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Post Your Lesson 7 Assignment Here
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Becky’s High Speed Beat Sheet. What I
learned doing this assignment is there is stuff I don’t like, seems
corny or not interesting but that is alright ’cause its not done yet.ACT 1
INT. GEM THEATER – DAY
Opening: Dana’s first visit to
THE GEM theater. Sits in the center of the empty theater with the
curtain closed. Dana’s eyes are closed an opened book in her lap. The
stage curtains open to a grand piano being played by a black pianist
and Ade in a sparkling long, white gown singing a song from the early
1900s. A strong wind blows the book closed and stops the show going
on in Dana’s mind.INT. LOBBY
The theater guide finds Dana for a
short tour – the closed curtain ripples as Dana looks back.<font color=”#ff3333″>INT. BACK STAGE </font>
<font color=”#ff3333″> Guide questions
Dana – Dana struggle for words. (show meekness)? </font>INT. GEM THEATER – DAY
Inciting Incident: Back for a
more in depth tour of THE GEM.<font color=”#ff3333″>INT. LOBBY</font>
<font color=”#ff3333″>Dana shows
pictures – awkwardly asks about the theater’s inclusion of Black
performers. It is confirmed? Brings up black performers? Asks in any
old playbills? Confirms black performances?</font><font color=”#ff3333″>INT. THEATER</font>
<font color=”#ff3333″>Guide normally
doesn’t add this, but sometimes feels like place is haunted? Touch on
haunted?</font>INT. GREEN ROOM – DAY
Encounters with the entity gets vision
of playbill, entity whispers date Dana i<font color=”#000000″>s
intrigued</font><font color=”#000000″>INT. LIBRARY –
DAY</font>goes to library find out more with
date she was whispered from entity.INT. MUSEUM – DAY
Turning Point: Dana wants to
understand more about Ade’s life. She visits the local museum to find
out more on vaudeville days in this town and<font color=”#ff3333″>museum worker
tells about old man?</font>INT. 94 YEAR OLD’S HOME – DAY
visits a 94 year old in the assisted
living facility that tells some old tales he heard from his Dad.
remembers Ade. Tells of her beauty and talent- shows old playbill
with Ade’s name. Tells of death. <strike>Then visits a psychic.</strike><font color=”#ff3333″>INT. LIBRARY –
TALKING TO GHOSTS SECTION ? Search for ghost talker?</font>No help in how to contact… talk to
Ade.INT. HOTEL ROOM – DAY
<font color=”#000000″>stops her
vacation </font>to keep going back to theaterACT 2
New Plan: She cancels the rest
of her trip to stay at The Gem.EXT. GEM THEATER – DAY
<font color=”#000000″>Lies </font>to
theater host about why coming back each day – going to do a paper
on the theater.EXT. LIBRARY – DAY
Plan in Action: finds an article
about Ade’s death being poison. Dana has to learn how to communicate
back.<font color=”#ff3333″>EXT. DOWNTOWN
STREET – DAY</font><font color=”#ff3333″>Sees old photos
in store window- goes in and sees old photos of town, finds one of
vaudeville days – one with black entertainers?</font><font color=”#ff3333″>One with Ade?
Maybe?</font>Decides to go stay the night at the
theater.INT. GEM THEATER – DAY
Midpoint Turning Point: Ade is
able to get through and open up the time rift. Dana gladly steps in.<font color=”#000000″> Steels away in
theater to </font><font color=”#000000″>INT. GREEN ROOM –
NIGHT</font><font color=”#000000″>spend the night –
</font><font color=”#000000″>INT. RIFT – NIGHT</font>
<font color=”#000000″>and steps through
rift w</font>ith AdeACT 3
Rethink Everything:
INT. DANCE HALL – BACK STAGE – NIGHT
Dana is mesmerized by the new world.
Watches dance floor with amazement-
Ade tries to push her to go into crowd- Da<font color=”#000000″>na
says NO!</font>Is caught. Is questioned. Says friend
of Ade’s,INT. DANCE HALL – TABLE – NIGHT
Immediatel<font color=”#000000″>y
brought in </font>to Ade’s circle of friends.New Plan: Ade pushes her to stay
and switch places with her. Dana has to find Ade’s killer first.Dan<font color=”#000000″>a asking
questions a</font>bout Ade’s final show- Ade whispers right behind
her and tells names- makes Dana even more legitimate.EXT. DANCE HALL – NIGHT
Dana<font color=”#ff3333″> gets
nervous </font>- wants to go back – Ade begs to stay, this is world
you love-help me into your worldINT. ADE’S ROOM – NIGHT
Ade shows her old room- desk ransacked
– and letters to white managers have been taken-Dana tells Ade she
was murderedINT. GEM THEATER- BACKSTAGE – NIGHT
Dana me<font color=”#000000″>ets the
murderer a</font>t vaudeville show – <font color=”#ff3333″>realizes
motive</font>Turning Point (huge failure/major
shift) Dana realizes she has to go back. Ade is ghost, cant
switch places. Has to be physical for physical. Ethereal has to move
on to their afterlife.INT. PSYCHIC’S STUDIO – DAY
<font color=”#000000″>Dana meets with
seer </font>– <font color=”#ff3333″>to find out about switching
with Ade.</font> tells her must go back – or expire from worldACT 4
Climax/Ultimate expression of the
conflict: The rift is about to close. Ade is desperate to move
into Dana’s world. Dana can’t stay.INT. ADE’S ROOM – DAY
Ade says no- I need to go, you stay –
its my turn<font color=”#000000″>. Ade shows Dana how to dance</font><font color=”#000000″>INT. DANCE HALL –
NIGHT</font>Da<font color=”#000000″>na in a crowd
bar dancing </font>– Murderer sees Ade in Dana – He’s scaredINT. RIFT – NIGHT
Ade goes to rift and checks that still
there. Tries to reach through- can’tINT. GREEN ROOM – NIGHT
Dana sho<font color=”#000000″>ws Ade’s
friends h</font>ow Ade was poisoned and whyResolution: The two women figure
out the killer, why and how. Gives Ade ability to move on and Dana
ability to live in her world stronger.INT. SEER’S STUDIO – DAY
Dana takes murderer to seer -Ade faces
murderer-shows herself. He is literally scared to death.INT. GREEN ROOM – DAY
Ade ready to move on
INT. RIFT – DAY
Dana ready to go home and live a brave
life<title></title><style type=”text/css”>
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Janeen’s High Speed Beat Sheet
What I learned doing this assignment is that the flow will be refined as I add in more info on my subplots (romance, old doctor’s office, research and results), but for now, I seem to have a good balance of action/change in each act.
Act 1: 25-30 pp. Set Up and see Old Ways – 10 scenes so far
INT. MOTHER’S LIVING ROOM – DAY
Opening: Doc chastises Jym for not sticking with the diet he gave her and shames her for her weak will and lack of effort. She is mortified.
INT. MOTHER’S GUEST BEDROOM – DAY
Doc loves his wife to distraction, but her health keeps deteriorating as she too fails on diet after diet. Doc lectures his wife.
INT. MOTHER’S LIVING ROOM – DAY
Family is stuffed and sprawled on furniture after meal. Everybody’s fat but Doc and his kids. They are also the only ones awake and Doc contemplates the scene.
INT. JYM’S GYM – DAY
Jym tells Trainer he’s got the job. Then OB comes in and she says he’s eye candy and inspiration.
INT. DOC’S OFFICE – DAY
Other docs share holiday pics, he says he didn’t take any — his wife’s the shutterbug — and is embarrassed to show his family. He has a pic of everyone sprawled on his phone and he shakes his head at it.
INT. JYM’S GYM – DAY
Inciting Incident: Jym fails at yet another of her brother’s diets and decides to look for a diet that will work for her and research why all of these diets have failed for her. She does her research and homes in on carb control as the key to weight loss and abolishing cravings.
INT. DOC’S BEDROOM – DAY
Doc gets his wife an insulin pump in hopes it will help her to feel better.
INT. JYM’S KITCHEN – EVENING
Jym has a sheet with Banting Diet printed on it and puts appropriate groceries away, side-eyeing the wine.
INT. DOC’S OFFICE – DAY
Doc lectures his clients about willpower and sticking to the diet/exercise regimen.
INT. JYM’S HOUSE – NIGHT
Turning Point: Jym tries Banting, finds it difficult. She thinks the drinking is inappropriate and is always on the edge of a binge. She looks for reasons people binge — carb crash. This could be a humorous conversation with Trainer.
Act 2: 20-30 pp. Challenge the Old Ways — 11 scenes so far
INT. JYM’S GYM – DAY
Reaction: Jym loses weight on the Banting diet although it is inconvenient and after a heavy workout she can no longer stick to it. Jym finds Keto and low carb. She finds low carb works, but she is hungry sometimes and has other issues. Keto seems to help her. Another discussion with Trainer.
INT. DOC’S OFFICE – DAY
Time has moved forward a month or two. Doc trusts his colleagues on advice to help his clients, but balks when they talk about weight loss drugs.
INT. JYM’S GYM – DAY
The OB challenges Jym because others see her success and want to do what she does. That’s dangerous. Trainer agrees.
INT. DOC’S BEDROOM – NIGHT
Ashley (s-i-l) feels much better with her insulin pump and is proud of her husband for helping her. He is totally discouraged because it means she’s slipped down another section of the diabetic slide.
INT. JYM’S KITCHEN – NIGHT
The Plan: Jym looks at the makeup of the diet, considers carb effects after exercise. Since she’s already low-carb, she needs to convince trainer to go less carb-depleting on her exercise.
INT. JYM’S GYM – DAY
The trainer is hard to convince and tries proportionally more carbs in his diet.
INT. JYM’S GYM – NIGHT
Timelapse and we see how hard it is even for him. He is convinced and she convinces him to research strength building that doesn’t impact blood sugar. They discuss the difference in men’s and women’s carb needs to stay in ketosis or simply away from cravings.
INT. DOC’S OFFICE – DAY
Doc realizes the pump is a stopgap measure in his wife’s decline and tries a pre-packaged diet like his upscale partners prescribe for their clients.
INT. JYM’S GYM – DAY
Turning Point 2: MIDPOINT — Jym calculates why she failed after exercise and why every diet has failed her and makes adjustments to diet/exercise.
INT. DOC’S OFFICE – DAY
A few months later, Doc sees the money opportunity when mentor wants to retire from doing clinical trials in a different state. The mentor wants him to take over. Doc mulls it over and decides he must.
EXT. PARK – DAY
Ashley does not lose much weight with the prepackaged diet, but attends a 4th of July picnic, eats small portions of family favorites and lands in the hospital. Doc is devastated.
Act 3: 20-30 pp. With Midpoint change, Profound moments that give us new ways – 10 scenes so far
INT. JYM’S GYM – DAY
New Plan: Jym finds a lot of evidence to back up her new opinions and also realizes why her s-i-l keeps going downhill. Jerking around the body’s source of energy wreaks havoc on the metabolism and energy levels.
EXT. DOC’S HOUSE – DAY
Doc leaves family to learn the clinical trials business with his mentor. A last minute romantic session with his wife makes him late for his plane.
INT. JYM’S GYM – DAY
Ashley begs Jym to give her the best diet. She refuses. Jym recruits OB to monitor Ashley while Doc is out of town learning his mentor’s business and let’s Ashley try the diet.
INT. JYM’S GYM – DAY
Montage of gym members telling her the diet problems. Diet hard with kids in the house. Diet cost too high. Isn’t Jym undermining her own gym’s training programs and classes with her new exercise prescriptives?
INT. JYM’S KITCHEN – NIGHT
More research montage in gym and at home — Jym finds THM, Schwarzbein, Atkins various diets – including overweight kids, works with S-i-L on cost-conscious diet menus and shopping lists — if it’s not in the house, they can’t eat it.
INT. JYM’S GYM – DAY
Turning Point: Jym has lost weight and her s-i-l loses weight under the OB’s watch. Doc is furious while home on a weekend and orders Ashley to stop and Jym to cease and desist or he will pull her funding. Ashley is in tears and Jym is furious.
INT. DOC’S BEDROOM – NIGHT
Doc can’t resist and Ashley is more than willing.
INT. MENTOR’S OFFICE – DAY
Doc sees the funding of the studies and questions Mentor about motives of studies. Doc understands how money has influenced treatment
INT. APT. LIVING ROOM – NIGHT
Researches studies that point to something other than drugs — diets — and has a revelation of gigantic proportions.
INT. MENTOR’S OFFICE – DAY
Doc finds that his wife’s progress and his mentor’s research are totally at odds. Which should he believe?
Act 4: 25 pp. Test the change in this character! Prove New Ways! – 10 scenes so far.
INT. JYM’S GYM – DAY
New Way Proof: S-I-L refuses to go back to her old diets. She loses more weight and gains health as do several others at the gym. Jym develops/refines low cost menus and shopping lists for SNAP and WIC clients as well as intro materials and hand-outs.
INT. APT. LIVING ROOM – NIGHT
Doc researches studies that point to something other than drugs — diets — and has a revelation of gigantic proportions.
INT. JYM’S GYM – DAY
Climax: Jym, Ashley and the gym clientele are proof that Jym is right and even her poor clients who can’t afford most carb control diets are succeeding with their families on her new SNAP and WIC-friendly menus.
INT. MENTOR’S OFFICE – DAY
Doc tells his mentor about the research and the effects of the meds on the body and mentor blows up, says he’s throwing away a good thing, says morally it isn’t wrong, but Doc says ethically, it leads us away from the real solution, not toward it.
INT. DOC’S HOUSE – NIGHT
Doc understands how to help his wife and is surprised that she has already been helped — by Jym. He tries to rescue Ashley with his diet findings and she has already implemented them and refined them to suit her metabolism and health and he is shocked at how well-read and informed she is. She is also sexy. 🙂
INT. JYM’S GYM – DAY
Doc talks to Jym and she pleads her case about blame and guilt for non-losers and her program of positive help and results. He says she’s still practicing medicine without a license. She says she’s practicing nutrition, something most doctors know a low less about than she does.
INT. DOC’S BEDROOM – NIGHT
Doc is talked into helping others by his wife who says she wants to work at Jym’s gym so Jym can spend more time advising people. OB has been helping people, but really doesn’t have time available to meet the needs of the neighborhood.
INT. DOC’S BEDROOM – MORNING
Doc says he’s given up on the clinical trial business and needs a job. Jym can’t manage alone and he’s reached the conclusion he has to take OB’s place in Jym’s endeavors.
INT. JYM’S GYM – DAY
Conclusion: Jym and Trainer talk about Ashley taking over the management. He says he will miss her. She says he will no longer work for her so he doesn’t have to suck up. He says that he can stop beating around the bush and pulls her in. Romance storyline complete.
EXT. NEW CLINIC – DAY
Jym joins her brother at a local clinic/resource center and Ashley takes over the gym, helping their community regain its health and vitality.
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Pat’s High Speed Beat Sheet
What I learned doing this assignment is that once you lay the ground work for the transformative scenes, it’s easier to fill in the gaps. I might have too many scenes in the Opening, but I can make adjustments later. This is likely the fastest outline I’ve ever written.
Act 1:
Opening:
Int. African Free School – Day
Ira receives high scores in declamation. A teacher asks if he’d ever considered acting.
Int. African Grove Theater – Day
Ira watches rehearsals and mimics the actors.
Int. African Grove Theater – Night
He watches play and falls in love with theater.
Int. Aldridge Home – Day
Ira share his excitement with his sick mother. She loves his enthusiasm and encourages him to act out parts. She advises him to follow his heart.
Ira’s father interrupts and disapproves and makes Ira come with him to sell straw.
Ext. NY Streets – Day
Daniel discourages Ira from spending time in the theater and speaks of his need to follow in his footsteps lecturing him on his missionary obligation to save blacks.
Int. Aldridge Home – Day
At 10, Ira’s mother dies – Ira runs home to tell his mother, but the somber expression on his father’s face says it all.
Int. Church Cemetery – Day
Ira is heartbroken…
Int. African Grove Theater – Night
… but his desire to become an actor continues.
Int. Aldridge Home – Night
Ira and his brother sneak out of the house.
Int. African Grove Theater – Night
Ira and his brother perform to rousing applause.
Int. African Free School – Day
Ira learns he has been quickly declared an African Roscius.
Int. Aldridge Home – Day
Daniel remarries, and the tension heats up in the Aldridge household. Ira tells his brother he can’t stay.
Int. African Free School – Day
At 15, Ira graduates.
Ext. Port of NY – Day
Ira leaves home to work on a ship headed to NC. A slave trader offers to buy him. The captain , aware Ira is a free man and having promised Ira safe passage, turns down the offer. Ira overhears it, and having seen the indecency of slave treatment, becomes frightened.
Int. Aldridge Home – Day
Ira returns home deciding seafaring is not the life for him. Daniel begins insisting he prepare for theology school.
Int. Church – Day
Daniel preaches, showing off is strong oratory skills. Ira sits behind him in the pulpit.
Int. African Grove Theater – Night
Daniel and his brother perform in “Romeo and Juliette” to thunderous applause.
Ext. NY Streets – Night
One day Ira his brother, and other black actors, are beaten by a white gang who resent blacks performing Shakespeare or other plays written by whites. His mentor, Brown, encourages him to fight back and file a law suit against his attackers.
Int. Courthouse – Day
Ira files a law suit.
Ext. African Grove Theater – Night
The theater is burned down and Brown says he’s leaving the city.
Int. Chatham Garden Theater – Day
Ira accompanies a friend who delivers costumes to a famous white actor.
Int. Chatham Garden Theater – Night
Henry. Ira watches Henry perform in the wings. Mimics him. Congratulates him but Henry takes little notice. Ira’s friend is showing signs of illness.
Ext. NY Streets – Day
Ira waits for his friend, but he doesn’t show. Another mutual friend informs him that his friend died of yellow fever.
Inciting Incident:
Int. Chatham Garden Theater – Day
When Ira’s friend dies of yellow fever, Ira convinces Henry to let him take on the role of valet, and makes himself indispensable by also running errands for him. Henry learns of Ira’s passions. Ira shows off is skills.Henry suggests Ira join him on his return to London and how they might be able to pull it off. When Ira shares his previous experience on ship, Henry explains the English abandoned the slave trade 17 years earlier. The proposition is very attractive to Ira.
Ext. Church – Day
A church member fawns over Daniel’s sermon as the family stands next to him. When Daniel tells her when Ira graduates theology school and tells her he’s enrolled Ira, this is news to Ira.
Int. Aldridge Home – Day
Ira, Daniel and Ira’s stepmother argue over Ira’s plans. Daniel objects to the notion of Ira acting as a servant to Henry. Ira sees it as a road to becoming proficient in acting to build a network.
PLACEHOLDER: Ira agrees to attend.
Int. College – Day
Ira sees a performing arts paper that says Henry is returning to NY to perform. Ira informs the administration that he is leaving school for other pursuits.
Int. Aldridge Home – Night
Ira stands up to Daniel and tells him he’s leaving to pursue acting in London. His father tells him if he leaves, he cannot return. Ira is crushed by the ultimatum.
Int. Chatham Garden Theater – Night
Ira arrives too late to catch Henry’s performance. When he runs to the dressing room, it is empty. Ira learns Henry is returning to England the next day. Ira just misses him as he departs.
Ext. NY Streets – Day
Ira sleeps on the streets.
PLACEHOLDER: Danger is present.
Ext. Port of NY – Day
PLACE HOLDER: Ira faces obstacles before he can locate Henry.
Turning Point:
Int. Ship – Day
Ira voyages with Henry to London.
Act 2:
New plan:
Int. Henry’s Home – Day
Ira is excited about his new opportunities in England.
Int. English Theater – Day
He builds a network while tending to Henry and watching his mentor in the wings.
Int. English Theater – Night
Ira effectively operates as an understudy.
Plan in action:
Int. Henry’s Home – Day
Henry is impressed by Ira’s recitations of his performance. Henry coaches him.
Int. English Theater – Night
Henry falls ill, he recommends Ira fill in. Ira has a successful, passionate performance. Most of the audience receives Ira’s performance with enthusiasm. Gilbert watches in the audience.
Ext. London Streets – Day
Ira picks up a paper and reads a scathing review from Gilbert. Gilbert who uses race as weapon against Ira. He picks up another paper and another and sees multiple negative reviews.
Int. Hospital – Day
Ira visits Henry and shares the discouraging news. Henry encourages him to ignore the critics and they discuss the dynamics.
Ext. Hospital – Day
Ira runs into Margaret, an Englishwoman, who recognizes him and expresses her disagreement with Gilbert and others. She is as incensed by Gilbert’s lies as Ira is.
PLACEHOLDER: Ira and Margaret’s courtship.
PLACEHOLDER: Ira marries Margaret.
PLACEHOLDER: Henry’s recovery and return.
Int. Royal Coburg Theatre – Day
Ira strikes a deal with a Theater owner/Manager.
Int. Royal Coburg Theater – Day
Ira becomes the first African-American actor to establish an acting career in a foreign country, starting with a 7-week run at the Royal Coburg Theatre in London in 1825, (his second job).
Ext. London Streets – Day
Ira speaks publicly as an abolitionist.
Midpoint Turning Point:
Int. Restaurant – Day
Colonists still using slave labor conspire with publishers to pressure theater owners/managers to end their relationship with Ira or to refuse to hire him. Ira has difficulty finding work.
Int. Theater – Day
Ira attends a performance by a popular, traveling minstrel who mocks him in black face and “re-enacts” his performances as a bumbling, illiterate fool. Ira feels humiliated.
Act 3:
Rethink everything:
Int. Ira’s Home – Day
Other critics decry Gilbert’s taunts. Ira and Margaret see an opportunity to spin his background to further influence his reviews. They also discuss how he will respond to the traveling minstrel.
New plan:
Int. London Theater – Night
Ira fights back by creating a show in which he parodies the parody in white-face. He also performs various musical acts. His performances are well received.
Int. Theater – Day – Series of Performances
Ira turns to playing in provincial towns where audiences love him.
Int. Hotel – Day
Ira and Margaret – read the critics reviews in which he his lauded for his work.
Int. Gilbert’s Office – Day
Gilbert is angry Ira is receiving warm audience receptions and positive reviews. He regurgitates his old reviews.
Int. Hotel – Day
Ira and Margaret chide Gilbert as being desperate. They read critiques of Gilbert from his competition who suggest he change his ways.
Int. Royal Convent Garden
Super: 1833
Ira performs the title Role in “Othello,” filling in for Edmund Kean, Britain’s most famous Shakespearean actor. Ira becomes the first black from any country to play a title role in a London theater. The audience loves it. But Gilbert is there, despising Ira’s performance.
Ira’s Home – Day
Ira and Margaret read Gilbert’s technique, recognizing he has ratcheted up the pressure by citing how he was sickened at seeing Gilbert “paw” his white leading lady.
Fortunately, the buzz created in the provincial press, grabs the attention of the world stage. Still unable to book major London theaters, Ira decides to perform internationally.
Turning Point – Major shift:
Int. International Theaters – Series of Performances – Night
Ira then turns to the international stage where his performances are in high demand all over the world.
He meets a famous artist in the Ukraine who paints portraits of him. In Paris, he shakes hands with Hans Christian Anderson who publicizes the fact.
PLACEHOLDER: Ira and Margaret stroll together where they recap and revel in the superlative accolades he receives, and of his numerous metals and awards from International Royalty, including the King up Prussia in 1848. 1852, Ira is the first actor knighted by the German Duke Bernhard of Saxe-Meiningen. They cannot be ignored.
Act 4:
Climax/Ultimate expression of the conflict:
PLACEHOLDER: Ira is honored by Queen Victoria, and booked in a major London theater. Gilbert finally writes a favorable review of Ira before dying.
Resolution:
PLACEHOLDER: The US Civil War ends. Ira makes plans to return to the U.S. but on his European tour, he dies in Poland.
Int. Coventry Theater, London – Day
In 2017, the “Blue Plaque” is unveiled in his honor, posthumously.
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Thank you Dimitri. I am a little confused as this assignment said we had 48 hours and that there would be no lesson today but I see a new lesson posted.
Would you please clarify. I want to keep up but am now confused. Was in 24 hours and it posted 48??
Sam
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Sam Reynolds – Beats – Assignment #7
What I learned is that you don’t have to have all the pieces to truly begin. It is easy to believe you need every scene laid out to begin but this can also box you in.
Concept: After having to terminate her baby at 35 weeks due to a brain anomaly, 40-year-old Nadine slowly spirals into a grieving altered reality and chooses to go against all convention and deliver her dead baby at home on her own terms.
Main Conflict: Johnny is under the assumption that Nadine will deliver their dead baby at the hospital in 4 days but Nadine, knowing this is her last chance to ever have a baby due to age and after 3 miscarriages, has plans of her own: she wants to have her baby her way at home.
Old Ways:
Allows doctors to dictate what she should do
Afraid to speak up – follow rules
Didn’t know she could make herself have the baby at home
Timid and wants to stay hidden
Accepting that life happens to her and not taking any control
New Ways:
Confident to say NO and do it her way, its ok to lie
Takes control of her life and how she wants the birth to end
Wants to show herself and her baby
Doesn’t care what people think
Act 1:
INT. NADINE AND JOHNNY HOME – DAY
Opening: It is the morning of the termination though the audience doesn’t know this. Nadine and Johnny wake, they are late. Nadine wakes Johnny and makes sure the hospital bag is packed.
INT. NADINE AND JOHNNY HOME – DAY
Nadine looks quickly inside the baby’s room then leaves.
INT. NADINE AND JOHNNY HOME – DAY
Nadine opens the curtains in the living room to reveal a clean and cozy home. Flowers are on the table.
EXT. HOME – DAY
The car drives off then immediately returns as they forgot their hospital bag.
INT. HOSPITAL – DAY
Nadine and Johnny meet JAIME, the geneticist who then introduces them to the doctors who will perform the termination.
INT. HOSPITAL ROOM – DAY
Nadine looks at herself and her pregnant belly in the room’s mirror.
INT. HOSPITAL ROOM – DAY
Inciting Incident: In the hospital room, Nadine and Johnny see their baby alive on the ultrasound. The doctors ask for the last time if this termination is something they both want to do. They both say yes.
TE: When asked if this is what they want, Johnny answers for both. Docs ask Nadine as well. She answers but we see a hesitation.
INT. HOSPITAL ROOM – DAY
Doctors freeze Nadine belly. The insert a needle to put the baby to sleep.
INT. HOSPITAL ROOM – DAY
Doctors insert a second needle to stop the baby’s heart.
Turning Point: The termination is complete. The baby is dead. Nadine’s doctor is set to deliver the baby in the hospital in 4 days. There is no going back.
EXT. HOSPITAL – DAY
Nadine and Johnny leave the hospital.
