Jean-Claude Lauzon
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jC. Lauzon assignment#2 The Big M.I.S. of the story…
“What I learned doing this assignment is…”
It has helped me distribute the roles needed for the story to take form and direction.
The Big M.I.S. of the story…
• Big Mystery: What is the main mystery of your story that will keep us wondering throughout the story?
What will happen to Marcel -a man in his 40s- if he gets caught cheating on his wife? The temptation having become so intense, he wonders if it is so bad to pay for sex? Why is he so obsessed with the idea of cheating, anyway? Is it what they call the mid-life crisis?
He has agreed now anyway to buying that “weekend of joy” from the Booker, a co-worker.
He and another guy who’s getting married in a couple of weeks are going with the Booker. The nearly wed wants to taste a bit of freedom before the wedding day. The three promise themselves the fun of a lifetime.
What’s wrong with that?
Everything.
• Big Intrigue: What is the covert, clandestine, underhanded plot that will live under the surface for most of the movie?
Will the Booker cash in on that special adventure he has sold to his co-workers? Or will he go to jail? And the other freak pimp who’s after the girls, will he kill him to get his girls back? Will the police catch him before the weekend? The police is after the armed villain, who’s after the girls, who are after money…
• Big Suspense: What is the major danger to your Hero that will continue to escalate throughout the script?
My hero is always getting closer to what he has paid for, but there’s always a new obstacle on the way.
Does he risk, like the two others, being sentenced for procuring?
Will the police catch the panderer?
Will the pimp catch the girls? Wil he kill the Booker?
What if Marcel’s wife finds out?
What are the conventions of your story?
I would like it to be a fun thriller and suspense novel-movie.
My hero would be Marcel, who naively accepted this kind of dangerous deal proposed by a co-worker.
A deal involving young sex-workers.
The two girls that are under contract with a dangerous and violent pimp. A Villain who’s under police surveillance.
At High stakes are:
Safety of the two girls.
The survival of Marcel and Lise as a couple. 25 years of a mostly happy marriage is at stake.
The money involved for Marcel is also a big thing in his decision to embark on this deal.
From the pimp POV, it’s a matter of losing control over his sexworkers. Losing pride and big bucks.
From the Booker POV it’s a test to see if it would be possible to get rich selling this kind of sexy escapades in nature.
From the girls POV, it’s a matter of let’s get rich quick!
Life and death situations:
The pimp vision of the world keeps him wanting revenge and makes him want to teach a lesson to the Booker. Maybe kill him if he doesn’t understand what the two girls mean to him.
Two police officers joining the pursuit will help. Or will it not?
This story is thrilling because?
Everyone is after everyone. Everyone is lying to everyone. In the end, everyone gets what he wanted from the other, but not in the way they had imagined.
For some, it was a weekend getaway, a chance to escape the routine of the city.
For others, it was just another money making idea.
jC. Lauzon 02-23-2023
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What I learned while doing this assignment:
Old jokes and overused clichés can still make me laugh! I guess I like old recipes. Appreciation depends on the presentation.
I chose the movie Stakeout (1987) starring Richard Dreyfuss, a Mystery & Thriller Comedy, or a Romance & Thriller movie… I had excellent memories of that film I saw in the 90s. The basic premise, formulated by Roger Ebert (August 05, 1987) who gave only three stars to the film was: “Two cops stake out a good-looking woman whose ex-boyfriend is a dangerous escaped convict. During the long, weary hours while they’re watching her, one of the cops falls in love. He finds a way to move into her life, leaving his partner stuck across the street with the binoculars.”
I’ve chosen that movie because I like the mix of suspense and comedy. Dreyfuss is the unwitting but resourceful hero and the funny man -true star- of the movie. His performance is top playing Chris, the experienced, wise-cracking detective who’s seen it all. Emilio Estevez plays Bill, the more naïve detective who is eager to prove himself.
As a true professional, Dreyfus will use all his skills and knowledge -and all his charms- to help protect Maria, the witness played by the beautiful Madeleine Stowe, and prevent her from being harmed -maybe kidnapped? killed? – by this Montgomery, the fugitive and dangerous criminal played by Aidan Quinn.
