Chris Driver
Forum Replies Created
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Big Picture Open Loops:
Who will take over the New York Crime Scene
Will Adam rob get away with robbing the bank
Will Adam or Sophie betray Mendelstein
What will happen between Adam and George
Will Nickelworth catch Adam
Will Adam and Sophie get together
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Inviting obsession through mystery
Season one mystery
This assignment has helped me realize that as much as it is historical, this is a show about bank robbers and conmen so the heist has to be the central part of this
What heist is Adam planning or why is he planning it
Who is Adam
What is his Connection to George
Who was Mendelstein
Who framed Adam in the heist
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Empathy/Undeserved Misfortune
Adam could get caught and go to jail.
Madam Mendelstein could receive a threat or attack on her business. Many robbers wanted to plunder the famous fence
Sophie could get attacked while trying to con someone.
Sophie and Adam could fall in love and not be able to be together.
Mendelstein and Adam could face Xenophobia and Anti-semitism
Sophie has to make choices as a con woman on the streets sometimes that she might not want to make.
Mendelsteins crime could interfere with her business, maybe her husband doesn’t know about the tiffanys robbery.
One of Mendelsteins kids could die.
Adam could get himself in between the war with Mendelstein and O’grady, Adam could have to kill O’grady.
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Adam Grant relationship map
-Mendelstein
Surface – Mendelstein is essentially Adams boss
Common ground – both are german jewish immigrants, both are con artists and thieves, both are obsessed with obtaining power and respect.
Conflict – a lot of this will center on the struggle for power between Adam and Mendelstein
History – Mendelstein essentially took adam in when he was a young runaway, and took a liking to him because of his brain and similar heritage.
Arc – this will be a complicated one, I think in the first season her role will mostly be antagonistic but as the series progresses it will go back and forth.
Sophie Leopold
Surface – On the surface their relationship is flirty yet competitive.
Common Ground – Both want to create an empire for themselves, both are fairly non violent and driven by a criminal obsession. Both are interested in each other.
Conflict – Sophie will be in a relationship with a crime boss, she will also still be loyal to Mendelstein somewhat biding her time unlike adam who starts to break away in season one. Sophie is also a kleptomaniac whereas Adam is a possible sociopath narcissist driven by the con.
History – Sophie and Adam were trained together by mendelstein, there was always competition to be top student.
Arc – The arc will be romantic with them possibly ending up together in some way but we’ll have to see about that. Eventually she could become a secondary antagonist in the final season.
Sargent Nickelson
Surface – Nickelson is hunting Adam, almost obsessed with him
Common Ground – Both men are driven in their pursuits, one for justice and one for a criminal empire. Both men would also like to see Mendelstein taken down
Conflict – Nickelson is hellbent on arresting Adam
History – Nickelback found Adams file when he was a bond jumper and gradually saw him grow as a criminal and saw what he could become.
Arc – He will be the primary antagonist in season one but eventually a friendship and mutual respect will begin to form for the men.
Sargent Nickelson Character map
Mendelstein
Surface – though most don’t necessarily know about her criminal dealings, Nickelson is fairly well aware but has no way of actually really getting to her in any way, not yet.
Common Ground – Both are clever and both have a temper in their own way.
Conflct – Nickelson would happily take down Mendelstein if he could and she knows that. At the same time their could be a slight romantic air to them.
History – Nickelson has dealt with Mendelstein once or twice in the past, his dad investigated her directly and he was one of the detectives on the case.
Arc – Eventually Nickelson will rise and Mendelstein will fall but it will not be by Nickelsons hand.
Sophie Leopold
Surface – Sophie is an unrepentant thief, Nickelson is a detective.
Common Ground – Nickelson is somewhat charmed by Sophie, and at the same time Sophie prefers Nickelson over the others who have investigated her. He has an interest in psychology and he recognizes her kleptomania.
Conflict – She’s still an unrepentant thief and he constantly is hunting her and having run ins with her while investigating Adam in New York.
History – Nickelson has investigated Sophie a few times previously and even had her arrested.
Arc – Flirty but antagonistic however Sophie will have a change of heart and reform and Nickelson will be a huge help to her in that.
Mendelstein Relationship Map
Sophie Leopold
Surface – Sophie works for Mendelstein
Commonn Ground – Both are early feminists in crime driven by the finer things in life. Both are talented pickpockets.
Conflict – Sophie is tired of Mendelsteins control and condescension. She wants to take her place in the beginning.
History – Mendelstein trained and partially raised Sophie. Theres a somewhat twisted mother daughter relationship there. Sophie has always been one of her top earners and prized student.
Arc – Sophie will bide her time but will gradually turn against Mendelstein.
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This assignment really helped me compile my ideas for each of my characters, this gives me a good basing point to work off of for current and future characters.
