Judith Resell
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I Judith Resell agree to the terms and conditions of the confidentiality agreement release form.
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This lesson poses an important challenge to me as a writer. While most of the uniqueness criteria are basically met, I feel I have work to do on the unique skillset and unique weapon for my protagonist. More to come, as I ponder this further!
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The climax of my story seems like a good opportunity for danger, excitement and adrenaline. It is a battle scene where the protagonist and her army are way out numbered and lacking in weapons compared to the enemy. They must win by virtue of guerilla fighting in a terrain that is their home but unfamiliar to their enemy. They are fighting for the survival of everything and everyone they care about, so we watch a small, poor, incredibly motivated army headed for apparent slaughter manage to pull out a victory with inspiring leadership from our protagonist.
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My scene starts with the surprise reveal of the intent to murder the antagonist, followed by the shock of his beheading and then the suspense of escaping before the murder is discovered by his armed henchmen who surround the murder site.
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The three main plot twists in my story are a new threat when the worst of a group of bad guys becomes so enraged at the protagonist he commits to pursue and kill her and massacre her people; a perilous escape executed against overwhelming odds; and unexpected support when a servant proves to have better survival skills than the protagonist in a certain dangerous situation.
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I learned that a scene which begins with anxiety–awakening to a man she knows but dislikes sitting on the edge of her bed–to fear–he threatens her with a knife to her throat–to relief– he leaves–is a good model for the arc of a scene that can be used again and again.
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My main character has, I think, many bases for empathy. She is respected by people in her town, her beloved husband dies suddenly, she wants only to be left in peace to mourn him but her village is attacked. Her choice to risk her life to save the village from a powerful man is both brave and admirable. Her mission also becomes her grieving process and a way to begin to live again without her husband.
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In this story, a horrible villain pursues a plan to destroy the hero’s home and people. The hero rises in response to the villain’s threat. Do or die. The escalations include increasing jeopardy, increasing numbers of enemy soldiers, increasing violence, and a fitting end of poetic justice for the villain.
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The mission does seem impossible. It pits an upper class wife against the mightiest army in the world. She must succeed or her town will be destroyed and her people killed or enslaved. She must find her true leadership qualities and must survive direct physical threat. The stakes, villain and mission seem strong enough at this point to me. The hero’s personal qualities need some work.
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My villain is horrible and so powerful. I think he works very well in the action. Just vicious, and in a way that specifically opposes everything the hero holds dear. So I’m happy with him at this point.
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I see that legends are well-suited for action scripts. They usually have the moral opposition, the impossible villain and an interesting hero. The legend I’m using checks off all of the action boxes. The weakness in this story as action is the area of high skills for the hero. To be great, I think she needs a more novel fighting skill, so I am brainstorming that.
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I’m Judith. I love to write screenplays. One of my favorite stories that I want to tell should be told as an action script, I believe. It has all of the basic conventions Hal mentioned in the opening audio, so I joined this class to develop it as an action script.
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Judith Resell. I agree to the terms of the confidentiality agreement.
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What I learned was to get my story squarely in the action genre. It is an ancient legend and I’m excited to see its potential to be written as full-on action.
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I have an underdog character who becomes a folk hero. This short scene of Rudy shows how quickly the extraordinary level of support can be set up and flow into the fit ending for an underdog who has been up against it for the entire film.
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I have not seen the movie, but from the one scene it looks like the ultimate rooting for the underdog. The unanimous support for Rudy must have been earned throughout the film by Rudy and he came through when he got his moment.
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A climax can often be a choice between two belief systems as well as a fight between people. Star Wars has that too and in two of my scripts, the climax is a battle between competing world views or belief systems, not just a victory of one person over another.
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He’s clearly the model for the one who couldn’t deal with it. A good contrast for Keanu. Makes the downside danger clear. Since he dies after murdering, it’s also clearly the climax for him. A violent, crazed climax like a school shooting is for a shooter.
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So much can be communicated visually, without dialog–and keeping interest throughout. I have some scenes without dialog too and seem to like them especially. This encourages me to do more of that.
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I too found this one particularly challenging. As a turning point for Neo, it couldn’t be any more of a drastic change. It ses visually like a complete rebirth into a different sort of existence altogether.
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I tend to write underdog protagonists. This scene shows how completely fascinating the top dog character can be. It’s a great lesson in introducing and creating powerful characters that draw us in, even though and because they are different from ourselves. It’s easier in some ways to create sympathy for an underdog. This scene of the powerful man in the shadows who emerges to engage us all is justly famous.
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The scene introduces characters in a morally ambiguous world. The Don is violent, but has a code. The Italians are not served by the police and courts, so they have turned to street justice. The Don demands respect–he is not crude and he refuses to be treated like a common criminal. The notions of family and honor and respect are always counterpoised to violence and criminal ways of making money. This is set up well in a scene of elegant people at a fancy wedding talking about violence and revenge–and revealing the Don’s detailed understanding of both. What actor wouldn’t want to play top man in such a world?
