Jesse Paxton
Forum Replies Created
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1. Name? Jess Paxton
2. How many scripts you’ve written? Have four finished, working on two more.
3. What you hope to get out of the class? A breakthrough into the market.
4. Something unique, special, strange or unusual about you? Spent 7 years hiking, bicycling, hitch-hiking, and hopping freights around the USA back in the 1970s. -
As a member of this group, I, Jess Paxton, 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.-
This reply was modified 3 days ago by Jesse Paxton.
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This reply was modified 3 days ago by
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Jess’s Romance Emotions Part 1
What I learned doing this assignment is to add another layer of emotions.
Act 1:
Opening: Stella wins a class-action lawsuit — for the corporation being sued — destroying the lives of dozens of families.
Anger: The plaintiffs are outraged by the court’s decision.Meanwhile, Stan rescues a baby from a burning building.
Inciting Incident:
Stella’s new assignment is to evict a widower and his kids in small-town Canada. She bargains for a partnership in her law firm.
Jealousy: Stella is jealous that Joe has someone to love, and she does not.
Betrayal: Stella feels that Joe has left her without warning.
Jealousy: Stella is jealous that someone else is taking Joe away from her.
Betrayal: Donald sends Stella a ticket to Canada, not Bermuda.
Anger: Stella is outraged that she has lost her vacation.Turning Point:
Stella arrives in Canada in time to be caught driving in freezing rain and crashing. Stan rescues Stella from freezing after her car accident.
Betrayal: Stella expected a limousine ride to Queensborough.
Anger: Stella is furious that she will have to drive herself.Act 2:
Reaction:
Meet-Cute: Stella wakes up at Stan’s, having been feverish and dazed for five days. She realizes she’s in strange pajamas and freaks out.
Anger: Stella finds herself in strange pajamas.
Attraction: Stan dotes on Stella day & night.Her Initial Challenge: Stella knows that she must hide her reason for being in Queensborough.
His Initial Challenge: Stan, a single parent facing eviction, and recently bereft, doesn’t want to lay his troubles on a stranger.
The Plan: Donald insists that Stella stay with Stan and learn his weaknesses, to be used in court to evict him. Stan wants this beautiful guest to hang around a little longer.
Anger: Stella does not want to be a spy.Flirting: Stan says he has a beautiful tenant in his B&B.
Attraction: Stella enjoys the flattery.
Love: Stella spends time with the kids and develops a deep affection for them.Major conflict / Obstacle: Stan turns out to be the person Stella is there to evict for LotSmart.
Flirting: When Stan saves her from drowning, Stella kisses him. Repeatedly.
Desire: Stella reacts with physical pleasure to the heroic Stan.Self-Reflection: Stella begins to realize how friendly small towns can be, and how wonderful a family can be. She begins to doubt her winner-take-all existence and participates in community activities, bringing her ever closer to Stan. She even defends him against a LotSmart employee.
Desire: Stella finds out that Stan is a fireman.
Obsession: Stella learns that Stan was a fireman; the same profession as her only crush. Stan loses all thought of his lawsuit because of his obsession with Stella.
Fear: Stella becomes frightened that Stan will learn who she is, because
Love: Stella begins to daydream about Stan’s kisses.Flirting: They visit the lake and have an ice-cream fight.
Love: The two express their attraction in non-sexual activities.Turning Point 2: Sandy gives Stella an ultimatum, and the time she needs to make a decision.
Doubt: Stella is unsure of her emotions. Stan is also unsure of hers.Act 3:
Denial: Stella runs off to see Joe. He tells her she’s in love with Stan.
Doubt: Stella needs Joe’s confirmation that she is actually in love.
Love: Joe tells Stella that fear is part of love.Rethink: Stella learns that what Stan has told her about how corporations destroy small towns is true.
Forced Together: Donald hints that Stella should seduce Stan — which she already wants to do, but not for the company.
Anger: Donald’s suggestion that Stella seduce Stan infuriates her — because she wanted to do it for herself, not for the job.
Yearning: Donald’s phone call may have interrupted the evening, but both Stan and Stella can’t sleep.
Passion: Stan and Stella can’t sleep — they need each other desperately, and spend two days having sex.Self-Reflection: Stella can’t keep herself from spending the weekend alone with him — and falling in love completely.
Love: Stella admits to Stan and to herself that she loves him.New Plan: Stella tries to convince Donald to offer to relocate Stan’s house rather than to demolish it.
Demonstrate the change: Stella tries to convince Donald to offer to relocate Stan’s house rather than to demolish it.
Betrayal: Stella goes to Atlanta hoping to save Stan’s house, but without his knowledge or approval.
Anger: Stella learns that Donald is the architect of the LotSmart plan.
Yearning: Stella leaves numerous voicemails for Stan, confessing her
Love: Stella has fallen completely by now.
Doubt: Stan isn’t picking up or calling back.Acceptance and Growth: Donald convinces Stella that she’s fallen for this idyllic portrayal of rural life, and she goes to see Stan to prove to herself that it’s all been a pleasant dream — and falls for Stan all over again!
Doubt: Donald’s “common sense” explanation makes Stella doubt her feelings.Hate: Stan finds out that Stella works for the Corporation and believes she is just pretending she loves him.
Betrayal: Stan discovers Stella’s real employment.
Anger: Stan now despises Stella, even while loving her.All Hope is Lost: Stella goes to warn Stan about Donald’s plan, but Stan has learned who she is and rejects her utterly.
Act 4:
Demonstrate the change: Instead of retreating into her business law cubby hole, Stella plots a new course on how to save Stan and the kids. She calls the Queen and convinces her to interdict against the eviction Stella herself was sent to Queensborough to prosecute.
Climax:
Stella, recalling what her assistant Doug said about about the British monarch “technically” owning all of the land in Canada, calls Buckingham Palace and enlists the aid of Queen Elizabeth! She saves Stan’s house and the town from the corporate giant!
Doubt: Stella has no idea if her idea will work.
Betrayal: Stella turns against Donald & costs him his biggest client.
Anger: Stan is angry at Stella for busting in, Donald is furious over her treason.Resolution: Love Happens: Reunion:
Stella returns to Stan’s, ready to beg him to take her back. He does, and they become engaged — and Stella uses her new home to practice “anti-corporate law”!
Doubt: Stella can’t believe Stan will take her back.
Love: Stella begs Stan to take her back; Stan opens the door to her.Demonstrate the change: Stan proposes to Stella.
Demonstrate the change: Stella becomes an anti-corporate attorney. -
Jess’s Plot
What I learned doing this assignment is layering the three tracks together, and finding deeper meanings and potential ideas for improving the story.
Act 1:
Opening: Stella wins a class-action lawsuit — for the corporation being sued — destroying the lives of dozens of families.
Meanwhile, Stan rescues a baby from a burning building.
Inciting Incident:
Stella’s new assignment is to evict a widower and his kids in small-town Canada. She bargains for a partnership in her law firm.
Jealousy: Stella is jealous that Joe has someone to love, and she does not.
Jealousy: Stella is jealous that someone else is taking Joe away from her.Turning Point:
Stella arrives in Canada in time to be caught driving in freezing rain and crashing. Stan rescues Stella from freezing after her car accident.
Act 2:
Reaction:
Meet-Cute: Stella wakes up at Stan’s, having been feverish and dazed for five days. She realizes she’s in strange pajamas and freaks out.
Attraction: Stan dotes on Stella day & night.Her Initial Challenge: Stella knows that she must hide her reason for being in Queensborough.
His Initial Challenge: Stan, a single parent facing eviction, and recently bereft, doesn’t want to lay his troubles on a stranger.
The Plan: Donald insists that Stella stay with Stan and learn his weaknesses, to be used in court to evict him. Stan wants this beautiful guest to hang around a little longer.
Flirting: Stan says he has a beautiful tenant in his B&B.
Major conflict / Obstacle: Stan turns out to be the person Stella is there to evict for LotSmart.
Flirting: When Stan saves her from drowning, Stella kisses him. Repeatedly.
Self-Reflection: Stella begins to realize how friendly small towns can be, and how wonderful a family can be. She begins to doubt her winner-take-all existence and participates in community activities, bringing her ever closer to Stan. She even defends him against a LotSmart employee.
Flirting: They visit the lake and have an ice-cream fight.
Turning Point 2: Sandy gives Stella an ultimatum, and the time she needs to make a decision.
Act 3:
Denial: Stella runs off to see Joe. He tells her she’s in love with Stan.
Rethink: Stella learns that what Stan has told her about how corporations destroy small towns is true.
Forced Together: Donald hints that Stella should seduce Stan — which she wants to do.
Self-Reflection: Stella can’t keep herself from spending the weekend alone with him — and falling in love completely.
New Plan: Stella tries to convince Donald to offer to relocate Stan’s house rather than to demolish it.
Demonstrate the change: Stella tries to convince Donald to offer to relocate Stan’s house rather than to demolish it.
Betrayal: Stella goes to Atlanta hoping to save Stan’s house, but without his approval.
Acceptance and Growth: Donald convinces Stella that she’s fallen for this idyllic portrayal of rural life, and she goes to see Stan to prove to herself that it’s all been a pleasant dream — and falls for Stan all over again!
Hate: Stan finds out that Stella works for the Corporation and believes she is just pretending she loves him.
All Hope is Lost: Stella goes to warn Stan about Donald’s plan, but Stan has learned who she is and rejects her utterly.
Act 4:
Demonstrate the change: Instead of retreating into her business law cubby hole, Stella plots a new course on how to save Stan and the kids. She calls the Queen and convinces her to interdict against the eviction Stella herself was sent to Queensborough to prosecute.
Climax:
Stella, recalling what her assistant Doug said about about the British monarch “technically” owning all of the land in Canada, calls Buckingham Palace and enlists the aid of Queen Elizabeth! She saves Stan’s house and the town from the corporate giant!
Resolution: Love Happens: Reunion:
Stella returns to Stan’s, ready to beg him to take her back. He does, and they become engaged — and Stella uses her new home to practice “anti-corporate law”!!!
Demonstrate the change: Stan proposes to Stella.
Demonstrate the change: Stella becomes an anti-corporate attorney. -
JESS’S COMEDY SITUATIONS
What I learned doing this assignment is to look for incongruent situations throughout my Rom-Com.
I have these situations in my script:
COMEDIC TRAGEDY
Stella is a cutthroat lawyer who has been sent to a small town to evict a widower and his two kids so that her corporate client can build a retail superstore on his property.
However, Stella’s car skids on ice during a winter storm and crashes. While the authorities are struggling to unravel the resulting pandemonium, Stella is rescued from freezing by off-duty fireman Stan — the same man she’s there to evict!
Even more, the hospital is full up with flu and accident cases that require attention, so Stan takes Stella to his home and cares for the ailing Stella while she recovers — and neither one realizes they are enemies.
COMEDIC SURPRISE
Stan takes Stella to lunch and discovers his identity as the man she’s supposed to evict.
Heightening the surprise, her boss, Donald, orders her to stay at Stan’s and spy on him!
Worse yet, Stan introduces Stella to his friends, who are protesting their evictions by surrounding City Hall, so Stella cannot even get into the building to file the papers on Stan.
When Stella goes online to file the eviction suit, she realizes that Stan knows everyone at City Hall, and her name would be recognized, and she would be exposed.
WILDLY INAPPROPRIATE RESPONSE
When Stella comes out of her delirium, she finds herself at Stan’s house, in a strange bed, and in strange pajamas. Stan and his sister Sandy, a nurse, have been caring for her.
But Stella flies off the handle and curses: “Who the fuck changed my clothes?” before she realizes that Stan’s two children are standing right in front of her.
EMBARRASSMENT
When Stella needs the key to Donald’s hotel room, she puts on her sexiest clothes and goes to the Desk Clerk, whom she knows is enchanted with her. The Desk Clerk is caught between turning down a possible sexual liaison with the lovely Stella, and following the dictates of his employment.
Stella makes things even worse, when halfway through the negotiation, she leans her ample breast on the front desk counter, pushing up cleavage almost in the Desk Clerk’s face.
With the Desk Clerk resisting still, Stella raises the stakes by telling him she doesn’t have any panties on. He faints.
EMBARRASSMENT
Faced with losing Stan forever if she can’t get to Doug’s computer, Stella climbs out onto her hotel room balcony and checks to see if the window to Donald’s room is open. It is. Stella decides to try leaping over to Donald’s balcony, but as she attempts to do so, her old nemesis freezing rain causes her to slip and fall. She barely catches hold of the railing of Donald’s balcony, but…
Then her high heels break off behind and she’s suddenly hanging on for dear life! As townspeople stare and call for rescue, Stella tries to get a foot up to the balcony, but…
Her sexy skirt, worn to inspire the Desk Clerk to give her the key to Donald’s room, is too tight and won’t allow her to reach a leg up. So Stella has to wrap one arm around the railing, and unzip her skirt and drop it onto the gathering crowd below.
After Stella successfully breaks into Donald’s room and gets the computer, she goes into the hallway, intending to get back to her room, but…
Her key card was in the skirt pocket! Now, she has no way back into her room, or Donald’s room, where the door has automatically closed and locked behind her. She has to cover her torn pantyhose with Doug’s laptop as the Desk Clerk, the Fire Department, the police, the paramedics, and the people from outside who saw her jumping the balcony, all come running up the stairs to make sure she’s alright (or to get a better view of her sans skirt). But…
She now has to coerce the Desk Clerk out if a key card, and walk backwards into her room so the torn backside of her pantyhose doesn’t expose her nearly bare buttocks. So she needs to cajole a fireman into opening the door for her. Finally, she succeeds in getting back in while avoiding further embarrassment.
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I have been learning screenwriting for several years no, and finally think I have a handle on it. We’ll see.
Meanwhile, there’s always soomething new to learn! -
I agree to the terms of this release form.
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Jess’s His Journey / Her Journey
I learned that just as the relationship has a journey, each character has a journey also. Adding another layer to my story.
This made me see a sequence from an entirely new point of view: My protagonist, Stella, once separated from the surprise love of her life, convinces herself that the romance was all a ridiculous dream. She doesn’t really love Stan; she’s never loved anyone. It was some kind of hypnosis that the entire town put on her; totally impractical and not anything to do with her real life back in the States.
But when she goes to see Stan, to prove to herself that she’s over him, she runs to his arms…
…a cold embrace, as he has since discovered who she is and why she came to the town: to get him evicted.
So much more powerful than her just going to see him and tell him how she’s planning to save his house by moving it. Now, she can still tell him that, but she’s talking to a wall that she created.
Thus ends the third act, and propels the story into the final act in which Stella will save the day!
Stella’s Transformational Journey
1. Initial state:
Stella is a borderline sociopathic legal headhunter for a law firm that handles cases for large corporations, usually against ordinary citizens and class-action lawsuits.
2. Meet-Cute moment:
Stella wakes up at Stan’s, having been feverish and dazed for five days. She realizes she’s in strange pajamas and freaks out.
3. Initial challenges:
Stella knows that she must hide her reason for being in Queensborough. Stan’s friends and his sister, Sandy, seem to Stella to be giving her a third degree about her past and her current situation, when in fact, they’re just trying to be friendly.
4. Major conflict / Obstacle:
Stan turns out to be the person Stella is there to evict for LotSmart. Donald insists that Stella spy on Stan and discover his weaknesses!
5. Self-Reflection:
Stella begins to realize how friendly small towns can be, and how wonderful a family can be. She begins to doubt her winner-take-all existence and participates in community activities, bringing her ever closer to Stan. She even defends him against a LotSmart employee. When Joe tells her that she is in love with Stan, Stella can’t keep herself from spending the weekend alone with him — and falling in love completely.
6. Acceptance and Growth:
Stella returns to Atlanta determined to convince Donald to help Stan & the kids keep their house. He convinces her that she’s fallen for this idyllic portrayal of rural life, and she goes to see Stan to prove to herself that it’s all been a pleasant dream — and falls for Stan all over again!
7. Demonstrate the change:
Stan, newly aware that Stella was there to evict him, rejects her — another in the list of rejection Stella has lived with all her life. But now, instead of retreating into her business law cubby hole, Stella plots a new course on how to save Stan and the kids. She calls the Queen and convinces her to interdict against the eviction Stella herself was sent to Queensborough to prosecute.
8. Reunion:
Stella returns to Stan’s, ready to beg him to take her back. He does, and they become engaged — and Stella uses her new home to practice “anti-corporate law”!!!
Stan’s Transformational Journey
1. Initial state:
Stan is a widower, still clinging to his wife’s memory, desperately trying to do the right thing for his family, friends, neighbors, and community — as he has done all of his adult life, as a fireman, a paramedic, and a B&B owner.
2. Meet-Cute moment:
Stan helps rescue Stella after her car wreck, takes her home, and nurses her back to health. He finds in her reaction to her situation a kind of fatherly instinct towards her, but also physical attraction.
3. Initial challenges:
Stella is unlike anyone Stan has ever known, and his wife’s memory holds him back from breaking the ice with Stella.
4. Major conflict / Obstacle:
Stan needs to put all his attention on his court case, but the beautiful stranger is taking up most of his time.
5. Self-Reflection:
Stan discovers Stella’s real identity and purpose in Queensborough. He collapses emotionally and is ill-prepared to win his court case.
6. Acceptance and Growth:
Stan, despite his heart telling him otherwise, rejects Stella and her world. When Stella wins the case for him, Stan rushes off to buy an engagement ring.
7. Demonstrate the change:
When Stella begs him to take her back, Stan welcomes her back and proposes to her.
8. Reunion:
Stan, inspired by his new love, re-opens the B&B and celebrates the holidays with Stella and the kids.
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Jess’s 7 Stages of Love
What I learned: How to locate and accentuate the key points in Rom-Com.
1. Meet-Cute
Stan rescues Stella from freezing after her car accident.
She wakes up in a bed at his house with someone else’s pajamas on and freaks out.
2. Attraction/Flirting
Stan says he has a beautiful tenant in his B&B.
When Stan saves her from drowning, Stella kisses him. Repeatedly.
They visit the lake and have an ice-cream fight.
3. Denial
Stella runs off to see Joe. He tells her she’s in love with Stan.
4. Separation/Forced Together
Stella learns that Stan is the legal enemy, but Donald insists that she stay at Stan’s and spy on him.
5. Working through Issues/Differences
Sandy gives Stella an ultimatum, and the time she needs to make a decision.
When Donald suggests that Stella seduce Stan, she hangs up and screams.
Stan thinks that Stella has rejected him.
6. Hate/Betrayal/All Hope is Lost
Stella goes to Atlanta hoping to save Stan’s house, but without his approval.
Stan finds out that Stella works for the Corporation and believes she is just pretending she loves him. He rejects her and her proposal completely.
7. Love Happens
Stella saves the day by calling the Queen. Stan’s home and his neighbors’ homes are saved from the wrecking ball.
Stella goes to Stan’s and he carries her over the threshold. Stella and Stan are engaged; she starts her own law firm.-
This reply was modified 11 months, 3 weeks ago by Jesse Paxton.
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This reply was modified 11 months, 3 weeks ago by
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Jess’s 7 Stages of Love
What I learned: How to locate and accentuate the key points in Rom-Com.
1. Meet-Cute
Stan rescues Stella from freezing after her car accident.
She wakes up in a bed at his house with someone else’s pajamas on and freaks out.
2. Attraction/Flirting
Stan says he has a beautiful tenant in his B&B.
When Stan saves her from drowning, Stella kisses him. Repeatedly.
They visit the lake and have an ice-cream fight.
3. Denial
Stella runs off to see Joe. He tells her she’s in love with Stan.
4. Separation/Forced Together
Stella learns that Stan is the legal enemy, but Donald insists that she stay at Stan’s and spy on him.
5. Working through Issues/Differences
Sandy gives Stella an ultimatum, and the time she needs to make a decision.
When Donald suggests that Stella seduce Stan, she hangs up and screams.
Stan thinks that Stella has rejected him.
6. Hate/Betrayal/All Hope is Lost
Stella goes to Atlanta hoping to save Stan’s house, but without his approval.
Stan finds out that Stella works for the Corporation and believes she is just pretending she loves him. He rejects her and her proposal completely.
7. Love Happens
Stella saves the day by calling the Queen. Stan’s home and his neighbors’ homes are saved from the wrecking ball.
Stella goes to Stan’s and he carries her over the threshold. Stella and Stan are engaged; she starts her own law firm.-
This reply was modified 11 months, 3 weeks ago by Jesse Paxton.
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This reply was modified 11 months, 3 weeks ago by Jesse Paxton.
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This reply was modified 11 months, 3 weeks ago by
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Jess’s Bigger Story
What I learned:
Begin with the big-picture story, then layer the romance over it.Concept:
Small-town Canada is where the fight against corporate hegemony will occur.
LotSmart Corporation is cheating people into selling their houses so they can set up a new mega-store, but one solitary man stands in their way.
When corporate lawyer Stella comes to town to evict Stan, he rescues her from a car wreck and tends to her while she recovers — and while they fall in love.Main Conflict:
Stan is holding on to the property that Stella’s corporate client needs to build their new mega-store.
Act 1:
Opening:
Stella wins a class-action lawsuit — for the corporation being sued — destroying the lives of dozens of families. Meanwhile, Stan rescues a baby from a burning building.
Inciting Incident:
Stella’s new assignment is to evict a widower and his kids in small-town Canada. She bargains for a partnership in her law firm.
Turning Point:
Stella arrives in Canada in time to be caught driving in freezing rain and crashing. Stan rescues her.
Act 2:
Reaction:
Stella wakes up at Stan’s — and learns that he is the man she’s there to evict!
The Plan:
Donald insists that Stella stay with Stan and learn his weaknesses, to be used in court to evict him.
Turning Point 2:
Donald hints that Stella will make more progress if she seduces Stan.
Act 3:
Rethink:
Stella learns that what Stan has told her about how corporations destroy small towns is true.
New Plan:
Stella tries to convince Donald to offer to relocate Stan’s house rather than to demolish it.
Turning Point:
Stella goes to warn Stan about Donald’s plan, but Stan has learned who she is and rejects her utterly.
Act 4:
Climax:
Stella, recalling what her assistant Doug said about about the British monarch “technically” owning all of the land in Canada, calls Buckingham Palace and enlists the aid of Queen Elizabeth! She saves Stan’s house and the town from the corporate giant!
Resolution:
Stella begs Stan to take her back — and he proposes to her! She moves in with him and the kids, and sets up her own law firm.
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This reply was modified 11 months, 3 weeks ago by Jesse Paxton.
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This reply was modified 11 months, 3 weeks ago by
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Jess’s Rom Com Project
Assignment 2What I learned in this assignment:
Know thy characters! Know who they are, where they’re coming from, where they’re going, and why — and most of all, why they belong with each other.CONCEPT INFO:
Two People Who Belong Together:
Stella needs someone to show her that family is a warm-hearted, loving experience.
Stan needs someone new who excites him and can be a mother for his children.How Are They Separated:
Stella’s job is to evict Stan.
What Forces Them together:
Stella’s boss, Donald, insists she stay and spy on Stan; he even hints that she should seduce Stan.
Issues to be Resolved:
Stella’s experience of a family is a harsh one filled with abuse.
Stan needs to get past the memory of his wife’s death.On Their Journey of Love:
Stella becomes enchanted by Stan’s kids, who treat her with affection.