EXT. HOSPITAL – DAY
Johnny goes to get the car. Nadine waits. A pregnant woman approaches and they have a short chat. (here is where we first see Nadine have to lie about the pregnancy and she is not comfortable with it.)
INT. CAR – DAY
Silence. Dr. Bryant calls to make sure the couple is ok. After they hang up, Nadine questions the fact that they were sent out of hospital for an ultra sound. Nadine is upset but Johnny sides with doctor. Nadine is shut down.
INT. EXT. – FAST FOOD MALL OFF HIGHWAY – DAY
Nadine has to go pee. She enters the mall’s bathroom. Has an encounter with a curious little girl. Nadine has to lie about her baby inside of her.
INT/EXT. NADINE AND JOHNNY HOME – DAY
The couple arrive home and go inside. Nadine makes sure no one sees her arrive.
TE: Arrive home. Nadine closes blinds and sits in chair (chair she has trouble leaving).
INT. NADINE AND JOHNNY HOME – DAY
Johnny surfs the internet on his phone.
INT. NADINE AND JOHNNY HOME – NIGHT
The couple has dinner in silence. Johnny eats yet Nadine doesn’t. Johnny orders Chinese food.
Act 2:
INT. NADINE AND JOHNNY HOME – DAY
Nadine sits in chair in living room and hides from the world. Johnny goes to work.
TE: Nadine peeks around blinds. No want to go out. No eat.
INT. NADINE AND JOHNNY HOME – NIGHT
Johnny comes home from work to find Nadine still in her chair. She hasn’t left.
INT. NADINE AND JOHNNY HOME – NIGHT
Johnny tries to talk to Nadine but she refuses. She turns over and goes to sleep.
INT. NADINE AND JOHNNY HOME. – DAY
Nadine wakes to hearing Johnny speak to their doctor. She comes down. Doctor urges Nadine to go for a walk. It will be good for the upcoming birth.
TE: Sister calls to see how she is doing.
INT. NADINE AND JOHNNY HOME – BATHROOM
Nadine is getting dressed. She examines her body and the bruises on her tummy.
INT. NADINE AND JOHNNY HOME – DAY
Nadine shares with Johnny her fears of if she runs into someone she knows. What will she say. Does she look ok?
The Plan: Nadine stays home and looks out living room window watching kids and pregnant moms with babies play. She accepts her reality – she will never be a mom to a live baby. She and Johnny barely speak at all. She becomes more and more depressed. Sister visits and tries to cheer her up.
EXT. NADINE AND JOHNNY HOME – DAY
Nadine leaves the home hesitantly.
EXT. STREET – DAY
Nadine walks and begins to enjoy the sun on her face and her walk.
EXT. STREETS – DAY
Nadine stops. She sees her three pregnant friends all gathered and talking at the park. What to do?
TE: Nadine is surprised by a pregnant mom friend and invite to say hi to other moms at the park.
EXT. STREET BABY STORE – DAY
Nadine watches the baby store. She is tempted to go in but can’t. She walks home defeated.
TE: Nadine watches baby store.
INT. NADINE AND JOHNNY HOME – DAY
Nadine sits by window and watches all the moms and kids outside.
INT. NADINE AND JOHNNY HOME – BABY ROOM
Nadine is in the baby room. She opens some gifts secretly.
TE: Nadine opens some of the baby shower gifts she never opened.
INT. BABY ROOM – DAY
Nadine’s sister calls to check in. They have a competitive relationship.
INT. NADINE AND JOHNNY HOME – NIGHT
TE: Nadine makes a good dinner. She is happy after meeting with pregnant ladies.
INT. NADINE AND JOHNNY HOME – NIGHT
They try and have sex but no work.
INT. NADINE AND JOHNNY HOME – NIGHT
Nadine begins some research about home births.
INT. NADINE AND JOHNNY HOME – DAY
Nadine sits by window and watches all the moms and kids outside.
INT. BABY ROOM – DAY
Nadine opens some more gifts and puts together the mobile.
EXT. NADINE AND JOHNNY HOME – PORCH
Nadine has tea with her midwife and pumps her for information about home births. Midwife cannot come to the birth.
EXT. PARK – DAY
Nadine meets with the pregnant moms again. Talk about birthing and home birth. Here she discovers Karen also wants a home birth.
EXT. BABY STORE – DAY
Nadine manages to enter store and buy something.
INT. BABY ROOM – DAY
Nadine puts that item in the room.
INT. NADINE AND JOHNNY HOME – DAY
Nadine on phone with sister. Sister asks how she is doing.
INT. NADINE AND JOHNNY HOME – DAY
Nadine sits by window and watches all the moms and kids outside.
INT. NADINE AND JOHNNY HOME – DAY
Johnny sees Nadine setting up baby room – clothes all neatly folded and washed and color coded. He demands she be realistic. She says she will. She just wanted to see how it all would look.
EXT. COFFEE SHOP – DAY
Nadine meets with Karen and tells her she wants to have the baby at home. They discuss.
INT. NADINE AND JOHNNY HOME – DAY
Nadine sits by window and watches all the moms and kids outside.
Her point of view is becoming more distorted.
INT. NADINE AND JOHNNY HOME – DAY
Johnny catches Nadine breast feeding toy doll. They have an argument.
Tells Johnny she want to do it her way. He tells her it is not safe and he won’t allow it. Nadine tells Johnny she felt pressure to terminate.
INT. NADINE AND JOHNNY HOME – NIGHT
Nadine hears Johnny whispering on the phone. She confronts him. He was speaking to her sister.
EXT. STREETS – DAY
Nadine is walking. Everywhere she looks she sees pregnant ladies and babies. Her world view is slowly becoming distorted.
EXT. PARK – DAY
Nadine meets with Karen again. Talk more about home births and share information.
INT. NADINE AND JOHNNY HOME – DAY
Sister calls Nadine again. Based on the call Nadine suspects Johnny has been sharing info with her.
INT. NADINE AND JOHNNY HOME – DAY
Scene with Johnny and Nadine? Bring up sister and no trust issues. No one believes in her etc. It’s her last chance. Her views about being a mom/female revealed here.
INT. NADINE AND JOHNNY HOME -DAY
Johnny catches Nadine doing research. They argue. Johnny can’t sit there and let her kill herself, risk her life.
INT. NADINE AND JOHNNY HOME – DAY
Nadine sister arrives on porch to stay and baby sit Nadine. Nadine is livid.
Act 3:
INT. NADINE AND JOHNNY HOME – DAY/NIGHT
Nadine sitting at her lap top in her bedroom, Nadine researches home births and what she may need.
EXT. STORE – DAY
Nadine is buying new sheets and towels for the delivery.
INT. NADINE AND JOHNNY HOME – DAY
Nadine and her sister are baking (?) and she discovers her sister has been lying to her. She is pregnant with twins. Sister already has one kid.
EXT. PARK – DAY
Nadine confides in Karen about sister and her sister’s plans to botch Nadine’s plans for a home birth. Karen agrees to help her.
INT. CAR WASH – DAY
Nadine tells Johnny she felt like he forced her to terminate the baby. (maybe not here)
INT. NADINE AND JOHNNY HOME – DAY
Nadine receives a delivery of items she needs for the birth – midwife materials. Found by sister or Johnny and Nadine lies and says they are for the midwife; she forgot to cancel the order.
INT. NADINE AND JOHNNY HOME – DAY
Nadine and Johnny are on a Zoom call with the doctor. She tells them that an opening has come up with the appropriate nurses and the date to come into the hospital has changed to tomorrow at 6 PM. Nadine lies to Johnny and tells him she is all set.
INT. NADINE AND JOHNNY HOME – DAY
Panicked, Nadine tries to come up with a plan to get both J and sister out of house to have her baby before the 4 pm deadline.
INT. NADINE AND JOHNNY HOME – DAY
Nadine getting everything ready for her birth at home. She has to hide this from her sister and Johnny.
INT. NADINE AND JOHNNY HOME – NIGHT
At dinner, Nadine finds out Johnny’s plans for the next day.
Act 4:
EXT. NADINE AND JOHNNY’S HOUSE – DAY
Johnny leaves for work promising to be home by 5 to go to hospital.
INT. NADINE AND JOHNNY HOME – DAY
Nadine and sister are playing a board game. Nadine makes an excuse to leave the house.
EXT. HOME – DAY
Nadine gets some last-minute things.
INT. NADINE AND JOHNNY HOME – DAY
Nadine needs to get sister out of home.
INT./EXT NADINE AND JOHNNY HOME – DAY
Need scene when sister realizes what Nadine is doing. She rushes home.
INT. NADINE’S BATHROOM – DAY
With time running out, Nadine using her materials, breaks her water and has her baby on the bathroom floor.
INT. NADINE’S BATHROOM – DAY
Nadine cleans up the bathroom and wraps her baby up in the receiving blanket she received as a shower gift.
INT. NADINE’S BEDROOM – DAY
Nadine dresses in her new maternity outfit. Looks at herself in the mirror. She is thrilled.
INT. NADINE AND JOHNNY’S HOME – DAY
Nadine sister arrives home earlier than planned. Nadine stuffs pillow in her shirt and hides baby. They leave house to see moms in park. (moms want to buy her stroller)
EXT. NADINE AND JOHNNY HOME – DAY
Nadine takes baby out of baby bag and puts baby in the stroller. The begin walking. (meet moms)
INT. NADINE AND JOHNNY’S HOME – BABY ROOM
Nadine is sitting on her nursing chair, nursing her baby when Johnny arrives home to pick her up to take her to the hospital.
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Renee’s High-Speed Beat Sheet
What I learned doing this assignment is that I don’t have to be perfect on the first draft of my beat sheet or my script. This is something that is difficult for me to shake but I will continue to work on it until it is a habit to simply write down the things that come to me and move on if I get stuck.
1. EXT. SF BAY PARK – DAY
Mia sits on a bench sketching what’s in front of her. She watches an older couple walk by arm in arm. She spots a dandelion and makes a wish to find love.
2. EXT. STREET – DAY
Mia hurries to work when a man, Ian, steps out a doorway and runs into her, knocking her to the ground. He helps her up and watches her as she runs down the sidewalk.
3. INT. BACK OFFICE – DAY
Mia sits with her hands in her lap and her head down. Her boss is lecturing her on her responsibilities and writes her up for being late.
4. INT. CAFÉ/COFFEE SHOP – DAY
Mia stands at the coffee machine, filling a cup for a customer, Lonnie is next to her wiping the counter down and talking to her. Someone taps on the counter; Mia turns around and it’s the guy she ran into earlier. He asks her out on a date.
5. INT. APARTMENT – NIGHT
Mia is in her apartment getting ready for her date. Her roommate Breanna is helping her get dressed, do her hair and her makeup. Breanna hints at bringing Mia to the club with her sometime.
6. INT. RESTAURANT – NIGHT
Mia is sitting across from Ian. They are talking and laughing, getting to know one another. Mia is having a really good time.
7. EXT. APARTMENT – NIGHT
Ian walks Mia up to her door. He asks if he can see her again. She says yes. They kiss.
8. INT. CAFÉ/COFFEE SHOP – DAY
Mia is at work. A delivery person comes in with a large bouquet of flowers for her. The card simply says from a secret admirer. Lonnie asks who they’re from, she guesses they are from Ian.
9. INT. CLASSROOM – DAY
Mia sits behind a painting easel. A teacher walks around examining each student painting. She comes to Mia and admires the work she’s doing. It’s a painting of the flowers she received earlier.
10. INT. APARTMENT – NIGHT
Mia comes into the apartment, flowers in hand, and paint flecks on her face and arms. Breanna gushes over the flowers and wants Mia to come out to the club with her. Mia is initially reluctant but decides to go.
11. INT. CLUB – NIGHT
Mia sits at a table by herself drinking a fruity cocktail. She watches Brianna on the dance floor. Lonnie shows up and sits with Mia.
12. INT. SCHOOL – DAY
Mia is sitting at a table studying, a group of students asks if they can sit with her. She says she was just leaving, and they can have the table. She quickly packs her stuff and leaves.
13. EXT. APARTMENT – DAY
Mia walks up to her door and finds a present sitting on the doormat. She picks it up and looks at it. She unlocks the door and goes inside.
14. INT. APARTMENT – DAY
Mia walks in and reads the card on the present. It’s from a secret admirer. She opens the box and there’s a beautiful silver bracelet inside.
15. INT. CAFÉ/COFFEE SHOP – DAY
Mia is at a table in the corner studying. Lonnie is working but keeps coming over and talking to Mia. Ian comes in and sits down with Mia. She abandons her studying. She thanks him for the present and the flowers. He looks confused but hopes she likes it.
16. INT. APARTMENT – NIGHT
Ian and Mia are sitting on the couch watching a movie. Breanna comes in and talks with the two while she changes into her clubbing clothes. She leaves again. Ian tells Mia he’d like her to come to a ball game and meet his friends. She politely declines.
17. INT. COFFEE SHOP – DAY
Mia talks to Lonnie about Ian and all the sweet things he’s given her. She gets called into the back by her boss.
18. INT. BACK OFFICE – DAY
Mia’s boss is talking to her about her socializing too much at work and that it’s affecting her performance. If she keeps it up, she’ll be written up again. Mia is angry but doesn’t say anything.
19. EXT. COFFEE SHOP – DAY
Mia walks out the door. Lonnie follows shortly after and calls to her. She stops while he catches up. Lonnie asks if she wants to hang out later. She tells him she can’t she has to go and study.
20. INT. APARTMENT – NIGHT
Breanna is helping Mia get ready to go out. Mia puts the new bracelet on. Breanna asks her where she got it. Mia said it was from Ian, he left it sitting at the door. Breanna is confused but lets it slide.
21. INT. CLUB – NIGHT
Mia is at the club with Breanna, but this time she’s on the dance floor with her. She’s really enjoying herself. Someone watches her from the back.
22. INT. COFFEE SHOP – DAY
Lonnie asks Mia if she was able to get any studying done. She tells him she ended up at the club with Breanna. Lonnie gets angry and walks away. Mia tries to apologize but he ignores her.
23. INT. APARTMENT – NIGHT
Mia comes in the door to find Breanna lying in a puddle of blood. She calls the police. The police come and take Breanna away and ask Mia to come down to the station for questioning.
24. INT. INTERROGATION ROOM – NIGHT
The police question Mia about Breanna’s death. They think she killed her because she “stole” Ian from her. They show her a video from a club with Breanna and Ian dancing and partying together. This is the first Mia is hearing of this. They don’t get what they want and let Mia leave.
25. EXT. POLICE STATION – NIGHT
Mia stands outside. Lonnie comes running up and hugs her. She starts to sob. They start walking back to her apartment.
26. EXT. APARTMENT – NIGHT
They reach her apartment, but she can’t go in. Lonnie says he’ll grab what she needs. He disappears inside. He comes out with a bag of Mia’s things. He suggests they go to a diner to eat and figure out where Mia will stay.
27. INT. RESTAURANT – NIGHT
Lonnie sits at a booth alone. The waitress brings two cups of coffee. Mia comes out of the bathroom and sits across from Lonnie. She starts to drink her coffee. She has trouble concentrating. Lonnie pays and helps Mia up.
28. EXT. RESTAURANT – NIGHT
Lonnie holds Mia up. He calls for an UBER. He loads Mia in and then gets in after her.
29. INT. BEDROOM – DAY
Mia starts to wake up. She tries to move her arms but realizes they are tied to the bed. She struggles with the ropes. Her legs are tied as well. She starts to panic.
30. EXT. APARTMENT – DAY
Two police officers stand at Mia’s door. They think she’s on the run. They put out an APB on her.
31. INT. BEDROOM – DAY
Mia is struggling against her ropes. Lonnie comes in and sits on the bed next to her.
He starts talking to her about how they can be together now and how he’s going to make her so happy.
32. INT. COFFEE SHOP – DAY
Two police officers are standing at the counter talking to Mia’s boss. They are asking questions about who she’s friends with if they know where she might go. The boss tells them she was scheduled to work in the morning, but never showed up.
33. INT. BEDROOM – DAY
Mia is alone in the room again. She’s trying to get her hands or feet untied. She can hear Lonnie moving around in the other room. She looks around for anything that can help her.
34. EXT. IAN’S APARTMENT – DAY
The police knock on his door. He answers and lets them in.
35. INT. IAN’S APARTMENT – DAY
The police ask Ian questions about Mia. He tells them he hasn’t seen her since she started ghosting him. He has no idea where she might be.
36. INT. BEDROOM – DAY
Lonnie comes back into the room with some food. He tries to feed Mia, but it isn’t working. She tells him she won’t try to run if he just unties her. He is reluctant at first but agrees. He unties her arms. She sits up and takes the spoon from him and starts to eat.
37. INT. POLICE STATION – DAY
One of Mia’s coworkers asks to speak to the officers in charge of Mia’s disappearance. She tells them that they need to find Lonnie. He was obsessed with her. If you find him, she’s sure they’ll find Mia.
38. INT. BEDROOM – DAY
Mia finishes eating. Lonnie goes to tie her back up, but she pleads with him to leave her free. He ties her back up and takes the dishes out of the room. Mia starts to cry.
39. INT. POLICE STATION – DAY
The detective assigned to Breanna’s look into Lonnie.
40. INT. BEDROOM – DAY
Mia gets Lonnie to untie her. She plays along with his fantasy of being a couple. She looks for a way out. She realizes Lonnie has the only set of keys on him, she finds a way to knock him unconscious and steal the keys.
EXT. LONNIE’S HOME – DAY
The police pull up in front of the house. The front door opens and Mia stumbles out. Bloody and bruised but otherwise okay. The police storm into the house, guns were drawn.
INT. SCHOOL – DAY
Mia sits in the middle of the couch, surrounded by half a dozen other students. They are talking and laughing. Ian moves into the frame and sits down next to Mia, putting his arm around his shoulder. He kisses her cheek.
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MARK’S HIGH SPEED BEAT SHEET
What I learned from doing this assignment is that there is much more freedom in not getting bogged down with a particular problem i.e. plot point, logic, dialogue, etc just moving forward. And I find that this gradual interweaving process between structure and T events makes it easier to spot the holes in the story.
ACT 1
EXT. DESERT – DAY
OPENING; Tony is hot-dog flying through the desert with Victoria enjoying it. He proposes marriage, she is ecstatic.
EXT. POST OFFICE – DAY
She receives the notice of the arctic research expedition
INT/EXT. HER HOME – DAY
TE 1: PLACEHOLDER she decides to go on the arctic cruise. Grandfather?
EXT. FRONT PORCH – DAY
INCITING INCIDENT: He forbids her to take the artic voyage. She demands her freedom to go. They part in anger.
EXT. MONTAGE – TRAIN STATION, DOCKS
TE 2: The trip involves trains and ships, and she struggles at the same time she is awed by her new world. She struggles to keep her wits and luggage.
EXT. RESEARCH SHIP DECK – DAY
PLACEHOLDER; Enjoying her first impression of the arctic world
EXT. RESEARCH SHIP – DAY
TURNING POINT; The ship she boards sails into a storm and gets locked in the ice. The wind blows them away from land toward the North Pole.
INT. SHIP – DAY
PLACEHOLDER; Drake, the first mate, tries to test Captain Jensen. Victoria overhears, has Drake on her radar. Argument over the radio call for help.
ACT 2
EXT. RESEARCH SHIP – DAY
TE 3: A ship is sighted in the distance, and salvation seems at hand. But it is revealed to be a derelict with frozen corpses on deck.
Drake, laughs ghoulishly, reveals his ugly inner drive, and declares they will never be saved. She understands the danger Drake poses to the group.
INT. ABOARD SHIP – DAY
Victoria reveals her concern about Drake to Jensen.
EXT. RESEARCH SHIP – DAY
Midpoint Turning Point: The ship is slowly crushed in the ice. They have to evacuate to the ice field.
EXT. RESEARCH SHIP – DAY
TE 4: She decides to put aside her fear and help in the shipwreck. They unload all the cargo, food and supplies. They are stranded.
Everyone is frantic at their plight. Drake smiles to himself, looking at Victoria.
EXT. TONY’S PLANE – DAY
Tony flies to Point Barrow, Alaska and starts his search flights, while the Navy stays grounded due to weather.
ACT 3
EXT. ICE FIELD – DAY
Rethink everything: They build crude shelters and tents and create a small town to survive.
INT. TENT – DAY
TE 5: Jensen shakes her admiration of Amelia Earhart to the core. They connect. Sympathetic feelings. Jensen reveals vulnerability – Captain story.
EXT. ICE CAMP – DAY
New plan: Some men want to trek away to safety. Jensen has to control the uprising that Drake is behind. Victoria gives Jensen the idea to build a runway for plane rescue.
INT/EXT. – MAIN TENT – DAY
Turning Point: Huge failure / Major shift: The wind blows away the radio antenna leaving them out of radio contact.
EXT. – ICE CAMP – NIGHT
TE 6: A polar bear attacks the camp and she braves danger to save lives
INT. SHACK – NIGHT
Drake steals food and supplies
EXT. ICE CAMP – DAY
Jensen announces the build of the runway. Astonishment, skepticism.
EXT. RUNWAY – DUSK
The runway is built, then cracks develop as the ice shifts each day.
EXT. RUNWAY – DAWN
TE 7: When men give up, she convinces them to carry on. They dig with frozen hands
INT/EXT. NAVY STATION – DAY
Tony is grounded by the Navy and prevented from flying. He tries to dig his plane out of the ice and collapses in exhaustion.
Act 4:
EXT. NAVY STATION – DAY
Tony is joined by his sidekick Nick, who arrives at the Navy base with ten other fliers to attempt rescue.
EXT. PLANE COCKPIT – DAY
Tony discovers the camp, and the runway. The frantic people prevent him from rescuing Victoria first.
EXT. RUNWAY – DAY
Planes land over the next few days, rescuing many, one and two at a time.
EXT. ICE FIELD – DAY
Drake lures or snatches victoria away to an ice cave he has stocked with food.Drake hides out with Victoria captive in the ice cave.
INT. NAVY STATION – NIGHT
Tony compares notes with Nick, wondering how many have been rescued. He thinks one of the other planes rescued Victoria.
INT. ICE CAVE – DAY
TE 8: She fights with Drake, breaking him down psychologically, and pitying him.
EXT. RUNWAY – DAY
Captain Jensen is the last one on the ice. Everyone else has been rescued. Nick arrives on the last flight. The runway is breaking up in the spring thaw.
EXT. RUNWAY – DAY
PLACEHOLDER: A plane gets damaged while landing. Tony?
INT. ICE CAVE – DAY
Victoria struggles in the ice cave as she watches Tony fly off with Jensen.
EXT. ICE FIELD – DAY
Victoria runs out of the cave, pursued by Drake. Jensen spots them. Tony lands again and she and Jensen make it to the plane as Drake slides into the sea on the melting ice.
EXT. NAVY STATION – DAY
Tony thanks Jensen for saving Victoria. Jensen avows it was she who saved him.
EXT. SMALL TOWN CHURCH – DAY
Victoria and Tony are reunited, and are married by Jensen.
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Brendan Williams High Speed Beat Sheet
In this assignment, I learned I need to have more scenes. I only have like 20 actual scenes and a few place holder moments. Also, seeing the outline laid out, I’m seeing there’s a couple parts of the story that doesn’t work that well when I look at the bigger picture. Also, I need to research more on the psychology of both my characters and that could help develop some more and fresh ideas.
<title></title><style type=”text/css”>
</style>Rough Draft Beat
SheetThe
Transformational StructureACT 1 (20 Pages)
Opening: Anita is introduced
hanging out along the beach and taking opioids/ Valerie is at a local
bookstore hopping for a birthday present for her son, Sam. The
bookkeeper allows her to keep the books for free and that she doesn’t
have to pay for them.EXT: BEACH – DAY: Anita
stands along the beach watching the fog rest among the horizon. We
hear a small voice over about her brother’s death than she reaches
into her pocket and pulls out a handful of pills.INT. BOOKSTORE – DAY: Valerie
is shopping for various books at the bookstore and tells the
bookkeeper that they’re for Sam’s birthday. The bookkeeper tells her
they’re on the house.INT. FARMHOUSE – DINNING ROOM – SUNSET: Valerie
is packing up the dinning room and looks out the window. She sees Sam
playing basketball in the courtyard and then his image fades away.
She finds a bunch of old military items in a drawer and decides to
throw it out. Anita enters and ask if she packed up Sam’s room yet
and she says no.TE #1: Anita returns home
and asks her mother if she packed up Sam’s bedroom, but Valerie
says she can’t bare to go inside. We see Anita can’t go in the
room either.INT. FARMHOUSE – HALLWAY – SUNSET: Anita
is about to enter Sam’s room, but then realizes she also can’t bare
to open the door.TE #2: Valerie is playing
the piano and Anita joins her, but when Valerie sees the razor scars
along her arms, she walks away. She doesn’t want to talk to Anita
about anything.INT. FARMHOUSE – MUSIC ROOM – NIGHT: Valerie
decides to play a traditional Irish song on the piano. Anita
overhears her and joins. The two share a slightly mother-daughter
moment, until Valerie notices razor scars along Anita’s arms and
walks off.Inciting Incident: Valerie
gets denied a bank loan for a small house she wants to buy. Anita
suggest she uses Sam’s college fund, but she refuses to touch any of
the money in that account.EXT/INT. FARMHOUSE – FRONT PORCH – NIGHT: Valerie
gets a call from the bank about her home loan being denied. She
appears frustrated. Anita comes out and tells her that there’s money
inside Sam’s college account she can use as a down payment, but
Valerie doesn’t want to touch that money.PLACEHOLDER SCENE: Valerie
talks with her son, Sam. We see that she’s so in denial that she
still has a relationship with him.INT. FARMHOUSE – ANITA’S BEDROOM – NIGHT: Anita
tries to take more pills, but her secret stash of opioids is empty.
