KANNAN MENON
Forum Replies Created
-
KANNAN MENON’S Projects and Insights
SCRIPTS: “Simulacrum” ($5-15 million) and “Blue Books” ($1-5 mill)
Tell us what you learned from the opening teleconference.
I learned that we are really there to serve the producer’s (or whoever else hires us) vision. -
HI, I’m Kannan Menon. I’ve written two screenplays in the last year, working on a third, but I am also a produced playwright. I live in NYC.
-
KANNAN MENON
I AGREE TO THE TERMS OF THE RELEASE FORM
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.
-
KANNAN MENON
I AGREE TO THE TERMS OF THE RELEASE FORM.
-
K MENON; ASSIGNMENT 11; REVEALS<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>____________________
NARRATIVE OUTLINE AND MAP ELEMENTS
Prologue: Mystery (why these murders?);
Intrigue (international electronic money transfers to offshore tax havens).
A family in a rural Illinois home are massacred at night by a gang of foreign killers led by Wahid Sharif (a Malaysian Malay) and his lieutenant Wong Kum Lai (a Malaysian Chinese). Before they are killed, the father is forced to make several money transfers to offshore tax havens as repayment for money he has embezzled. A minute after the killers leave, a man (DAVID MILLER (“Red Herring Hero”)) shows up and discovers the bodies.
Scene 1: Intrigue (What are Asha and Maria discussing?);
TRUST: Both women appear to trust each other
REVEAL: How did David acquire advisory clients from Malaysia whose money he manages and how each of Maria and Asha played a part in his business growth.
ASHA (David’s Malaysian-Indian wife) and MARIA (David’ Secretary, also from Malaysia) enjoy a zoom lunch. ASHA expresses concerns about DAVID behaviour of late. MARIA reassures her that his business is doing well. Maria says she made the first introductions for him in Malaysia. Asha says she introduced him to her boss at that time (2008) but she thinks nothing came of it because David never mentioned hime again
Scene 2: The next morning.
INTRIGUE: the robocall
REVEAL: How Wahid knows David (i.e. introduced by his Assistant whose name he can’t quite recall back in 2008).
WAHID and WONG tape a robocall-like recording to scare DAVID. Wahid expresses shock they discovered DAVID is also embezzling their money (like the head of the family they massacred in the Prologue). Wahid thought he and David were very close, tho he was Muslim and David is Jewish, but now Wahid is beginning to believe the tropes.
Scene 3: The next morning, Asha & David’s house/apartment.
Mystery: Why is David not back home?
Asha wakes up and discovers her husband is not back from his trip and there is no message.
Scene 4: Simultaneously in a NY park)
Suspense (will DAVID survive the mugging?)
Twist 1 (David is a street fighter and beats the muggers)
David wakes up on park bench and fends of two random muggers.
Scene 5: Later that morning, Asha’s home.
Asha makes sure her daughter is set up to attend remote classes.
Scene 6: A little later that morning, the empty streets of midtown Manhattan.
Mystery (who’s surveilling David);
Suspense (How’s he going to get into his office);
Twist 2: David outwits the FEDS
David’s midtown office is under surveillance, possibly by FEDS. David stages a diversion, get hold of the agent’s camera and get inside his office. The camera has pictures of the massacre (in the Prologue).
Scene 7: Asha’s house, a little later the same morning.
Intrigue (the robocall voicemail);
Suspense (How will Asha deal with possibility David is a con man?)
ASHA gets a robocall on her home landline which threatens DAVID if he does not agree to repay certain stolen funds.
Scene 8: David’s Office and surrounding streets, same morning.
Suspense (Will David escape?)
Twist 3 (David again outwits the Feds)
DAVID leaves the office and escapes from more FEDS in a car by running into a multiple line subway interchange.
Scene 9: Same morning; Wahid’s hotel room.
Mystery (who is providing air cover for W&W?)
Reveal: Who provides political cover for Wahid and Wong and what is the secret arrangement?
WAHID & WONG are enjoying a room service breakfast in Wahid’s hotel room when “the Big Boss” calls them with instructions. The “Big Boss” of Malaysia is visiting Washington to secretly play golf with POTUS to seek help in regaining power in Malaysia after he lost the 2018 election in return for a sizeable contribution to POTUS’s campaign through a campaign finance nonprofit.
ACT TWO
Scene 10: Zoom call between Asha and Maria.
MYSTERY: Why did David fly to O’Hare Airport 2 days ago and how is his business really doing?)
TRUST/BETRAYAL: Asha’s trust in Maria deepends.
ASHA calls Maria at home to ask if she knows where David is. MARIA explains David bought a ticket to O’Hare for 2 nights ago and a return for last night. MARIA also tells Asha that David is really busy and his business is flourishing and that he has an appointment today, with a WAHID who she believes is Malaysian from his name.
Scene 11: Wahid’s Hotel, a little later.
Intrigue: finding DAVID or locating his assets;
W&W discuss how to track down David (office, first then other property assets in the region. Reinforcements show up at WAHID’s room.
Scene 12: Zoom call between Asha and Maria continuing.
INTRIGUE: A little later, Maria and Asha still on a call.
MYSTERY: Why does DAVID have an appointment with WAHID?
MARIA tells Asha that David had a return flight last night so she’s sure he will be there by and by. Asha admits she knows Wahid… and that she introduced David to WAHID but DAVID has never mentioned him subsequently. She asks Maria to call her if she hears from David or from WAHID.
BETRAYAL: Maria is actually beholden to DAVID so she lets ASHA down.
REVEAL: DAVID’s hold over MARIA explained; David’s relationship with Wahid at least partially explained.
After Maria hangs up, DAVID shows up at her door. Turns out he paid for Maria’s trans surgery. He’s there to pick up (a large bag of hundreds (some of which he gives Maria) as a bonus. David begs Maria not to worry ASHA by giving her too much info. MARIA admits she told ASHA about his appointment with W&W. David tells Maria not to speak to Wahid or give him any info if he should reach her.
Scene 13: David’s office, a little later.
MYSTERY (Why Are the FEDS after DAVID?)
Two Federal agents enter David’s office. They search everything including the computer which they try to fire up in vain, then unplug and bag it for removal.
Scene 12: Mystery (whose apartment is this and who is the woman)
TWIST 4: David’s side piece, with consequences.
David enters a large, high-end apartment. The view of Central Park West is spectacular. A pregnant [Asian/Hispanic/anglo?} woman comes out of a kitchen and embraces David.
INTRIGUE: David’s emergency plan.
David opens a secret safe/hiding place and collects passports, guns and money. The woman brings more suitcases stuffed with hundreds. He plays a game with her to pick a destination from five choices… She surprises him.
