[Jeff Bassetti]

Jeffrey Bassetti
“I agree to the terms of this release form.”

[Jeff Bassetti]

Hi!

My name is Jeff Bassetti. I’ve written about 12 screenplays, some in the well-trodden territory of vampires, PHIEND, and zombies, CHILDREN OF THE DEAD, both of which I tried to go beyond what has been written. I interned at Lucasfilm’s ILM back in 1989 and 90 in the analog days when CGI was just starting up. I wrote, produced, and directed the indie feature film called F-STOPS. I am working on a true crime documentary on the 1920 suicide of Elsa Lemp and will be shooting my short screenplay, Murphy’s Gulch next year. I have two new screenplays, THE WAR ON and GETTING EVEN STEVEN, and I want to see what I can make happen with these two projects.

[Jeff Bassetti]

THE FOUNDLINGS

· THREAT – Elzee is attacked by Asa and his Bounty Hunters-

·

· UNEXPECTED REVERSAL – Elzee successfully defends and injures Asa by cutting off his arm – forcing he and his Bounty Hunters to retreat –

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· UNEXPECTED SUPPORT – Jessup finds and brings Elzee home to help patch her up –

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· PROTECTED – Jessup brings Elzee home and Camille brings the Foundlings home –

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· DANGER – Asa tracks Elzee to Jessup’s ranch and attacks –

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· REVERSAL – Jessup and Camille are retired smugglers who have not lost their skills to defend themselves and escape – They are not trapped inside the house – they

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· IT JUST GOT WORSE – Camille and 3 of the Foundlings help Elzee and her Basinets down into the tunnel to get to their ship- as-

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· IT JUST GOT WORSE – HK-51 blasts the front door in on Jessup and Din – Did they make it?

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· UNEXPECTED SUPPORT – Jessup pulls a Sentry Droid out and

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· DANGER The Smuggler Ship, the Bright Lighter’s hatch won’t close and seal-

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· IT JUST GOT WORSE – they can’t go into space and hyperspace until the HATCH is fixed as they are being pursued by Asa and the Bounty Hunters in the airspace –

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· IT JUST GOT WORSE – Asa plants a tracking tag on the Bright Lighter –

[Jeff Bassetti]

THE FOUNDLINGS

What I learned- I need to still learn to distill this down into a more concise bullet point.

LIKABILITY/LOVABILITY

A. Other people like or respect the character.The pain they have in losing their children, but also their love for each other as they have stayed together-

JW questions if Olivia ever wonders what her life would be like if they never met- Olivia replies with absolute confidence that she would never consider never meeting JW- She has sorrow for the loss of their children, but doesn’t blame JW. The Bystander greets Olivia in a friendly manner

Dr. Yelli is worried about Olivia’s sickness- saying that she is reaching out to a colleague on Coruscant – Magistrate knows and

B. The character shows love for something.JW and Olivia love each other deeply and managed to survive the loss of their children – They show and give kindness to those in need – The Foundlings and Elzee, the wounded Jedi –

C. They’re trying to do something good.Live a quiet life now that their adventurous smuggler days are behind them –

D. Save the cat — rescue or do something good for someone else.Olivia brings home the Foundlings and feeds them JW brings home the wounded Elzee Together, they render care and aid to Elzee and the Foundlings.

E. Funny, humorous, witty.Olivia and JW married banter in the morningThe Foundlings are Oliver Twist scamps- They bust up a drug deal to steal Beskar, the highly coveted Mandalorian metal which is more valuable than (Gold).

F. Kindness and Good moral decisions and actions. Being on the right side.Same as Save the Cat moment – JW brings the wounded Jedi, Elzee, home to render aid the same day Olivia In the climax, JW stands up against Asa, unarmed, to stop him from belittling the Foundlings-

EMPATHY / DISTRESS

A. Undeserved misfortune.JW and Olivia lost their children when someone from their smuggler past came- killing their daughter and son in the altercation – Olivia also has a terminal illness which she has yet to tell JW about.