She calls her friend and co-worker, Hannah. She’s unable to meet up
with her later so she can buy some pills.Turning Point: Anita finds
out her friend, Hannah is unable to swing by the house and drop off
some opioids for her. She starts to have a withdrawal. She tries to
find a way to deal with her withdrawal.ACT 2 (20 Pages)
TE #3: Anita tries to call
her friend, Hannah about dropping off some pills, but she’s unable
to do it. Anita loses it in her room and tries to find a way to deal
with her withdrawal.New Plan: Valerie decides to
celebrate Sam’s 18<sup>th</sup>
birthday by throwing him a birthday present and acting as if he’s
still alive.INT. FARMHOUSE – KITCHEN – NIGHT: Valerie
starts preparing dinner and is making Sam’s favorite meal. Anita
enters and notices the bag of party balloons and stuff. Valerie
explains she’s throwing a party for Sam.TE #4: Valerie decides to
throw a birthday party for Sam and buys a cake and makes what used to
be Sam’s favorite dinner, but Anita tells her she needs to get over
it and accept the fact that Sam is gone and she can’t go on any
longer seeing her mother in denial.Plan in Action: Anita
confronts Valerie about why she’s ignoring her daughter and is
suddenly trying to be the mother of the year to her son, who’s now
dead.INT. FARMHOUSE – ANITA’S BEDROOM – NIGHT: Anita
goes into her room and opens her laptop and decides to calm herself
down by watching a few Youtube videos of her and her brother doing
Youtube challenges. We get a glimpse into who Sam was.EXT. FARMHOUSE – BACKYARD – DAY: Sam
and Anita are doing a Youtube challenge where they answer questions
about each other. We learn that Sam had a dream to move to Dublin,
Ireland when he finished high school and hopefully attend Trinity
College.Midpoint Turning Point: Anita
receives an acceptance letter from Trinity College that her short
story, “The Boy Who Died” has been accepted and the admissions
committee would like to interview her.EXT. FARMHOUSE – DRIVEWAY – NIGHT: Anita
walks down the driveway to the mailbox and finds a letter addressed
from Trinity College in Dublin. She opens it up and reads it. Her
short story has moved her up the admissions process.TE #5: Anita receives an
acceptance letter from Trinity College that her short story, “The
Boy Who Died” has moved her up in the admissions process. Anita
must decide if she should continue with the process or decide she
should stay behind in Maine and take care of her mother.INT. FARMHOUSE – ANITA’S ROOM – NIGHT: Anita
is reading over the letter and she hears Valerie approaching, so she
hides the letter but Valerie catches her. She ask what she’s reading.
She explains to Valerie she’s considering college and Valerie walks
off ignored.ACT 3 (20 Pages)
Rethink Everything: Anita
must choose between leaving her mother behind alone and move to
Dublin, Ireland for college or stay behind and take care of her
mother.INT. FARMHOUSE – DINNING ROOM – NIGHT: Anita
decides to help her mother set up the party. Valerie explains that
she brought a bunch of books for Sam since he’s interested in
writing.New Plan: Anita realizes
Valerie has been stealing her opioid pills and starts to become
concerned for her mother’s well-being. She decides to flush them down
the toilet.INT. FARMHOUSE – VALERIE’S BEDROOM – NIGHT: Valerie
enters her room and goes into her drawer and pulls out some pills.
She takes them with a glass of water. We learn that she’s stealing
pills from Anita for herself. She lays down on her bed and then falls
asleep.PLACEHOLDER SCENE: Before
Valerie falls asleep, we see Sam taking care of her and the two are
talking and then she falls asleep.TE #6: Valerie is the one
stealing the pills from Anita, however she’s not dumping them, but
she’s rather taking them for herself.Turning Point (Huge Failure/ Major Shift): Anita
hears her mother screaming as she’s having a nightmare and realizes
she’s having a flashback to when she was raped in a motel room 18
years ago. Anita realizes her biological father is a trucker who
raped Valerie many years ago.INT. FARMHOUSE – KITCHEN – NIGHT: Anita
starts setting up for the party and hears screaming. She rushes
upstairs.INT. FARMHOUSE – VALERIE’S BEDROOM – NIGHT: Valerie
is in the middle of a nightmare and Anita tries to wake her up. She
pushes her away and screams a guy’s name. Valerie tells Anita that
she was conceived during a rape.EXT. ROAD – NIGHT: Anita
walks down the road in anger and then starts sobbing.EXT. BRIDGE – NIGHT: Anita
decides to visit the bridge that Sam jumped off of and she places her
hands on the railing.TE
#7: Anita must deal with the
fact that her biological father isn’t whom she thought it was and
that it’s actually a complete stranger, whom Valerie met at a bar and
he raped her in a motel room.ACT 4 (20 Pages)
TE #8: Valerie knocks on
Sam’s door and tells him to wake up for the party but when he
doesn’t answer, she opens the door and loses it. Anita rushes into
the room and comforts her mother. She tells Valerie that she’ll be
by her side every step of the way in the grieving process.INT. FARMHOUSE – HALLWAY – NIGHT: Valerie
walks down the hallway and knocks on Sam’s door. She opens it and
finally enters her room.Climax/ Ultimate Expression of the Conflict: Valerie
finally enters Sam’s bedroom and loses it when she finally accepts
that her son is gone. Anita calms her down and tells her that Sam
didn’t kill himself, but slipped off the bridge.INT. FARMHOUSE – SAM’S BEDROOM – NIGHT: Valerie
is losing her temper and sobbing as she sits on Sam’s bed. Anita
rushes in and tries to calm her down. She explains that Sam probably
slipped off the bridge and didn’t intent to commit suicide, but
Valerie still believes he jumped.TE #9: Anita must decide between
telling Valerie the truth about Sam’s suicide letter or just keep
the secret private. She decides to burn the letter in the fireplace.INT. FARMHOUSE – ANITA’S ROOM –
NIGHT: Anita enters her room
and finds Sam’s suicide letter that she hid away. She reads it over
as we hear Sam’s voice writing it.INT. FARMHOUSE – HALLWAY –
NIGHT: Anita plans on walking
back to Sam’s room to finally show her mother the letter, but then
walks in the opposite direction.INT. FARMHOUSE – LIVING ROOM –
NIGHT: Anita tosses the letter
into the fireplace. She decides not to let her mother know that Sam
choose to end his life.Resolution: Anita takes
Sam’s suicide letter and tosses it into the fire place as she
remembers one of the last times that she hanged out with Sam along
the beach. He’s writing a short story in his journal titled, “The
Boy Who Died”.EXT. BEACH – DAY: On a
bright summer day, Anita and Sam are hanging out at the beach. Sam
sits along the sand writing in his journal and tells Anita that he’s
writing a short story titled, “The Boy Who Died”. -
What I learned from this assignment is that the high speed writing rules are a commitment to myself in order to produce the best end product. I will have to sacrifice quality over quantity in order to not get stuck or give up in the middle of the writing process.
BEAT SHEET:
Act 1:
INT. DAD’S RESTAURANT – NIGHT
Placeholder: Jin serving, Dad running his business as head chef, leaves early for family meeting
INT. GRANDPARENT’S HOUSE – NIGHT
OPENING: Jin is at his grandparents performing a traditional ritual for his ancestors. His mother is in the kitchen working for hours to prepare for the food. Jin moves back and forth between kitchen (women’s space) and living room (men’s space).
INT. KITCHEN – NIGHT
TE 1: Jin is acknowledged as a man now. No longer sits with the women of the household. Rite of passage (Should be unaware of Mom’s endeavors, maybe doesn’t start off in the kitchen).
INT. MOM’S CAR – DAY (transition? location?)
INCiTING INCIDENT: Jin’s mother tells him about his father’s past. Asks him to decide if he wants to live with his father or his mother.
INT. DAD’S CAR – DAY (transition? location?)
TE 2: Call comes through the bluetooth speaker in the car. Jin overhears a mistress calling his father in distress.
INT. HOUSE – DAY (transition? location?)
TURNING POINT: Jin decides to live with his mother, leaving behind all the connections with his relatives.
Act 2:
NEW PLAN: Expose his father for who he is. (transition? location?)
TE 3: Realizes how badly his relatives have been abusing his mother. Taking her for granted. She has been making sacrifices and suffering without anyone’s help.
INT. GRANDPARENT’S HOUSE – DAY
PLAN IN ACTION: Tell his relatives the truth. Break the news at dinner in front of his grandparents.
MIDPOINT TURNING POINT: They are already aware of it, but choose to ignore it.
TE 4: Storm out, sever his connections with them.
Act 3:
RETHINK EVERYTHING: Needs stronger evidence that they can’t turn their head away from
INT. DAD’S CAR – DAY
NEW PLAN: Find and meet one of the women he has had an affair with
EXT. PRESCHOOL – DAY?
TURNING POINT: Mistress had a child with him that he abandoned, NOW his family are horrified by his father’s irresponsibility. Father loses all credibility and respect.
Act 4:
INT. DAD’S RESTAURANT – DAY
CLIMAX/ULTIMATE EXPRESSION OF THE CONFLICT: Destroys his father’s reputation in front of his family members by bringing the mistress and her bastard son. Have him disowned.
INT. GRANDPARENT’S HOUSE – NIGHT (transition? location?)
TE 5: Sees that he has destroyed the harmony of his family.
INT. DAD’S CAR – NIGHT/EXT. HAN RIVER – NIGHT
Forgives his father and admit that he is . Understand that they are different yet inseparable.
INT. GRANDPARENT’S HOUSE – NIGHT
RESOLUTION: Jin attends the family ritual ceremony without his mother.
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Aline’s High Speed Beat Sheet
I learned: It took me a lot of time to go through this because I was questioning the difference between the Inciting Incident and the Transformational Event. I still think my third and fourth acts are weak, but it may be because there are a couple more layers at least that should be added here following the supporting character and the antagonist… I am trying to keep it simple with just the main points in the protagonist’s journey– I will, however, focus on the speed writing technique with all assignments, and as much as I was slow this time, I was also paying attention to where I was failing at those points to improve next time..
Act 1:
INT. CHURCH- DAY
OPENING: Lucy (17) clumsily plays a simple church hymn on the piano while the congregation mingles after a meeting. She starts to jam a little. An authority figure shows up and says that’s not appropriate behavior in the church. She blushes, apologizes and stops. (Lucy is obedient and doesn’t question)
INT. LUCY’S HOME- NIGHT
TE 1: Charlotte- younger wife is pregnant. Lucy finds her mother Eliza crying alone. She tries to talk – her mother gets angry and even more distant.
EXT. SALT LAKE CITY STORE- DAY
INCITING INCIDENT: Lucien is making his way hitchhiking from Washington State to LA. Meets Lucy by chance in Lucy’s SLC neighborhood. Lucy walks home with Lucien. Charlotte sees Lucy with a crush on a strange boy outside of the FLDS church. Charlotte tells Eliza.
INT. LUCY’S BEDROOM- DAY
INCITING INCIDENT: Lucy wins tickets to see Tori Amos in Los Angeles. She knows her conservative family wont let her go. She puts away the tickets.
INT. LUCY’S HOME/ DINING ROOM- NIGHT
TE 3: A man in his 30s friend of the family is invited for dinner and her polygamist father forcefully suggests they should marry. Lucy is shocked. She looks at her mother for support. She’s not available- that night Lucy listens to Tori Amos inspiring music and looks at the tickets. She’s going to LA.
Act 2:
EXT. GAS STATION SOUTHERN UTAH- NIGHT
INCITING INCIDENT: She gets lost and harassed at a scary gas station when looking for help. From a payphone, She calls home crying. Charlotte picks up. Tries to convince her to come home- Gets info about LA plan. “Naively” tells Lucy that marrying the 30 y.o. Man was her idea. Lucy hangs up. She can’t go home.
TE4: She can’t go home because the person he thought might be an ally in the family was actually the least trustworthy. She needs to follow through with getting away
Act 3:
EXT. FREEWAY- DAY
TE5: She keeps driving. Crying. Meets Lucien again on the road.
INT. LUCY’S CAR- DAY
INCITING INCIDENT: Go to LA and stay! In 2 hours with Lucien, She’s in love with this magical boy!!
TE 6 Lucien is a transboy! Lucy straddles Lucien in the passenger seat. Feels Lucien’s breasts. Deep Moral conundrum. Lucy is completely against homosexuality. She is confused and angry.
INT. LOS ANGELES DINER – EVENING
INCITING INCIDENT: They stop at a diner before the show. Police arrive with a missing person sign looking for Lucy. Lucy and Lucien get away. (They go to Tori Amos concert and meet her afterwards).
INT. LOS ANGELES DINER- LATER THAT NIGHT
TE7: Waitress at the diner convinced Lucein to give up Lucy and get the reward together. Lucien would be able to start his life and make sure Lucy was protected. Waitress convinced that Lucy needs a real man … not a “fake” man like Lucien and that Lucien was being selfish for not letting Lucy go back to her wealthy family. Lucien is the one to give up Lucy to the police( because he thinks he is doing the right thing for Lucy who is lucky to have a family looking for her)
Act 4:
INT. LUCY’S HOME- DAY
INCITING INCIDENT: Lucy is home and says she won’t get married. Her family disowns her and she needs to leave when she turns 18 in 2 months.
INT. SALT LAKE CITY DINER- DAY
TE8: Lucy and Lucien have reached their next level. Lucien comes through and shows up for them to start their journey together. Lucy accepts that she is in love with a queer boy/girl (one day at a time)
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Assignment 7
Aleta Rafton’s Beat Sheet
What I learned doing this assignment is to work fast in logical order to get story developed
ACT 1
Interior Living room with Christmas Tree, TV on
Opening: Closeup Stepdad slowly, carefully taking ornaments off Christmas tree and bubble wrapping them. Boy is muttering within earshot what a jerk the Stepdad is, mimics him and complains they will never finish taking ornaments off the tree. Stepdad and Mom are dressed as Indiana Jones with a whip and his female sidekick for a New Year’s Eve Party they are going to shortly.
Transformational Event 1: News story comes on TV about how lion escapes zoo distracting everyone from the job of taking the ornaments down. They all pause to watch for a few minutes. Stepdad takes the rest of the ornaments down and takes tree out for garbage pickup.
Mom gets call from News studio where she is a producer to cover the story. Still in costume she takes off for work but promises to be back in time for the party.
A perfectionist thinking it will prevent any problems, Stepdad is carefully and methodically wrapping ornaments as he takes them off the tree. He gets distracted by TV news leaving his stepson’s favorite ornament on tree as he puts it out for garbage truck.
Inciting Incident: Stepson realizes favorite ornament was still on tree as he runs out front to see the garbage truck driving off with tree and ornament hanging off back.
Stepson screams at Stepdad furious and insulting him as a man. Runs out of house chasing garbage truck
ACT 2
Stepdad and stepson in car chasing garbage truck on NYC street, Dusk
Opening: Stepdad jumps in the car speeding to catch the garbage truck, running red lights, turning without signaling; all things unthinkable just hours earlier
Transformational Event 2: He reaches out to grab ornament in moving vehicle and misses
Inciting Incident: Dozens of garbage trucks going every direction. Lose sight of tree. All hope lost.
Transformational Event 3: Stepdad turns on tracker relying on unproven device hoping to solve the problem
ACT 3
Opening: Interior car, night has fallen
Stepdad and boy in car following tree with tracker to dump. Boy is furious and can’t even look at his Stepdad. Feels hopeless and lashes out at Stepdad.
Arrive at dump, night
Get out of car wandering among piles of trees and garbage.
Use tracker to locate tree amongst lots of trees
Inciting incident: Find tree at dump
Locate tree, run toward it then see lion that escaped from the zoo eating garbage with ornament dangling on his mane.
Transformational Event: Stepdad has whip training and uses whip to knock ornament loose and back lion back into empty cage.
Inciting incident: Owl in tree watching
Transformational Event: As Stepdad runs to retrieve ornament, owl swoops in to steal ornament just a Stepdad is about to grab it. Loses hope needs new plan
Interior newsroom: Lots of screens showing coverage of where lion was found
Mom in newsroom working on story city is safe because lion was found trapped in dump in a container. She leaves to go home
Act 4
Opening: Inside car: night, lots of traffic on street
Transformational incident: Owl lands on top of the New Year’s Eve Ball that drops from the top of One Times Square
Inciting incident: Follow tracker to One Times Square when tracker stops.
Boy is angry, hopeless and discouraged, silent.
Transformational Event: Stepdad sees boy’s pain, parks, jumps out with boy following tracker to top of building to get ornament
Inciting Incident: They see owl with ornament hanging from beak sitting on top of New Year’s Eve Ball.
Transformational event: Though afraid of heights, Stepdad climbs out on top of building ledge high 25 stories above ground.
He has to jump to scaffolding to get close enough to use his whip as a rope swing. Using whip he swings over to owl on ball and grabs ornament from owl’s beak.
Swings back and gets big hug from stepson
Return Home: Inside house living room with tv
TV News showing lion trapped in container
Stepdad and boy enter home, with ornament as Mom asks how was your evening
Answer We had a Roaring good time
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Dale’s High Speed Beat Sheet
What I learned from this assignment is I found some new ideas for scenes but also know I need to see if they all track.
ACT 1:
Opening:
INT. ELIZABETH DREWER’S HOME – EVENING
Elizabeth in her home environment, establishing her style, music she listens to, full to bursting bookshelves, etc.
INT. PRENTISS UNIVERSITY – LECTURE HALL – DAY
Elizabeth at her lectern doing her first lecture for her “Intro do the Rationalists” philosophy class
EXT. PRENTISS UNIVERSITY – GROUNDS – DAY
Richard, the new TA, rushing to class, bumps into a female student who is struck by his good looks.
INT. PRENTISS UNIVERSITY – LECTURE HALL – DAY
He arrives to Elizabeth lecture – slips in at the back. She notices he’s late.
Inciting Incident:
INT. PRENTISS UNIVERSITY – FACULTY LOUNGE – DAY
First encounter with Richard and his iconoclastic thinking – while with Barbara in faculty lounge
INT. ELIZABETH DREWER’S HOME – EVENING
Marshall, Elizabeth’s ex-husband, comes to her home, ostensibly looking for a chemistry book he may have left there. Issues of their marriage come up.
INT. ELIZABETH’S UNIVERSITY OFFICE – DAY
A female student asks Elizabeth advice about testifying against a professor for sexual misconduct.
INT. PRENTISS UNIVERSITY – LECTURE HALL – DAY
Elizabeth’s lecture contrasted with…
INT. PRENTISS UNIVERSITY – RICHARD’S CLASSROOM – DAY
Richard’s discussions group. We see difference between Elizabeth and Richard’s teaching style. Also see female students drooling over Richard.
INT. RESTAURANT – EVENING
Elizabeth sees her colleague, Philip, holding hands with one of his former students who is still a student at the university.
Turning Point:
INT. ELIZABETH’S UNIVERSITY OFFICE – DAY
Elizabeth drags Richard on carpet for his teaching style. First glimmers of an attraction between them.
ACT 2
The plan:
INT. PRIVATE HOME – NIGHT
Elizabeth (at faculty party) tries to convince Philip to discontinue his relationship with his former student. Philip complains that the rules have gotten ridiculous and draconian. She argues in favor of them.
The Plan in action:
INT. ELIZABETH’S UNIVERSITY OFFICE – DAY
Elizabeth, in denial about any budding feelings, has a meeting with Richard about student Annabelle Crioli and his grade on on her paper. What starts as an academic and philosophical discussion morphs into a subtle flirtation on Richard’s part.
INT. PRENTISS UNIVERSITY – FACULTY LOUNGE – DAY
Philip asks how Elizabeth is dealing with their new renegade graduate student. She assures him she’s handling him. He has his doubts.
INT. PRENTISS UNIVERSITY – RICHARD’S OFFICE – DAY
Richard is meeting a female student during office hours. Although she pretends to be there to talk about the class, she is really enamored of Richard and starts to ask him personal questions like if he has a girlfriend, and what does he look for in a woman. Richard shuts this conversation down quickly and shows her out.
Midpoint Turning Point
INT. COFFEE HOUSE – DAY
Richard and Elizabeth find themselves at the same coffee shop off campus, they have a more intimate conversation about their pasts. Elizabeth is becoming more consciously aware of her attraction, though she denies it to her friend, Barbara.
INT. ELIZABETH’S HOME OFFICE – EVENING
Richard turns up, soon after, at Elizabeth’s home, ostensibly to review final student grades, but really to declare his feelings to Elizabeth. He kisses her. Despite herself, she kisses him back. Shocked at her own behavior, she kicks him out!
ACT 3:
Rethink everything:
INT. VARIOUS LOCATIONS AT UNIVERSITY – DAY
Elizabeth tries to avoid Richard at work. Rushes off when he enters the faculty lounge. Walks out of her lecture in conversation with a student, so he cannot engage her.
INT. FACULTY LOUNGE – DAY
Staring out the window of the faculty lounge, she sees Richard talking to a student. She is absorbed with how he smiles, how he moves, the bend of his neck, the brush of his hand across his hair.
INT. ELIZABETH DREWER’S HOME – BEDROOM – NIGHT
Elizabeth has a sex dream about Richard. She wakes up, with the contradictory feelings of longing and self hatred.
New plan:
INT. HALLWAY & ELIZABETH’S UNIVERSITY OFFICE – DAY
Richard waiting as Elizabeth arrives for her office hours. She lets him in, and explains that the kiss was a mistake, but they can still turn back. But they must deal only on a professional level, avoiding personal contact. She is adamant. But Richard doesn’t agree.
She and Philip discuss Richard and how his renegade style must be driving her crazy. When she denies that, he is surprised.
INT. ELIZABETH DREWER’S HOME – EVENING
Marshall turns up at her house to get a baby gift from her for his current wife. She asks him what really went wrong with their marriage? He can tell something is wrong and she admits she is attracted to someone she shouldn’t be.
VARIOUS LOCATIONS – DAY / NIGHT
Emails, texts and phone calls come from Richard
Turning Point:
INT. ELIZABETH DREWER’S HOME – EVENING
Richard turns up at her home. She lets him in, only because he won’t stop knocking (and waking up the neighbors). She gives him all the reasons why this relationship is not okay. But in the end… when he doesn’t accept this and kisses her again, she gives him.
INT. ELIZABETH DREWER’S HOME – BEDROOM – EARLY MORNING
Elizabeth wakes up in a blissful state. But that state quickly evaporates as she looks at Richard asleep next to her. What has she done? She dresses quickly and heads out of the house for work.
All is Lost:
INT. ELIZABETH DREWER’S HOME – EVENING
Barbara finds Elizabeth at home, having stayed away from university for a week pretending she is sick. She confesses the affair to Barbara and says she is ashamed at her behavior and yet cannot stop thinking about Richard. She knows she should be reporting this, but if she does, what will happen?
EXT. UNIVERSITY PARKING LOT – DAY
Richard sees Elizabeth heading to her car. He rushes after her and asks why she is avoiding him. She is distraught and says she can’t do this, this is impossible! In another corner of the parking lot, the student who has a crush on Richard sees the two of them having a heated discussion. Will she put the pieces together?
INT. ELIZABETH DREWER’S HOME – EVENING
She is staying at home pretending she is sick. Texts from Richard now turn into urgent voice mails. (“Are you really sick?” “let me come take care of you, then,” etc.)
INT. FACULTY LOUNGE – DAY
Meanwhile, back at the university, Philip questions Richard as to when Elizabeth might be coming back. In their conversation, he figures out what has been going on.
INT. PRENTISS UNIVERSITY – RICHARD’S OFFICE – DAY
Barbara goes to Richard and tells him he has to cut off all contact with Elizabeth, stop calling, texting, etc. He needs to leave her alone. It’s tearing her apart. And now that Philip knows, things are even worse!
INT. ELIZABETH DREWER’S HOME – DAY
We see Elizabeth in her home, looking lost. She looks at the texts from Richard, almost responds, then throws the phone against the wall.
EXT. PRENTISS UNIVERSITY – GROUNDS
Richard walks through campus, deep in thought.
INT. PRENTISS UNIVERSITY – RICHARD’S CLASSROOM – DAY
We see him in his classroom, not hearing what a student is saying, but just nodding.
INT. ELIZABETH DREWER’S HOME – EVENING
We see Elizabeth turn on her phone. There are no texts from Richard. She is surprised. He turns on her computer and looks at her emails. No emails from him either.
INT. PRENTISS UNIVERSITY – DR. OFFICE – DAY
We see Richard in a meeting with the head of the philosophy department. We do not hear what they are saying.
ACT 4:
Climax: The Test.
INT. RICHARD’S OFFICE – DAY
Elizabeth turns up at Richard’s office. She is shocked to see him packing. He explains that he is taking a leave of absence and will apply to other institutions after. She says he doesn’t have to, as she has decided to continue to see him, and keep it a secret. She loves him. But he says he has to, more than ever, for her sake as well as his.
Resolution:
UNIVERSITY FACULTY LOUNGE – DAY
We see Elizabeth back at the university where she encounters Philip. Despite her fear, he hadn’t turned her in. He’s just glad to have the company. She realizes she had too readily judged him. He is forgiving.
INT. PRENTISS UNIVERSITY – LECTURE HALL – DA
We see Elizabeth doing one more lecture before spring break (where she has decided to join Richard during the break.) In the lecture, we see a reflection of how this experience has changed her views on philosophy and on life.
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Dave Holloway’s High Speed Beat Sheet
What I learned doing this assignment is that laying out the structure of the story gives me a clearer view of the weak spots in it before I do a huge amount of work on something that I’ll end up having to cut.
OPENING
INT. COURTROOM – DAY
We see Nigel is court, arguing a case with some passion.
INT. HOME – NIGHT
INCITING INCIDENT – Nigel receives a SKYPE call from his wife, Livia, who is a journalist reporting from the independent states that occupy the land where America once was. She reports she has been imprisoned in a military state on the West Coast on a false charge of spying, and that the prison is executing some of its prisoners.
INT. PRIME MINISTER’S RESIDENCE
TE #1 – Nigel meets with a high official in the British government and tries to convince them to intercede with the military state, Shiloh, on his wife’s behalf. He is told Britain has no diplomatic relations with Shiloh, so nothing can be done.
INT. PUB – NIGHT
Nigel tells his best friend, Roger, of Livia’s imprisonment. He says he’s going to Shiloh to try to rescue her. Roger volunteers to accompany him, and Nigel agrees.
INT. AIRPLANE – Nigel and Roger take a commercial flight headed to Los Angeles, near the headquarters of Shiloh and the prison where Livia is kept.
INT. AIRPLANE – DAY
TE#2 – As they near the East Coast of North America, the pilot announces that the states on the East Coast have declared their air space inviolate. No plane can cross it, so they will have to land in New York.
INT. AIRPORT – DAY
They walk through the New York airport, and decide to take a bus across the state it’s in, called Commerce.
INT. BUS – DAY
TE #3 – On the bus, they meet a man who’s a leader of working-class people in Commerce, who are rising up against the dominance of the management class that runs the state. A police car pulls the bus over and cops get on the bus and try to arrest the labor leader. But he, his bodyguards and Roger fight them off.
EXT. ENVIRONMENTAL STATE – DAY
They arrive at the next State, Elysium, and take a tax across it. The state is very green and beautiful.
EXT. NATIVE-AMERICAN STATE – DAY
They arrive at a Native-American stated, Tribal Nations. They cannot cross by car, so they must begin to hike. They hire a young woman who is a guide in the state and can help them cross as quickly and safely as possible.
