[John Duvall]

John Duvall’s Creating Irony!

What I learned doing this assignment is…” to examine the possibilities for irony both in the situation my characters find themselves in, and how their internal conflicts lead them to make ironic and contradictory decisions.

ASSIGNMENT 1: Example Show

Watch the next episode of your Example Show and notice where irony shows up in this show — both in this episode and throughout the episodes you’ve already seen.

Tell us the irony you have already discovered in the Example Show.

Character Irony:

June pretends to like Fred, while resenting and trying to manipulate him

June seduces Nick to gain control over her sexuality and release some of her sexual passion

Handmaids in general pretend to conform to piety, while secretly sharing their resentments

Commander Fred also pretends to piety, while breaking his vows and giving in to lust

Serena Joy endures Fred’s dominance and infidelity in order to get a child

Aunt Julia severely disciplines her handmaids, but clearly suffers for it

ASSIGNMENT 2: Your Show

Look back through your previous assignments and find different situations or character components that you could go opposite to create irony. With each, brainstorm ideas for ways it could go opposite. Select the ones that work well for the show and share the character and situational irony ideas with us.

Melba could pretend to like and admire Carolyn while secretly resenting her dependence on the Woolfs and their condescension.

Carolyn could pretend to be happy with her life while secretly chafing at her self-imposed limits.

Rose could chafe at the dependence on husband Orsa, her Aunt Mabel, and later on Carolyn, while pretending to be thankful and content.

Jacob could be grateful for his job at Ford while resentful of its anti- Semitism.

Jacob could take refuge in his work from the strains in his marriage to Carolyn.

Joanie could be torn between her father’s work for the defense industry and her boyfriend’s opposition to war.

Orsa could see enlisting in the army as a way of escaping demanding farm work and getting away from the strains in his marriage to Rose

Carolyn and Joanie could question why Ford is ramping up production of military weapons when the U.S. in not yet at war.

Joanie’s boyfriend Jeff could do the same, while rationalizing his fear of the draft.

Lou could resist returning to work at Ford because he wants to establish a career in the music business.

Thurm could resent Mabel inviting Rose into their household and disturbing the serenity of his retirement.

Jacob is torn between contributing to the war effort at Ford, and volunteering for service overseas

Frank could come down hard on Rose for insubordination, while secretly admiring her gumption and independence

Carolyn is caught between her motherly attempts to protect and control Joanie, with her admiration of Joanie’s independence that mirrors her own frustrated independence.

[John Duvall]

John Duvall’s Plot and Character Layers

“What I learned doing this assignment is…” how to elevate my character’s interpersonal conflicts and interweave plot layers and character layers.

ASSIGNMENT 1: Example Show

Watch the next episode of your Example Show and notice how layers show up in this show — both in this episode and throughout the episodes you’ve already seen.

Layers in The Handmaid’s Tale

Tension between Serena Joy and Fred Waterford increases as she comes to suspect his infidelity

Tension between Serena Joy and Offred develops between her jealousy for Offred and her desire for a child from her. Offred learning that Serena Joy is in control of her daughter puts further pressure on her, both to conform to Serena Joy’s wishes and to seek support from Fred (which raises the stakes in their relationship).

Nick’s support for Offred in her pregnancy – and the possibility that the child could be his – deepens their emotional connection, despite her devotion to her husband.

Moira escapes to Canada and reunites with June’s husband Luke, raising questions about the future of their relationship.

Fred’s defense of Putnam at his trial raises questions as to whether he could face the same fate for his behavior with Offred.

Offred refuses to participate in the “salvaging” of Janine by dropping her stone, leading all the other handmaids to do the same. It’s a public demonstration of her courage which puts her in great jeopardy.

ASSIGNMENT 2: Your Show

Discover the layers that could exist for your show. 1. Brainstorm a list of possible PLOT layers.
PLOT LAYERS – Story beneath the story.

Jacob’s work at Willow Run makes him an absentee husband and father

Orsa and Jacob both decide to enter military service, causing rifts in both their marriages and radically changing the lives of Carolyn and Rose.

Rose must move to Detroit to find work, then must find another place to live after Uncle Thurm dies.

Jacob’s enlistment and the resulting loss of income forces Carolyn to let Melba go.

The attack on Pearl Harbor and the coming of war leads to rationing and fears of attack at home.

2. Brainstorm a list of possible CHARACTER layers. CHARACTER LAYERS – identity beneath the identity.

Jacob hides his Jewish identity, costing him his job when he’s revealed to be Jewish

Carolyn hoped for a professional business career but sacrificed it to be a housewife and mother.

Melba conceals her resentment to Carolyn’s condescension while cultivating a close relationship with daughter Joanie.

Lou avoids returning to Ford to pursue a musical career. Melba harbors similar desires but keeps them to herself.

Carolyn’s drinking descends into alcoholism under new pressures.

All characters fall back on their respective religious roots in response

to the coming of war
3. Organize them each into a possible sequence of reveals.

I listed my layers mostly in chronological order, to outline their development.

[John Duvall]

John Duvall’s Big Picture Open Loops

“What I learned doing this assignment is…” how to zero in on my characters’ inner lives, and how to structure the plot to maximize the suspense and empathy for the audience.

ASSIGNMENT 1

1. Think about your Example Show. Make a list of the Big Picture open loops that were established early in the season.

The biggest open loop in The Handmaid’s Tale is how did Gilead come into being, how will it evolve, and what will become of it.

On the individual level, open loops involve Offred/June’s separation from her husband and daughter, her desire to get back to them, and the question of how she may achieve this.

Other open loops involve June’s relationships with other characters, and how she may seek allies, decide who she can trust, and manipulate those who have her under their control.

2. Watch the next episode and see how those open loops are being used to create the need to see future episodes.

Offwarren doesn’t want to hand over her baby. She’s taken away in a van and “given” to another couple. Later she attempts suicide after handing her baby over to June. Question about the future: Will she survive?

Offred says she wants to help with Mayday” (the Resistance). She is asked to perform a dangerous mission – to pick up a package at the brothel. She attempts to seduce Fred into taking her to the brothel, but her plan doesn’t work out. Later a guy at a food counter gives June a package – presumably THE package, with a note from her friend Moira. Back with Moira, she’s killed a guy and drives off in his van. Three things left hanging:

1. What’s in the package and what will June do with it?
2. What will Serena Joy say or do to Commander Fred after suspecting his infidelity. 3. Where will Moira go & what will happen to her?

ASSIGNMENT 2:

Big Picture Open Loops in your pilot. GOALS:

The approach of war forces all major characters to adjust their hopes, fears and expectations.

Daughter Joanie is torn between her horror at the war and her fear of her classmates heading off to fight.

CONSEQUENCES:

Will Carolyn’s husband be outed as Jewish at Ford, threatening his employment

Carolyn’s abandonment of her personal ambitions causes resentment towards her husband Jacob.

SOLVING PROBLEMS:

Rose is forced to move to Detroit by Orsa’s decision to enlist.

Rose has to find work in Detroit and adjust to living with her

elderly relatives. RELATIONSHIPS:

All three of the marriages – Carolyn & Jacob, Ros & Orsa, and Melba and Lou – are put in peril by the stresses arising from the coming war.

Tension between Carolyn and teenage daughter Joanie rise because of Joanie’s rebellion and dating choices.

Melba and Lou have increasing arguments about financial stress and who needs to bring in money.

RISKS:

• Carolyn tries to hide her increasingly alcoholism.

[John Duvall]

John Duvall’s Show Mysteries

“What I learned doing this assignment is…” the importance of secrets and reveals in creating dramatic conflicts between characters.

ASSIGNMENT 1:

Watch the next episode of your Example Show and focus on the mysteries that have been created in that show. Also, notice the difference between the big picture mysteries that are a big part of the plot across the entire season versus the smaller mysteries.

Tell us about the mysteries from this show.

MYSTERY TYPE 1: THE “SHOCKING EVENT” MYSTERY

A. Shocking Event:

A. Shocking event: Fred takes Offred to sex party. She sneaks out on Fred; will she try to escape? Go find Moira?

B. Secret: Fred’s
wife is out of town.
C. Reveal: Potential
danger if this violation is discovered.

MYSTERY TYPE 2: THE “OVER TIME” MYSTERY

A. Coverup: Will Nick and June be able to conceal their affair?

B. Secret: How did Nick get his position as “eye?

Was the hanged woman the previous Offred?

C. Reveals: Is Fred under threat?

D. Withheld: What will happen between June and Nick?

ASSIGNMENT 2:

Create two mysteries for your show — one that shows up strong in the Pilot and the other that is revealed over time.

General Comment:

My script is a character-driven drama, so intrigue in the story is not essentially driven by “shocking events” or even “over time” mysteries. There are some secrets, but they exist at a more subtle level of character and character conflicts.

MYSTERY TYPE 1: THE “SHOCKING EVENT” MYSTERY

A. Shocking
Event: The most shocking reversals in my pilot are the decisions by Jacob
Woolf and Orsa Combs to enlist in the military, throwing their marriages
into chaos. Jacob’s job is threatened and Orsa is forced to lose his farm.

B. Secrets: Due
to anti-semitic prejudice at Ford, Jacob Woolf must hide his Jewish
religious affiliation, lest he risk being fired.

Carolyn Woolf hides her increasing alcoholism as Jacob’s pressures at work become overwhelming.

Melba hides her desire to become a singer, while husband Lou uses his musical production work as an excuse not to return to Ford.

Part Withheld: Both
Jacob and Orsa hide the pressures they are under from their wives.

· MYSTERY TYPE 2: THE “OVER TIME” MYSTERY

A. Cover up: Carolyn
increases hides her drinking problem until it becomes undeniable.

B. Secret: Rose
hides the fact that she hears nothing from Orsa after he enters the army.

C. Reveals:
Jacob is demoted at Ford, prompting his decision to join the Army Air Force

Part Withheld:
Rose’s aunt and uncle hide the price they’re paying for taking Rose in.
Rose hides her evangelical Christian faith when moving into the Woolf’s
Jewish household

[John Duvall]

John Duvall’s Show – Empathy/Distress

“What I learned doing this assignment is…” to look deeper into my characters’ external and internal conflicts, and to think about how my audience will react to and feel about them.

ASSIGNMENT 1:

1. Watch the next episode of your Example Show and focus on the Empathy/Distress that shows up in this episode and throughout the season so far.

2. Notice the difference between Big Picture Empathy/Distress and detail-oriented Empathy/Distress. Big Picture will have an impact across multiple episodes.

Flashback: June’s husband Luke is shot by police, but escapes when the ambulance van run off a road and crashes. He retraces the road to where his car was crashed, then – armed with a gun – he finds his way into a town. This life-threatening situation is very stressful, and evokes our empathy because we’re already on his side.

Flashback to flashback: June, Luke and their child are preparing the attempt escape to Canada. We know how this will turn out, so the suspense is about HOW it will happen. But there is still distress and empathy for the characters. .

Flash-forward: Luke wants to go back, but his rescuers won’t let him, and his wound prevents him from resisting. He’s forced not to do what he really wants to. When he persists, they show him some hanged people and tell him that if he tries to go back, he’ll die. He’s forced not to do what he desperately wants to do, and thus we feel empathy.

At the point of escape, they are attacked by Gilead police. It’s a life-or-death crisis, so we empathize with Luke and are relieved when he escapes.

Three years later, Luke gets the message from June and knows that she’s alive. We empathize with his relief because we know how much he loves her.

ASSIGNMENT 2:

1. Make a list of BIG PICTURE difficult situations and decisions your characters could make because of the main conflict of this series.

Just ask: “Knowing the concept, what are the big picture Empathy/Distress situations that could occur?”

A. Undeserved misfortune:
The coming of WWII affects our three main characters.

Carolyn’s husband leaves a good job at Ford and joins the military, leaving her to run the household. and cope with lower finances and rationing.

Melba loses her job as maid and has to push her disabled husband to find work and look for other work herself.

Rose’s husband also joins the military, forcing her to leave her hometown and her farm to move to Detroit to find work in a defense plant. She moves in with relatives but must move again when her uncle drops dead.

B. External
Character conflicts

Carolyn tries to persuade her husband Jacob not to enlist. She in jealous of her daughter Joanie’s attachment to Melba. She has a lot of conflicts of culture when she takes on Rose as a boarder.

Melba chafes under Carolyn’s subtle condescension. She has friction with husband Lou over his musical hobbies and his reluctance to return to work at Ford.

Rose resents her husband Orsa’s enlistment and the pressure he puts on her to move from Kentucky to Detroit. She resents being passed over for work at Ford by a Negro.

C. Plot
intruding on life

Carolyn is forced to lay off Melba and find a boarder (Rose). Ultimately, she has to go to work at Ford.