B. External Character conflicts.The newly formed Empire wants the Jedi Younglings for an undisclosed reason- thus they engage

C. Plot intruding on life.The Bounty hunters force JW and Olivia to spring into action and escape their home without any preparation- Their ship is in disrepair. -the main hatch won’t seal- which prevents them from leaving atmosphere until they fix it while they are being pursued by Asa in his Bounty Hunter ship-

D. Moral dilemmas.-the E. Forced decisions they’d never make.(uncertain-) F. Wound attacked.

JUSTIFICATION

A. The character or their family abused.The Foundlings are picked on by Asa Dern who is enjoying tormenting these kids who have lost their families in various attacks- which is the reason they become Mandalorian Foundlings- adopted kids-

B. Threatened by others.Asa Dern and the Bounty Hunters attack their home in the early morning hours to get the Jedi Basinets –

C. The Hero is the victim of attacks.After they retired from their life of Smuggling (back story), they become a family- have kids and one day a stranger from their past comes seeking revenge- JW and Olivia survive failing to save their kids- Today- JW and Olivia are trying to do the right thing by rendering aid to the Foundlings and the wounded Jedi- are forced out of their home-

D. They’ve suffered major losses.Same as above- JW and Olivia must flee their home and all their memories to keep the Jedi and the Foundlings safe and alive –

E. The Villain or their representatives have trespassed.Bounty Hunters attack JW and Olivia’s home- Bounty Hunters kill the local Doctor to cover up their presence-

[Jeff Bassetti]

FOUNDLING story map REV 1.0

OPENING: …

…A 1: The night of Order 66- the Jedi Temple on Coruscant is under siege by the

V1: Emperor’s Clone Troopers

A1: The Jedi Caretakers defend the Nursery of Force Sensitive infants- The Jedi elevate the Basinets up out of view near the ceiling, out of eyesight –

V1: the Clone Troopers take losses, but overwhelm the small number of Jedi Caretakers-

A1: Elzee is last alive, a Padawan who is able to escape with only 3 sealed Basinets –

INCITING INCIDENT: …

M 1: …JW and Olivia go out on their day, their separate ways after paying respects to the grave of their children a dozen feet away from their house…

M 2: …JW tracks an animal he shot which leads him to the young Padawan, Elzee- he tends to her wounds.

A2:…The four Mandalorian Foundlings skulk along the rooftops, keeping out of sight as they look down on a drug deal going down between two gangs- The Pykes and the Black Sun- they are trading 30 pieces of Beskar for a blue drug.

A3: …the Foundlings run out across metal braces between the buildings, pull their side arms and make their drop- Shooting GREEN INK (paint ball) in the face masks of each criminal gang- The Foundlings steal the Beskar, and Din smashes the drugs, and they all make their escape into the rear door of the market…Din is grabbed by Olivia, the way a mother grabs her kid and yanks him back from getting hurt-

V 1: …Asa and his Bounty hunters arrive in town seeking a doctor for Asa’s dismembered arm.

V2: …at the Medical Center, the doctor asks about the clean cauterized cut- “This was done by a Lightsaber, yes?“

V3:…we CUT TO a FLASHBACK to Asa and the Bounty Hunters entering Elzee’s camp to try to take the Basinets- She defends skillfully, but gets shot- but not before she cuts Asa’s gun arm off-

V4: …Asa’s Assassination Droid, HK-51 shoots each basinet with tracker tags…

M2: …JW returns with Elzee in the bed of his Hauler (pick-up truck) to find four Foundlings sitting around his dinner table –

A 3: …Olivia tends to Elzee’s wounds- she’s done this before in her younger days.

A4:…JW enlists the pint sized, Din Djarin to come with him to his ship- they go down a long underground tunnel to the hangar underneath their barn… JW and Olivia’s ship is in disrepair. JW makes note that he has to add to his to do list- fix the ramp. They grab the medical supplies and head back…

V5:…at the Medical Center, Asa and HK-51 receive a hologram call from the Broker who engaged them on this bounty- He says that if they cannot deliver the Bounty in 2 days, he’ll give the bounty to Cad Bane and they will not get costs or time spent covered and won’t get another job. The Broker reminds them that this is supposed to be Top Secret- The doctor is pretending to be asleep as she listens in- Asa sends HK to collect Hall and Kerry as he rises and approaches the doctor- cut away before the murder…

M 3:…Olivia and JW talk in bed, they have to help both the Jedi and the Foundlings.