Scene 13: David’s office.
SUSPENSE (FEDS confront W&W’s group—how will it end?)
The 2 feds searching David’s office are suddenly beset by Wahid & Wong and their two goons with drawn guns pointing at each other and shouting loudly.
TWIST 5: The Feds and W&W group agree to cooperate
W&W have a cover story—that his group are Malaysian Special Branch (an elite intelligence unit like Scotland Yard’s Special Branch) on special assignment in the US, authorized at the highest levels of the US government. They claim their Big Boss is in DC playing golf with POTUS. The FEDS check back and agree to a limited cooperation. They will check with David’s secretary who is likely working at home—they found her address in the office. The FEDS will follow up with MARIA and brief W&W after.
Scene 14: Asha’s home.
ASHA looks in on her daughter working hard on math. She tells her daughter she’s going to do a couple of quick errands but will be back in twenty minutes.
Scene 15: Maria’s Home.
Suspense Will the FEDS arrest Maria?
2 feds knock on Maria’s door. She answers the door and the Feds introduce themselves and ask her if she knows where David is? She says no, but lets them into the house to talk. They try to bully her threatening her with deportation or criminal action but she claims to be innocent of what David may be up to.
INTRIGUE (Who is watching the FED visit Maria)
As the Feds leave Maria’s home, we see they are being watched by two of Wahid’s men. Later the feds share the results of their conversation with WAHID but they don’t share the address, not realizing Wahid already has it.
Scene 16: Asha’s Home
Suspense/Intrigue (What is WAHID’s 2 prong-plan to get DAVID and how does he execute it?)
First: Wong and 2 of his minions kidnap ASHA’s daughter while ASHA is running her errands.
Second, that night, WAHID’s goons kidnap Maria despite her resolute struggle. She is taken to a safe house for interrogation.
Scene 17: Asha’s House.
Mystery (What happened to ASHA’s daughter?)
Asha finds her daughter gone. She calls the police. They take notes but they appear to believe the girl is with David. Asha then calls Maria, but no one picks up. She tries DAVID’s number but no one picks-up, but she leaves a terse msg.
Scene 18: Wahid’s safe house where he is interrogating Maria
INTRIGUE/SUSPENSE (Wahid ups the Ante)
Wahid calls David through WhatsApp as David is driving in a car with his girlfriend and he tells DAvid he has David’s daughter and he needs to make restitution of the money he has stolen from the Big Boss or arrange to transfer all the assets David has purchased for himself with their money. If not both Maria and his daughter are in danger.
Scene 19: David and his girlfriend in a motel room.
TWIST 6 David does a runner leaving ASHA to pick up the pieces and his daughter and MARIA to suffer their fates.
TWIST: Why David explains that he believes their daughter is not in danger.
David calls Asha and tells her Wahid has taken their daughter. DAVID confesses his girlfriend is pregnant, that’s why he has to flee with her. ASHA asks what about their daughter. David tells her that he took a DNA test and discovered the girl is not his daughter. He thinks the girl can only be one person’s daughter.
Reveal: (ASHA confesses to David)
ASHA tells DAVID that she used to be WAHID’s former lover when she first met DAVID and introduced him to Wahid in Malaysia. When David returned to Malaysia a few weeks later she got involved with him but she broke it off with Wahid who was pressuring her to convert to Islam and marry him. David suggests ASHA speak to Wahid and explain that it’s his daughter. ASHA asks him to set up a meeting with WAHID.
TWIST 8 (DAVID tries to ease his conscience)
DAVID TELS ASHA where he’s hidden guns and money in the house. He reminds her he taught her how to drive and how to shoot when she first came to the US. David also tells Asha his lawyer will call WAHID and arrange a meeting for ASHA.
TWIST 9 (ASHA find more helpful stuff)
ASHA finds along with guns and ammo, the SWISS numbered accounts where presumably DAVID’S loot is stashed. She also finds an envelope with the DNA test that shows DAVID is not her daughter’s father.
Scene 20: INTRIGUE (Arrangements made by each of the parties)
WONG sets out meeting arrangements to ambush ASHA at their agreed-meeting place and discusses it with his gang.
Asha is in a shooting range—she is the person there besides the owner, who she thanks for letting her practice. She is determined to be prepared for her meeting with Wahid.
Scene 21 CLIMAX: The agreed upon meeting place
SUSPENSE Will Asha be able to persuade Wahid to release their daughter?
REVEAL: Asha realizes what a dangerous game DAVID was playing when WAHID reveals that DAVID has been stealing from the money stolen by the Big Boss in a $12B financial scandal in Malaysia.
Night meeting between ASHA and WAHID at the [open air site / park /golf course described above. WAHID explains that DAVID embezzled their ill-gotten gains and he blames ASHA for introducing DAVID to him. He demands that ASHA persuade DAVID to return as much of the money and assets as he has diverted or otherwise help him to catch David or she will ever see her daughter again.
ASHA says all she can offer are the numbered Swiss accounts where David has been stashing the diverted funds.
That’s not enough for WAHID who says David has bought a lot of properties and other assets with money and he needs David to transfer all of that back to him. ASHA has no way to do that. So she tells WAHID that he may really be the girl’s father—she shares the DNA test DAVID has left behind.
Wahid agree to give Asha 24 hours to transfer the money to accounts he controls (he gives her the information) or her daughter will permanently disappear.
Just as they appear to have reached agreement the FEDS stumble on the group and a wild shoot out emerges. Asha manages to hide and stay safe while Wahid’s accomplices are all killed. The Feds
ASHA comes out of hiding and confronts Wahid— they have an argument and ASHA kills him. Then she realizes to her horror that she does not know where her daughter is.
She searches the Wong’s body and bodies and discovers where the kid is
being held. She finds her daughter. All is Well. -
KANNAN MENON; TRUST & BETRAYAL;ASSIGNMENT 10
What I learned doing this assignment was that you had to have your basic narrative outline structures to get an idea of relationships bubbling under the surface. I mean by that, that a character may be torn, trustworthy to a great extent, but having some major bad act in the past that makes him or her to have have divided loyalties and so betray the hero.
ASSIGNMENT
Create trust / distrust relationships between your characters and add them to your Thriller Map.
1. Make a list of the main characters.
True Hero: ASHA
(David’s wife)
Red Herring Hero: David.
He is trusted as the Hero by his wife (and the audience) but he
betrays his trust.
