SCENE 3: Finding the package, tsking it home, unwrapping it, Kai finds the Cache and proceeds to see if he can uncover it’s origin.

…in process

2. Write Key Scene 2: Protagonist takes on a plan and executes it.

PH Devise way for Rory background:

From New Jersey, rough childhood, moved with divorced parent to Hawaii while in lower grade, picked on in school, doesn’t like Hawaiian kids, hates scouts. Despite being in trouble, enlisted in Air Force at 18, in Guam, court marshalled for what he thought was performing a good deed.. Arrested in Hawaii for major crime and incarcerated. Careful to not give much information on source of cache that he has hidden to insure his future once out of prison…

… In process

3. Write Key Scene 3: Not only does their plan fail, but Kai finds the horse is patched, uncovers the patch to find a treasure and looks to discover from where it originated….

4. ..in progress

[Lee Tidball]

Lee’s Act 2 Middle Scenes

What I learned doing this assignment is…That doing eight pages today in just an hour more than I did five yesterday is probably not bad.

Outline – Key Scene 2

BEGINNING

Milly and Justin read the instructions the next morning.
They have to be at a certain GPS coordinate across the state in two hours.
They start out in the truck, but the dirt bike in the bed in back.

MIDDLE

They quickly run out of gas; hole in the gas line from the sniper’s bullet the night before.
They unload the dirt bike, continue.
After some time, they lose GPS signal. They have no map now.

END

They get lost, etc. Finally get to the right coordinates two hours late.

Outline – Key Scene 3

BEGINNING

They meet Granny Sue there. She’s pissed. They’re behind schedule.

MIDDLE

She wonders why they used cars, etc. Milly could have made herself big, then used her leaping/flying ability to get there in way less time.

END

Janus congratulates Marcus. He’s miniaturized all the weapons that he wanted him to. He figured someone would have found him by now.
Janus makes plans to leave soon—for Washington DC.

THE SCRIPT

INT. JUSTIN’S HOUSE – DAY

Milly quietly paws through cupboards and the fridge, looks for something for breakfast.

JUSTIN

Wait! Wait, I’m here.

Justin nearly stumbles on the stairway as he comes down. He’s dressed in nerdy jammies.

Milly giggles as he hurries into the kitchen.

JUSTIN

What’s so funny? Just because I’m not some clod that sleeps in an old T-shirt and yesterday’s underwear.

Milly’s got a woman’s bathrobe on over whatever’s underneath.

JUSTIN

You look a lot better in that than my mom. And speaking of Mom…

He nudges Milly aside from the cupboards.

JUSTIN

She’d be mortified and totally pissed if anything were out of place when she gets home, so I’ll handle the breakfast chores.

INT. JUSTIN’S HOUSE – DINING ROOM – LATER

Justin presents Milly with two small pancakes and a big one made up to look like Mickey Mouse, garnished with sausage links.

JUSTIN

A specialty of mine taught to me by my sage father.

He brings butter and syrup. They dig in. As they eat…

JUSTIN

So, you rested enough to tell me anything more about last night?

Milly squirms a little as she eats.

MILLY

I don’t know anything about what happened last night. Seriously, I don’t. It almost seems like just a bad dream now.

JUSTIN

Well trust me, it was bad, but it wasn’t just a dream. So let’s start from the top. The guys that flattened the door. Who were they?

MILLY

I don’t know. They freaked me out though.

JUSTIN

The scream of the century that disabled all of them, and me too.

MILLY

I was just scared, that’s all. I don’t know.

JUSTIN

Well I don’t either, because I’ve seen you scared and heard you scream before, and that never happened to me.

Milly just keeps eating…slowly.

JUSTIN

Okay, the crazy old lady with the super-duper leaf blower who said she was your Granny Sue.

MILLY

I’ve never seen her before. My dad has never mentioned someone named Granny Sue.

JUSTIN

And the instructions? “Make you small”, “make me small”, becoming tiny people.

Milly just shakes her head, continues to eat.

JUSTIN

Let me guess. You don’t know–

MILLY

Look, Justin, I was just following the damn instructions, that’s all,

MILLY

and freaking out right along with you. I don’t know anything about anything!

JUSTIN

(one more try)

When you threw me across the room?

MILLY

I had no idea that was going to happen, but you definitely deserved it.

JUSTIN

Point taken, I’m sure, but–

MILLY

I don’t want to talk about it, okay?!

JUSTIN

Obviously something to be put off for another time. But speaking of instructions…

Justin gets up, grabs the rolled-up sheet of paper that they’d read from the night before. He returns to his seat, reads as he eats.

JUSTIN

Well, we’ve got the first two things right. We went to bed, and now we’re eating breakfast. So now, let’s see…

Milly tries to grab the paper from him.

JUSTIN

Uh-uh-uh. Finish your breakfast.

EXT. JUSTIN’S HOUSE – DAY

Milly and Justin walk out with a fair-sized cooler, a grocery bag, and Justin has a small gym bag as well.

He’s dressed in camos like he’s going on an expedition. Milly’s in her same clothes from the day before.

In the back of the pick-up the dirt bike is securely fastened.

JUSTIN

You got the bag for your clothes, right? The instructions say your place won’t be swarming with cops yet.

The truck drives away.

EXT. MILLY’S HOUSE – MOMENTS LATER

The truck stops. Milly gets out. The house, while flattened, hasn’t burned.

Milly’s chest of draws still stands in what’s left of her room. She bags some clothes, dashes back to the truck.

It pulls out.

EXT. JUSTIN’S TRUCK – DAY

It moves quickly down a lonely two-lane highway. Breath-taking views of giant mountain ranges span both sides of it.