M4:…the next morning, JW wakes the four Foundlings and enlists them to help him get the ship ready- They need to clear stored junk over the hangar entrance…

M5:…A local Magistrate arrives fishing for information- having heard that JW was up at the Caldera the day before hunting- he drops that strangers, outworlders are skulking about- He lets JW know that the doctor was found dead in her office-

END OF FIRST ACT — TURNING POINT

M6:…as their conversation continues- He conveys that there are strangers, outworlders, lurking about and that the local Doctor was found dead this morning-

V4:…the Magistrate is shot by someone hidden in the morning fog- Asa and his Bounty Hunters used the Tracking Tags…

A6: …JW’s goes to grab his sidearm, but he doesn’t have it. In his younger days, he be strapped.

V5:…Asa and his Bounty Hunters keep obscured in the morning fog- shooting from undercover- The Foundlings pull their sidearms and shoot -GREEN INK- hitting one of the Bounty Hunters in the face, blinding her- She screams out in stinging pain from the INK.

A7:…JW scolds the Foundlings to get back into the house- The Foundlings change out their INK CLIPS for ENERGY CLIPS in their guns -JW calls out to Olivia who is already on the move helping Elzee towards the tunnel entrance in the house…

A8:…inside the house- JW sends the Foundlings to help Olivia get Elzee and her Basinets to their ship- Din remains with JW at the front door…

V8:…HK-51 aims and SHOOT the front door…

A9:…the entryway door explodes in on JW and Din- M7:…in the tunnel between the ranch house and their hidden hangar- Olivia, Elzee and the Foundlings (Fedus, Jixie and Calleen) pushing the Basinets are rocked by the explosion above-

A10:…JW rises and searches the rubble for Din- worried- REVEAL, Din is at the door unhurt except for a stubbed toe- He shoots… JW: “Get your ass away from that door!”

M8:…Olivia, Elzee and the Foundlings arrive with the Basinets- The SHIP is not ready to fly-

A11:…above, inside the house- JW and Din discover the tunnel entrance is caved in- they have to sneak out another way- and get past their unknown adversaries (Asa and the Bounty Hunters)-

MID-POINT

A2:…JW & Olivia get their ship off the ground -and into space- Olivia sets course for BALFOUR- the planet Elzee says she needs to goto –

A3:…the SHIP rattles and vibrates – the ramp hatch won’t close all the way- they’re losing air! JW flies, as… -Olivia runs out of the co-pilot seat -barking as she throw out AIR MASKS to the Foundlings- Jixie puts a mask on Elzee, as… Olivia rushes to find the source of the problem…JW puts the ship into a dive back down into the atmosphere…

V?:…Asa and the Bounty Hunters watch -Hall shoots at the ship -HK-51 pivots and kills Hall- HK-51: “Blow up the ship and we don’t get paid.” Kerry: “So you shot, Hall?”

V?:…Asa, HK-51 and Kerry drive their speeder bikes into their ship which is parked nearby…

A?:…JW levels the SMUGGLER ship off from the dive -the sound of air rushing by…

A?:…INSIDE- Olivia works on fixing the hatch seal as wind rips through their ship-

V?:…The BOUNTY HUNTER ship (need to name it) rockets up into the sky -following the Tracking Tag… –

M?:…they set course for Balfour and make the jump into Hyperspace…

V?:…Asa and the Bounty Hunters arrive at their ship (type and name), board and fly off after JW, Olivia and their new family…

V?:…on JW and Olivia’s ship- REVEAL / ILLUSTRATE the Tracking Tags are still functional…

A 3:… DEBATE -should they take the Basinets with her into town or leave them at the ship?

SECOND TURNING POINT at END of ACT 2

M?:… issues with the ship- they land- Elzee needs greater medical help –

A 2: …Jixie discovers the TRACKING TAGS…

V 3:…Asa moves in on JW and Din as they work on his Smuggler ship (name the ship)- They make everyone give up their WEAPONS-

CRISIS

M?:…Olivia returns with Elzee from the local town doctor…

A2: …Elzee (healed and better, but not 100%) rises to fight, igniting her Lightsaber…

V?:… Asa kills Elzee and then looks to Din…

A?:…JW rises and picks a fight with Asa, stirring up his ego and rage… V?:…Asa kills JW and the Olivia when she flies into a rage over her husband’s death…

V 3:…Asa and the Bounty Hunters -look to the Foundlings who stand by -take the Basinets and leaves the Foundlings alive and alone.