EXT. RIVERSIDE – DAY
TE #4 – They approach a Native village and see a canoe along a river. They get into the canoe and drift past the village in the middle of the river. Only the guide, Amelia, is visible to the Natives they float by.
EXT. CAMPING SPOT – NIGHT
As Roger and Amelia talk, they become more friendly with each other. A spark of attraction develops between them.
EXT. TOWN – DAY
They reach a town in a state with no laws, the Western Reserve, where they can get a train across the state and all the way to Shiloh.
EXT. TRAIN STATION – DAY
As they cross the Western Reserve, the train stops at a station, and they get out for fresh air. There they see posters with their photos on them, offering a $10,000 bounty for their capture, dead or alive. Some bounty hunters see them in the station and try to capture them, but the two of them fight the bounty hunters off.
INT. TRAIN – DAY
They leave the Western Reserve, and the train takes them across the Dead Lands, an area that has been so contaminated by pesticides, industrial waste, carbon monoxide and climate change that the whole state is a burnt-out wasteland that has been incinerated by fires.
EXT. SHILOH – DAY
TE #5 – They reach the Shiloh border and follow its border wall out into the countryside where they discover a way to climb in. They have to jump down from the 15-foot wall into a river on the other side, not knowing how deep the water is or whether they’ll be hurt or killed. But the water is deep enough, and they are unhurt.
EXT. SHILOH – DAY
TE #6 – They find a road, stop a car traveling on it, order the driver out, and drive away with his car. They eventually get to Vicksburg, the Shiloh capital where Livia is held.
INT. VICKSBURG HOTEL – NIGHT
Livia is able to text them, and tells them her prison lawyer will meet them.
INT. VICKSBURG RESTAURANT – DAY
The next day, they meet the lawyer in a restaurant. He tells them of a plan for Livia to escape, and they agree to it.
EXT. SHILOH PRISON – DAY
Livia walks with a group of prisoners who are about to be executed. She and her lawyer escape the group, and he drives her to a street corner in Vicksburg, where she meets Roger and Nigel. The lawyer gets out and allows them to keep his car.
EXT. VICKSBURG STREET – DAY
They drive to the home of a man who is against the military state and sometimes flies others out of the state who want to escape.
EXT. VICKSBURG NEIGHBORHOOD – DAY
TE #7 – He starts his plane, and they are about to take off when the prison warden arrives in a police car. Nigel engages in a fight with the man and overcomes him. He gets into the plane.
INT AIRPLANE – DAY
The plane takes off, and they fly toward Mexico City, where they will take a commercial flight to London. They are free.
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Melanie’s Highspeed Beat Sheet
What I learned – I need to let go in and focus on the most important parts of the journey in the beginning instead of being concerned with details.
Act 1:
INT. WOODS – DAY
TE1: Sybil is playing a game of war in the woods next to her home with an Iroquois teen. He tracks her to her hiding spot, Sybil jumps out and tries to fight but he disarms her and she loses.
EXT. FARMHOUSE – DAY
Sybil watches her father talk to the militia, sending them home. Sees Edmond in the troops. She asks her father to teach her how to shoot, but he refuses – she skulks away.
EXT. TRYON HOME – NIGHT
PLACEHOLDER: Meanwhile, Samuel witnesses the burning of General Tryon’s mansion, and feeds on the belief that the American militia were the arsonists. He helps to put out the flames, saving the General’s son and igniting his own desire to quell the enemy.
Inciting Incident
INT. LUDINGTON FARM HOUSE – NIGHT
INCITING INCIDENT:
A wounded messenger arrives at Sybil’s house in the night, warning her father that he must gather his soldiers as the British have invaded Danbury, CT. The man is too wounded to go any further and her father must stay to rally soldiers, so Sybil jumps at the chance. Her father forbids her to go but she hops on their horse anyway and leaves.
EXT. ROAD – NIGHT
Miles from her farm as rain starts to fall, Star (her horse) stubbornly stops in the road, refusing to go any further. She pushes and pulls to get her to move, and angers the horse further. Suddenly a gunshot whizzes by them, the horse bucks her off and runs into the forest.
Act 2:
EXT. ROAD – NIGHT
New plan
Sybil hides in a bush on the side of the road, managing to escape Samuel who rides by into the forest…after her horse. She decides she can’t go on foot and needs to get her horse back.
TE 2: She learns she needs help – she can’t do this mission alone.
EXT. ROADSIDE – NIGHT
Sybil hides in the bushes. She heads into the forest after her. But they are too fast and she can’t possibly catch up. She’s now lost and alone. Remembering what she learned from the Iroquois friend, she starts to track them by looking for broken branches.
EXT. FOREST – NIGHT
TE3: Along the way she comes across dead American militia strewn across the forest floor. The spoils of war are not pretty. It’s not fun and games anymore. She continues on.
EXT. SAMUEL’S CAMP – NIGHT
Midpoint Turning Point
She is able to track them and finds her horse now tied up next to Samuel’s camp. She sneaks in and frees her horse but it makes a ruckus. Samuel sees them, and fires at her again, but she hops on and they head out. Samuel hops on his horse and is right behind them. Another gunshot wounds her horse’s side.
Act 3:
Rethink everything
INT. BARN – NIGHT
Sybil and her horse make it to a nearby barn where she assesses her horse’s wound. Star is bleeding, and she hugs her in tears, finally forming a friendship. Samuel is now at the door to the house next door, banging on it looking for them. She has to act fast.
TE 4: She breaks down seeing her horse is injured because of her actions, but ultimately she decides to keep going. She can’t go back now.
EXT. DANBURY, CT – NIGHT
British soldiers have descended upon the city, ransacking the town and starting to burn it down. We see the savagery and what’s at stake for the rest of the country should Sybil fail.
New plan
I/E. BARN – NIGHT
Sybil scrounges through the barn, makes a concoction to rub onto the wound, and wraps a cloth around it. As a team, they must work together.
TE 5: She regroups since her horse is now wounded, coming up with a new strategy to take another path to town instead of out running the antagonist. They head out again, not on the road but through the forest.
EXT. TOWN, NY – NIGHT
Turning Point: Huge failure / Major shift
Sybil and her horse make it to the first town. She grabs a stick and bangs on houses as they run by with Samuel on their heels. But none of the townspeople understand what is happening and they dismiss her.
Act 4:
Climax/Ultimate expression of the conflict
EXT. ROAD – NIGHT
Sybil rides faster, the blood soaking through Star’s bandage, making it to the next town but Samuel cuts them off before they enter.
TE 6: Samuel stands in her way. She must fight him in hand to hand combat. He points the gun at her, giving her a last warning. Her horse lunges at his, and his horse bucks him off. Sybil manages to disarm him (using the trick the Iroquois friend did to her in the beginning), succeeds leaving Samuel on the ground without his gun. She grabs his musket and heads into the town.
EXT. TOWN #2 – NIGHT
Sybil rings the bell in the center of town, summoning the townspeople who gather groggily.
TE 7: In addressing the crowd, she must be believable, figure out how to rally them. We see her use her dad’s skills, as he had addressed the troops in the beginning. But she is far more passionate and persuasive, speaking her truth.
She tells the British have invaded Danbury and holds up the musket as proof. Edmond, a soldier from her father’s regiment, vouches for her. She has become her dad but better! The militia finally rally behind her. Samuel leaves, seeing the forces she has rallied, beaten.
Resolution
EXT. ROAD OUTSIDE LUDINGTON FARM – NIGHT
She leads 400 militia men back to her farm to her father’s shock. He starts to help her off her horse, but Edmond does so instead. She no longer needs her father’s approval, she has proven her abilities to herself.
-
DeRuve’s High Speed Beat Sheet
What I learned doing this assignment is how to accept unanswered questions, plot holes, and thin sequences. I definitely don’t have all the answers. I mean. I have like, no answers. But, I have a strong Act I, and some strong moments along the way, and it was enough to sort of build on and get started. I definitely have been having ideas come and go quickly. I would like this script to be 90-100 pages, so I’m happy we are powering through, which is keeping me from turning this into an epic which I tend to do with everything. I got a lot out of this, even if this beat sheet to this point is really front heavy.
Title: Rhino
Beat Sheet –
ACT I
1985, Troy, New York
INT./EXT. RHINO’S JALOPY/TROY SUBURBS – NIGHT
SEVERINO PERISI, 34, aka RHINO, drives his jalopy through a middle class neighborhood looking for an address he has scribbled on paper.
EXT. SUBURBAN HOUSE – NIGHT
Rhino walks around the side of the dark house looking in the windows, around back, he sees a man on the patio smoking a cigar. Rhino quietly emerges from the shadows, the man is terrified trying to run but tripping over his cheap lawn furniture. Rhino gets ahold of him, he’s there to collect a debt the man can’t pay. Rhino roughs him up real good, throwing him through the glass sliding door into the living room. Rhino throws a few right hooks knocking the man limp. Rhino straightens himself up when a little girl emerges, crying in fear. Rhino is shook by her presence.
EXT./INT. EMPIRE STATE PLAZA CONVENTION CENTER – ALBANY – NIGHT
Rhinos speeds into the crowded parking lot, parks right in front of the door and rushes inside. He’s late for his fight.
In the locker room, JOEY, 34, the Capo, complains about his tardiness and asks if he knows the plan. He has to explain it again, Rhino is to carry the fight to the third round and win by knockout.
INT. BOXING RING – CONTINUOUS
Rhino perries with his opponent who is trying his best, but no match for Rhino. The crowd is growing restless by Rhino’s approach and the lack of action on his side. In the third round Rhino comes out swinging, winning by knockout.
INT. LOCKER ROOM – NIGHT
Rhino collects on his payday and gets a visit from the Godfather, Joey’s father. A true honor.
INT. RHINO’S APARTMENT – NIGHT
Rhino lives in a really crappy one bedroom, small and messy. He comes home to his dog Cannoli tied up in the backyard. He turns on the small tube TV to watch the news. He drinks beer and cuddles his dog, his best friend, and sees the highlights from his fight.
INT. GYMNASIUM – DAY
Rhino stands beside a man filling out forms. Rhino looks a little lost and out of place. A man behind the desk commends Rhino on his fifth year sponsoring a little league team. He counts off $800 cash, and shakes with the coaches on his way out.
EXT./INT. PERISI FAMILY HOME – DAY
Rhino walks from his apartment, down a few houses in this packed two family home neighborhood with Cannoli. Obviously a lower income neighborhood. He waves to the passer bys, all Italians, until arriving at his parents house. He ties Cannoli up in the backyard. The tiny house is packed to the gill with a loud mouthed Italian family. Everyone treats Rhino like the baby, and we get to see a beautiful family dynamic.
Rhino gives his Father the rent money, but his Father doesn’t have much to say to him.
His brother pulls him aside and asks for a job with Joey, but Rhino plays dumb and acts like he’s not involved in the mob at all.
INT. LAUNDROMAT – NIGHT
Rhino does his wash, Cannoli sitting under his chair, BILLIE BELLE, 28, and her two sons are there also doing wash. The boys throw a baseball which skips over in Rhino’s direction. Again we see him charming and kind to the boys, and Billie decides to talk to him for the first time. They have an adorable conversation that ends with intrigue.
EXT. PORT OF ALBANY – DAY
Rhino walks the docks as the longshoremen retire for the night. His target catches a glimpse of him and tries to evade. Rhino tracks him down, but lets him off with a warning.
INT. RHINO’S APARTMENT – NIGHT
Rhino sits awake in his dark and dingy living room, the clock strikes 5am. He gets dressed and leaves.
EXT. SOUTH TROY – DAWN
Rhino runs through the streets throwing random jabs and hooks, Cannoli running beside him.
INT. PARISI FAMILY HOUSE – DAY
Rhino sits around a long table in a full living room for Sunday dinner with his family. They recite a catholic prayer before the food is passed around.
ACT II
EXT./INT. PARISI FAMILY HOUSE/JOEY’S CAR – EVENING
Joey is waiting in his car outside the house, picks up Rhino when he leaves. He reveals that he knows Rhino let his last target off with a warning and explains how detrimental to the business that is. He also explains an upcoming fight for Thursday with a 19 year old kid, he’s filling in for an injured fighter. They’re confident because the kid only has two professional fights. The fix is in for a second round knockout, Rhino agrees.
INT. LAUNDROMAT – NIGHT
Rhino does his laundry and Billie arrives with the kids. She has a way of seeing through Rhino into who he really is. She says some things that touch a nerve. Rhino is on his way to his fight, doing his own laundry. He tells them he’ll put their names in at the box office for tickets if they want. The boys want to go.
INT. EMPIRE STATE PLAZA CONVENTION CENTER – NIGHT
Rhino pounds his taped fists together prepping to pull his gloves on. Joey arrives and questions him about the tickets he gave away, revealing he knows everything. Joey discourages him from forming a relationship with the girl, also revealing he knows she is black. Frowning upon him for going outside the Italian race.
Rhino enters the ring and spots Billie and the boys in the crowd, not far from Joey and some goons. The fighters are announced and Rhino gets a big cheer as a hometown hero. The other fighter is announced, it’s Mike Tyson in his third professional fight. Rhino is knocked out in the first round. Embarrassed in front of Billie, and in for it with Joey and the mob.
INT. LOCKER ROOM – NIGHT
Joey questions if Rhino has lost his ability. His work is suffering, his fighting is suffering. He questions more about the girl. Pushes Rhino around and tells him he better straighten up or he’ll have to answer to the Godfather.
EXT. BASEBALL FIELD – DAY
Rhino sits in a cheap lawn chair with Cannoli watching the little league game. Billie spots him and approaches, her son’s are on the other team. They share some laughs, and Billie can’t help but be intrigued by him. Rhino asks if they can have a date, she agrees.
INT. JOEYS CAR – DAY
Joey picks up Rhino to discuss his next target. He explains the severity of the situation and breaks the news that Rhino needs to kill this guy.
INT. HOUSE – NIGHT
The target is in his home going about his business when he finds Rhino sitting in the dark. “Do you know who I am?” The target is terrified but not running like the last guy. Rhino informs him that he is supposed to kill him, but gives him an out. Tells him to pack up his family and disappear forever. Go somewhere and start new.
EXT. SOUTH TROY – DAWN
Rhino runs with Cannoli by his side.
ACT III
INT. PAONE HOUSE – NIGHT
Rhino meets with the Godfather to discuss his new target, Billie’s brother, who happens to be a corrupted cop in debt to his ears.
INT. JOEY’S CAR – NIGHT
Rhino is caught off guard when he realizes this isn’t a normal car ride. Joey presents Rhino with the ultimatum, kill Billie’s brother, or be killed himself. Joey acts as though he is his friend and is trying to help.
INT. PARISI FAMILY HOUSE – NIGHT
Rhino has the first conversation with his Father, who reveals he knows who he really is. His Father inspires him to follow his heart, and change the parts of his life he’s not happy with. If he loves Billie, he needs to be the kind of man she deserves.
INT. MADISON SQUARE GARDEN – NIGHT
Rhino is given the plan for the night, fight hard out of the gate, and take a dive on the first clean punch. During the fight Rhino has a change of heart when he realizes this opponent is nothing compared to him. He makes the choice to win the fight, but flees the scene when it’s over.
INT. RHINO’S APARTMENT – NIGHT
Rhino comes home to find Cannoli has been killed. For the first time we see Rhino break, he’s lost his best friend.
ACT IV
EXT. BILLIE’S APARTMENT – NIGHT
Rhino tries to help Billie, whose brother has informed her of who Rhino really is. Rhino is trying to warn them that they are in danger.
EXT. POT OF ALBANY – NIGHT
Rhino has been tailing Joey, final showdown, Joey is killed.
INT. RHINO’S CAR – MORNING
Rhino leaves the capital district, assuming he went to find Billie.
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Sandra’s High Speed Beat Sheet
What I learned doing this assignment is that the highspeed writing rules and creating the beat sheet in three passes made this lesson a lot easier. Also, knowing that the quality of a first draft is 20%, takes off the pressure to have all the answers and have everything right.
Genre: Thriller.
Concept: A Ph.D. student discovers the sinister identity of her professor who has been sabotaging her research.
ACT I
INT. UNIVERSITY RESEARCH LAB – NIGHT
(OPENING): Using an eyedropper, someone puts a few drops from an unmarked vial into vial TM1 (test mouse 1). Vial and eye dropper put in a baggy and hides in the assistant’s desk drawer. Distorted voice on a cellphone orders flowers to be delivered.
INT. LUCY’S HOUSE – DAY
LUCY, a 30-year-old, married, Ph.D. student, stands in a steamy bathroom. Wearing a robe and towel wrapped around her hair. Cracks the door open to let out the steam. Rehearses her dissertation defense as she looks in the mirror and applies makeup. Hears a noise. Opens the door further and goes into the living room. She examines a bouquet of flowers on the coffee table – no note.
EXT./INT. LUCY’S CAR – DAY
Lucy gets in her car and drives away. Parks at the University and strolls into a building.
INT. UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR CLARKS OFFICE – DAY
Door closed, PROFESSOR CLARK, 50’s, brilliant, balding, paunchy, on the phone with a pharmaceutical company. What is Professor Clark hiding? He hangs up.
Lucy knocks on his door. He tells her to enter. They discuss her dissertation. Professor Clark gets close to Lucy, makes advances. Lucy goes to the lab.
INT. UNIVERSITY RESEARCH LAB – DAY
Lucy enters the lab. Note on the lab desk to Lucy from her assistant reads, “Fed the mice. Will be back later after class.”
(INCITING INCIDENT): Lucy finds a dead lab mouse.
(TURNING POINT 1): What happened to the lab mouse? Lucy does an autopsy. The mouse was poisoned with arsenic.
TE 1 – Who would poison the lab mouse? Lucy assumes it was her research assistant.
ACT II
INT./EXT. LUCY’S CAR – DAY
(NEW PLAN): Lucy drives her car down a street, and pulls into a restaurant parking lot to have lunch with her husband. She parks. Slings her purse over her shoulder. Opens the door. Steps out.
EXT. RESTAURANT – DAY
Lucy looks forward to having lunch with her husband. Unknown to Lucy, someone has hired a thug to watch/stalk and scare her as he plans to sabotage Lucy’s research project for nefarious reasons. As Lucy walks across the parking lot, she is almost hit by a big black monster pickup truck.
Lucy walks towards the restaurant main door. She stops. Through the window Lucy thinks she sees her husband holding hands with another woman.
TE 2: Lucy jumps to conclusions and thinks her husband is cheating on her and feels betrayed. However, it’s not her husband, it’s someone who resembles him.
Upset, Lucy turns around and storms back to her car. Clicks the door unlock button on her key fob and opens the driver side door. Throws her bag on the passenger seat. Bag tips over. Home pregnancy kit, ancestry kit and other items fall out. She slides in. Slams the door shut.
INT./EXT. LUCY’S CAR – DAY
(PLAN OF ACTION): Lucy grips the steering wheel with both hands. Leans her forehead on the wheel. Swears. She speeds off back to the university lab, knocking over a sign. Lucy is caught in traffic – accident or construction. At a standstill.
Her husband calls when Lucy doesn’t show up. They argue. Says he wasn’t sitting near the window. She doesn’t believe him. She believes him when she sees he’s wearing a blue shirt not a grey one (Face Time). She maneuvers the car to get off on a side road.
TE 3: Lucy has a flat tire. Pulls off to the side of the road. Heavy traffic. Black pickup truck side swipes her driver side door. She finds the spare tire and jack. Changes the tire. Tire was slashed. Lucy wonders who’s following her and why.
She drops the tire and injures her foot. Limps to the passenger side door, climbs in.
INT. UNIVERSITY RESEARCH LAB – DAY
Assistant returns from class, acting anxious, distracted, and nervous.
TE 4: Lucy confronts her. Assistant swears she didn’t poison the mouse. Assistant uncovers the vial and eye dropper in a baggy in her desk drawer. Assistant warns Lucy about Professor Clark, he’s not who he says he is. Shows Lucy an article and hands her a flash drive.
(MIDPOINT): Lucy receives a phone call from her brother that her mother is in the hospital and may not live. Mother requests Lucy to come home. What secret has Lucy’s mother been keeping?
ACT III
INT. UNIVERSITY RESEARCH LAB – DAY
Lucy looks at the flash drive regarding Professor Clark’s background. She wonders if his credentials are fraudulent. Lucy reviews a news article about a Professor Clark Thompson at another school who killed a student. A lie is uncovered, and a secret identity uncovered. Lucy discovers that Professor Clark is really Clark Thompson and wanted by the FBI. She wonders who will his next victim be?
INT. UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR CLARKS OFFICE – DAY
(RETHINK EVERYTHING): Lucy reports the incident and her mother’s situation to Professor Clark. How will this impact her dissertation? Professor Clark lies, deceives, and manipulates. Professor Clark suspects the assistant and will have her expelled. The worst thing possible happens, Professor Clark threatens Lucy with loss of her job/career if she leaves to see her dying mother. Lucy desperately wants to see her mother and thinks she will finally find out who her father is after all these years.
Lucy’s dilemma is whether to visit her dying mother or give her dissertation?
EXT. UNIVERSITY RESEARCH LAB – DAY
Lucy’s husband pulls up outside the lab. Lucy bends over to kiss him and slips the flash drive into his pocket. She asks her husband to put the flash drive in the safety deposit box. Husband promises, but forgets to go to the bank before it closes.
INT./EXT. LUCY’S CAR -DAY
(NEW PLAN): Lucy puts family first and drives on a rural road to see her mother.
TE 5: Unexpected strong storm. It rains harder and harder.
(TURNING POINT 2): Lucy’s car is rear ended and then pushed into a ditch by the black monster pickup. Who ran her off the road and why?
ACT IV
INT./EXT. LUCY’S CAR -DAY
It just got more dangerous. Ditch fills with water. Car filling with water. She’s trapped.
TE 6: Lucy’s afraid she won’t survive.
(FINAL PLAN): Lucy calls her family and friends.
Lucy calls her husband to tell him where she is and that she loves him if she doesn’t survive. Tells him she may be pregnant.
Next, she calls her brother. Begs him to let her talk to her mother as she’s caught in a storm.
(CLIMAX/ULTIMATE EXPRESSION OF THE CONFLICT): Lucy knows she won’t be able to present her dissertation. Talks to her mother on the phone.
TE 7: Lucy finds out who she thought was her mother is really her grandmother, her sister is her biological mother, and her father is unknown.
(RESOLUTION): The storm lets up, then stops. Sunshine peeks out of the clouds. Lucy slides the sunroof open. Surveys the landscape – corn crops are flattened. She gathers everything into her bag. She crawls out of the sun roof. Lucy’s husband finds her. He drives up and offers her a ride. They embrace and kiss.
PLACEHOLDER: What happens to Professor Clark? Will he be arrested or disappear?
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MARY ELLEVOLD
LESSON 7 HOMEWORK -STEPS
ACT 1
EXT: JON’S APT.
Opening-BIRDS ON A WIRE. KAT IN A KAT SUIT SNEAKS INTO JON’S
APARTMENT AND LEAVES A BASKET.INT. JON’S APT
INTRO: BOB & JON & GERBIE. PHONE CALL- A KITTY IN A TREE.
EXT. JON’S PARKING LOT
Inciting Incident- BIRDS POOP BOMB THE CAR, HE GETS
STUCK IN CARWASH. CALLS KAT TO TAKE
OVER;
GOD’S WRATH VS KAT’S WRATH.
JON HEARS RADIO PHOBIA DOCTOR & CALLSEXT: BIG TREE
INT. PSYCH OFFICE -DAY
PSYCH DOC ON VACATION, JANITOR, PICKS UP PHONE DECIDES TO MAKE MONEY.
JON AGREES TO INDIV THERAPY; GET STUCK IN ELEVATOR
Turning Point-CAT ATTACK AT PHOBIA DOCTOR’S, BAND AID
APPROACH
ADD KAT CALL PSYCH-GET INTO GROUP THERAPYAct 2:
New plan-GROUP THERAPY INCLUDES HIS EX, KAT; AND
PLAN-HE MUST FACE HIS FEAR OF ANIMALS – ZOOPHOBIA;
Plan in action-DIAGNOSIS, VIRTUOREALITY,(KAT CONTROLS)
AND COUNTER CONDITIONING-
INTRO DOUG THE BUG, PSYCH, BOB, NANA
INTRO PHOBIA BOOK, MOTTOS
DOG ATTACK IN THE NEWS
Midpoint Turning Point-GO TO PETSHOPPE TO FACE FEARS, (KAT
SABOTAGES0 JON GETS ARRESTEDAct 3:
FORGET THERAPY, KAT TAKES HIM TO COURT TO GET COMPANY,
AND JUDGE ORDERS TO CONTINUE THERAPY
New plan- COUNTERCONDITIONING AT AQUARIUM- KAT CHANGES
SIGNS, SHARK & EEL ATTACK BUT KAT RESCUES-ADD BOB FINDS OUT SO KAT HAS
TO.
Turning Point: Huge failure / Major shift- THE PARTY- NOT
INVITED BUT JON BONDS WITH BOB. BOB
FINDS OUT ABOUT KATTHE PHONE CALL -TOILET STUCK, JON FULL OF CRAP. ADD KAT
DISAPPOINTED, NOT A WORTHY OPPONENT, CAT & MOUSEAct 4:
Climax/Ultimate expression of the conflict-
COUNTERCONDITIONING AT THE ZOO
BIRDS ATTACK, SECRET WEAPON #7 REVEALED,
Resolution- DOUG THE BUG ADMITS HE PUSHED KAT AS KID,
KAT TRIES TO STOP, & JON DIVES IN WATER TO RESCUE BOB, PERFUME WASHES
OFF, ANIMALS QUIT CHASING.
JON GIVES FAKE PSYCH SOAP; -
[01] What I learned doing this assignment? This is a great way to organize the entire script in chunks. I have tried several methods to stay at the 40,000 foot level and I invariably get drawn down into the nitty-gritty as an idea pops in my head and I run with it. This methodology will allow me to be creative without being bogged down into thinking where does it belong, how does this affect the other characters and their story lines…
Decide to intentionally use High Speed Writing Rules throughout the rest of program.
Rule 1:
Understand writing in drafts.
Rule 2: Choose
speed over quality for EARLY drafts.
Rule 3: Allow
yourself to start (and continue) without all the answers.
Rule 4: Use
empowering self talk. Cheer yourself on.
Rule 5: Give
yourself freedom to write without criticism.
Rule 6: Keep moving.
Don’t allow yourself to ever stall out.
Rule 7: if it
doesn’t come to you, give it to your creative mind to process.[2] Use the High Speed Writing Rules as you create your Beat Sheet.