Stan notices his kids’ affection for Stella, which takes him beyond mere sexual attraction to her, to thinking of her as a family member.
Stella decides to help Stan save his house, even if it means moving it across town.
Stan discovers who Stella is and rejects her utterly.
Stella gets Queen Elizabeth on the phone to save the town from her boss!
Stan accepts Stella back, and they become engaged. He returns to the B&B business, while she becomes an anti-corporate attorney in Canada.Concept:
It’s capitalism versus true love as big-city corporate shark Stella falls in love with the small-town widower and father of two she’s been sent to evict so her client can build a retail outlet on his property. A story of love, family, and redemption.KEY DECISIONS FOR CHARACTERS
OVERALL IDENTITYWho is She?
Stella MacAfee, a highly successful corporate attorney but whose dysfunctional childhood has made her afraid of love and family.
In the opening, Stella destroys a whole community for the sake of her corporate client’s greed — showing how efficient and also how sociopathic she is.
In the bedroom scene with Joe, Stella shows disappointment that she will no longer have Joe’s “services” to help her avoid intimacy. Her arrival at the airport shows that she is used to special treatment.Who is He?
Stanley Tolliver is a fireman, paramedic, and B&B owner trying to stabilize after his wife’s lingering death, and now facing the threat of eviction by corporate retail giant LotSmart.
In his introductory scene, Stan saves a child from a blazing house fire — demonstrating his courage and love for children and family.
When Stella gets into an accident on black ice, Stan volunteers to take her to the hospital, showing that he is empathetic to those in need. Later, his neighbors credit him with saving their homes from destruction by the wrecking ball crew. A demolition worker complains that Stan stood in front of his bulldozer, again showing his courage.What makes them lovable?
What makes Stella lovable?
Her childhood with a dysfunctional family.
Her fish-out-of-water experience in a small town.
Her growing affection for children, family, and the community.
What makes Stan lovable?
His self-sacrificial actions.
His cute kids.
His devotion to his family, including his deceased wife, and his town.What attracts them to each other:
What causes Stella to be attracted to Stan?
His gentle manner.
His optimism despite tragedy.
Showing her how corrupt the corporate world is.
What causes Stan to be attracted to Stella?
Her assertive attitude.
Her loneliness.
Her naïveté about community.What needs do they fulfill for the other?
What needs does Stan fulfill for Stella?
Functional family life.
Redemption from her sociopathic life.
True, deep affection, the kind she has never had.
What needs does Stella fulfill for Stan?
A beautiful, mysterious, exciting companion to shake him our of his misery.
A mother for his children.
Someone he can redeem from the dark side.-
This reply was modified 11 months, 3 weeks ago by Jesse Paxton.
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This reply was modified 11 months, 3 weeks ago by
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I hope there was no Zoom meeting on the 13th as this wasn’t posted until after the appointed time. Also, Hal had mentioned continuing the Zoom sessions on Mondays, so I wasn’t expecting a Saturday meeting. If there was a meeting, please let me know how to access the recording.
Many thanks,
Jess -
Hi, fellow writers, this is Jess Paxton, and I have been writing screenplays for about ten years. I have three which I think are marketable: a short (30 min) drama, a sci-fi based on a friend’s published novel (Yes, I have his permission), and a Rom-Com which I hope to improve in this class. I have also begun two thrillers, an epic, and a mystery/comedy.
I’m hoping this class can supply me with fresh ideas I can use in my Rom-Com.
The most unusual thing about me is that, as a youth in the 1960s and 70s, I spent seven years hitchhiking, hopping freights, and hiking around the USA.
I hope we can all come out of this class with a marketable project! Good luck! -
I, Jess Paxton, 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.
This completes the Group Release Form for the class. -
Jess’s Rom-Com Project
What I Learned from This Assignment:
The Conventions of the romantic Comedy. Also, I was able to see different ways that the story could be written!
Concept/Logline:
When a ruthless attorney is sent to small-town Canada to evict the widower who is squatting on the last piece of property her retail client needs to build a mega-store on, she has only one small problem: she can’t keep her lips from running into his!
Two People Who Belong Together:
Stanley: A widower with two children, he has not looked at another woman since his wife died.
Stella: Emotionally traumatized and physically abused as a child, Stella does not believe in love.
How They Work: Chemistry and a deep need for what the other one brings.
How Are They Separated:
Stan is desperately trying to save his house, family, and community from the ravages of vulture capitalism. Stella is on assignment to evict him.
How They Work: Stan resists because his children come first. Stella resists because she’s there on a job — to evict Stan.
What Forces Them together:
When Stella learns that the B&B she’s staying at is run by the man she’s there to evict, her boss Donald orders her to remain there and spy on Stan to find out his weaknesses.
How They Work: Donald orders Stella to stay with Stan and find out his weaknesses — but they keep bonding.
Issues to Be Resolved:
Stella needs to accept the growing affection she is experiencing for Stan and the kids.
Stan needs to get over his wife’s death, move on, find love for himself and a mother for his children.
How They Work: Each has an emotional wound that the other helps to mend.
On Their Journey of Love:
Overcoming their own flaws and finding the cure in one another.
Stella, sent to small-town Canada from big-city USA, ends up at Stan’s after she is injured in an accident and he nurses her to health. She follows an emotional recuperation thanks to Stan’s kids and the heroic, family-oriented Stan, who, finding Stella on the roadside and caring for her as a patient, begins to care emotionally for this fish-out-of-water big city girl who has no sense of community or family. Slowly, she comes to care more about Stan and his children than about the promotion and wealth she worked for all her life. Stella finds, in the end, she can have her cake and eat it too!
Concept:
A big-city attorney and a small-town paramedic can’t help falling in love, despite the fact that she’s there to evict him and her children from their house so her retail corporation client can build a mega-store on the land.
Elevating the Concept:
I have a script that answers the question “Can a big-city corporate legal shark find love, family, and happiness with the small-town widower she’s been sent to evict?
What happens when a ruthless corporate attorney falls in love with the man she's been sent to evict?
The Experience of Falling in Love:
Despite herself, Stella falls for Stan, his kids, and the town. First, she sees how Stan fights for the rights of his neighbors as much as for himself, an admirable trait. Then, she befriends his unavoidable, charming children. After a few days with Stan, Stella begins to feel like part of the family and the community — even as she is set to spying on him. She comes to realize Stan’s devotion to his deceased wife, and sees the family she never had. She starts to understand, for the first time, that she herself needs that kind of exclusivity with another person. They begin flirting, and when Stan resuscitates her after she drowns, she can no longer keep her lips off him, even teasing him by insisting he help her shop for lingerie. But the word “love” still isn’t in her vocabulary. It takes Sandy and joe to make her realize that she must commit to this relationship — or get out of it altogether. Even this, and a weekend of sex, isn’t mature love. That occurs when Stella returns to Atlanta, determined to help Stan retain his home, one way or another; leading to their crisis. Stan discovers who Stella works for, and why she was sent. He is devastated. How can he ever trust her (or any other woman) again? But Stella recovers the relationship and even improves it by risking her job and professional career to save Stan, who has saved her twice. She even risks a monarch’s wrath by calling the Queen of England, an convincing Her majesty to come to Stan’s aid. It is this all-sacrificing stunt that proves her worth to Stan and the town, and helps Stella find not only true love, and family, but a new career.
The Journey of Love:
The Meet-Cute occurs when Stella wakes up in a strange room in an unknown location, and realizes she is in someone else’s pajamas. The only person she can see is Stan, and she jumps to the conclusion that he changed her clothes.
Relationship Setup:
Stella immediately embarrasses herself in front of the children, who are enchanted by this strange, lovely creature who they find quirky, funny, and strangely maternal. Their belief in Stella helps her find her maternal instinct. As Stella spends time with Stan, she becomes attracted to him on a superficial level (as he is with her — the “infatuation stage”) but soon discovers that this popular, modest, altruistic man is the one she’s there to evict — which means he’s also very stubborn.
Issues:
Stan has a world of problems facing him, preventing him from loving Stella. He’s still very attached to the memory of his wife, he’s fighting to keep his home, has two little children, and a neighborhood’s survival on his shoulders. What eases some of this is that his kids take to Stella as if she could be their new mother. Unknowingly, they trust her, and Stan begins to, also — little does he know!
Stella is there to evict Stan, but as the days pass, she becomes charmed by the small town attitude, Stan, and his family-oriented lifestyle. Holding her back is the memory of abuse at the hands of her dysfunctional parents, who were arguing in the car at the moment they died.
Separation:
At first, Stella keeps up a wall between herself and Stan, but tiny cracks appear in it until the dam bursts. Always, however, is her job, her ambition, and her assignment to evict Stan. After they make love, the separation becomes a chasm, as she returns home to plead for a plan that Stan would never accept, and he discovers who she is.
Comedy:
Stella is a total fish-out-of-water in a small town. First, she’s forced to drive a car, which she avoids at all times. This leads to the Canadian weather and her car wreck, and Stan rescuing her. The situation is serious to them, but provides comedic subtext for the audience, who realizes that Stan is the man she’s there to evict. The kids play a role is showing Stella how inept she is in social situations. When Stella causes the dragon boats to crash, and Stan performs mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, from that moment she can’t keep her lips off his. Later, Stella has to leap hotel balconies to get Doug’s laptop, losing her skirt in the process, and causing a young (and lustful) hotel clerk a great deal of anxiety and embarrassment. At the city council meeting, she sees through new eyes the people she has been working against and the ugliness of the CEOs she has represented all these years, even doing physical battle against them. Finally, she goes to Stan’s and, in a reversal of “Streetcar Named Desire”, screams out “Stanley!”, hoping to mend their relationship.
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This reply was modified 11 months, 4 weeks ago by Jesse Paxton.
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This reply was modified 11 months, 4 weeks ago by
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Jess’s Villain has a Great Plan!
What I learned from this is where to begin to formulate the Villain’s Master Plan, how to accomplish the Plan, and how to cover up the Plan.
1: The Cop’s end goal is to exact revenge on the people who bullied him into suicide.
2: The Cop, with Jackie’s help, can get all the Chess Club members into an isolated building.
He then gets them to accept and even desire being locked in the building, where he can murder them one by one.
Jackie plans the deaths out as they occur in the Levitsky-Marshall game.
3: Jackie pretends to place the 9-1-1 call, which the Cop answers.
The Cop pretends to be killed, giving him the opportunity to appear not to be involved at all.
Each murder points towards a different member of the Chess Club, based on the Levitsky-Marshall game.
While Jackie pretends to be the voice of reason, she suggests the murders may be done by the Ghost.
1: d4 e6
2: e4 d5
3: Nc3 c5
4: Nf3 Nc6
5: exd5 exd5
6: Be2 Nf6
7: 0-0 Be7
8: Bg5 0-0
9: dxc5 Be6
10: Nd4 Bxc5
11: Nxe6 fxe6
12: Bg4 Qd6
13: Bh3 Rae8
14: Qd2 Bb4
15: Bxf6 Rxf6
16: Rad1 Qc5
17: Qe2 Bxc3
18: bxc3 Qxc3
19: Rxd5 Nd4
20: Qh5 Ref8
21: Re5 Rh6
22: Qg5 Rxh3!
23: Rc5 Qg3!!
There are thirteen pieces taken (6 pawns, 7 minor pieces) and thirteen deaths.
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Things I learned about Thrillers from Basic Instinct.
1: Every scene does not require all three components of MIS, but the more, the better. Even stakes are only recorded in the chart for a few of the scenes.
2: This is a solid foundation for understanding Thrillers. When broken down into its key components, it simplifies Thrillers.
3: Thrillers are not as complex as they lead us to believe.
4: Although I cannot agree completely with Hal’s assessment of Basic Instinct, I can see he is justified in his viewpoint. It appears to me that Catherine is likely the killer of Johnny Boz, both from the final scene, where the icepick is waiting under the bed, and from the way that she makes love in both the first and last scenes — Nick has slept with both women, and if Beth made love to him in the same fashion as Catherine, he would not have called the latter “the fuck of the century”.
It is therefore possible that Beth was responsible for Nilson’s murder, or that Catherine killed him and hid the gun at Beth’s apartment. The strangest part of the final scene isn’t the reveal of the icepick, but why the screen goes black just before the reveal.
5: It is permissible in Thrillers to create an ambiguous ending.
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What I learned from this assignment is how to paint my characters with the same broad, but particular to the Thriller, strokes as the overall story. This gives the same level or Mystery, Intrigue, and Suspense to the characters as the plot. Therefore, we have created a new level, or layer, to the story. This has also helped define the characters themselves.
PART I: The overall concept, and the Big MIS of the story.
Big Mystery: What is the main mystery of your story that will keep us wondering throughout the story?
Who is killing the players, and why do the game losers die? Has the dead boy’s ghost found a way to wreak revenge on the players who bullied him into suicide?
Big Intrigue: What is the covert, clandestine, underhanded plot that will live under the surface for most of the movie?
The Cop, whose son committed suicide after losing all his games in a club tournament and being tease and bullied by the other players, is getting revenge for his dead boy.
Big Suspense: What is the main danger to your Hero that will continue to escalate throughout the script?
One by one, the chess players are killed — until they begin to turn on one another — and on Jackie.
PART II: The Intriguing World of the story.
In the chess world, it is common for clubs to have an annual club championship tournament. But this year, the Death Valley Chess Club is holding its tournament in an abandoned office building outside of town — where the boy who lost every game in their tournament three years ago killed himself. And, because Hurricane Oscar has kicked up an electrical storm, cell phone communication is not working.
PART III: The Lead Characters.
The Red Herring: Strange, but true, my Red Herring is dead before the movie begins. In fact, he is the underlying cause of the story.
A: The mystery of the dead boy is whether his ghost is having revenge on the players?
B: The Intrigue of this character is that it is his father and his ally who is wreaking havoc on the chess club.
C: The suspense of this character is that he was teased, ostracized, and bullied into suicide.
The Hero: The lovely and brilliant young Jackie, who is preparing to go to college as soon as she can raise the money, but meanwhile has taken over as chess club president.
A: Her mystery is whether she can organize the players into a strike force that will find the murderer.
B: Her intrigue is that she is part of The Cop’s plan to murder all of the guilty players.
C: He suspense is that the killer is murdering players who have lost their games — will she lose a game and become his next victim?
The Villain: The Cop, the father of the dead boy. After he was shot in the line of duty in San Diego, his unstable wife left him, bringing their son to Death Valley, where her parents lived. He became a detective, and after his son’s death, he joined the Death Valley P. D. in an effort to find out how his son died, and why.
A: His mystery is that no one (except Jackie) knows who he is, or his relationship to either the dead boy or Jackie.
B: His Intrigue is that he Seems to die soon after he enters the building.
C: His Suspense is whether he will be found and caught by the angry, desperate chess players who are his victims.
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“CHECKMATE”
What I learned from this assignment is the basic components of the Thriller Genre, and to establish them first and foremost.
LOGLINE: Just as Hurricane Hillary strikes, the Death Valley Chess Club meets for their annual club championship — but soon they realize that anyone who loses a game, loses their life.
What are the conventions of your story? <div>
Unwitting but Resourceful Hero: Our hero is Jackie, the Death Valley Chess Club President, an attractive college-age girl with charm and appeal, and the ability to organize and administrate.
Dangerous Villain: The unknown villain, the Cop, has spent two years discovering how and why his son died, joining the Death Valley Police force, and recruiting the most unlikely ally — the hero, Jackie.
High stakes: This is life or death, literally. The Villain is murdering people.
Life and death situations: Electrocution, stabbing, poisoning, falling from a height, crushed skull, and more — anything I can come up with. There will be a total of thirteen deaths.
This story is thrilling because: You won’t know who dun it, or how, until the last two pages — and it will be a shock. A dead man comes to life, and the Hero turns out to be his ally.
<div>
2. Tell us the Big M.I.S. of your story?
Big Mystery: What is the main mystery of your story that will keep us wondering throughout the story?
Who is killing the players, and why do the game losers die? Has the dead boy’s ghost found a way to wreak revenge on the players who bullied him into suicide? </div>
Big Intrigue: What is the covert, clandestine, underhanded plot that will live under the surface for most of the movie?
The Cop, whose son committed suicide after losing all his games in a club tournament and being tease and bullied by the other players, is getting revenge for his dead boy.
Big Suspense: What is the main danger to your Hero that will continue to escalate throughout the script?
One by one, the chess players are killed — until they begin to turn on one another.
</div>
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1. Name?
Jess Paxton
2. How many scripts you’ve written?
Five, of which one is good.
3. What you hope to get out of the class?
I have lots of ideas for thrillers — but I’ve never successfully written a thriller.
4. Something unique, special, strange or unusual about you?
Since retirement, I’ve become an actor, a writer, a musician, an artist, — and a college student.
We look forward to working with you all!
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AIR FORCE ONE — ACTION THRILLER
Unwitting but Resourceful Hero
The President has laid out his global-scale anti-terrorism program, but as he relaxes on his flight home from Moscow, he awakens to learn that Air Force One has been commandeered by terrorists and his family and his entire cabinet are hostage! He must use his wits as a diplomat and his skills as a former Vietnam helicopter pilot to fight back! AND he knows Air Force One inside and out.
Dangerous Villain
In a role made for Gary Oldman, the chief terrorist is hateful, vengeful, determined, resourceful, and canny. He is also willing to kill everyone on the plane, including the President and his family!
High stakes
It’s the President! And his family! And his Cabinet! Or set the evil Khazak dictator free!
Life and death situations
Terrorists kill all security detail on AF1.
Prez ejects in escape pod over forest.
Terrorists kill pilots and AF1 almost crashes.
Prez goes one-on-one against terrorists.
Hostages killed one by one.
Refuel plane explodes.
Prez nearly thrown off AF1 to certain death.
Prez captured.
First Lady taken as shield.
Traitor (head of Secret Service detail) still on board.
MIGs attack.
Evacuation to back-up plane.
Traitor revealed, tries to kill Prez.
AF1 crashes.
This movie is thrilling because
The terrorists bypass all security forces and apparatus.
The President stands alone against the terrorists.
Air Force One comes close to crashing more than once.
It’s Die Hard on Air Force One.
THE M., I., & S. OF THRILLERS
THE BIG MYSTERY
The secret, question, or puzzle that must be solved by the hero.
How to get the hostages off the plane and rescue his family.
Who is the traitor that helped the terrorists get on AF1?
THE BIG INTRIGUE
The covert, underhanded, or clandestine force or plan of the Villain.
There is always the traitor in the background.
The terrorists want the evil General released.
The terrorists want to rebuild the Soviet empire.
THE BIG SUSPENSE
The main danger that the hero experiences.
The Prez is one man against seven.
COMMENTS:
Air Farce One: We never learn why a Secret Service bigwig wants to help a band of Russian terrorists.
Even with his help, the terrorists get past security so easily they even mock the security measures.
I learned that a Thriller can be easily broken down and analyzed by the genre’s core components (conventions). Also that the conventions are more important than the story making sense (this was a hit movie).
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1. Jess Paxton.
2. I agree to the terms of this release form.
3. As a member of this group, I agree to the following:
1. That I will keep the processes, strategies, teleconferences, communications, lessons, and models of the class confidential, and that I will NOT share any of this program either privately, with a group, posting online, writing articles, through video or computer programming, or in any other way that would make those processes, teleconferences, communications, lessons, and models of the class available to anyone who is not a member of this class.
2. That each writer’s work here is copyrighted and that writer is the sole owner of that work. That includes this program which is copyrighted by Hal Croasmun. I acknowledge that submission of an idea to this group constitutes a claim of and the recognition of ownership of that idea.
I will keep the other writer’s ideas and writing confidential and will not share this information with anyone without the express written permission of the writer/owner. I will not market or even discuss this information with anyone outside this group.
3. I also understand that many stories and ideas are similar and/or have common themes and from time to time, two or more people can independently and simultaneously generate the same concept or movie idea.
4. If I have an idea that is the same as or very similar to another group member’s idea, I’ll immediately contact Hal and present proof that I had this idea prior to the beginning of the class. If Hal deems them to be the same idea or close enough to cause harm to either party, he’ll request both parties to present another concept for the class.
5. If you don’t present proof to Hal that you have the same idea as another person, you agree that all ideas presented to this group are the sole ownership of the person who presented them and you will not write or market another group member’s ideas.
6. Finally, I agree not to bring suit against anyone in this group for any reason, unless they use a substantial portion of my copyrighted work in a manner that is public and/or that prevents me from marketing my script by shopping it to production companies, agents, managers, actors, networks, studios or any other entertainment industry organizations or people.
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JESS’S TURNING POINT 2
THE MIDPOINT
What I learned doing this assignment is that the MidPoint isn’t just a reaction, but a full mini-act in itself. I wrote it as three scenes that all take place in one night, with several revelations.
INT. PRESIDENT’S SUITE — EVENING
Munson opens his hallway door. Olivia is there. He lets her in.
MUNSON
I wasn’t expecting you, Doctor.
OLIVIA
No. I mean, yes. I’m going to
dinner with Will, uh, Mister
Davies.MUNSON
Can I get you a drink, Doctor?
OLVIA
Yes, I think so. anything.
Munson pours from his martini pitcher, looks at her curiously. He hands her the drink.
OLIVIA
I’m here to tell you that I won’t
be able to continue with the
therapy.
MUNSON
Why not?
OLIVIA
Therapy has to be confidential.
Between the therapist and the patient.
MUNSON
I haven’t told anyone about it. And I
hope you haven’t. Not even to Will.
OLIVIA
It’s not that. It’s Secret Service.
MUNSON
What about them?
OLIVIA
They have cameras and microphones
here, recording us.
Munson stops in his tracks.
MUNSON
Who told you that?
OLIVIA
Mr. Barnes. He says they can’t trust
even me alone with you. I don’t
know if they’re afraid for my life or
yours.
MUNSON
I see. And you feel this violates the
doctor-patient confidentiality?
OLIVIA
I can’t — I don’t want to operate
under these conditions. Especiallywith as critical a case as this.
MUNSON
I have a lot of notes to go over.
Please sleep on it tonight, Doctor.
We can talk again in the morning.
INT. DAVIES’ APARTMENT — NIGHT
Davies dishes take-out onto some plates. Olivia peeks through the slats of the blinds and checks out the Secret Service men in the street below.
OLIVIA
Are they here for you or for me?
DAVIES
Both, I imagine. Although they don’t
seem to follow me to dinner when I’m
alone, so maybe for you.
OLIVIA
I’m quitting, Will. It’s over.
DAVIES
You know it’s not like that. You
can’t just up and leave. Do you
prefer a Beaujolais or a Bordeaux?
OLIVIA
It’s Italian. Do you have a Chianti?
DAVIES
Somewhere here…
He rummages through his wine rack.
OLIVIA
I told him tonight.
DAVIES
And he said?
OLIVIA
He said to sleep on it.
DAVIES
Good idea.
OLIVIA
I’ve slept on it, Will.
DAVIES
You need to realize that you’re
in this as deep as you can get.
Say when.
Davies brings her a glass. She holds it while he pours.
OLIVIA
I’m in deeper than you know.
DAVIES
What’s that supposed to mean?
Hey, you always say when at
half-glass. What gives?
OLIVIA
I don’t want to think tonight.