M?:…The Foundlings overhear the Bounty Hunter’s chatter -their destination is Kamino. The Foundlings fight over what to do- Din turns and walks towards the local town. Fedus: “Where are you going?” Din: “To get a ship and complete the job, JW and Olivia committed to-“

M?:…the Foundlings stop their fighting, nod- Jixie: “This is the way.” Calleen: “This is the way.”Fedus (finally): “This is the way.”-they follow after Din…

A?:…in town, the Foundlings sneak into a hangar- find a ship -but there is a Droid on it-

CLIMAX

A 2: …the Foundlings arrive on KAMINO in their newly stolen ship (type and name?)…

A 3: …the Foundlings sneak inside the Kaminoan Cloning Facility through an exhaust vent (been done before- figure out something new-)…

M3:…the Foundlings run into- the JANGO FETT clone younglings- They drop down into a bunk room -Each side faces off against each other- who will do what first? The JANGO CLONE’S conditioning hasn’t taken hold fully yet- a lone JANGO CLONE moves to pull the ALARM on the wall- Din calls out- “Please, don’t-“

A?:…ESCAPE- The Foundlings steal a Kaminoan SUBMARINE -dive into the depths of the violent ocean -into final dog fight w/ Kamino Fighter craft…

RESOLUTION

M 3:…The Foundlings deliver the Pods and Elzee to the planet Balfour- (to whom?) M?:…the Foundlings return JW and Olivia to their ranch and bury them next to their children.

A 4:…the Foundlings turn and look back on the Pyke and Black Sun gangs standing opposite them- It’s a wild west gun fight- Mando Adult: “What’s the trouble-“Pyke: “They stole from us-“ Black Sun: “and destroyed our product-“ Din: “The Beskar was fake and the drugs, were drugs-“

A?:… the Mandalorian adults move into back up of their Foundlings…

V 3:…The Pykes and Black Sun look to each other-

A?:…GUNS are drawn- CUT TO BLACK

[Jeff Bassetti]

THE FOUNDLINGS

1. Opening – Elzee, a young Jedi Padawan, escapes from the Jedi Temple Nursery with 3 basinets as

1.1. – the clone troopers capture the rest of the infants.

1.2. Alone and uncertain about what to do next or where to go- Elzee jumps into hyperspace-

2. Inciting Incident – a series of collisions- JW and Olivia stand by each other at their children’s grave sites. They go out on their separate ways this morning- JW goes and hunts and Olivia into town to the market-

2.1. JW goes to the dormant volcano where he traditionally hunts –

2.2. In town – Olivia runs across the four Mandalorian Foundlings- who have just stolen Beskar from a drug deal going down in a back alley betweek Pyke Syndicate and Black Sun henchmen-

2.2.1. Instead of Laser Blasts, they use GREEN INK- like Paintball- they traditionally use as a part of their Mandalorian war training –

2.3. She asks them where their caretakers are- getting back silence. She says, if you want to eat, come with me.

2.4. Asa and his cadre of Bounty Hunters arrive in town- Asa’s arm has been cut off- which we learn was done by Elzee hours earlier with her LightSaber. The Assassination Droid, HK-51 brings him into the town’s medical facility and tells the doctor to “repair his arm”-

2.5. JW goes into the caldera searching for his kill and stumbles upon the Jedi, Elzee -she is wounded badly as we witnessed in the flashback when Asa and his Bounty Hunters enter her camp to recover the three basinets-

2.6. Meeting back home – both JW and Olivia have each brought home someone who needs their help. JW stumbles in on the Foundlings eating the dinner served up by OIivia -he doesn’t ask many questions now- and insists that Olivia come see Elzee, the wounded Jedi-

3. First Turning Point at end of Act 1 – Asa and the Bounty Hunters follow the tracking signal to JW and OIivia’s ranch –

3.1. -there they meet unexpected resistance from JW, Olivia and the Foundlings-

3.2. They seek refuge inside the ranch house and defend against the siege until they are overwhelmed-

3.3. JW leads the way as Olivia and the Foundlings bring the unconscious Jedi, Elzee, down the tunnel leading towards their old Smuggling ship from their colorful past.