A. Pass 1: Organize your Structure and Transformational Events.
1. In the beginning, Clendon is at park w/ girlfriend, Gina, having picnic. Young, in love, ideallic.
2. Clendon is at school, Detective shows up. Tells Clendon his mother was murdered.
3. Clendon at his mother’s law firm; learns he is filthy rich. Reads his mom’s letter re: kindness.
4. Clendon’s emotional breakdown at the graveyard and nearly freezing to death; can’t face reality… Has to change his old ways, not sure how. Collision of guilt and grief.
5. Clendon is shot by a crazy person while feeding the homeless. Rushed to hospital. Afterwards, Dad rips him for being kind, for being like his mother.
6. Clendon announces to the public he is building a 500 bed homeless shelter.
7. Clendon catches JR in a lie re: his mom. Gets suspicious recalls JR’s look of guilt when talking about revenge and how it wouldn’t bring his mom back. He takes a strand of his hair from bathroom, gets it tested. JR is the killer!
8. JR suffers a massive heart attack. He is unconscious, cannot speak. Helpless.
9. Clendon tells the detective to drop the case. If she goes after JR, he will tell the jury he worked with JR every day, the hair fiber came off his clothes, not JR being in the house.
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B. Pass 2: Add slug lines.
INT. HOME – DAY
OPENING: A man breaks into a home, moves stealthily towards a woman’s voice. We see she is talking on the phone. Man makes his presence known. Woman pleads with this person whom she knows, he kills her, plants evidence.
INT. SCHOOL – CLASSROOM – MORNING
INCITING INCIDENT: Clendon, at school, is called upon by the detective (from the park) and school principle. Clendon is told his mother has been murdered.
INT. INTERROGATION ROOM – DAY
TE 1: Clendon is questioned by the detective. She tells him: “If you killed her, I will find the proof to take you down. Promise.” He tells her, “You’ve a murder to solve… Better hope I don’t find him first, detective.”
INT. CONFERENCE ROOM – AFTERNOON
TE 2: Clendon meets with his mother’s lawyer, learns he is filthy rich. Reads his mom’s letter re: kindness and how proud she is of him helping the homeless..
EXT. CEMETARY – DAY
TE 3: Clendon with his father and influential people at Mary’s burial. Clendon watches his dad, thinks he did it. Sure he killed his mom. Imagines pulling a knife and killing him.
EXT. GRAVEYARD – NIGHT
TE 4: Clendon’s emotional breakdown at the graveyard. He nearly freezes to death. He is rescued by the detective. He has to change his old ways. Collision of guilt and grief.
EXT. CITY PARK – AFTERNOON
TE 5: Clendon and homeless man Joe-Joe are shot by a crazy person while Clendon is feeding the homeless. Joe-Joe dies; Clendon is rushed to hospital.
INT. CHURCH – PODIUM – DAY
TE 6: Clendon announces to the public he is building a 500 bed homeless shelter.
INT. OFFICE – DAY
TE 7: Clendon catches JR in a lie re: his mom. Gets suspicious recalls JR’s look of guilt when talking about revenge and how it wouldn’t bring his mom back. He takes a strand of JR’s hair from bathroom, gets it tested. JR is the killer!
INT. STARBUCKS – DAY
TE 8: Clendon tells the detective to drop the case. If she goes after JR, he will tell the jury he worked with JR every day, the hair fiber came off his clothes, not JR being in the house.
—————————————————-
C. Pass 3: Add placeholders and additional scenes.
INT. HOME – DAY
OPENING: A man breaks into a home, moves stealthily towards a woman’s voice. We see she is talking on the phone. Man makes his presence known. Woman pleads with this person whom she knows, he kills her, plants evidence.
EXT. CITY PARK – SAME
PLACEHOLDER: Clendon is with his Girl, Gina, having a picnic and wine. They are accosted by a woman claiming to be a detective. Clendon thinks it’s his dad being controlling and subdues the woman. Turns out she is a detective.
INT. SCHOOL – CLASSROOM – MORNING
INCITING INCIDENT: Clendon, at school, is called upon by the detective (from the park) and school principle. Clendon is told his mother has been murdered.
INT. SCHOOL – PRINCIPLE OFFICE – CONTINUOUS
PLACEHOLDER: Clendon is taken there to be briefed and processed.
INT. INTERROGATION ROOM – DAY
TE 1: Clendon is questioned by the detective. She tells him: “If you killed her, I will find the proof to take you down. Promise.” He tells her, “You’ve a murder to solve… Better hope I don’t find him first, detective.”
INT. INTERROGATION ROOM – CONTINUOUS
PLACEHOLDER: Clendon’s powerful father enters with his lawyer and springs Clendon.
INT. CONFERENCE ROOM – AFTERNOON
TE 2: Clendon meets with his mother’s lawyer, learns he is filthy rich. Reads his mom’s letter re: kindness and how proud she is of him helping the homeless..
INT. MOTHER’S HOME – LATER
PLACEHOLDER: Clendon is there, alone, upset. He wants vengeance, doesn’t know where to begin.
EXT. CEMETARY – DAY
TE 3: Clendon with his father and influential people at Mary’s burial. Clendon watches his dad, thinks he did it. Sure he killed his mom. Imagines pulling a knife and killing him.
EXT. GRAVEYARD – NIGHT
TE 4: Clendon’s emotional breakdown at the graveyard. He nearly freezes to death. He is rescued by the detective. He has to change his old ways. Collision of guilt and grief.
INT. SCHOOL – DAY
PLACEHOLDER: Clendon stops a bully from picking on a kid; beats his ass. Leaves school.
INT. CAFE – LATER
PLACEHOLDER: Gina finds Clendon there; they talk. He leaves when detective shows up.
EXT. CITY PARK – AFTERNOON
TE 5: Clendon and homeless man Joe-Joe are shot by a crazy person while Clendon is feeding the homeless. Joe-Joe dies; Clendon is rushed to hospital.
INT. HOSPITAL ROOM – LATER
PLACEHOLDER: Clendon wakes up from surgery and detective is there. They bond. Clendon’s father shows up, is rude to both Clendon and the Detective and leaves.
INT. SHOPPING MALL – NIGHT
PLACEHOLDER: Clendon and Natalie go Xmas shopping for the homeless kids. It helps to lift Clendon’s spirits. They go back to his house and wrap presents and bond.
INT. CHURCH – PODIUM – DAY
TE 6: Clendon announces to the public he is building a 500 bed homeless shelter.
INT. OFFICE – DAY
TE 7: Clendon catches JR in a lie re: his mom. Gets suspicious recalls JR’s look of guilt when talking about revenge and how it wouldn’t bring his mom back. He takes a strand of JR’s hair from bathroom, gets it tested. JR is the killer!
INT. KITCHEN – EARLIER
PLACEHOLDER: JR suffers a massive heart attack. He is unconscious, cannot speak. Clendon cannot get the answer he seeks from JR. He must protect him from the detective who knows the truth.
INT. STARBUCKS – DAY
TE 8: Clendon tells the detective to drop the case. If she goes after JR, he will tell the jury he worked with JR every day, the hair fiber came off his clothes, not JR being in the house.
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[3] When you post this assignment, make a commitment to the group that you are going to use these High Speed Writing Rules to get your script done at record speed.
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Lesson 7: Beat Sheet & Speed Writing
Scene: EXT CHERRY LAKE, FLORIDA DAY (Wednesday)
On Cherry Lake in Madison County, Florida. Travis is preparing for his 5:00PM daily ride
around the lake with JJ and Sydnee, new friends. He turns on the music to Jake Jones and is setting up the snack food and beverages. He looks and see JJ and Sydnee walking toward the dock. JJ and Sydnee learn Travis is not looking forward to his trip tomorrow to Vermont for the Christmas holidays. His meddling mom calls to make sure he is getting on the train. Travis
tells JJ the plans for the renovation of the porch at Travis’ house.
Scene: INT TRAIN STATION JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA DAY (Thursday)
Liz is rushing through the terminal to get to the train. Jake Jones’ Christmas song
begins over the sound system. Liz crashes into Christmas Elf, drops all her packages, etc.
Meddling Mom (Annabelle) calls Liz to discuss business and hints that there is a problem at the inn,
tells Liz Jake is the new entertainment at Bradford Inn.
TE: Liz remembers the rejection of Jake and confirms she will never trust a man again.
,Scene INT ON THE TRAIN, DAY
Liz (rejected by Jake Jones) meets Travis (a long time Jake Jones fan and hates women who lie) Liz tells a lie about her name ( a safety habit she practices when she is traveling) and she discovers Travis is going to the Bradford Inn for a family Christmas vacation. He was married there five years ago. He doesn’t remember it fondly. She doesn’t tell him she is part-owner of the hotel because it does not occur to her. Travis gets call from meddling Mom during the meal.
to make sure he is on the way and didn’t back out.
TE: Liz does not tell her history with Jake Jones to Travis and she doesn’t tell Travis her real name
when she has the opportunity. Travis remembers he can’t trust women.
SCENE 4: INT LIZ’s CAR DAY (Friday)
When they arrive in Vermont, Liz gives Travis a ride to the inn, mainly because she wants to see his reaction to the upgrades. Travis learns about the history of Wellington. He thinks Liz is on vacation, too.
TE: Liz remembers the last time she was with Jake Jones. Travis, thinking she is a guest, asks if he can take Liz to lunch or something during the holidays. Liz says yes.
Scene 4: INT BRADFORD INN LOBBY DAY
Travis loves the inn. Forgets to get Liz’ last name and her phone number, He is looking for a woman named “Sarah”. Travis discovers the reason for the holiday trip to Vermont. Becca, his divorced wife, is in the lobby waiting to greet him. Mom and Marty are playing matchmaker. When Travis tells Becca to go home, he thinks about the emerald eyes he met on the train. Travis leaves a note for Sarah. He doesn’t know her last name. . Meddling Jill and Marty attempt to convince Travis to let Becca stay with him because the hotel has no rooms left. Travis does not fall for the trap.
Scene: INT BRADFORD INN RESTAURANT DAY
Annabelle meets with Liz, notices Liz is all smiles, misinterprets those smiles and thinks Liz has seen
the marquee sign at the lounge announcing Jake Jones is the coming attraction for the holiday season.
Liz gets upset with Annabelle for hiring Jake Jones, but does not confront her. Communicates about
the new contracts.
Scene: INT. BRD INN LOUNGE DAY
Liz meets with Sam, her confident’ and arranges for tickets for Travis and family for tonight’s concert.
They set up a plan to avoid Jake.
Scene: BRD INN LOBBY DAY
Liz leaves message about tickets for the Jake Jones concert tonight for Travis with a note signed
“Sarah” for the bellhop to deliver. Bellhop gets the idea “Sarah” is staying without paying, begins his
personal investigation. Bellhop delivers message to Travis
Scene: INT LOBBY DAY
Jill, Marty and Becca meet to strategize about next steps. Set up plan for tonight.
Scene: INT BRD INN RESTAURANT NIGHT
Dinner in hotel, guests learn about the holiday scavenger hunt for $2500. Becca needs the money. Travis ‘s Dad and Marty’s husband have arrived. Becca doesn’t show up for dinner. After hearing the news about the money, she starts scouting the hotel for best hiding places.
Scene: INT. LOUNGE NIGHT
Travis and family sit at center front for the concert. Liz is running late. When she arrives, she is walking toward Travis table, when Beautiful Becca enters in a flaming red dress. Since she wasn’t at dinner, Travis is in shock when Becca sits in the empty chair he thought would be for “Sarah”. Jake comes on stage and invites his Lizzy to the stage at the end of the concert to sing with him. Liz is forced to sing.
Travis leaves the room as soon as the concert is over. Jakes attempts to woo Liz doesn’t work. She whispers in his ear, she will not be present for any more of his concerts. As she is leaving the stage, she remembers Jake called her Lizzy. Liz can’t find Travis in the lounge. Becca approaches Jake after the concert, invites him for a drink, thinking Travis is mad at her for not leaving.
TE: Liz’ lie is exposed and Travis gives up. Becca makes a play for Jake Jones as a back-up plan
Scene: INT BRD INN LOUNGE NIGHT
Sam and Liz talk. She is disgusted, leaves to go to her apartment which is on the grounds. Travis returns to try to get a room where he can stay to get away from his ex. Sam calls Annabelle and gets permission for Travis to stay in Liz’ brother’s apartment. The brother is on sabbatical in France. He is the chef for the hotel. Travis walks to Becca who is entertaining Jake and tells her she can stay in his room for the holidays. He gives her a set of keys.
Scene: INT TRAVIS’ OLD HOTEL ROOM. NIGHT
Becca enters quietly thinking Travis is asleep. She takes a bath and climbs in bed and realizes Travis is
not in the room. She wonders where he is. She decides to wait up for him and stays awake most of the
night.
.
Scene: INT BRADFORD INN CAFÉ DAY (Saturday)
Travis goes to breakfast runs into Liz. Liz confesses about her name. Travis understands and forgives. Liz spends the day shopping. Bellhop continues the search for “Sarah”. Jill and Mary come down for continental breakfast and see Becca. Jill and ask here where she spent the night. She says in Travis’ room. Jill and Marty go wedding shopping but say if their plan does not work, Dad may kill somebody and the bellhop over hears the comment.
Scene INT BRADFORD INN LOBBY
The scavenger hunt begins. Becca participates, does not win the first ornament. shows poor sportsmanship. Participates in second try. Does not win. The last phase begins.
Scene: INT BRADFORD INN CAFÉ DAY
Travis ‘s Dad and Brother-in-law meet Travis in the café for lunch. Travis remembers the hayride, tries to call Liz to invite her. She left her phone in her apartment. When she finally answers, he acts like a schoolboy. Invites her to the hayride. Dad and Brother-in-law see a change in Travis. Travis decides to buy a gift and leaves running into his mom and sister at the door. Dad tells Jill the difference in Travis which further confirms their plan is working. The scavenger hunt ends and Becca passes by looking like a wreck. Dad says love is blind. Jake calls Becca and invites her to the hayride.
Scene: EXT OUTSIDE IN SNOW NEAR HOTEL PORCH NIGHT
Becca falls in the snow when a child who won the money in the scavenger hunt runs into her. She misses the hayride.
Midpoint Turning Point: Jake shows up for the hayride, decides to sing when he sees Liz get on. Travis kisses Liz on the hayride.
Scene. INT BRADFORD INN LOBBY
Jill and Marty re-consider but misinterpret the truth based upon what Travis and Jake are doing. Travis announces he is making a big decision and goes to purchase a present. Parents think he is asking Becca to marry him again, but he plans to ask Liz to date him. Becca goes to the spa without her phone. Jake calls Becca when she returns to her room and invites himself for lunch.
Scene: INT. SEURITY OFFICE IN HOTEL DAY
PLACEHOLDER: House security begins the search for the missing Sarah who is staying at the inn without paying. Bellhop tells about pending murder. Becca goes on a date with Jake in the horse and buggy. Travis goes with Liz to greet Santa and have their picture taken
Scene: INT. HOTEL LOBBY DAY (Monday)
Travis and Liz meet for breakfast in the restaurant. Travis meets with Liz and confesses he wants to start a relationship with her. He will travel with her if she wants. Warns her about her meddling mother. Gives her a locket.
TE: Both Liz and Travis are beginning to trust.
Scene: INT BRADFORD INN LOBBY DAY
Travis runs into Jill and Marty and says he popped the question and she accepted. Jill and Marty go to Annabells and arrange for the wedding tomorrow. Liz is working with a Christmas activity in the restaurant all morning.
Scene: INT. HOTEL ADMINISTRATION MEETING. DAY
Annabelle informs the leadership team the police set up plan to catch a killer and “Sarah”. She tells them about the recently reserved small wedding planned for the chapel. Jill sets up the family for the wedding saying they are gathering for a family portrait in the chapel.
Scene: INT THE WEDDING CHAPEL DAY (Tuesday)
Becca gets a massage and Jill can’t find her to tell her Travis and she are getting married. Becca returns and puts on tacky dress Jill has selected for her wedding. Becca doesn’t understand but believes it. Travis calls Liz and invites her to family lunch at 11:45, plans to introduce her
Turning Point: Huge failure / Major shift Travis and family enter the chapel. Everyone is there but Liz. Jake is singing. Jake hits Travis and knocks him down. Mom of Travis faints, police rush in with guns drawn causing a major disruption. Becca screams when she sees the gun. The preacher tries to leave. Annabelle takes a candelabra and heads toward Travis. Police yells for commotion to cease and ask “Which one of you is Sarah? We stopped a murder here today!” Investigation solves everything. Annabelle and Jill and Marty leave the chapel in shock. Annabelle tells Travis Liz is her daughter. Jake kisses Liz so that Travis can witness it.
TE: Liz and Travis must move on without each other. Can’t trust.
Scene: INT OUTSIDE OF WEDDING CHAPEL DAY
Climax
Liz tells Jake Jones it is over and goes to find Travis. Travis packs and calls train station for a
ticket. Becca calls her mother for money to buy a plane ticket home. Annabelle goes to bed with
major headache. Jill and Marty go to the bar for a cocktail.
Scene: INT. HOTEL CAFÉ DAY (Wednesday)
Annabelle calls Liz and invites her to breakfast. Jill, Marty and husbands, are gathered. They tell
the truth about their meddling. Liz calls airlines and buys a plane ticket to Jacksonville
ACT 4
Scene INT AIRPLANE DAY
TE Resolution Liz flies (fear of flying but she goes the quickest way to Travis) to Jacksonville Fl
Scene: EXT TRAVIS’ HOME ON CHERRY LAKE
-
Gayle’s High Speed Beat Sheet
What I learned doing this assignment is…I work with a creative mind so I can ask for assistance. In a way I am not alone. Writing quickly for the first draft works well in getting my ideas down as long as I have the beat sheet with the major event as a guide.
INT. BASEMENT STUDIO – NIGHT
OPENING: Rick is desperate for regain the fame he and his wife had from their ghost busting experiences.
INT. BOOKSTORE – NIGHT
TE 1: No one shows up at a book signing and no one recognizes him at an industry panel.
INT. BASEMENT STUDIO
INCITING INCIDENT: They are offered a reality show, but Samantha is set on having a baby and does not want to be in the spotlight.
TE 2: Rick is called out on his lack of paranormal prowess and embarrassed when he must admit his wife Samantha is the real team leader.
TURNING POINT: Rick ignores Samantha and announces the show and she announces she wants a divorce. The ghosts who live in their house take notice.
ACT 2
INT. LIVING ROOM
PLACEHOLDER: Rick at first tries to win Sam back but she realizes he is just doing it because the show is conditional on them being a team.
TE 3: Rick’s ego is shattered when Sam no longer needs him and demands he sign over the house and she will also have to pay him alimony.
INT. GUEST BEDROOM
NEW PLAN: Caroline and the ghosts decide to scare Samantha into remembering how successful and in love she and Rick were when they were ghostbusting
INT. HOUSE – CONTINUOUS
PLAN IN ACTION: Caroline stages paranormal experiences in the house.
PLACEHOLDER: The pranks with the plumbing and eerie noises and moving objects don’t work, but Samantha does call Rick and they get drunk and let out all of their hostilities
INT. MASTER BEDROOM
MID-POINT: Two ghosts take over Rick and Sam’s bodies to have sex
TE 4: Rick wakes up thinking Sam wants him back and is disillusioned when she says not. Samantha wants Rick to sign a quitclaim deed, but it is missing.
ACT 3
INT. HOUSE
RETHINK: Rick tries to convince Sam to reconsider but she decides to sell the house. Caroline needs to ramp up and turn Rick into Sam’s hero.
NEW PLAN: Caroline locks Sam somewhere within the ether of the house
TE 5: Rick can only hear her. As Sam is locked away she and Rick have a long heart-to-heart that leads to their reunion.
SCENE: Rick is losing control, starting to change as he is alone trying to solve a paranormal experience. But with Samantha in his ear, he begins to gain control and uses his skills to find the ritual book he needs to rescue her.
PLACEHOLDER: Caroline and the ghosts watch from a distance but realize they cannot reverse the spell to get Sam back anyway, which really leads Rick to use all of his know-how.
INT. BASEMENT STUDIO
TE 6: Rick reads all of Sam’s notes and gains insight into who she is as a person, apart from him and their career together.
SCENE: The ghosts appear to Rick to confirm what is happening and why – it firms his resolve to make it up with Sam and give serious consideration to her dreams.
INT. LIVING ROOM
TP ALL IS LOST: Rick needs his farsi-speaking agent to translate the passage to release Sam, but it also releases a Djinn who inhabits the agent’s body and tries to kill Rick who is saved by Sam.
ANTAGONIST SCENE: As Rick and Sam reunite, they realize the demon is in their friend’s body.
ACT 4
INT. LIVING ROOM
TE 7: Rick realizes the power in working as a team with the ghosts and Samantha
CLIMAX: Rick leads the exorcism of the djinn from the agent
PLACEHOLDER: As the djinn is let out, the ghosts needs to use their mojo to turn it into dust. The subplot plays with the ghosts completing their own arc.
RESOLUTION: Rick and Sam work with the ghosts to destroy the djinn forever. Rick and Sam want to stay in their home together and write another book while having a baby.
TE 8: Rick is an equal, humble partner in his
marriage and and their career which will be on an upswing when they write their
new book on their experiences. -
Pam’s High-Speed Beat Sheet
ACT 1: SET UP & SEE OLD WAYS
INT. BERGER HOME – DAY (Prologue)
Ten-year-old Henri Berger gets ready for school in his middle-class home, with the help of his Papi.INT. SCHOOL BUS / INT. GRADE SCHOOL – DAY
A bratty kid sits behind Young Henri on the bus. Snaps gum and blows bubbles. Accidentally sneezes some gum into the back of Henri’s hair and doesn’t say anything.INT. GRADE SCHOOL BOY’S ROOM – CONTINUOUS
Young Jared alerts Young Henri to the “gum issue” as he walks down the hall to homeroom. Young Henri goes inside the restroom. Using supplies from his backpack, he cuts out the gum. After some trial and error, re-styles his hair. He looks pretty damn good! Smiles in the mirror.EXT. RODEO DRIVE, BEVERLY HILLS – DAY (Current day – 20 years later)
30ish Henri Berger drives his new Mercedes convertible down Rodeo Drive. Parks. Checks himself out in the mirror before getting out of car. Heads towards entrance of the Marc Riche Salon. Avoids a man walking his golden retriever. Then enters salon.INT. MARC RICHE SALON – DAY
Opening: Henri perfectly styles movie star Bradley James’ hair in his boss Marc’s luxury hair salon, as Marc tries to one-up him with his over-the-top beehive style for Bradley’s supermodel wife, Tiffany.Marc opens up a new box of his signature styling product (Bradley’s favorite) and then trashes it when he realizes his name is misspelled on the label. They all make plans to see each other at Marc’s art gallery celebrity fundraiser later in the day. Henri grabs the abandoned product out of trash after others leave.
INT. PAPI’S SENIOR HOME, CA – DAY
Henri stops by to visit his grandfather (Papi) after work. Brings his hair styling travel kit and styles Papi’s hair. Henri feels guilty about leaving him for the fundraiser, and gives Papi some of the salon’s hair product. But Papi wants something else: wants Henri to promise he’ll join him for Movie Night at the center. Henri says nothing could keep him away.EXT. BRADLEY & TIFFANY’S HOUSE, MALIBU – NIGHT
Crime scene. Detective Kurt Stone, CSIs. Dead man’s body in entrance. Henri semi-naked in bushes.INT. MALIBU ART GALLERY – DAY (SUPER: 6 HOURS EARLIER)
TE1: At the gallery fundraiser, Henri learns that Marc’s sponsorship of the event is more about “seeing and being seen” than supporting the charity. Henri begins to wonder if that’s where his life is headed.Tiffany asks a dismayed Henri to hold her purse-size dog while she makes a wardrobe change. Marc tells Henri that a new supply of his signature hair product is available. Could he run some out to Bradley’s house?
INT. / EXT BRADLEY & TIFFANY’S HOUSE, CA – DAY
Inciting Incident: While he’s walking up the driveway, Henri sees Bradley go inside his house and immediately gets shot by a gunman. Henri hides outside, but the killer notices him when he leaves the house and goes to his car. Foot chase ensues.
PLACEHOLDER – CHASE SCENES THRU NEIGHBORHOOD – DAY
Henri is wearing a bright shirt and easy to track. Henri is able to get temporarily out of sight and finds a house with a backyard pool. He strips down to his boxers and jumps in the pool, hiding out of view. Waits for bad guy to give up. Henri sees him drive off. Meanwhile, a housekeeper has grabbed his clothes. She locked the back door and leaves.
EXT BRADLEY & TIFFANY’S HOUSE, CA – DAY
Henri eventually goes back to his car and calls police? They tell him to stay put. Henri doesn’t have any clothes in the car, but grabs the cape from his hair styling travel kit. Ties that around his waist and goes back up to the front of Bradley’s house, peering in window. Then hides in bushes till police arrive.
INT. POLICE STATION – NIGHT
Henri sits down with a sketch artist. The killer is a known hitman and Henri is the key witness.
INT. AIRPORT / AIRPLANE – NIGHT
Turning Point: Det. Stone V.O. outlines the plan for Henri. For his protection, he’s being relocated to Vermont with a new identity, set up in a small-town salon. “Trust only Cam, your new boss.”
Henri picks up the newest copy of <i style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Beautiful People magazine. Sees Bradley on the cover, named the “Sexiest Human Alive.”
ACT 2: CHALLENGE THE OLD WAYS
INT. SITTING PRETTY SALON, GREENFIELD VT – DAY
New plan: After a few awkward convo’s, Henri realizes he’s now working at a dog grooming salon. He tries to blend in with initially unsuccessful efforts. Cam runs him through the grooming gauntlet — from skunk baths to anal purges.INT. DOG SHELTER, VT – NIGHT
TE2: When Henri meets Acadia, manager of the dog shelter, she is unlike any of the women in his former world. Genuine, totally comfortable in her own skin, and favors practicality over fashion. Henri tries to charm her and makes a fool of himself. She is slow to trust him because of a past relationship with a “pretty boy” like Henri.HENRI’S APARTMENT, VT – NIGHT
Henri sadly looks at his laptop. He struggles with the fact that he was to going to be the headliner at the upcoming NYC International Hair Show. Everything’s gone to the dogs. He walks into restroom and stares in the mirror. His thought drift off to:INT. MARC RICHE SALON – DAY (FLASHBACK)
A writer from “Vanity” magazine interviews Henri as he styles her hair. Asks about his rise to fame.PLACEHOLDER – EARLY DAYS AT MARC RICHE SALON
Henri is an intern, doing shampoos and answering phones. Add a montage of his professional progression?INT. MARC RICHE SALON – DAY
Henri finishes the style for the Vanity mag writer. He spins her around, removes her cape, and they look in the mirror together at her transformation.HENRI’S APARTMENT, VT – NIGHT (BACK TO SCENE)
Henri frowns at his reflection in mirror. He doesn’t really know who’s looking back anymore.INT. SITTING PRETTY SALON, GREENFIELD VT – DAY
Plan in action: Henri tries relating to dogs and their owners in ways that worked just fine in Beverly Hills. But his appearance and manner does not fit in at the dog salon.Acadia stops by. Slowly starts to trust him.