I want to get drunk, have dinner,
and go to bed.
DAVIES
I like all three ideas.
OLIVIA
No, Will, I don’t mean that.
DAVIES
Why not? They can’t see in here.
OLIVIA
I gave Munson a bullshit reason.
The real one is that it’s becoming
personal.
DAVIES
The clothes, you said. I never thought
he’d act like that. He’s out of line and
I don’t blame you.
OLIVIA
It’s not him, Will. It’s me.
DAVIES
What the hell are you saying?
OLIVIA
Come on, Will! You of all people
know that I have a thing for
authoritarian men.
DAVIES
How am I supposed to know that?
OLIVIA
Why do you think I slept with you
at Yale? Did you think you were the
love of my life? You heard the story
about my mother going to my father’s
office and tearing the bronze letters of
his name off the door? Her fingers were
all bleeding and she had no nails left.
Didn’t you ever figure out why she did
that?
DAVIES
She caught him playing around with
a coed. That’s why I never got married.
OLIVIA
Yes, Will. He was playing around with
a Stanford coed. One who inherited her
mother’s submission to powerful men.
She found out he’d been fucking his
daughter!
DAVIES
I hope you have a sister I don’t know about.
OLIVIA
She found the photos he took of me.
DAVIES
Photos of you? Dirty pictures?
OLIVIA
As dirty as they could be. I did
everything he asked, just like she
did. She couldn’t even bring herself
to divorce him. I transferred out to
Yale, and there you were, waiting for
me. I must have looked like a rabbit
in the headlights to you.
DAVIES
Whoa, kiddo, that’s unfair.
OLIVIA
I spent years in therapy trying to get
over the two of you, and just when I
think I’m going to be okay, you come
knocking on the door again and I hit
the mattresses.
DAVIES
I thought we had something a little
deeper than that.
OLIVIA
There is nothing deeper than that! I was
the totally traumatized girl you were
always looking for, and you were the
young, handsome, intellectual political
science professor of all my neuroses.
DAVIES
So, what do we do now?
OLIVIA
We don’t do anything. I have
to leave.
DAVIES
Because of me?
Olivia scoffs.
OLIVIA
Don’t you get it? You just
made me the therapist of the
ultimate alpha male on the
entire planet, Daniel Munson.
Davies grumbles.
DAVIES
That son-of-a-bitch. He always wins,
doesn’t he?
OLIVIA
Munson? Of course he wins. He’s
the President.
DAVIES
I can’t believe this is happening
again!
OLIVIA
Again?
Davies slams his wine glass into the sink, where it bursts.
DAVIES
How do you think he met Aubrey?
She was my girlfriend before you.
He took her away from me. I had to
be his best man, when he married
the woman I was in love with!
OLIVIA
You loved her?
Davies is sweating, panting, pacing.
DAVIES
She’s the reason I left Yale and you.
She came to me and begged me to
be his campaign manager, and later
I stayed on as Chief of Staff. I wouldn’t
have done it for him, but for her…
Davies strides over to Olivia. She backs up until she feels wall behind her.
DAVIES
Aubrey fell under his spell.
Don’t you do it, too. I couldn’t
stand for that again!
OLIVIA
What do you expect me to do?
My God, you and he are like
finger and thumb, and I’m the one
pinched in between!
Davies raises a hand, then stops himself and lowers it.
OLIVIA
I’m leaving, Will. Take me back
to the White House. And find my
clothes. Or I swear I’ll go to the
press and tell them all about your
sick little menage a trois.
Will backs off. He nods, then gestures at the door.
INT. FIRST LADY’S SUITE — LATER
Olivia finds an envelope on the bed. She aims it at the waste basket, then opens it.
The letter inside reads “All the cameras and microphones have been removed. Please stay.”
INT. PRESIDENT’S SUITE — MINUTES LATER
The table is covered with documents. Munson is in his shirt sleeves, his head in his hands.
A knock comes from the door adjoining the First Lady’s Suite.
Munson shakes his head to clear it. The rapping repeats.
Munson rises and crosses to the door.
When he opens it, Olivia is there.
In Aubrey’s underwear.
She reaches up and pulls his face down to hers.
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Jess’s Act 2 Middle Scenes:
This lesson forced me to learn which of my scenes were intermediate turning points. Since virtually every scene I have for this act is about
Olivia being drawn further into danger, I had to decide which scenes were the most important. In Act 3, she will find a new, more perilous way of falling down the rabbit hole she entered at the end of Act 1.
Key Scene 2
BEGINNING: Olivia hypnotizes Munson.
MIDDLE: Munson tells her the story of the evening. He suspected that Aubrey was having an affair. He hung out with the ol’ boys club, got drunk and drugged. When he got to the bedroom, she was tied to the bedposts. The next thing he knew, he had the knife in his hand.
END: Munson begins kissing Olivia and calling her Aubrey. When she de-hypnotizes him, he collapses.
Key Scene 3
BEGINNING: Olivia goes to dinner with Munson. It turns out to be just the two of them. She tries to get Munson to realize that they have to stay emotionally uninvolved for the therapy to work.
MIDDLE: When Olivia returns to her quarters, her clothes have been replaced by Aubrey’s.
END: Olivia, upset by finding her clothes gone, attempts to leave the White House. She is stopped by Secret Service. Bowen explains to her the dangers she may face if she is not guarded.
Key Scene 2
INT. MUNSON’S SUITE — NIGHT
Olivia sits in a chair close by the President’s bed. Munson lies back on the bed, his body partly bolstered by pillows, similar to the patients’ couch in Olivia’s office. The only lights come from the adjoining hallway.
OLIVIA
You are in the Trump Hotel, after
giving your speech. What are you doing?
Munson’s voice is soft, but clear.
MUNSON
Will Davies grabs my arm, pulls me into
the bar. Several of the party chiefs are
there. They congratulate me on the speech,
ply me with liquor, lines of cocaine are
set on a plate. We take turns.
OLIVIA
What are you thinking about?
Munson becomes mildly agitated.
MUNSON
I talk to them, but I keep thinking that
Aubrey is having an affair.
Olivia perks up.
OLIVIA
What makes you think that?
MUNSON
I’ve noticed little things. The way
she kisses is different; barely, but
noticeably to me. Ways that she
touches. Things she says, about
times past, but she has them mixed
up with memories of something
else.
OLIVIA
Is this a recent development?
MUNSON
Yes, it’s only been a few months,
maybe six, that I’ve begun to notice.
It’s happening more frequently.
OLIVA
Is it possible that you think you’re
seeing these things more often be-
cause of your suspicions?
Munson relaxes.
MUNSON
I don’t know.
OLIVIA
You’re partying with the boys.
What happens next?
MUNSON
I begin to wonder about Aubrey. Is
she safe? What is she doing? Is her
lover with her? I break away from
the others, find Bowen, go to my room.
OLIVIA
What do you do there?
MUNSON
There’s a door between Aubrey’s suite
and mine. I listen at it, wondering if
I will hear them making love.
OLIVIA
What do you hear?
MUNSON
Nothing. It’s quiet. There’s no light
coming under the door.
OLIVIA
And then you?
MUNSON
I poke my head out of the door into
the hall. Hanks’s men are there, along
with Bowen. There’s one posted at each
end of the hall, one outside each suite.
Bowen is talking to one of them. They
stop when I open the door; look at me.
I tell them everything is fine and go
back in.
Olivia scribbles some notes for a moment, then asks.
OLIVIA
Did they give you any indication that
anything was wrong?
Munson shivers.
MUNSON
No. I return to the room, look for the
key to the communicating door. I can’t
find it. I go to the door, and it opens.
OLIVIA
What can you see? Do you hear anything?
Munson cuts her off.
MUNSON
There’s a strange smell. I can’t remember
what it is, but it’s familiar somehow. I
think of Afghanistan for some reason.
I open the second door, the one to Aubrey’s
suite.
OLIVIA
It’s also unlocked?
MUNSON
Yes, it’s as if Aubrey’s waiting for me.
She may have fallen asleep while I was
with the others in the bar.
OLIVIA
Can you see her?
Munson becomes more agitated. He speaks quickly, breathes shallowly.
MUNSON
No, the lights are off. The blinds and the
drapes are closed, so there isn’t enough
light to see much. Aubrey’s on the bed. I
wonder if she’s still in the mood for me,
if she unlocked the doors for me.
OLIVIA
Remain unaffected by what you see.
Report to me everything you saw, heard,
felt, smelled, but remain unattached to
the event. What do you do next?
Disregarding her, Munson goes into full PTSD mode.
MUNSON
I go over to Aubrey. The smell is there,
stronger. I don’t know what it is. Maybe
sweat. I whisper her name. She doesn’t
respond. I find her shoulder, shake it.
Olivia scrambles to write his revelations.
OLIVIA
Do you turn on the light?
MUNSON
I lean over to kiss her.
Munson is standing in front of Olivia. He drops to his knees and a tortured scream erupts.
MUNSON
Aubrey! Aubrey! Damn you, no!
I love you!
Munson grabs Olivia, pulls her close, cries, kisses, sobs, kisses, wails. Shocked, Olivia pulls away, but Marine Corps muscles are too strong.
OLIVIA
Mr. President! Stop! You must
come back to the present!
No effect.
Munson pulls her tighter to him.
She closes her eyes, calms her voice.
Almost a whisper.
OLIVIA
Mr. President, you are back in the
elevator. It is going upwards. You
reach the tenth floor. The doors open
and you are back in your bedroom in
the White House.
Munson stares at her. A man coming out of a nightmare.
He faints.
Key Scene 3
INT. EAST WING — EVENING
Olivia and Agent Barnes walk the halls of the White House. She sports an evening dress, well within her income range.
BARNES
So, what do you think of the
Cottage so far?
OLIVIA
What, you mean this palace? It’s been
— educational, inspirational, and
downright intimidating, to be honest.
BARNES
You’ll get used to it.
OLIVIA
I hope not. I mean, that would take out
all the fun and adventure, wouldn’t it?
BARNES
We’re still always on duty. It’s never
business as usual at the White House.
OLIVIA
Besides, I really don’t want to be here
that long. I want to do what I was hired
to do and get out.
BARNES
Here we are.
Barnes opens a door for her. Munson is standing on the other side.
MUNSON
Thanks, Jerry. You can catch some
shuteye if you like.
BARNES
I’ll be right here, Mr. President, in
case I’m needed.
Munson nods.
OLIVIA
I don’t think I could find my way
back on my own.
Barnes sits in a chair by the door. Munson guides Olivia closes the door behind them.
A large dining room, loaded with chandeliers, oak walls, and a long oak table.
Olivia looks around. Nobody else. Just Munson and she are there.
OLIVIA
I thought we were having dinner.
MUNSON
We are. here, have a seat.
He pulls out a corner chair for her. There are only two place settings, two sets of wine glasses, two finger bowls, two napkins.
OLIVIA
I, uh, didn’t know it was just the
two of us.
Munson pushes the chair in for her and sits at the head of the table.
MUNSON
Who else?
OLIVIA
I’m not sure. Some White House staff,
a Senator or two, foreign dignitaries?
Munson laughs.
MUNSON
They’re a dreary lot. I thought we
should have a nice conversation,
unencumbered by the realities of
my office. Just like a first date.
I hope you’re hungry.
Waiters interrupt and serve shrimp appetizers. A sommelier brings wine, offers Munson a taste. Munson nods, and the wine is poured.
MUNSON
Dinner at the White House is always
multiple courses.
The waiters depart.
OLIVIA
That’s not a big concern. I’m a little
surprised is all. I don’t usually meet
clients alone outside of the office.
MUNSON
Well, it’s never business as usual at
the White House.
OLIVIA
I keep hearing that.
MUNSON
It keeps being true. Try this wine, it’s
really the perfect complement to the
shrimp.
OLIVIA
I kind of want to keep my head clear.
Munson holds out his glass, inviting her to tap it with hers.
MUNSON
We’re not here for a session.
The word of the evening is
relaxation and recuperation.
Olivia hesitantly lifts her glass. They click together and sip the wine.
OLIVIA
This place — I mean the White House
—is more intimidating than it is relaxing.
MUNSON
I felt the same way my first few months here.
It’s a huge step up, even from the Senate.
OLIVIA
That’s surprising to hear. I didn’t think
anything could intimidate the most powerful
man —
Munson jumps in.
MUNSON
Most powerful man in the world?
I haven’t felt that powerful recently.
OLIVIA
I’m sorry. You said we’re here to relax,
and I’m reminding you of things that
upset you.
A second course appears, the leftover shrimp are removed. A new wine fills a new glass.
OLIVIA
They pour a lot of wine here.
MUNSON
We go through an entire vineyard at
state dinners.
OLIVIA
And still manage to get things done?
MUNSON
You get used to it.
OLIVIA
I’m already beginning to get a
little dizzy.
MUNSON
Another lightweight.
OLIVIA
Beg pardon?
MUNSON
Like Aubrey. She can’t hold her liquor.
Silence.
MUNSON
I mean, she couldn’t hold her liquor.
OLIVIA
Maybe we need to change the subject.
She takes a large swig from her wine.
MUNSON
No, it’s alright. As I told you, you
remind me of her. Same size, figure,
If you trimmed your hair I’d think
you were her from behind.
OLIVIA
I thought we weren’t going to talk
about that.
MUNSON
Well, except that she had a refined
sense of fashion. Quite a clothes
horse, really. But, really, you could
fit right into her dresses or suits.
A third course interrupts them. When the waiters leave, Olivia puts on her “professional face”. They talk over one another.
OLIVIA
Mr. President —
MUNSON
Dan, we’re not in the office. Daniel,
if you insist on formality.
OLIVIA
Mr. President, I doubt that you’ve ever
been in a spot before where you required
the services of a professional psychiatric
therapist.
MUNSON
No, that’s true enough.
OLIVIA
I was hired to do a job, which is to
help you recover from a traumatic shock.
MUNSON
You’re talking shop again.
OLIVIA
Just like a soldier who contracts Post
Traumatic Stress from combat,
especially if a close friend is killed.
Munson looks away.
OLIVIA
This country needs someone who is at
the top of his game, twenty-four seven,
for the next three years. You’re the only
President we have, so we’ve got to keep
this on a professional basis.
MUNSON
I thought you’d like a good meal.
OLIVIA
I do, but we need to keep ourselves
emotionally detached if the purpose
I was hired for is going to work.
MUNSON
What was it, the wine? I told them to
serve a chardonnay with the sea bass.
Olivia pushes her chair back.
OLIVIA
I really need to get some sleep. As
you should; I sure you’ve a very
difficult and stressful day tomorrow.
MUNSON
There’s a fantastic dessert planned.
OLIVIA
Please, when you get to bed, turn on the recording. Get into the Theta rhythms.
It will help you sleep. Get a good night’s
rest, and we’ll meet tomorrow if your
schedule permits.
Olivia stands. Munson rises stiffly, bows to her.
OLIVIA
Good night, Mr. President.
MUNSON
Good night, Doctor.
Olivia hastens over to the hall door and opens it. Barnes is outside. He pops out of the chair.
Olivia looks back at Munson. He’s gone.
INT. FIRST LADY’S SUITE — MOMENTS LATER
Barnes opens the door to Olivia’s rooms for her.
OLIVIA
Thanks, Jerry.
BARNES
My pleasure, Doctor.
He departs. Olivia steps in front of the mirror and unzips her dress. She removes it, lets her hair down, takes the dress to the wardrobe. Inside are someone else’s clothes. She looks at them, sorts through them, studying them.
Olivia stops at an ornate dress. She walks over to the dresser, reaches into the upper drawer, and pulls out the picture of the First Lady at the inauguration with Munson.
There’s no doubt.
It’s the same dress.
INT. WHITE HOUSE FOYER— NIGHT
Olivia, wrapped in the First lady’s trench coat, wearing the First Lady’s pumps, gripping her White House I.D, approaches the front door.
Three Secret Service agents leap to their feet. Behind Olivia, Barnes emerges from a side door.
BARNES
Doctor Thurmond? Please stop.
Olivia beelines for the front door. The other agents coalesce to block her path.
Olivia turns to Barnes.
OLIVIA
I need to get something from home.
BARNES
It’s the middle of the night. If you
like, I can send someone to get it
for you.
OLIVIA
It’s something personal.
BARNES
I’m sorry, Doctor, but right now I
can’t let you out that door any more
than I could let you in.
OLIVIA
I called a cab. It’ll be waiting outside
the gate.
BARNES
It’s too dangerous, Doctor.
OLIVIA
What the hell are you talking about?
Barnes firmly takes her hand. She pulls back, but he’s in great shape.
BARNES
Please, Doctor, let me take you back
to your suite.
OLIVIA
I told you. I don’t want to go back. I
need to get something.
Barnes releases her hand.
BARNES
If you’ll come with me, I will make
things clear for you.
Olivia looks at the door. Her path to freedom is blocked by the agents. Another has joined them by now.
She relents. Slowly they walk back into the residence.
OLIVIA
Okay, what’s so dangerous about
leaving the White House that I can’t
go home for a night? The President
is asleep by now, so I’m not needed
herre.
BARNES
I wasn’t referring to the President’s
situation. It’s your safety that I am
responsible for.
OLIVIA
I thought Bowen was in charge of me.
BARNES
He’s the President’s security chief.
I am the First Lady’s, since Mister
Hanks committed suicide.
Olivia stops dead in her tracks.
OLIVIA
Who committed suicide?
BARNES
Agent Hanks. He was in charge of
Mrs. Munson’s security.
OLIVIA
Whoever he was, I’m not the
First Lady.
Barnes looks at her coat and shoes. Olivia looks at her clothing, embarrassed, bewildered.
Barnes offers her a hand and leads her through the long, silent corridors.
BARNES
I’m currently assigned to you as
there is no First Lady to care for.
The danger is real, Doctor Thurmond,
not because you are the President’s
wife, but because you are his analyst.
OLIVIA
I’m here to help him through this,
not to cause problems. I’m not exactly
looking for foreign agents to blab secrets
to.
Barnes interrupts.
BARNES
Can you think of any reason why
foreign agents would like to capture you?
OLIVIA
Sure, I know the President’s condition.
BARNES
That makes you a security risk, Doctor.
The badge you’re carrying doesn’t just
give you permission to go into the
Presidential suite, it also restricts you
from leaving without a security team
or someone in administration tagging
along. Think about this — if a foreign
intelligence agency were to kidnap you,
the risk is not only to national security.
OLIVIA
I wouldn’t tell them anything. I know how
to handle myself under drugs or hypnosis.
BARNES
What about torture, Doctor? Try to see
yourself being waterboarded. Or having
your lovely hand smashed by a hammer.
The pain of either is quite intense, I’ve
been told. By people who have suffered
them.
Olivia’s eyes go wide.
OLIVIA
Mister Barnes, if you’re trying to
frighten me — you’re succeeding.
Barnes stops. Olivia realizes they are back at the First Lady’s suite.
BARNES
Please, Doctor, think about it. I am
here to protect you. I can’t do that if
you slip out into the night.
OLIVIA
What happens when this is over? I
mean, nobody in the press knows who
I am, do they?
BARNES
You may be the best-kept secret in the
White House. But we prefer not to take
too many chances.
OLIVIA
But, I’ll be back in practice, someday?
BARNES
That hasn’t been decided yet. You may
be placed in a new identity, as in witness
protection programs. In that case, you’d
be relocated somewhere that we could
keep you from harm, probably for some
time.
Olivia opens the door.
OLIVIA
You mean, for the rest of my life.
Don’t you?
BARNES
It may come to that, Doctor.
Olivia nods.
OLIVIA
Thank you, Agent Barnes, for
explaining my situation clearly.
BARNES
I’m sorry, Doctor Thurmond.
Once you took on this position,
you became a target for all enemies,
foreign or domestic. We’ll do
everything we can to protect you.
Olivia nods, goes into the suite. The lock clicks behind her like a prison cell door.
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What I learned from this assignment: Jump in, the water’s fine. Here’s where the story starts to really move.
ACT II Scene 1/2
BEGINNING: Olivia arrives at the White House in a limo. She is greeted by Bowen; he explains that Davies is in a cabinet meeting.
MIDDLE: Bowen takes her to the East Wing/the Residence and shows her to her suite. He tells her to make herself comfortable, and that her security clearance identification will arrive soon.
END: Bowen leaves, locking her in.BEGINNING: Olivia begins to wonder. She explores the suite. She begins to enjoy it.
MIDDLE: Davies arrives. Olivia wants to make love to him.
END: Davies balks; he tells her she has to see Munson right away.EXT. WHITE HOUSE — EVENING
Olivia emerges from a limousine at the steps to the White house. Bowen opens the car door and helps her out.
A porter takes her bags from the trunk and sets them on a cart. He wheels them around to a side door.
BOWEN
Have you ever been inside?
OLIVIA
I haven’t even taken the tour.
Bowen gestures to the tall oaken doors.
BOWEN
We’ll go in here, and your bags will
be waiting for you.
He leads her up the steps.
OLIVIA
I thought Will Davies would meet me.
BOWEN
There’s a meeting. Meetings happen
a lot in this place.
INT. WHITE HOUSE — CONTINUOUS
They enter the White House. Olivia looks around at the splendor.
OLIVIA
I always wanted high ceilings like
this. It’s so huge, I feel a little off-
balance.
BOWEN
It’s natural to feel a little —
disoriented, at first.
OLIVIA
Well, then, so far I’m natural.
Bowen chuckles.
BOWEN
That’s the West Wing over there,
where all the decisions are made.
This way is the residence. You’ll be a
few steps away from the President, in
case he needs you.
OLIVIA
This isn’t going to be by appointment?
Bowen stops.
BOWEN
Nothing in this building is like the restof the world. It may take some getting
used to.
He leads her to an elevator. An uncomfortable silence as they ascend.
They exit into a long hall, lined with tall doors.
OLIVIA
This looks like an easy place to get lost.
Bowen points at a door.
BOWEN
This is the Presidential Suite.
Right down here is where you’ll be.
OLIVIA
How many guest rooms are there?
BOWEN
In this case, you’ll be situated in the
First Lady’s quarters.
Olivia hits the brakes.
OLIVIA
Look, I’m not superstitious or
anything, but that’s a little bit
grotesque…
Bowen cuts her off.
BOWEN
It’s for proximity, nothing else. All
of the Late Mrs. Munson’s belongings
have been moved to storage. There
won’t be any reminders.
He gestures; she resumes walking, a little hesitantly.
Bowen opens a door. Olivia steps through cautiously, looking about.
INT. FIRST LADY’S SUITE — CONTINUOUS
The dressing room is the size of her apartment. Olivia shivers, crosses her arms for warmth. Bowen notices, cranks up the radiator.
OLIVIA
Is it always this cold?
BOWEN
No one’s been in here for a few days.
Olivia peeks around corners.
BOWEN
There are no ghosts.
OLIVIA
Keep telling me that.
Olivia spots her luggage near a massive dresser.
OLIVIA
I’ll need a ladder to get to the top
drawers in that monster.
BOWEN
Strange that the walls and furniture are
so tall, given that people at the dawn of the nineteenth century tended to be a bit short.
Except for Jefferson, of course. Here’s
a wardrobe you can hang up your clothes
in. Use the drawers at a comfortable level
for your smaller items. Adams, at five foot
seven was the first occupant of the White
House, along with his wife Abigail.