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These super dark psychopathic characters are really, really hard. After I posted, I listened to Anthony Hopkins talk about playing Hannibal and realized I was short of the mark. I have a psychopathic character and struggled with him for years! I think that’s necessary if he or she is to be really original and effective. It’s a combination of advanced psychology (Hannibal’s strength) and the presence of a dark monster within.
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She releases him, the psychopathic psychiatrist, and he provides the dark fascination an FBI agent pursuing serial killers wants at some level. They are well matched to play the cat and mouse game they undertake together as perpetrator and detective.
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Hannibal uses his relationship with Clarice to escape prison. Clarice uses her relationship with Hannibal to catch Bill. Both learn to understand a bit and possibly even respect each other along the way.
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I learned it can be more interesting if two people connect and share feelings without solely using words.
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A man with a deep, unfulfilled need meets a woman full of human understanding via their uniquely shared language of music.
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What I learned–great dialog transcends an ordinary setting. I learned I should never neglect dialog. It can always get better, sharper. I have a triangle and will review it with that in mind.
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Love the dialog, especially Tess. Dialog reveals three sharp sophisticates. Tess tells Danny she doesn’t want the world of theft and lies that he embodies. She wants Terry and his world of apparently legitimate success. The triangle is about worlds as well as loves. Danny knows something about Terry that makes him wrong for Tess. An interesting set-up.
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He knows he has to create a team.
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Race conflict happens between or among human beings, not stereotyped black or white. This creates the possibility of some resolution, of understanding between races, which is beautiful to watch emerge. I have a black/ white conflict in a script that could take this path.
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All of the above, plus I would add that, even setting aside race, the black coach shows himself to be a brilliant psychologist. We can see how he could really take this team to the top even with the race conflict, which he shows he can handle. This is no ordinary coach.
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I have a character who is less competent than others in his circle, although not due to alcohol. I see how I can play with that to reveal a way in which he has been more astute all along.
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Parallelism is a useful technique. In a series of scenes leading up to the meet of my two main characters, parallel actions, behaviors and emotions can propel the story forward more strongly to a meet that we understand as meant to be.
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The parallelism throughout the scene is wonderful. The fact that Tom Hanks has confided in a radio psychologist clearly communicates to Meg Ryan how much he needs a woman’s comfort and support. He’s not ok with raising his son without a woman’s love.
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They are the two truly interesting people in the room. Each has a surprising anomaly. Johnny knows Latin. Doc, while coming across as the less competent drunken one, is drawing out more information about Johnny than Johnny is about Doc.
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Revealing the wound in an organic way is hard.
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What causes each to reveal their wound? Will reveals his when she calls him on his lie. Skyler reveals hers when he accuses her of false love, of just wanting the experience of a lower class lover like a notch on a belt.
Will’s experience of abuse gave him a shell she cannot penetrate. And an ability to be cruel. He won’t make himself vulnerable to anyone. When she makes herself vulnerable to him by making her need for his love all too clear, he responds with defensive cruelty.
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What I learned is that a scene can be too on-the-nose just like dialog. Everyone liked the game scene because it was all subtextual. The dying marshall with a wanted poster and blowing up the house of the abusive man were too direct and straightforward by comparison. That’s a good lesson for me, as I tend to be direct.
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I liked the middle scene of the game. It’s interesting to find out in that way that each has killed a man. And to see that each is willing to disclose–which is contrary to expectations of concealment, establishing an interesting relationship. I didn’t like the first scene and think it would be better to leave it out.
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I liked the simplicity of the scene. Each of three elements was outstanding: the two characters were clear, unique and sharp contrasts to one another and the setting of the scene a great choice. A discouraged man hitting golf balls that disappear aimlessly into the night. A spiritual character who emerges from that same darkness to show the way.
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The characters seem right for this story because the profound demoralization of war must meet its match in a larger-than-life spiritual being, a savior capable of healing deep wounds and restoring faith and hope.
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I learned the importance of setting up characters with an eye to their arc. How much and how will they change over the course of the story–what would be the best choices for this?
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It’s challenging to write a mix of human and superman characters and get the audience to genuinely care about them all and experience all as believable. In this scene, Sarah shows her nuturant and maternal qualities, which are key to her future as John Connor’s mother. She learns that she will have to fight for her life in the future and is not prepared for that. Suggests an interesting arc. Kyle seems caring and loyal, but his lack of response to getting shot reveals to us his superhuman aspect, that he is not of this world, in a behavioral way–not just the knowledge that he is from the future.
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It’s a great lesson in making verbal aggression more interesting than a fistfight or shootout and in using an incongruent behavior to make the lead character a paradox who is instantly fascinating.
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I like the contrast between Chuckie and Will. Chuckie comes across as 100 percent “townie” as opposed to Harvard. He is likable if bullshitty and not savvy in dealing with snobbery. I interpreted Will’s reticence as wariness rather than lack of confidence. He has Chuckie’s working class Boston origins, but his intellect is a fun surprise. He can be as verbally aggressive as the snob and beat him at that upper class game, but he can also be physically aggressive as befits his social class and beat the snob in that way too. It’s obvious why he impresses the girl more than Chuckie can.