Adam
Hope: To be the greatest criminal mastermind in New York | Fear:To fail, wind up powerless
Want: Power | Need: Control over people, to never let anyone get the better of him ever again.
Mask: Public: Gentleman | Private: violent criminal | Very Private: Non-violent Robin Hood type
Weaknesses: Adam never feels good enough, no matter how much wealth or power he acquires. He also got somewhat fucked in the head during the civil war, that didn’t help things.
Triggers: Opportunity to acquire power or influence causes Adam to constantly push things.
Coping Mechanism: Adam carries a coin with him from a bully. The bully convinced him to trade 2 dull pennies for one shiny one. His father punished him when he came home and Adam has carried the coin ever since as a reminder.
Mendelstein
Hope: To own the city | Fear: to lose everything
Want: Power | Need: Control
Mask: Beautiful socialite, Mother to all orphans | real face: Cold blooded murderer
Weaknesses: Mendelstein has a temper and gained the nickname the bear for a reason.
Trigger: Most things will trigger her, but whether or not she shows it depends on the circumstances.
Coping: Acquiring luxury items (fancy clothes, jewelry), Destroying her enemies and those who have upset her.
New Characters:
Sophie Leopold
Hope: To one day surpass Mendelstein, To get out of the life of petty crime| Fear: To discover she’s just another pretty face.
Want: Luxurious items, Comfort, Security, a companion, a family | Need: to steal, to con
Base: Lonely, Scared, Kleptomaniac, Smarter than even she thinks | Mask: a ditz who needs the support of men
Weakness: Sopie literally needs to steal, its a compulsion, and she never necessarily received much of an education outside of crime so theres a deep feeling of inadequacy.
Coping Mechanism: If she gets her mind set on it, she steals it. She also likes to try and use fancier words and pretend she’s fancier than she is.
Detective WiIlliam Nickleback
Hope: To fight criminals in all their capacity | Fear: To bring shame to his family name
Want: to catch Adam the notorious bail jumper for the first case his dad assigned to him | Need: To be out in the action, investigating criminals, learning more about them.
Base: Insecure, Intelligent | Mask: Bully, brute
Weaknesses: Over-loyal to his father and family, sometimes approaches situations a bit heated.
Trigger: the thought of losing, the thought of failing.
Coping mechanism: he drinks and can occasionally be violent when he’s drunk. He sometimes utilizes other “legal” narcotics
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For Assignment one, I decided to change up my show and instead watched the first few episodes of Peaky Blinder since its a premise much closer to the show I’m working on.
As the show is going on I’m definitely noticing more layers to the character such as Thomas’ mental scars from WWI an obvious yet often overlooked character flaw. Grace Burgess is also very intriguing being an undercover barmaid spy cop. I also didn’t realize that Thomas was hiding the guns from the rest of the family which adds a nice conspiracy. However I think the mental scars from war was probably the most enlightening thing from this assignment.
Assignment 2: a show centered around a man in the late 19th century building a criminal empire amongst America.
Role: Adam Grant
Hidden agenda: Though he is currently falling in line under his boss Madam Mendelstein, he doesn’t want to answer to anyone. He’s ambitious and his father chastised him from childhood to never let someone get the better of him.
Competition: His greatest competitor at this point would be mendelstein, even if she doesn’t fully realize it. He is also however in constant competition with the cops. As well as a fellow Robber (brand new revelation right now) a quirky architect turned bank robber known to be almost as talented as Adam himself.
Conspiracy: Adam is currently in the middle of a conspiracy to take down his boss Mendelstein by amassing enough contacts and wealth for a coup.
Secrets: Adam Worth is a conman and therefore his backstory is full of secrets, from the man he fought with in the civil war that he may have stolen the identity of, to the bank in his childhood town that bankrupted his father and therefore became one of Adams early first targets.
Deception: Adam Worth is a conman, he’s charming but we never know if its real. He has a need to stay ahead of people and therefore its important to him to maintain a certain level of mental control over those around him, possibly to the cost of his own relationships.
Wound: Adam was a bond-jumper in the civil war when he was barely 18. He would take peoples bond to fight for them and then he would bail. Some times though he wouldn’t be able to bail quick enough and he wound up fighting and being wounded in a the battle of bull run. He’s still haunted by the combat he faced in the civil war.
Secret Identity: Adam Grant is not a young hellion born to wealthy parents who just wants to watch the world burn. T<font face=”inherit”>he young wealthy Adam Grant died in the war and </font>Adam<font face=”inherit”> Gantz stole his identity when he himself was wounded. It’s a public identity he now keeps though not without some internal conflict. They fought together nearly died together and Adam Grant saved Adam Gantz. To those who know him he’s a ruthless conman who will exploit anyone, and yet he has an aversion to any kind of violence.</font>
<font face=”inherit”>Madam Mendelstein</font>
<font face=”inherit”>Hidden agenda: Crime in the 1900s is lawless, Mendelstein wants to structure it. She runs a highly successful school for pickpockets </font>and<font face=”inherit”> thieves and takes in all the orphans as her children (sometimes whether they like it or not). She </font>fences for all of the thieves amasses wealth and is simply trying to structure the criminal element.
