[Jonathan Chan]

——-Jonathan’s Transformational Events

What I learned – it’s not enough to have the plot points and turning points but to show the steps in the Protagonist’s evolution. This creates guide posts for the hero to pass through.

Jaslyne Liber

Character Arc

Old Ways

Anti-social

Dependent to Mother

Shy, timid

Submissive

Lives in a fantasy world

New Ways

Confident

Bold and daring

Independent

A leader

In touch with trends and the news

3. 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).

· Get out into the real world

· Know how to read people – by meeting with people

· Share the vast knowledge

· Really get to know the sisters.

· Believe in herself

· Become a leader

· Be kind

[Jonathan Chan]

Jonathan’s 4 Act Transformational Structure

I learned that with each act we can gradually see the evolution of our Protagonist on an organic level with the old ways being replaced by the new. Each Act break propels the Protagonist even further on in the story and in their transformation.

Create a first draft of your 4 Act Transformational Structure.

1. Give us the following:

Concept
Adopted at as teenager, Jaslyne competes against her step-sisters to be
the heir to the family wine business.

Main
Conflict

Jaslyne vs. her cutthroat sisters.

Old
Ways

Old identity: Book keeper, shy, submissive

Loyal to her mother to a fault.

Selfless

New
Ways
New identity: Killer saleswoman, takes charge

Confident, vocal

Looks to be the best – anyway possible

Act 1:

Opening

Jaslyne answers calls, works the front desk, and prepares coffee as her mother and sisters have an important meeting about the direction of their wine company.

Jaslyne gets mistaken for the help.

Susan turns down an offer from the biggest wine distributor much to the chagrin of her daughters, except for Jaslyne.

Inciting
Incident

Susan reveals that she has cancer – and her dying wish is for the top salesperson to take over the company.

Turning
Point

Jaslyne is pushed by Susan to participate, even though she has no sales experience. She resists. She finds out that the eldest sister Illyana aspires to win just so she can sell the company. Jaslyne commits.

Act 2:

New
plan

Jaslyne learns from her sisters who do not consider her a threat at all. She goes on sales visits, still socially awkward.

Plan
in action

Jaslyne makes some of her own sales in little-served accounts. She’s a natural.

Midpoint
Turning Point

Month is over: Illyana, the eldest wins. She takes control and she looks to sell it immediately. But Jaslyne proves Illyana cheated to win so Susan takes Illyana out of her will and has the other sisters compete for 1 full week for the control of the company.

Act 3:

Rethink
everything

The sisters are no longer helping each other and are using everything they can to secure sales.

New
plan

Jaslyne has to get cutthroat and think out of the box.

Turning
Point: Huge failure / Major shift

The tallies for the week are very close. At the last moment, Susan makes a call to get Jaslyne an advantage and Jaslyne wins.

Jaslyne cannot accept the victory as the last sale was not made by her She gives the victory to Bex. Who happily accepts the leadership role.

Susan dies of a heart attack.

Act 4:

Climax/Ultimate
expression of the conflict

The top Wine Distributor hounds Athena Wines to buy them out.

The ABC presses charges against Bex for illegal selling practices. Bex must step down and she gives up her leadership role to Jaslyne.

Resolution

Through Jaslyne’s leadership she turns the company around and designates proper roles for her sisters. Together they thwart the bids the buy the company and even secure enough money for their own winery to run.

[Jonathan Chan]

Jonathan’s Character Interviews

What I learned doing this assignment is by asking questions to your characters in an interview setting you really get a feel of the character’s voice, motivations, and secrets.

QUESTIONS FOR YOUR PROTAGONIST

Jaslyne Liber

Tell me about yourself.

I work for my mom. My mom is Susan Liber. Athena Wine Enterprise. I work on the books and financials. I also help out my with Customer Service, the website, and quality control. And I love to read and watch documentaries and movies. I like to play piano, ukulele, sing a little. And cook. And Wordsworth is my mini-poodle. He’s the man in my life.

Why do you think you were called to this journey? Why
you?

I know how our business and the wine business in general – how it works. My sisters do a good job but if given the chance I can be almost as good, I think.

What is it about them that makes this journey even more
difficult for you?

I’m not used to being on my own. Mom would always guide me. But now that she’s sick, I have to be the responsible one. I have to make her proud.

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?

I have to get my sisters to help. I have to get them to work with each other – which is going to be much harder than you’d think as they all hate each other. I’m scared to drop the ball because mom put so much in her company.

What habits or ways of thinking do you think will be
the most difficult to let go of?

Relying on mom. Not having to make important decisions. Having to represent the company and not on the inside.

What fears, insecurities and wounds have held you back?

Fear of failure. Fear of the unknown. Men.

What skills, background or expertise makes you
well-suited to face this conflict or antagonist?

I’m great at math. I’m good at remembering things. I don’t even have to write them down. I see it, hear it, taste it – and I can recall it. I can pick up any instrument and play it – any song really. And I know about all the history of the wine world.

What are you hiding from the other characters? What
don’t you want them to know?
I don’t want to be too bossy, or too competent. My sisters will hate me
even more. I don’t know why.