OLIVIA
Did you start here as a tour guide?
Bowen grins.
BOWEN
There’s times I wish I were one. This
job can be a little demanding. Go ahead
and make yourself comfortable. Relax,
put your things away. The bathroom’s
in there, if you need to freshen up. Through
that door, you’ll find a bed. I’ll come by
later with your security ID. Until you have
that, you don’t want to be caught roaming
the halls.
OLIVIA
Thanks for the warning. What time is —
The door closes.
A key turns in the deadbolt.
Olivia is alone.
INT. FIRST LADY’S SUITE — LATER
Olivia sleeps in darkness in a canopied king-sized bed. Doors lead to the bathroom, the dressing room, and the main hallway.
A key turns in the deadbolt. As the door opens, harsh light bathes the bed room. A man’s silhouette fills it, closes the door, and reaches out in the shadows.
Olivia bolts upright.
DAVIES
Take it easy, it’s just me.
OLIVIA
Does everyone but me have a key
to this room?
He sits down on the edge of the bed next to her.
DAVIES
You can have this one. And, I brought
your security card. It’s your hall pass.
Wear it around your neck and advertise
it to the men in the hallways and maybe
they won’t shoot you on sight.
Half-asleep, Olivia reaches for him. Her arms wrap around his neck and draw him to her.
He resists.
OLIVIA
What’s wrong?
DAVIES
You have to get dressed.
Olivia reaches for his necktie. He takes hold of her wrists.
OLIVIA
No, you should get naked.
Davies pushes her hands away.
DAVIES
Your services are needed elsewhere.
She cuddles up to him.
OLIVIA
Your room, then?
DAVIES
The Presidential Suite. Maybe you
can calm him down.
It comes crashing in on Olivia.
OLIVIA
What time is it?
DAVIES
A little after one in the morning.
Get up, get dressed, get ready.
Olivia falls back on the bed. Her hands rub her face. She nods.
I signed up for this, didn’t I?
Davies snaps on a lamp. Olivia blinks.
-
What I learned from this exercise: Get the raw dimensions cut, save the finish-sanding for later. I’m leaving four out of the twelve scenes as outlines, and will work on them later. I look to be on the way to a thirty-page first act!
INT. ROOM IN TRUMP HOTEL, WASHINGTON, D.C. — DAY
A riot of law enforcement in suits. Cameras flash, samples are taken; carpet, bedsheets, clothing, blood. Fingerprint kits are more common than Covid tests. FBI Chief Investigator MELVIN TOWNES enters the room and looks for a face in the melee.
Seated on a plush chair near the window, surrounded by law enforcement, is a man in his mid-to-late-40’s, normally handsome, now his face a quivering, spasmodic mask of terror.
An investigator in sterile coveralls passes Townes carrying a plastic evidence bag. Townes stops him.
TOWNES
Is that it?
The man nods and displays the bag. In it is a thick dagger, and blood — lots of blood.
Townes nods and the investigator exits. Townes walks over to the seated man. He crouches next to the chair to be close to eye level.
TOWNES
Mr. President? President Munson?
The seated man stares ahead, unaware. Townes rises and addresses the ring of men around him.
TOWNES
Who the hell’s in charge here?
One of them points to a man near the bed. Townes zeroes in on him. The bed frame is typical Trump: gold-plated, carved and ostentatious to the point of gaudiness. CSI surrounding it block the view of the mattress.
TOWNES
You Hanks?
ROLAND HANKS, Secret Service detail assigned to the First Family, nods.
TOWNES
Your men leave their posts?
HANKS
No. Not for a minute.
TOWNES
How could anyone have gotten into the room?
HANKS
I don’t know.
TOWNES
What does the security camera footage show?
HANKS
It doesn’t show anyone. I don’t know.
Townes darkens impatiently.
TOWNES
Who has the footage right now?
HANKS
I don’t know.
TOWNES
Are you Secret Service Agent Roland Hanks?
HANKS
Yes.
TOWNES
You’re in charge of the special detail here?
HANKS
Yes.
Townes’s body language is complete exasperation.
TOWNES
Well, then, Secret Service Agent Roland
Hanks, in charge of the President’s security
detail, you tell me how…
Hanks shakes his head.
TOWNES
If all your agents were posted, and all
security precautions were in force, and
all of the security cameras were
working…
He points between two of the CSI men surrounding the bed.
TOWNES
And no one went in or out of the room —
how the hell…
A woman’s body on the bed, blood all around, stabbed multiple times, the face mutilated almost beyond recognition.
TOWNES
Does that happen to the First Lady
of the United States of America?
Hanks droops. He looks over at the President, sitting in the overstuffed chair, lost in his own mind, shivering — staring at the blood all over his hands and shirt cuffs.
INT. OLIVIA’S APARTMENT — NIGHT
JASON, 28, bronzed and buffed, climaxes atop a woman in bed, then rolls off to the side. After a few moments of heavy breathing, OLIVIA THURMOND, a woman who looks even sexier wearing glasses, looks at her cell phone.
OLIVIA
It’s two o’clock.
JASON
Yeaaahhh.
OLIVIA
You’d better skedaddle.
Jason turns over to her, fondles her a little.
JASON
Don’t you want to enjoy the
afterglow? Cuddle a little while?
OLIVIA
It’s late. I can’t afford to have you
here all night.
JASON
How about I stay the night for
once? We can have another go
before you leave for work.
Olivia takes his hand from her breast and throws it away from her. She pushes Jason out of the bed with her feet.
OLIVIA
I have to be up early tomorrow.
JASON
You mean today.
OLIVIA
Out.
She succeeds. He falls out of the bed, dragging the covers with him.
JASON
Look, I know you’re the high-
and-mighty girl in the psychiatric
office, but that doesn’t mean you
rule the world. Why don’t you
ever ask me to stay the night?
Olivia reaches for her purse.
OLIVIA
First, because I don’t want a man
thinking he owns me. I have zero
emotional attachments, and I like
it that way.
She pulls out a wad of Ben Franklins and counts some out.
JASON
That’s not fair.
OLIVIA
Second, because you charge more
per hour than I do. I can’t afford
an all-nighter.
Jason slips his jeans on.
JASON
Okay, let’s forget the charges for the
rest of the night. The sex is great, right?
Olivia hands him four hundred-dollar bills.
OLIVIA
And third, you don’t get paid for the
sex, you get paid to leave afterwards.
Capiche?
He tucks his shirt in.
JASON
You are one tough broad.
OLIVIA
I’d like my covers back on the bed, please.
Jason obeys.
OLIVIA
Good. Now, run along. I’ll call you some
time next week.
Jason grabs his shoes and leaves. After the front door latches, Olivia exhales. She finds his name in her phone and deletes it.
INT. COURT ROOM — DAY
BEGINNING: Olivia testifies in court that she has examined the arresting officer, and placed him under hypnosis, where he confessed to not having been able to see inside the store at the time of the robbery as he had stated in his report.
MIDDLE: Olivia is cross-examined. She wrecks the prosecutor’s line of attack.
END: Olivia leaves the courtroom. An FBI agent approaches her and asks if she could take a few hours to interview someone for them.
INT. POLICE INTERROGATION ROOM — DAY
BEGINNING: Olivia hypnotizes the suspect.
MIDDLE: Under hypnosis, the suspect’s story falls apart. He’s just an unstable guy looking for his fifteen minutes of fame.
END: After she leaves, Townes and Bowen debate if she’s qualified.
INT. OLIVIA’S APARTMENT — DAY
Olivia enters her apartment with purse and take-out food. She kicks off her shoes, drops her purse near the door, and unbuttons her blouse while setting down the take-out on the dining table. The TV remote is on the table; she picks it up, flicks it in the direction of the tube. TV lights up, and Olivia slips behind the kitchen counter, grabs a wine glass from the rack and sets it down upright. She leans her head into the fridge for a bottle of Burgundy and the news of the First Lady comes on.
Olivia takes the bottle out of the fridge and pops the cork. Spotting the news through the counter opening,, she flips a channel with the remote while filling a glass. Still news. She taps the remote again. Same story. She draws a big slug of wine, a third of the pour. Some of the wine trickles down from the corners of her mouth, and she lets it, rolling the cold glass over her cleavage. Once more with the remote. Same picture; an ambulance being unloaded at NIH. Is the remote broken?
She shakes it and goes to the dining table to try from shorter range.
Olivia notices the chyron on the screen: First Lady Murdered — Suspect In Custody — F.B.I. Agent Townes has “No Comment” —
OLIVIA
What the fuck?
NEWS ANCHOR (O.S.)
… have arrested a young man of _____
descent, as yet unidentified, but we
believe this footage to be of the suspect…
The volume recedes as Olivia realizes it’s the man she hypnotized for Towne and Bowen. Her throat tightens and catches.
EXT. WHITE HOUSE — DAY
BEGINNING: Davies gives a rundown of the time and place of the First Lady’s murder.
MIDDLE: Reporters throw questions at him from all directions. Finally, the Fox Noise reporter asks if the 25th Amendment has been invoked.
END: Davies states that President Munson is strong and calm, though shaken, and the 25th Amendment is not on the table.
INT. OLIVIA’S APARTMENT — DAY
BEGINNING: Bowen calls. He tells her Davies asked him to call her, and Olivia says she’s not interested. She doesn’t want to see Davies.
MIDDLE: Bowen says that Townes and he witnessed her hypnotize the suspect and that they would like her to work on a special case. It would be top-secret. Olivia scoffs.
END: Bowen asks her to meet him on the National Mall, near the Washington Monument. She tells him if she sees Davies, she’ll walk.
EXT. NATIONAL MALL — DAY
Olivia sits on a park bench, every muscle tense. Bowen drops a bag of fast food next to her. She flinches and gasps.
BOWEN
Hey, I know it’s probably not what you’re
used to, but I’m on a budget.
Olivia recovers.
OLIVIA
It’s, uh — exactly what I’m used to. I really
don’t make as much as you think.
BOWEN
Well, good, because the government doesn’t
pay much.
OLIVIA
I haven’t said yes. Why didn’t
you tell me about the First Lady?
BOWEN
We wanted you unvarnished, unbiased. It
was Townes’ idea, actually. Was it wrong?
Did you eat on the way?
Olivia breaks out of her haze. She opens the bag, pulls out the burger, drink, and fries. They eat.
OLIVIA
No, it probably wasn’t. I might have
done the same thing in your place.
BOWEN
Great minds think alike.
Olivia turns like a surprised cat.
OLIVIA
I’m not great. I wrote a book.
BOWEN
You developed a technique. And it
seems to work. We need you to treat
the President.
OLIVIA
Wait, all I did was question a suspect.
Bowen almost whispers.
BOWEN
The President is a suspect.
Olivia’s eyes pop.
BOWEN
I’m taking a big chance talking to you
like this. Townes and C.I.A. probably
have half a dozen mics and cameras
on us right now.
OLIVIA
Are you people that paranoid?
BOWEN
We have to be. Try the fries.
Olivia shakes her head and opens the fries bag. There’s a note written on the inside: “He had the knife in his bloody hands.”
BOWEN
Look, we need to get President
Munson in therapy. He’s been through
a heel of a shock, and he reminds me
of a lot of vets I know with PTSD.
OLIVIA
It would be highly unusual if he didn’t.
BOWEN
He’s a highly unusual man.
OLIVIA
He’d have to be.
BOWEN
That’s right. And he needs an unusual
therapist. We’ve got to get him back in
the saddle before others realize he’s
hanging on by the skin of his teeth.
OLIVIA
You’re mixing your metaphors. I don’t
think I’m the right one to do this. I haven’t
any political expertise, and the technique
isn’t foolproof. I might screw him up
worse.
Bowen leans back, chews his burger like it’s his last.
OLIVIA
I might screw him up worse. Have you
thought of that? Shouldn’t you try the
people at NIH first?
BOWEN
We did. The problem is, they all have
their own biases. They can’t even agree
on a plan of action.
OLIVIA
Then get someone outside who has lots
of experience in PTSD.
BOWEN
Anyone you care to recommend?
OLIVIA
Find my father. I haven’t spoken to him
in years, but he’d be the right man for
the job.
BOWEN
I had him in mind. Take a ride with me.
Bowen rises and waves. A car pulls up to the curb nearby.
OLIVIA
I don’t want to see him.
BOWEN
You won’t have to.
Bowen extends his hand to help her up.
EXT. ARLINGTON CEMETERY — DAY
Bowen and Olivia stand over a grave. It reads “Dr. Theobold Thurmond” and is dated two years ago.
OLIVIA
He was a brilliant man.
BOWEN
I expect so. Graduate of Johns Hopkins,
MA at Stanford, PhD at Harvard. Returned
to teach at Stanford, became head of the
Psychiatric Department and got a second
PhD in Political Science. Taught you, until
you transferred.
OLIVIA
We had a falling out.
BOWEN
I know. What I don’t know is why?
OLIVIA
He could be — emotionally abusive.
Once she discovered he was cheating
with a coed, and she went to his office
in a rage. His name was on the door in
those brass letters they used to use.
BOWEN
We still have some of those in the White
House.
OLIVIA
She broke every one of her nails off trying
to rip those letters off the door. He wasn’t
even there. I tried to get her to leave him,
but she couldn’t. There wasn’t anything
anyone could do.
BOWEN
That must have left some scars.
OLIVIA
A few. I couldn’t live with it anymore. So I transferred to Yale. I wanted to be as far
away from him as I could get.
BOWEN
I’m sorry. For you and your mother, both.
Olivia lifts her eyes from the gravestone.
OLIVIA
Take me home, please.
Bowen offers his hand and leads her away from the grave.
INT. OLIVIA’S APARTMENT — NIGHT
Olivia opens her apartment door and freezes. A man, WILL DAVIES, 45, well-groomed and manicured, is sitting at her dining table. Olivia recovers, goes through her normal routine at the. door, and walks to the bedroom.
OLIVIA
Most people knock before they enter
someone else’s home, you know.
Davies raps the table twice.
DAVIES
Knock, knock.
He rises, follows her to the bedroom, and leans against the door frame.
DAVIES
I was afraid you wouldn’t let me in.
OLIVIA
You’re not afraid of anything. You take
whatever you want, you use whoever
you want.
Olivia undresses, slips into Spandex and a robe.
DAVIES
I’m taking quite a risk coming here.
OLIVIA
You mean breaking and entering?
Yeah, big risk. I could call the cops.
DAVIES
Not unless you want them to know I
watched you undress and you let me.
OLIVIA
There, that’s the old Will Davies I knew
and loved. The great manipulator.
DAVIES
I’m not here for that.
OLIVIA
You’re here to offer an apology?
Accepted. Now get out.
Davies pulls out his cellular.
DAVIES
I need you to see this.
OLIVIA
What is it, old porno movies of us?
DAVIES
It’s a nation in crisis.
OLIVIA
How romantic.
Davies grabs her arm. She yanks it away.
OLIVIA
I’m not yours to drag around any more.
DAVIES
I’m serious. Look.
Davies holds up the phone. The video shows Munson, soon after his wife was discovered. He’s a shrinking, quivering lump of Jello in an armchair. Covered with his wife’s blood. Holding the knife.
Olivia takes on her “professional look”. She takes the phone from him, watches the action as the FBI and Secret Service mill about the room.
OLIVIA
Should you be showing me this?
DAVIES
No.
OLIVIA
Who recorded this?
DAVIES
I did. No one else has seen it.
There’s a long shot of Munson. He’s totally withdrawn, unresponsive as investigators rain questions down on him like a press conference.
OLIVIA
He’s in shock.
DAVIES
Go to the next video.
Olivia obeys. Munson at a cabinet meeting, railing at some of the cabinet officials.
DAVIES
He jumps down people’s throats, or
shuts down. there’s no in-between.
OLIVIA
Classic PTSD. You don’t need me, you
need a therapist who handles vets coming
back from Iraq.
DAVIES
We can’t get him to talk to any of the
therapists. He clams up.
OLIVIA
You want me to interfere with politics?
DAVIES
I want you to help. Some of the Cabinet
are already talking about the 25th
Amendment.
Olivia tosses his phone back.
OLIVIA
Vice-President. Speaker. Senate Majority
Leader. Secretary of State. Isn’t that the
list?
DAVIES
You know the Vice President was chosen
for gender and multi-racial appeal. She
didn’t even have one full year in the Senate.
She’s way too green to handle the job, even
without international emergencies. Russia is
massing troops on the Khazak border, and
China is enveloping Taiwan with a fleet. They
know how vulnerable we are. I’ve got the
Russians cowed for the moment with economic
threats, but the Chinese aren’t going to listen for
long.
OLIVIA
Try something different — like diplomacy.
DAVIES
It’s all going to collapse without a real
President. And Munson isn’t that now.
We need someone in charge who can
control people.
OLIVIA
I know someone just like that.
DAVIES
Alright. My turn’s in two years. He’ll endorse
me when the time comes. Right now, the country needs a functioning President. Look at all the
good he’s done. Climate action. Infrastructure. Renewables. Population control, for Chrissake.
He’s gotten things done nobody else would
even dream of trying to do.
OLIVIA
Every one of them a corporate giveaway.
DAVIES
He knows how to push, he knows how to compromise. He gets things done. This world
needs Daniel Munson. The fucking plant will
go under if he doesn’t get back in form. We
need you to fix him.
Olivia leans against a wall, closes her eyes. A tear peeks out from an eye.
OLIVIA
Will, I’m not capable of doing this.
DAVIES
Your technique looks good to Bowen.
OLIVIA
It was ridiculed by every other psychiatrist
in the country. I don’t even use it except when
asked. The book was a worst-seller.
Davies strokes her hair, gives her a shoulder. He pets her, reassures her, draws her close.
DAVIES
Townes and Bowen have confidence in
you. So do I. We need you.
Her arms wrap around him. He whispers.
DAVIES
I need you, too.
Olivia pushes him off, but he’s stronger. She relents. he holds her head to his chest.
OLIVIA
This is exactly what I didn’t want.
Davies’ hands drift down to her neck. Olivia shudders. He draws her face to him. Her robe falls open.
INT. OLIVIA’S APARTMENT — MORNING
Olivia sits up in bed suddenly, gasping for air. Davies is gone. Olivia looks around, as if unsure where she is and what has happened.
OLIVIA
No, please, no.
She pulls back the sheets and sees the stains on the bed.
OLIVIA
Oh my god.
She rushes to the toilet, kneels down, and vomits.
After a minute, she rises, washes her face, dries off, and goes into the kitchen. She brews coffee, finds the remote, snaps on the TV, muted. Scenes of funeral preparations. She flips to MSNBC and volumes up.
MSNBC ANCHOR
…and we wish President Munson,
his family, and the First Lady’s
family, all the best during this disastrous
time of their lives.
Olivia flips to CNN. White House steps. The President’s daughter gets out of a limo and rushes to him.
CNN ANCHOR
…now, the question is, should the
Vice President take charge until he can
get back to some semblance of normal.
Olivia presses buttons. Fox Noise.
FOX ANCHOR
… the Twenty-fifth Amendment. Munson
has proven himself a complete incompetent
over the last five years, and now he’s falling
apart.
FOX BLONDE
Well, our thoughts and prayers go out to
the First Lady’s family, but the President
needs to be replaced and quickly.
FOX ANCHOR
And not by a wet-behind -the-ears Vice
president, either. The Speaker of the House
should immediately be put in charge.
Olivia hits the “off” button and shakes her head while pouring her coffee.
OLIVIA
Not my circus; not my monkey.
Stirring in the cream, she sits at the dining table and finds a note. All it says is “Please! I need you!” She crumples the paper and throws it away. She shivers, empties her coffee in one long gulp, and heads to the shower.
INT. OLIVIA’S OFFICE — DAY
Olivia sits behind her desk. A female patient occupies the couch.
FEMALE PATIENT
I suppose I shouldn’t complain too
much about him controlling me. It’s not
like I’m the First Lady.
Olivia sits up.
OLIVIA
How do you mean?
FEMALE PATIENT
Well, isn’t it obvious? Her husband killed
her, that terrible man. He’s wrecked the
country, and when she tried to stop him, he
stabbed her.
Olivia jumps out of her chair.
OLIVIA
Okay, well, that’s good enough for
today. Let’s see you next week, alright?
FEMALE PATIENT
I thought I had an hour.
Olivia helps her up. The Female Patient puts on her shoes.
OLIVIA
Normally, but I have an emergency
engagement today. I just wanted to get
some things clarified with you.
FEMALE PATIENT
But you haven’t clarified anything.
Olivia guides her to the door and out to reception room.
OLIVIA
No, I mean you clarified things for me.
Good job today. ext week, same time,
for a full hour.
She hustles the Female Patient out the door. Another patient looks up from a chair, anticipating an early start. Olivia goes to her receptionist and leans over to her ear.
OLIVA
Tell him I have an emergency. Cancel
all the afternoon appointments.
The receptionist nods and steps over to the patient while Olivia returns to her therapy office, closing the door.
Olivia opens her bottom desk drawer. From it she pulls out a selfie Davies took of them, in a bed, Olivia trying to cover herself with the sheet, both of them laughing. Olivia closes her eyes and leans back in the chair. She draws several long, calming breaths.
OLIVIA
Hell.
She punches an open phone line and dials.
-
ACT I TURNING POINT BEAT SHEET:
INT. OLIVIA’S APARTMENT — NIGHT
Davies is waiting in Olivia’s apartment. He shows her a video of the President. It shakes her. Davies asks Olivia to help the President, or he will have to invoke the 25th Amendment. The Vice President, he says, is too green — she was chosen for her gender and multi-racial appeal — and won’t be able to handle any major emergencies or the opposition party. Munson has cowed them into submission temporarily, but they are just waiting for the next election cycle. Davies says he’s certain Munson will will endorse him for nominee. But it will all collapse if Munson doesn’t get back on his feet. He makes love to her. She tells him this is exactly what she doesn’t want.
INT. OLIVIA’S APARTMENT — MORNING
Olivia awakens. Davies is gone. Olivia goes to the toilet, kneels down, and vomits. She discovers a one-word note: Please! On TV, Olivia hears echoes of the 25th Amendment. She shakes her head “Not my circus; not my monkey.”
INT. OLIVIA’S OFFICE — DAY
Olivia sees her final patient for the day. It’s easy to see she can’t go back to this after being asked to treat the President. She calls Davies.
ACT I TURNING POINT OUTLINE:
INT. OLIVIA’S APARTMENT — NIGHT
BEGINNING: Davies is waiting in Olivia’s apartment. She huffs that people knock before entering someone else’s dwelling. He raps on the table and says “Knock, knock.” She walks past him to the bedroom and undresses, slips into Spandex and a robe. Davies watches, telling her that he’s taking a big risk coming here. She responds that yes, she could have him jailed for breaking and entering.
MIDDLE: Davies shows Olivia a video of the President on his phone. Munson is silent, hypnotic. It shakes her. Davies asks Olivia to help the President, or he will have to invoke the 25th Amendment. The Vice President, he says, is too green — she was chosen for her gender and multi-racial appeal — and won’t be able to handle any major emergencies or the opposition party. Davies has cowed them into submission temporarily, but they are just waiting for the next opportunity. Olivia says she knows lots of people like that. Davies admits he has Presidential aspirations and he’s certain Munson will will endorse him for nominee. But it will all collapse if Munson doesn’t get back on his feet.
