[David Miller]

As a member of this group, I, David Keith Miller, 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.

[David Miller]

In order to catch up, I’m going to stick to the part of the assignments that relate to my story, and later go back and fill in the other parts.

THE DISAPPEARED Main Characters:

Martin Daedalus, 35, just appeared in this strange new world, an introverted teacher of ancient history who uses his knowledge to escape imprisonment with his new allies, found and build a safe place in this world without technology dominated by warlords.

Theodosia Burr Alton, appears to be 29, daughter of Aaron Burr, disappeared from Earth in 1812 and has been here 212 years, considered the most educated American woman of her day, a sophisticate who has learned every angle of the deadly game of survival in this world and always come out on top.

James Derham, appears to be 30, disappeared in 1802, now a prisoner of Vincent Mangano along with Martin and the others, the first African American to formally practice medicine in the United States, though many of his skills go to waste in a world where no one ages and no one gives birth.

Juliet Stuart Poyntz, appears to be 50, disappeared in 1937, now a prisoner, formerly an American communist and spy for the Soviet Union, still true to the cause.

Henry Avery, appears 43, once with the warlord but now a prisoner, the famous murderous pirate who vanished from Earth in 1869 and still an anarchic cutthroat, but happy to cooperate, in his own way, with what he sees as the winning side.

Connected circle:

Vincent Mangano, 63, disappeared in 1951, once crime boss of the future Gambino crime family, now the warlord who imprisoned Martin and the others when they appeared in this world.

Marvin Clark, 75, retired sheriff, disappeared in 1926, now a prisoner.

Joseph Force Crater, 41, disappeared in 1930, formerly an Associate Justice of the New York Supreme Court, now a prisoner.

Virginia Dare, a prisoner, an 8-year-old from the lost colony of Roanoake who’s actually over 500 years old and more than a little insane from never getting to grow up physically even though she’s mentally ancient.

Jean Spangler, 26, disappeared in 1949, an American actor, dancer and bit-part Hollywood actress, an uneasy member of Vincent Mangano’s tribe who escapes with Theodosia when she helps free Martin and the others.

Hoozho, 25, a Navajo nadleeh from before the time of European colonization, a cross-dresser who does things backward, considered spiritually gifted by the Navajo; roaming freely across the trackless plains with:

Captain James
William Boyd, 43, Confederate officer who disappeared in 1865, roams with Hoozho and stays out of the clutches of the warlords.

Environment circle:

Mangano’s men:

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[David Miller]

David Miller – GAME OF THRONES 5 Star Model

What I learned doing this assignment is that from the start of conceiving a pilot idea , if I build in these five elements I’ll lay the best foundation for the pilot’s success.

1. Big Picture Hooks – The big hooks of the show are an intriguing medieval fantasy world with a rich and detailed history and a panoply of fascinating characters that we want to learn more about, and a central mystery and danger from the opening scenes with the appearance of the White Walkers.
2. Amazing and Intriguing Characters – All of the many main characters have interest, mystery, layers, depth, and either likeability or hate-ability:

– Ned Stark is strong, honorable, but compromised from the very beginning when he beheads a deserter despite troubling news from the man that justifies his desertion the audience knows is true, all because Ned will follow the letter of the law when flexibility would serve better – a weakness that we already see will badly endanger him in King’s Landing.

– Jon Snow is a bastard who shows signs of kindness, excellence and wisdom from the beginning but is weighed down by his outsider status.

– Robb Stark is growing up to be the model of his father but still has his youthful rashness, such that he is willing to risk a fight with the king’s son, making us worry about what he might do next.

– Daenerys Targaryen is painfully young to be thrust into the most dangerous game of all, the game of thrones, with an abusive brother and a frightening barbarian who is to be her husband, yet she finds the steel within not only to earn respect in the wedding ceremony but to answer Kal Drogo’s passion and fire with her own.

– Queen Cersei is a bitter, calculating and, we suspect, murderous woman risking an incestuous affair with her brother right under the nose of the most powerful man in the Seven Kingdoms, her husband the king.

– Tyrion Lannister alternates between doing things that make us admire him with things that make us detest him, but always with a canny self-awareness and keen observation of others. Rather than being a victim of his height and appearance, he’s a man who, by his own words, has turned his glaring weaknesses into his strengths.