3.4. They escape and go on the run in their Smuggler Ship –

4. Mid-Point – Asa and his Bounty Hunters chase them down—

4.1. JW and Olivia’s smuggler ship has not been kept up – they drop out of Hyperspace and (-more here!!!)

4.2. -they crash –

4.3. JW and Olivia are in charge and the Foundlings bond with them- Parent to Child-

4.4. Olivia and the Foundling, Calleen, takes the Jedi Elzee into town to see a doctor about her wounds –

4.5. -as JW and the Foundlings, Fedus, Din and Jixie work on repairing the ship –

4.6. -they need to get parts and

5. Second Turning Point at end of Act 2 – Asa and the Bounty Hunters surround and enter their encampment –

5.1. JW and Asa have words -keeping the Foundlings stayed from fighting back- Protecting them as best as he can –

6. Crisis – JW is killed by Asa in a fist-a-cuffs fight

6.1. Olivia returns to find JW is dead – as the Bounty Hunters are loading up the Basinets –

6.1.1. Olivia is killed

6.2. The Basinets are taken to Kamino meeting the deadline set by their Broker-

7. Climax – The Foundlings go to the nearest town and steal a ship to follow after Asa and the Bounty Hunters –

7.1. The Ship has a DROID which Din has intense hatred for given his family and friends were killed by Droids-

8. Resolution – The Foundlings recover the Basinets

8.1. and Deliver them and the Jedi to Balfour.

8.2. They bring JW and Olivia’s bodies home and bury them next to their children

8.3. The Foundlings return to town to find their Mandalorian caretakers waiting as well as they have to face off against the Pyke Syndicate henchmen they stole from earlier –

[Jeff Bassetti]

The Foundlings Action Track

What I learned is that I need to work through the more derivative elements to get into the more unique action and story elements.

Chase / Pursuit – The Foundlings are introduced as they are engaged in a game of Capture the Flag- They use INK instead of BULLETS, so this is essentially PAINT BALL- The Foundlings run across a small cadre of Pyke Syndicate operators who are doing a drug deal- The Foundlings engage them and destroy their drug hall and take the Beskar payment-

Purpose – Establishes that Foundlings are adept at warfare on a kid’s level of schoolyard skills and tactics.

Payoff – At the end, the Foundlings return to town to find their Mandalorian caretakers have returned from their off world mission. The Pyke Syndicate also arrives and the Foundlings turn and engage the Pykes while their adult caretakers stand back to see how they do-

Rescue – JW rescues the wounded Jedi and bring her and the Pods back to his home to find that his wife, Olivia has done the same and brought home the hungry Mandalorian Foundlings-

Purpose – Despite their checkered past as retired Smugglers, JW and Olivia are both good people, ideal parents, who go out of their way to help those in need.

Chase / Pursuit – Asa Dern and the Bounty Hunters have pursued Jedi to this planet- The original tracking fobs died out long ago, or so they tell their Broker. They’ve tracked her to this planet and move into her encampment and try to take the Pods, but she is able to fend them off with her Lightsaber- literally disarming Asa- She uses the Force to manipulate his severed arm to fire his BLASTER back on the Bounty Hunters, killing a few of them. The Assassin Droid, HK-51 deposits new Tracking Fobs onto the Jedi Pods and they retreat- As the Jedi relaxes, we learn she is wounded. The next morning, JW goes out to hunt food and stumbles upon a lone Jedi woman who has been wounded- He approaches her with caution- uncertain of who she is what has happened- Purpose – shows that JW is a capable hunter and tracker. Reveals that Asa Dern and his Bounty Hunters are ruthless and capable.

Competition / Ticking Clock – Asa Dern is under a ticking clock. If he doesn’t deliver the Pods to Kamino in 2 day’s time, his contract will be given over to a competitor, Cad Bane and he and his team get nothing for their troubles.

Purpose – Asa is driven by greed and maybe just plain old, everyone has to make a living even if it means killing. Asa also hates Cad Bane on a professional rivalry and the mere mention that the Broker will engage a competitor insults and infuriates him.

