Gregory Olson
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Assignment #2 – Greg’s Three Circles of Characters
What I learned doing this assignment was that the relationships between my characters creates new ways to reveal the layers of interest in my main characters.
A. Main Characters Circle:
Jake Dawson (16) is an idealistic teenager with big dreams and raging hormones who must reevaluate his loyalties and his moral code to bring a villain to justice.
Audrey Anderson (16), an unconventional beauty & the adopted daughter of a local minister, is bold and broken as so many bullies are.
Thomas Nakashima (16) struggles to negotiate his role as the oldest Japanese son with being an American teenager with unrealistic goals.
Connected Characters Circle:
Evelyn, Lee, Frankie, Sal, Norma, Lonnie, Betty Jane, Doris, Virginia, Jean
Environmental Characters Circle:
Teachers, Casino & Nightclub staff, Company Employees, Country Club patrons, Parents and church congregations.
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Assignment #1: The Americans
Main Circle: Phillip & Elizabeth Jennings
Connected Circle: Paige & Henry (the children), Stan Beeman (FBI/neighbor), General Zhukov
Environment Circle: FBI agents, neighbors, travel agency employees, random targets and informants, people from their past
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The Americans 5 Star Model
What I learned doing this assignment is to look at the main characters in terms of layers. Over the course of the first episode, we see both Elizabeth & Phillip in a variety of situations that reveal them as loyal patriots, trained spies, devoted parents, naive youth (through flashbacks, with conflicting priorities and values as adults. They are also in very different places in their marriage with Phillip obviously more enamored with his wife while Elizabeth is cold and distrustful of her husband. The exercise forced me to reevaluate not only the layers of character development for my own story, but also to create new and more interesting situations through which to reveal these traits.
“The Americans” dives straight into a 1981 spy mission wherein Elizabeth is seducing a potential informant from the Department of Justice in Washington, DC. followed by a scene where Phillip & Elizabeth and a third member of their spy cell capture a Russian defector with the intent of returning him to the Soviet Union. Unfortunately, the third member of their group is stabbed and creates a delay in their mission’s timing causing them to miss their drop off and take the prisoner back to their home for safe keeping.
Next we meet a group of FBI agents at work providing exposition on the state of affairs on foreign espionage before we are back at the me of Phillip & Elizabeth where we meet their children before flashing back to Elizabeth’s spy training in the mother land where we learn that she was raped by the same man who they now have tied up in the trunk of their garage. We soon learn the Phillip is unaware of this past incident through his confusion over why she seems so intent on killing their hostage rather than wait for another opportunity to deliver him.
After a father/daughter shopping trip that brings Phillip to the edge when his teenage daughter is propositioned by an imposing adult male/pedophile. While he stays composed, we notice how quickly he locks in on the man’s name on his visible credit card. Upon the return home, they discover they have new neighbors. The husband is one of the FBI agents from earlier which visibly concerns Phillip & Elizabeth for obvious reasons.
In a brush with fate, the new neighbor comes over to borrow jumper cables and Phillip immediately realizes that he is suspicious of them already. He then learns from their captive how much money they could make if they agreed to turn him over to the FBI and switch loyalties. He confesses his concerns that their cover might be blown to Elizabeth and makes a case for cashing in for the sake of their family. She is outraged at the idea.
While on a jog the next day, we get an insight into Phillip’s past for the first time. A younger Phillip is introduced to Elizabeth for the first time as they have been paired together for a mission and instructed only to discuss their fake backgrounds to ensure that their true identities are never known to one another. All we know of Phillips past is through the photo of a young woman which he rips in half prior to his introduction to Elizabeth.
Back at home, Elizabeth catches Phillip attempted to turn the captive over to the neighbor. A struggle ensues and Phillip learns that Elizabeth was raped by him. Suddenly, she gives up her assault, but Phillip loses control and snaps his neck. We instantly see a shift in the way Elizabeth now looks at Phillip and after a drive out of town to dispose of the body, they have sex in the car and seem to be back in a mutually loving marriage.
After Phillip exacts his vengeance on the man who propositioned his young daughter, we see Elizabeth meeting with the KGB General in a Russian safe house where we learn that she has reported Phillip as a potentially untrustworthy comrade in the past but find she now defends his loyalty and covers for him. Afterwards, at home, she finally confides things from her true past to him. Later that night, the neighbor breaks into the garage to get a look into the trunk of their car which is now empty. Phillip is there watching but unnoticed.