Villain: WAHID
(and his cohorts)
Red Herring Character:
[need a character how is
bossy and interfering so might be thought of as a credible villainous mastermind
but have not worked him in yet)
Trusted, but shouldn’t be: Maria, David’s personal assistant is
trusted by ASHA but she is majorly obligated to David, so perhaps she
shouldn’t be trusted
Isn’t trusted, but should be:2. With each character, ask these questions:
ASHA: basically trustable;
A. What is their basic state — trustable or not
trustable?
B. How might they really be trustable, but appear not
trustable OR be not trustable, but appear trustable?
C. What circumstances might cause them to switch from
one to the other?3. With each character relationship, brainstorm how trust or distrust might show up between them.
Real Hero / Villain:
They don’t realize who each other are, but of course whenThey do, there is immense distrust as they were former lovers and each now thinks the other set them iup in some way.
Real Hero / Red Herring Hero: Asha does not know that David has in
fact developes acontinuing business relationship with the
Villain/Wahid. David eos not
realize that ASHA was Wahid’s former lover—when he does realize it, he uses
it to ascribe WAHID’s actions to jealousy, which he argues lets him shrug
off some of the responsibility with regards to his daughter.
Real Hero / Trusted, but shouldn’t be: Maria is trusted by ASHA but Maria is
obligated to DAVID.
Hero / Isn’t trusted, but should be:4. Create a sequence for each trust/distrust relationship (like I did with Three Days of The Condor) and then add that to your map.
5. Give us the new version of your Thriller Map.
NARRATIVE OUTLINE AND MAP ELEMENTS
Prologue: Mystery (why these murders?); Intrigue (money transfers).
A family in a rural Illinois home are massacred at night by a gang of killers from Malaysia led by Wahid and his lieutenant Wong. A minute after the killers leave, DAVID (“Red Herring Hero”) shows up and and discovers the body. He searches the house, but the killers have apparently taken what he is looking for.
Scene 1: Intrigue (Are Asha and Maria plotting something?);
TRUST: Both women appear to trust each other
ASHA and MARIA (David’ Secretary) have lunch in a midtown public space with deserted streets. Both are from Malaysia. ASHA expresses some concerns about DAVID behaviour of late. MARIA reassures her.
Scene 2: Intrigue:
WAHID and WONG tape a robocall-like recording to scare DAVID.
Scene 3: Mystery
Asha wakes up and discovers her husband is not home.
Scene 4: Suspense (will DAVID survive the mugging?)
Twist 1 (David is a street fighter and beats the muggers)
David wakes up on park bench and fends of two random muggers.
Scene 5:
Asha makes sure her daughter is set up to attend remote classes.
Scene 6: Mystery (who’s surveilling David);
Suspense (How’s he going to get into his office);
Twist 2: David outwits the FEDS
David discovers his midtown office is under surveillance, he assumes, by the FEDS, but he stages a diversion to get inside and also get hold of the agent’s camera which contains pictures of the massacre described in the Prologue.
Scene 7: Suspense (the robocall);
Intrigue (David is a con man?)
ASHA is gets a robocall on her home landline which threatens DAVID if he does not agree to repay certain stolen funds.
Scene 8: Suspense (Will David escape?)
Twist 3 (David again outwits the Feds)
DAVID leaves the office and escapes from more FEDS in a car by running into a multiple line subway interchange.
Scene 9: Mystery (who is providing air cover for W&W)
WAHID & WONG are enjoying a room service breakfast in Wahid’s hotel room when “the Big Boss” calls them with instructions. The “Big Boss” of Malaysia is visiting Washington to secretly play golf with the POTUS to seek help in regaining to power in Malaysia after he lost the 2019 election.
ACT TWO
Scene 10: MYSTERY: (Why did David fly to O’Hare Airport 2 days ago and is his business collapsing?)
TRUST: ASHA’s trust in MARIA strengthens
ASHA calls David’s assistant Maria at home to ask Maria if she knows where David is. MARIA explains David bought a ticket to O’Hare for 2 nights ago and a return for last night. MARIA also tells Asha that David is really busy and his business is flourishing and that he has an appointment today, with a WAHID & new clients, she believes who must be Malaysian.
Scene 11: Intrigue (tracking DAVID);
W&W discuss how to track down David (office, first then other property assets in the region). Reinforcements show up at WAHID’s room.
Scene 12: INTRIGUE (ASHA’s past with WAHID comes back)
MYSTERY (Why does DAVID have an appointment with WAHID?)
MARIA tells Asha so she’s sure he will be there. Asha admits she knows Wahid… and that she introduced David to WAHID but DAVID has never mentioned him subsequently. She asks Maria to call her if she hears from David or from WAHID.
TRUST & BETRAYAL: DAVID’s hold over MARIA explained.
After Maria hangs up, DAVID shows up at her door. Turns out he paid for Maria’s trans surgery. He’s there to pick up (a large bag of hundreds (some of which he gives Maria) as a bonus. David begs Maria not to worry ASHA by giving her too much info. MARIA admits she told ASHA about his appointment with W&W.
Scene 13: MYSTERY (Why Are the FEDS after DAVID?)
Two Federal agents enter David’s office. They search everything including the computer which they try to fire up in vain, then unplug and bag it for removal.
Scene 12: Mystery (whose apartment is this)
TWIST 4: David’s side piece, with consequences.
David enters a large, high-end apartment. The view of Central Park West is spectacular. A pregnant [Asian/Hispanic/anglo?} woman comes out of a kitchen and embraces David.
INTRIGUE: David’s emergency plan.
David opens a secret safe/hiding place and collects passports, guns and money. The woman brings more suitcases stuffed with hundreds. He plays a game with her to pick a destination from five choices… She surprises him.
[NOTE: At what point does WAHID come to know that DAVID’S wife is ASHA, his former lover]
Scene 13: SUSPENSE (FEDS confront W&W’s group—how will it end?)
The 2 feds searching David’s office are suddenly beset by Wahid & Wong and their two goons with drawn guns pointing at each other and shouting loudly.
TWIST 5: The Feds and W&W group agree to cooperate
W&W have a cover story—that his group are Malaysian Special Branch (an elite intelligence unit like Scotland Yard’s Special Branch) on special assignment in the US, authorized at the highest levels of the US government. They claim their Big Boss is in DC playing golf with POTUS. The FEDS check back and agree to a limited cooperation. They will check with David’s secretary who is likely working at home—they found her address in the office. The FEDS will follow up with MARIA and brief W&W after.
Scene 14
ASHA looks in on her daughter working hard on math. She tells her daughter she’s going to do a couple of quick errands but will be back in twenty minutes.
Scene 15: Suspense (Will the FEDS arrest Maria?)