Competition: Everyone. Everyone wants a piece of Mendelstein as much as they want to work with her. Her ability to amass talent is impressive and she’s becoming a growing presence to the early mafia and the O’Grady gang.
Conspiracy: Mendelstein has ingratiated herself amongst those of power always in the back, never in the spotlight, but always near if theres a cluster of high society.
Secret: Mendelstein is doing whatever she can to amass power in high society so that she has legitimacy to sell her “goods”. Even so far as using many types of stolen goods to enhance her own status in high society. If she lacks status she lacks customers and then everyone lacks money so of course its very important to skim a little off the top.
Deception: Mendelstein is somewhat obsessed with deception, she’s the one who helped Adam learn the art of the con. Her public portrayals (caricatures essentially) are only out because she allows them. Charm and Beauty can be a great weapon when no one is expecting it.
Wound: Mendelstein was one of the women who helped run these damn cities while the men were off fighting each other, and yet still she gets nothing, for all her power its only a fraction of a mans worth.
Secret Identity: Mendelstein is called the bear, most people think its her appearance, and are shocked to find her large yet strikingly beautiful. She’s called the bear because she can kill a man with her bare hands.
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Module 1
Lesson 3
Original Show
Adam
Role in the show: The show will be somewhat autobiographical, centered around him and the other criminals of the late 1800s that he interacts with.
Unique Purpose/Expertise:
His unique purpose is that he is a bank robbing prodigy and con man. He is one of the best and is determined to amass an empire.
Intrigue:
His past and identity is almost a mystery.
Moral issues:
Being a criminal is a moral issue in itself, but Adam truly wants to be a decent man which raises even more ethical concerns for him.
Unpredictable: We never know what he’s going to plan next or how his plan will go.
Empathetic: His nonviolent approach and humanity makes us sympathize with him. He came from nothing and worked hard to get what he has but deep down he’s a good man.
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Chris Driver- I hope this is Ok but for this assignment I chose true blood, its a show I’ve been referencing a bit for some of my own shows (not that theirs THAT much similar content, but I felt the way they designed the show was incredibly gripping, so it felt appropriate to use it for the assignment. (though I have watched many of the shows on the list).
What I learned doing this assignment Is how to look at your characters from a new perspective and to recognize the distinction between a supporting character, a main character, and an environmental character
ASSIGNMENT 1:
Watch the next episode of your Example Show to see how the characters fit into these three circles:
A. Main Characters Circle: Sookie Stackhouse (protagonist), Bill (Love interest) Jason (Sookie’s brother) Tara (Sookies best friend still wondering if shes supporting or main given the way she was introduced)
B. Connected Circle: Sam (secondary love interest) Lafayette (Cook, Tara’s cousin), Andy Bellefluer (Local Police Officer investigating murders in area/ Hates Jason), Arlene (fellow waitress), Rene (Jasons friend/ Arlenes boyfriend), Hoyt Fortenberry (Jasons best friend)
C. Environment Circle: Mrs. Fortenberry (Hoyts overbearing mom), Sheriff Dearborn (leads police/keeping the peace), Gran (Sookie and Jasons grandmother), Maudette Pickens (murder victim
<hr width=”100%” size=”2″ align=”center”>
<u style=”font-weight: bold;”>ASSIGNMENT 2: So my show will be a late 1800s crime drama
I. Create the three circles of characters for your show.
A. Main Characters Circle:
Adam Worth (a con man from the late 1800s trying to facilitate his rise to power as a conman and bank robber. He abhors violence and is far more of a man of intellect and class. He is driven by one upping people)
Madam Mandelbaum (powerful fence, former immigrant, trainer of various pickpockets in New York, trained Adam and still offers him opportunities but also represents a significant challenge to his own rise to power).
Allan Pinkerton (One of Adams main pursuers)
Queen Liz (one of the most notorious female thieves ally to Adam and potential love interest, Part of Madam Mandelbaum’s inner circle)
B. Connected Circle:
John D O’grady (leader of the O’grady gang, rival to Mandelbaum, rival to Adam)
Henry (a strange traveler Adam meets with secrets of his own)
Charlie Bullard (One of Adams prominent Partners and companions, one of the best safe crackers in the business)
Big Ike Marsh
Bob Cochran
Big Mary
Black Lena Kleinschmidt
Sophie Lyons
George Leonidas Leslie
C. Environment Circle:
Thieves, pinkerton agents, store owners, wealthy elite
II. Give us a one sentence description of each of the Main Characters.
Posted the descriptions above
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My name is Chris Driver, I’m a little late to the game but I agree to 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.