Christopher Newell
Forum Replies Created
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CHRIS NEWELL
I agree to the terms of this release form.
GROUP RELEASE FORM
As a member of this group, I agree to the following:
1. That I will keep the processes, strategies, teleconferences, communications, lessons, and models of the class confidential, and that I will NOT share any of this program either privately, with a group, posting online, writing articles, through video or computer programming, or in any other way that would make those processes, teleconferences, communications, lessons, and models of the class available to anyone who is not a member of this class.
2. That each writer’s work here is copyrighted and that writer is the sole owner of that work. That includes this program which is copyrighted by Hal Croasmun. I acknowledge that submission of an idea to this group constitutes a claim of and the recognition of ownership of that idea.
I will keep the other writer’s ideas and writing confidential and will not share this information with anyone without the express written permission of the writer/owner. I will not market or even discuss this information with anyone outside this group.
3. I also understand that many stories and ideas are similar and/or have common themes and from time to time, two or more people can independently and simultaneously generate the same concept or movie idea.
4. If I have an idea that is the same as or very similar to another group member’s idea, I’ll immediately contact Hal and present proof that I had this idea prior to the beginning of the class. If Hal deems them to be the same idea or close enough to cause harm to either party, he’ll request both parties to present another concept for the class.
5. If you don’t present proof to Hal that you have the same idea as another person, you agree that all ideas presented to this group are the sole ownership of the person who presented them and you will not write or market another group member’s ideas.
6. Finally, I agree not to bring suit against anyone in this group for any reason, unless they use a substantial portion of my copyrighted work in a manner that is public and/or that prevents me from marketing my script by shopping it to production companies, agents, managers, actors, networks, studios or any other entertainment industry organizations or people.
This completes the Group Release Form for the class.
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Hi, I’m Chris! I’ve written three or four scripts so far, but they’ve been shorts. I’m hoping to expand into features, and horror is a likely genre so this class seems well-suited. When I was younger, I spent six months living in Brazil for work.
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Chris N’s SOTL Stacking Suspense
Things I learned:
– The serious suspense/stakes tension kicked in with the first Lecter interview, but again this was a case where the frequency of that sort of tension ramped as the film went, especially going into the third act
– We did dip into flashbacks for Clarice’s character MIS, but I think part of getting away with that was setting up mind games and the rule that she shouldn’t be revealing this to Lecter as a big part of the conflict.
– There were several good examples of the “good” character using intrigue: the back-and-forth with Lecter, telling Dr. Chilton she was expected back that afternoon which may not have been true given how long she was given to have the report together, and of course scamming her way past the guards to get the last interview in with Lecter during the transfer.
– There were several points that underscored a woman (and a young one) working to get respect in this environment – high-fiving another female recruit at the beginning while largely being ignored by all the guys, bristling at not being in the interview with the sheriff, Dr. Chilton being being slimy on their first meeting (and really in general), talking with her roommate Ardelia. I debated a lot whether this fit into the character MIS, or if it could just be a theme through the film without having to be part of the MIS model.
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Chris N’s Stacking Suspense (Basic Instinct) ASSIGNMENT 1
What I learned is that Basic Instinct really did work at least two of Mystery, Intrigue, and Suspense into almost every scene.
It kicked off right away with life-or-death stakes, although after that first scene there were fewer of those for a while until they started building back up (in contrast with The Pelican Brief, which I looked at earlier, which front-loaded a lot of the life-or-death scenes).
It was also interesting seeing how much was being done with non-verbals rather than dialogue. Like scene 25 where “Beth is still angry…” comes out of a blink-and-you-miss-it change of expression at the end. I feel like those moments where the reveal is so quick and subtle that it almost has an Easter egg feel can be a good way to draw the viewer in, suggesting they’re picking up on clues others might not, if done judiciously.
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Chris N’s Big M.I.S.<div>
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>What I learned doing this assignment is: don’t get caught up in all of the world-building, especially around the intrigue, at this stage; just set up the shape of it that can stand as a target for doing that later.
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Logline
When the employe who had been training new hire Maya at Silicon Valley’s hottest med-tech startup vanishes after investigating the secret “Avalon” project, the newly-graduated lab technician must step carefully to uncover why before she is similarly silenced.
Thriller Conventions
• Unwitting but Resourceful Hero: Maya, a recent college graduate and lab assistant at a Silicon Valley DNA Heritage testing startup, who stumbles into a secret she was never meant to see
• Dangerous Villain: The “Angel” Venture Capitalist with world-changing plans spanning multiple startups, and the ruthless willingness to use anything from NDAs to private mercenaries to make sure nothing threatens those plans.