Melba struggles to establish a career as a blues singer, and gets a chance when a USO dance hall is opened for Black troops. She also rescues Carolyn’s daughter Joanie when a race riot breaks out in Detroit.

Rose struggles to find a place to live when her uncle dies, finally renting a room in Carolyn’s home. She finally gets a job at Ford, but has conflicts with her supervisor Frank and her Black trainer Lou (Melba’s husband).

D. Moral
dilemmas

Carolyn develops a drinking problem after her husband departs and struggles to find meaning in her life. She also has control issues with her daughter Joanie’s performance at school and her choice of boyfriends.

Melba is conflicted over pressuring her disabled husband to go to work, which has a disruptive impact on their marriage. Religious differences develop between her Christianity and his interest in Islam. She also feels guilty about seeking a career as a singer.

As an evangelical Christian, Rose feels uncomfortable living in a Jewish household with Carolyn and Joanie. She risks her job at Ford when she gets involved in supporting a union strike.

E. Forced
decisions they’d never make

Carolyn decides to go to work at Ford in order to quit drinking. She insists on working in the bomber plant instead of taking an office job.

Following her husband, Melba sacrifices her singing career to join him working at Ford.

Risking her own safety, Rose rescues Lou from being beaten by racist workers by threatening them with a blow torch.

[John Duvall]

NOTE: This post is a mess. But I can’t seem to copy and paste the “map” formats, whether from Word documents, .pdf’s or .rtf’s. I don’t have the software to create a .gif. Sorry.

John Duvall’s Show Relationship Map

“What I learned doing this assignment is…” how to develop more complex relationships between characters by focusing on the elements in the map.

ASSIGNMENT 1:

Watch the next episode of your Example Show and focus on ONE of the main characters and how they interact with others. Notice how much you discover that could go into their Relationship Map.

Create a Relationship Map for one lead character and their relationship with three others.

Purpose: Give you a deeper experience of the relationships in a well written show.

Offred
Commander
Serena Joy
Nick
Surface
Sexual Master
Fred’s Wife
Fred’s Driver
Common Ground
Repressed Sensitivity
Very little
Hidden passion
Conflict
Submission & Dominance, Temptation
Inner strength competition for Fred’s affection
Mutual need for Secrecy
History
From submission to friendship
From hope to disappointment
From fear to intimacy
Subtext
Potential attraction
Competition for Fred’s affections
Mix of attraction & danger
Relationship Arc
Resentment, Curiosity, Disgust
Fear and ambivalence
Curiosity to lust to love

ASSIGNMENT 2:

1. Create a Relationship Map for THREE lead characters from YOUR SHOW IDEA.

2. Using the Relationship map, pick a main character (place in upper left-hand corner), and with each character he or she is in relationship with, give us the 6 relationship experiences listed below:

<div>
Surface:
Common Ground:
Conflict:
History:
Subtext:
Relationship Arc:
</div><div>

#1 Carolyn Woolf
Melba Walker
Jacob Woolf
Joanie Woolf
Surface
Woolf Maid
Husband
Teen Daughter
Common Ground
Both mentor Joanie
Traditional Marital roles
Live thru hard times
Conflict
Joanie’s affections
His workaholism, her neglect
Joanie’s rebellion
History
Long family service
20-year marriage
Typical Mom & daughter tensions
Subtext
Friction over roles
Husband’s neglect
Control issues
Relationship Arc
From dominance to participation as equals
Marital tension to husband’s military service
From conflict to mutual support & understanding

</div>

3. Do the same process for the second lead character and the third lead character.

#2 Melba Walker

Carolyn Woolf
Lou Walker
Joanie Woolf
Surface
Woolf Homemaker
Husband
Woolf Daughter
Common Ground
Care for Joanie
15-year marriage
Mutual curiosity & affection
Conflict
Dominance in home
Finances, differing life goals
Youthful rebellion & risk-taking
History
Feels disrespected
Lou’s work injuries
Dedication to family
Subtext
Subtle racism
Feels unsupported
Vulnerability
Relationship Arc
From disrespected to work as equals
From frustration to self-empowerment
Establish relationship beyond former roles

#3 Rose Combs
Orsa Combs
Mabel Buser
Carolyn Woolf
Surface
Husband
Aunt
Landlord
Common Ground
Rural farm background
Close family ties
Carolyn needs tenant, Rose needs somewhere to live
Conflict
Dismissive Sexism
Rose too reliant of Mabel & husband Thurm
Urban upper class vs. rural poor backgrounds
History
10-year farm marriage
Close relationship earlier in life
None before the war
Subtext
His insensitivity to her needs
Rose becomes a burden
How will they find ways to relate?
Relationship Arc
Separation undermines marriage
Rose must live elsewhere after Thurm dies
From early friction to working as allies with mutual respect

[John Duvall]

John Duvall’s Character Emotions

“What I learned doing this assignment is” how to look deeper into my characters’ emotional lives and deeper personal motivations.

ASSIGNMENT 1: Example Show

Watch the next episode of your Example Show and create an Emotional Profile for two or three main characters in this show.

Offred

· A. Situational: Hope to escape / Fears death, physical harm, being sent to colonies

· B. Motivation: Wants freedom & passion / Needs empowerment

· C. Mask: Base Negative Emotion/Public Mask: Compliance

· D. Weaknesses: Losing control

· E. Triggers: Being vulnerable; Seeing injustice to others

· F. Coping Mechanism: Shuts down Commander Waterford

· A. Situational: Hopes to procreate / Fear of impotence & infertility

· B. Motivation: Wants to be liked / Needs connection

· C. Mask: Base Negative Emotion / Public Mask: Male authority

· D. Weaknesses: Uncomfortable in his role; fatalistic

· E. Triggers: Having his control threatened

· F. Coping Mechanism: Rationalizing his status

Serena Joy Waterford

· A. Situational: Hopes for a child / Fear of being childless

· B. Motivation: Wants a child / Needs fulfillment

· C. Mask: Base Negative Emotion / Public Mask: Strong woman

· D. Weaknesses: Jealousy/Envy

· E. Triggers: Projects fear of failure

· F. Coping Mechanism: Manipulation

ASSIGNMENT 2: Your Show

1. For each of your main characters, brainstorm an Emotional Profile, filling in the following: Carolyn Woolf

· A. Situational: Hope live won’t be disrupted by war; Fear that it will

· B. Motivation: Wants to hang on to normalcy; Need a path to self-expression

· C. Mask: Base Negative Emotion / Public Mask: devotion to husband & daughter

· D. Weaknesses: Lack of self-confidence, resistance to change

· E. Triggers: Loss of control over circumstances

· F. Coping Mechanism: Shutting down in face of change, drinking too much

Melba Walker

· A. Situational: Hope to survive setbacks; Fear of desperation & deprivation

· B. Motivation: Wants security; Needs more self-empowerment

· C. Mask: Base Negative Emotion / Public Mask: Assertive – I’m in control.

· D. Weaknesses: Traumatized by racial violence of her youth.

· E. Triggers: Fatalism of others.

· F. Coping Mechanism: Gets angry, fights back

Rose Combs

· A. Situational: Hopes to find security; Fear of dependence on relatives

· B. Motivation: Wants to learn required skills; Needs to gain self-confidence

· C. Mask: Base Negative Emotion / Public Mask: I’m a hard worker.

· D. Weaknesses: Stranger in strange land; insecure rootlessness.

· E. Triggers: Being overwhelmed by unmanageable challenges.

· F. Coping Mechanism: Alternates between depression and fighting back

[John Duvall]

John Duvall’s Intriguing Character Layers

Lesson 4: Layers of Character Intrigue

“What I learned doing this assignment is” to look for my characters’ potentials for greater intrigue, especially by looking deeper into their core wounds and hidden desires and ambitions.

ASSIGNMENT 1:

1. Think about your Example Show. Make a list of the places you’ve already seen Character Intrigue in the previous episodes.

1. Why is Offred/June being pursued by police?

2. How does Offred decide with whom to share her secrets?

3. Why does she participate so willingly in the brutal beating of the rapist?

4. Why does Serena Joy participate in Commander Fred’s having sex with Offred (and why does he seem to be enjoying it)

5. Offred tries to shade her real feelings when replying to direct question

6. What has happened to Ofglen when another woman appears in her place?

7. What’s going on when Commander invites Offred to play Scrabble?

8. What will come of her interest in Nick?

2. Watch the next episode and see how Character Intrigue is being used to create the need to see more episodes.

1. How will Offred plan her escape?

2. Offred makes up excuses for being found in the closet.

3. How will Offred respond to the Doctor’s sexual come-on?

4. Why does Offred join Moira in assaulting Aunt Elizabeth? (And what’s going on with the continuity here? Was this scene just a fantasy?)

5. Offred plays another Scrabble game with Commander – to what end? 6. Does she ask about Latin to find out who her predecessor was? She evades his question about where she heard it. Then she insinuates herself into his desire for intimacy.

<br clear=”all”>

ASSIGNMENT 2

1. For your Inner Circle characters, fill in any of the Intrigue items that apply.

<div>
Character Name: Carolyn
Woolf </div><div>

Role: Head of Woolf household

Hidden agendas: Persuade Jacob not to leave

Competition: Husband Jacob’s work

Conspiracies:

Secrets: Hides her Jewish
identity

Deception: Hides her drinking
problem

Wound: Suppression of
personal ambition

Character Name: Maxine (Max) Walker

Role: Woolf family
maid

Hidden agendas: Get husband Lou back to work at
Ford

Competition: For young Joanie Woolf’s affections

Conspiracies:
Secrets: Aspiring blues singer

Deception: Pretends to be happy as
a maid

Wound: Grew up with
southern violence/racism

Character Name: Rose Combs

Role: Farm wife
displaced to Detroit

Hidden agendas: To find work she can be proud of

Competition: Trainer at Ford plant

Conspiracies:

Secrets: Her racism; Attraction
to Ford supervisor

Deception: Hides her religious
fundamentalism

Wound: Southern sexism,
loss of roots

</div>

[John Duvall]

John Duvall – Engaging Main Characters

“What I learned doing this assignment is” to look deeper into my characters inner conflicts and outer obstacles, to make them more rounded characters, but also to add layers of complications to their stories.

ASSIGNMENT 1:

Watch the next episode of your Example Show to see any places the lead characters might fit this model. Tell us the name and Engaging Profile answers for at least one character from your example show.

Offred/June is the main character. The action is mostly seen through her eyes. Her central purpose is simply to survive, to avoid offending anyone who could pose a threat to her, while secretly maintaining her authenticity. The internal conflict between these purposes is the prime source of intrigue for her. She tries to speak the truth without compromising her own safety or that of others, which leads to constant moral choices – and also makes the navigation of her challenges very unpredictable. All these things taken together create great empathy for her in the audience, because she is so sincere and so vulnerable.

ASSIGNMENT 2:

Now, do the process with your show. 1. Tell us the journey of your show.

Our three adult female protagonists, coming from different cultural and religious backgrounds, must navigate the domestic challenges posed by a world war, in the process overcoming their own prejudices while working together to support the war on the home front.

2. Who are the main characters that will sell your show?

Carolyn Woolf – Upper middle class Jewish housewife and mother, whose husband works for the Ford Motor Company building the Willow Run bomber plant

Mabel Walker – African American maid to the Woolf household, whose husband is disabled. Brought to Detroit as a child as part of the Great Migration.

Rose Combs – Fundamentalist Appalachian farm wife displaced to Detroit in search of wartime work after her husband entered military service.

3. Answer these questions for each of those characters.

Carolyn Woolf:
A. Role in the show: The center of the show, in the sense that her household becomes central to many story developments.
B. Unique Purpose / Expertise: College educated, but has sacrificed a promising career to support her husband and raise her young daughter
C. Intrigue: Her withheld emotions lead her to anger and self-destructive drinking.
D. Moral Issue: The deprivations of wartime lead to ethical compromises to obtain material needs.
E. Unpredictable: She gravitates between her obligations to others and her obligations to herself, with erratic results.
F. Empathetic: Her struggles in coming to grips with the novel demands of wartime makes her sympathetic.

Melba Walker
A. Role in the show: Thrown into crisis when she loses her job as a maid, she must get in touch with her repressed desires, overcome racial prejudice, and carve out a new means of livelihood.
B. Unique Purpose / Expertise: She has a wonderful singing voice that opens some doors for her.
C. Intrigue: Not sure what to say about this yet.
D. Moral Issue: How will she balance her personal ambitions with her support of her husband and the war effort?
E. Unpredictable: She must constantly revise her goals and strategies to respond to her changing situation.
F. Empathetic: Her attempt to overcome the limits of racism makes her a sympathetic character.