END: Olivia says she’s not ready for this. Davies strokes her hair, pets her shoulders, reassures her, draws her close. Her arms slowly find their way around his torso. He kisses her head, her face, her lips. “I need you, too.” he whispers. She tells him this is exactly what she doesn’t want. Davies runs his hands down her neck and she shudders. Her robe opens.
INT. OLIVIA’S APARTMENT — MORNING
BEGINNING: Olivia awakens, gasping for air. Davies is gone. Olivia looks around, as if unsure where she is and what has happened. She pulls back the sheets and sees the stains on the bed. She rushes to the toilet, kneels down, and vomits.
MIDDLE: Olivia brews coffee. Stirring in the cream, she sits at the dining table and finds a note. All it says is “Please! I need you!” She crumples the paper and throws it away.
END: Flipping on the TV, Olivia hears echoes of the 25th Amendment on news stations. CNN wonders if the President is capable of performing his office after his wife’s death. MSNBC wishes him the best. Fox anchors scream that he’s a complete incompetent to begin with, and now will be totally unable to execute the least of his duties and must be replaced, not by the fish-out-of-water Veep, but by the Republican Speaker of the House. Olivia hits the “off” button. She shakes her head “Not my circus; not my monkey.” She shivers, empties her coffee in one long gulp, and heads for the shower.
INT. OLIVIA’S OFFICE — DAY
BEGINNING: Olivia sees her final patient for the day. She describes some mundane problem she has with her boyfriend, then adds that at least she isn’t dead like the First Lady. Olivia nearly jumps out of her chair and tells the patient that her time is up.
MIDDLE: Olivia goes out to her receptionist. There is another patient waiting. Olivia whispers in her receptionist’s ear to make an excuse for her; she can’t see anyone else today. The receptionist nods and steps over to the patient while Olivia returns to her therapy office.
END: Olivia opens her bottom desk drawer. In it is a selfie Davies took of them, in a bed, Olivia trying to cover herself with the sheet. Olivia closes her eyes. She punches an open phone line and dials his number.
ACT I TURNING POINT:
INT. OLIVIA’S APARTMENT — NIGHT
Olivia opens her apartment door and freezes. A man, WILL DAVIES, 45, well-groomed and manicured, is sitting at her dining table. Olivia recovers, goes through her normal routine at the. door, and walks to the bedroom.
OLIVIA
Most people knock before they enter
someone else’s home, you know.
Davies raps the table twice.
DAVIES
Knock, knock.
He rises, follows her to the bedroom, and leans against the door frame.
DAVIES
I was afraid you wouldn’t let me in.
OLIVIA
You’re not afraid of anything. You take
whatever you want, you use whoever
you want.
Olivia undresses, slips into Spandex and a robe.
DAVIES
I’m taking quite a risk coming here.
OLIVIA
You mean breaking and entering?
Yeah, big risk. I could call the cops.
DAVIES
Not unless you want them to know I
watched you undress and you let me.
OLIVIA
There, that’s the old Will Davies I knew
and loved. The great manipulator.
DAVIES
I’m not here for that.
OLIVIA
You’re here to offer an apology?
Accepted. Now get out.
Davies pulls out his cellular.
DAVIES
I need you to see this.
OLIVIA
What is it, old porno movies of us?
DAVIES
It’s a nation in crisis.
OLIVIA
How romantic.
Davies grabs her arm. She yanks it away.
OLIVIA
I’m not yours to drag around any more.
DAVIES
I’m serious. Look.
Davies holds up the phone. The video shows Munson, soon after his wife was discovered. He’s a shrinking, quivering lump of Jello in an armchair. Covered with his wife’s blood. Holding the knife.
Olivia takes on her “professional look”. She takes the phone from him, watches the action as the FBI and Secret Service mill about the room.
OLIVIA
Should you be showing me this?
DAVIES
No.
OLIVIA
Who recorded this?
DAVIES
I did. No one else has seen it.
There’s a long shot of Munson. He’s totally withdrawn, unresponsive as investigators rain questions down on him like a press conference.
OLIVIA
He’s in shock.
DAVIES
Go to the next video.
Olivia obeys. Munson at a cabinet meeting, railing at some of the cabinet officials.
DAVIES
He jumps down people’s throats, or
shuts down. there’s no in-between.
OLIVIA
Classic PTSD. You don’t need me, you
need a therapist who handles vets coming
back from Iraq.
DAVIES
We can’t get him to talk to any of the
therapists. He clams up.
OLIVIA
You want me to interfere with politics?
DAVIES
I want you to help. Some of the Cabinet
are already talking about the 25th
Amendment.
Olivia tosses his phone back.
OLIVIA
Vice-President. Speaker. Senate Majority
Leader. Secretary of State. Isn’t that the
list?
DAVIES
You know the Vice President was chosen
for gender and multi-racial appeal. She
didn’t even have one full year in the Senate.
She’s way too green to handle the job, even
without international emergencies. Russia is
massing troops on the Khazak border, and
China is enveloping Taiwan with a fleet. They
know how vulnerable we are. I’ve got the
Russians cowed for the moment with economic
threats, but the Chinese aren’t going to listen for
long.
OLIVIA
Try something different — like diplomacy.
DAVIES
It’s all going to collapse without a real
President. And Munson isn’t that now.
We need someone in charge who can
control people.
OLIVIA
I know someone just like that.
DAVIES
Alright. My turn’s in two years. He’ll endorse
me when the time comes. Right now, the country needs a functioning President. Look at all the
good he’s done. Climate action. Infrastructure. Renewables. Population control, for Chrissake.
He’s gotten things done nobody else would
even dream of trying to do.
OLIVIA
Every one of them a corporate giveaway.
DAVIES
He knows how to push, he knows how to compromise. He gets things done. This world
needs Daniel Munson. The fucking plant will
go under if he doesn’t get back in form. We
need you to fix him.
Olivia leans against a wall, closes her eyes. A tear peeks out from an eye.
OLIVIA
Will, I’m not capable of doing this.
DAVIES
Your technique looks good to Bowen.
OLIVIA
It was ridiculed by every other psychiatrist
in the country. I don’t even use it except when
asked. The book was a worst-seller.
Davies strokes her hair, gives her a shoulder. He pets her, reassures her, draws her close.
DAVIES
Townes and Bowen have confidence in
you. So do I. We need you.
Her arms wrap around him. He whispers.
DAVIES
I need you, too.
Olivia pushes him off, but he’s stronger. She relents. he holds her head to his chest.
OLIVIA
This is exactly what I didn’t want.
Davies’ hands drift down to her neck. Olivia shudders. He draws her face to him. Her robe falls open.
INT. OLIVIA’S APARTMENT — MORNING
Olivia sits up in bed suddenly, gasping for air. Davies is gone. Olivia looks around, as if unsure where she is and what has happened.
OLIVIA
No, please, no.
She pulls back the sheets and sees the stains on the bed.
OLIVIA
Oh my god.
She rushes to the toilet, kneels down, and vomits.
After a minute, she rises, washes her face, dries off, and goes into the kitchen. She brews coffee, finds the remote, snaps on the TV, muted. Scenes of funeral preparations. She flips to MSNBC and volumes up.
MSNBC ANCHOR
…and we wish President Munson,
his family, and the First Lady’s
family, all the best during this disastrous
time of their lives.
Olivia flips to CNN. White House steps. The President’s daughter gets out of a limo and rushes to him.
CNN ANCHOR
…now, the question is, should the
Vice President take charge until he can
get back to some semblance of normal.
Olivia presses buttons. Fox Noise.
FOX ANCHOR
… the Twenty-fifth Amendment. Munson
has proven himself a complete incompetent
over the last five years, and now he’s falling
apart.
FOX BLONDE
Well, our thoughts and prayers go out to
the First Lady’s family, but the President
needs to be replaced and quickly.
FOX ANCHOR
And not by a wet-behind -the-ears Vice
president, either. The Speaker of the House
should immediately be put in charge.
Olivia hits the “off” button and shakes her head while pouring her coffee.
OLIVIA
Not my circus; not my monkey.
Stirring in the cream, she sits at the dining table and finds a note. All it says is “Please! I need you!” She crumples the paper and throws it away. She shivers, empties her coffee in one long gulp, and heads to the shower.
INT. OLIVIA’S OFFICE — DAY
Olivia sits behind her desk. A female patient occupies the couch.
FEMALE PATIENT
I suppose I shouldn’t complain too
much about him controlling me. It’s not
like I’m the First Lady.
Olivia sits up.
OLIVIA
How do you mean?
FEMALE PATIENT
Well, isn’t it obvious? Her husband killed
her, that terrible man. He’s wrecked the
country, and when she tried to stop him, he
stabbed her.
Olivia jumps out of her chair.
OLIVIA
Okay, well, that’s good enough for
today. Let’s see you next week, alright?
FEMALE PATIENT
I thought I had an hour.
Olivia helps her up. The Female Patient puts on her shoes.
OLIVIA
Normally, but I have an emergency
engagement today. I just wanted to get
some things clarified with you.
FEMALE PATIENT
But you haven’t clarified anything.
Olivia guides her to the door and out to reception room.
OLIVIA
No, I mean you clarified things for me.
Good job today. ext week, same time,
for a full hour.
She hustles the Female Patient out the door. Another patient looks up from a chair, anticipating an early start. Olivia goes to her receptionist and leans over to her ear.
OLIVA
Tell him I have an emergency. Cancel
all the afternoon appointments.
The receptionist nods and steps over to the patient while Olivia returns to her therapy office, closing the door.
Olivia opens her bottom desk drawer. From it she pulls out a selfie Davies took of them, in a bed, Olivia trying to cover herself with the sheet, both of them laughing. Olivia closes her eyes and leans back in the chair. She draws several long, calming breaths.
OLIVIA
Oh, shit.
She punches an open phone line and dials.
-
What I learned from this exercise: As I get deeper into the first act, as I look over my potential scenes, decide upon my Inciting Event, the Refusal of the Call, and Answering the Call, a new pattern develops, one that makes more sense, the story becomes more clear.
INCITING EVENT:
INT. OLIVIA’S APARTMENT — DAY
Olivia goes home with takeout food, flips on the television, and sees the news about the First Lady.
BEGINNING: Olivia gets home and goes through her usual routine as the news comes on the TV.
MIDDLE: Olivia changes the channel repeatedly while preparing to eat, thinking that her remote is broken because the same footage is on every station.
END: It sinks in that the First lady has been murdered and she just hypnotized a suspect.INT. OLIVIA’S APARTMENT — DAY
Olivia enters her apartment with purse and take-out food. She kicks off her shoes, drops her purse near the door, and unbuttons her blouse while setting down the take-out on the dining table. The TV remote is on the table; she picks it up, flicks it in the direction of the tube. TV lights up, and Olivia slips behind the kitchen counter, grabs a wine glass from the rack and sets it down upright. She leans her head into the fridge for a bottle of Burgundy and the news of the First Lady comes on.
Olivia takes the bottle out of the fridge and pops the cork. Spotting the news through the counter opening,, she flips a channel with the remote while filling a glass. Still news. She taps the remote again. Same story. She draws a big slug of wine, a third of the pour. Some of the wine trickles down from the corners of her mouth, and she lets it, rolling the cold glass over her cleavage. Once more with the remote. Same picture; an ambulance being unloaded at NIH. Is the remote broken?
She shakes it and goes to the dining table to try from shorter range.
Olivia notices the chyron on the screen: First Lady Murdered — Suspect In Custody — F.B.I. Agent Townes has “No Comment” —
OLIVIA
What the fuck?
NEWS ANCHOR (O.S.)
… have arrested a young man of _____
descent, as yet unidentified, but we
believe this footage to be of the suspect…
The volume recedes as Olivia realizes it’s the man she hypnotized for Towne and Bowen. Her throat tightens and catches.
REFUSAL OF THE CALL
EXT. NATIONAL MALL — DAY
Olivia and Bowen have burgers and fries on a park bench. She tells him she’s never treated anyone of such magnitude as a President and is afraid of screwing up, that they need someone older and more experienced. She recommends her father.
BEGINNING: Bowen and Olivia meet on the mall and share fast food.
MIDDLE: Olivia tells Bowen that she doesn’t feel up to doing the job. Bowen tells her that they’ve had other psychiatrists in who couldn’t do what she can.END:
Olivia sits on a park bench, every muscle tense. Bowen drops a bag of fast food next to her. She flinches and gasps.
BOWEN
Hey, I know it’s probably not what you’re
used to, but I’m on a budget.
Olivia recovers.
OLIVIA
It’s, uh — exactly what I’m used to. I really
don’t make as much as you think.
BOWEN
Well, good, because the government doesn’t
pay much.
OLIVIA
I haven’t said yes. Why didn’t
you tell me about the First Lady?
BOWEN
We wanted you unvarnished, unbiased. It
was Townes’ idea, actually. Was it wrong?
Did you eat on the way?
Olivia breaks out of her haze. She opens the bag, pulls out the burger, drink, and fries. They eat.
OLIVIA
No, it probably wasn’t. I might have
done the same thing in your place.
BOWEN
Great minds think alike.
Olivia turns like a surprised cat.
OLIVIA
I’m not great. I wrote a book.
BOWEN
You developed a technique. And it
seems to work. We need you to treat
the President.
OLIVIA
Wait, all I did was question a suspect.
Bowen almost whispers.
BOWEN
The President is a suspect.
Olivia’s eyes pop.
BOWEN
I’m taking a big chance talking to you
like this. Townes and C.I.A. probably
have half a dozen mics and cameras
on us right now.
OLIVIA
Are you people that paranoid?
BOWEN
We have to be. Try the fries.
Olivia shakes her head and opens the fries bag. There’s a note written on the inside: “He had the knife in his bloody hands.”
BOWEN
Look, we need to get President
Munson in therapy. He’s been through
a heel of a shock, and he reminds me
of a lot of vets I know with PTSD.
OLIVIA
It would be highly unusual if he didn’t.
BOWEN
He’s a highly unusual man.
OLIVIA
He’d have to be.
BOWEN
That’s right. And he needs an unusual
therapist. We’ve got to get him back in
the saddle before others realize he’s
hanging on by the skin of his teeth.
OLIVIA
You’re mixing your metaphors. I don’t
think I’m the right one to do this. I haven’t
any political expertise, and the technique
isn’t foolproof. I might screw him up
worse.
Bowen leans back, chews his burger like it’s his last.
OLIVIA
I might screw him up worse. Have you
thought of that? Shouldn’t you try the
people at NIH first?
BOWEN
We did. The problem is, they all have
their own biases. They can’t even agree
on a plan of action.
OLIVIA
Then get someone outside who has lots
of experience in PTSD.
BOWEN
Anyone you care to recommend?
OLIVIA
Find my father. I haven’t spoken to him
in years, but he’d be the right man for
the job.
BOWEN
I had him in mind. Take a ride with me.
Bowen rises and waves. A car pulls up to the curb nearby.
OLIVIA
I don’t want to see him.
BOWEN
You won’t have to.
Bowen extends his hand to help her up.
EXT. ARLINGTON CEMETERY — DAY
Bowen and Olivia stand over a grave. It reads “Dr. Theobold Thurmond” and is dated two years ago.
OLIVIA
He was a brilliant man.
BOWEN
I expect so. Graduate of Johns Hopkins,
MA at Stanford, PhD at Harvard. Returned
to teach at Stanford, became head of the
Psychiatric Department and got a second
PhD in Political Science. Taught you, until
you transferred.
OLIVIA
We had a falling out.
BOWEN
I know. What I don’t know is why?
OLIVIA
He could be — emotionally abusive.
I tried to get my mother to leave him,
but she wouldn’t.
BOWEN
I’m sorry.
OLIVIA
There wasn’t anything anyone could do.
I couldn’t live with it anymore.
BOWEN
I’m sure you made the right decision.
Olivia lifts her eyes from the gravestone.
OLIVIA
Take me home, please.
Bowen offers his hand and leads her away from the grave.
-
“In the Shadow of Greatness” opening scenes outlines
What I learned from this assignment is to make sure I have a clear beginning, middle, and end to every scene.
Introducing Olivia:
In private, Olivia hires a sex partner for her physical needs in order to avoid emotional attachment to anyone. It is the only relationship she can control; because she pays for it.
INT. OLIVIA’S APARTMENT — NIGHT
BEGINNING: OLIVIA, 30, and JASON, 28 bronzed and buffed, climax in bed. After a few moments of heavy breathing, Olivia looks at her cell phone. She tells Jason it’s two AM, and he has to leave.
MIDDLE:
Jason argues with her. Why shouldn’t he stay? They could have another go before she leaves for work. Olivia tells him she has to be up at six-thirty and pushes him out of the bed with her feet.
END: Jason teases that just because she’s a high and mighty psychiatrist doesn’t mean she rules the world. Olivia reminds him that “you don’t pay for the sex, you pay to get them to leave afterward”. She pulls $300 out of her purse and gives it to Jason. “Now, be a good boy and run along. I have to be in court at eight.”
Inciting Incident:
Secret Service Agent Bryan Bowen tells Olivia the First Lady has been murdered. He hires Olivia to analyze the claimants.
EXT. COURT BUILDING — DAY
BEGINNING: As Olivia reaches the bottom of the court building stairs, a well-dressed, tall man BRYAN BOWEN, mid 40s, falls in step beside her and introduces himself, asking if she could come with him.
MIDDLE: Olivia tells him she has patients to attend to; Bowen shows her his Secret Service ID and tells her there is urgent need for her
services; they need her expertise in hypnotherapy to help determine if a few suspects might be guilty of a crime. Olivia says that’s not the usual application of her techniques.
END: Bowen says Will Davis recommended her. She asks what this is about, and he tells her the First Lady was murdered during the night. She takes out her cell phone and dials, then tells her secretary to cancel all her appointments for the day.
-
“In the Shadow of Greatness”: Olivia’s Beat sheet with theme and antagonist journey added.
What I learned from this lesson is to make my antagonist(s) active members and the driving force behind the story. The protagonist does not come into her own until the final act.
Theme: This story is about power. Bill Clinton said, almost casually, that he had the affair with Monica Lewinsky “Because I could.” He had obviously sexually used and abused other women while Governor of Arkansas. George W. Bush abused power. Nixon abused power. Cheney, Reagan, Carter, Ford, Obama, and oh, God, Trump all abused the power of their office. So did Lincoln, Jackson, Grant, and most other presidents. So do most senators and congresspersons. It is a rare and wonderful thing to find someone in a position of power who does not abuse it. And once they have power, and get away with abusing it once, twice, thrice, they emit an aura of invincibility. Why did Trump, a failed businessman, become president? Because he believed he could. He was trained from birth that he was born better than anyone else, and he believed it. Only a person with complete ego-confidence can win an election, and some of them lose. But they never stop looking for power. Trump is campaigning for 2024; even Hillary is campaigning for 2024. They are both power-hungry. The antagonists in this story are bloated with power. They believe they, and only they, have the right to power. And into this world steps our hero, Olivia. A middle-class psychiatrist who had a power-mad, abusive father. A psychiatrist who looks to therapy for the power to change people’s lives. She has written an almost-unread book on hypnotherapy. She is drawn into the life of the most powerful man in the world, and she’s not ready for it. Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely. If she wants to have any power in this situation, she will have to be corrupted. She now lives in the shadow of greatness. This is her dilemma.
“In the Shadow of Greatness” beat sheet
Act 1:
INT. COURTROOM — DAY
Opening: Olivia is introduced in court as a psychiatrist who has written a theoretical book about hypnotherapy. She testifies that the defendant was hypnotically induced by Fox TV to attack the Capitol. The judge gives accolades to the power of her testimony.
INT. OLIVIA’S APARTMENT — NIGHT
In private, she hires a sex partner for her physical needs in order to avoid emotional attachment to anyone. It is the only relationship she can control; because she pays for it. But her male prostitute proves her wrong; he ties her to the bed before he leaves, taking all her money.
INT. OLIVIA’S OFFICE- DAY
Inciting Incident: Secret Service Agent Bryan Bowen tells Olivia the First Lady has been murdered. He hires Olivia to analyze the claimants.
INT. POLICE FACILITY — NIGHT
Olivia helps Bowen determine that none of the people confessing did the killing. Bowen admires the hypnotic power she has over the claimants.
INT. OLIVIA’S APARTMENT — MORNING
Turning Point: Olivia gets a call from Will, her one-time lover and the President’s Chief-of-Staff; he asks her to come to the White House.
Act 2:
EXT./INT. WHITE HOUSE — DAY
New plan: Olivia is overwhelmed by the White House. Davis asks her to treat the President. He tells her she will have the power to do anything she deems necessary.
INT. MUNSON’S ROOMS — DAY
Olivia begins cautiously; using conventional therapy on Munson. He overwhelms her with his sense of power.
INT. EAST WING — EVENING
Olivia emerges from her first sessions with Munson shaken. Davis gives her a brief rundown of procedures and a tour of the area she’s allowed.
INT. DAVIS’S APARTMENT — NIGHT
Olivia falls back into her old love affair with Davis. He has enough residual power over her to convince her to stay.
INT. MUNSON’S ROOMS — EVENING
Plan in action: The President blames himself for his wife’s murder. He confesses he was drunk and drugged, he suspected she was having an affair, he entered her apartment and found her tied to the bed. The next thing he knew, the knife was in his hand. He says he must have been powerless in the grip of emotion.
INT. EAST WING — DAY
Midpoint Turning Point: When Bowen confronts Olivia with video both of her failures with Munson and her affair with Davis, Olivia goes to Munson’s quarters to resign. She feels powerless.
INT. MUNSON’S ROOMS — DAY
Munson begs her to stay, giving her power over him. But she succumbs to his need and sleeps with him, exactly what he wanted. He now enjoys the power he has over her.
INT. MUNSON’S ROOMS — NIGHT
In the early hours, she wakes up hearing a voice. She searches for it, but it stops.
Act 3:
INT. EAST WING —DAY
Rethink everything: Olivia decides Bowen is wire-tapping her sessions with Munson and speaks to Munson.
INT. BOWEN’S CONTROL ROOM — DAY
Munson demands Bowen shut down the surveillance. They battle for power. Bowen grudgingly removes the bugs but secretly leaves one camera and one mic.
INT. MUNSON’S ROOMS — EVENING
New plan: Olivia begins hypnotherapy on Munson. She believes it gives her power over him.
INT. MUNSON’S ROOMS — NIGHT
Olivia awakens again, hearing voices.
INT. DAVIS’S APARTMENT — DAY
Olivia goes to Davis to tell him about the voice. Bowen has sent Davis a video of Olivia and Munson in bed. Bowen and Davis lock horns; Bowen fires Olivia.
INT. OVAL OFFICE — DAY
Davis castigates Bowen and demands he rehire Olivia. It’s a power play between them. When Munson finds out, he goes ballistic; Bowen rehires Olivia.
INT. MUNSON’S ROOMS — EVENING
During a hypnotherapy session, Munson vaguely suggests he raped a woman while in college. Even then he felt power over others, a need that has yet to be satiated.
INT. MUNSON’S ROOMS — NIGHT
Turning Point: Olivia awakens, again hearing voices. This time, she’s sure of it. She hears “You killed… the First Lady.” When she begins searching for the source, the voice cuts out again. She decides it’s real; she’s not hallucinating.