What do you think of men ?

I wouldn’t know. Mom never let me have a boyfriend. And I’m very professional. I won’t go on dates with our clients like Bex…I thought my prince would come for me but I’m fine with Wordsworth.

Tell me your side of this whole conflict / story.

Mom entrusted me with so much of her company. My sisters don’t care as much. They might even sell it. I can’t let the company leave our family. I have to wine in order to keep the company for mom’s sake. It’s what she would want.

What does it do for your life is you succeed here?

It would give me peace of mind. Just to know that our company is still owned by us – driven by us.

QUESTIONS FOR YOUR ANTAGONIST

Susan Liber

Tell me about yourself.

Seriously? Everyone knows my story….ok fine – I’m the CEO of Athena Wine Enterprise. The largest Female-owned Wine Distributor in North America.

Having to do with this journey, what are your strengths
and weaknesses?

Whatever I want I get. It’s just that there is so much corruption in the wine industry and the authorities are turning a blind eye to it. Whenever we experience huge profits, we get undercut by the big Distributors – they play dirty and have no morals. I wish I could clone myself. 3…no 2 more of me – and I’d rule the wine industry.

Why are you committed to making the Jaslyne or your
other daughters fail?

I don’t want them to fail. This is my company that I built from the ground up. I just want the to realize how much it takes to run a company of this magnitude. I want to see who is truly worthy of being my heir in the business. Right now I don’t see any real favorite.

What do you get out of winning this fight / succeeding
in your plan / taking down your competition?

When my daughters realize how much of a failure the company will be without me, they will truly listen to all of my orders unquestioningly. But in the event someone does rise up above the others, I may serious new favorite daughter.

What drives you toward your mission / agenda, even in
the face of danger, ruin, or death?

I’M DYING.

What secrets must you keep to succeed? What other
secrets do you keep out of fear / insecurity?

Well, I’m not truly dying. I’m just telling my daughters this so as to light a fire under their collective over-privileged asses.

Compared to other people like you, what makes you
special?

No one loves the business more. No one sacrificed more. No one cares as I do.

Tell me your side of this whole conflict / story.

For the past 15 years, ever since Charlie died, the company has been losing money. I can’t live with the idea of my late husband’s company once given to a lady has turned into a failure. Sure our profile has grown being a female owner but that’s just superficial. Many of Charlie’s old partners want to just take advantage of our company and it’s all an old-boys club. I need to do something drastic to shake up the future of my company. So if it lying that I’m dying so that my daughters can finally be useful – so be it.

[Jonathan Chan]

Jonathan’s Character Profile Part 2

What I learned doing this assignment is why these characters were created for our story.

The questions “What draws us to this character?” and “What makes this the right character for this role?” help to solidify the character’s unique selling points to be included in our screenplay. The exciting thing is this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Jaslyne Liber

What draws us to this character?
Underdog in the Cinderella mode
– hardworking, loyal, serving her step-mother and step-sisters, but she’s
a sharp, cunning and a dreamer and more than capable of greater things.

Traits:
innocent, naïve, brilliant, and an eternal optimist.

Subtext:
Hides her intelligence, painfully shy in front of people, but is charming
and confident in her dream world.

Flaw:
Is co-dependent on her Step-family.
Values:
Optimism, family, belonging, loyalty.

Irony:
While she is book-smart and the company’s CFO she is also the secretly the
best sales person – if only she’d be given a chance.

What makes this the right character for this role?
She is the outsider that has been given a second chance in life. She will
always remain loyal to her new-family, no matter how shitty they treat
her. She just has amazing abilities that are held back, waiting to be
unleashed in the wine world.

Antagonist: Susan Liber

What draws us to this character? Coming from nothing into a true superstar – She is
driven, ruthless, and brilliant – a dynamic woman in the cutthroat world
of wine, where she constantly faces chauvinism, ageism, and elitism.

Traits:
Genius. Never forgets, brash, no nonsense, no filter.

Subtext:
She is feared but secretly wishes to be loved.

Flaw:
Dying.

Values:
Hard work, bravery, women’s rights, the truth.

Irony:
She values the truth but her dying is a great lie to get her daughters
closer to her.

What makes this the right character for this role? A powerful woman who was able to build a wine empire
and overcome untold obstacles, fumbles with her own family relationships.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 1 month ago by  Jonathan Chan.
• This reply was modified 4 years, 1 month ago by  Jonathan Chan.

[Jonathan Chan]

Jonathan’s Character Profiles Part 1

What I learned doing this assignment is that the relationship between Protagonist and Antagonist is more than a hero and a villain. By having an adversary that is also the person that they love the most makes for a compelling drama full of conflict, duty, and tension.

The choice of Genre also impacts these relationships accentuating differences and streamlines the script’s focus, message, and tone.