2 feds knock on Maria’s door. She answers the and the feds introduce themselves and ask her if she knows where David is? She says no, but lets them into the house to talk.
INTRIGUE (Who is watching the FED visit Maria)
Later the feds share the results of their conversation with WAHID but the don’t share the address, not realizing Wahid already has it.
Scene 16: Suspense/Intrigue (What is WAHID’s 2 prong-plan to get DAVID and how does he execute it?)
First: Wong and 2 of his minions kidnap ASHA’s daughter while ASHA is running her errands.
Second, that night, WAHID’s goons kidnap Maria despite her resolute struggle. She is taken to a safe house for interrogation.
Scene 17: Mystery (What happened to ASHA’s daughter?)
Asha finds her daughter gone. She calls the police. They take notes but they appear to believe the girl is with David. Asha then calls Maria, but no one picks up. She tries DAVID’s number but no one picks-up, but she leaves a terse msg.
Scene 18: INTRIGUE/SUSPENSE (Wahid ups the Ante)
Wahid calls David through WhatsApp as David is sharing coke with his girlfriend and tells him he has David’s daughter and he needs to make restitution of the money he has stolen from the Big Boss or arrange to transfer all the assets. If not both Maria and his daughter (who is in a cage next to a cage with a python)
Scene 19: TWIST 6 (David does a runner leaving ASHA to pick up the pieces and his daughter and MARIA to suffer their fates}
David calls Asha and tells her about their daughter. DAVID confesses to a pregnant girlfriend so that’s why he has to flee with her tho he feels bad about their daughter in Wahid’s hands.
TWIST 7 (ASHA surprises David)
ASHA tells DAVID that she used to be WAHID’s former lover until just before she met DAVID. David says somewhat releases him since he thinks WAHID is just taking revenge on ASHA for breaking up with him. ASHA asks him to set up a meeting with WAHID or tell her how to reach Wahid.
TWIST 8 (DAVID tries to ease his conscience)
DAVID TELS ASHA where he’s hiddens guns and money in the house. He reminds her he taught her how to drive and how to shoot when she first came to the US. [He gives her a quick brush-up lesson on how to shoot on their facetime call.— Maybe a scene where she goes to Manhattan shooting range and practices.]
TWIST 9 (ASHA find more helpful stuff)
ASHA finds along with guns and ammo, the SWISS numbered accounts where presumably DAVID’S loot is stashed. David also tells Asha his lawyer will call WAHID and arrange a meeting for ASHA.
Scene 20: INTRIGUE (Arrangements made by each of the parties)
WONG sets out meeting arrangements to ambush ASHA at their agreed-meeting place and discusses it with his gang.
DAVID and his girlfriend flee South to Mexico… or Puerto Rico.
Scene 21 CLIMAX. SUSPENSE (meeting between Asha and Wahid)
Night meeting between ASHA and WAHID at the golf course [after the golf cart chase] described above. WAHID explains that DAVID has been embezzling their ill-gotten gains and he blames ASHA for introducing DAVID to him. He demands that ASHA persuade DAVID to return as much of the money and assets as he has diverted or otherwise help him to catch David or she will ever see her daughter again.
ASHA says all she can offer are the numbered Swiss accounts where David has been stashing the diverted funds.
W&W agree to give Asha 24 hours to transfer the money to accounts he controls (he gives her the information) or her daughter will permanently disappear.
Just as they appear to have reached agreement the FEDS stumble on the group and a wild shoot out emerges. Asha dives into the pond while the FEDS and W&W are all killed.
ASHA searches W&W’s bodies and discovers where the kids is being held. She goes there by herself, searches the premises and finds her daughter. All is Well.
GOLF CART CHASE
DAVID recklessly maneuvers a golf cart through the woods surrounding the course at the highest rate of speed the cart can managed.. He is being followed by a pair of guys on another cart. They make it through the woods behind him but as they come out of the trees, they are unaware there is a pond immediately ahead, so they drive right into it. The cart comes to a sudden stop in the mud of the pond, and flips over, trapping the 2 men under water so they drown. David watches this from just beyond the trees, then proceeds on his way to where David’s lawyer David Hollis is playing golf, next to a small pond. Hollis tells him to give his number to whoever’s running his pursuers. Hollis feels confident he can arrange a deal. But he tells DAVID that his rates are higher for high risk work.
-
K. MENON ASSIGNMENT 9
What I learned doing this assignment is that as you figure out the twists and turns, more and more details of your narrative begin to emerge—at least a “first draft outline” as it were.
PROLOGUE
Mystery/Intrigue: Who are the killers and the victims?
Wahid and Wong visit a man who has stolen almost $50 million from them and forces him to electronically return some of the stolen funds and then kills him and his family OR kidnaps his daughters to be sold in the international sex trade?
ACT ONE
1. Asha wakes up and discovers David has not been home all night.
2. David is woken up as he sleeps on a park bench in Central Park/outer boro park by two punks who demand all his money.
TWIST 1: A random mugging goes wrong because David has a “street brawler’s” ability to get out of fights…
DAVID injures/kills them with a taser or other weapon and then quietly takes an almost deserted subway into Manhattan.
3. Asha settles her daughter in front of her remote learning computer.
4. Mystery/Suspense: Why is someone surveilling DAVID at his office
When David nears his office he spots a man with a camera pointed at his building seated in a car—the only car parked on a deserted street at 9.30 am—across from his building.
2<sup>nd</sup> TWIST: David turns the table on the surveillance
DAVID pays a wino to sneak up to the car and pee thru the passenger side window, causing the driver to get out and chase him. Another wino that David has paid steals the camera and brings it to David who slides into his office building.
5. DAVID reviews the shots in the camera which includes crime scene photos (described in the PROLOGUE). [DAVID appears to recognize the victims]
Intrigue: A rabid robocall.
6. Asha settles into her work space at home.
The call is specifically directed to DAVID and giving him a couple of choices as to how to save himself like “if you want to return the money in full you stole press 1, if you want to discuss a payment plan, press 2, if you arrange for a quick exit strategy for yourself press 3; if you want to include your family in the exit strategy, press 4.”
Suspense: David evades the Feds surveilling him
7. David sees the cameraman is back across the street but is now trying to take pix with his phone! He exits the building through a back entrance but is spotted by two agents in a passing car. He leads a chase cutting through a couple of alleys between two streets
TWIST 3: The pursuers appear to outwit David
The pursuing car is able to go down the alleys as there are almost no pedestrians.
TWIST 4: But David is able to turn the tables on the pursuers by hopping into a major subway interchange.