Act 4:
INT. INT. MUNSON’S ROOMS — DAY
Climax/Ultimate expression of the conflict: Olivia enlists Davis’s aid in finding the bug. They take the power into their own hands, over Bowen’s objections.
INT. MUNSON’S ROOMS — DAY
Bowen arrives in Munson’s room. Olivia and Davis confront him with the two bugs he left and the recorder that played the voice. Bowen admits to the Secret Service bugs but confiscates the recorder along with them, denying anything to do with it. When Davis tries to get the recorder back, Bowen’s men violently stop him.
INT. OVAL OFFICE — DAY
Davis tells Munson about the bugs and blames Bowen.
INT. OVAL OFFICE — DAY
Munson explodes at Bowen during a cabinet meeting and fires him. Bowen argues that Munson doesn’t have the power; but Munson forces him out of the White House.
INT. CONFERENCE ROOM — DAY
Davis hints about the 25th Amendment. His power in the cabinet grows.
INT. BOWEN’S OFFICE IN TREASURY DEPARTMENT— DAY
Bowen listens to the recording that played in Munson’s office. He asks Olivia to meet him at the Jefferson Memorial.
INT. MUNSON’S ROOMS — EVENING
Olivia makes an excuse to Munson that she cannot stay the night. He insists she remain, and she does until the sleeping pill has its usual effect; then she slips out of the WH.
INT. JEFFERSON MEMORIAL — NIGHT
Olivia asks Bowen what Munson’s movements were the night of the First Lady’s murder. He tells her about how Jefferson exceeded his authority to make the Louisiana Purchase, and how presidents ever since have been abusing power. He tells her to get out before the lust for power overcomes her; she won’t be able to compete in this game. Bowen lies to her about Munson’s affair, knowing they are being watched, but slips a note into her hand during an awkward handshake.
INT. DAVIS’S APARTMENT — NIGHT
The note asks her to get a recording of Davis’s voice, whispering. Olivia makes love to Davis, then, while telling him Munson may be psychotic, gets him to whisper the words they heard on the recording “You killed them. You killed the First Lady”. She secretly records his voice.
INT. BOWEN’S OFFICE IN TREASURY DEPARTMENT — DAY
Olivia takes her recording to Bowen.
EXT. NATIONAL MALL — DAY
Olivia walks to the White House. She finds herself in front of Trump Hotel. When she reaches the WH, she goes to Munson’s rooms in the East Wing.
INT. BOWEN’S OFFICE IN TREASURY DEPARTMENT — EVENING
Bowen matches the recording of Davis to the voice in the night. He heads for the White House and calls Olivia.
INT. MUNSON’S ROOMS — EVENING
Olivia goes to Munson’s room to warn him, but Davis is there already. The call from Bowen comes in, and Olivia exposes Davis as the voice on the recorder. Davis reveals that Munson is a rapist and murderer, but Munson says he didn’t kill his wife. Davis surreptitiously latches the door.
EXT. STREETS OF WASHINGTON, D.C. — EVENING
Bowen tears across town to the White House and smashes his car through the gate. WH security arrest him and bring him inside, where he escapes them.
INT. BOWEN’S CONTROL ROOM — EVENING
Pursued into the West Wing, he demands to know where Davis was last seen. The Secret Service take him to the control room — cameras show Davis entering Munson’s Rooms.
INT. MUNSON’S ROOMS — EVENING
Davis admits he killed the First Lady when he realized Munson was planning to push her for the next presidential ticket instead of Davis. Munson tells them he would never have backed Davis as a presidential candidate. Davis vituperatively tells Munson how he cuckolded him with the First Lady repeatedly. Munson goes berserk; Davis shoots him but Munson kills him with a (weapon?). Munson begs Olivia to back him up, but Bowen arrives with his men to break in the door. Munson orders him to leave. Olivia says she will have to tell the world about his crimes. Munson attacks her, but she stabs him with the (weapon?) as he strangles her. Bowen and his men break the door down just in time to see Olivia fall, sobbing, and Munson crash to the floor with the (weapon?) in his neck. Olivia has beaten the most powerful men in the world.
INT. COURTROOM — DAY
Resolution: Olivia admits guilt, but in self-defense. Bowen’s testimony is useless to her, since all the cameras and wiretaps were removed and he is restrained by protocol. The jury convicts Olivia of murdering Munson. She declares she would do it again, given the power.
Olivia’s life is in ruins, but she accepts her sentence bravely. She knows she did the right thing, and that gives her the power to face her fate.
ANTAGONIST’S STORY LINE:
Davis hires Olivia, knowing he has power over her, to prove that Munson is a rapist and a murderer, hoping to replace him next election cycle.
Davis takes advantage of his history with Olivia to lure her into his bed.
Davis continues his plot to subconsciously force Munson into a confession, but Olivia hears the recording.
Davis poisons Munson’s mind about Bowen, and gets Bowen fired.
Davis reveals to Olivia that he watched Munson rape a coed behind a dumpster after a college party. He explains that Munson murdered her when he first ran for the Senate, because she was blackmailing her. He lists all the women who Munson slept with and may have killed.
Davis locks the door against Bowen.
Davis taunts Munson how he cuckolded Munson repeatedly with the First Lady. He confesses to framing Munson for the murder.
Munson attacks and Davis shoots him; Munson kills Davis.
“In the Shadow of Greatness” beat sheet
Act 1:
INT. COURTROOM — DAY
Opening: Olivia is introduced in court as a psychiatrist who has written a theoretical book about hypnotherapy. She testifies that the defendant was hypnotically induced by Fox TV to attack the Capitol. The judge gives accolades to the power of her testimony.
INT. OLIVIA’S APARTMENT — NIGHT
In private, she hires a sex partner for her physical needs in order to avoid emotional attachment to anyone. It is the only relationship she can control; because she pays for it. But her male prostitute proves her wrong; he ties her to the bed before he leaves, taking all her money.
INT. OLIVIA’S OFFICE- DAY
Inciting Incident: Secret Service Agent Bryan Bowen tells Olivia the First Lady has been murdered. He hires Olivia to analyze the claimants.
INT. POLICE FACILITY — NIGHT
Olivia helps Bowen determine that none of the people confessing did the killing. Bowen admires the hypnotic power she has over the claimants.
INT. OLIVIA’S APARTMENT — MORNING
Turning Point: Olivia gets a call from Will, her one-time lover and the President’s Chief-of-Staff; he asks her to come to the White House.
Act 2:
EXT./INT. WHITE HOUSE — DAY
New plan: Olivia is overwhelmed by the White House. Davis asks her to treat the President. He tells her she will have the power to do anything she deems necessary. Davis hires Olivia, knowing he has power over her, to prove that Munson is a rapist and a murderer, hoping to replace him next election cycle.
INT. MUNSON’S ROOMS — DAY
Olivia begins cautiously; using conventional therapy on Munson. He overwhelms her with his sense of power.
INT. EAST WING — EVENING
Olivia emerges from her first sessions with Munson shaken. Davis gives her a brief rundown of procedures and a tour of the area she’s allowed.
INT. DAVIS’S APARTMENT — NIGHT
Davis takes advantage of his history with Olivia to lure her into his bed. Olivia falls back into her old love affair with Davis. He has enough residual power over her to convince her to stay.
INT. MUNSON’S ROOMS — EVENING
Plan in action: The President blames himself for his wife’s murder. He confesses he was drunk and drugged, he suspected she was having an affair, he entered her apartment and found her tied to the bed. The next thing he knew, the knife was in his hand. He says he must have been powerless in the grip of emotion.
INT. EAST WING — DAY
Midpoint Turning Point: When Bowen confronts Olivia with video both of her failures with Munson and her affair with Davis, Olivia goes to Munson’s quarters to resign. She feels powerless.
INT. MUNSON’S ROOMS — DAY
Munson begs her to stay, giving her power over him. But she succumbs to his need and sleeps with him, exactly what he wanted. He now enjoys the power he has over her.
INT. MUNSON’S ROOMS — NIGHT
Davis continues his plot to subconsciously force Munson into a confession, but Olivia hears the recording. In the early hours, she wakes up hearing a voice. She searches for it, but it stops.
Act 3:
INT. EAST WING —DAY
Rethink everything: Olivia decides Bowen is wire-tapping her sessions with Munson and speaks to Munson.
INT. BOWEN’S CONTROL ROOM — DAY
Munson demands Bowen shut down the surveillance. They battle for power. Bowen grudgingly removes the bugs but secretly leaves one camera and one mic.
INT. MUNSON’S ROOMS — EVENING
New plan: Olivia begins hypnotherapy on Munson. She believes it gives her power over him.
INT. MUNSON’S ROOMS — NIGHT
Olivia awakens again, hearing voices.
INT. DAVIS’S APARTMENT — DAY
Olivia goes to Davis to tell him about the voice. Bowen has sent Davis a video of Olivia and Munson in bed. Bowen and Davis lock horns; Bowen fires Olivia.
INT. OVAL OFFICE — DAY
Davis castigates Bowen and demands he rehire Olivia. It’s a power play between them. Davis poisons Munson’s mind about Bowen. When Munson finds out, he goes ballistic; Bowen rehires Olivia.
INT. MUNSON’S ROOMS — EVENING
During a hypnotherapy session, Munson vaguely suggests he raped a woman while in college. Even then he felt power over others, a need that has yet to be satiated.
INT. MUNSON’S ROOMS — NIGHT
Turning Point: Olivia awakens, again hearing voices. This time, she’s sure she heard “You killed… the First Lady.” When she begins searching for the source, the voice cuts out again. She decides it’s real; she’s not hallucinating.
Act 4:
INT. INT. MUNSON’S ROOMS — DAY
Climax/Ultimate expression of the conflict: Olivia enlists Davis’s aid in finding the bug. They take the power into their own hands, over Bowen’s objections.
INT. MUNSON’S ROOMS — DAY
Bowen arrives in Munson’s room. Olivia and Davis confront him with the two bugs he left and the recorder that played the voice. Bowen admits to the Secret Service bugs but confiscates the recorder along with them, denying anything to do with it. When Davis tries to get the recorder back, Bowen’s men violently stop him.
INT. OVAL OFFICE — DAY
Davis tells Munson about the bugs and blames Bowen.
INT. OVAL OFFICE — DAY
Munson explodes at Bowen during a cabinet meeting and fires him. Bowen argues that Munson doesn’t have the power; but Munson forces him out of the White House.
INT. CONFERENCE ROOM — DAY
Davis hints about the 25th Amendment. His power in the cabinet grows.
INT. BOWEN’S OFFICE IN TREASURY DEPARTMENT— DAY
Bowen listens to the recording that played in Munson’s office. He asks Olivia to meet him at the Jefferson Memorial.
INT. MUNSON’S ROOMS — EVENING
Olivia makes an excuse to Munson that she cannot stay the night. He insists she remain, and she does until the sleeping pill has its usual effect; then she slips out of the WH.
INT. JEFFERSON MEMORIAL — NIGHT
Olivia asks Bowen what Munson’s movements were the night of the First Lady’s murder. He tells her about how Jefferson exceeded his authority to make the Louisiana Purchase, and how presidents ever since have been abusing power. He tells her to get out before the lust for power overcomes her; she won’t be able to compete in this game. Bowen lies to her about Munson’s affair, knowing they are being watched, but slips a note into her hand during an awkward handshake.
INT. DAVIS’S APARTMENT — NIGHT
The note asks her to get a recording of Davis’s voice, whispering. Davis reveals to Olivia that he watched Munson rape a coed behind a dumpster after a college party. He suspects that Munson murdered the girl when he first ran for the Senate, because she was blackmailing her. He lists women who Munson slept with and may have killed. Olivia makes love to Davis, then, while telling him Munson may be psychotic, gets him to whisper the words she and Bowen heard on the recording “You killed them. You killed the First Lady”. She secretly records his voice.
INT. BOWEN’S OFFICE IN TREASURY DEPARTMENT — DAY
Olivia takes her recording to Bowen.
EXT. NATIONAL MALL — DAY
Olivia walks to the White House. She finds herself in front of Trump Hotel. When she reaches the WH, she goes to Munson’s rooms in the East Wing.
INT. BOWEN’S OFFICE IN TREASURY DEPARTMENT — EVENING
Bowen matches the recording of Davis to the voice in the night. He heads for the White House and calls Olivia.
INT. MUNSON’S ROOMS — EVENING
Olivia goes to Munson’s room to warn him, but Davis is there already. The call from Bowen comes in, and Olivia exposes Davis as the voice on the recorder. Davis reveals that Munson is a rapist and murderer, but Munson says he didn’t kill his wife. Davis surreptitiously latches the door.
EXT. STREETS OF WASHINGTON, D.C. — EVENING
Bowen tears across town to the White House and smashes his car through the gate. WH security arrest him and bring him inside, where he escapes them.
INT. BOWEN’S CONTROL ROOM — EVENING
Pursued into the West Wing, he demands to know where Davis was last seen. The Secret Service take him to the control room — cameras show Davis entering Munson’s Rooms.
INT. MUNSON’S ROOMS — EVENING
Davis admits he killed the First Lady when he realized Munson was planning to push her for the next presidential ticket instead of Davis. Munson tells them he would never have backed Davis as a presidential candidate. Davis vituperatively tells Munson how he cuckolded him with the First Lady repeatedly. Munson goes berserk; Davis shoots him but Munson kills him with a (weapon?). Munson begs Olivia to back him up, but Bowen arrives with his men to break in the door. Munson orders him to leave. Olivia says she will have to tell the world about his crimes. Munson attacks her, but she stabs him with the (weapon?) as he strangles her. Bowen and his men break the door down just in time to see Olivia fall, sobbing, and Munson crash to the floor with the (weapon?) in his neck. Olivia has beaten the most powerful men in the world.
INT. COURTROOM — DAY
Resolution: Olivia admits guilt, but in self-defense. Bowen’s testimony is useless to her, since all the cameras and wiretaps were removed and he is restrained by protocol. The jury convicts Olivia of murdering Munson. She declares she would do it again, given the power.
Olivia’s life is in ruins, but she accepts her sentence bravely. She knows she did the right thing, and that gives her the power to face her fate.
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Jess’s High-Speed Beat Sheet
What I learned doing this assignment: How to do a quick, usable version of the plot outline. After this I can break down the Acts further and add some more scenes and details, but the basic structure is getting solid.
Act 1:
INT. COURTROOM — DAY
Opening: Olivia is introduced in court as a psychiatrist who has written a theoretical book about hypnotherapy. She testifies that the defendant was hypnotically induced by Fox TV to attack the Capitol.
INT. OLIVIA’S APARTMENT — NIGHT
In private, she hires a sex partner for her physical needs in order to avoid emotional attachment to anyone.
INT. OLIVIA’S OFFICE- DAY
Inciting Incident: Secret Service Agent Bryan Bowen tells Olivia the First Lady has been murdered. He hires Olivia to analyze the claimants.
INT. POLICE FACILITY — NIGHT
Olivia helps Bowen determine that none of the people confessing did the killing.
INT. OLIVIA’S APARTMENT — MORNING
Turning Point: Olivia gets a call from Will, her one-time lover and the President’s Chief-of-Staff; he asks her to come to the White House.
Act 2:
EXT./INT. WHITE HOUSE — DAY
New plan: Olivia is overwhelmed by the White House. Davis asks her to treat the President.
INT. MUNSON’S ROOMS — DAY
Olivia begins cautiously; using conventional therapy on Munson. He overwhelms her.
INT. EAST WING — EVENING
Olivia emerges from her first sessions with Munson shaken. Davis gives her a brief rundown of procedures and a tour of the area she’s allowed.
INT. DAVIS’S APARTMENT — NIGHT
Olivia falls back into her old love affair with Davis. He convinces her to stay.
INT. MUNSON’S ROOMS — EVENING
Plan in action: The President blames himself for his wife’s murder. He confesses he was drunk and drugged, he suspected she was having an affair, he entered her apartment and found the knife in his hand.
INT. EAST WING — DAY
Midpoint Turning Point: When Bowen confront Olivia with video both of her failures with Munson and her affair with Davis, Olivia goes to Munson’s quarters to resign.
INT. MUNSON’S ROOMS — DAY
Munson begs her to stay, she succumbs to his need and sleeps with him.
INT. MUNSON’S ROOMS — NIGHT
In the early hours, she wakes up hearing a voice. She searches for it, but it stops.
Act 3:
INT. EAST WING —DAY
Rethink everything: Olivia decides Bowen is wire-tapping her sessions with Munson and speaks to Munson.
INT. BOWEN’S CONTROL ROOM — DAY
Munson demands Bowen shut down the surveillance. Bowen grudgingly removes the bugs but secretly leaves one camera and one mic.
INT. MUNSON’S ROOMS — EVENING
New plan: Olivia begins hypnotherapy on Munson.
INT. MUNSON’S ROOMS — NIGHT
Olivia awakens again, hearing voices.
INT. DAVIS’S APARTMENT — DAY
Olivia goes to Davis to tell him about the voice. Bowen has sent Davis a video of Olivia and Munson in bed. Davis fires her.
INT. OVAL OFFICE — DAY
Munson castigates Davis and demands he rehire Olivia.
INT. MUNSON’S ROOMS — EVENING
During a hypnotherapy session, Munson vaguely suggests he has killed a woman he raped while in college.
INT. MUNSON’S ROOMS — NIGHT
Turning Point: Olivia awakens, again hearing voices.
Act 4:
INT. INT. MUNSON’S ROOMS — DAY
Climax/Ultimate expression of the conflict: Olivia enlists Davis’s aid in finding the bug.
INT. MUNSON’S ROOMS — DAY
Bowen arrives to ask why they are in Munson’s room. Olivia and Davis confront him with the two bugs he left and the recorder that played the voice. Bowen admits to the Secret Service bugs but confiscates the recorder along with them.
INT. OVAL OFFICE — DAY
Davis tells Munson about the bugs and blames Bowen.
INT. OVAL OFFICE — DAY
Munson explodes at Bowen.
INT. CONFERENCE ROOM — DAY
Davis tells the staff and hints about the 25th Amendment.
INT. BOWEN’S OFFICE IN TREASURY DEPARTMENT— DAY
Bowen listens to the recording that played in Munson’s office.
INT. MUNSON’S ROOMS — DAY
Olivia makes an excuse to spend the night at her apartment.
INT. JEFFERSON MEMORIAL — DAY
Bowen asks Olivia to meet him. Olivia asks Bowen what Munson’s movements were the night of the First Lady’s murder. Bowen lies, knowing they are being recorded, but slips a note into her hand during an awkward handshake.
INT. DAVIS’S APARTMENT — NIGHT
Olivia makes love to Davis, then, while telling him Munson may be psychotic, gets him to whisper the words they heard on the recording “You killed them. You killed the First Lady”. She secretly records his voice.
INT. BOWEN’S OFFICE IN TREASURY DEPARTMENT — DAY
Olivia takes her recording to Bowen. He matches it to the voice in the night. He heads for the White House and calls Olivia.
INT. MUNSON’S ROOMS — EVENING
Olivia goes to see Munson, but Davis is there already. The call from Bowen comes in, and Olivia exposes Davis as the voice on the recorder. Davis reveals that Munson has been a rapist and murderer, but Munson says he didn’t kill his wife. Davis surreptitiously latches the door.
EXT. STREETS OF WASHINGTON, D.C. — EVENING
Bowen tears across town to the White House and smashes his car through the barrier.
INT. BOWEN’S CONTROL ROOM — EVENING
Pursued into the West Wing, he demands to know where Davis was last seen. The Secret Service take him to the control room — cameras show Davis entering Munson’s Rooms.
INT. MUNSON’S ROOMS — EVENING
Davis admits he killed the First Lady when he realized Munson was planning to push her for the next presidential ticket instead of Davis. Munson tells them he would never have backed Davis as a presidential candidate. Davis vituperatively tells Munson how he cuckolded him with the First Lady repeatedly. Munson goes berserk; Davis shoots him but Munson kills him with a pair of scissors. Munson begs Olivia to back him up, but Bowen arrives and tries to break in the door with his men. Munson tells him to leave. Olivia says she will have to tell the world about his crimes. Munson attacks her, but she stabs him with the scissors as he strangles her. Bowen and his men break the door down just in time to see Olivia fall, sobbing, and Munson crash to the floor with the scissors in his neck.
INT. COURTROOM — DAY
Resolution: Olivia admits guilt, but in self-defense. Bowen’s testimony is useless to her, since all the cameras and wiretaps were removed and . She is convicted of murdering Munson. She declares she would do it again. Olivia’s life is in ruins, but she accepts her sentence bravely. She knows she did the right thing.
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What I learned doing this assignment is STRUCTURING my story via Transformational Events.
Make a list of 6 – 8 changes or steps that need to happen for that character to go from who they are in the beginning (Old Ways) to who they are in the ending (New Ways).
1. Olivia gets a call from Davis; he asks her to come to Washington.
2. Olivia is overwhelmed by the White House; Davis enlists her to treat the President.
3. Olivia emerges from her first sessions with Munson shaken, and resumes her affair with Davis.
4. After the Secret Service confront Olivia with video both of her failures with Munson and her affair with Davis, Olivia goes to Munson’s quarters to resign.
5. Olivia sleeps with President Munson. She hears the taped message.
6. As Olivia begins hypnotherapy on Munson, she begins to suspect that he is a serial killer.
7. Olivia enlists Davis’s aid in finding the bug; she confronts the Secret Service, blaming them. The SS disclaim all knowledge but tell her they can compare recordings to find the perp.
8. Olivia makes love to Davis to get a recording of him whispering. After determining that the voice on the tape is Davis’s, Olivia confronts Davis in Munson’s office.
9. After Munson murders Davis, Olivia kills Munson. In court, she confesses and declares she would do it again.
Act 1:
Opening: Olivia is a New York psychiatrist, reasonably successful, who has written a theoretical book about hypnotherapy. She determines in a court case that the defendant was hypnotically induced to commit a crime. In private, she hires a sex partner for her physical needs in order to avoid emotional attachment to anyone.
Inciting Incident: Someone viciously murders the First Lady. Right-wing terrorists take the credit, as do foreign terrorists; the FBI hires Olivia to analyze the claimants; she helps them determine that none of them did the killing.
Turning Point: Olivia gets a call from Will, her one-time lover and the President’s Chief-of-Staff; he asks her to come to the White House.Act 2:
New plan: Olivia is overwhelmed by the White House; Davis enlists her to treat the President. Olivia begins cautiously; using conventional therapy on Munson. Olivia emerges from her first sessions with Munson shaken, and falls back into her old love affair with Davis.
Plan in action: Olivia fails; the President becomes worse and worse, blaming himself for his wife’s murder. He was drunk and drugged, he suspected she was having an affair, he had the knife in his hand.
Midpoint Turning Point: After the Secret Service confront Olivia with video both of her failures with Munson and her affair with Davis. Olivia goes to Munson’s quarters to resign, but when he begs her to stay, she succumbs and sleeps with him. In the early hours, she hears whispering.Act 3:
Rethink everything: Olivia decides the Secret Service Chief is her enemy and gets Davis to shut down the surveillance.
New plan: Olivia begins hypnotherapy on Munson. She soon begins to feel that he has been a serial rapist and even a murderer.
