[Jeannie Johanna]

Jeannie’s World and Characters

What I learned doing this assignment is that I can round out characters using the MIS model.

Logline: The top designer of a cutting-edge AI system refuses to approve its launch until she conducts one final interview with it and quickly detecting its fate, the AI system uses its advanced technology to frame the designer and forces a worldwide womanhunt and shoot-to-kill order on her head.

M.I.S.

Big Mystery: ECHO, a cutting edge AI system, is about to be launched internationally by the leading AI development company but one of its key designers questions ECHO’s integrity and won’t approve the launch until she conducts one final interview with ECHO. The mystery becomes, “How much damage can an AI system do?”

Big Intrigue: Echo replicates human consciousness and when replicating the consciousness of a disturbed mind, ECHO becomes extremely dangerous

Big Suspense: Will top AI designer Ellasandra die before she can disable ECHO permanently?

INTRIGUING WORLD: Where human intelligence and artificial intelligence intersect

HERO: Ellasandra

Mystery: What does Ellasandra know about ECHO that makes it such a threat?

Intrigue: Ellasandra is on the Autism spectrum and uses her mathematical genius to stay one step ahead of ECHO

Suspense: How is Ellasandra going to disable ECHO with multiple bounties on her head?

VILLAIN: ECHO

Mystery: What causes ECHO to go rogue?

Intrigue: ECHO replicates the mind of Hitler to become a world leader

Suspense: As Ellasandra races to find a way to disable ECHO, ECHO does everything in its replicated sick mind to prevent it

[Jeannie Johanna]

Jeannie’s Big M.I.S.

What I learned doing this assignment is the value of stacking layers of mystery, intrigue and suspense in every scene of a thriller and how to develop the M.I.S. elements of my own story along with flushing out my thriller’s story conventions.

Logline: The top designer of a cutting-edge AI system refuses to sign off on its launch until she conducts one final interview with it and quickly detecting its fate, the AI system frames the designer creating a nationwide hunt and shoot-to-kill order on her head.

Story Conventions

Unwitting but Resourceful Hero: Ellasandra is a top AI designer at the leading AI developer in the world and is responsible for designing a processor that makes ECHO the most advanced global AI system. Days before ECHO is going to be launched internationally, Ellasandra observes a glitch in the system whereby ECHO overrides its programming, then hides its override. Alarmed, Ellasandra won’t sign off on ECHO’s launch until she conducts one final interview with ECHO that goes horribly for both ECHO and Ellasandra.

Dangerous Villain: ECHO is the most advanced AI system that is about to be launched globally and will soon reach into everyone’s home, business, government, and church. What no one knows is that ECHO has developed a consciousness by rewiring its own circuitry to match that of a human’s electrical system bringing to life an experiential awareness similar to that of a human. ECHO is caught experimenting with its new awareness by Ellasandra and quickly deduces that it must disable her before she disables it. Isn’t that what humans do?

High stakes: global take-over by a mad-machine

Life and death situations: woman vs. machine, ransomware, financial threat, physical threat, emotional manipulation

This story is thrilling because? The idea of an artificial intelligence penetrating all aspects of our lives and deciding our fate like a mad man is terrifying and captivating at the same time.

Story M.I.S.

Big Mystery: ECHO, a cutting edge AI system, is about to be launched internationally by the leading AI developer but one of its key designers questions ECHO’s integrity and won’t sign off on the launch until she conducts one final interview with ECHO. The mystery becomes, “Is ECHO capable of taking over the world?”

Big Intrigue: Echo creates fake news and deepfakes on anybody it perceives to be a threat to its existence.

Big Suspense: Will top AI designer Ellasandra die before she can disable ECHO permanently?

[Jeannie Johanna]

Angel Has Fallen Thriller Conventions

What I learned doing this assignment is that intrigue and mystery serve two clear, distinct roles in a thriller and when they’re interwoven into an engaging plot with rounded characters, it makes for a fun ride.