DAVID hops into a subway entrance which accesses the E, the 6 and the R lines so the agent chasing him is from IDAHO and doesn’t know all the lines so is unable to get coverage of all stations on each line to catch up with DAVID.
INTRIGUE:
8. WAHID & WONG are at eating a big breakfast in Wahid’s hotel room. [while WONG prepares a robocall message directed at DAVid]
Mystery: Are there unseen figures providing cover to the Villains?
Wahid receives a call on his cell from “the Big Boss” giving him further instructions. The “Big Boss” is visiting Washington to secretly play golf with the Big Cheese of the U.S. to seek his help in returning the Big Boss to power in Malaysia.
ACT TWO
MYSTERY: WHY DID DAVID FLY TO O”HARE DID HE RETURN & IS HIS BUSINESS FOLDING?
9. Asha calls David’s assistant Maria, also working from home to ask if she knows where David is. MARIA tells her David got an emailed tix to O’Hare for 2 nights ago with a return the following night. Did he go or come back? Neither can reach him by phone. MARIA tell Asha she doesn’t understand what is going on with David’s business. He only appears to have two or three small clients and she is sure the business is running at a loss after a few offshore clients left him.
10. Two goons show up at WAHID’s room as per the phone call from the Big Boss. They ask for instructions. They also say the BIG BOSS has told them that WAHID will get them a room at the hotel. WAHID IS NOT PLEASED.
INTRIGUE: ASHA DISCOVERS DAVID HAS A (BUSINESS) RELATIONSHIP WITH WAHID WHO SHE INTRODUCED TO DAVID MORE THAN FIVE YEARS AGO.
11. MARIA tells Asha his electronic calender notes a 10.00 am appointment with a Tan Sri Wahid and a Mr. Wong but not where they are meeting. [MARIA who is also from Malaysia, recognizes Wahid as Malaysian?].
Asha admits she knows Wahid… and recalls she introduced David to Wahid in 2009 but
But she did not realize they were still in touch and why, as DAVID has never mentioned him subsequently. She asks Maria to call her if she hears from David or from WAHID
SUSPENSE: ARE THE FEDS MOVING IN ON DAVID?
12. Two Federal agents enter David’s office. One checks through drawers, closets, the waste baskets, while the other tries the computer.
TWIST 4: David’s side piece, with consequences.
13. David enter a large, high-end apartment. A pregnant [Asian/Hispanic/anglo?} woman comes out of a kitchen and embraces David.
INTRIGUE: DAVID HAS BACKUP PLANS
David opens a secret safe/hiding place and collects passports, guns and money. He asks the woman about money and she shows him a large backpack stuffed with hundreds.
[NOTE: At what point does WAHID come to know that DAVID’S wife is ASHA, his former lover]
SUSPENSE: Could the FEDS and Wahid’s group end up shooting each ther nd upl
14. The 2 feds searching David’s office are suddenly beset by Wahid & Wong and their two goons with drawn guns pointing at each other and shouting loudly.
TWIST 5: The Feds have a face-off with Wahid and his goons, but find they have much in common!
WAHID claims that he and his goons work for Special Branch of the Malaysian Police and are trying to recover stolen money. Both parties realize that each of their bosses are friends and golfing buddies, and that Wahid and Wong may actually have received unofficial authorization to conduct the hunt for David in the US. They agree to a limited cooperation.
15. ASHA looks in on her daughter who is working hard on some math problems. She tells her daughter she is running to the market for dinner items and the dry cleaners.
16. 2 feds knock on Maria’s door. She answers the and the feds introduce themselves and ask her if she knows where David is? She says no, and lets them into the house to talk.
INTRIGUE: Collaboration between the Feds and WAHID’s group deepens.
The FEDS share their info about Maria with Wahid.
TWIST 6: Wahid devises a back door plan to get to DAVID
17. First, his goons kill Maria so she can’t finger him in the future. He defends the action to the Feds by saying “what do you care, she is a “pondan” (a transvestite) and an illegal anyway, she just came to America to get transgender surgery! NOTE: This should include a chase scene w. Maria trying to escape her fate…
Second: Wong and 2 of his minions knock on Asha’s door which is opened by Asha’s daughter. They kidnap her.
18. Asha finds her daughter is gone. She calls the police. The take notes but they seem to feel she is probably with David, probably playing hooky from remote learning!
INTRIGUE/SUSPENSE: WAHID UPS THE ANTE.
19. Wahid calls David through WhatsApp as David is sharing some coke with his girlfriend when the phone rings. Wahid tells him that he is holding David’s daughter and he better pay back the money he has stolen from the Big Boss and do it quick because his daughter is being held in a cage next to cage where there is a sleeping Burmese python that may wake up and realize it’s hungry—and it can slip through the bars of the cage his daughter is in. [may include a flashback sequence which reveals how Wahid and David developed a relationship when Wahid took David python hunting in Malaysia…]
TWIST 7: DAVID LEAVES ASHA HOLDING THE BAG!
20. David calls Asha and tells her about their daughter. DAVID confesses to a pregnant girlfriend so that’s why he has to flee with her tho he feels bad about their daughter in Wahid’s hands.
TWIST 8:
ASHA tells DAVID that she used to be WAHID’ former lover until just before she met DAVID. So maybe it’s better if she try to resolve this with WAHID. She asks if he arrange a meeting for her Wahid or tell her how to reach Wahid.
TWIST 9:
DAVID TELS ASHA where he’s hiddens guns and money in the house. He reminds her that when they first came to the US he taught her how to drive and how to shoot. He gives her a quick brush-up lesson on how to shoot on their facetime call.
TWIST 10:
ASHA finds along with guns and ammo, the SWISS numbered accounts where presumably DAVID’S loot is stashed. .
David also tells Asha he will arrange for his lawyer, David Hollis to call WAHID and arrange a meeting for ASHA.
SUPENSE: DAVID avoids capture when trying to contact his lawyer.
21. DAVID recklessly maneuvers a golf cart through the woods surrounding the course at the highest rate of speed the cart can managed.. He is being followed by a pair of guys on another cart. They make it through the woods behind him but as they come out of the trees, they are unaware there is a pond immediately ahead, so they drive right into it. The cart comes to a sudden stop in the mud of the pond, and flips over, trapping the 2 men under water so they drown. David watches this from just beyond the trees, then proceeds on his way to where David’s lawyer David Hollis is playing golf, next to a small pond. Hollis tells him to give his number to whoever’s running his pursuers. Hollis feels confident he can arrange a deal. But he tells DAVID that his rates are higher for high risk work.