Turning Point: One morning, in Munson’s chambers, Olivia awakens, hearing voices. She theorizes that someone is already hypnotizing the President to believe he murdered his wife.Act 4:
Climax/Ultimate expression of the conflict: Olivia enlists Davis’s aid in finding the bug; she confronts the Secret Service, blaming them. The SS disclaim all knowledge but tell her they can compare recordings to find the perp.
Olivia tells Will the Secret Service is hypnotizing Munson. She records him whispering in bed, takes it to the Secret Service, and finds out it is the same as the voice in the night. Confronting Davis in Munson’s presence, she learns that her suspicions were right: Munson has been a rapist and murderer, but he didn’t kill his wife; her lover Davis did, when he realized Munson was planning to push her for the next President instead of Davis. Munson tells them he has faith in Davis only as an administrator and campaign manager, not as a president. Davis goes berserk and Munson kills him, and asks Olivia to back him up, but when Olivia tells Munson she will have to tell the world about his crimes he attacks her, and she kills him with the same knife (scissors?) Munson used to murder Davis.
Resolution: Olivia is sentenced to prison for murdering Munson, although in self-defense, she has admitted guilt. In court, she confesses and declares she would do it again. Her life is in ruins, but Olivia accepts her sentence bravely. She knows she did the right thing.
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Olivia’s 4-Act Transformational Structure
What I learned from this Lesson was:
Thank you! I began studying screenwriting several years ago, and every time I hear the term “three-act structure” I gag! Three acts, with the second act being divided into two equal parts the same size as the other acts? That’s FOUR ACTS! Calling it “beginning, middle, and end” and saying that that automatically equals three acts is ludicrous once you put in a midpoint in Act 2. Shakespeare wrote in FIVE acts, with the 3rd act being the “midpoint”. The only genuine 3-act structure I ever saw was in “Charlie’s Aunt”. One in a million. Movies are done in 4-act structure; we should CALL it a 4-Act structure.
ASSIGNMENT
Create a first draft of your 4 Act Transformational Structure.
Concept: A hypnotherapist is called in to care for the President after the First Lady is murdered, and she soon falls in love with the charismatic patient, but soon she begins to suspect the President himself could be the killer. <div>
Main Conflict: Olivia is trying to treat President Munson so he can return to his work, but Will is programming Munson to believe that he murdered his own wife.
<div>
Old Ways </div><div>1. Old identity: The brilliant psychiatrist, completely self-disciplined.
2. Relies on formulaic therapy to treat Munson.
3. Remains emotionally uninvolved with everyone in her life.
Olivia begins treating the President with conventional therapy. She listens, analyzes, diagnoses, and gives feedback. Meanwhile, she returns to a sexual relationship with Will.
New Ways </div><div>
1. New Identity: Lover to Davis, and later to Munson.
Uses hypnotherapy to delve into Munson’s psyche.
Emotionally empowered, proud, brave, and free.Olivia treats Munson with hypnotherapy — and discovers he may be a serial killer. She also becomes enamored of this powerful man.
2. Fill in each of these with the answers you have right now.
Act 1:
Opening: Olivia is a New York psychiatrist, reasonably successful, who has written a theoretical book about hypnotherapy. At home, she hires a sex partner for her needs and has no emotional attachment to anyone. </div><div>
Inciting Incident: Someone viciously murders the First Lady. Right-wing terrorists take the credit, as do foreign terrorists; the FBI hires Olivia to analyze the claimants; she helps them determine that none of them did the killing.
Turning Point: Olivia gets a call from Will, her one-time lover and the President’s Chief-of-Staff; the President needs her help.
Act 2:
New plan: Olivia walks in cautiously; she uses conventional therapy to work on Munson. She falls back in love with Davis. </div><div>
Plan in action: Olivia fails; the President becomes worse and worse, blaming himself for his wife’s murder. He was drunk and drugged, he suspected she was having an affair, he had the knife in his hand.
Midpoint Turning Point: Olivia, faced with evidence against herself, failing to improve Munson, realizing that something else is at play, decides the Secret Service is her pick for the murderer. She’s dead wrong. Olivia sleeps with Munson.
Act 3:
Rethink everything: With Davis taking the Secret Service out of the equation, Olivia begins hypnotherapy on Munson. </div><div>
New plan: Olivia begins hypnotherapy on Munson. She begins to think that he has been a serial rapist and even a murderer.
Turning Point: One morning, in Munson’s chambers, Olivia awakens, thinking that she is hearing voices. She determines that someone is already hypnotizing the President to believe he murdered his wife.
Act 4:
Climax/Ultimate expression of the conflict: Olivia tells Will the Secret Service is hypnotizing Munson. She gets a recording of his voice, takes it to the Secret Service, and finds out it is the same as the voice in the night. Confronting Davis in Munson’s presence, she learns that her suspicions were right: Munson has been a rapist and murderer, but he didn’t kill his wife; her lover Davis did, when he realized Munson was planning to push her for the next President instead of Davis. Munson has faith in Davis only as an administrator, not as a leader. Davis goes berserk and Munson kills him, but then Olivia tells Munson she will have to tell the world about his crimes. When he attacks her, she kills him with the same knife Davis used to murder the First Lady. </div><div>
Resolution: Olivia is sentenced to prison for murdering Munson, although in self-defense, she has admitted guilt. Her life is in ruins, but Olivia accepts her sentence bravely. She knows she did the right thing.
3. Once you have created the 4-Act Structure for your Protagonist, go back over it to see if there is any big picture points you need to add to represent your Antagonist.
</div></div>
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Wow, my two main characters talked my ears off! I still have to do the third — and I forgot to post what i learned. I learned that it’s good to just sit back and listen. It proves that other people are as dazed and confused as I am (even if they have incredible, important jobs). I learned how human we all are, and that even a sociopath can care about somebody (or is it just lust?) It’s easy to say that my antagonist is sowing the seeds of his own destruction, but he may take the whole country down with him. And that’s scary. but so’s his boss. And my protagonist is walking into the lion’s den and putting her head in the lion’s mouth.
QUESTIONS FOR YOUR PROTAGONIST
Olivia Thurmond
Tell me about yourself.
I don’t talk about myself often, or much. It’s my job to listen, analyze, diagnose. I’ve been a therapist since age 24, having graduated very early considering I had to do a few years of med school. But as I practiced with patients, I began to realize that the efficacy of drugs could be limited. I searched for better ways, immersing myself in Jung, Janov, and others. After a while, I developed a hypnosis technique that
worked to bring suppressed memories to the surface, but at first it was trial and error. I had a lot of patients pouring out things at random, as if they were on LSD. I needed to get their thoughts, emotions, and memories working together. I refined my process, year after year. What worked for some patients needed to be altered slightly for others, depending on their diagnosis. But it began to work, and I eventually had some limited success in treating a variety of cases, including schizophrenic patients. I just never thought that someday I would be called upon for a case like this.
Why do you think you were called to this journey? Why you?
They tried others without results. The drugs were preventing the President from fulfilling his duties, as you know that a couple of times the 25th Amendment was invoked, voluntarily on the President’s part. Vice President Turner did a competent job filling in, but she demonstrated a lack of imagination. Let’s face it; she was nominated just to get women’s votes, and minority votes. She wasn’t acquainted with Washington at all. If anything critical had occurred while she was in charge, she might have responded conventionally.
2b. What’s wrong with that?
Nothing, really, except that conservatives have trouble adapting to new situations. Not all situations are alike. President Munson can juggle a lot, and has a sharp insight into people that he can rely on to develop creative ways of dealing with unique challenges. Turner might panic under some conditions.
You are up against Will Davis and Roberta Massey, the Chief of Security. What is it about him that makes this journey even more difficult for you?
Will and I have a great deal of history. He studied, and later taught, under my father, who was the head of the Medical School at Johns Hopkins. As you know, I attended three universities, Stanford, Johns Hopkins, and Harvard. But I had a relationship with Will while I was at Stanford. He was teaching Political Science under my father, which explains a lot. He also has that perfectionism, but without the anger and the brutality. After I moved to Columbia to finish my bachelor’s, I did my med school at Harvard, but by that time Will was practically running the PoliSci department there. We hooked up again, this time as lovers, and then he took the job as Munson’s campaign manager. They had known one another since high school and Stanford. I was crushed. Will left without notice, and he had known he was leaving for some time. He had been doing research for Munson’s campaigns for years. It was as if I didn’t matter at all. He just wasn’t there one day.
Massey is a whole different story. She doesn’t want me there at all. I wonder if she’s afraid I might succeed. She wants to tie my hands before I’ve even begun, by putting a security officer in with us during our sessions.
In order to survive or accomplish this, you are going to have to step way outside of your box. What changes do you expect to make and which of them will be the most difficult?
For one thing, I am confined to the East Wing of the White House for the duration. And where will I go after that? I could be a target for kidnaping and even torture — there are lots of people who would love to know the President as intimately as I soon would. Massey has to listen in on the sessions full-time, because if Munson blabs state secrets, the session has to be interrupted. So much for medical confidentiality. Once I discovered that, I had to alter my procedures to pull out only certain information during the sessions, too, because even Will can’t know everything. But, secretive as Massey is, I wasn’t warned about that at the beginning.
Also, I have never got over Will. Like my Dad, he can manipulate people, which makes him a strong Chief of Staff, but it causes a lot of problems for me. It’s a reminder of my early life through my late teens. But Will knows exactly how to take advantage of me, he knows how I like to be touched, held, kissed, made love to. And Munson is just — incredible. He has, when he’s working, such strength, power, charisma. But when he’s with me he’s so vulnerable.
And should Will or Massey be privy to that? So, we decide to meet in secret, to get more done. And the kind of charisma the President carries, the self- confidence, the strength — plus he’s drop-dead handsome — is hard to resist. I’ve never become emotionally or physically involved with a patient.
Then there’s the the brutality of the First Lady’s murder — first, I read it in the papers, then some White House aides prepped me on it, but it wasn’t
until I saw the photos that I really understood — and that is an emotional gut reaction, fight or flight syndrome. I can’t be off my guard a moment, or the whole case could collapse. I can’t treat this as a “normal” case. If I screw up, and the President can’t function, then I’ve left the country in the hands of a woman who may not be equal to the task.
And then, the next election is coming up in a year. If Munson isn’t the candidate, Turner will probably lose, and the favorite from the other party — well, to put it mildly, he’s a monster and should never be in charge of a country, any country.
What habits or ways of thinking do you think will be the most difficult to let go of?
I have to discern when Will is being manipulative and when he’s sincere. There’s a great deal of caution I have developed because of him, and it has, in the past, helped me to avoid involvements, but who knows what I’ve missed because of caution? And now, in this most unique of situations, with this most unique of patients, I have to get out of any patterns I’m stuck in, any rote or routine way of approaching the case. Because there is nothing routine about the President. I’m the psychiatrist, but this is a situation I don’t face with most patients.
What fears, insecurities and wounds have held you back?
Authority figures are, well, authoritarian to some degree. My father was a world renowned doctor who beat his wife. She never really left him, she kept going back to him when he would beg her to return. She kept the violence secret, and because of her, I kept it quiet, too. But there’s always a paranoia about having a man, especially a powerful man, assault me. So I’m both fearful of authority figures and attracted to them, because they are the only men who can figure out all the right things to say to get to me. Will knows how to manipulate me, he knows my buttons, and President Munson is the ultimate in charismatic alpha males. Both, like my father, strong authoritarian men, used to disguising the truth or lying outright. I don’t want to be another version of my mother, but as I say, I never got over Will.
What skills, background or expertise makes you well-suited to face this conflict or antagonist?
As I say, my program, my procedures, and my ability to adapt. I may be a little rusty on the last one, as the system I’ve developed works so well that I could at least begin the same way with all my patients until now. That’s out the window. I have to pre-adapt, and Will and I always worked well together as doctors. So I’m ready — I think. I’m rated the top in my field, and having studied Jung, I’ve studied dreams. But I can already tell you why the President has nightmares. If you’d seen those photos, you would, too. And Will only showed me the least gruesome. It was Massey who shoved the major ones down my throat.
Now, I have a job — to get the President of the United States functioning again. We have to draw it all out of him — every bit of hysteria, anxiety, emotional paralysis, force him to examine it, to see it like a med student dissecting a frog. Every dark corner. Because if something pushes the buttons, he has to be able to dismiss it and get his job done. The question is, when your wife has been murdered, like that, can you ever get over it? Will it return in a moment of stress to render him nonfunctional and irresponsible?
What are you hiding from the other characters? What don’t you want them to know?
It’s Will. No one ever knew we were lovers, and if they did, it would disqualify me from the job. But he begged me to help; the other doctors had failed. We need a President. But once I’m there, what might happen between us? And will it affect my ability to work?
What do you think of ?
Haven’t I made that clear? I’m thinking of two things: Will, and getting my job done. How was I to know what would happen between me and Munson?
Tell me your side of this whole conflict / story.
I’m the President’s therapist. The President. Let that sink in. I’m surrounded by Secret Service agents and political hacks. Everyone here has secrets, but their secrets are more important than 99% of people’s secrets, because these secrets, and these flaws, these predilections and biases and positions that they all have, determine the course of history.
Meanwhile, there’s me, feeling small for the first time in a decade, and it makes me so vulnerable. I’m still putty in Will’s hands, and I may be falling in love with the most powerful man in the world. And I have to stay focused, to be rational, objective. How does that work?
And we still don’t know who killed the First Lady. Is that person here?
What does it do for your life is you succeed here?
As I say, after this, whither me? I’m never going to be able to trust anyone who walks through the office door again. They could be a spy, or a terrorist, someone pretending so they can get me, one way or another, to cough up everything I’ve learned about Munson. I’ll never be safe again. There’s no upside, other than selling my story, “How I Saved the President” to a book publisher for ten million dollars, which I can’t, I can’t even write anything down on a scrap of paper.
It doesn’t do anything for me, it does it to me. I can only hope that Will loves me and I can convince him to leave this place he was born to operate, this job he was born to perform, and marry me and move to the U.S. Virgin Islands or American Samoa and live happily ever after surrounded by secret agents who have to fend off other secret agents. We’ll never even be able to make love again without someone watching through a camera or listening in on a wiretap.
Ask any other questions about their character profile that will help you.
What’s your plan here?
I want to get in, get on with it, get it over with, and get out. I have to determine boundaries and stay within them, while trying to do what they hired me to do. So, at first, I expect some blowback. I may get my feathers ruffled, but I have to watch, listen, learn. I need to stay detached, which will be hard with Will, and get inside Munson’s head, just enough to find out which techniques he will respond to, to get him to face up to what happened, the fact that we may never find the killer, to get out all the tears, the fears, the paranoia. I’ll begin by establishing trust.Presidents need to trust a lot of experts, and I will present myself as another one. Without trust, there’s no cooperation. Without cooperation, there’s no progress. Without progress, there’s no solution. And I need to solve this for him, the country, the world.
QUESTIONS FOR YOUR ANTAGONIST
Will Davis
Tell me about yourself.
I studied under, then worked under, Olivia’s father. There was a guy who made manipulation an art form. The man could find everyone’s soft spots, and the next thing you knew, they were eating out of his left hand while he stabbed them with his right hand. He nearly killed his wife, but she stayed with him. I hope I can command that kind of loyalty.
Having to do with this journey, what are your strengths and weaknesses?
I’m considered an expert in political analysis. I don’t take the polls, but I design them. And by designing polls, you influence, sway, control the vote. I’ve managed a few campaigns, and my candidate always wins. Always.
Once the campaign’s over, then is when I really shine. I keep a mental file of everyone around me, I know who can be suckered and who can’t, and I know their strengths and weaknesses.
I know Munson. And I know Olivia. Intimately. They’re both well- assembled watches, and I’m an expert watchmaker. They’re fine-tuned instruments, and I’m the prodigy musician. I can make either of them do anything.
Weaknesses? Only one. Olivia. She doesn’t know how much I desire her, how every minute I want to be with her. It’s not emotional. It’s like a physical addiction, and I need more every day. I’ve regretted taking the campaign job ever since, because I need her, but I quit Harvard to take it, and then Munson asked me to stay on as Chief of Staff. What was I going to do — force him to give it to some inept bastard who couldn’t handle it? I couldn’t even tell Olivia I was leaving. She’d have talked me out of it. And then where would I be when she graduated and went off somewhere to private practice? I had to break that one off.
Why are you committed to making the Protagonist fail? Or for a relationship movie, why are you committed to making them change?
I don’t want her to fail, I just don’t want her to get the whole job done. I need her to get Munson working again, not to discover that he is a serial killer. I don’t want her to know that the First Lady was about to expose him, that she told me in secret, that everything would be ruined.
What do you get out of winning this fight / succeeding in your plan / taking down your competition?
My next campaign would be to re-elect Munson, but after that it would be to replace him. I’d have the goods on him, he’d have to endorse me for President. But his damn wife was about to blow the whole thing up, to divorce him. What if she blurted out how she and I had been fucking for two years, and that her husband was a serial womanizer she suspected had killed one of his mistresses? I needed him.
I had to take her out of the equation. No one would hire the Chief of Staff of a serial killer to be the next President. So I had to make it look like some madman had done it, maybe even a jealous husband in a fit of rage. He’d have fired my ass if she had told him about her and me. Maybe worse.
What drives you toward your mission / agenda, even in the face of danger, ruin, or death?
Olivia’s father taught me how to gain power, how to wield it. What good is it just being the power behind the throne? I’ve made over a billion dollars as Chief of Staff, but it’s not the money, it’s the throne. I want that, and maybe Olivia beside me.
What secrets must you keep to succeed? What other secrets do you keep out of fear / insecurity?
I’m the President’s Chief of Staff. That’s the most powerful position in the White House. I have to know everything, and everything’s a secret. Olivia’s father taught me self-hypnosis (that’s right, as much as she dislikes him, she learned hypnosis from him), so I program myself every night to be able to act as if nothing had happened. I can be completely dispassionate, even when cutting up the First Lady’s body. I don’t have any urge to talk about it.
Compared to other people like you, what makes you special?
They’re cowards, weaklings, or they have scruples. Screw that. Power is what matters. Once you’ve been President, you can get anything you want. I have that kind of drive, the kind that puts you in the Oval Office.
What do you think of ?
Of what? I don’t give a damn about anyone else — except Olivia.
Olivia and me. Together. In the East Wing. The Residence. She probably has some syrupy romantic dream about life on a tropical island, but I have more to do first.
Tell me your side of this whole conflict / story.
Munson is strong. He cheated every chance he got. But he was stupid. He did it in his wife’s face. He shouldn’t have done that. Hell hath no fury, y’know? And he was sloppy. Like the time he raped that girl outside a party at Stanford. Behind a dumpster, for Chrissake. I watched. The whole disgusting mess. But she didn’t know I was there. And years later, when he was running for governor, I ran into her. Even bedded her, just to see if I could.
She said she’d tell if he won the election. I told Munson about it. And a few days later she just disappeared. I always suspected, but his wife didn’t. I introduced them. She was a girlfriend of mine, before I met Olivia. She wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, but she was ambitious and knew how to keep her mouth shut. Until last year.
The things I do, I do for the country. We have a severely flawed President. The people deserve better. They deserve me.
QUESTIONS FOR YOUR ANTAGONIST
President Munson
Tell me about yourself.
My entire life, I knew I would go into politics. Once I got started, during middle school, I discovered that I was a born orator. By the end of college, I had been class president or student body president every year for 10 years. One year after graduation I was in the state assembly, then, two years later a House seat became vacant and I was drafted by my party. A few terms later, they asked me to run for Senate. At the ripe old age of 42, I became a Presidential candidate, and at 46 was running as my party’s nominee. I turned 47 the day before I was sworn in, beating Obama out of 5th place for youngest president.
I’m a master-rated chess player, quarterbacked my college team at Stanford, rowed, and ran the 10K and the steeplechase. A few years later, I hooked up with a corporate lawyer who understood ambition after I beat her out in a state primary. She helped me rise to the top, and I’m going to make certain she becomes the first woman President, right after me. She’s been a player in the party as long as I have, and can call in a lot of markers.
Having to do with this journey, what are your strengths and weaknesses?
I care deeply about the American people. I do what I can to get a corporately-owned Congress to pass bills for the people’s benefit. I have been inured to the power circles since childhood, know how the game is played, and can play it like a Diddley-Bow. That’s a one-stringed instrument, in case you don’t know.
I was crazy in love with my wife. We shared passion above all else. Sure, I slept around all the time, but the make-up sex was phenomenal. It’s unfortunate that she had survived cancer and couldn’t and couldn’t have more kids (we had a daughter early on, but we’ve grown apart, possibly over my philandering — she’s a bit of a feminist and now lives somewhere in the Rockies with her female partner). When my wife died, it crushed me. I soon began blaming myself for her death. I should have been there with her instead of making out with a blond a few doors away in the hotel. It’s hard to forgive myself. I’ve seen two therapists, but they were useless. Now, Davis has found me a hypnotist. I have my doubts, by she’s a knockout, so I’ll try it.
Why are you committed to making the Protagonist fail? Or for a relationship movie, why are you committed to making them change?
I don’t need anyone messing with my head. What if hypnosis works — and she turns out to be a spy? Or gets kidnaped by the Saudis and forced to reveal my weaknesses or state secrets? I don’t want her delving too deep, or in places she shouldn’t be.
Once I get to know her, I’ll learn her buttons. I’m good at getting what i need to know out of other people too. She’ll have to reveal her secrets to me before I tell her mine.
What do you get out of winning this fight / succeeding in your plan / taking down your competition?
She’ll be the next First Lady. She’s hotter than a branding iron, and she’ll know too much about me to be let loose.
What drives you toward your mission / agenda, even in the face of danger, ruin, or death?
The future of this country and the planet.
What secrets must you keep to succeed? What other secrets do you keep out of fear / insecurity?
I need to keep state secrets. I can’t let her know about my extracurricular activities with women. Especially the kinky stuff, until she’s mine. Then I’ll introduce that slowly. I used to get a secretary into a hotel room here or there when I was in Congress, and do some off-color things, but I always paid them off well. Or took care of them.
Compared to other people like you, what makes you special?
Are you joking? I’m the President. The most powerful man in the world. It’s the strongest aphrodisiac for any woman in the world.
What do you think of Olivia?
She should have been a porn star.
What do you think of David?
He’s smart, sly, cunning, commanding — everything a Chief of Staff should be. He knows whose ass to kiss and whose to kick, and he gets things done. I trust him to get me re-elected, but I won’t play poker with him. He bluffed me with a pair of threes once, and I don’t want that getting out. He’s also the only person in the world who knew about that party girl behind the dumpster. He’s loyal, he’ll never tell; and that makes him valuable.
Tell me your side of this whole conflict / story.
The sight of my wife lying there, tied down and cut up, was a shock. I had to take a month off and retreat to Camp David to recover. But soon after I returned to the White house, I began hearing voices in my sleep. They blamed me for her death, and I haven’t any good arguments left. I try to stay awake, but I can’t function as President with sleep deprivation. The doctors have given me sleeping pills, but the voices keep calling. And calling.