Siege / Shootout – JW wakes to find the local magistrate on an early morning visit about a stranger up at the caldera- as they get into the details- he is shot by a laser blast out of the early morning mist- The Foundlings use their weapons and shoot back- but they only have INK which they were using for ammunition in their training earlier in the day – Successfully, their INK blinds Asa and his Bounty Hunters – JW hustles the foundlings back into the house for protection from the unseen force –

Purpose – reveals JW and Olivia’s skills from their past lives as smugglers. It shows that Asa Dern and the Bounty Hunters are deadly adversaries when they kill the magistrate in cold blood and then come advance on JW & Olivia’s home to recover the Pods and kill everyone who knows about this- they are a threat to JW, Olivia, The Foundlings and the Jedi-

Escape / Evade – JW and Olivia lead the Foundlings who help carry the unconscious Jedi down a long tunnel leading to an underground hangar and their old smuggler ship –

Siege / Pursuit – Asa follows after JW, Olivia, and The Foundlings, using the tracking devices –

Purpose – NEED to work out something better here- Tracking has been done before and also in this fiction-

Caught – JW’s ship goes down- from not being kept up over the years.

Chase / Pursuit – The Foundlings (hijak another ship?) / (repair the damaged smuggler ship?) and follow after Asa and his Bounty Hunters bringing the Pods to the cloners on Kamino –

Purpose – The Foundlings are driven by purpose and moral code to avenge the killing of their surrogate parents, JW and Olivia, and fulfil their promise / mission to deliver the Pods to sanctuary on Balfour-

Torture – Asa surrounds JW and Olivia and the Foundlings- JW restrains the Foundlings from engaging to keep them safe- as Asa fights the much older JW and ends up getting bested-

Purpose – Asa and his Bounty Hunters do not operate on any morals. They are driven by their own selfish goals. This is in sharp contrast to JW, Olivia, the Jedi and the Foundlings-

Dangerous Situations – The Foundlings enter the cloner complex in Kamino and have to navigate their way through keeping as hidden from sight as they can. Once they are discovered they will lose the chance to recover what was taken as well as who knows what will happen to them at the hands of the Kaminoians and or Asa and his Bounty Hunters for leaving witnesses.

Purpose – They go into danger because of their moral code. They promised to help the Jedi get her Pods to sanctuary while not knowing what is inside them.

[Jeff Bassetti]

VILLAIN TRACK: ASA DERN and the Bounty Hunters

HERO: JW and OLIVIA, retired smugglers parents to The Foundlings

MISTAKE: –Elzee, the Jedi, is surrounded by Asa and the Bounty Hunters- they move in- Asa and gets his arm cut off- <div>

DILEMMA: HK-51 puts through a call from the EMPIRE liaison to ASA as he is getting his mechanical arm -the contract- they have to get the Pods to Kamino in 2 days or the Broker will flip the contract over to Cad Bane to take over and Asa gets no compensation.

<div>

DECISION / KILL HIM: Asa makes a frontal assault on JW and Olivia’s ranch in a 2^nd attempt to recover the pods-

<div>

PLAN / HIT CONTRACT: Use the tracking device to track the Pods out to JW and Olivia’s ranch- where JW, Olivia get the Jedi and her Pods into their space ship garaged in their underground hangar as the Foundlings engage- JW pulls them back out of fear they’ll be hurt like a parent would be-

<div>

PLAN / HIDING OUT: -Asa follows JW, Olivia and the Foundlings ship off world- they lose them once they jump into hyperspace…

CAPTURE: -Asa tracks JW and Olivia’s ship to a planet- where they’ve made an emergency landing because they haven’t kept the ship up –

<div>

RETALIATION: -Hall and Kerry, two of Asa’s bounty hunter henchmen, get into a dual of words with JW – a fight breaks out- and Asa shoots both Olivia and JW-

ESCAPE: -Asa, HK-51, Hall and Kerry load up the Pods and leave the Foundlings behind name dropping their destination as being Kamino-

<strong style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>

<strong style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>FITTING ENDING:<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”> –the Foundlings arrive on Kamino- recover the Pods and take out Asa and his Bounty Hunters in a fight- (possibly) sending them over the edge of a balcony and plunging to their death in the waves of the ocean below…

</div></div></div></div></div>

[Jeff Bassetti]

Foundlings Mission Track

Clear Mission: JW, Olivia and the Foundlings must see the hunted Jedi girl and her cargo to safety on another planet.

Motivation: JW and Olivia lost their children due to their past catching up. They stumble upon a group of Mandalorian Foundlings and a lone Jedi girl who has been shot and needs their help.

Inciting Incident: Asa Dern and his group of Bounty Hunters are tracking the Jedi- their mission is to recover the Pods she has with her and kill anyone who gets in their way. The Bounty Hunters have tracked the Pods to JW and Olivia’s ranch home-

First Action: JW brings home the Jedi he encountered on a day of hunting and Olivia brings home the Foundlings from town.