Jaslyne Liber

Hero: Dreamer/Victim Sheltered, homebody, with a lack of social graces, lives in a dream world of fantasy books and fairy tales. She seeks to overcome the apathy of her family to be the most valuable member that can keep their wine business thriving.<div>

<font color=”#ae0605″>
</font>

Susan Liber

Authority Step-mother
of Jaslyne, she has always held Jaslyne on a short leash, constantly
reminding her that she saved her from squalor in the Far East. While her
other daughters are independent and strong-willed over-achievers, Susan
continues her iron-grip on Jaslyne as someone that she can control and
dominate, especially in her dying days.</div><div>

Supporting characters:

Illyana Susan’s eldest daughter. Chef/somm, super-foodie. Hedonist, patient, but harbors grudges and resentment. Knows the most about wine but hates the business aspect of it. Wants to sell off company.

Bex Susan’s 2^nd eldest daughter. Cutthroat ex-real estate. By-the-book, practical, and square. Short temper. Has a vison of the company that only she can implement – to obliterate the competition.

Priscilla – Susan’s 3^rd child. Altruistic, gregarious and kind. Was mother’s favorite when he was Paul but after his recent transformation she’s been practically ignored. Wants to take the company to next level of Feminist empowerment.

Tanya – Susan’s youngest. Prodigy College student. Renaissance woman like her mom, but without the worldly experiences, mistakes, and thick-skin. Secretly wants to leave the family business and work with the biggest and best distributors.

Pick your genre:Drama

Fill in whatever answers come to you about your lead character profiles:

Jaslyne Liber

Role in the story: Hero: Dreamer/Victim Sheltered, homebody who seeks to break
free from her Suburban captivity to be an independent, bold woman capable
of leading the family wine business.

Age range and Description: Thirty-something,
book-smart and mousy Asian woman, who day dreams her way through life.

Internal Journey: From being a meek,
submissive follower co-dependent to her family to being a confident, independent,
and unapologetic.

External Journey: From being a passive, shy,
book-smart, pollyana to being a pro-active, take-charge, street-wise,
saleswoman -worthy of taking over the family business

Motivation: Her Step-Mother’s looming
death. To be nothing like her.

Wound: She feels obligated that she was
picked at a young age at the orphanage by Susan. She can never forget.

Mission/Agenda: To throw her hat in the
upcoming leadership void of the wine company.

Secret:
Has dreamt of killing her step-mom.

What makes them special? Jaslyne has a
photographic memory that also extends to her senses. She can recall and remember
any sight, sound, scent, fact, and taste at an almost super-human level.</div><div>

Susan Liber

Role in the story: Authority Susan knows that she is
dying and that she has all but lost control of her daughters, so she holds
on to Jaslyne even tighter, unknowingly suffocating her.

Age range and Description: 60-something. Worldly,
sophisticated, stubborn. And dying.

Internal Journey: From being feared to
being loved.

External Journey: To being stoic and
unbreakable to telling her daughters how she really feels about each one
of them.

Motivation: Her cancer.

Wound: She sacrificed being a kind mother
by being a ruthless provider. She regrets it.

Mission/Agenda: To give the gift of leadership
of the company to the one daughter who is most worthy and secretly the
most loving to her.

Secret:
Her cancer is actually in remission and she is not dying. She just wants
the attention of her daughters.

What makes them special?
She can manipulate and make anyone do anything she wants except for her own
biological daughters who rebel against her constantly.
</div>

[Jonathan Chan]

Lesson 1: Jonathan’s Transformational Journey

—What I learned doing this assignment is that by we are essentially creating our road map for our Protagonist.

The “before” and “after” – this transformation should be the basis of the Protagonist’s evolution.

Our task is to create an organic way to introduce obstacles, antagonists, and decisions that force our Protagonist to take action and become who we envision in the end.

—Who is your Hero and what is their Character Arc that represents a transformation?

Jaslyne Liber, 40-year old, sheltered, adopted-daughter to the Matriarch of an American Wine-Dynasty. She seeks to break free of her life-long servitude to her well-meaning but self-centered, entitled family and to develop a voice and confidence and to be her own woman.

<div>
</div>

—Internal Journey:

<div>

From being a meek, submissive follower, co-dependent to her family to being a confident, self-assured, late-bloomer who she can be proud of.

—External Journey:

From the bottom of the unspoken family hierarchy to being worthy of taking over the family wine business.

—-What are the Old Ways and New Ways?

Old Ways:

Quiet, obedient and submissive.
A follower, never questions authority.
Shy and cautious.
Defers to her sisters.</div><div>

New Ways:

· Confident, go-getter, full of charm.

· Dynamic salesperson.

· Competes and surpasses her sisters.

· Vocal, leader.

</div>

[Jonathan Chan]

Hi Classmates,

I’m Jonathan Chan a New Yawker now based in Pasadena, California (where I get chilly when it’s under 60 degrees.)

I’ve written over a dozen feature scripts but they’re mostly first/second drafts. I’ve taken a number of classes through Screenwriting U and they’ve all been great experiences.

I’m taking this class to fill that creative void that’s been gnawing at me since I’ve been busy with wine sales. I’ve been guilty of not writing for weeks on end, so the daily exercises will do me good.

Something unique? I’m a former Whole Foods Employee of the Year for Downtown Los Angeles. (They presented me a Whole Foods Bubble Jacket that was 3 sizes too big for me.)