Rose Combs
A. Role in the show: A stranger in a strange land, the rural outside come to the big city in the run=up to war.
B. Unique Purpose / Expertise: She’s always been a hard worker, and knows how to help city folk start growing food in their Victory Gardens.
C. Intrigue: As an outsider, she feels she has to try twice as hard to overcome obstacles.
D. Moral Issue: How will she confront her racism and antisemitism in this new environment?
E. Unpredictable: She has to constantly confront setbacks in terms of housing and employment, and plumb the depths of her ingenuity.
F. Empathetic: Rose grows and changes in empowerment and self- knowledge, which makes her sympathetic.

[John Duvall]

Lesson 2: Three Circles of Characters

“What I learned doing this assignment is” to identify the characters that are most crucial to the main character’s core story; those with important but secondary roles, in terms of plot twists or character differentiation; and those that serve primarily functional roles but aren’t significantly developed as characters.

ASSIGNMENT 1:

Watch the next episode of your Example Show to see how the characters fit into these three circles:

A. Main Characters Circle:

1. Offred/June: Main Character

2. Commander Waterford: Male Antagonist

3. Ofglen: Woman friend/co-conspirator?

4. Aunt Lydia: Female antagonist

5. Nick: Potential male friend?

B. Connected Circle:

1. Serena Joy: Wife of Commander

2. Rita: Kitchen Chief/Possible “eye”

3. Janine/Offwarren: Crazy rebel woman

4. Angela: Janine’s daughter

5. Moira: June’s best friend from outer world

6. Luke: June’s husband

7. Hannah: June’s daughter

C. Environment Circle:

1. Ofsamuel

2. Alma

3. Naomi

4. Nurse

5. Misc. Women & Wives

Give us a quick list for each circle.

ASSIGNMENT 2:

1. Create the three circles of characters for your show.

A. Main Characters Circle:

1. Joanie (Rachel) Woolf

2. Carolyn Woolf

3. Rose Combs

4. Max (Maxine) Walker

B. Connected Circle:

1. Jacob (Jake) Woolf

2. Orsa Combs

3. Lou Walker

4. Jeff Fox

5. Mabel Buser

6. Thurm Buser

C. Environment Circle:

1. Charles Sorensen

2. Frank Wayne

3. Adam Cohen

4. Dale Taggert

5. Melba Shields

6. Franklin D. Roosevelt

7. Racist Factory Workers

2. Give us a one sentence description of each of the Main Characters.

1. Joanie (Rachel) Woolf: High school student from Jewish family in WWII Detroit; only child of Jacob and Carolyn Woolf.

2. Carolyn Woolf: Upper middle class Jewish housewife in WWII Detroit; wife of Jacob Woolf, a manager at Ford Motor Company.

3. Rose Combs: Kentucky farm wife who relocates to Detroit before WWII after her husband Orsa enters the military.

4. Max (Maxine) Walker: Black maid for the Woolf family, whose parents migrated from Georgie after WWI as part of the Great Migration.

[John Duvall]

1. John A. Duvall

2. I agree to the terms of this release form.

3. Please leave the entire text below to confirm what you agree to.

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.

[John Duvall]

Lesson 1: What is a Binge Worthy Show?

1. I picked the pilot for The Handmaid’s Tale.

2. 5 Star Points

1. Big Picture Hook: A woman struggling to survive in “a dystopia wherein a theocratic totalitarian society subjects fertile women called “handmaids” to child-bearing slavery” (to paraphrase Wikipedia).

2. Amazing and Intriguing Character: The story follows Offred (birth name June), a young woman whose husband was killed and her daughter taken away after an attempted escape, and who has been confined to a role as “handmaid”.

3. Offred evokes empathy and displays distress because of her struggles to survive in this abusive society, and because she clearly resents the oppression she lives under and desires a better life.

4. Layers/Open Loops: What kind of life did Offred/June have before? How did this society come into being? How will her relationships with her oppressors, her fellow handmaids, and a possible romantic interest evolve? How will she overcome the obstacles she faces?

5. Inviting Obsession: Offred’s stakes are very high (life or death) and the suspense and paranoid atmosphere are intense.

3. I not only watched the pilot a second time, but I downloaded the script to analyze the differences between the original writing and the finished production.

4. What I learned doing this assignment is: I noted how the character was introduced in an action scene that represented her central conflict; how flashbacks were used to show how things have changed; how her relationships with both her oppressors and her fellow handmaids were developed; how life and death threats arose in the society; and how the story was developed between scenes of individual conflict and scenes representing the broader life of the community.

[John Duvall]

John Duvall’s Thriller Map – Version 1, Condensed

What I learned: Putting scenes together in narrative form helped me reinforce the story’s continuity, clarify scene flow, and catch points that were missing or not clear.

INT. CATHOLIC CHURCH – DAY

Father Martin Bloom is marrying a young couple in a small Midwestern church. Parishioners express regrets that he is being transferred.

EXT. SMALL-TOWN CEMETERY – DAY
Bloom visits the grave of his girlfriend who had been killed.

INT. URBAN CATHOLIC CHURCH – DAY

IN his new church, Bloom meets with his former mentor Monsignor Dennehy and other priests to investigate questions of the church’s financial irregularities. Bloom notices that Dennehy keeps a diary in his desk drawer.

INT. BLOOM’S CHURCH APARTMENT – EVENING

Bloom settles in to his new residence. He watches a video of an interview with Sister Teresa about the new shelter she is managing. She seems compassionate and devoted to her service.

INT. RIVERFRONT SHELTER – DAY

Bloom goes to help Sister Teresa prepare the shelter for its grand opening. The neighborhood is dangerous, overrun by prostitution and violent crimes. Bloom and Teresa strike up a collegial working relationship, gathering gifts for a raffle.

EXT. BLOOM’S CONVERTIBLE – NIGHT

Bloom drives her home where she lives with other nuns. They enjoy each others’ company and have affection for each other.

INT. CHURCH – DAY

Bloom questions Hargraves about the church’s financial issues and urges him to report any suspicions he might have. Hargraves notes the long-term relationship between Dennehy and Sister Teresa, and how Dennehy has seemed depressed recently.

INT. RIVERFRONT BEACH – DAY

Walking the riverfront, Sister Teresa expresses affection for Bloom, makes him feel uncomfortable. They agree their vows limit any emotionally intimate relationship.

INT. CHURCH CONFESSIONAL – DAY

In confessional, Bloom confesses his lustful desire for Teresa. But has his confession made hims vulnerable?

INT. CHURCH LIBRARY – DAY

Bloom and Dennehy mull over financial records, speculate on why many contributors have recently reduced their donations. Bloom plans to interview some of them.

EXT./INT. TERESA’S RESIDENCE – NIGHT

Bloom drives Teresa home from the shelter. Her housemates are out of town and she invites him in. They give in to their sexual desire and make love. Teresa is very erotic and vocal. On departing, Bloom is ridden with guilt.

INT. CHURCH CHAPEL – NIGHT

Bloom prays for guidance in the church when Teresa appears. He confesses his anxiety about their sexual transgression; she seems confused and unresponsive.

EXT. CHURCH – CONTINUOUS

Walking outside the church, they stumble upon the body of Monsignor Dennehy below the church tower. He has apparently died from a fall. They call the police and report the death.

EXT. CHURCH – SAME PLACE, LATER

Ambulances and police ask questions about Dennehy’s death. The police look at it as an accident, but Bloom suggests the possibility of foul play.

INT. DENNEHY’S OFFICE – LATER

A police search of Dennehy’s office reveals that his diary is missing. Bloom’s suspicions increase.

EXT. DENNEHY’S FUNERAL – DAY

At the funeral, Bloom speaks with parishioners who supported the church and inquires about their concerns. Some of them seem reluctant to discuss the matter. Father Babenco suggests something going on that has alienated church supporters.

INT. RIVERFRONT SHELTER – DAY

Bloom comforts Teresa after Dennehy’s death, but she seems almost unmoved. Bloom gently persists, but she withdraws.

INT. POLICE STATION – DAY

Police summon Bloom and Teresa to be interviewed after an anonymous tip suggests that Bloom and Teresa are lovers. Police interrogate them and Teresa denies their sexual involvement while Bloom remains silent. Later Teresa tells Bloom she lied to prevent a public scandal that would confuse the investigation, but Bloom fears they could become suspects.

INT. HARGRAVES’S OFFICE – DAY

Bloom seeks to get Hargraves’s support in his investigation. Hargraves urges Bloom to examine the funding of the shelter, casting suspicion on Teresa. Hargraves discourages Bloom’s suspicions about Dennehy’s death, implies he’ll take control of the investigation if Bloom can’t make any headway.

INT. RIVERFRONT SHELTER – DAY

Bloom asks Teresa what she knows about the shelter finances, but she denies all knowledge about them. She takes offense to Bloom’s claim that they were ever lovers. Bloom confronts her directly, she gets upset and leaves, leaving Bloom confused.

EXT. RIVERFRONT SHELTER – NIGHT

Disturbed, Bloom stalks Teresa at the shelter. He sees her wander the beach at night dressed in sexy clothes, where she picks up a man and walks off with him. Teresa’s erratic behavior confuses Bloom, and supports Hargraves’s concerns.

INT. BLOOM’S APARTMENT – DAY

Following another anonymous tip, police find a large sum of money hidden in Bloom’s apartment. They question Bloom, now clearly a suspect, but they don’t arrest him yet.

INT. POLICE STATION – DAY

Police interrogate Bloom about the money and his relationship to Teresa and Dennehy. Bloom shares his confusion about Teresa and asserts that someone is trying to frame him. Police are skeptical but decide to investigate further.

INT. RIVERFRONT SHELTER – DAY

Bloom confronts Teresa with what he saw on the beach. She denies she was the person he saw or that she knows anything about the money. She is offended that he can will not believe her, requests that he stay away from the shelter.

INT. CHURCH – DAY

Bloom observes Hargraves and Teresa having an intimate conversation in private. He doesn’t know what to make of it, but it arouses even more suspicions in him.

EXT. RIVERFRONT BEACH – DAY

After another mysterious death, Bloom is called to the riverfront near the shelter. The victim is Father Babenco. The police attribute the murders to a homicidal prostitute; Bloom doesn’t believe Babenco would seek out a prostitute.

INT. CHURCH CONFESSIONAL – DAY

Bloom expresses his guilt about his relationship with Teresa. The priest reinforces Bloom’s guilt, suggesting he is unfit to serve the church. Bloom leaves the confessional suspicious of the advice he’s been given and wonders who has given it.

EXT. RIVERFRONT BEACH -NIGHT

In street clothes, Bloom wanders the waterfront at night. He encounters a woman in sexy clothes who approaches him. He recognizes her as Teresa; she recognizes him, runs away and disappears into a wood. He tries to follow but loses her.

INT. RIVERFRONT SHELTER – DAY

Teresa (in normal dress) leaves the shelter; Bloom goes in and searches around. In a hidden closet, he finds her sexy outfit. Teresa returns and catches him in the act. But she is very pleasant, shows no anger towards him. She denies any knowledge of the clothes, but has no curiosity about them. Bloom is confused but accepts her story without objection.

INT. BLOOM’S CHURCH APARTMENT – DAY

Bloom finds a packet mailed to him from Dennehy, containing the diary with a note: he mailed Bloom the diary because he was depressed and feared coming to a bad end. The diary reveals Teresa’s troubled youth and how he (Dennehy) helped her over the years, as a surrogate father after her parents died tragically. It reveals Dennehy’s suspicion that Hargraves was blackmailing church contributors for sins revealed in the confessional. Bloom calls the police about the diary and says he will bring it in.

EXT. CHURCH – DAY

Heading for the police, Bloom spots Hargraves and Teresa together heading into the church. Overcome with suspicion, he follows them into the church.

INT. CHURCH – CONTINUOUS

Bloom wanders again through the complex maze of hallways following the sound of their footsteps and voices. He follows them climbing up the stairs into the church tower.

INT. CHURCH TOWER – CONTINUOUS

Atop the tower, Bloom finds Hargraves and Teresa locked in a passionate embrace. Both recoil in shock when Bloom emerges from the shadows. Bloom tells Hargraves he found Dennehy’s diary and gave it to the police (not true). Hargraves becomes enraged and attacks Bloom. Confused, Teresa retreats as the men struggle, unsure of her allegiances. When Hargraves tries to push Bloom from the tower, Teresa rushes in, pushing Hargraves down to his death. She embraces a dumbfounded Bloom, who speaks her name and holds her tight.

INT. POLICE STATION – DAY

On reading the diary, the police chief concludes Hargraves was guilty of blackmailing parishioners and Teresa had acted in Bloom’s defense. A psychiatric interview has led to a diagnosis of Teresa as a multiple personality.

