Week 2 Day 1: Belonging Together – SEABISCUIT

[cara star]

What causes you to believe that these two belong together? Both people seem to be “spirited” and they are both touchy and need someone who understands them. They both stand out as troubled fighters. No one really wants to hang out with either of them, but they both desperately need connection and understanding.

Notice any similar emotions, words, and actions? Both pugilists. Both take on the world without much effort to connect.

What drama is this scene built around? People have little faith or expectation of both the horse and the troublesome jockey. The owner needs to find someone that can ride the horse but is having a hard time. We get the sense that the horse and the jockey might be a perfect match… although things could certainly go wrong.

What profile items showed up in these two characters’ words and actions? Neighing, kicking, biting, nervous, sensitive… swearing, punching, picking fights, nervous, touchy.

What I learned rewriting my scene is more about the characters that are NOT right for each other… and that the characters need to understand this to move on.

[Joseph McGloin]

Watch 1st time for:

What causes you to believe these
two belong together?

Red doesn’t have a negative word about Seabiscuit. He makes Red smile. He says the horse has spirit, and we know from a previous scene that he himself does, too. They are similar. Then he makes a connection between a possible jockey of the same ilk, an outsider who will fight to his last breath.

Notice any similar emotions and
actions.

Neither is a people “person.” Red understands that it takes a certain kind of rider, one like Seabiscuit himself, to ride. Seabiscuit will permit nothing less. Red seems to be talking about Seabiscuit in a way the horse hears and responds to – he can be ridden, “eventually.”

Watch 2nd time for:

What drama is this scene built
around?

A wild horse and a wild potential jockey, a horse owner who doesn’t understand the spirited nature of his horse, and the trainer who does. Conflict between the potential jockey and other jockeys, the trainer and the owner, the horse and everyone but Red.

What profile items (right
character, traits, secret, wound, future) showed up in these two
character’s words and actions?

Red – right character as the only human around who understands the
horse, and who is also himself misunderstood as a relic vs. his true nature as
an excellent horse trainer. He has patience, understanding, knowledge of horses;
he has difficulty with people that can be overcome (in his future) if he can
show that this horse that has issues is, deep down, a winner – like himself.

Seabiscuit: like Red, is
misunderstood by people, has a lot of pent-up emotion that just needs an
appropriate outlet. Knows how to be a winner, just needs the right circumstances.
Probably has been abused and disrespected by people but can in the future show
his true colors.

Daily Focus – Searching for Breakthroughs:

1. Please watch this scene and provide your insights/breakthroughs into what makes this character great from a writing perspective.

He is a fine person who is misunderstood by those around him. He sees himself in a horse, a relic from a by-gone era who actually possesses real talent and worth. He can redeem himself by leading out from the horse what he wants in himself. The horse seems to understand/talk with him. Both can be magnificent specimens of their species if given the right circumstances.

[Liz]

What causes you to believe these two belong together? <div>

Spirited
Wild
Very cross with the situation in the moment

Notice any similar emotions and actions.

Ready to fight anyone “I’ll take you all on”, Seabiscuit is saying the same thing in it’s actions.
Maybe not too happy with most people in general

What drama is this scene built around?

Taming or managing the wild beast inside these two characters
Making good use of the Wild and Spirited side of them.
Conflicts between animals and humans. How does a human understand and animal? Why do some humans gain the confidence of an animal vs. those that do not. How some animals, like humans are angry at the world, misunderstood, do not have good outlet of negative energy.

<font face=”inherit”>Also, a trust between Seabiscuit and Red that develops, a love story of sorts.

What profile items (right character, traits, secret, wound, future) showed up in these two character’s words and actions?

We can only assume that Seabiscuit is unhappy with something. This horse clearly was chosen because of </font>physical<font face=”inherit”> strength and speed.
We can see that Red’s character is easily as unhappy, and he is strong by taking on 3+ men. </font>

<font face=”inherit”>
</font>

Daily Focus – Searching for Breakthroughs:

– Please watch this scene and provide your insights/breakthroughs into what makes this character great from a writing perspective.