22. WAHID gets a call from Hollis and agrees to meet ASHA at the golf course pond the next night.
23. DAVID and his girlfriend are fleeing… they head South to Mexico… or Puerto Rico. [But they are killed –run off the road—somewhere in the Blue ridge Mountains?– by Wahids men]
24. Night meeting between ASHA and WAHID at the golf course [after the golf cart chase described above. WAHID explains that DAVID has been embezzling their ill-gotten gains, which are not acceptable. And he blames ASHA for intitially introducing DAVID to him just before she resigned. He demands that ASHA persuade DAVID to return as much of the money and assets as he has diverted or otherwise help him to catch David.
25. ASHA has the numbered Swiss accounts where David has been stashing the diverted fund—
26. W&W agree to give Asha 24 hours to transfer the money to accounts he controls (he gives her the information) or her daughter will permanently disappear.
27. Just as they appear to have reached agreement the FEDS stumble on the group and a wild shoot out emerges. Asha dives into the pond while the FEDS and W&W are all killed.
28. ASHA searches W&W’s bodies and discovers where the kids is being held. She goes there by herself, searches the premises and finds her daughter. All is Well.
-
ASSIGNMENT EIGHT
List out your structure using
whatever structure you are comfortable with.PROLOGUE
n Wahid and Wong visit an agent that has stolen almost $500 million from them and forces him to wire back some of the stolen funds and then kills him and his family.
ACT ONE
1. Asha wakes up and discovers David has not been home all night.
2. David wakes up on a park bench in Central Park/outer boro park. He looks like he has slept in his clothes. Groggily he heads to his office.
3. Asha settles her daughter in front of her remote learning computer
4. As David nears his office he spots a man in a car—the only car parked on the street at 7.30 am—with a camera. He avoids the front entrance and goes in the backway and quickly gets on his computer and frantically works the keyboard.
5. Asha reaches her own work cubile at home and settles in nervously. She jumps when her phone rings but it is a Mandarin-language phone scam!
6. David peeks through his 2<sup>nd</sup> floor window and spots the cameraman in his car. He makes a quick getaway through a back entrance but is spotted by two agents in a passing car. He leads a chase cutting through a alley between two streets, but the car pursues him down the street as there are almost no pedestrians… then hops into a subway entrance. One of the agents follows him but is unable to decipher which line he has gone to.
7. Wong and WAHID are at breakfast at their NY hotel when Wahid receives a call on his cell from “the Big Boss” giving him further instructions.
8. Asha picks up the phone and calls David’s assistant Maria—she is working remotely from home…
9. As promised, three goons show up at WAHID’s room. They ask for instructions.
10. MARIA tells Asha that David is not there, but she says his electronic calender which she has access to, notes a 10.00 am appointment with two gentlemen named Wahid and Wong [who she believes to be Malaysian].
11. Asha asks Maria to call her if she hears from David.
12. Two Federal agents stealthily make their way into David’s office building and into his office. One looks through drawers and closets, the waste baskets, while the other tries his luck with the computer.
13. David enter a small apartment (somewhere Queen) and retrieves passports, guns and ammo. A [Asian?} woman comes out of a kitchen and hugs and kisses David. He asks her about the money and she hands him a backpack stuffed with hundreds. ]
[NOTE: At what point does WAHID come to know that DAVID’S wife is ASHA, his former lover]
14. The 2 feds searching David’s office are suddenly beset Wahid & Wong and their three guns. They all end up pointing guns at each other and shouting loudly, which echoes through the empty building. They both realize that each of their boss of bosses are friends and golfing buddies, and that Wahid and Wong may actually have received unofficial authorization to conduct the hunt for David in the US. They agree to collaborate.
15. ASHA looks in on her daughter who is working hard on some math problems. She tells her daughter she is running to the market for dinner items and the dry cleaners.
16. Wahid and one of his goons and 2 feds knock on Maria’s door. She answers the and the feds introduce themselves and ask if they know where David is? She says no, and lets them in the house… Wahid realizes she knows him or of him, and he kills her. The feds are appalled but Wahid says what do you care, she is illegal anyway!
17. Wong and 2 of his minions and one of the feds knock on Asha’s door which is opened by Asha’s daughter. They kidnap her.
18. Wahid calls David through WhatsApp. David is making love to his girlfriend when the phone rings. He answers it. Wahid tell him that he is holding David’s daughter and he better do it quick because his daughter is being held in a cage next to cage where there is a sleeping Burmese python that may wake up and realize it’s hungry—and it can slip through the bars of the cage is daughter is in.
19. David calls Asha and tells her about their daughter. He is almost hysterical. Asha gathers herself together. But he refuses to come back and says he is fleeing. They each make a confesson, she to her former relationship with Wahid, he to his present girlfriend and impending new child. As a parting gift he tells her where he has hidden guns in the house. She begs him to give her a quick lesson which he does on Zoom. She asks David for Wahid’s number and calls him.
20. Conversation between ASHA and WAHID… WAHID DEMANDS SHE COME AND SEE HER.
21. DAVID and his girlfriend are fleeing… they head South to Mexico… or Puerto Rico.
22. Meeting between ASHA and WAHID in a public place…. WAHID explains that DAVID has been embezzling their ill-gotten gains, which are not acceptable. And he blames ASHA for intitally introducing DAVID to him just before she resigned. He demands that ASHA persuade DAVID TO return as much of the money and assets as he has diverted or otherwise help him to catch David.
23. ASHA drives in a golf cart to where David’s lawyer David Hollis is playing golf, next to a small pond. Hollis tells him to give his number to the folks chasing and he feels confident he can arrange a deal. But he tells ASHA that his rates are higher for front line work.
24. Hollis calls Wahid to make a deal and they arrange to meet by the golf course pond.
25. ASHA goes to meet them as David her husband has disappeared with his girlfriend. But ASHA the numbered Swiss accounts where David has been stashing the diverted fund—
26. At the Golf Course, W&W agree to give Asha 24 hours to transfer the money to accounts he controls (he gives her the information) or her daughter will permanently disappear.
27. Just as they appear to have reached agreement the FEDS stumble on the group and a wild shoot out emerges. Asha dives into the pond while the FEDS and W&W are all killed.
28. ASHA searches W&W’s bodies and discovers where the kids is being held. She goes there by herself, searches the premises and finds her daughter. All is Well.
-
ASSIGNMENT SEVEN:
K MENON:
What I learned: Not sure: Still trying to mine the basic narrative set up for possible threats, misdirections, false leads, that will need to be resolved to move the story forward. But I have started working out narrative flow (e.g., prologue, Scene 1, 2, 3, etc which helps me work out where these threats occur.