INT. TERESA’S CELL – DAY

Bloom sits with Teresa in a cell. She speaks in her prostitute voice and says she expected to wind up in jail. Bloom asks who he is talking to and she replies “Susie Q”. Bloom asks to speak with Teresa, and she transforms from an abrasive hussy into the gentle nun Bloom knew. She worries what her future holds. Bloom tells her she won’t be there long, that he will be beside her whatever the future holds.

[John Duvall]

John Duvall’s Thriller Map – Version 1

What I learned: Putting scenes together in narrative form helped me reinforce the story’s continuity, clarify scene flow, and catch points that were missing or not clear.

INT. CATHOLIC CHURCH – DAY

A modest-sized church in a small Midwestern city. Father Martin Bloom is marrying a young couple. After the service, parishioners express their regrets that he is being transferred to another church.

EXT. SMALL-TOWN CEMETERY – DAY

Bloom visits his former girlfriend’s grave to say goodbye. They had been engaged when she was unexpectedly killed.

INT. LARGER URBAN CATHOLIC CHURCH – DAY

Bloom arrives at his new church in a larger city. He wanders through the confusing maze of halls and stairways, looking for Monsignor Dennehy’s office.

INT. DENNEHY’S OFFICE – DAY

Bloom meets with Dennehy, his former mentor in seminary. Dennehy has summoned Bloom to look into questions about the decline in church contributions and financial irregularities. He also meets Fathers Hargraves and Babenco, who welcome him and promise their cooperation. Bloom notices that Dennehy keeps a diary in his desk drawer.

INT. BLOOM’S CHURCH APARTMENT – EVENING

Bloom settles in to his new residence, attached to the church. He watches a recording Dennehy gave him of a news report interviewing Sister Teresa about the new shelter she is managing. She seems compassionate, devoted to her service.

INT. RIVERFRONT SHELTER – DAY

At Dennehy’s request, Bloom goes to help Sister Teresa prepare the shelter for its grand opening. The neighborhood is dangerous, having been overrun by prostitution and violent crimes, including a murder. Bloom and Teresa strike up a collegial working relationship while gathering gifts for a raffle.

EXT. BLOOM’S CONVERTIBLE – NIGHT

Bloom drives her home, where she lives with a few other nuns. They enjoy each other’s company and have obvious affection for each other, but honoring the obvious limitations of their religious status.

INT. CHURCH – DAY

Bloom questions Hargraves about the church’s financial issues and encourages him to report on any suspicion he might have. Hargraves explains the close, long-term relationship between Dennehy and Sister Teresa, how Dennehy acted as her mentor over the years, and how Dennehy has seemed depressed recently. He also mentions the funds that have contributed to the building of the riverfront shelter.

INT. RIVERFRONT BEACH – DAY

While walking the riverfront, Sister Teresa expresses her affection for Bloom, which makes him feel uncomfortable. They agree that their vows put limits on any emotionally intimate relationship between them.

INT. CHURCH CONFESSIONAL – DAY

In the confessional, Bloom confesses his lustful thoughts about and desire for Teresa. But to whom was he confessing? Has he made himself or his mission vulnerable?

INT. CHURCH LIBRARY – DAY

Together, Bloom and Dennehy mull over the records, and speculate on why many prominent contributors have recently reduced their donations. Bloom makes plans to interview some of them.

EXT./INT. TERESA’S RESIDENCE – NIGHT

Bloom drives Teresa home from the shelter Teresa. Her two housemates are out of town and she invites him in. They give in to their sexual desire and make love. Teresa is very erotic and vocal. On departing, Bloom is ridden with guilt.

INT. CHURCH CHAPEL – NIGHT

Bloom prays for guidance in the church and Teresa appears. He confesses his anxiety about their sexual transgression, but she is curiously unresponsive.

EXT. CHURCH – CONTINUOUS

On walking outside the church, they literally stumble upon the body of Monsignor Dennehy at the foot of the church tower. He has apparently died from a fall. They call the police and report the death.

EXT. CHURCH – SAME PLACE, LATER

Ambulances and police arrive to ask questions about Dennehy’s death. The police appear to accept it as an accident, but Bloom suggests at least the possibility of foul play, so the police go to inspect Dennehy’s office.

INT. DENNEHY’S OFFICE – LATER

A police search of the office reveals that Dennehy’s diary is missing. Bloom’s suspicions increase.

EXT. DENNEHY’S FUNERAL – DAY

At the funeral, Bloom speaks with parishioners who have supported the church, and asks about their concern for the church’s future. Some of them seem strangely reluctant to discuss the matter. Father Babenco suggests that there may be something going on behind the scenes that has alienated some contributors.

INT. RIVERFRONT SHELTER – DAY

Bloom tries to comfort Teresa after Dennehy’s death, but she seems almost unmoved by it. Bloom tries to gently pursue the topic, but she withdraws.

INT. POLICE STATION – DAY

Bloom and Teresa are summoned to be interviewed after an anonymous tip claims that Bloom and Teresa are lovers. The police interrogate them and Teresa denies their sexual involvement while Bloom remains silent, not wanting to contradict her. On the way out, Teresa persuades Bloom that she lied to prevent a public scandal that would confuse the investigation into Dennehy’s death, but Bloom is afraid they could become suspects.

INT. HARGRAVES’S OFFICE – DAY

Bloom seeks to elicit support from Hargraves’s support in the investigation of the church’s finances. Hargraves urges Bloom to look into the funding of the shelter, implicitly casting suspicion on Teresa. Hargraves seems to discourage Bloom’s suspicions about Dennehy’s death, and implies he’ll take control of the investigation if Bloom can’t make any headway.

INT. RIVERFRONT SHELTER – DAY

Bloom asks Teresa if she knows anything about the finances of the shelter, but she defers all knowledge to Dennehy. She also takes offense to Bloom’s suggestion that they have ever been lovers. When Bloom confronts her directly, she gets upset and walks out. Bloom is distressed and confused.

EXT. RIVERFRONT SHELTER – NIGHT

Bloom stalks Teresa at the shelter, suspecting her of having some secret. He sees her wandering the beach at night dressed in sexy clothes, where she apparently picks up a man and walks off with him. Teresa’s erratic behavior confuses Bloom, and seems to support Hargraves’ concerns about her.

INT. BLOOM’S APARTMENT – DAY

Police show up and, following another anonymous tip, find a large sum of money hidden in Bloom’s apartment. They question a stunned Bloom, whom police now consider a suspect, but they don’t arrest him pending further investigation.

INT. POLICE STATION – DAY

Police interrogate Bloom about the money and his relationship to Teresa and Dennehy. Bloom shares his confusion about Teresa and asserts that someone is trying to frame him. The police are skeptical but uncomfortable with the situation, and promise to investigate further.

INT. RIVERFRONT SHELTER – DAY

The next day, Bloom confronts Teresa with what he saw on the beach, but she adamantly denies she was the person he saw or that she knows anything about the money. She is offended that he can will not believe her, and requests that he stay away from the shelter.

INT. CHURCH – DAY

Bloom observes Hargraves and Teresa having an intimate conversation in private. He doesn’t know what to make of it, but it arouses even more suspicions in him.

EXT. RIVERFRONT BEACH – DAY

Bloom is called to the riverfront after another mysterious death near the shelter. He identifies the victim as Father Babenco. The police attribute these riverfront murders to a homicidal prostitute, but Bloom doesn’t believe Babenco would have sought out a prostitute.

INT. CHURCH CONFESSIONAL – DAY

In the confessional again, Bloom expresses his guilt about his relationship with Teresa. The priest/confessor reinforces Bloom’s guilt, even suggesting he is unfit to serve the church. Bloom leaves the confessional suspicious of the advice he’s been given, and who has given it.

EXT. RIVERFRONT BEACH – NIGHT

Bloom, in street clothes, wanders the waterfront at night. He encounters a woman in sexy clothes who approaches him. When he recognizes her as Teresa, and she recognizes him, she runs away and disappears into a wood. He tries to follow but loses her.

INT. RIVERFRONT SHELTER – DAY

After Teresa (in normal daytime dress) leaves the shelter, Bloom goes in and searches around. In a hidden closet, he finds her sexy outfit. Teresa shows up and catches him in the act. But instead of being angry, she is very pleasant and shows no animosity towards him. He asks her about what he’s found and she denies any knowledge of the clothes. She seems to have no curiosity about them at all. Bloom is totally confused but accepts her story without objection.

INT. BLOOM’S CHURCH APARTMENT – DAY

Alone in his apartment, Bloom finds a packet mailed to him from Dennehy – containing Dennehy’s diary. Attached is a note: he mailed Bloom the diary because he was depressed and fearful that he could fall victim to a bad end. The diary reveals Teresa’s troubled youth and how he (Dennehy) has helped her over the years, acting as a surrogate father after her parents died tragically. It also reveals Dennehy’s discovery that Hargraves was involved in blackmailing church contributors for sins revealed in the confessional. He calls the police about the diary and says he will bring it in.

EXT. CHURCH – DAY

Heading out for the police station, Bloom spots Hargraves and Teresa heading together into the church. Overcome with suspicion and jealousy, he follows them into the church.

INT. CHURCH – CONTINUOUS

Bloom wanders again through the complex maze of hallways following the sound of their footsteps and voices. He follows them climbing up the stairs into the church tower – above where Dennehy’s body was found.

INT. CHURCH TOWER – CONTINUOUS

At the top of the tower, Bloom finds Hargraves and Teresa locked in a passionate embrace. Both recoil in shock when Bloom emerges from the shadows. Bloom confronts Hargraves that he found Dennehy’s diary and gave it to the police (not yet true). Hargraves becomes enraged and attacks Bloom. Teresa retreats in confusion as the two men struggle, unsure where her allegiance lies. When Hargraves is on the verge of pushing Bloom from the tower, Teresa rushes in and pushes Hargraves out and down to his death. She embraces Bloom, who looks at her in wonder, speaks her name and holds her tight.

INT. POLICE STATION – DAY

The chief of police closes Dennehy’s diary after reading through it. He concludes Hargraves was guilty of blackmailing parishioners, and that Teresa had acted in Bloom’s defense. However, a psychiatric interview has led to a diagnosis of Teresa as a multiple personality, with an alternate identity named Susie Q. She is waiting in an adjoining room.

INT. TERESA’S CELL – DAY

Bloom enters Teresa’s cell and sits with her. She speaks in her prostitute voice and says she always expected to wind up in jail. Bloom asks who he is talking to and she replies “Susie Q”. Bloom asks if he may talk to Teresa. She transforms from an abrasive hussy into the friendly, gentle nun Bloom first met. She wonders what she is doing in a police cell. Bloom assures her that she won’t have to stay there long, and that he will be beside her, whatever the future holds.

[John Duvall]

John Duvall Misdirects…When Appropriate

What I learned is…?” Intrigue can be developed through misinterpreted clues, misinterpretation of dialogue, or misinterpretation of character’s intentions or behavior.

1. Check these three to see how effectively you used misdirection

A. The
Red Herring character.

Sister Teresa’s withdrawal of affection and evasion of questions from Father Bloom makes her look suspicious and guilty.

B. The
Villain’s plan.

Father Hargraves appears to be devoted to Monsignor Dennehy and desirous of supporting Father Bloom’s investigation. He also casts suspicion on Sister Teresa ultimately on Dennehy himself.

C. The
cover-up for each mystery present as “Reality.”

Not really sure what this one means.

2. Look through your Thriller Map for a few opportunities to add in misdirection.

A. Clue
Misdirection.

Dennehy’s diary appear to have been stolen, when in reality it has been sent to Bloom..

Could murders on riverfront be somehow tied to Teresa?

B.
Character Misdirection.

Sister Teresa’s withdrawal of affection and evasion of questions from Father Bloom makes her look suspicious and guilty. Hargraves misrepresents his loyalty to Dennehy and Bloom.

C.
Dialogue Misdirection.

Bloom misinterprets Dennehy’s statements on his past history with Teresa, as well as his trust in Hargraves.

3. Decide on the ones that work and add them to the Thriller Map.

Remember to be sparing on the misdirection. If you did a great job on three previous areas of misdirection, you don’t need much more. But done well, audiences will love it.

[John Duvall]

John Duvall Gives Great Clues

What I learned is: The audience must receive overt clues to keep them engaged in solving the mystery, and covert clues that help explain the surprising conclusion.

ASSIGNMENT

List out the three or four main mysteries in your
story.

1. How and why did Monsignor Dennehy die?

2. What is the backstory relationship between Dennehy and Teresa?

3. Why does Sister Teresa turn against Bloom so abruptly?

4. What is the relationship between Teresa and Hargraves?

Create a list of clues for each of the main mysteries
in your story.