TE3: Acadia starts to fall for him when she thinks he’s a dog groomer, and not even that good of one. Doesn’t use him for his connections (like his previous girlfriend).INTERCUT SCENES – CONTRAST DOG SALON TRAINING WITH BEVERLY HILLS SALON
Cam, his new boss (and the only one who knows Henri’s true identity), trains Henri how to do the standard cuts for various breeds, and tells him to never deviate from the manual.MARC RICHE SALON – DAY
Luxury salon scenes. More insight into Marc. Clients call asking for Henri. Marc makes something up. Include a salon scene with Stuart Drake?DOG SALON, VT – DAY
More training. Once he learns, Henri fits in a little better, but is uninspired.MARC RICHE SALON – DAY
Police interview Marc about Bradley’s death.EXT. BEVERLY HILLS CEMETERY PARK – DAY
BJ’s funeral. Hitman watches from hidden location.INT. MARC RICHE SALON – DAY
Conan is in the salon. He bumps into Tiffany on way in. Awkward. Paparazzi snap pics. Marc scolds his assistant for scheduling appointments so close together.Marc casually sets Conan up to go for the lead left vacant by Bradley, when Chico the parrot quotes from WILL OF THE WEST, the movie that Bradley was set to star in.
INT. DOG SALON – DAY
TE4: Acadia casually mentions to Henri that when he styles his hair, he kind of looks like that movie star Bradley James.INT. PAPI’S SENIOR CENTER – NIGHT
Jared visits Papi on Movie Night.
TE5: Henri really appreciates best friend Jared more than ever. He’s been looking in on his Papi. Having people in his life he can count on means the world.HENRI’S APARTMENT, VT – NIGHT
Acadia’s comment earlier in the day, plus a scene from the original WILL OF THE WEST triggers the realization that he may have been the intended target of the hit. And that Marc lied — he was set up when he was sent on the errand to Bradley’s house. Discovers the label-over-the-label on the “Modeling Glue.” The typo was on purpose!
Midpoint Turning Point: Everything has changed. He can never go back to the salon. His career is on the rocks. And he can’t go back to his old life until Marc’s guilt is proven.ACT 3: PROFOUND MOMENTS GIVE US NEW WAYS
Rethink everything: Henri realizes it will be hard to prove Marc’s guilt, but sets out to do so with Jared’s help. Henri is shaken that someone he worked so closely with hated him that much. How did he miss that? Meanwhile, he needs to warn Jared/Papi not to trust Marc. They could be in grave danger as Marc and the hitman try to find his hiding location. He asks Jared to be his eyes and ears back in CA.EXT. PARK, VT – DAY
Henri invites Acadia on a picnic.
New plan: While he works daily on outing Marc’s crime, he makes the best of his life in Vermont. He and Acadia grow closer (to Cam’s dismay), and they work together on plans for a Doggie Adoption Fair in the park.INT. DOG SALON – DAY
TE6: Henri has his first creative breakthrough at the dog salon when he gives a Jack Russell Terrier a Mohawk, despite the initial dismay from Cam. This starts an Owner/Pet matching-hairdo trend that becomes a popular request in the salon.Henri gets a panicked call from Acadia, one of the more “unattractive-looking” shelter dogs keeps getting passed over for adoption. Henri does some research into new grooming techniques that are possible.
INT. DOG SHELTER – NIGHT
TE7: Henri brings his styling kit and comes to the rescue. He can see the hurt in the dog’s eyes. Surprises himself with the transformation he’s able to accomplish, once he gets to know the dog and really “see” him.INT. DOG SALON – DAY
Henri shows Cam the amazing scissoring techniques that transform even the most unsightly dogs into adorable mutts. Cam is impressed, and wants to learn more.
TE8: Henri sees how proud Cam is of his dog salon and the genuine bond he has with his clients. Success has nothing to do with luxury or an “it” crowd.Cam’s business is now booming with new services added. As he updates the website, he accidentally posts a video that has Henri’s voice in the background.
HENRI’S APARTMENT, VT – NIGHT/DAY
Henri and Acadia continue to grow closer as they work together on the Dog Adoption Fair. She spends the night at Henri’s. Next morning, she leaves to get ready for the fair.Turning Point: Huge failure / Major shift: Back in CA, supermodel/widow Tiffany is in the Marc Riche salon and amuses herself with some doggie hairstyle videos that have gone viral. She and Marc both realize at the same time that the voice is Henri.
ACT 4: TEST THE CHANGE IN CHARACTER. PROVE NEW WAYS!
Climax/Ultimate expression of the conflict:EXT. PARK – DAY
Everything is going well at the fair until Henri learns that his cover is blown. The hitman & henchmen are likely on way to Vermont. The police and Jared show up. No sign of bad guys yet. Mysterious person in an adorable dog suit. Acadia and her dog Hank get kidnapped.PLACEHOLDER – EPIC BATTLE SCENE
While they police follow a false lead, Bad Guys get defeated by Henri’s team (Cam, Jared and Henri), in a David & Goliath-inspired battle. They use talking balls as a distraction, and dog toys as impromptu weapons, whipping rock-hard dog biscuits at thugs’ heads with Chuck-its, etc.Henri saves Acadia and tells her the truth about who he is, but it’s too late. She is terribly hurt. He vows to make it up to her, but must leave for NYC to confront Marc, who is currently the headliner at the NYC International Hair Show.
EXT. TIMES SQUARE – NIGHT
Marc’s big head is shown on the Hair Show ad in Times Square.INT. HOTEL – NIGHT
Resolution: Marc has been leaked false info re: Henri’s death.Marc is on stage, preparing to do a hair product and styling demo. Tiffany is in the audience, Henri hides behind her. Marc asks for a volunteer. Tiffany steps aside, and out pops Henri.
TE9: An epic battle ensues on stage, with Henri the victor. Marc arrested.
DOG SHELTER, VT – DAY
Henri returns to Vermont. Begs Acadia’s forgiveness.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>TE10: Henri adopts the un-adoptable mutt.
They file into his Subaru to go on a hike together.
Final surprise: Papi is in the car too. -
Anna’s High Speed Beat Sheet
What I learned doing this assignment: oof! Lots of plot holes still to fill in.
Note: My outline is now 17 pages long, so I’m not going to post it.
-
EUGENE’S HIGH SPEED BEAT SHEET
What I learned doing this assignment is that it was a real bear. Something I don’t like doing, but it helps in putting a temporary structure to the story, obviously to be changed latter.
EXT. OUTDOOR ARENA – L.A. – NIGHT
TE 1: Candidate Lee gives his first major Speech to a huge, adoring audience in Los Angeles, California. Celeste realizes she has made Patrick an effective public speaker.
INT. CITY HALL – L.A. – DAY
Patrick and Celeste are discussing with Los Angeles City Officials their plans to eliminate Skid Row from the City and transport all the homeless to Angel City, a new planned community within the City of L.A.
Inciting Incident:
EXT. EMPTY LOT – L.A. – DAY
They break ground on Angel City, which, to the amazement of L.A. Officials, is completed in 7 days.
PLACEHOLDER: This can be a Montage of Scenes to emphasize the speed of the manufacture of the city.
PLACEHOLDER: The Democratic and Republican Nominees react to this unbelievable miracle performed in a week’s time by the Solution Candidate.
Turning Point:
EXT. ANGEL CITY – ONE WEEK LATER – DAY
Seco BrightCloud is arrested on the spot while working in Angel City.
ACT 2:
New Plan:
INT. L.A. JAIL – DAY
TE 2: After trying to get Seco out of jail, Patrick and Celeste decide to visit a mental patient in a local asylum.
INT. MENTAL INSTITUTION – L.A. – DAY
TE 3: Patrick with the help of Celeste interviews the mental patient about Seco’s arrest and finds out how the other candidates are effectively targeting and attacking his campaign.
INT. LOCAL NEWS ROOM – L.A. – NIGHT
The Newscaster explains that apparently the mental patient had been talked into and perhaps even bribed to give testimony to implicate Seco and Patrick’s campaign team in the planned assassination attempt.
EXT. JAIL – L.A. – DAY
As the mental patient has retracted his claims against Seco, he is released from jail and is welcomed by other members of the campaign team.
PLACEHOLDER: Angel City is turning out to be very successful in alleviating L.A.’s homeless problem.
PLACEHOLDER: The State of California contacts Patrick Lee to develop a plan for a “Border City” to possibly help California’s border problem.
Plan In Action:
EXT. BORDER CITY – U.S./MEXICAN BORDER – SOUTHERN CALIF. – DAY
Again construction goes on at California’s Southern border and through a series of Montages “Border City” becomes a reality.
INT. PATRICK’S CAMPAIGN OFFICES – L.A. – DAY
Celeste is training Patrick for an upcoming Presidential Debate.
INT. DEBATE STAGE – UNDETERMINED CITY – NIGHT
Patrick manages to get through the debate without having any kind of direct confrontation with the two major party candidates. He plays a game of verbal Aikido throwing them off guard as he makes positive statements that emphasize solutions.
Midpoint Turning Point:
INT. DEBATE – BACKSTAGE – NIGHT
After the Debate Patrick is backstage trying to field questions from the press with the help of Celeste when he is arrested for income tax evasion.
ACT 3
PLACEHOLDER: Celeste finds out that Patrick’s old girlfriend, Barb, has turned him in to the IRS for possible income tax violations in the past preparation of his clients taxes, when he was a CPA.
TE 4:
PLACEHOLDER: Celeste tracks down Barb and confronts her with her allegations. Barb is intractable and accuses Celeste of using Patrick for her own political goals. This hurts Celeste to the bone.
New Plan:
INT. FEDERAL DETENTION CENTER – DAY
Celeste visits Patrick, who is behind bars and extremely depressed. Celeste tells him who turned him in and Patrick admits that he still loves Barb, but she wants revenge against him. He reiterates that he didn’t do anything wrong. Still, he feels like it is impossible to campaign while behind bars. Celeste tells him not to worry the campaign will continue and he will “win.”
Turning Point:
PLACEHOLDER: The major Candidates are really taking advantage of Patrick’s legal situation.
Act 4:
TE 5:
PLACEHOLDER: Montage of Celeste on the Campaign Trail, making unbelievably powerful and moving speeches to audiences both on multi-media and in person. She is obviously keeping Patrick’s followers believing in him and ready to write in Patrick Lee and Celeste SeedlingSun when they go to the polls.
PLACEHOLDER:
Patrick goes over the figures with the IRS and it is proven that everything he did in his income tax preparation was within the law.
Climax/Ultimate expression of the conflict:
PLACEHOLDER:
The Presidential election takes place and all the news networks are covering it. It is a nail-biter and when the counting is finally over Patrick Lee and Celeste have won the popular vote and Patrick has a huge advantage in the Electoral College, but not a majority.
INT. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES – DAY/NIGHT (MONTAGE)
The House must vote for President and after a lot of infighting, there is finally a vote, which ends in a deadlock.
INT. U.S. SENATE – NIGHT
The Democratic Senate must decide Vice President. Celeste SeedlingSun wins the Vice Presidency on the first ballot by one vote.
PLACEHOLDER:
MONTAGE: The House over the next two months has several votes, but still no candidate has a majority.
Resolution:
EXT. INAUGURAL STAGE – WASHINGTON D.C. – DAY
TE 6:
On Inauguration Day, there is still no clear winner in the House Vote for President, so Celeste SeedlingSun takes the Presidential Oath of Office, and makes an inspired Inaugural Speech as the First Native American President of the U.S.
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John T’s High Speed Beat Sheet
What I learned doing this assignment is putting the pieces together can be done quickly.
Act 1:
INT. DINING ROOM – NIGHT
Opening – Rod embarrasses Clare at a dinner party. A friend mentions that a new weekend retreat called Discovery Island involving robotic clones sounds interesting. Guests spend the weekend getting to know themselves by interacting with their cyborg twins.
INT. APARTMENT – DAY
TE 1: Clare helps a wounded bird fly away.
INT. CLARE’S OFFICE – DAY
TE 3: Clare asks her boss for a raise. He laughs it off.
EXT. PARK – DAY
Inciting Incident – During an argument, Rod insists that Clare go with him on a self-encounter weekend at Discovery Island or else he’ll end their relationship. That scares the hell out of her so she agrees to go.
INT. CLARE’S MOTHER’S HOUSE – DAY
TE 2: Clare confronts her mother about her father’s abuse, tells about her decision to go with Rod on a weekend against her mother’s wishes.
EXT. MAPPING FACILITY – DAY
Rod and Clare get scanned. Clare asks a lot of questions. Clearly, she’s worried.
INT. APARTMENT – NIGHT
TE 4: Clare gets lost in a book about riddles and codes. Rod instructs her about their impending trip, condescendingly.
INT. AIRPLANE – DAY
Rod orders a drink for Clare without asking her. Tells her how to sit. Clare learns that the final leg of their journey is aboard a helicopter. Clare is terrified of heights. Rod explains there is no runway on Discovery Island. Clare panics.
EXT. HELIPORT – DAY
Clare fights her fear of heights. Musters courage. Rod laughs.
INT./EXT. HELICOPTER – DAY
The helicopter almost crashes but everyone is safe. The helicopter is down for repairs. Everyone must stay a bit longer than the weekend. No worries, everything is comped. Clare regrets ever having agreed to come.
Act 2:
INT. DI MAIN MEETING ROOM – DAY
The guests are welcomed, meet the professor who explains the plan. Others tell the rules, showcase the amenities. This is a 5-star resort.
INT. DINING ROOM – NIGHT
Rod tells the people at their table how scared Clare was. He acts like he knew all would be fine.
INT. SMALL MEETING ROOM – DAY
Group discussions then everyone meets their cyborg. Everyone is fascinated, immediately start talking to their twins. Clare is extremely hesitant. It’s all too weird.
INT. CLARE’S ENCOUNTER ROOM – DAY
A facilitator presides over the first individual human/cyborg exchange. Clare sucks at the encounters, won’t share with her cyborg or with the group. Clare doesn’t trust her cyborg, dubbed C2.
However, unlike all the others, she excels at encounter challenges and starts earning points.
INT. ROD’S ENCOUNTER ROOM – DAY
Rod has finally met his match in bravado. His twin is the same type of blowhard.
INT. LUNCH ROOM – DAY
Rod constantly embarrasses Clare in front of the group, something that upsets her greatly.
EXT. CYBORG CHARGING ROOM – DAY
The cyborgs get recharged side by side.
INT. ENCOUNTER ROOM – DAY
TE 5: Clare draws even with her cyborg in a game of Know Thyself. She uses her creativity to extricate herself from an AR game involving chess and archery.
INT. GROUP ROOM – DAY
TE 6: Clare suffers a humiliating defeat after Rod tells the whole group how she freaked on her first encounter. Clare had enough and decides to leave the island.
INT. HELICOPTER HANGAR – NIGHT
Clare plans her escape with the helicopter pilot who’s repairing the bird. She offers to pay. He tells her it’s almost ready but a storm is approaching. They can’t leave until it passes.
INT. MEETING ROOM – DAY
Clare decides to ignore the mean guests and be friends with a nice guest, EMILY.
Midpoint Turning Point: A storm takes out the central computer – the cyborgs self-repair with painful and deadly consequences for incorrect responses – the cyborgs know their humans all too well. Social order quickly breaks down. Terror reigns on the island.
EXT. RESORT BEACHFRONT – NIGHT
The storm pounds the beach. Lightning strikes the central computer complex. It fries the central control board.
INT. CYBORG HOUSING FACILITY – NIGHT
The cyborgs all shut down.
INT. CENTRAL CONTROL ROOM – DAY
Professor Cornwall and his assistant decide what to do They will let the cyborgs self-repair which is the quickest way to come back online.
INT. CYBORG COMPLEX – DAY
The cyborgs come back to life but with red menacing eyes. When the assistant attempts to shut them down, they kill him.
INT. MAIN MEETING ROOM – DAY
Everyone, including the professor, thinks everything is alright when the cyborgs arrive for their daily encounter. He explains that the red eyes just mean they’ve in alternate mode. Everyone adjourns to their respective encounter rooms. The cyborgs are all smiles.
Act 3:
Rethink everything – Each person’s cyborg is a reflection of themselves. Kindness begets kindness but some guests are getting their asses kicked in varied and painful ways. Cruelty begets cruelty.
PLACEHOLDER: various bad experiences as guests learn the ugly truth and get zapped by their cyborgs when giving the wrong answer.
PLACEHOLDER: A guest is killed when he tries to shut down his cyborg. The cyborg concluded that the guest was trying to terminate him. Once again, violence begets equal violence.
INT. ROD’S ROOM – DAY
Rod quickly crumbles when challenged by his domineering cyborg and decides to make a run for it.
PLACEHOLDER – Several guests run and hide on the island. Some are caught.
INT. CLARE’S ROOM – DAY
After a few shocks, Clare realizes that she must vanquish her cyborg twin in order to survive and the only way to do that is to challenge it with something it doesn’t know. She buys time by preoccupying her cyborg with diversionary riddles while probing her cyborg for helpful hints and using analytical skills to gain a tactical advantage.
Turning Point: Huge failure / Major shift
EXT. RESORT GROUNDS – DAY
People are hiding, some are caught and punished. Some are killed.
INT. CLARE’S ROOM – DAY
Clare has exhausted her tactics and decides to run out the door.
EXT. ISLAND HILLS – DAY
Clare climbs up a hill but is trapped – C2 moves in for the final quiz! Clare must step up with all she can muster. She uses logic to match wits with C2 and gets it to reveal how she can partially disable it if she scores a few victories. If she loses, the cyborg gets to disable (break) a limb. Clare uses her wins to slowly disable her cyborg. It’s down to one leg, then one arm, but it’s still pursuing her up the cliff.
PLACEHOLDER – We see Rod is not doing so well but he’s found a good hiding place. He rats out the location of the other guests in order to win points.
Act 4:
Climax/Ultimate expression of the conflict –
EXT. TOP OF THE HILL – DAY
Clare’s cyborg has her trapped. Clare tricks it into revealing how the robots can be shut down at the main computer center. C2 taunts Clare with memory questions Clare has long forgotten. Clare racks her brain for something she can use against the advancing cyborg, something that only she could remember but that she has run away from her whole life – a repressed memory, the one thing unknown to her cyborg.
EXT. EDGE OF THE CLIFF – DAY
The battle of wits has Clare on the edge of the cliff looking down on the rocks. This is her last chance. Clare thinks, resurrects the repressed memory of her sexual abuse at the hands of her Uncle Henry and immediately quizzes her cyborg about a particularly dreadful encounter with her uncle.
The cyborg doesn’t know the answer, and Clare requires it to disable it’s other leg. Clare kicks it off the cliff and yells, “I’m done with you!”
Clare watches it smash apart on the rocks below.
EXT. ISLAND – DAY
Several cyborgs close in on their victims.
EXT. CENTRAL CORE ROOM – DAY
Clare kicks open the door, puts in the code and shuts down the whole system. Just in time. The professor thanks her as he dies from a wound inflicted by a cyborg in preservation mode.
INT. CENTRAL MEETING ROOM – DAY
Clare sees Rod hiding under a table, whimpering in a fetal position. He begs her to save him. Clare responds with his favorite comebacks: “Oh, Rod, get over yourself.”
Resolution –
EXT. HELICOPTER PAD – DAY
Clare helps others climb aboard then she hops on. Helicopter takes off.
INT LAWYERS OFFICE -DAY
Clare learns that she won the resort’s $50,000 prize for “Inward Honesty” and is also awarded $5 million for pain and suffering. Her life is now her own. And she never sees Rod again.
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Justine’s High Speed Beat Sheet
What I learned doing this assignment was that I need to not wait two days between assignments, even if work is killing me! I lost my line on the story and had to struggle to get my focus back. I’m worried that I’m changing parts of my story every time I accomplish an assignment because my main job keeps me from doing much use during my off time. I need to make the commitment to writing EVERY. DAY. Even if I’m exhausted.
INT. GROCERY STORY – NIGHT
Opening: Annie is walking through a grocery store, buying ice cream, and talking on the phone about her upcoming 30<sup>th</sup> birthday.
PLACEHOLDER: Annie gets voicemail from mom? Annie assess dire houseplant situation and something else that illustrates that Annie doesn’t finish the things she starts?
PLACEHOLDER: Annie’s job is established as her and Jenn walk around the office handing out mail while having a conversation about Annie’s birthday.
INT. EDITING FIRM – DAY
TE 1: While at work there is an announcement of a contest at work, prompting Jenn and Annie to discuss Annie’s lack of motivation to write.
INT. FANCY RESTAURANT – NIGHT
Inciting Incident: Annie has dinner with her mother who expresses her disappointment in Annie and invites her to come to Greece with her.
PLACEHOLDER: Annie’s apartment, her and Jenn are getting ready as Annie is upset about her dinner with her mom. Annie’s reflection puts her down as she’s trying to get ready.
PLACEHOLDER: Uber ride to bar?
INT. BAR – NIGHT
TE 2: Annie and Jenn go to the bar to ‘celebrate’ Annie turning 30 the next day, where Annie drinks too much and blacks out.
INT. ANNIE’S APARTMENT – DAY
Opening: Annie wakes up to someone in her apartment, the hallucination of her inner critic who has been blocking her creativity.
PLACEHOLDER: Annie has a conversation with the inner critic, establishing who she is.
INT. YOGA STUDIO – DAY
TE 3: Annie goes to yoga with Jenn, while her inner critic comes with her, discouraging Annie from making positive change.
INT. JUICE BAR – DAY
Inciting Incident: Annie talks to Jenn about the contest and why she doesn’t want to participate, while Annie is keeping the secret that she is hallucinating her inner critic. Annie discusses two possible ideas for a story with Jenn.
PLACEHOLDER: Annie tries to workout, jogging outside, but inner critic complains the whole time?
INT. ANNIE’S APARTMENT – NIGHT
TE 4: Annie decides to write for the contest but due to influence from the inner critic, chooses the safer story of the two.
INT. BREAK ROOM – DAY
Opening: Annie is having lunch with Jenn and they discuss Annie’s inner critic, vaguely. Jenn tells Annie that she doesn’t need to listen to the inner critic.
PLACEHOLDER: Annie attempts another positive change that’s held obscured by the inner critic?
INT. ANNIE’S APARTMENT – NIGHT
TE 5: Annie starts to become comfortable writing again and starts to question things the inner critic is telling her.
PLACEHOLDER: Annie successfully jogs around the block, ignoring the inner critic and feeling good about herself.
INT. EDITOR’S OFFICE – NIGHT
Inciting Incident: Jenn has won the contest using the more unique creative story idea that Annie didn’t use but should have, leading to a fight between Annie and Jenn where Jenn tells Annie how she really feels about her and their friendship.
PLACEHOLDER: Annie getting ready to go to the bar and has a negative interaction with the inner critic?
INT. BAR – NIGHT
TE 6: Annie goes back out to the bar, falling back her old ways of coping, ignoring the inner critic, and throwing away the positive progress she’d made.
INT. ANNIE’S APARTMENT – DAY
Opening: Annie awakens the next morning, alone, without the inner critic.
INT. ANNIE’S APARTMENT – DAY
TE 7: She makes a list of the things the inner critic would say to her and puts it on the wall with a calendar her mom gave her.
PLACEHOLDER: Annie cleans up her apartment and goes for a jog? Calls her mom to discuss her difficulties?
INT. AIRPORT TERMINAL – DAY
Inciting Incident: She goes to the airport, flying to Greece to meet her mother.
INT. LARGE AUDITORIUM – NIGHT
TE 8: She releases her book about how to get past your inner critic and gives a TED talk.
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SCREENWRITING HOMEWORK 7
Jon’s High Speed Beat Sheet
What I learned doing this assignment is… I have been doing much of the high speed technique and place holders already on my own. Now I just have to put them into slug line format and condense the descriptions
4 Act Structure for Protagonist
Act 1:
A Opening
(Montage: The beginning of the day for main characters)
INT. BUS – MORNING
TE 1 Chance sees homestead billboard on the way to law school
EXT. URBAN HOME CONSTRUCTION SITE – CONTINUOUS
Detective volunteers for habitat for humanity
INT. CALAHAN LAW OFFICE CONFERENCE ROOM – CONTINUOUS
Dad lectures young lawyers in his office on power of details
INT. CALAHAN HOME – CONTINUOUS
Fiancé gets kids off to school on her way to work EXHAUSTED but COMMITTED
INT. CALAHAN KITCHEN – CONTINUOUS
Retired Mom sips her coffee and slides her a few dollars and a coffee to go THEN fires up a cig
EXT. LAW SCHOOL CAMPUS – CONTINUOUS
Chance urgently traverses the school campus…surveying it like he taking it all in
EXT. COURTHOUSE STEPS – CONTINUOUS
Detective tries to sneak by Judge Jones (you ignoring me?) SMDH
INT. LAW SCHOOL HALLWAY – CONTINUOUS
Chance walks the hallways at school to a locker and empties it
Suddenly summoned into and admin office by the school dean
INT. DEANS OFFICE – CONTINUOUS
TE 2 Dean Johnson lectures him about needing successful kids like him in the community
B Inciting Incident
EXT. LAW SCHOOL HALLWAY – CONTINUOUS
Chance quits college
INT. DEANS OFFICE – CONTINUOUS
Returns for his mechanics manual
Chance now has a secret to hide
INT. CALAHAN HOME – LATE AFTERNOON
TE 3 Fiancé confronts him when he leaves kid alone to to go on job interview
EXT. AUTO SHOP – AFTERNOON
Busy high volume day
EXT. AUTO SHOP BAY – AFTERNOON
Gets a job fixing cars
C Turning Point 1
INT. CALAHAN HOME – LATENIGHT
Dad kills a home invader
EXT. CALAHAN HOME – LATENIGHT
Police arrives as Dad exits home
INT. CALAHAN HOME – LATENIGHT
Dad goes to jail
EXT. CALAHAN HOME – LATENIGHT
He see Dad ride off in a police cruiser as he heads for his car
Act 2:
A New plan
PLACEHOLDER: good place to montage and feel the weight of things
INT. CALAHAN HOME – MORNING
Chance promises his Mom he’ll take care of them
Carolina seems unsure of it
INT. AUTO SHOP BAY – AFTERNOON
Chance works harder at work but the money isn’t enough
EXT. CALAHAN PORCH – NIGHT
TE 4 Fiancé wants a better life and leaves with the kid
He has a rage filled outburst
TE 5 Mom calms him, takes him to the far end of the porch
He breaks down as mom tells him about his grandfather the carpenter – built this house
EXT. PRISON – DAY
Lots of inmate activity
INT. CELL BLOCK – CONTINUOUS
Feet walking down auster corridor
INT. HOLDING ROOM
Detective questions Callahan in jail
B Plan in Action
EXT. COMMERCIAL CONSTRUCTION SITE – NIGHT
Chance has just landed a day worker job
A construction Bell rings
A prison horn sounds
INT. PRISON VISITOR CENTER – DAY
Chance visits dad in jail
Guard says, he says looks like the same guy from last visit
They both face the emotions they were pushing down
PLACEHOLDER: need to see how dads situation is effecting chance
is he scared, resentful, too busy or is he keeping busy so as not to face it
maybe dad tells him to focus on work and hold things till he figures it out
maybe dad hint to a hidden plan he has
dad could motivate him to work even harder
believe in himself (transcend the lazy past)
PLACEHOLDER: montage
Working the 2 jobs
We see how hard the work is
TE 8 He studies homebuilding in the little free time he has…
He stops reading and stashes a wad of cash inside book
Working the 2 jobs more
TE 7 Chances jobs starting to pay off savings is growing
The book is too fat…he has to find a new place for it
We begin to see his excitement
He pulls a new tool belt from a hardware store bag and puts it on
He sees a slightly different person in the mirror
How does he feel about the person? Disappointment, Fear of him failing, surprisingly proud?