5 Star Points
1. The main hook of this show is the idea of the enemy living in plain sight. The mystery and intrigue of this scenario and the juxtaposition of the FBI living next door to Soviet spies creates an immediately fascinating story line.
2. Phillip & Elizabeth are amazing characters because they are both incredibly talented at their chosen profession while at the same time committed to their family but also human and vulnerable as we learn about their past, their doubts and their personal conflicts.
3. We empathize with Elizabeth because of her past having lost her father as a child and having been raped as a young woman. While we don’t yet know the details of Phillip’s past, we wonder about the woman in the photo and empathize with his fear for his family in light of the botched mission and the new neighbors.
4. There are so many open loops in this pilot episode including whether or not they will get caught by. the new neighbor, whether they will stay together as a couple and, if so, if they defect or not. Will the daughter and the new neighbor’s son start dating? Will Elizabeth report Phillip to the General? Will they ever tell their children who they really are?
In terms of layers, we see them both in terms of loyalty to country and to family as well as to one another. Experts at disguise and combat, they are very real people with everyday trust issues with one another and a very concerned and earnest love for their children. We get the sense that country is more important to Elizabeth than it is to Phillip which seems to be their primary source of conflict.
5. The immediate threat of capture now that they are in the FBI’s crosshairs and the number of intriguing mysteries surrounding their past and present situations makes this the type of series I can see wanting to binge watch as every scene creates a desire to know what is going to happen next. Just as questions are answered, new and more interesting ones come to light.
Upon watching the episode a second time, I was really able to focus more on the subtle insights into their internal conflicts such as Elizabeth’s concern with what she sees as an education system for her children that is poisoning them against her country. Her feeble attempts to instill her personal values is clearly something she struggles with. For Phillip, he too is looking out for his family but it appears that he has already defected in his heart and sees life as an American to be an opportunity rather than the threat he was made to believe it was. In fact, the layers for all four members of the family as well as the neighboring FBI agent really revealed themselves to me more clearly upon rewatching the episode.
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Hi everyone. My name is Greg and I’ve only written short scripts to date, but I have been working on an idea for television series for the past six months. I am hopeful that this class will give me the tools to structure my series so that I can finalize a pilot episode that lays the foundation for a great story. I am originally from Montana and work in the Aerospace industry and am really excited to see this class through and see what I come up with. Looking forward to working with everyone.
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Gregory Olson
I agree to the terms of this 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.
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Rear Window
Jeff is an unwitting hero because he is injured and essentially reliant on others for even the simplest things such as meals, bathing, etc. But as a professional photographer, he has at his disposal tools of his trade which he uses to turn his boring existence into a mystery-solving opportunity as he entertains himself with the private lives of his neighbors through his telephoto lenses and binoculars, even using flashbulbs to
Mr. Thorwald is a dangerous villain in that he seems to have orchestrated a very intricate plan to murder and dispose of his wife that he has carried out without being caught. Jeff and his ragtag team of sleuths don’t seem to measure up to the callousness of the villain.
The stakes of the film continually rise, and Jeff’s entertainment turns to solving the mysteries of his neighbors, then a potential murder and further still when his girlfriend puts herself in harm’s way before inadvertently tipping off the villain as to Jeff’s identity and location, thus putting his life in danger.
The movie is thrilling because we have become invested in the lives of these neighbors through Jeff and Lisa’s spying, so that when the stakes rise, the audience goes along for the ride. Due to Jeff’s vulnerable physical state, we are especially aware of the danger once the Thorwald is on to him.
The Big Mystery of this film is whether Thorwald really killed his wife or if Jeff’s imagination just gotten the best of him in his current state?
The Big Intrigue is what has happened to the body of the wife.
The Big Suspense is how Thorwald reacts when Jeff sends the anonymous note and Lisa ends up breaking into the apartment all leading to her getting caught and ultimately putting Jeff’s life in danger.
I love this film and like the fact that an intriguing world was created using very everyday characters and situations. The setups and payoffs of the other neighbors gives it a charming, return to normal life, ending as well as a satisfying resolution to Jeff’s hesitancy to get married as he now sees Lisa as much more of an equal after her adventurous foray into detective work.
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Hello everyone. My name is Greg Olson and I am new to screenwriting. I have been working on a thriller idea for quite some time and thought this class would help me “figure it out.” I am especially interested in the process of developing the Thriller Map and utilizing it to help me structure not only this project but also scenes and story lines for other projects. Originally from Montana, I have also lived in Japan, Washington, DC and now reside in Southern California.
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1. Greg Olson
2. I agree to the terms of this release form.