How
and why did Monsignor Dennehy die?

a. No evidence of suicide

b. Missing diary suggests a coverup

c. Does Teresa’s ambiguous history with Dennehy suggest her involvement?

2. What is the backstory relationship between Dennehy and Teresa?

a. They had been close since she was very young.

b. Dennehy has acted as her supporter and mentor as a nun.

c. Dennehy has not been transparent about their relationship.

3. Why does Sister Teresa turn against Bloom so abruptly?

a. She became Bloom’s lover so impulsively.

b. She denied their affair when questioned.

c. She had a very negative reaction when Bloom questioned her.

4. What is the relationship between Teresa and Hargraves?

a. Hargraves implies Teresa may have secrets involving Dennehy.

b. Bloom sees them having an intimate conversation in private.

c. Later Bloom witnesses a passionate interaction between them.

Note: Most of these are covert clues, based on the contradictory behavior of charcaters.

[John Duvall]

John Duvall’s Dramatic Reveals

What is learned is: “Reveals” need to be set up in advance through mystery, intrigue and suspense, which build up audience anticipation before revealing crucial plot and character elements.

1. Father Bloom marries a young couple, envies them.

Mystery: Why does Bloom feel so sad after a marriage?

2. Monsignor Dennehy has requested Bloom’s transfer to his church. His bishop notifies him of the transfer. Twist: New options emerge.

Mystery: Why is Bloom being transferred?

3. Bloom visits his former girlfriend’s grave to say goodbye.

Reveal: Bloom had been planning to be married. His girlfriend died, and he joined the priesthood instead.

4. Bloom arrives at his new church. He meets with Dennehy to learn new duties to look into questions about church funding. Bloom trusts Dennehy, his mentor in the priesthood, who supports his investigation of church finances. He also meets Fathers Hargraves and Babenco, who show Bloom the financial records. Bloom trusts Hargraves as Dennehy’s ally and associate. Dennehy keeps a diary in his desk drawer. Twist: A new problem emerges.

Intrigue: What are the issues about the church finances?

Reveal: Monsignor Dennehy was Bloom’s mentor in seminary.

5. Dennehy requests Bloom to help Sister Teresa in opening a new shelter on the riverfront. There have been mysterious deaths and prostitution on the riverfront. Twist: It just got more dangerous.

Mystery: What does the new shelter have to do with church finances? Intrigue: What dangers may be posed by the criminal activity on the waterfront?

6. Bloom watches a news report interviewing Sister Teresa about the new shelter. She seems almost angelic – compassionate and devoted to her service.

7. Bloom helps Sister Teresa prep for opening of the new shelter. Bloom develops a close working relationship with her. He drives her home and they feel an attraction to each other. Twist: We see an unexpected side of someone.

Intrigue: Will Bloom and Teresa develop an intimate relationship?

8. Hargraves questions Bloom about his duties and encourages him to report to him on his investigation. Hargraves suggests that Dennehy has been depressed and may have had access to the church funds that seem to be missing. Twist: A new problem occurs.

Mystery: Might Dennehy be hiding something?

Intrigue: Are Dennehy and Hargraves allies or adversaries?

9. Bloom and Sister Teresa share their feelings of affection, but affirm their vows to the church. Will they be able to keep them? Twist: We see an unexpected side of someone.

Reveal: Bloom and Teresa both have internal struggles over their developing affection.

10. In the confessional, Bloom confesses his desire for Teresa. But who was the priest he confessed to? Twist: A trust is potentially violated.

Mystery: To whom is Bloom confessing?

Intrigue: Could his confession make him vulnerable to consequences?

11. Bloom and Teresa give in to their desire and make love. Teresa is surprisingly erotic and vocal. Twist: We see an unexpected side of someone. It just got more dangerous.

Reveal: Bloom and Teresa do become lovers.

Intrigue: Will their affair make them vulnerable to discovery?

12. Bloom prays for guidance in the church and Teresa appears. He reveals his anxiety about their transgression but she is curiously unreactive.

Mystery: What is Teresa doing there? Why is she so unresponsive to Bloom’s concerns?

13. On leaving the church, they stumble upon the body of Monsignor Dennehy below the church tower. He has apparently died from a fall. Bloom suspects foul play. Twist: The worst possible thing happens.

Mystery: How/why did Dennehy die? An accident? Suicide? Murder?

Intrigue: Bloom and Teresa discover his body. Could they be suspects?

Reveal: Something is dangerously wrong in the church. But what?

14. Ambulances and police arrive to ask questions about Dennehy’s death.

Intrigue: The police interview Bloom and Teresa separately. Will they become suspects?

15. A police search of Dennehy’s office reveals that his diary and other church records are missing. Bloom’s suspicions increase. Twist: New consequences emerge.

Mystery: What became of Dennehy’s diary and the other records?

16. After Dennehy dies, an anonymous tip informs the police that Bloom and Teresa are lovers. The police interrogate them and Teresa denies their sexual involvement while Bloom remains silent. Teresa persuades Bloom that she lied to prevent a public scandal that would confuse the investigation into Dennehy’s death. Twist: A mistake returns to haunt them.

Mystery: Who is the source of the anonymous tip?

Intrigue: Will Bloom and Teresa now become prime suspects?

17. Hargraves announces he’ll take control of the investigation, seems to discourage Bloom’s questions about Dennehy’s death, as well as casting suspicion on Teresa’s relationship with Dennehy. Twist: We see an unexpected side of someone.

Mystery: What was Dennehy’s relationship to Teresa?

Intrigue: Could Hargraves be intending to interfere with the investigation?

Reveal: Hargraves may have a clandestine agenda.

18. Bloom asks Teresa if she knows anything about the missing funds. She not only denies knowledge of them, but denies that she and Bloom have been lovers. When confronted by Bloom, Teresa denies everything and walks out. Twist: We see an unexpected side of someone. A lie is uncovered.

Mystery: Why is Teresa acting so strangely?

Reveal: Teresa is not what she appears to be. Is she hiding something?

19. Bloom begins stalking Teresa at the shelter, suspecting her of having a secret life. He sees her wandering the beach at night dressed in sexy clothes, where she apparently picks up a man and walks off with him. Teresa’s erratic behavior seems to support Hargraves’ concerns about her. Twist: Secret identity uncovered.

Suspense: Bloom follows Teresa into known dangerous territory.

Reveal: Teresa definitely seems to have a secret, illicit life.

20. Police finds a large sum of money hidden in Bloom’s apartment. Police now consider him a suspect. Twist: A new problem occurs; It just got more dangerous.

Mystery: Who planted the money? Hargraves? Teresa? Someone else?

Intrigue: Will Bloom be arrested?

21. Bloom goes to the police and shares his suspicion about Teresa and makes the case that someone is trying to frame him. He defends himself against their suspicion of him. The police are skeptical but promise to investigate. They urge him against interaction with Teresa & Hargraves.

Intrigue: Do the police believe Bloom? Will they follow through?

22. Bloom learns there has been another mysterious death down near the shelter – identified as Father Babenco, who kept financial records for the church. The police suspect that these murdered men have been victims of a riverfront prostitute. Twist: It just got more dangerous.

Mystery/Intrigue: Who killed Babanco? Perhaps Teresa or Hargraves?

23. The next day, Bloom confronts Teresa with what he saw, but she adamantly denies she was the person he saw or that she knows anything about the money in his apartment. He persists, asking her about the funds; she becomes angry and departs. Twist: A lie is uncovered.

Intrigue: Teresa’s denials are become less and less plausible.

24. Bloom observes Hargraves and Teresa having an intimate conversation in private. He doesn’t know what to make of it, but he’s suspicious.

Mystery: What is the relationship between Teresa and Hargraves?

25. In the confessional again, Bloom expresses his fear and guilt about his relationship with Teresa. The confessor tells him to seek the truth, no matter how difficult it may be to accept. Bloom leaves the confessional suspicious of the advice he’s been given, and who has given it. Twist: A trust is violated.

Mystery/Intrigue: To whom has Bloom confessed? Has he used his confession as a trap?

Reveal: Bloom suspects he is confessing to Hargraves.

26. Bloom, in street clothes, wanders the waterfront at night. He encounters a woman in sexy clothes who approaches him. When he recognizes her as Teresa, and she recognizes him, she runs away and disappears into a wood. Twist: Secret identity uncovered.

27. After Teresa (in regular daytime dress) leaves the shelter, Bloom goes in and searches around. In a hidden closet, he finds her sexy outfit. Teresa shows up and catches him in the act. But instead of being angry, she is very pleasant and shows no animosity towards him. He asks her about what he’s found and she innocently denies any knowledge of the clothes. She seems to have no curiosity about them at all. Twist: A lie is uncovered and a trust is violated.

Mystery: Why is she not upset at Bloom’s behavior and discovery?

Intrigue: Bloom risks discovery to search Teresa’s closet.

Reveal: Teresa seems to act like different people at different times.

28. Bloom receives a key to a safe deposit box in the mail. He opens the box and finds Dennehy’s diary, sent to him before Dennehy’s death.

Reveal: Now we know what happened to Dennehy’s diary.

Mystery: Why did he mail it to Bloom?

29. Alone in his apartment, Bloom reads Dennehy’s diary. It reveals Teresa’s troubled youth of abuse and how Dennehy helped her, acting as a surrogate father after her parents died. It also reveals Dennehy’s suspicions that Hargraves was embezzling church funds, and that he was intimately involved with Teresa. Twist: We see an unexpected side of someone (Both Dennehy and Teresa).

Reveal: We know Teresa’s backstory and why Dennehy mailed Bloom the diary. He knew he was in danger.

30. Bloom calls the police and tells them he’ll bring them Dennehy’s diary. But looking out the window, Bloom sees Hargraves walking with Teresa. Then he follows them into the church.

Mystery: Do Hargraves and Teresa have an intime relationship?

Suspense: Will Bloom get himself in trouble by following them?

31. Bloom wanders again through the complex maze of hallways following the sound of their footsteps and voices. He follows them up the stairs into the church tower – above where Dennehy’s body was found. Twist: It just got more dangerous.

Suspense: Returning to the scene of Dennehy’s murder? Danger looms.

32. At the top of the tower, Bloom finds Hargraves and Teresa locked in a passionate embrace. Both recoil in shock when Bloom emerges from the shadows. Bloom confronts Hargraves that he found Dennehy’s diary and gave it to the police (not yet true). Hargraves becomes enraged and attacks Bloom. Teresa retreats in total confusion as the two men struggle, unsure where her allegiance lies. When Hargraves is on the verge of pushing Bloom from the tower, Teresa rushes in and pushes Hargraves out, down to his death. She embraces Bloom, who although totally confused, embraces her back. Twist: The worst thing possible happens. We see an unexpected side of someone.

Suspense: Will Hargraves kill Bloom? Whose side will Teresa be on?

Reveal: The Teresa who loves Bloom wins out.

33. The chief of police closes Dennehy’s diary after reading through it. He concludes Hargraves was guilty of embezzling church funds, and that Teresa had acted in Bloom’s defense. However, after a psychiatric interview, she is diagnosed as a multiple personality. She is waiting in an adjoining room.

Reveal: Hargraves will be charged with Dennehy’s murder. Teresa has been diagnosed with multiple personality disorder.

34. Bloom enters Teresa’s room and sits with her. She speaks in her prostitute voice and says she always expected to wind up in jail. Bloom asks who he is talking to and she replies “Susie Q”. Bloom asks if he may talk to Teresa. She transforms from an abrasive hussy into the friendly, gentle nun Bloom first met. She wonders what she is doing in a police station. Bloom assures her that she won’t have to stay there long, and that he will be beside her, whatever the future holds. Twist: Secret Identity Uncovered.

Reveal: Bloom loves Teresa and will stand by her ithrough her therapy.

[John Duvall]

John Duvall’s Trust Relationships

What I learned doing this assignment: The ebb and flow of trust and distrust between the major characters drives the rise and fall of mystery, intrigue and suspense.

1. Make a list of the main characters.

Hero: Father
Martin Bloom
Villain: Father Hargraves
Red Herring Characters: Sister
Teresa, Monsignor Dennehy
Trusted, but shouldn’t be: Father Hargraves (and Sister
Teresa, in a way)
Isn’t trusted, but should be: Sister Teresa

2. With each character, ask these questions:

A. What is their basic state — trustable or not trustable?

Father Martin Bloom (Hero) – trustable (except to
himself)
Father Hargraves (Villain) – not trustable
Sister Teresa – both trustable and not trustable,
because of dual personality
Monsignor Dennehy – trustable, but has secrets

B. How might they really be trustable, but appear not trustable OR be not trustable, but appear trustable?

Father Martin Bloom (Hero) – trustable throughout,
except perhaps to himself
Father Hargraves – Appears trustable on taking
Monsignor Dennehy’s role, becomes untrustable the more Father Bloom
discovers
Sister Teresa – Appears initially very trustable;
appears to become untrustable as her contradictory behavior emerges; in
the end, reveals herself to be trustable
Monsignor Dennehy – Appears trustable, but events after
his death raise questions about his trustworthiness.