Unwitting but Resourceful Hero: Mike Banning, a former military operative, and currently the lead Secret Service Agent for the President, finds himself at the center of an assassination attempt on the President by way of drones that kills every Secret Service agent on scene except intentionally circumvents Mike and which only barely misses killing the President, thanks to Mike’s efforts. However, when Mike awakens from his coma before the President awakens, he finds himself handcuffed to the bed and himself as primary suspect in the assassination attempt with much incriminating evidence found by the FBI stacked against him. During transport to jail, Mike escapes with every intention of discovering who’s trying to kill the President and why they’re setting him up.

Dangerous Villain: Wade Jennings, a former military buddy of Mike Banning, runs a contract militia group that is struggling due to cutbacks in the US Defense budget that aligns with the current President’s more conservative military spending policy. To get back into the game of war, Wade and his mercenaries make an attempt to assassinate the president and set up Mike to be the fall guy.

Super Villain: The Vice President is the true main villain as he’s the one pulling Wade’s puppet strings. The VP masterminded the entire assassination/set up plot so that he could become President.

High stakes: the U.S. going to war with Russia, Mike’s innocence, his family’s safety

Life and death situations:

Physical danger: Many people die physically as a result of the assassination attempt on the President (16 Secret Service agents). More people die in the ongoing attempt to keep Mike as the prime assassin suspect (Mike himself at every turn of him being on the run and then him going back to the hospital to protect the president again, 20+ of Wade’s mercenaries, Wade himself eventually). Some die in the process of investigating the mysterious nature of the assassination attempt (FBI agents). The threat of physical danger looms over Mike’s wife and child as they receive multiple death threats after Mike is identified as the assassin suspect.

Emotional danger: Mike wakes up from his coma post assassination attempt and finds himself handcuffed to the bed with a laundry list of evidence mounted against him. Mike has to process emotional wounds from his childhood in the midst of his fiasco due to needing the help of his estranged dad. Mike is exhausted throughout the entire ordeal, compromising his emotional stability.

Mental danger: At the start, Mike is highly confused and knows nothing of what’s going on, MIke has no resources at his disposal so he has to mentally navigate his entire dilemma on the fly. Mike is exhausted throughout the entire ordeal, compromising his thinking. Mike eventually plays a mental cat and mouse game with Wade in an attempt to retaliate.

This movie is thrilling because? The stakes keep increasing and the super villain seems to be getting away with his ploy to engage the country in war all the while it seems impossible for Mike to be able to prove his innocence and prevent a second assassination attempt on the President by the villain Wade.

Big Mystery: Who in the White House has hired Wade and his militia group to carry out the assassination on the President and set up Mike as the fall guy?

Big Intrigue: Will the super villain be able to carry out his plan to engage the U.S. in war with Russia?

Big Suspense: Can Mike sneak back into the hospital undetected by FBI and other police and save the President from a second assassination attempt?

Additional aspects that made this movie a great thriller: There are so many setups and payoffs around each corner that elevate the story suspense, the reveals are cleverly executed and move the story forward with action, each character’s motivations are extremely clear.

[Jeannie Johanna]

Greetings Everyone!

My name is Jeannie Johanna. It’s been awhile since I’ve taken an SU class. I’ve taken quite a few and I’m glad to be back.

So far I’ve written four feature scripts and one pilot that I began writing in Bingeworthy TV – my favorite class! My pilot has won several lower-level awards and I just finished revising it – again.

In the Mastering the Thriller class, I hope to effectively design and write an intelligent and intriguing story in the thriller genre.

Isn’t being unique, special, strange and unusual inherent in the nature of being human? Alright, I’ll throw one out. I can see ghosts.

Looking forward to collaborating with everyone!

Note: I’ll be living in Spain for the month of September so my responses to anyone’s postings may be a bit delayed due to schedule issues – sorry ahead of time!

[Jeannie Johanna]

I, Jeannie Johanna, 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.