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Wow, my two main characters talked my ears off! I still have to do the third — and I forgot to post what i learned. I learned that it’s good to just sit back and listen. It proves that other people are as dazed and confused as I am (even if they have incredible, important jobs). I learned how human we all are, and that even a sociopath can care about somebody (or is it just lust?) It’s easy to say that my antagonist is sowing the seeds of his own destruction, but he may take the whole country down with him. And that’s scary. but so’s his boss. And my protagonist is walking into the lion’s den and putting her head in the lion’s mouth.
QUESTIONS FOR YOUR PROTAGONIST
Olivia Thurmond
Tell me about yourself.
I don’t talk about myself often, or much. It’s my job to listen, analyze, diagnose. I’ve been a therapist since age 24, having graduated very early considering I had to do a few years of med school. But as I practiced with patients, I began to realize that the efficacy of drugs could be limited. I searched for better ways, immersing myself in Jung, Janov, and others. After a while, I developed a hypnosis technique that
worked to bring hidden memories to the surface, but at first it was trial and error. I had a lot of patients pouring out things at random, as if they were on LSD. I needed to get their thoughts, emotions, and memories working together. I refined my process, year after year. What worked for some patients needed to be altered slightly for others, depending on their diagnosis. But it began to work, and I eventually had some limited success in treating a variety of cases, including schizophrenic patients. I just never thought that someday I would be called upon for a case like this.
Why do you think you were called to this journey? Why you?
They tried others for a year without results. The drugs were preventing the President from fulfilling his duties, as you know that a couple of times the 25th Amendment was invoked, voluntarily on the President’s part. Vice President Turner did a competent job filling in, but she demonstrated a lack of imagination. If anything critical had occurred while she was in charge, she might have responded conventionally.
2b. What’s wrong with that?
Nothing, really, except that conservatives have trouble adapting to new situations. Not all situations are alike. President Munson can juggle a lot, and has a sharp insight into people that he can rely on to develop creative ways of dealing with unique challenges.
You are up against Will Davis. What is it about them that makes this journey even more difficult for you?
Will and I have a great deal of history. He studied, and later taught, under my father, who was the head of the Medical School at Johns Hopkins. As you know, I attended three universities, Stanford, Johns Hopkins, and Harvard. But I had a relationship with Will while I was at Stanford. He was teaching Political Science under my father, which explains a lot. He also has that perfectionism, but without the anger and the brutality. After I moved to Columbia to finish my bachelor’s, I did my med school at Harvard, but by that time Will was practically running the PoliSci department there. We hooked up again, this time as lovers, and then he took the job as Munson’s campaign manager. They had known one another since high school and Stanford. I was crushed. Will left without notice, and he had known he was leaving for some time. He had been doing research for Munson’s campaigns for years. It was as if I didn’t matter at all. He just wasn’t there one day.
In order to survive or accomplish this, you are going to have to step way outside of your box. What changes do you expect to make and which of them will be the most difficult?
For one thing, I am confined to the East Wing of the White House for the duration. And where will I go after that? I could be a target for kidnaping and even torture — there are lots of people who would love to know the President as intimately as I soon would. Will has to listen in on the sessions full-time, because if Munson blabs state secrets, the session has to be interrupted. So much for medical confidentiality. Once I discovered that, I had to alter my procedures to pull out only certain information during the sessions, too, because even Will can’t know everything. But, secretive as he is, I wasn’t warned about that at the beginning. Also, I have never got over Will. Like my Dad, he can manipulate people, which makes him a strong Chief of Staff, but it causes a lot of problems for me. It’s a reminder of my early life through my late teens. But Will knows exactly how to take advantage of me, he knows how I like to be touched, held, kissed, made love to. And Munson is just — incredible. He has, when he’s working, such strength, power, charisma. But when he’s with me he’s so vulnerable.
And should Will be privy to that? So, we decide to meet in secret, to get more done. And the kind of charisma the President carries, the self- confidence, the strength — plus he’s drop-dead handsome — is hard tp resist. I’ve never become emotionally or physically involved with a patient.
And the brutality of the First Lady’s murder — first, I read it in the papers, then some White House aides prepped me on it, but it wasn’t
until I saw the photos that I really understood — and that is an emotional gut reaction, fight or flight syndrome. I can’t be off my guard a moment, or the whole case could collapse. I can’t treat this as a “normal” case. If I screw up, and the President can’t function, then I’ve left the country in the hands of a woman who may not be equal to the task. And then, the next election is coming up in a year. If Munson isn’t the candidate, Turner will probably lose, and the favorite from the other party — well, to put it mildly, he’s a monster and should never be in charge of a country, any country.
What habits or ways of thinking do you think will be the most difficult to let go of?
I have to discern when Will is being manipulative and when he’s sincere. There’s a great deal of caution I have developed because of him, and it has, in the past, helped me to avoid involvements, but who knows what I’ve missed because of caution? And now, in this most unique of situations, with this most unique of patients, I have to get out of any patterns I’m stuck in, any rote or routine way of approaching the case. Because there is nothing routine about the President. I’m the psychiatrist, but this is a situation I don’t face with most patients.
What fears, insecurities and wounds have held you back?
Authority figures are, well, authoritarian to some degree. My father was a world renowned doctor who beat his wife. She never really left him, she kept going back to him when he would beg her to return. She kept the violence secret, and because of her, I kept it quiet, too. But there’s always a paranoia about having a man, especially a powerful man, assault me. So I’m both fearful of authority figures and attracted to them, because they are the only men who can figure out all the right things to say to get to me. Will knows how to manipulate me, he knows my buttons, and President Munson is the ultimate in charismatic alpha males. Both, like my father, strong authoritarian men, used to disguising the truth or lying outright. I don’t want to be another version of my mother, but as I say, I never got over Will.
What skills, background or expertise makes you well-suited to face this conflict or antagonist?
As I say, my program, my procedures, and my ability to adapt. I may be a little rusty on the last one, as the system I’ve developed works so well that I could at least begin the same way with all my patients until now. That’s out the window. I have to pre-adapt, and Will and I always worked well together as doctors. So I’m ready — I think. I’m rated the top in my field, and having studied Jung, I’ve studied dreams. But I can already tell you why the President has nightmares. If you’d seen those photos, you would, too. And Will only showed me the least gruesome. Now, I have a job — to get the President of the United States functioning again. We have to draw it all out of him — every bit of hysteria, anxiety, emotional paralysis, force him to examine it, to see it like a med student dissecting a frog. Every dark corner. Because if something pushes the buttons, he has to be able to dismiss it and get his job done.
What are you hiding from the other characters? What don’t you want them to know?
It’s Will. No one ever knew we were lovers, and if they did, it would disqualify me from the job. But he begged me to help, the other doctors failed. We need a President. But once I’m there, what might happen between us? And will it affect my ability to work?
What do you think of ?
Haven’t I made that clear? I’m thinking of two things: Will, and getting my job done. How was I to know what would happen between me and Munson?
Tell me your side of this whole conflict / story.
I’m the President’s therapist. The President. Let that sink in. I’m surrounded by Secret Service agents and political hacks. Everyone here has secrets, but their secrets are more important than 99% of people’s secrets, because these secrets, and these flaws, these predilections and biases and positions that they all have, can change the course of history.
Meanwhile, there’s me, feeling small for the first time in a decade, and it makes me so vulnerable. I’m still putty in Will’s hands, and I may be falling in love with the most powerful man in the world. And I have to stay focused, to be rational, objective. How does that work?
And we still don’t know who killed the First Lady. Is that person here?
What does it do for your life is you succeed here?
I want to get in, get on with it, get it over with, and get out. But, as I say, after this, whither me? I’m never going to be able to trust anyone who walks through the office door again. They could be a spy, or a terrorist, someone pretending so they can get me, one way or another, to cough up everything I’ve learned about Munson. I’ll never be safe again. There’s no upside, other than selling my story, “How I Saved the President” to a book publisher for ten million dollars, which I can’t, I can’t even write anything down on a scrap of paper.
It doesn’t do anything for me, it does it to me. I can only hope that Will loves me and I can convince him to leave this place he was born to operate, this job he was born to perform, and marry me and move to the U.S. Virgin Islands or American Samoa and live happily ever after surrounded by secret agents who have to fend off other secret agents. We’ll never even be able to make love again without someone watching through a camera or listening in on a wiretap.
Ask any other questions about their character profile that will help you.
What’s your plan here?
I have to find out my limitations and stay within them, while trying to do what they hired me to do. So, at first, i expect some blowback. I may get my feathers ruffled, but I have to watch, listen, learn. I need to stay detached, which will be hard with Will. And get inside Munson’s head, just enough to find out which techniques he will respond to, to get him to face up to what happened, the fact that we may never find the killer,
to get out all the tears, the fears, the paranoia. I’ll begin by establishing trust.Presidents need to trust a lot of experts, and I will present myself as another one. Without trust, there’s no cooperation. Without cooperation, there’s no progress. Without progress, there’s no solution. And I need to solve this for him, the country, the world.
QUESTIONS FOR YOUR ANTAGONIST
Will Davis
Tell me about yourself.
I studied under, then taught under, Olivia’s father. There was a guy who made manipulation an art form. The man could find everyone’s soft spots, and the next thing you knew, they were eating out of his left hand while he stabbed them with his right. He nearly killed his wife, but she stayed with him. I can command that kind of loyalty.
Having to do with this journey, what are your strengths and weaknesses?
I’m considered an expert in political analysis. I don’t take the polls, but I design them. And by designing polls, you influence, sway, control the vote. I’ve managed a few campaigns, and my candidate always wins. Always.
Once the campaign’s over, then is when I really shine. I keep a mental file of everyone around me, I know who can be suckered and who can’t, and I know their strengths and weaknesses.
I know Munson. And I know Olivia. Intimately. They’re both well- assembled watches, and I’m an expert watchmaker. They’re fine-tuned instruments, and I’m the prodigy musician. I can make anyone do anything.
Weaknesses? Only one. Olivia. She doesn’t know how much I desire her, how every minute I want to be with her. It’s not emotional. It’s like a physical addiction, and I need more every day. I’ve regretted taking the campaign job ever since, but I quit Harvard to take it, and then Munson asked me to stay on as Chief of Staff. What was I going to do — force him to give it to some inept bastard who couldn’t handle it? I couldn’t even tell Olivia I was leaving. She’d have talked me out of it. And then where would I be when she graduated and went off somewhere to private practice? I had to break that one off.
Why are you committed to making the Protagonist fail? Or for a relationship movie, why are you committed to making them change?
I don’t want her to fail, I just don’t want her to get the whole job done. I need her to discover that Munson is a serial killer. I don’t want her to know that the First Lady was about to expose him, that she told me in secret, that everything would be ruined.
What do you get out of winning this fight / succeeding in your plan / taking down your competition?
My next campaign would be to re-elect Munson, but after that it would be to replace him. I’d have the goods on him, force him to, endorse me for President. But his damn wife was about to blow the whole thing up, to divorce him. What if she blurted out how she and I had been fucking for two years, and that her husband was a serial womanizer she suspected had killed one of his mistresses? I needed him. I had to take her out of the equation. And I had to make it look like some madman had done it, maybe even Munson in a fit of rage. Now,
I may be addicted to Olivia, but I hope I can get her to find the answer to the First Lady’s suspicions. By God, then I’d have the President by the balls. Maybe even get the job four years earlier.
What drives you toward your mission / agenda, even in the face of danger, ruin, or death?
Olivia’s father taught me how to gain power, how to wield it. What good is it just being the power behind the throne? I’ve made over a billion dollars as Chief of Staff, but it’s not the money, it’s the throne. I want that, and Olivia beside me.
What secrets must you keep to succeed? What other secrets do you keep out of fear / insecurity?
I have to shift the blame to Munson. I need Olivia to get the confession from him. Then, once he’s admitted to murder in a blind rage, she’ll never suspect me. Because I’m the one who did the deed.
Compared to other people like you, what makes you special?
They’re cowards, weaklings, or they have scruples. Screw that.
Power is what matters. Once you’ve been President, you can get anything you want.
What do you think of ?
Of what? I don’t give a damn about anyone else — except Olivia.
Olivia and me. Together. In the East Wing. The Residence.
Tell me your side of this whole conflict / story.
Munson isn’t strong. He cheated every chance he got. And then threw it in his wife’s face. But he was stupid. He told her about the one he took out. He raped her outside a party at Stanford. Behind a dumpster, for Chrissake. I watched. The whole disgusting mess. But she didn’t know I was there. And years later, when he was running for governor, I ran into her. Even bedded her, just to see if I could. She said she’d tell if he won the election. I told Munson about it. And a few days later she disappeared. I always suspected, but his wife didn’t. I introduced them. She was a girlfriend of mine, before I met Olivia. She wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, but she was loyal and knew how to keep her mouth shut. Until last year.
The things I do, I do for the country. We have a severely flawed President. The people deserve better. They deserve me.
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This reply was modified 3 years, 5 months ago by Jesse Paxton.
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This reply was modified 3 years, 5 months ago by
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What I learned doing this assignment is to trust my characters to correct my misapprehension about who they are. Refining a character is as much an ongoing process as rewriting. It doesn’t need to be perfect the first time.
GENRE: PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER
PROTAGONIST: DR. OLIVIA THURMOND
Role: Dreamer / Explorer
Age range and Description: Female, early 30’s, phys ically fit, Ivy League self-discipline.
Internal Journey: From a guarded, disillusioned loner to a fully empowered woman who bravely faces her future.
External Journey: From a timid, formulaic therapist to a detective who faces and defeats a serial killer.
Motivation:
Want: Demonstrate that her hypnotherapy program is superior to conventional analysis.
Need: To overcome her fears of betrayal.
Wound: Her father was physically and emotionally abusive, and her mother shot him.
Mission/Agenda: To help the President recover from his wife’s death and his nightmares, and enable him to retake the reins of government.
Secret: Her former fiancé was cheating on her and she never suspected. He’s now working for the President. Her father was his political mentor.
What makes them special? She’s a brilliant psychiatrist who by nature remains detached and analytical.
What draws us to this character? She’s in a position nobody has ever been in: she has to analyze and treat the President of the United States. It could mean success, or prison, or even death.
Traits: Vulnerable, brilliant, physical, formulaic, guarded.
Subtext: She’s still in love with Will, who was her first lover. She defends herself with psychiatric ploys.
Flaw: Passion.
Values: The Hippocratic Oath, loyalty to the USA.
Irony: The ultimate fish-out-of-water: she’s the President’s therapist. Their sessions are recorded. If he tells her anything that’s classified, she has to keep it a secret. Who is listening? Her ex-lover, the Chief of Staff, who can take down the President and have Olivia chucked into Gitmo. He’s the spitting image of the father she feared so much. Trained by her abusive dad, he’s an expert in psychological manipulation. Meanwhile, she has a job to do: repair a man she finds immoral and unethical so he can continue to do his job.What makes her the right character for this role? Personal history: the President is the kind of man she falls for, the Chief-of-Staff who hires her is her first love, she’s studied psychological manipulation and can compete with them both on an intellectual level. Having lived with an abusive father, she knows how to walk a psychological tightrope.
FIRST ANTAGONIST: CHIEF OF STAFF WILL DAVIS
Role in the story: Change Agent / Villain. A shrewd political mind and a manipulator.
Age range and Description: Male, late 30’s, outwardly ingenuous, inwardly a machine.
Internal Journey: From respecting Munson to undermining him.
External Journey: From using Olivia to protecting her.
Motivation:
Want: To succeed Munson in the White House.
Need: To protect Munson from Olivia.
Wound: Olivia left him.
Mission/Agenda: To use Olivia’s techniques to induce a confession from Munson and control him.
Secret: He murdered the First Lady.
What makes them special? He was Olivia’s psychology professor at Harvard, and uses his expertise like Vicomte de Valmont to influence people.
What draws us to this character? The power behind the throne. He can look innocent and unassuming while plotting the overthrow of government. Every word he says turns out to be a lie. He knows the President is a serial killer and uses that to plan his own murder: the First Lady, who knows his ambition to replace the President. He even seduced her and then murdered her. Yet he still desires Olivia.
Traits: Sociopath, brilliant, manipulative, ambitious.
Subtext: Like Lord Baelish, he is the ultimate manipulator. He appears to the world as a man who will do anything for the President; but to him Munson is just a stepping stone. Everyone trusts him, although he is the most unscrupulous person in the White House.
Flaw: He has never lost, so he overestimates his chances.
Values: Power, manipulation, secrecy, reputation.
Irony: Even though he toyed with Olivia, he was seduced by her beauty and her passion. He will try to protect her from all threats, while threatening her himself. He pushes Munson to the brink, but it may mean that Munson will destroy the only person Davis has ever rally cared for.What makes him the right character for this role? He is second only to Munson in ability and ambition, perhaps Munson’s Superior in some ways. He is refined, educated, capable of anything to satisfy his lust. Like Valmont, he can plot in several directions simultaneously.
SECOND ANTAGONIST: PRESIDENT MUNSON
Role in the story: Predator / Authority. A man who has risen to the apex of power and wields it like a rapier.
Age range and Description: Male, early 50’s, handsome, confident, oozes power.
Internal Journey: From accepting his crimes to burying them.
External Journey: From the East Wing to the morgue.
Motivation:
Want: Power over others, “because I could”.
Need: To pay for his crimes.
Wound: Actually adored his wife — and didn’t kill her.
Mission/Agenda: To win re-election.
Secret: He murdered three of his lovers at his wife’s request.
What makes them special? He’s born and bred to power and influence. He has spent a lifetime manipulating people to idolize him.
What draws us to this character? He is the ultimate man: he’s the President, he’s handsome, intimate, compassionate, helpful, sympathetic, charismatic; and it’s all a lie. He’s really a brutal, tyrannical, sex addict who has literally murdered three women he thought might betray him.
Traits: Psychopathic, demanding, charismatic, Machiavellian.
Subtext: He is the ultimate “lady-killer”.
Flaw: He loved his wife.
Values: Power, pleasure, democracy (as long as he wins).
Irony: He’s so used to manipulating people that he cannot see he’s being used himself. He believes he may have murdered his own wife, who threatened to unmask him. The only person he has faith in is Davis, who is secretly manipulating him.What makes him the right character for this role? He’s perfect. Who else could seduce his analyst? He can put on a practiced face of distress in order to gain her sympathy; but inside his demonic nature actually does tear at him; Davis only supplies the nudge to push him over the edge.
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Lesson 2:
Who Are We Traveling With?
What I learned doing this assignment is that this helps me to gradually identify my characters, to place them in their backgrounds and their relationships, and gave me a new perspective on them. I was able to clarify their positions in the story. While Hannibal Lecter is the antagonist of Clarice’s inner change, Buffalo Bill is the antagonist of outer change. I identified both internal and external antagonists in my own story!
GENRE: PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER
PROTAGONIST: DR. OLIVIA THURMOND
Role: Dreamer / Explorer
Age range and Description: Female, early 30’s, physically fit, Ivy League self-discipline.
Internal Journey: From a guarded, disillusioned loner to a fully empowered woman who bravely faces her future.
External Journey: From a timid, formulaic therapist to a detective who faces and defeats a serial killer.
Motivation:
Want: Demonstrate that her hypnotherapy program is superior to conventional analysis.
Need: To overcome her fears of betrayal.
Wound: Her father was physically and emotionally abusive, and her mother shot him.
Mission/Agenda: To help the President recover from his wife’s death and his nightmares, and enable him to retake the reins of government.
Secret: Her former fiancé was cheating on her and she never suspected. He’s now working for the President. Her father was his political mentor.
What makes them special? She’s a brilliant psychiatrist who by nature remains detached and analytical.
FIRST ANTAGONIST:
CHIEF OF STAFF WILL DAVIS
Role in the story: Change Agent / Villain. A shrewd political mind and a manipulator.
Age range and Description: Male, late 30’s, outwardly ingenuous, inwardly a machine.
Internal Journey: From respecting Munson to undermining him.
External Journey: From using Olivia to protecting her.
Motivation:
Want: To take over the Presidency from Munson.
Need: To protect Olivia from Munson.
Wound: Olivia left him.
Mission/Agenda: To use Olivia’s techniques to pry a confession from Munson.
Secret: He murdered the First Lady.
What makes them special? He was Olivia’s psychology professor at Harvard, and uses his expertise like Vicomte de Valmont to influence people.
SECOND ANTAGONIST:
PRESIDENT MUNSON
Role in the story: Predator / Authority. A man who has risen to the apex of power and wields it like a rapier.
Age range and Description: Male, early 50’s, handsome, confident, oozes power.
Internal Journey: From accepting his crimes to burying them.
External Journey: From the East Wing to the morgue.
Motivation:
Want: Power over others, “because I could”.
Need: To pay for his crimes.
Wound: Actually adored his wife — and didn’t kill her.
Mission/Agenda: To win re-election.
Secret: He murdered three of his lovers at his wife’s request.
What makes them special? He’s born and bred to power and influence. He has spent a lifetime manipulating people to idolize him.
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Lesson 1:
Building the Transformational Journey
Step 1: The Story Arc
Jess’s Transformational Journey
Logline: A hypnotherapist, Olivia, is called in to care for the President after the First Lady is murdered, and she soon falls in love with the charismatic patient, but soon she begins to suspect the President himself could be the killer.
Olivia’s Internal Journey: From a guarded, disillusioned loner to a fully empowered woman who bravely faces her future.
Olivia’s External Journey: From a timid, formulaic therapist to a confident detective who faces and defeats a serial killer.
OLIVIA’S OLD WAYS:
Relying on formula
Aloof and uninvolved
Hurt and unaccessible
Lacking self-confidence
Self-disciplined
OLIVIA’S NEW WAYS:
Winging it
Emotionally and physically involved
Risk-taking, vulnerable
Empowered
Bravely facing an uncertain future
What I learned doing this assignment:
When dealing with a bittersweet conclusion, it is difficult to fulfill all of the character’s transformation. I’ll continue to refine this as the story and characters reveal themselves to me.
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This reply was modified 3 years, 6 months ago by Jesse Paxton.
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This reply was modified 3 years, 6 months ago by Jesse Paxton.
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This reply was modified 3 years, 6 months ago by
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Hi everyone,
My name is Jess Paxton, I am a part-time actor, part-time student, and part-time writer. My favorite acting role so far is Ebenezer Scrooge, which I have played in multiple venues. I seem to get jobs playing the heavy: The Constable in “Fiddler on the Roof”, Lord Capulet in “Romeo & Juliet”, Claudius in “Hamlet”. I enjoy doing this kind of role because it forces me to delve into the inner sanctum of these characters’ psyches, explore their motivations, and understand how they can excuse their misdeeds. Not to say I don’t like playing happier roles: Jaques in “As You Like It” and Gremio in “Taming of the Shrew” are among my resumé. I love doing musical theatre; I have a booming operatic Basso Profundo voice, featuring a three-octave range that can reach from F#1 up to E4, and several comical Basso Buffo voices for fun.
I have 3 completed scripts, one of which I am fine-tuning, another which I am planning to rewrite. As those have taken years, I am looking forward to learning the skills that will enable me to write quickly and confidently so I can churn out quality scripts in less time!
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Jess Paxton
I agree to the terms of the 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.
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This reply was modified 3 years, 6 months ago by Jesse Paxton. Reason: Adding copy of Release Form
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This reply was modified 3 years, 6 months ago by
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Hi Teri,
Rom-Com stands for Romantic Comedy
Happy New Year!