Insight/Breakthrough is when the trainer (manager) sees the same spirit in Red as he does in Seabiscuit.
Not just any jockey can ride this horse. Seabiscuit has trust issues.

– Rethink or create a scene for your script using your new insights and rewrite that scene/character.

I have a character that is very much like Seabiscuit. He is a wild, mean, angry man who loves to fight. I do need to re-look at his wound(s). I think abandonment being one and lost love being the other. But this character’s only redeeming quality is that he is good at fighting. I do need to re-look at his traits and find something that makes him somewhat likable. He is a knarly guy.

</div>

[Michael Williamsen]

Seabiscuit and Red are both down on their luck, fighting because they have nothing else except spirit and maybe, someone who believes in them.

[Ronald Neustrom]

Watch 1st time for:

What causes you to believe these two belong together? Notice any similar emotions and actions?

Watch 2nd time for:

What drama is this scene built around? What profile items (right character, traits, secret, wound, future) showed up in these two character’s words and actions?

Initially what caused us to believe they belonged together was their temperament. They were both combative, fearless, mean, and unrelenting. Also, by seeing their relationships with others we could see they were unique characteristically. Sometimes when we contrast characters’ behaviors through their interactions with others it brings out what makes them different and special. Most compare and contrast. It’s a writing skill that can also be brought to the screen.

This scene was built around a trainer trying to find a jockey to ride his horse. However, it’s not just any horse. It’s a horse beyond wild and this trainer feels it is special. So far, the regular trainers haven’t been up to the challenge. Was he wrong…? Is this horse beyond training? Then he glimpses a trainer who might be crazier than the horse. A man that just might be a worthy opponent for this crazy “Horse.” They are both untrainable so far. Let’s see what happens when we put them together. What could go wrong?

The insight I had with this lesson is recognizing the traits and characteristics in our characters is just the first step. Relationships for our main characters grow and change and need to be done through subtext and over time. Change cannot happen quickly and sometimes not at all, especially in relationships with others. This is one of those ideas that is connected to real life. Anger or competitiveness doesn’t just stop immediately…there is an arc to it. I know it’s not a new idea but it’s one I always forget.

[James Hernandez]

Watch 1st time for:

· What causes you to believe these two belong together?

· Notice any similar emotions and actions.

The horse and Red belong together because they have a fighting spirit shown in their restlessness toward the handlers and surrounding stablemen respectively. These are traits needed for animal and man to understand one another to accomplish victory.

Red and the horse very forcefully fight revealing a sort of combative nature. This could be a feistiness in both which will serve the story as horse and jockey; it fulfills the story puzzle.

Watch 2nd time for:

· What drama is this scene built around?

· What profile items (right character, traits, secret, wound, future) showed up in these two character’s words and actions?

The drama built around this scene includes an unruly horse that has yet to find its jockey. As the search continues, we see Red who seems to be quite unruly himself wanting to fight several men at once. There’s a match waiting to be made as the horse’s asserted potential has a chance at becoming reality.

This man and horse are the right characters for each other as they serve the story’s promise that something special could happen when these two get together. The fighting and restless traits show up in Red’s dialogue and actions pairing him up with the uncontrollable horse. These two don’t know what calm is. The secrets are not obvious in this scene, yet it seems if Red and the horse do work together one may be revealed later. Red’s violent streak may be a wound that he’s working through and is occasionally triggered. The scene shows the future this man and animal will have creating truly memorable moments on the racetrack.

Insights/Breakthroughs:

The characters in my story can have a relationship with virtually anything, another person, an animal, or even an inanimate object as long as it serves the story and completes the puzzle. This creates depth in the story where two different people, or species, can complement each other to make something special payoff in the script. This payoff is then filled with emotions and actions culminating in the climax or other moment in Act III.