This dangerous villain is a ruthless criminal we meet in the first scenes while he’s escaping from prison. We learn he wants to find the girl who has visited him in jail more than once. He will do whatever it takes to find Maria. She has cash hidden somewhere in her apartment… and she doesn’t know!
The high stakes in the movie involve a witness protection program of the FBI and a hunt for that dangerous criminal.
His presence in the story causes many life and death situations throughout the movie. He is armed; the detectives are armed, there are car chases ending in multiple police cars accidents, one chase causing the death of the villain’s only companion, gunfights in the open air…
The rhythm of the movie only slows down to permit some rare but very romantic moments between the detective and the witness.
Boring moments in the life of cops are occasions to inflict some practical jokes on the two other cops working day shifts.
During break-ins in the witness’s apartment, be it for installing microphones or just searching for clues, all are sources of suspense. What if she comes back while he’s inside? What if the villain breaks in while they are in bed? Or while I’m under the bed?
Big Mystery: The secret, question, or puzzle that the hero must solve.
Will the FBI catch this dangerous man?
How will this funny man of detective be able to fight the escaped killer and protect the lady?
Is he falling in love with her?
Big Intrigue: The covert, underhanded, or clandestine force or plan of the Villain.
The villain wants the money that’s hidden in his ex-girlfriend apartment and might want to take her with him. He could show up any moment. What will the stakeout reveal?
Big Suspense: The main danger that the hero experiences.
Isn’t he strong enough -or serious- to fight a violent killer like the villain? Is he not falling in love with the “protected one”? That doesn’t help.
What is the most dangerous situation in the movie for the hero?
The most dangerous situation in the movie -a life and death scene- occurs when the villain attempts to kidnap the girl-witness. Detective Chris Lecce must use all his communication skills and capacities to protect her and prevent her from being taken away. In the end, he can successfully save her and killing the villain.
What makes this movie a great thriller?
The movie features an exciting and suspenseful storyline with plenty of twists and turns. Plus, the actors are all very talented. Watching it again after all those years, I had a good time and I’ll watch it with my kids in the weeks to come. They’re going to like it, I’m sure!
JC. Lauzon feb16 2023
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Jean-Claude Lauzon, I agree to the terms of this release form:
GROUP RELEASE FORM
As a member of this group, I agree to the following:
1. That I will keep the processes, strategies, teleconferences, communications, lessons, and models of the class confidential, and that I will NOT share any of this program either privately, with a group, posting online, writing articles, through video or computer programming, or in any other way that would make those processes, teleconferences, communications, lessons, and models of the class available to anyone who is not a member of this class.
2. That each writer’s work here is copyrighted and that writer is the sole owner of that work. That includes this program which is copyrighted by Hal Croasmun. I acknowledge that submission of an idea to this group constitutes a claim of and the recognition of ownership of that idea.
I will keep the other writer’s ideas and writing confidential and will not share this information with anyone without the express written permission of the writer/owner. I will not market or even discuss this information with anyone outside this group.
3. I also understand that many stories and ideas are similar and/or have common themes and from time to time, two or more people can independently and simultaneously generate the same concept or movie idea.
4. If I have an idea that is the same as or very similar to another group member’s idea, I’ll immediately contact Hal and present proof that I had this idea prior to the beginning of the class. If Hal deems them to be the same idea or close enough to cause harm to either party, he’ll request both parties to present another concept for the class.
5. If you don’t present proof to Hal that you have the same idea as another person, you agree that all ideas presented to this group are the sole ownership of the person who presented them and you will not write or market another group member’s ideas.
6. Finally, I agree not to bring suit against anyone in this group for any reason, unless they use a substantial portion of my copyrighted work in a manner that is public and/or that prevents me from marketing my script by shopping it to production companies, agents, managers, actors, networks, studios or any other entertainment industry organizations or people.
This completes the Group Release Form for the class.
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Hello everyone, my name is Jean-Claude Lauzon, I’m french-canadian and I live near Montreal. I’ve been 25 years on television, as a humorist, a comedian and a tv-host. I now teach English and French to immigrants. I’m 68, have more free time than when in the medias and I’ve been wanting to do this for years. I have this script in my drawer -based on a true story- that I intend to finish with the help of this training. My objective with this new adventure is to learn a new craft and tell my story with style!