– Jaime Lannister seems the perfect knight yet nastily spars with Ned, has an incestuous and highly dangerous relationship with his sister, and casually attempts to murder an 8-year-old.

– Arya Stark is a tomgirl who’s miserable at being forced to learn the skills of a court lady, all of which are beyond her, while not being allowed to indulge in the manly pursuits of battle that are her true passion.

– Robert Baratheon, the king, is the most powerful man in the land yet is overweight, self-indulgent, ignorant of what his wife is up to in a loveless marriage, and dangerous even to his friends – especially to his friend Ned.

– Khal Drogo is immensely powerful and barbaric, perhaps the fiercest warrior in the world, yet the gentlest and most patient of lovers and appreciative of beauty.

Each of these characters, and all the others, hint at further delicious layers and histories that will be revealed in time:

3. Empathy / Distress – Almost all the major characters cause us to empathize with them because of their distress:

– Ned is forced to accept a dangerous position at court and leave behind the land and life he loves, while we already see the duplicitous vultures that circle him.

– Jon suffers from the isolation of being a bastard and unable to exercise the greatness we already sense in him because of his low station.

– Robb’s brashness show us already how he will one day come to grief.

– Daenerys’s abusive relationship with her brother and the alien and dangerous situation of her marriage make us easily sympathize with her.

– Even Cersei is entitled to some sympathy from us as we see how lecherous her husband is around anyone with a skirt, and how dangerous her passion for her brother is.

– Tyrion immediately earns our sympathy as a man who seems to have lost the genetic lottery from birth, and yet finds a way to not let it crush him.

– Jaime – well, honestly, I don’t think we have any sympathy for him at this point.

– Arya’s struggle to fit into the role of a noblelady earns our sympathy.

– Robert’s blindness, we can already see, will be his undoing.

4. Layers / Open Loops –
   What the hell are the White Walkers? What are they going to do to the world?
   What exactly is the Wall and the Black Watch?
   Was Jon Arryn really murdered? Did Cersei do it?
   Will by-the-book, honorable to a fault Ned survive the machinations of King’s Landing?
   Is Bran dead? Did he survive?
   What will become of Daenerys and her vicious brother among the Dothraki?
   Are Jaime and Ned headed for a confrontation?
   Will Jon Snow ever get a chance to make his mark?
   How could an honorable man like Ned sire a bastard?
   Will sweet Sansa have to marry that nasty Prince Joffrey, which no one seems to notice is a terrible idea?
5. Inviting Obsession – How does this pilot create the need to see every single episode? This is such a rich world with an obviously detailed history and layers of buried secrets everywhere, and full of complicated machinations and wheels within wheels which we are only beginning to glimpse, that it’s clear we’re going to have to watch every episode to see not only our present questions answered but answers to all the questions that we sense lie ahead but we haven’t even been exposed to yet.

[David Miller]

. David Milelr

2. Written over 50 scripts.

3. I’m hoping to greatly speed up my process of developing a solid pilot and TV series concept.

4. Something unusual about me is that I’ve had a European movie production of one of my specs, with the director and crew on location and stars committed, hanging in limbo for three months while the producers scramble to lock up the money.

5. MSC 10, Bingeworthy in 2018.

[David Miller]

As a member of this group, I, David Keith Miller, 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.

[David Miller]

Hi, David Keith Miller here.

I’ve written 44 screenplays, 21 of which were produced; and 10 teleplays, 5 of which were produced. But when you break it down by scripts per year it’s less impressive. Presently one spec is optioned with offers out to actors, two scripts for hire are working toward production, two specs have soft options and a director just asked to option a spec.

I hope to become a better writer so that I can get my work recognized and produced at a higher echelon of the business.

While I used to think there was a great deal special about me, events have led me to the inevitable conclusion that there isn’t. That’s either wisdom or defeatism, take your pick. Seriously, besides once having been a Broadway singer and Shakespearean actor, the only things special about me are special about all of us in this group: I, like you, love words, and what they can do; I, like you, love stories, and how they can save us; and I think and feel too deeply about people and events in a way that can only find a respectable outlet in words on a page, as I imagine is the case for you as well.

[David Miller]

David Keith Miller

I agree to the terms of this release form.

GROUP RELEASE FORM

As a member of Writing Incredible Movies, 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, through social media, or in any other way that would make those processes, teleconferences, videos, 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.