C. What circumstances might cause them to switch from one to the other?

Father Martin Bloom – trustworthy except in doubting
his own judgments
Father Hargraves – puts up obstacles to the
investigation he claims to be promoting
Sister Teresa – appears completely trustworthy until
her behavior reveals inner contradictions; then appears totally
untrustworthy until the climax
Monsignor Dennehy – Appears totally trustworthy until
his secrets begin to emerge after his death

3. With each character relationship, brainstorm how trust or distrust might show up between them.

Hero/Villain: Father Bloom trusts Father Hargraves as
an ally until he becomes concerned about his lack of support for Bloom’s
theories of Monsignor Dennehy’s death
Hero / Red Herring Character: Father Bloom not only
trusts Sister Teresa but actually falls in love with her. But he becomes
suspicious when her behavior becomes increasingly contradictory, and she
resists his questions.
Hero / Trusted, but shouldn’t be: Father Bloom trusts
Father Hargraves as an ally, until he develops doubts that lead him to
uncover secrets that Hargraves has evil intentions.
Hero / Is trusted, then isn’t trusted, but should be:
Father Bloom loses his trust for Sister Teresa, without recognizing her
deep psychological problems; in the end she regains his trust by saving
him from Father Hargraves.

4. Create a sequence for each trust/distrust relationship and then add that to your map.

Bloom / Dennehy

1. TRUST: Bloom trusts Dennehy as his mentor in the priesthood. He also supports his investigation of church finances and his introduction to Sister Teresa

2. DISTRUST: Father Hargraves suggest that Dennehy may have had access to the very church funds that seem to be missing.

3. TRUST: When Dennehy dies mysteriously, Bloom assumes his innocence in any wrongdoing.

4. DISTRUST: Bloom discovers Dennehy’s hidden intimate relationship with Sister Teresa.

5. TRUST: Bloom discovers Dennehy’s relationship with Teresa was innocent; he was acting essentially as Teresa’s surrogate father.

Bloom / Teresa

1. TRUST: Bloom develops a close working relationship with Sister Teresa at the new shelter.

2. TRUST: Bloom and Teresa falls in love and become lovers.

3. DISTRUST: Teresa denies their sexual involvement after Monsignor Dennehy dies.

4. TRUST: Teresa persuades Bloom that she lied to prevent a public scandal that would confuse the investigation into Dennehy’s death.

5. DISTRUST: When confronted by Bloom about the missing funds, Teresa denies everything and walks out angrily.

6. DISTRUST: Bloom suspects Teresa has a secret life when he sees her wandering the beach at night dressed in sexy clothes. He sees her apparently pick up a man on the beach and walking off with him.

7. DISTRUST: Bloom sees Teresa privately conferring with Hargraves, who Bloom already suspects of corruption and murder.

8. TRUST: Teresa saves Bloom from being killed by Hargraves, thus validating her love for him.

9. TRUST: When Bloom learns of Teresa’s diagnosis as a multiple personality, he commits to his love for her as an ally in her therapy and healing.

Bloom / Hargraves

1. TRUST: Bloom sees Hargraves as Dennehy’s ally and associate.

2. TRUST: Bloom’s relationship with Hargraves becomes closer after Dennehy dies.

3. DISTRUST: Hargraves seems to discourage Bloom’s questions about Dennehy’s death, as well as probing his relationship to Teresa.

4. TRUST: Teresa’s erratic behavior seems to support Hargraves’ concerns about her.

5. DISTRUST: Bloom’s discovery of Dennehy’s diary implicates Hargraves in wrongdoing.

6. DISTRUST: Hargraves’ apparent intimacy with Teresa sets off major red flags for Bloom,

7. DISTRUST: At the climax, Hargraves tries to kill Bloom.

5. Give us the new version of your Thriller Map.

John Duvall’s Thriller Plot (with Twists and Trust Issues)

1. Father Bloom marries a young couple, envies them.

2. Monsignor Dennehy has requested Bloom’s transfer to his church. His bishop notifies him of the transfer. Twist: New options emerge.

3. Bloom visits his former girlfriend’s grave to say goodbye.

4. Bloom arrives at his new church. He wanders through the complex, confusing maze of hallways and stairways, looking for Dennehy’s office.

Finally Bloom meets with Dennehy to learn new duties to look into questions about church funding. Bloom trusts Dennehy, his mentor in the priesthood, who supports his investigation of church finances. He also meets Fathers Hargraves and Babenco, who show Bloom the financial records. Bloom trusts Hargraves as Dennehy’s ally and associate. Dennehy keeps a diary in his desk drawer. Twist: A new problem emerges.

5. Dennehy facilitates Bloom’s introduction to Sister Teresa, requesting

Bloom to help her help open the new riverfront shelter. There have been mysterious deaths and prostitution on the riverfront. Twist: It just got more dangerous.

6. Bloom watches a news report interviewing Sister Teresa about the new shelter. She seems compassionate and devoted to her service.

7. Bloom helps Sister Teresa prep for opening of the new shelter. Bloom develops a close working relationship with Sister Teresa at the new shelter. He drives her home and they feel an attraction to each other. Twist: We see an unexpected side of someone.

8. Hargraves questions Bloom about his duties and encourages him to report to him on his investigation. Hargraves suggests that Dennehy may have had access to the very church funds that seem to be missing. Twist: A new problem occurs.

9. Bloom and Sister Teresa share their feelings of affection, but affirm their vows to the church. Will they be able to keep them? Twist: We see an unexpected side of someone.

10. In the confessional, Bloom confesses his desire for Teresa. But who was the Father Confessor? Twist: A trust is potentially violated.

11. Bloom and Teresa give in to their desire and make love. Teresa is surprisingly erotic and vocal. Twist: We see an unexpected side of someone. It just got more dangerous.

12. Bloom prays for guidance in the church and Teresa appears. He confesses his anxiety about their transgression but she is curiously unreactive.

13. On leaving the church, they stumble upon the body of Monsignor Dennehy below the church tower. He has apparently died from a fall. Bloom suspects foul play. Twist: The worst possible thing happens.

14. Ambulances and police arrive to ask questions about Dennehy’s death. No one suspects foul play.

15. A police search of Dennehy’s office reveals that his diary and other records are missing. Bloom’s suspicions increase. Twist: New consequences emerge.

16. Bloom uncovers records left for him by Dennehy that reveal a discrepancy between money allocated to the shelter and money actually spent. Twist: A new problem occurs.

17. After Dennehy dies, an anonymous tip informs the police that Bloom and Teresa are lovers. The police interrogate them and Teresa denies their sexual involvement while Bloom remains silent. Teresa persuades Bloom that she lied to prevent a public scandal that would confuse the investigation into Dennehy’s death. Twist: A mistake returns to haunt them.

18. Bloom reports the discrepancy in the shelter funding to Hargraves. Hargraves announces he’ll take control of the investigation, seems to discourage Bloom’s questions about Dennehy’s death, as well as casting suspicion on Teresa’s relationship with Dennehy. Twist: We see an unexpected side of someone.

19. Bloom asks Teresa if she knows anything about the missing funds. She not only denies knowledge of them, but denies that she and Bloom have been lovers. When confronted by Bloom, Teresa denies everything and walks out. Twist: We see an unexpected side of someone. A lie is uncovered.

20. Bloom begins stalking Teresa at the shelter, suspecting her of having a secret life. He sees her wandering the beach at night dressed in sexy clothes, where she apparently picks up a man and walks off with him. Teresa’s erratic behavior seems to support Hargraves’ concerns about her. Twist: Secret identity uncovered.

21. Police finds a large sum of money hidden in Bloom’s apartment. Police now consider him a suspect. Twist: A new problem occurs; It just got more dangerous.

22. Bloom goes to the police and shares his suspicion about Teresa and makes the case that someone is trying to frame him. He defends himself against their suspicion of him. The police are skeptical but promise to investigate.

23. The next day, Bloom confronts Teresa with what he saw, but she adamantly denies she was the person he saw or that she knows anything about the money in his apartment. He persists, asking her about the funds; she becomes angry and departs. Twist: A lie is uncovered.

24. Bloom observes Hargraves and Teresa having an intimate conversation in private. He doesn’t know what to make of it, but he’s suspicious.

25. Bloom learns there has been another mysterious death down near the shelter – identified as Father Babenco, who kept financial records for the church. The police suspect that these murdered men have been victims of a riverfront prostitute. Twist: It just got more dangerous.

26. In the confessional again, Bloom expresses his fear and guilt about his relationship with Teresa. The confessor tells him to seek the truth, no matter how difficult it may be to accept. Bloom leaves the confessional suspicious of the advice he’s been given, and who has given it. Twist: A trust is violated.

27. Bloom, in street clothes, wanders the waterfront at night. He encounters a woman in sexy clothes who approaches him. When he recognizes her as Teresa, and she recognizes him, she runs away and disappears into a wood. Twist: Secret identity uncovered.

28. After Teresa (in normal daytime dress) leaves the shelter, Bloom goes in and searches around. In a hidden closet, he finds her sexy outfit and Dennehy’s diary. Teresa shows up and catches him in the act. But instead of being angry, she is very pleasant and shows no animosity towards him. He asks her about what he’s found and she denies any knowledge of the clothes or the diary. She seems to have no curiosity about them at all. Bloom asks to keep the diary and she gives no objection. Twist: A lie is uncovered and a trust is violated.

29. Alone in his apartment, Bloom reads Dennehy’s diary. It reveals Teresa’s troubled youth and how he helped her, acting as a surrogate father after her parents died. It also reveals Dennehy’s suspicions that Hargraves was involved in embezzling church funds. Twist: We see an unexpected side of someone (Both Dennehy and Teresa).

30. Looking out the window, Bloom sees Hargarves walking with Teresa. He calls the police and tells them he’ll bring them Dennehy’s diary. Then he follows Hargraves and Teresa into the church.

31. Bloom wanders again through the complex maze of hallways following the sound of their footsteps and voices. He follows them up the stairs into the church tower – above where Dennehy’s body was found. Twist: It just got more dangerous.

32. At the top of the tower, Bloom finds Hargarves and Teresa locked in a passionate embrace. Both recoil in shock when Bloom emerges from the shadows. Bloom confronts Hargraves that he found Denehhy’s diary and gave it to the police (not yet true). Hargarves becomes enraged and attacks Bloom. Teresa retreats in total confusion as the two men struggle, unsure where her allegiance lies. When Hargarves is on the verge of pushing Bloom from the tower, Teresa rushes in and pushes Hargraves out and down to his death. She embraces Bloom, who although totally confused, embraces her back. Twist: The worst thing possible happens. We see an unexpected side of someone.

33. The chief of police closes Dennehy’s diary after reading through it. He concludes Hargraves was guilty of embezzling church funds, and that Teresa had acted in Bloom’s defense. However, after a psychiatric interview, she is diagnosed as a multiple personality. She is waiting in an adjoining room.

34. Bloom enters Teresa’s room and sits with her. She speaks in her prostitute voice and says she always expected to wind up in jail. Bloom asks who he is talking to and she replies “Susie Q”. Bloom asks if he may talk to Teresa. She transforms from an abrasive hussy into the friendly, gentle nun Bloom first met. She wonders what she is doing in a police station. Bloom assures her that she won’t have to stay there long, and that he will be beside her, whatever the future holds. Twist: Secret Identity Uncovered.

[John Duvall]

John Duvall’s Thriller Plot with Twists

1. Father Bloom marries a young couple

2. Monsignor Dennehy has requested Bloom’s transfer to his church. His bishop notifies him of the transfer. Twist: New options emerge.

3. Bloom visits his former girlfriend’s grave to say goodbye.

4. Bloom arrives at his new church. He wanders through the complex, confusing maze of hallways and stairways, looking for Dennehy’s office.

5. Finally Bloom meets with Dennehy to learn new duties to look into questions about church funding. He meets a priest who shows Bloom the financial records. Dennehy keeps a diary in his desk drawer. Twist: A new problem emerges.

6. Dennehy requests Bloom to help Sister Teresa help open the new riverfront shelter. Dennehy urges Bloom to help Teresa out. There have been mysterious deaths and prostitution on the riverfront. Twist: It just got more dangerous.