What is the Villain’s plan and
how does that put the Hero in dangerThe Villain (Wahid) hopes to launder up to $12 Billion in swindled funds from Malaysia into the US using a variety of offshore entities which will be invested by David into legitimate American businesses. It started with a few million in 2010, but by 2015, amounted to several hundred billion into assets such as car parks, commercial real estate, agricultural land in Florida, film financing, a Netflix like platform, entertainment complexes, malls, shopping centers.
But Wahid comes to realize that David may be diverting funds to benefit himself and used some of the funds to buy drugs, initially for himself but then actually inserting himself into the drug trade. Wahid believes that this will threaten their off-the-radar money laundering plan. He has come to NY with his associate, Wong, a former Malaysia Special Branch officer and they have been keeping David under surveillance but have not called on him.
At the start of the movie, David has disappeared. We are not sure if WAHID has caused this disappearance. In case, Wahid comes to David’s office but MARIA, David’s assistant only provides perfunctory information even though WAHID claims to be the principal behind DAVID’s one and only major clients (MARIA is unaware that all the different clients that DAVID has identified for her, is really only one client.)
Over the next couple of days, ASHA and MARIA make police reports about David’s disappearance. WAHID realizes that David’s wife is his former lover and that they have a child. He goes to see them but ASHA is not helpful. So he has WONG kidnap their seven-year old daughter. WAHID demands ASHA help him access all of David’s records.
But MARIA has already removed David’s computer as per instructions from David which she only discovered after he disappeared.
Now Wahid has a new problem. He decides to try and control Asha by kidnapping her daughter.
What other potential dangers
could your Hero experience as they try to solve the mystery and confront
the Villain?After David’s disappearance, Asha is lost. She realizes she has to cooperate with Wahid and Wong for her daughter’s sake, or at least pretend to, while hoping to turn the tables on him. Asha enlists Maria’s help and Maria has a network burlesque performers from the demi monde that she can draw on. Then Wahid suggests Maria is having an affair with David
From the list of potential
dangers, choose the ones that work for this story.A. Danger to Asha’s daughter. How can she get Asha back?
B. Wong creates a fake attack on Asha by supposed drug dealers?
C. When Wong realizes that Maria is helping Asha he gets rid of her.
Sequence those dangers in order
and make a list like the one I did for Basic Instinct above.A. Asha and Wahid are mutually shocked to encounter each other, Neither had any idea of the other’s role in David’s life. They warily circle each other but both have a reason to cooperate.
A. Federal agents are sniffing around. They suspect David of working with stolen funds from Malaysia but don’t have a smoking gun yet.
B. Wong creates a fake attack on Asha by supposed drug dealers?
B. When Wahid realizes that Maria is helping Asha he gets rid of her.
C. Danger to Asha’s daughter. How can she get her daughter back?
-
ASSIGNMENT 6. KANNAN MENON’S Mystery Sequence
What I learned doing this assignment: You have to work out the backstory that leads to the opening sequence; this lets you figure out the possible cover-ups/mysteries.
What is the big secret that the Villain (Wahid) is
covering up?That David (Asha’s husband) is laundering funds from a $12B corporates swindle in Malaysia engineered by Wahid’s company, Wahid & Wong. But this arrangement is threatened because David is caught up in drugs and women is burning through the funds and possibly even diverting funds to his private funds.
How many ways can they cover that secret? Those become the mysteries.
Wahid realizes that David is planning a double cross—to divert several billion through other channels. He has required David to appoint Asha as his heir—that was a condition of entrusting the funds to David. So he knows if he knocks off David, Asha will be in charge and he feels he can influence her.
Wahid manages to create the following diversionary stories:
a) That David has emigrated to Israel from where he cannot be extradited.
b) That Maria is David’s lover but she has stolen money to pay for transgender surgery and is helping David hide or has killed him.
c) David was killed by drug dealers that he was buying from or got into the business with.
The first mystery must engage the Hero into solving it.
Where is David. At the start of the movie, David has disappeared. He has not come home. Asha is worried. She calls Maria (David’s assistant) to find out if she knows where David is. She goes to the office to meet Maria. Asha and Maria try to track David’s movements.
Wahid shows up to guide Asha. She comes to believe the police are not particularly interested in solving the case (is David black?). Wahid slowly leads her astray. While in the office, he plants a bag of coke in some spot where it is likely to be found. They also find David’s phone and on the phone there are several pix of women in stages of undress, snorting coke, etc.
Mystery chain: Does David’s calendar provide a clue. How about his office landline phone’s answering machine? Anything else on the computer where he might be?
Sequence the mysteries so that each one leads us to the
next one. Include ONE Red Herring mystery if you can.Red Herring: Wahid points the finger at Maria, David’s transgender assistant, claiming she needs funds for her transgender surgery. He arranges to visit Asha at home, and he brings Wong, because he tells Asha that Wong is ex-Special Branch. While in Asha’s home, Wahid points the finger at Maria…. While Wong is searching the rooms.
Create a Mystery Chain for each main mystery.
I don’t have this yet. But all the clues Wahid or Wong have been planting in the office or in Asha’s home will likely need to be understood and tagged as “fake clue” or “possible lead.”
-
KANNAN MENON LOGA (the Villain has a great plan)
What I learned from this lesson is that you need to trust the process of fleshing out the outline to help create the narrative details.
What is the Villain’s end goal?
Loga (the Villain) want to launder a huge portion of the proceeds of the US$12 Billion Malaysian swindle through the US financial system by engaging in massive investment in US properties including financing films, purchasing entertainment centers like high-end discos, night clubs, and real estate properties (all lightly regulated and not subject to rigorous anti-money laundering regulations.
How can the Villain accomplish that in a devious way?
Over several years, LOGA (the Villain) has used David (ASHA, the heroine’s American husband) as his US financial advisor, gradually entrusting greater amounts of assets of six or seven years. After LOGA helps mastermind a US $12Billion dollar swindle in Malaysia, there is an exponential increase in the amount of funds entrusted to David.
But at the same time, exposure of the financial swindle has caused the Malaysian government to fall, and attention by regulatory authorities, to it is critical to for LOGA to carefully supervise the money-laundering process esp. in the U.S. To his horror he discovers that DAVID has been misappropriating the misappropriated funds! On discovering this he kills DAVID. But he discovers that ASHA has been named executor of all of DAVID’s accounts.
Now LOGA needs to recruit ASHA (his former lover, now a US citizen) as his agent as she controls the funds of offshore company used to funnel the foreign funds into the US,
3. How does LOGA recruit Asha after her husband is murdered?
Possibilities include:
1. Seduction: Loga senses she is unhappy in her marriage and seduces her; once their physical relationship is resumed, she is vulnerable to suggestion and becomes enmeshed in his plan.