MILLY

I’ve got the GPS coordinates locked into my phone like the instructions say. It’s almost two hundred miles away–

JUSTIN

And we’re supposed to be there in less than three hours. A great excuse to make some time!

The truck speeds way up.

JUSTIN

Relax, Mills. It’s daytime, there’s almost nobody on the road, and I’ll see any curves in the road coming from five miles away. And no one’s shooting at us!

EXT. JUSTIN’S TRUCK (MOVING) – AN HOUR LATER

The truck sputters to a stop on the shoulder. Justin and Milly get out.

JUSTIN

How in the hell could I be out of gas? It was three-quarters full.

MILLY

Over here.

Justin moves to where Milly is, near the truck’s gasoline intake opening. She points to a clean-as-a-whistle bullet hole near it.

JUSTIN

Shit.

MILLY

Probably went right on through into the gas tank.

JUSTIN

Jesus. We’re lucky the whole thing didn’t blow last night.

Milly gives him a “what now” look.

JUSTIN

I just so happen to have remembered the emergency credit card folder that Dad keeps in the house for just these kinds of moments.

He pulls out an AAA membership card, punches a number into his phone. As it rings…

JUSTIN

A tow will be here in no time.

INT. JUSTIN’S TRUCK – LATER

Justin and Milly sit glumly. Justin checks his watch.

JUSTIN

Well, maybe in a half hour. Damn! One forgets that the nearest settlement of any kind is over fifty miles away.

Milly sits quietly.

MILLY

It’s okay. There’s nothing else we can do.

JUSTIN

We’ll get behind…

MILLY

You know, this morning when you were asking me all those questions. I lied to you about one of them.

Justin turns with interest.

MILLY

I really didn’t have any idea that I’d throw you across the room, but I can do some pretty weird things like that. Watch this.

She looks to her phone, which is in the console. Suddenly, it whooshes into her hand, which is near the side door window.

JUSTIN

Whoa! Do that again.

Milly looks to the car keys in the ignition. They pull themselves out of the starter, fly into her other hand.

Justin looks to her in amazement.

MILLY

I really don’t know how I can do it, but it’s kinda cool, huh?

JUSTIN

You mean, you’ve got…powers or something? How in the hell…

MILLY

All I know is that a lot of times–and you can’t tell anyone about this ever, okay so swear it–

Justin nods.

JUSTIN

No one. Ever.

MILLY

A lot of times, when my dad used to give me a hug, he says something like “my dear little alien” or something. Weird, huh?

There’s a knock on Justin’s window. It’s the tow truck driver.

EXT. HIGHWAY – MOMENTS LATER

Milly and Justin, helmeted and leather-jacketed, with a small container of food and water tied on, race away on the dirt bike and the tow truck driver drives away with Justin’s car.

EXT. GAS STATION – DAY

Milly fills up Justin’s tank. He bounds out of a restroom, hops on the dirt bike. Milly jumps on. They leave.

MILLY

(as they move away)

We’re not going to make it, you know.

JUSTIN

Just you watch! Hang on tight!

He guns the engine. The dirt bike zooms away at scary speed.

EXT. NARROW HIGHWAY – DAY

Justin and Milly speed along. They pass a sign–The Extraterrestrial Highway.”

MILLY

What’s that mean?

Justin points to the barren desert off to the left.

JUSTIN

Over there! Area 51! You know, where the government’s supposed to have all the ETs locked up and people see UFOs all the time.

MILLY

Freaky-weird, huh?

EXT. NARROW HIGHWAY – LATER

Justin pulls the dirt bike off onto a dirt road. It heads off toward some dry mountains to their right.

JUSTIN

Is this the place?

Milly checks her GPS. No map. No bars on the phone.

MILLY

There’s no cell service here. I’ve lost it.

JUSTIN

Well, I know it’s somewhere around here. How much time we got left?

MILLY

We’re a half hour late.

JUSTIN

Hell. It’s all cuckoo anyway.

He guns the motor and they head to the mountains.

EXT. DIRT ROAD – MOMENTS LATER

Justin stops again.

JUSTIN

This doesn’t look right.

He looks around.

JUSTIN

There! The Lava Craters.

He points to a moonscape sort of area covered with craters, brown lava flows far in the distance to the north.

JUSTIN

I remember now it was the back road to that place. We turned too soon. Hang on. We’re going cross-country.

They take off across the barren, bouncy desert.

EXT. NEAR LAVA CRATERS – LATER

Justin pulls up the dirt bike to a lone odd-looking service truck that sits by the side of the road.

JUSTIN

Hey! We’re here! Anyone in there?

Granny Sue slowly gets out of the truck, comes over to them.

GRANNY SUE

You’re late!

INT. JANUS’S UNDERGROUND COMPOUND – SAME TIME

An exhausted Marcus flops into a chair. He’s handcuffed by a soldier. Janus comes over from a huge control panel area.

JANUS

Finished, I see. Wonderful! And not even any interruptions.

He preens around Marcus, who sweats, pants, flops back in the chair.

JANUS

I’d half expected that at least one of your…family, shall we say, would have been here by now, fighting with my perimeter guards to try and rescue you. Too bad. And now I have all the items I need for my little operation to succeed. So I guess I don’t really need you anymore either.

He nods to the soldier.

JANUS

Take him back to his cell.

(to Marcus)

I’m not fool enough to kill you. You could be so useful to me in the future.

He leans in close just before the soldier hauls Marcus away.

JANUS

So sorry no one made it here in time to rescue you before you completed your task. Apparently they just don’t care.

[Ed Lusk]

Ed’s Middle Scenes

What I learned doing this assignment is how much these scenes help cover the dreaded Act 2 doldrums with entertaining scenes that propel the story forward with elevated drama and deeper character reveals than I ever written before.