7. Bloom watches a news report interviewing Sister Teresa about the new shelter

8. Bloom helps Sister Teresa prep for opening of the new shelter. He drives her home and they feel an attraction to each other. Twist: We see an unexpected side of someone.

9. Hargraves questions Bloom about his duties and encourages him to report to him on his investigation. Twist: A new problem occurs.

10. Bloom and Sister Teresa share their feelings of affection but affirm their vows to the church. Twist: We see an unexpected side of someone.

11. In the confessional, Bloom confesses his desire for Teresa. Twist: A trust is violated.

12. Bloom and Teresa give in to their desire and make love. Teresa is surprisingly erotic and vocal. Twist: We see an unexpected side of someone. It just got more dangerous.

13. Bloom prays for guidance in the church and Teresa appears.

14. On leaving the church, they stumble upon the body of Monsignor Dennehy below the church tower. He has apparently died from a fall. Twist: The worst possible thing happens.

15. Ambulances and police arrive to ask questions about Dennehy’s death.

16. A police search of Dennehy’s office reveals that his diary and other records are missing. Twist: New consequences emerge.

17. Bloom uncovers records left for him by Dennehy that reveal a discrepancy between money allocated to the shelter and money actually spent. Twist: A new problem occurs.

18. An anonymous tip informs the police that Bloom and Teresa are lovers. The police interrogate them and they deny their affair. Twist: A mistake returns to haunt them.

19. Bloom reports the discrepancy in the shelter funding to Hargraves. Hargraves casts suspicion on Teresa and announces he’ll take control of the investigation. Twist: We see an unexpected side of someone.

20. Bloom asks Teresa if she knows anything about the missing funds. She not only denies knowledge of them, but claims she and Bloom have not even been lovers. Twist: We see an unexpected side of someone. A lie is uncovered.

21. Bloom goes to the shelter to surveil Teresa. He is shocked to see her walk the beach in a sexy outfit, talk to men hanging out on the beach, and walk away with one of them. Twist: Secret identity uncovered.

22. Police finds a large sum of money hidden in Bloom’s apartment. Police now consider him a suspect. Twist: A new problem occurs; It just got more dangerous.

23. The next day, Bloom confronts Teresa with what he saw, but she adamantly denies she was the person he saw. He persists, asking her about the funds; she becomes angry and departs. Twist: A lie is uncovered.

24. Bloom learns there has been another mysterious death down near the shelter – identified as the priest who kept financial records for the church. The police suspect that these murdered men have been victims of a riverfront prostitute. Twist: It just got more dangerous.

25. Bloom tries again to speak with Teresa but she firmly refuses to talk to him. He begins to have all manner of suspicion towards her. Twist: Wee see an unexpected side of someone.

26. Bloom, in the confessional again, expresses his fear and guilt about his suspicion about Teresa. The confessor tells him to seek the truth, no matter how difficult it may be to accept. Bloom leaves the confessional suspicious of the advice he’s been given. Twist: A trust is violated.

27. Bloom, in street clothes, wanders the waterfront at night. He encounters a woman in sexy clothes who approaches him. When he recognizes her as Teresa, she runs away and disappears into a wood. Twist: Secret identity uncovered.

28. Bloom goes to the police and shares his suspicion about Teresa and makes the case that someone is trying to frame him. He defends himself against their suspicion of him. The police are skeptical but promise to investigate.

29. After Teresa (in normal daytime dress) leaves the shelter, Bloom goes in and searches around. In a hidden closet, he finds her sexy outfit and Dennehy’s diary. Twist: A lie is uncovered.

30. Teresa shows up and catches him in the act. But instead of being angry, she is very pleasant and shows no animosity towatds him. He asks her about what he’s found and she denies any knowledge of the clothes or the diary. She seems to have no curiosity about them at all. Bloom asks to keep the diary and she gives no objection. Twist: A trust is violated.

31. Alone in his apartment, Bloom reads Dennehy’s diary. It reveals Teresa’s troubled youth and how he helped her, acting as a surrogate father after her parents died. It also reveals Dennehy’s suspicions that Hargraves was involved in embezzaling church funds. Twist: We see an unexpected side of someone (Both Dennehy and Teresa).

32. Looking out the window, Bloom sees Hargarves walking with Teresa. He calls the police and tells them he’ll bring them Dennehy’s diary. Then he follows Hargraves and Teresa into the church.

33. Bloom wanders again through the complex maze of hallways following the sound of their footsteps and voices. He follows them up the stairs into the church tower – above where Dennehy’s body was found. Twist: It just got more dangerous.

34. At the top of the tower, Bloom finds Hargarves and Teresa locked in a passionate embrace. Both recoil in shock when Bloom emerges from the shadows. Bloom confronts Hargraves that he found Denehhy’s diary and gave it to the police (not yet true). Hargarves becomes enraged and attacks Bloom. Teresa retreats in total confusion as the two men struggle, unsure where her allegiance lies. When Hargarves is on the verge of pushing Bloom from the tower, Teresa rushes in and pushes Hargraves out and down to his death. She embraces Bloom, who although totally confused, embraces her back. Twist: The worst thing possible happens. We see an unexpected side of someone.

35. The chief of police closes Dennehy’s diary after reading through it. He concludes Hargraves was guilty of embezzaling church funds, and that Teresa had acted in Bloom’s defense. However, after a psychiatric interview, they question her mental stability. She is waiting in an adjoining room.

36. Bloom enters Teresa’s room and sits with her. She speaks in her prostitute voice and says she always expected to wind up in jail. Bloom asks who he is talking to and she replies “Susie Q”. Bloom asks if he may talk to Teresa. She transforms from a defensive hussy into the friendly, gentle nun Bloom first met. She wonders what she is doing in a police station. Bloom assures her that she won’t have to stay there long, and that he will be beside her, whatever the future holds. Twist: Secret Identity Uncovered.

[John Duvall]

John Duvall’s Thriller Plot

1. Father Bloom marries a young couple

2. Monsignor Dennehy has requested Bloom’s transfer to his church. His bishop notifies him of the transfer.

3. Bloom visits his former girlfriend’s grave to say goodbye

4. Bloom arrives at his new church. He wanders through the complex, confusing maze of hallways and stairways, looking for Dennehy’s office.

5. Finally, Bloom meets with Dennehy to learn new duties to investigate questions about church funding. He meets a priest who shows Bloom the financial records. Dennehy keeps a diary in his desk drawer.

6. Dennehy requests Bloom to help Sister Teresa help open the new riverfront shelter. There have been mysterious deaths and prostitution on the riverfront. Dennehy urges Bloom to watch out for Teresa.

7. Bloom watches a news report interviewing Sister Teresa about the new shelter.

8. Bloom helps Sister Teresa prep for opening of the new shelter. He drives her home and they feel an attraction to each other.

9. Hargraves questions Bloom about his duties and encourages him to report on his investigation.

10. Bloom and Sister Teresa share their feelings of affection but affirm their vows to the church.

11. In the confessional, Bloom confesses his desire for Teresa.

12. Bloom and Teresa give in to their desire and make love. Teresa is surprisingly erotic and vocal.

13. Bloom prays for guidance in the church and Teresa appears.

14. On leaving the church, they stumble upon the body of Monsignor Dennehy below the church tower. He has apparently died from a fall.

15. Ambulances and police arrive to ask questions about Dennehy’s death.

16. A police search of Dennehy’s office reveals that his diary and other records are missing.

17. Bloom uncovers records left for him by Dennehy that reveal a discrepancy between money allocated to the shelter and money actually spent.

18. An anonymous tip informs the police that Bloom and Teresa are lovers. The police interrogate them and they deny their affair.

19. Bloom reports the discrepancy in the shelter funding to Hargraves. Hargraves casts suspicion on Teresa and announces he’ll take control of the investigation.

20. Bloom asks Teresa if she knows anything about the missing funds. She not only denies knowledge of them, but claims she and Bloom have not even been lovers.

21. Bloom goes to the shelter to surveil Teresa. He is shocked to see her walk the beach in a sexy outfit, talk to men hanging out on the beach, and walk away with one of them.

22. Police finds a large sum of money hidden in Bloom’s apartment. Police now consider him a suspect.

23. The next day, Bloom confronts Teresa with what he saw, but she adamantly denies she was the person he saw. He persists, asking her about the funds; she becomes angry and departs.

24. Bloom learns there has been another mysterious death down near the shelter – identified as a priest who kept financial records for the church. The police suspect that these murdered men have been victims of a riverfront prostitute.

25. Bloom tries again to speak with Teresa but she firmly refuses to talk to him. He begins to have all manner of suspicion towards her.

26. Bloom, in the confessional again, expresses his fear and guilt about his suspicion about Teresa. The confessor tells him to seek the truth, no matter how difficult it may be to accept. Bloom leaves the confessional suspicious of the advice he’s been given.

27. Bloom, in street clothes, wanders the waterfront at night. He encounters a woman in sexy clothes who approaches him. When he recognizes her as Teresa, she runs away and disappears into a wood.

28. Bloom goes to the police and shares his suspicion about Teresa and makes the case that someone is trying to frame him. He defends himself against their suspicion of him. The police are skeptical but promise to investigate.

29. After Teresa (in normal daytime dress) leaves the shelter, Bloom goes in and searches around. In a hidden closet, he finds her sexy outfit and Dennehy’s diary

30. Teresa shows up and catches him in the act. But instead of being angry, she is very pleasant and shows no animosity towatds him. He asks her about what he’s found and she denies any knowledge of the clothes or the diary. She seems to have no curiosity about them at all. Bloom asks to keep the diary and she gives no objection.

31. Alone in his apartment, Bloom reads Dennehy’s diary. It reveals Teresa’s troubled youth and how he helped her, acting as a surrogate father after her parents died. It also reveals Dennehy’s suspicions that Hargraves was involved in embezzaling church funds.

32. Looking out the window, Bloom sees Hargarves walking with Teresa. He calls the police and tells them he’ll bring them Dennehy’s diary. Then he follows Hargraves and Teresa into the church.

33. Bloom wanders again through the complex maze of hallways following the sound of their footsteps and voices. He follows them up the stairs into the church tower – above where Dennehy’s body was found.

34. At the top of the tower, Bloom finds Hargarves and Teresa locked in a passionate embrace. Both recoil in shock when Bloom emerges from the shadows. Bloom confronts Hargraves that he found Denehhy’s diary and gave it to the police (not yet true). Hargarves becomes enraged and attacks Bloom. Teresa retreats in total confusion as the two men struggle, unsure where her allegiance lies. When Hargarves is on the verge of pushing Bloom from the tower, Teresa rushes in and pushes Hargraves out and down to his death. She embraces Bloom, who although totally confused, embraces her back.

35. The chief of police closes Dennehy’s diary after reading through it. He concludes Hargraves was guilty of embezzaling church funds, and that Teresa had acted in Bloom’s defense. However, after a psychiatric interview, they question her mental stability. She is waiting in an adjoining room.

36. Bloom enters Teresa’s room and sits with her. She speaks in her prostitute voice and says she always expected to wind up in jail. Bloom asks who he is talking to and she replies “Susie Q”. Bloom asks if he may talk to Teresa. She transforms from a defensive hussy into the friendly, gentle nun Bloom first met. She wonders what she is doing in a police station. Bloom assures her that she won’t have to stay there long, and that he will be beside her, whatever the future holds.

[John Duvall]

John Duvall’s Life-Threatening Sequence

“What I learned is that the hero’s safety or life must be under some sort of threat all the way through the script. But beyond threats to his life, they may also be against his reputation, job, or someone close to him.’

ASSIGNMENT

Looking at your Villain’s plan, brainstorm a list of potential dangers the Hero could face. Those could include:

Lured
into a dangerous situation

Father Bloom is attracted to Sister Teresa, is tempted to violate his chastity vows with her.

Talking
about the danger

Father Bloom confesses his temptation to Monsignor Dennehy.

Closeness
to the villain

Father Hargraves urges Father Bloom to report about his investigations into church corruption.

People
around them die or are injured.

Monsignor Dennehy dies in a mysterious fall from the church tower.

Lured
into a dangerous situation

Father Bloom falls into a sexual affair with Sister Teresa

Other
parties who need to solve the mystery first.

Father Hargraves takes control of the investigation into Monsignor Dennehy’s death.

The
threat that their own secret could be revealed.

Father Bloom confesses his affair in the confessional (to whom?)

Someone
operating covertly around them. Surveillance / watched

Someone is stalking Father Bloom and Sister Teresa

Danger
to someone they know

Father Bloom begins to fear that Sister Teresa may be involved in church corruption.

Something
that damages their reputation / Public humiliation.

Rumors emerge about Father Bloom’s and Sister Teresa’s affair.