Obstacle: Asa Dern are nearby getting tended to by the local doctor after their failed attempt to get the Pods from the Jedi- They lost numbers of their Bounty Hunters and Asa lost part of his arm-

Escalation: as JW and Olivia tend to the Jedi’s wounds, the Bounty Hunters track the Pods to their Ranch- The Foundlings spring into action and defend the ranch as JW and Olivia get everyone onto their Smuggler ship hidden in an underground hangar- they get off world with the Jedi, the Foundlings, and the tracked Pods-

Overwhelming Odds: JW and Olivia are killed when confronting Asa and the henchmen. The Foundlings

New Plan: Use the tracking to lure the Bounty Hunters into a trap JW and Olivia set-

Full out Attack: The Foundlings use the same tracking device to follow the Bounty Hunters to their destination- the planet Kamino-

Success: The Foundlings rescue the Jedi and take her and the three Pods to sanctuary on the Planet (?). The Foundlings return to their planet, bury JW and Olivia next to their children and return to find their Mandalorian caretakers waiting for them-

[Jeff Bassetti]

THE FOUNDLINGS

Hero: JW and Olivia (temp names of the retired smugglers) Din Djarin and the Foundlings

Villain: Asa Dern and the Bounty Hunters

I am learning to dig deeper into creating better characters- what I hope to get through is how not to “tell” this and come up with creative ways to “show”.

Concept:

Hero Morally Right – help the Jedi keep her pods out of the hands of the Empire and see the Foundlings delivered safely to their surrogate Mandalorian parents.

Villain Morally Wrong – the Bounty Hunters will stop at nothing to get their hands on the Empire’s prize- those three pods. They kill anyone associated with the pods to keep their existence a secret.

Hero

The JW and Olivia – shipmates who fell in love, got married. They actually achieved that final big score; they retired and had a family.

A. – UNIQUE SKILLS – They are very good at staying under the Authority’s Radar.

B. – MOTIVATION – an attempt at a good deed forces them into a flight and fight for survival.

C. – SECRET WOUND – The sins of the parent are visited upon the children. Their son and daughter were killed because a ghost from their past came looking for them and killed their kids by mistake.

Din Djarin and the Foundlings –

A. – UNIQUE SKILLS – employ the only skills these kids have at such a young age- school yard skills. Hide and Go Seek and Capture the Flag.

B. – MOTIVATION – The Foundlings are orphans, seeking to belong as they have lost everything in their life starting with their parents.

C. – SECRET WOUND – they are orphans who still bear the scars of losing their parents. They distrust anyone who is not Mandalorian. Din hates and fears Droids because they directly killed his family. He doesn’t understand that they are but instruments of the political separatist movement that was staging a false flag attack to employ the Clone Troopers.

Villain

A. – UNBEATABLE – coldblooded and ruthless. They have a tracking device on the Pods and are always right on their heels.

B. – PLAN / GOAL – Get the Jedi Pods to the cloners on Kamino.

C. – WHAT THEY LOSE – they lose Money. Respect of the Underworld denizens.

Impossible Mission

· A. Puts Hero in Action – Din and the Foundlings steal from the Smuggler’s Wife- She confronts them and offers to bring them home and feed them.

Smuggler stumbles upon a young Jedi woman who has been wounded in a shootout- she still maintains watch over the three pods.

· B. Demands They Go Beyond Their Best: Escape and stay alive to deliver the Jedi and her pods and then find the Foundling’s Mandalorian caregivers.

· C. Destroy the Villain – The Bounty Hunters eventually kill the Smuggler and his wife. Honor bound, the Foundlings follow after the Bounty Hunters to complete their mission- going to the planet Kamino, an alien world they know nothing about. In stealing back the Pods, the Bounty Hunters are killed for letting this happen.

Extrapolate: If the Foundlings lose JW and Olivia then how can they make it against the seasoned Bounty Hunters out in interstellar space?

[Jeff Bassetti]

Sorry I am late on this- work got in the way.

Lesson learned: I need to keep it simple. Answer the questions and stop trying to work it all out at this stage.