• High Stakes: Maya’s life, her colleague’s lives, the continued operation and possible eventual success of several startups
• Life and Death Situations: Death of one of Maya’s more senior colleagues, heavy intimidation with the threat of life and death, attempted assassination and threats of getting caught by the mercenary thugs, potentially being killed by the villain after being captured
• The Story is Thrilling Because: we want to join Maya in learning what is going on, and this places her in escalating danger without knowing how far she can trust anyone
The Big M.I.S. of the Story
• Big Mystery: Why are they doing extra off-books DNA analysis on customers’ DNA, and what happens to it in the super-secret “Avalon” lab? </div>
• Big Intrigue: A conspiracy, hatched in the flickering light of Burning Man camps and cloaked in Silicon Valley project t-shirts and New York City pin stripes.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>• Big Suspense: Will Maya be able to untangle the mystery while it can still be stopped, or will the shadowy figures behind it silence her first?
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The Pelican Brief’s Thriller Conventions
Unwitting but resourceful Hero: Darby Shaw, a mild-mannered law student who is forced into hiding when she writes a legal brief successfully speculating on why two supreme court justices were assassinated. As she works with investigative reporter Gray Grantham, she becomes a dogged investigator herself, eventually uncovering the smoking gun that allows Grantham to blow the lid off the case.
Dangerous Villain: Mattiece, the wealthy oil baron who wants to drill on protected wetlands and isn’t afraid to use assassins and political favors from the White House to get what he wants.
High Stakes: Shaw’s life, Grantham’s life, the ability to preserve (or drill on) the wetlands, survival of a Presidential administration
Life and Death Situations: the initial assassinations, the car bombing of Shaw’s professor/lover (and but for a lucky break, Shaw), the fake cop at the car bombing, repeated chase scenes with thugs through New Orleans, Khamel the assassin disguised as the professor’s FBI contact, the attempted car bombing and shooting when they’re leaving the safe deposit box.
The moving is thrilling because?: We know there are forces out to kill or capture Darby throughout the movie, and there are a lot of players on the political side where we don’t know which side they’re ultimately on.
Big Mystery: Why were the Supreme Court Justices killed?
Big Intrigue: The conspiracy between Mattiece and the White House. For most of the film, it’s also unknown what agenda (other than protecting their own turf) the FBI and CIA have with respect to this.
Big Suspense: Will the conspiracy kill Shaw before she can uncover them?
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1. Chris Newell
2. I agree to the terms of this release form
GROUP RELEASE FORM
As a member of this group, I agree to the following:
1. That I will keep the processes, strategies, teleconferences, communications, lessons, and models of the class confidential, and that I will NOT share any of this program either privately, with a group, posting online, writing articles, through video or computer programming, or in any other way that would make those processes, teleconferences, communications, lessons, and models of the class available to anyone who is not a member of this class.
2. That each writer’s work here is copyrighted and that writer is the sole owner of that work. That includes this program which is copyrighted by Hal Croasmun. I acknowledge that submission of an idea to this group constitutes a claim of and the recognition of ownership of that idea.
I will keep the other writer’s ideas and writing confidential and will not share this information with anyone without the express written permission of the writer/owner. I will not market or even discuss this information with anyone outside this group.
3. I also understand that many stories and ideas are similar and/or have common themes and from time to time, two or more people can independently and simultaneously generate the same concept or movie idea.
4. If I have an idea that is the same as or very similar to another group member’s idea, I’ll immediately contact Hal and present proof that I had this idea prior to the beginning of the class. If Hal deems them to be the same idea or close enough to cause harm to either party, he’ll request both parties to present another concept for the class.
5. If you don’t present proof to Hal that you have the same idea as another person, you agree that all ideas presented to this group are the sole ownership of the person who presented them and you will not write or market another group member’s ideas.
6. Finally, I agree not to bring suit against anyone in this group for any reason, unless they use a substantial portion of my copyrighted work in a manner that is public and/or that prevents me from marketing my script by shopping it to production companies, agents, managers, actors, networks, studios or any other entertainment industry organizations or people.
This completes the Group Release Form for the class
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1. Chris Newell
2. A couple of shorts, but I’m hoping to expand to features
3. A good start on a feature screenplay, using the conventions of thriller as the basis
4. I spent six months living in Brazil back in my late 20s.