EXT. URBAN HOME CONSTRUCTION SITE – EARLY MORNING
TE 9 Chance volunteers at Habitat to learn to build a house
We see he got skills now
Meets the Detective
TE 10 They both share their disdain with their jobs
TE 11 They talk dreams and realize they are similar dreams
TE 12 They jokingly make a plan to leave the city and build on a lake
They are amazed at similarities
TE 13 Detective gives him his building manual
C Turning Point 2. (MIDPOINT)
INT. AUTO SHOP FRONT OFFICE – EVENING
Chance gets fired for moonlighting the same day his night job gets stopped by the city inspector
EXT. COMMERCIAL CONSTRUCTION SITE – NIGHT
As Chance walks onto site, many workers walk off site and towards him
He threads his way to an exception sign that says STOP WORK IMMEDIATELY
Someone tells him as they walk by that it’ll be a month or two
Payroll is held up too…no checks anytime soon…some kind of investigation?
Act 3:
A Rethink everything
INT. CALAHAN GARAGE – NIGHT
Chance finds and loads his dad’s handgun
PLACEHOLDER:
Chance becomes a crook
Robbing, Stealing, Fencing, Scamming
PLACEHOLDER:
TE 14 Savings skyrockets
PLACEHOLDER:
Detective Begins Investigating the crime spree
EXT. URBAN NEIGHBORHOOD – DAY
TE 15 Between crimes… He helps an elderly man on a ladder fix his windows
INT. BODEGA – EVENING
TE 16 Between crimes… When he sees a woman neighbor buy cat food to eat
EXT. NEIGHBOR’S FRONT PORCH – SAME EVENING
He places groceries on her porch…this becomes a recurring deed
EXT. CITY STREETS – DAY
Detective calls Judge Jones from streets
Says hope I’m not interrupting anything important
INT. WINE AND SPIRITS WHOLESELLER – CONTINUOUS
Nope, just pickin up some soda pop
A bottle of XO cognac is wedged between a bottle of mina mesa cabernet and a bottle of Meiomi Pino Noir
EXT. CITY STREETS – DAY
Tells him Callahan’s Judge Karen Dreyfus is not clean for this case
Says you might wanna look into it
INT. WINE AND SPIRITS WHOLESELLER – CONTINUOUS
When are you gonna look into making that career move
Its a pay raise AND a paradigm shift
EXT. CITY STREETS – DAY
Detective puts the phone to his forehead
Gets quiet
Finally, he responds “you might be right about this hectic career choice”
EXT. CITY STREETS – DAY
Judge says now we’re making progress
Then says ok, Ill investigate detective
Then prods him about handling his own “caper” job in his hood
Hangs up on detective
B New plan
EXT. BARBER SHOP – AFTERNOON
Establishing shot
EXT. BARBER SHOP – CONTINUOUS
Chance learns about the Detective from TV news story as he preps for caper
The entire place is rattling with commentary about the crimes
Chance jokes to them that he now has to Tighten up his routine his overall plan
They laugh and take it as a joke though he’s serious
INT. DETECTIVE’S CAR – NIGHT
He’s talking himself through his mission to corner the crook
Turn by turn, street by street
He looks, he sees someone, they evade him
This goes on for a while but he seems to get closer and closer to the suspect
He reaches over to the passenger seat and loads a round into the chamber
INT. CAROLINA’S CAR – NIGHT
TE 17 Fiancé follows him on a caper
She is having a quiet but heated convo with her mom on the speaker phone as she searches the hood
She looks urgently in every possible direction for something
The convo is split between English and Spanish
Out of nowhere she say’s “yeah, like this some bullshit Mammi!”
She sees Chance in the distance and stops the car and convo and watches intensely
EXT – DESERTED ALLEY – NIGHT
TE 18 He lets a victim go free with out taking from them
After shaking shaking down a victim Chance comes across something in his belongings that gives him pause
The victim talks him into letting him go alive
When the victim turns to walk away Chance calls him back
And asks him a few questions about the item
Them gives him everything back
Chances phone suddenly vibrates
He says to the victim “don’t walk…then screams RUN!
INT. CAROLINA’S CAR – NIGHT
TE 19 Fiancé calls him as he’s almost caught and guides him out of danger
Carolina blurts out, that police cruiser you’ve been evading has you dead to rights Chance
EXT – DESERTED ALLEY – NIGHT
Chance can’t believe he’s hearing Carolina say this
Suddenly headlights bend the corner
Then Carolina speeds in the direction of the headlights but diverts last second
EXT – DESERTED ALLEY – NIGHT
TE 20 Detective left high and dry at the scene
Detective is so focused spotting the crook that he narrowly escapes a collision
When her car horn blares, he just shakes his head realizing she had the right of way
He turns the corner and Chance and the victim are long gone
INT. COURTROOM – DAY
Detective slips into the back of the room and grabs the first open seat
Judge Dryfus is forced to recuse herself
She does all she can do to withhold her anger but can’t
Judge says, do you even understand you killed someone’s kid?
Callahan, I STOPPED a 20 year old armed intruder…home invader… from possibly murdering my family
She just glares at him as she snatches up her papers and leaves
Detective slips away unnoticed
Bailiff: ALL RISE!
INT. JUDGES CHAMBERS – CONTINUOUS
Judge Jones leans over his computer
The monitors are reflected in his glasses and the bright light is refracting on his face
He calls Detective cell with a short cryptic message
Thanks for the tip Detective she was definitely compromised friend of a friend’s rotten ass son
INT. COURTHOUSE HALLWAY – CONTINUOUS
Detective thanks him for listening
INT. JUDGES CHAMBERS – CONTINUOUS
Judge Jones you wanna share your motivation
INT. COURTHOUSE HALLWAY – CONTINUOUS
Just not sure the law was giving everyone a fair shot at …justice
INT. JUDGES CHAMBERS – CONTINUOUS
Judge Jones you can trust the law… it works. You’re a lawyer yourself, you know that
INT. COURTHOUSE HALLWAY – CONTINUOUS
Yeah but sometimes the law needs oil change and a jump start or it’ll leave your ass stranded or worst, run your ass over…Sir
INT. JUDGES CHAMBERS – CONTINUOUS
Good day Detective
C Turning Point 3: Huge failure / Major shift
INT. DETECTIVE’S LIVING ROOM
Meet detectives mom
Learn he’s a mommas boy
Learn he has a proposed to his girlfriend
Tipped off goes after crook
EXT. URBAN AREA – NIGHT
Detective is watching Chance
Sets him up good
Chance is arrested on 20 counts
Looking at 20-80 years in prison
INT. PRISON CELL – DAY
Chance is in jail dejected as he paces in his small cell
He talks to himself “I can’t do this”
PLACE HOLDER: Get more progress from others
INT. PRISON CELL – AFTERNOON
Does push ups, sit ups between going crazy
He runs in place
INT. PRISON CELL – NIGHT
Chance considers suicide
His building manual and dreams prevent that
He recommits to his dream of building a home
Act 4:
A Climax/Ultimate expression of the conflict
INT. PRISON – DAY
Detective visits Callahan in jail for a few unanswered questions
Detective Delivers Chances Fate
Detective makes promise to do what he can to help
TE 21 Dad says don’t worry about me just Chance
They squeeze hands as they cannot hug
INT. COURTROOM – AFTERNOON
Dads trial begins up to All Rise…
Judge Jones is announce and we see delight on Detective’s face
Dad calls Sergeant Antoni Mills (arresting officer) to the stand
TE 22 Dad gets him to prove him not guilty through an exercise in the courtroom
TE 23 Judge stops the hearing and rule it a mistrial
INT. COURTROOM HALLWAY – MOMENTS LATER
The Prosecuting Attorney reluctantly answers his cell phone and says Yes Sir, No, Sir, UH yes
Detective notices then whispers something to Dad
Dad face grows with excitement and he tears up as Detective pats him on the shoulders
INT. DA’s OFFICE – CONTINUOUS
Barry’s mom arranges for Chance’s release
B Resolution
(Montage: The beginning of a new day for main characters)
EXT. PRISON BOXING CLUB – DAY
The old weak scared Chance throw a couple body blows then a knockdown shot to his opponent
A prison guard summons Chance Callahan
Chance exclaims that he aint done nothin wrong that was a clean shot
Prison Gate buzzer blares
Chance and Barry walk out of the facility with belongings in hand
EXT. CALLAHAN LAW OFFICES – DAY
TE 25 Dads lawsuits are dropped and his finances and home are safe again
The family removes notices and official tape and out of business signs from the property
Landscapers work on the yard
Family is cleaning exterior
Or grand reopening signs
EXT. CALLAHAN HOME – DAY
Dad glares at the for sale sign in his front yard
He looks around at all the neighbors looking at him
Then snatches the for sale sign out of the ground at the same time that
EXT. LAKESIDE HOME BUILD PROJECT – MONTHS LATER
Barry snatches the SOLD sign out of the ground and tosses it to Chance
TE 26 The 2 brothers are halfway done building their twin lake houses
EXT. LAKEHOUSE – MOMENTS LATER
Mom confronts Sylvia
It looks like trouble
Mom thanks her
Becomes a personality match made in heaven
Instant sisters
As the rest of the family joins them and Dad and Barry take away their cigarettes
EXT. LAKE HOUSE AERIAL – CONTINUOUS
TE 27 the view rises to reveal their majestic lakeside property with nothing but promise
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Kristin’s High-Speed Beat Sheet
What I learned doing this assignment is that I tend to rethink what I do know and be afraid of what I don’t know. This allows you to just press on, knowing it will fill in later.
PS: I promise that I’ll use these High-Speed Writing Rules to get a script done at record speed… even if not in only 30 days.
Act 1:
OPENING:
EXT. CARAVAN OF DIG VEHICLES – WIDE-OPEN PRAIRIE – ESTABLISHING – DAY
Five or six rag-tag pickups roll down a lone stretch of pockmarked 2-lane pavement in the middle of nowhere. A small (SMALL) town can be seen in the distance.
EXT. 2-PUMP GAS STATION – TINY TOWN – FOLLOWING
The crew pulls in to fuel up. Most are 30-something, sturdy men. A couple of women. A flurry of kids—many of whom line up at the outdoor bathroom.
TE1: JOE is in charge, distractedly filling his pickup, in the middle of a conversation. [This is where Joe learns about dig on public lands and leaves a 6-year-old in the bathroom.]
EXT. ROAD SNAKING THROUGH THE PRAIRIE – LITTLE LATER
One truck pulls off with a tire problem. The others follow. [Notice kid is missing.]
EXT. GAS STATION – FOLLOWING
Kid sitting and waiting. Obviously not for the first time.
INCITING INCIDENT:
EXT. DINOSAUR COMPANY BACK ALLEY – MORNING
All the trucks from yesterday are parked there, plus a few more. Now “DO NOT CROSS / POLICE LINE” tape is being strung up to close the alley. [Seizure set-up.]
INT. JOE’S TRAILER ACROSS THE ALLEY – SAME
TE 2: PHONE RINGS and he’s talking about [whatever science] as FEDS walk past his windows again and again with the DO NOT CROSS tape. Joe is making coffee and doesn’t notice.
EXT. PARKING LOT – LATER
NEWS CAMERAS everywhere, setting up for a news conference as MR. LITTLE fixes his pancake makeup. [This is where Prosecutor Mr. Little gets his 15 minutes on TV.]
INT./EXT. DINOSAUR BUSINESS – DAY/NIGHT
PLACEHOLDER: A sequence showing the drama of the seizure / dynamics of the situation / who’s who / what’s what. Set the stage of the company and how it works. This must include that it’s basically a CUSTODY BATTLE OVER A DINOSAUR.
TURNING POINT:
EXT. PARKING LOT – DAY
Same set-up as when Mr. Little did his press conference, except everything is different. Real people, no makeup, speaking from the heart.
Joe announces that he’s filed suit against the government for “wrongful seizure and return of his property.”
[This is where in the middle of the news announcement, the school lets all the kids out and they swarm the place with signs.]
TE 3: Joe is surrounded by kids chanting. Just as Mr. Little is VERY displeased at the bad press, Joe suddenly realizes that the thing he had considered as “his” really “belongs to everyone.” He’s blown away.
INT. WORKSHOP – DAY
Company staff are told to stand down because “experts” are coming to take this “government property.” Of course, it’s HUGE—and the unprepared, government-hired “scientists” arrive with a couple of sheets of plywood and some boxes. Woefully inadequate.
TE 4: Joe makes a painful decision to break the “stand-down” rule and to help—he must properly crate the fossil he loves, in order to save it from damage. The team pitches in [we see the contrast—they’re really good at their job]. Joe even uses his own materials. Lots of them.
Act 2: NEW PLAN:
EXT. COMPANY BUILDING – EARLY MORNING
The protest has most of the community—hundreds of people, including the school kids and teachers—out with hot chocolate and donuts. The protest continues.
INT. COMPANY OFFICES AND WORKSHOPS – SAME
Everyone moves boxes of rocks and fossils out of the way and creates a mini marketing department. [These independents start “telling their story.” It goes international.]
INT. PROSECUTORS’ OFFICE – SAME
PLACEHOLDER: Something about how they realize they can’t “throw a log chain around the building” and close it down because of the kids. Bad publicity.
Planning the legal case—like a bull in a china shop.
EXT. ALLEY / PARKING AREA – MORNING
A couple of cars’ worth of lawyers pile out. These are country lawyers, and they’ve come to help.
INT. OFFICES – FOLLOWING
PLACEHOLDER: Joe, his partners, and lawyers begin to plot out their strategy. Not everyone is a fan of Joe’s move to “sue the feds,” but Joe starts the way he always starts—like a bull in a china shop. MEET JOE’S CHARISMATIC AND WILD LAWYER, who starts sketching things out on a huge WHITE BOARD.
ON THE BOARD
The combatants are listed, those who claim custody: “us,” “the feds,” the guy who sold it to us from leased land.
TE 5: As Joe’s wild lawyer is giving advice that is daring and contrary to other defendants’ lawyers’ advice, Joe starts to realize that he has to learn how to listen—and still lead. THIS INFORMATION COMES TO JOE through a “VOICE IN HIS HEAD.” A female voice.
INT. PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE – DAY/NIGHT
PLACEHOLDER: Is there a mole at the dinosaur world, feeding some info to Little? OR PERHAPS A FEMALE VOICE? Prosecutors’ office is also dealing with storing the fossil; talking about realizing they have no idea what they’re doing, looking for reinforcements.
Still, as Mr. Little sees the chaos in Joe’s camp, he feels pretty confident.
EXT. DINOSAUR ALLEY / JOE’S HOUSE – NIGHT
PLACEHOLDER: TE 6: A prominent medicine man makes an offer to come to Joe’s trailer house behind the company. Joe accepts, just to be polite. But this guy starts making sense, and he calls Joe “a caretaker” of the earth’s treasures. Joe REALIZES THAT THE VOICE IN HIS HEAD might be the dinosaur, and starts to see his role differently.
MIDPOINT/TP:
INT. COURTHOUSE – DAY
PLACEHOLDER: Joe loses the custody battle, and is devastated. Shortly thereafter, Little indicts Joe and his partners as if they’re the conspirators in a complex RICO case. Hundreds of felony charges. Even the little-old-lady receptionist is an “unindicted co-conspirator.”
INT. JOE’S TRAILER – NIGHT
PLACEHOLDER: TE 7: Joe’s daughter turns 18—and takes off with her boyfriend. She says her life has been dominated by whatever her dad wants, and she is NOT going to let her world get derailed by something she can’t help or control.
EXT. STORAGE BUILDING WHERE FOSSIL IS – NIGHT
Joe stands outside the window, looking in and having a conversation about the daughter. BOTH SIDES are clearly audible, when no one else is around.
Act 3: RETHINK EVERYTHING:
INT. JOE’S OFFICES – EARLY MORNING
Everyone is exhausted and bitter, scared and angry.
PLACEHOLDER PROBLEM: Need this to be funny…. As Joe’s people are pulled into the drama, he learns the downfalls of his overall POV. He is even asked to step down as CEO by his family and business partners, but he’s still the majority stockholder. TE 8: Is he going to give up—or change?
INT. PROSECUTORS’ OFFICE – NIGHT
Mr. Little meticulously arranges and rearranges his “exhibits” and equipment, including ELMO, the projector screen thing. He talks to himself as he sets his sights on taking Joe and the business down.
EXT/INT. DINO ALLEY & OFFICES – NIGHT
Joe can’t sleep, and crosses from his trailer to the office. He looks at the mountain of paperwork, decades’ worth of files, etc.
TE 9: PLACEHOLDER SEQUENCE RE: NEW INSIGHTS: Joe’s new plans involve research, collaboration, listening to new ideas, and engaging colleagues behind the scenes to assist.
One of the things he knows he must do is get back outdoors.
INT. JOE’S TENT – NIGHT
At a dig site, back out in the middle of nowhere, we hear some COYOTES. Joe begins to toss and turn in his sleeping bag.
DREAM SEQUENCE:
TE 10: PLACEHOLDER: One DREAM is with the guys who created this independent business model 100 years before. They, and their entire legacy, are relying on him. Another is an in-person conversation with the dinosaur herself, in real time. This begins a dialog, where they share a process of dealing with Mr. Little.
Joe awakens with a new understanding of the errors in the prosecution’s case—jumps up and breaks camp.
INT. DINO OFFICE – WHITE BOARD – DAY
TE 11: Joe sketches out Mr. Little’s errors and the case’s inherent weaknesses. He asks his colleagues to look through their own FIELD NOTES that show exact locations, etc. Everyone participates and adds to the logic.
INT. PROSECUTORS’ OFFICE – SAME
By now, Mr. Little is cocky; he thinks he’s got this in the bag. Nerding out, he prepares dozens of very boring slideshows and graphs and charts.
TP / FAILURE / MAJOR SHIFT: THE TRIAL
INT. COURTROOM – DAY IN AND DAY OUT
The trial goes on, and on, and on. Mr. Little puts everyone to sleep and Joe’s side gets all the laughs.
PLACEHOLDERS: Don’t forget the funny case notes examples.
Finally, as the verdict is read, Joe and his colleagues are triumphant for almost the entire list of charges (Mr. Little hates this)—but Joe is convicted on a technicality. Even with “right on his side,” he faces a prison sentence.
“Everyone” in the clan is devastated and embarrassed, “guilty!” TE 12: But Joe walks out the front doors of the courthouse—with a cigar in his mouth. This confuses Mr. Little and the judge.
Act 4: CLIMAX:
INT. PRISON – DAY
When Joe is being logged into prison, the guard on duty looks at the conviction—“Failure to fill out forms? You must have really pissed someone off.”
PLACEHOLDER SEQUENCE: Joe quickly becomes a celebrity at minimum security. But when he finds fossils in the exercise yard, he thinks twice about picking them up. TE 13: After all, this is federal property. He has a great idea for a TED Talk about ownership of “the public trust.”
INT. PRISON LIBRARY – DAY
PLACEHOLDER SEQUENCE: TE 14: Meanwhile, can he run the company from prison? He has to understand what “teamwork” really looks like. Also while inside, Joe helps rewrite federal policy on fossil collections, writes books, sees the benefits of collaboration.
INT. DINO OFFICES – DAY
The team rallies behind him, and Joe’s people launch a campaign against Mr. Little and the frivolous prosecution.
EXT. PROSECUTORS’ OFFICE – EVENING
Mr. Little is feeling pretty good about himself. This is despite the fact that even his colleagues cringe when he comes around.
EXT. MR. LITTLE’S HOUSE – FOLLOWING
He drives up in his Suzuki Samurai, parks in the driveway of an unremarkable cookie-cutter house. His yard is full of turkeys, boxes of hatchling chickens. He’s mystified.
INT. MR. LITTLE’S HOUSE – FOLLOWING
He takes off his suit jacket and ponders a stack of mail that has fallen through the slot. As he’s leaning against the front door, someone knocks on the other side, startling him.
He opens, and there stands a delivery person. He’s got exotic parrots…as well as other “T. rex relatives.”
RESOLUTION:
EXT. PRISON – EARLY MORNING
Joe, wearing his old clothes, boards a bus.
EXT. HIGHWAY NORTH – BUS – DAY
He’s looking out the window, happier than he’s been in a long time. Is that a DINOSAUR sitting on the row of seats across the aisle? We can’t really see clearly.
INT. HIS OFFICE – DAY
PLACEHOLDER: As soon as Joe gets out, businesses are lined up to place orders—NOT what Mr. Little had hoped for. Joe and his team set out on a new prospecting mission—in a new way, and with help from the “dream-fossil.” They find another T. rex. Mr. Little does not get his promotion…and is demoted to Public Defender.
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Steve’s High Speed Beat Sheet
What I learned doing this assignment is – planning and preparation saves time.
INT. APARTMENT – STACEY’S BEDROOM – DAY
OPENING: STACEY is stuck in bed because BRITNEY, her new caregiver, is outside arguing with her mother on the phone. Stacey is disabled due to cerebral palsy – she only has use of one arm, the rest of her body constricted by muscle tightness. And her speech is very slurred, making it difficult to understand her unless she speaks painstakingly slowly.
We see just how dependent Stacey is – she can’t even get out of bed by herself and she REALLY has to pee.
INT. APARTMENT – STACEY’S BATHROOM – DAY
Stacey and Britney have a heart-to-heart about the help with ADLs (Activities of Daily Living) that Stacey needs. Stacey is totally dependent on the help of her caregivers. We also learn through their interaction just how difficult it is to understand Stacey’s speech. Britney keeps repeating what Stacey says – in the form of a question – to make sure she understands what Stacey said. Stacey finds this very annoying.
INT. APARTMENT – LIVING ROOM – DAY
INCITING INCIDENT: Stacey’s married boyfriend, MATEO, calls her on the phone to say he’d like to drop by for “a date” (meaning “sex”). Stacey has to explain her complicated relationship with Mateo to Britney.
As a devoted caregiver Britney leaps into action – helping Stacey get ready by doing her hair and makeup, etc.
TURNING POINT: HARRY and JOAN, Stacey’s father and mother, stop by unexpectedly – just before Mateo is supposed to arrive.
==== Act 2 ====
EXT. APARTMENT – DAY
TE 1: Mateo arrives … and immediately turns to leave when he sees Stacey’s parents are there. But Stacey insists that he stay. Normally she’d just give up and be disappointed, but this time she asserts herself.
Harry and Joan recognize Mateo – he used to be one of Stacey’s caregivers, which is how they met. He is now working as an EMT.
INT. APARTMENT – STACEY’S BEDROOM – DAY
TE 2: Stacey pulls Britney into the bathroom with her under the guise of “needing help.” She tells Britney to find a way to get her mom and dad out of the house so she can have “alone time” with Mateo. It’s a first step for Stacey – asserting herself – but she passively insists someone else (Britney) should do the work for her. She wants to manipulate things behind the scenes so she doesn’t have to do it directly.
INT. APARTMENT – LIVING ROOM – DAY
Tense small talk in the living room amongst the group. Harry and Joan remember Mateo well from when he was one of Stacey’s caregivers. They spend some time catching up. Harry remembers that Mateo was training to become an EMT when he worked with Stacey. How is that going? Does he like being an EMT?
TE 3: And then the pointed question from Harry – why is Mateo here now?
Mateo is flustered and tries to come up with an explanation – he was just in the area and thought he’d stop by. Stacey tries to explain too.
Their explanations seem contrived, and it makes Harry suspicious that something is going on that he doesn’t know about. And Harry doesn’t like when things are happening that he doesn’t know about.
During all this Stacey continues to be treated basically as a non-entity – Harry, her father, wants to make all decisions for her.
Harry mentions that he has been having problems with their wheelchair-accessible van. Mateo offers to take a look – he used to work in the service department of an auto dealership.
EXT. APARTMENT – DAY
TE 4: A game of cat and mouse ensues. Harry is sure that something is going on and he wants to get to the bottom of it. As Mateo works to figure out what’s wrong with the van Harry attempts to be nonchalant as he questions Mateo about his home life, his job as an EMT … and how often he is in touch with Stacey.
INT. APARTMENT – DAY
TE 5: Stacey and her mother talk inside the apartment while Harry and Mateo continue their verbal joust outside. Stacey reveals what’s really going on. Joan is not surprised. She had known about Stacey’s relationship with Mateo. She wasn’t happy about it but she tolerated it, knowing how lonely Stacey was for a romantic relationship. Joan thought it had ended when Mateo completed his training and took the job as an EMT. Meanwhile Britney listens to all this, trying to understand the family dynamics at play here.
Continue cutting back and forth between the conversations inside and outside the apartment.
Turning Point (MIDPOINT): Harry finally figures out what is going on between Stacey and Mateo.
==== Act 3 ====
INT. APARTMENT – DAY
A big confrontation ensues. Harry tells Stacey he knows what’s going on between her and Mateo. What was she thinking? Why is she involved with a married man?
TE 6: Joan steps forward to defend Stacey. Why is this any of their business? Stacey has her own life to lead.
Harry becomes irate. Did Joan know about this? How could she let it continue?
TE 7: Stacey refuses to give up her relationship with Mateo.