TITLE: THE FOUNDLINGS

HIGH CONCEPT:

In the aftermath of Order 66, an old smuggler who met his goal to retire from “the life”. He lives on a remote planet with his wife and is approached by a stranger (a proxy) with a job, deliver cargo before the Empire’s bounty hunters catch up. He must be covert about it and hires on a group of Mandalorian Foundlings as his hired hands.

HIGHLY SKILLED HERO:

13-year-old, Din Djarin, is tormented by the loss of his parents. He needs to stop straddling the line between the past and embrace where and who he is now- He is Mandalorian and like it or not, he is a natural-born leader.

All of the Foundlings have a form of this PTSD from being orphaned during war.

DEMAND FOR (incredible) ACTION:

Shipwrecked on a planet with nothing- Din Djarin takes charge and leads the other Foundlings to recover the cargo- First, they go trek to a nearby spaceport- sneak onboard and steal a spaceship so they can follow after the stolen cargo-

(impossible) MISSION:

Left with no adults or leadership, Din Djarin leads The Foundlings into the Cloning Factory on Kamino, employing their kid skills- the only skills they have- hide and seek and capture the flag to recover the stolen property and escape to honorably make the delivery as promised.

ANTAGONIST:

Asa Dern, an Imperial Bounty Hunter who leads a cadre of henchmen and Assassin Droids, and the Kamino Cloners.

ESCALATING ACTION:

Their cargo ship is followed by Imperial Bounty Hunters and shot down -escaping from the wreckage- the Foundlings and Smuggler run into the Bounty Hunters, who taunt the Smuggler and the Foundlings as his henchmen take the cargo into their ship- the Smuggler picks a fight with the Bounty Hunter when he starts taunting the Foundlings- The smuggler is killed (essentially) stabbed in the back- The Bounty Hunters leave the Foundlings with nothing- the Foundlings bury the Smuggler, their surrogate father- They sneak into a nearby town- steal a ship and go after the Bounty Hunters to recover the stolen property from the Cloners on Kamino- The Foundlings have to make their way into the Cloning Facility undetected- search for the stolen cargo- recover it and escape before they are caught and captured- Some Foundlings challenge Din’s leadership- casting doubt on Din’s ability and idea to pull off this grand plan-

• This reply was modified 2 years, 9 months ago by  Jeff Bassetti.

[Jeff Bassetti]

Jeff Bassetti,

I, Jeff Bassetti, agree to the terms of this release form.

As a member of this group, I agree to the following:

1. That I will keep the processes, strategies, teleconferences, communications, lessons, and models of the class confidential, and that I will NOT share any of this program either privately, with a group, posting online, writing articles, through video or computer programming, or in any other way that would make those processes, teleconferences, communications, lessons, and models of the class available to anyone who is not a member of this class.

2. That each writer’s work here is copyrighted and that writer is the sole owner of that work. That includes this program which is copyrighted by Hal Croasmun. I acknowledge that submission of an idea to this group constitutes a claim of and the recognition of ownership of that idea.

I will keep the other writer’s ideas and writing confidential and will not share this information with anyone without the express written permission of the writer/owner. I will not market or even discuss this information with anyone outside this group.

3. I also understand that many stories and ideas are similar and/or have common themes and from time to time, two or more people can independently and simultaneously generate the same concept or movie idea.

4. If I have an idea that is the same as or very similar to another group member’s idea, I’ll immediately contact Hal and present proof that I had this idea prior to the beginning of the class. If Hal deems them to be the same idea or close enough to cause harm to either party, he’ll request both parties to present another concept for the class.

5. If you don’t present proof to Hal that you have the same idea as another person, you agree that all ideas presented to this group are the sole ownership of the person who presented them and you will not write or market another group member’s ideas.

6. Finally, I agree not to bring suit against anyone in this group for any reason, unless they use a substantial portion of my copyrighted work in a manner that is public and/or that prevents me from marketing my script by shopping it to production companies, agents, managers, actors, networks, studios or any other entertainment industry organizations or people.

This completes the Group Release Form for the class.

[Jeff Bassetti]

Hi All-

Jeff Bassetti here. I’ve written 6 feature screenplays and 2 shorts. Always looking to better my writing and basically learn what I don’t know. The big basic question I want to answer is how can I do better?

I interned at Industrial Light and Magic and have a feature film called F-STOPS on Amazon Prime.

Looking forward to this action class and working with you all.

Best,

Jeff