Threat
of Loss of a job or career / A demand that Bloom stop pursuing the
mystery.

Father Hargraves removes Father Bloom from the investigation after he becomes the subject of rumors.

Betrayal
from someone close.

Sister Teresa denies she’s involved with Father Bloom, contradicts his testimony and cuts off the relationship.

The
chance that a relationship could end.

How does Father Bloom react to Sister Teresa’s disavowal of their love? Does he accept it?

Physical
danger

When he persists in his investigation and finds evidence against Father Hargraves, Father Bloom averts an attempt on his life, and one on Sister Teresa’ life as well.

[John Duvall]

John Duvall’s Mystery Sequence

What I learned from this assignment: The best strategy for structuring a suspense thriller is to start with the villain’s motive, and build a string of mysteries for the hero to work through.

What is the big secret that the Villain is covering up?

Father Hargraves (the villain) is blackmailing parishioners and murders Monsignor Dennehy to cover it up.

How many ways can they cover that secret? Those become
the mysteries.

Father Hargraves frames Sister Teresa to make her look guilty of the murder.

He frames Monsignor Dennehy to make it look like he was having an affair with Sister Teresa.

The first mystery must engage the Hero into solving it.

Monsignor engaged Father Bloom to investigate reductions in the church’s donations and irregularities in its finances.

Sequence the mysteries so that each one leads us to the
next one. Include ONE Red Herring mystery if you can.

Father Bloom engages Sister Teresa as an ally in his investigation, only to begin to believe she is a suspect in these crimes.

Create a Mystery Chain for each main mystery.

Monsignor Dennehy asks Father Bloom to participate in the new Shelter project, but he becomes infatuated with Sister Teresa and she returns his affection.

As he uncovers evidence of a closer relationship between Sister Teresa and Monsignor Dennehy, he begins to mistrust her honesty,

When Monsignor Dennehy is found dead, Sister Teresa is emotionally devastated. While there is a normal explanation for her reaction, Father Bloom begins to uncover evidence of a closer relationship between the two going back years.

Sister Teresa’s behavior becomes more and more erratic – and her honesty more questionable – the deeper Father Bloom’s investigation goes. He discovers that Sister Teresa has a secret, disreputable life.

Disillusioned, Father Bloom ends his affair with Sister Teresa, sending her into an emotional downward spiral, perhaps a suicide attempt.

As Father Hargraves encourages Father Bloom’s doubt about Teresa, he begins to question the intensity of Hargrave’s accusations.

Hargraves plans to kill Father Bloom and frame Sister Teresa for his murder.

But Sister Teresa reveals herself to be a dissociated multiple personality, by stepping forward to prevent Hargraves from killing Bloom. Hargraves then falls to his death from the same church tower from which Monsignor Dennehy fell.

[John Duvall]

John Duvall’s Mystery Sequence

What I learned from this assignment: The best strategy for structuring a suspense thriller is to start with the villain’s motive, and build a string of mysteries for the hero to work through.

What is the big secret that the Villain is covering up?

Father Hargraves (the villain) is blackmailing parishioners and murders Monsignor Dennehy to cover it up.

How many ways can they cover that secret? Those become
the mysteries.

Father Hargraves frames Sister Teresa to make her look guilty of the murder.

He frames Monsignor Dennehy to make it look like he was having an affair with Sister Teresa.

The first mystery must engage the Hero into solving it.

Monsignor engaged Father Bloom to investigate reductions in the church’s donations and irregularities in its finances.

Sequence the mysteries so that each one leads us to the
next one. Include ONE Red Herring mystery if you can.

Father Bloom engages Sister Teresa as an ally in his investigation, only to begin to believe she is a suspect in these crimes.

Create a Mystery Chain for each main mystery.

Monsignor Dennehy asks Father Bloom to participate in the new Shelter project, but he becomes infatuated with Sister Teresa and she returns his affection.

As he uncovers evidence of a closer relationship between Sister Teresa and Monsignor Dennehy, he begins to mistrust her honesty,

When Monsignor Dennehy is found dead, Sister Teresa is emotionally devastated. While there is a normal explanation for her reaction, Father Bloom begins to uncover evidence of a closer relationship between the two going back years.

Sister Teresa’s behavior becomes more and more erratic – and her honesty more questionable – the deeper Father Bloom’s investigation goes. He discovers that Sister Teresa has a secret, disreputable life.

Disillusioned, Father Bloom ends his affair with Sister Teresa, sending her into an emotional downward spiral, perhaps a suicide attempt.

As Father Hargraves encourages Father Bloom’s doubt about Teresa, he begins to question the intensity of Hargrave’s accusations.

Hargraves plans to kill Father Bloom and frame Sister Teresa for his murder.

But Sister Teresa reveals herself to be a dissociated multiple personality, by stepping forward to prevent Hargraves from killing Bloom. Hargraves then falls to his death from the same church tower from which Monsignor Dennehy fell.

[John Duvall]

John Duvall’s Villain Has a Great Plan!

What I learned is:

The villain’s motive must be original and become clear very gradually, obscured by various “red herring” suspects and their motives.

The villain must have a strong motive for their evildoing. It must satisfy a deeply rooted personal goal.

The villain’s plan may be peripheral to the opening of the plot, and only become central as the mysteries and intrigues unfold.

1. What is the end goal?

My villain is a prominent priest who is blackmailing wealthy parishioners based on what he’s learned from them in the confessional.

2. How can the villain accomplish this in a devious way?

He can use the sanctity of the confessional to prevent any questioning of his communications, and his stature to deflect any accusations.

3. How can they cover it up?

He can threaten or kill anyone who would consider investigating or revealing his activities.

4. When another priest is found dead (a suicide? a murder?), an investigation begins that implicates other possible suspects, including another central character.

• This reply was modified 2 years, 2 months ago by  John Duvall.

[John Duvall]

John Duvall – Stacking Suspense – Silence of the Lambs

What I learned from this assignment:

1. The main protagonist (Lecter) is not the main villain or target (Gumb), so I had a hard time analyzing the intrigue aspect of the plot. The intrigue around Lecter is how Clarice will get information from him; the intrigue around Gumb is how to prevent him from killing Catherine. There is also a secondary intrigue involving Chilton’s attempt to interfere with Clarice’s investigation. So it’s all very complicated.

2. However, for Clarice the mystery of finding Buffalo Bill to save Catherine runs directly throughout.

3. There are fewer scenes with life-or-death stakes in Silence that in Basic Instinct. The mystery, and the complex relationship between Clarice and Lecter, are what drive the story.

4. Most scenes with suspense involve Clarice moving through threatening environments – the asylum, the storage unit, and ultimately Gumb’s cavern (one of the all-time great suspense scenes).

5. The theme of sexism emerges in several scenes involving cops and even a scientist. While not directly threatening, these scenes put Clarice on the defensive and allows her to demonstrate her resilience.

6. While Lecter’s escape is dramatically effective, I found it less than credible that he could physically move two men’s bodies around in the brief time he had.

7. I read the original script in conjunction with watching the film, and was surprised how many scenes had been omitted (and sometimes re-ordered). The lesson here is that a story may need much less backstory and exposition than originally conceived. The audience can often fill in the blanks.

8. Crawford fills the role well of mentor/ally, which is often crucial when the main character is something of a novice.

9. Finally, the cross-editing between Crawford’s entry into the Chicago house and Clarice’s entry into Gumb’s home works brilliantly.

Okay, I think that’s enough for now. I really got a lot out of both of the films for this assignment.

• This reply was modified 2 years, 2 months ago by  John Duvall.

[John Duvall]

John Duvall: What I learned from watching Basic Instinct

1. Having several suspects helps build mystery, intrigue and suspense.

2. All major characters display a complex mix of positive and negative character traits, and all of them are in some way not honest with themselves

3. Each set-up is followed by a reversal

4. Each character has a line of dialogue (or several) that define their inner conflict

5. Characters’ backstories are revealed through action

6. “Who can you trust?” is a theme that runs throughout the story

7. It’s okay to end on an ambiguous note

8. It’s always about sex and death

9. Almost every scene contains elements of intrigue and character MIS,, but not every scene contains elements of mystery or suspense, and only about half the scenes address major stakes.

[John Duvall]

ASSIGNMENT: John Duvall – World and Characters

“What I learned doing this assignment is…?”

Answer: I learned how to root the development of my characters in the mysteries surrounding them.

1. Remind us of your CONCEPT and the Big M.I.S. of your story.

<div>Big Mystery: What is
the main mystery of your story that will keep us wondering throughout the
story? Answer: Who killed Monsignor Dennehy and why?

</div><div>

Big Intrigue: What is
the covert, clandestine, underhanded part that will live under the surface
for most of the movie? Answer: Sister Teresa’s relationship to Monsignor
Dennehy.

</div><div>

Big Suspense: What is the main danger
to your Hero that will continue to escalate throughout the script? Answer:
The threat of physical violence, and the threat that his investigation may reveal Teresa’ guilt.

</div>

2. Tell us the Intriguing World you have selected for this story. Answer: A Catholic church in a conservative Midwestern American town.

3. With your top 2 or 3 characters, tell us the role they play and then answer these three questions:

<div>
A. What is the mystery of this character? Answer:
Father Martin Bloom, who has secretly been assigned to investigate
corruption within the diocese.
</div><div>

B. What is the suspense of this character? Sister
Teresa becomes Bloom’s lover but increasingly appears to harbor secrets.

C. What is the intrigue of this character? Father Dennehy,
who is admired by everyone but is mysteriously killed. Who had something
against him and why?

</div>

• This reply was modified 2 years, 2 months ago by  John Duvall.

[John Duvall]

John Duvall

What I learned: The “dangerous villain” may remain hidden until the climax.

Film: Primal Fear (Legal Thriller)

Unwitting and Resourceful Hero: Cynical lawyer takes pro bono murder case because it seems like a lost cause

Dangerous Villain: This film doesn’t fit the model of having a clear villain.

High Stakes: A death penalty for the accused, a reputational risk for the lawyer.

Life and Death situations: The lawyer faces physical danger on a couple of occasions.

Movie is thrilling because: Lots of twists and turns in the search for the underlying motive for the murder.

BIG M.I.S.:

Big Mystery: Who killed the Archbishop and why?

Big Intrigue: Multiple potential suspects, from the lower class to the upper political echelons

Big Suspense: Major story twists requires constant shifts in the lawyer’s trial strategy

Anything else: Most of the suspects turn out to be red herrings. The mental state of the original suspect dominates the second half of the story.

[John Duvall]

John Duvall’s Big M.I.S.

What I learned: How to frame my story within the structure of this class.

Pitch (Feature Screenplay): Sanctuary (Genre: Romantic/Sexual Thriller)

Martin Bloom, Catholic priest in a Midwestern town, is in the midst of a vocational crisis when he falls in love with Sister Teresa, a young nun, who returns his affection. Their clandestine affair is threatened when Bloom’s mentor, Monsignor Geoffrey Dennehy, dies violently and mysteriously. Bloom sets out to discover the truth behind the Monsignor’s death, only to discover that Sister Teresa herself may be a suspect.

Unwitting but Resourceful Hero: Father Bloom pursues the truth, even in the midst of personal vocational and romantic crises.

Dangerous Villain: Emerges during Bloom’s investigation, attempts to implicate him in the murder.

High Stakes: Bloom puts both his vocation and his love on the line for the pursuit of the truth.

Life and Death Situations: Bloom’s investigation threatens his own safety and potentially Sister Teresa’s as well.

Story is Thrilling Because: The struggle between love and trust in the face of doubt and self-doubt
is a core theme of this story. Who is the killer? Could it be his lover? Could he himself become a suspect? This screenplay resonates with several of
Hitchcock’s films, such as Vertigo, Rebecca, Notorious and I Confess.

Big M.I.S.

Big Mystery: Who killed the Monsignor and why?

Big Intrigue: What clandestine secrets lie behind the murder?

Big Suspense: Can Bloom trust his lover? What danger may befall him as he closes in on a suspect?

[John Duvall]

Deleted – problem with posting

• This reply was modified 2 years, 2 months ago by  John Duvall.
• This reply was modified 2 years, 2 months ago by  John Duvall.

[John Duvall]

John Allen Duvall. 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 reply was modified 2 years, 3 months ago by  John Duvall.

[John Duvall]

John Allen Duvall here. I’ve written five feature screenplays, one miniseries pilot, and one continuing series pilot, with a few feature ideas still in the development stage. Three of my features have thriller aspects – one is political, one psychological, and one comic – so I hope to get some good ideas in this class for all of them. I’m a USC Cinema grad, but I taught film production and writing for 23 years in universities until I retired to write full-time in 2020.

• This reply was modified 2 years, 3 months ago by  John Duvall.