Turning Point (All is Lost Moment): Harry tells Stacey that if she continues seeing Mateo he will walk away from her. She’ll be on her own.
==== Act 4 ====
Climax: Stacey holds firm, challenging Harry to abandon her if he feels that is the right thing for him to do.
Joan stands up for Stacey too. Harry will have to walk away from her as well.
Harry walks out to the driveway of the apartment. After a few moments Stacey follows him out there. They have an emotional heart to heart conversation.
Resolution: Harry backs down. There is no way he could turn away from his daughter forever.
TE 8: Stacey decides to end her sexual relationship with Mateo. They have always been friends … and she hopes they can remain friends. But she doesn’t want to risk their relationship being discovered by his wife and ruining his marriage. And she needs to reach out into the world to find a real-world, full-time relationship.
==============
Steven Patterson’s High Speed Beat Sheet
What I Learned from this Lesson: I’ve known about screenplay structure for a long time. Adding carefully planned Transformational Events into the structure really helps a lot with pacing.
Lesson 7 – Beat Sheet and High Speed Writing
INT. APARTMENT – STACEY’S BEDROOM – DAY
OPENING: STACEY is stuck in bed because BRITNEY, her new caregiver, is outside arguing with her mother on the phone. Stacey is disabled due to cerebral palsy – she only has use of one arm, the rest of her body constricted by muscle tightness. And her speech is very slurred, making it difficult to understand her unless she speaks painstakingly slowly.
We see just how dependent Stacey is – she can’t even get out of bed by herself and she REALLY has to pee.
INT. APARTMENT – STACEY’S BATHROOM – DAY
Stacey and Britney have a heart-to-heart about the help with ADLs (Activities of Daily Living) that Stacey needs. Stacey is totally dependent on the help of her caregivers. We also learn through their interaction just how difficult it is to understand Stacey’s speech. Britney keeps repeating what Stacey says – in the form of a question – to make sure she understands what Stacey said. Stacey finds this very annoying.
INT. APARTMENT – LIVING ROOM – DAY
INCITING INCIDENT: Stacey’s married boyfriend, MATEO, calls her on the phone to say he’d like to drop by for “a date” (meaning “sex”). Stacey has to explain her complicated relationship with Mateo to Britney.
As a devoted caregiver Britney leaps into action – helping Stacey get ready by doing her hair and makeup, etc.
TURNING POINT: HARRY and JOAN, Stacey’s father and mother, stop by unexpectedly – just before Mateo is supposed to arrive.
==== Act 2 ====
EXT. APARTMENT – DAY
TE 1: Mateo arrives … and immediately turns to leave when he sees Stacey’s parents are there. But Stacey insists that he stay. Normally she’d just give up and be disappointed, but this time she asserts herself.
Harry and Joan recognize Mateo – he used to be one of Stacey’s caregivers, which is how they met. He is now working as an EMT.
INT. APARTMENT – STACEY’S BEDROOM – DAY
TE 2: Stacey pulls Britney into the bathroom with her under the guise of “needing help.” She tells Britney to find a way to get her mom and dad out of the house so she can have “alone time” with Mateo. It’s a first step for Stacey – asserting herself – but she passively insists someone else (Britney) should do the work for her. She wants to manipulate things behind the scenes so she doesn’t have to do it directly.
INT. APARTMENT – LIVING ROOM – DAY
Tense small talk in the living room amongst the group. Harry and Joan remember Mateo well from when he was one of Stacey’s caregivers. They spend some time catching up. Harry remembers that Mateo was training to become an EMT when he worked with Stacey. How is that going? Does he like being an EMT?
TE 3: And then the pointed question from Harry – why is Mateo here now?
Mateo is flustered and tries to come up with an explanation – he was just in the area and thought he’d stop by. Stacey tries to explain too.
Their explanations seem contrived, and it makes Harry suspicious that something is going on that he doesn’t know about. And Harry doesn’t like when things are happening that he doesn’t know about.
During all this Stacey continues to be treated basically as a non-entity – Harry, her father, wants to make all decisions for her.
Harry mentions that he has been having problems with their wheelchair-accessible van. Mateo offers to take a look – he used to work in the service department of an auto dealership.
EXT. APARTMENT – DAY
TE 4: A game of cat and mouse ensues. Harry is sure that something is going on and he wants to get to the bottom of it. As Mateo works to figure out what’s wrong with the van Harry attempts to be nonchalant as he questions Mateo about his home life, his job as an EMT … and how often he is in touch with Stacey.
INT. APARTMENT – DAY
TE 5: Stacey and her mother talk inside the apartment while Harry and Mateo continue their verbal joust outside. Stacey reveals what’s really going on. Joan is not surprised. She had known about Stacey’s relationship with Mateo. She wasn’t happy about it but she tolerated it, knowing how lonely Stacey was for a romantic relationship. Joan thought it had ended when Mateo completed his training and took the job as an EMT. Meanwhile Britney listens to all this, trying to understand the family dynamics at play here.
Continue cutting back and forth between the conversations inside and outside the apartment.
Turning Point (MIDPOINT): Harry finally figures out what is going on between Stacey and Mateo.
==== Act 3 ====
INT. APARTMENT – DAY
A big confrontation ensues. Harry tells Stacey he knows what’s going on between her and Mateo. What was she thinking? Why is she involved with a married man?
TE 6: Joan steps forward to defend Stacey. Why is this any of their business? Stacey has her own life to lead.
Harry becomes irate. Did Joan know about this? How could she let it continue?
TE 7: Stacey refuses to give up her relationship with Mateo.
Turning Point (All is Lost Moment): Harry tells Stacey that if she continues seeing Mateo he will walk away from her. She’ll be on her own.
==== Act 4 ====
Climax: Stacey holds firm, challenging Harry to abandon her if he feels that is the right thing for him to do.
Joan stands up for Stacey too. Harry will have to walk away from her as well.
Harry walks out to the driveway of the apartment. After a few moments Stacey follows him out there. They have an emotional heart to heart conversation.
Resolution: Harry backs down. There is no way he could turn away from his daughter forever.
TE 8: Stacey decides to end her sexual relationship with Mateo. They have always been friends … and she hopes they can remain friends. But she doesn’t want to risk their relationship being discovered by his wife and ruining his marriage. And she needs to reach out into the world to find a real-world, full-time relationship.
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Bob Colley – Beat Sheet and High Speed Writing
What I learned doing this assignment is to keep chipping away.
Act 1:
INT. CABIN – DAY
Door splinters apart as FBI agents enter cabin to apprehend suspect. GF opens fire with a machine pistol killing first agent. During returning fire GF spins and tosses gun to boyfriend who runs down hall firing at agents. He is hit, through and through and bullet goes through wall and kills child in the other room.
EXT. ROADWAY – DAY
Agents transporting GF to safe house for off book interrogation being passed by car with a couple in it (henchmen). They open fire, disable the car and free GF.
PLACEHOLDER: Montage of hero – buries FBI partner, quits FBI, divorced, gets position as sheriff on small town.
<st1:place w:st=”on”><st1:placename w:st=”on”>EXT.</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st=”on”>TOWN</st1:placetype></st1:place> – DAY
Hero sees six drones fly into his small town. They are carrying C4. The bank explodes, post office, grocery store, gift shop, school and playground.
INT. SHERIFF’S OFFICE – AFTERNOON
FBI agent meets Hero. They have to work together to find terrorists. Hero realizes agent not up to the task and takes charge; it’s his town.
Act 2:
EXT. WOODS – DAY
Hero meets with Elder to learn needed back country skills.
PLACEHOLDER: Tries new skills, fails at first.
EXT. ROADWAY – DAY
Car chase with Hero after GF villain with henchmen. Chases to building under construction.
EXT. CONSTRUCTION SITE – DAY
Villain heads up stairs three flights to roof. Hero held off my henchmen gunfire. Agent partner uses construction crane to lift pallet of material with Hero on up to roof level. Firefight the entire way. Has villain in sights. Dust cloud and crane sways as villain escapes by drone copter.
EXT. COUNTRY – DAY
Hero encounters terrorists test flying drone swarm
Act 3:
EXT. COUNTRY – EVENING
Agent and hero gather intel on hardware and software terrorists are using. Needs a plans to stop a 1,000 drone swarm.
EXT. COUNTRY – DAY
Tries a pulse gun but fails.
Act 4:
EXT. COUNTRY – AFTERNOON
Hero and partner hack terrorist computer system and takes control of the swarm. Uses the swarm to blowup terrorist camp.
INT. TUNNEL – AFTERNOON
Hero chases villain through tunnels and finds her hiding in a hole. Shoots her in the head.
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Adam’s (not so) high speed Beat Sheet
What I learned doing this assignment is the ease at which I can go back and fix a few little things. Due to being very busy with work I wasn’t able to complete a bunch – but now I’m back at it and having the assignment half done I was able to just jump in easily and finish it off as I could go over the plot points super fast and get my brain back into it quickly.
ACT 1
TEASER:
News footage with credits of pandemic hitting – shit going down
INT. SCHOOL – DAY
Opening: LES IS FUN TEACHER WITH NO BACK BONE
Les is a funny computer science teacher who doesn’t have much control over his students. He jokes off his lack of control and influence. Hiding his feelings of defeat with jokes. Same goes at home.
EXT. SCHOOLYARD – DAY
TE 1: Les sees kid getting bullied and called ‘anti-masker’ – he breaks it up
INT. LES’S HOME – DAY
Les talks to his own kids to find out what’s happening
Inciting Incident: LES talks to kid’s mom about his kid being bullied and then anti-mask and freedom
INT. LES’S HOME OFFICE – DAY
Les gets info from NEW FRIEND (kid’s mom) – goes down the rabbit hole
INT. MAYOR’S OFFICE – DAY
Mayor Elizabeth says we’ll crush this plague
INT. PRINCIPAL’S OFFICE – DAY
TE 2: He speaks up to the Principal of school about how he thinks they should look deeper into it critically– Principal says to leave it alone, don’t go there, these decisions come from the top – no matter what they say/we have to live with it/hands are tied
INT. LES’S OFFICE – DAY – ON COMPUTER
TE 3: Les witnesses 2 things that were considered a conspiracy by mainstream become reality: the idea of mass vaccinations with an experimental drug pushed through by FDA & people shot/taken away at an anti-lockdown peaceful protest.
Turning Point 1: CONSPIRACY BECOMES REALITY: LES CAN’T TURN A BLIND EYE ANYMORE
INT. BEDROOM – NIGHT
Les can’t remove images of his own kids, in rows with masks and plexiglass – iron fist coming down on them from Nazi-like teacher – a la ‘1984’.
ACT 2
New Plan: FIND THE TRUTH
INT. LES’S OFFICE – DAY
Les does research, gets confused about the different messaging, he starts to let it leak to students who even say he’s being irresponsible
INT. LES’S KITCHEN – DAY
TE 4: Les comes clean to Donna about what he’s been learning. She can’t even bare to hear it.
INT. MAYOR’S OFFICE – DAY
Mayor Elizabeth pushing vaccine rollout hard – everyone should be vaxxed with experimental vaccine
Plan in Action – DISSEMINATE TRUTH
INT. CLASSROOM – DAY
He’s trying to sneak in some critical thinking to his students.
INT. LES’S HOME – DAY
He feels he’s living a lie and sees his own children withdrawing, getting angry and losing hope for the future
INT. BEDROOM – NIGHT
Les and Donna have a big blowout fight – she says he’s crazy and he says she’s blind, etc.
INT. CLASSROOM – DAY
TE 5: Les gets close to a student who is having psych problems – the kid is very distraught so he breaks protocol and gives the kid a hug – another student sees this and reports him. HE IS FIRED and CHARGED. He’s publicly pegged as a dissenter
NEWS REEL
People are vaxxing – things are looking better for society
Midpoint Turning Point: TRUTH IS WORSE THAN THOUGHT
NEWS REEL: Suddenly everyone who was vaxxed dies or gets severely ill and then dies.
INT. FUNERAL HOME – DAY
Les and kids at his wife’s funeral
ACT 3
EXT. PARLIEMENT BUILDINGS – DAY
Mayor Elizabeth announcement:
It was all on purpose – to shrink the population and weed out the followers – they wanted the best and brightest to survive. ‘Natural selection’ fast forwarded with a helping hand. Those that survive will share in the riches of the earth. A new earth with plenty for everyone, proper farming, clean air, etc. There’s just a few rules: You won’t own anything, you will be given monthly allowance for survival. You will be given a job that suits your aptitude, you will have a social scorecard, you are not allowed more than 1 child…
Rethink everything: Goes into hiding from NWO
INT. NEW FRIEND’S BASEMENT – DAY
Les goes into hiding with his new friend – the mom. With his kids and hers.
New plan
INT. FRIEND’S BASEMENT – DAY
TE 6: Create a new internet that is democratic, money that can’t be hidden, build on what’s there – blockchain, coins, etc.
Find lots of ‘cells’ of people who want to fight back
Behind the scenes Les and friend build a strong group worldwide on the alt web
Elite stranglehold starts failing because people have stopped buying from them and refusing to take their drugs, don’t use their social media – they’ve created another one that isn’t controlled by anyone
‘
Turning point: Huge Failure/Major shift
TE 7: Les put into labour camp. Mayor Elizabeth discovers who he is – how he’s the leader – and has him found and arrested along with many others in these cells.
INT. LABOUR CAMP – NIGHT
Les talks with other prisoners. They need a true revolution. No longer can work only in the shadows.
ACT 4
Climax/Ultimate expression of conflict
INT. LABOUR CAMP – NIGHT
TE 8: Les leads a break out. They plan a take-over/escape of the campwith everyone in the jail. The guards lay down their weapons in solidarity.
Get weapons and head to the Mayor’s office
INT. WAREHOUSE – NIGHT
Les confronts the Mayor and takes her hostage and executes her publicly saying we’re moving to the top
Resolution
INT. WAREHOUSE – NIGHT
News footage shows the world descending into revolution and chaos as the oppressed finally rise up against the elites and power that has run the world for so long.
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Paul’s High Speed Beat Sheet
What I learned doing this assignment was to accept quantity over quality – you can always improve a bad script – but if it’s not on paper you can’t.
ACT 1
1 EXT. PHILADELPHIA SKYLINE – DAY 1
Establish where we are and that it is spring.
2 EXT. CAMPUS LANE – DAY
Establish house – creep towards window to see
3 INT. PATRICIA’S LIVING ROOM – DAY
Patricia is in a bridal gown being fussed over by her bridal party as her mother Pearl watches
INCITING INCIDENT – Patricia gets a text – Marry him and I’ll kill you.
Patricia looks to her mother’s Pearl who is lost in thought, remembers…
4 INT. TRIUMPH BAPTIST CHURCH – DAY
Pearl is a young woman – being woo’d by Jesse.
5 INT. PATRICIA’S LIVING ROOM – DAY
Patricia reveals that the text is from her father – Jesse.
6 EXT. SOUTH CANTERBURY ROAD – DAY
A house with a beat up old car in a garage.
7 INT. PEARL’S LIVING ROOM – DAY
A Man’s hand opens a gun cabinet. Takes out a rifle.
8 EXT. FIXIT ROAD – DAY
A car races through a red light, picks up speed.
9 INT. PATRICIA’S LIVING ROOM – DAY 3
Bridal party want Patricia to postpone the wedding, but Patricia is determined to go ahead with it. – Pearl thinks back in time to when…
10 INT. TRIUMPH BAPTIST CHURCH – DAY
She sang solo in the church choir. Jesse watches her fascinated.
11 EXT. TRIUMPH BAPTIST CHURCH – DAY
Jesse asks Pearl out for a date, but she’s hesitant. Agrees only if he can keep a secret. She…
12 INT. MAUDE’S LIVING ROOM – DAY
Introduces Jesse to her mother Maude, who has a severe mental illness and talks to a wall clock.
13 EXT. MAUDE’S FRONT DOOR – DAY
Pearl is intrigued by Jesse, because he was so good with her mother Maude.
14 INT. TRIUMPH BAPTIST CHURCH – DAY
Pearl sings solo in the choir, Jesse is beside her – now also in the choir.
15 EXT. TRIUMPH BAPTIST CHURCH – DAY
Pearl wants to meet Jesse’s folks.
16 EXT. CITY PARK – DAY
Jesse’s mother Novella warns Pearl that Jesse’s not the one for her.
17 INT. MAUDE’S FRONT DOOR – DAY
Pearl’s brother Drew arrives home on leave from the army.
18 EXT. CITY PARK – DAY
Pearl discusses her worries about Jesse with her brother Drew.
19 INT. JAZZ CLUB – NIGHT
Jesse proposes to Pearl – who accepts
20 INT. PATRICIA’S LIVING ROOM – DAY
Transition from Pearl watching a woman with a young toddler enter to…
21 INT. MAUDE’S LIVING ROOM – DAY
Pearl stares at her new born Patricia, she also has three other kids
22 EXT. WANDA’S HOUSE – DAY
Jesse enters Wanda’s house.
23 INT. PEARL’S LIVING ROOM – DAY
Patricia celebrates her 13<sup>th</sup> birthday, gets a fishing rod from Jesse.
24 EXT. RIVERSIDE – DAY
Jesse takes Patricia fishing – she meets Wanda.
25 EXT. RIVERSIDE – DUSK
Jesse and Wanda get drunk.
26 INT. JESSE’S CAR – NIGHT
Patricia drives them home.
27 EXT. CITY FREEWAY – NIGHT
Patricia drives the car onto the busy freeway.
28 EXT. TINA’S APARTMENT COMPLEX – NIGHT
Patricia drops Tina off.
29 INT. PEARL’S KITCHEN – NIGHT
Patricia helps Jesse inside.
30 INT. PEARL’S KITCHEN – MORNING
Patricia has breakfast with her mum.
31 INT. PEARL’S LIVING ROOM – MORNING
Uncle Drew comes to stay.
32 INT. PEARL’S DINING ROOM – NIGHT
Family dinner, but Drew is unhappy that Jesse doesn’t show up.
33 INT. KITCHEN – NIGHT
Jesse arrives.
34 INT. PEARL’S DINING ROOM – NIGHT 23
Drew and Jesse bicker.
35 EXT. PEARL’S UNIT – NIGHT 23 2
Jesse comes home drunk. He wrestles with Drew, throws him down the stairs.
36 INT. HOSPITAL CORRIDOR – DAY
Doctor explains to Pearl and Patricia about Drew.
37 INT. DREW’S WARD – DAY
Drew reveals he is paralysed.
38 INT. PEARL’S LIVING ROOM – DAY
Drew arrives home after hospital discharge.
39 INT. SHOPPING MALL – DAY
Jesse is with a woman and refuses to acknowledge Patricia as his daughter.
40 INT. PEARL’S LIVING ROOM – DAY
Pearl gets nuisance calls from a woman.
41 INT. PEARL’S KITCHEN – NIGHT
Jesse threatens Patricia re: the mall incident.
ACT 2 – Patricia is determined to find the truth
42 INT. PATRICIA’S BEDROOM – NIGHT
Patricia cries herself to sleep.
43 INT. PATRICIA’S BEDROOM – DAWN
Patricia gets up, determined.
44 INT. PEARL’S KITCHEN – MORNING
Patricia lies to Pearl.
45 EXT. PEARL’S APARTMENT – MORNING
Patricia has Jesse’s car keys.
46 INT. LOCKSMITH – MORNING
Patricia gets a copy of the car keys made.
47 INT. PEARL’S KITCHEN – MORNING
Jesse can’t find his car keys. Patricia is too afraid to say she has them.
48 INT. PEARL’S LOUNGE ROOM – MORNING
Drew is annoyed by the ruckus Jesse creates.
49 INT. PATRICIA’S BEDROOM – DAY
Patricia paces her room, unsure what to do.
50 INT. PEARL’S LOUNGE ROOM – MORNING
Patricia pretens to find the keys.
51 EXT. JESSE’S VAN – MORNING
Patricia hides in Jesse’s van.
52 INT. JESSE’S VAN – MORNING
Jesse doesn’t notice Patricia hiding in the back of the van.
53 EXT. HOUSING BLOCK – MORNING
Patricia follows Jesse – realizes Jesse is cheating on her mom and she has a step-brother.
54 EXT. CITY STREETS – DAY
Patricia wanders the streets.
55 EXT. CITY PARK – EVENING
A Bag Lady gives Patricia advice.
56 EXT. STREET CORNER – NIGHT
Patricia asks her brothers for advice about their dad.
57 INT. PEARL’S LIVING ROOM – NIGHT
Patricia’s sister Jade tells her not to stick her nose into dad’s business or it might be worse for their mom.
58 INT. PATRICIA’S BEDROOM – NIGHT
Patricia seeks advice from the bible.
59 INT. PEARL’S LIVING ROOM – NIGHT
Jesse’s behaviour upsets Drew.
60 INT. PEARL’S KITCHEN – NIGHT
Drew shows Jesse his strength.
61 INT. PEARL’S LIVING ROOM – NIGHT
Jesse storms off.
62 INT. PEARL’S DINING ROOM – DAY
Jesse is annoyed by the amount of sticky notes Pearl has on the fridge.
63 EXT. PEARL’S HOUSE – DAY
Patricia goes to school.
64 EXT. PEARL’S HOUSE – DAY
Drew helps Pearl with the shopping.
65 INT. PEARL’S KITCHEN – DAY
Sticky notes in kitchen increase. Pearl gets defensive when Patricia asks her about them.
65 A INT. PEARL’S LIVING ROOM – DAY
Pearl gets a call – she missed a medical appointment.
66 INT. PEARL’S DINING ROOM – NIGHT
Jesse takes an instant dislike to Patricia’s boyfriend Blake.
67 EXT. PEARL’S HOUSE – DAY
Patricia and Blake discuss Jesse.
68 EXT. RIVERSIDE – DAY
Blake tries to make friends with Jesse by fishing with him.
71 EXT. PARK – DAY
Drew and Pearl go shopping.
72 INT. GROCERY STORE – DAY
Drew and Pearl shopping.
73 INT. PEARL’S LIVING ROOM – DAY
Drew has a chest pain.
74 INT. PEARL’S KITCHEN – DAY
Pearl can’t find Drew’s pills.
75 INT. PEARL’S LIVING ROOM – DAY
Pearl finds Drew dead.
76 EXT. CEMETERY – DAY
Drew’s funeral – Patricia has argument with siblings about Pearl’s care.
ACT 3 – Patricia takes on the caring role for Pearl
77 EXT. PATRICIA’S HOUSE
Jesse confronts Blake about he and Patricia taking Pearl from him.
78 INT. PATRICIA’S LIVING ROOM
Back to Patricia in bridal gown about to get married.
79 EXT. PATRICIA’S HOUSE
Patricia gets into limo to go to church.
80 INT. CHURCH – DAY
Blake makes excuses for Patricia not showing.
81 INT. LIMOUSINE – DAY
Patricia asks limo driver to take her to church.
82 INT. PEARL’S GARAGE – DAY
Jesse stares at the gun in his hand. About to go to church.
83 EXT. CHURCH – DAY
Limo drives to church – Patricia thinks she saw her brother driving the other way.
84 EXT. FIXIT ROAD – DAY
Vic parks behind Jesse’s car blocking him in.
85 INT. JESSE’S CAR – DAY
Jesse and Vic wrestle over the gun.
86 EXT. CHURCH – DAY
Patricia and Blake marry.
87 INT. CHURCH – DAY
Patricia and Blake dance the bridal waltz
88 INT. PATRICIA’S CAR – DAY
Patricia take Pearl to look at some nursing homes.
89 EXT. GENTLE FOLK NURSING HOME
Patricia hopes this nursing home is better than the others.
90 INT. GENTLE FOLK – NURSE’S STATION – DAY
Patricia likes this nursing home.
91 INT. GENTLE FOLK – PEARL’S ROOM – AFTERNOON
Patricia settles Pearl into the nursing home.
92 EXT. GENTLE FOLK NURSING HOME – DAY
Patricia worries she did the right thing.
93 EXT. GENTLE FOLK NURSING HOME – MORNING
Pearl boards the bus for activity centre.
94 EXT. GENTLE FOLK NURSING HOME – AFTERNOON
Pearl arrives back from activity centre.
95 INT. GENTLE FOLK – NURSE’S STATION – AFTERNOON
Pearl feels like she’s home.
96 INT. GENTLE FOLK – PEARL’S ROOM – NIGHT
Patricia visits Pearl.
97 INT. GENTLE FOLK – PEARL’S ROOM – AFTERNOON
Pearl secretes food.
98 INT. GENTLE FOLK – PEARL’S ROOM – NIGHT
Patricia discovers Pearl’s food stash.
99 INT. GENTLE FOLK – NURSE’S STATION – AFTERNOON
Patricia worries about her mother’s condition getting worse.
100 EXT. GENTLE FOLK NURSING HOME – DAY
Pearl gets off the bus – walks past the nursing home.
101 INT. PATRICIA’S WORK – DAY
Patricia gets a call from Nursing Home – is your mom with you?
102 INT. GENTLE FOLK – NURSE’S STATION – DAY
Nurse explains Pearl is missing.
103 INT. PATRICIA’S WORK – DAY
Patricia rushes out of work.
104 EXT. PATRICIA’S WORK – DAY
Patricia calls Blake – I need your help.
105 INT. BLAKE’S WORK – DAY
Blake asks others to help him.
106 INT. PATRICIA’S CAR – DAY
PATRICIA drives looking for Pearl.
107 EXT. CITY STREETS – DUSK
Blake and his helpers scour the street looking for Pearl.
108 INT. PATRICIA’S CAR – NIGHT
PATRICIA gets a call about Pearl.
109 INT. DOG SHELTER – NIGHT
SHELTER WORKER shows Patricia where Pearl is.
110 INT. GENTLE FOLK – NURSE’S STATION – DAY
PATRICIA told that they can’t let Pearl go to activity outings any more.
111 INT. PATRICIA’S LOUNGE ROOM – MORNING
Patricia and Blake play with their first child.
112 INT. HOSPITAL – NURSE’S STATION – MORNING
VAL calls Patricia about Pearl.
113 INT. HOSPITAL – NURSE’S STATION – MORNING
Pearl has MRSA. Patricia has to suit up.
114 INT. HOSPITAL – ROOM 202 – MORNING
PATRICIA runs away as her mother dies.
115 INT. FUNERAL HOME – DAY
PATRICIA picks a coffin for Pearl. Jesse disagrees with the funeral ceremony.
116 INT. PATRICIA’S LIVING ROOM – NIGHT
Christmas Eve – Patricia is teary-eyed.
117 INT. PATRICIA’S LIVING ROOM – NIGHT
Patricia calls someone.
118 INT. DINER – NIGHT
Patricia meets with Jesse. Calls him out for his bad behaviour, then forgives him.
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