2. Makes her a financial offer as she’s desperate for money
How can LOGA help cover up the source of the funds?
LOGA arranges each investment flow so that it originates from a different bank/company/jurisdiction so they funds are not connected to each other.
Sequence it to make it as intriguing as possible.
(a) While at lunch with her Malaysian girlfriend LOGA “accidentally” sees her and comes up to her, thus rekindling their old relationship to some degree at least / OR another similar accidental meeting in public, so LOGA can pretend that whatever he does to involve her was not planned and merely fortuitous.
Once ASHA is involved
(however it happened) she has to discover certain things that undermines her
trust that her arrangement with LOGA is above board AND that DAVIDs murder is
related to the investment accounts. -
KANNAN MENON ASSIGNEMENT 4 SOTL
What I learned from doing Assignments 5 (BI & SOTL)
I learned that that if you do the suggested breakdowns you begin noticing the use of other qualities that add to the overall effect. For example, I because extremely aware of “tone” in several scenes. In Basic Instinct it was an erotic tone, generated by the nudity, the sex scenes, the basic story. At times, this became erotic horror when the sex results in a knife-pick murder.
In SOTL the tone is horror. The B Bill’s killings are not erotic or out of sexual need. They are utilitarian. So the real horror is generated by Lecter, e.g., the scene with the crucified cop and how the other cops are killed, the head in the jar in the storage locker, etc. Which then raises a question as to who is the real Villain in this movie…
The other thing that surfaces when you do this kind of analysis is the use of repeated motifs. Clarice has descend into Hell to meet Lecter. The kidnapped girl is held in a pit. Clarice’s memory of the screaming labs is echoed by the yipping of the hurt dog (but the dog survives, unlike the lamb).
Once you do an analysis of this kind, your mind takes over and you begin adding more categories that tend to support the MIS scenario and give it greater depth.
-
DAY FOUR ASSIGNMENT 1
Kannan Menon BI STACKING SUPENSE
What I Iearned from this assignment (see below).
1. After the first murder, every character in the hero’s orbit (other than Gus) becomes a suspect in the murder (e.g. Roxy) or a person who contributes to the confusion surrounding the murder (e.g, the IA officer who gets hold of Nick’s confi file but ends up a victim).
2. This leads to several dead ends… but each dead end can be deadly for the hero depending on the way it is resolved. In Roxy’s case, she tries to take out Nick. The IA officer ends up shot, but that only throws more suspicion on Nick.
3. Key thrill-arousing element are the 2 car chases and the two ice-pick scenes (where CT is actually breaking up ice). That, I think helps create a rhythm to the screenplay. Of course, we also see two ice-pick murders (which opens the door for a possible third at the end of the movie).
4. There are also three sex scenes (somewhat similarly choreographed which are intended to create a degree of confusion in the audience. As BI is an erotic thriller, these scenes also work to heighten tension.
5. I also think the 2 interrogation scenes (which are also similarly choreographed) are important. And when CT is interrogated, her self exposure is very powerful because it shifts the sympathy of the audience to her because she confounds the semi-hostile group of male interrogators!!
-
Kannan Menon Creating the World, Characters with MIS
“What I learned doing this assignment is that working out the MIS details informs and changes the initial narrative set-up so that your logline becomes simpler and more direct?”
LOGLINE:
A young woman (Asha) from Malaysia, now living in New York, runs into her former married lover (Zayeed) from the old country. That relationship ended badly. Maya is confused by Zayeed’s mixed signals and her own responses. Now married to David, she never disclosed her affair to her husband. She is not aware that after she left for America, Zayeed was involved in running a US$12 Billion dollar swindle in Malaysia and that Zayeed is now engaged in laundering the swindle proceeds in US businesses. Asha gradually discovers that being involved with Zayeed may have terminal consequences for her marriage and her life as well.
Big
Mystery: What
is Zayeed doing in New York and why does he want to involve Asha in his business
or in his personal life?
Big Intrigue: How does Zayeed launder money from
a $12B swindle with Asha’s help?
Big Suspense: Will Asha marriage be compromised
because of her renewed relationship with Zayeed and will she be set up to
take the fall or be killed because of what she knows?2. Tell us the Intriguing World you have selected for this story.
The world of money-laundering ill-gotten gains channeled through offshore entities to shield the true owners with such funds invested in high-end real estate or movies.
3. With your top 2 or 3 characters, tell us the role they play and then answer these three questions:
ASHA: The hero. She is trapped into helping her old lover to launder millions from a swindle, which causes her marriage and her life to be endangered.
What is the mystery of this character: How can she overcome her sense of guilt from her affair with Zayeed, who is her high-school classmate’s step-father, an affair she has never disclosed to her husband.
What is the intrigue of this character? Asha has to figure out why there is so much secretiveness with regards to aspects of the funds being invested and how this puts her into a dangerous position.
What is the suspense of this character? Will she fall back into an affair with Zayeed and endanger her marriage, and is she and her husband in personal danger and if so, how will she escape it?
ZAYEED: The villain. He was the principal architect of a swindle perpetrated by senior members of the Malaysian government which eventually brought down the government.
What is the mystery of this character: What actions has he done to protect himself and his principals over the last five years?
What is the intrigue of this character? How will he induce Asha to help him launder the money and to resume their romantic relationship even though she is now married.
What is the suspense of this character? When push comes to shove, how far will Zayeed go to protect his principals?
David: Asha’s husband, who gradually realizes his wife is in big trouble and that she has not be totally truthful with him.
What is the mystery of this character?
Will he be able to get over his wife’s non-disclosure of her prior affair especially since he is engaged in an affair of his own.
What is the intrigue of this character?
His law firm has been engaged in tracking down proceeds of the swindle but will he realize that Zayeed is one of the principal architects of the swindle.
What is the suspense of this character?
Will he come clean with Asha and or leave her for his lover?
-
ASSIGMENT 2
KANNAN MENON Big M.I.S.
What I Learned from this Assignment:
I learned how you could start with a baseline set-up as a foundation to erect your story even if all the narrative elements have not been worked out.
Note: This narrative is so fresh I have not had time to name the characters, so I have just used letters as a place holder.
LOGLINE:
A, a young actress in New York, runs into Z, the step-father of her high school classmate from Malaysia in the lobby of a Manhattan hotel after an unsuccessful meeting with prospective investors in a movie that she has scripted. A learns her classmate and her mother were both killed in a car accident in London three years before. On learning of A’s failed meeting, Z intimates he could with funding the movie. Unknown to A, Z is the masterminded a $12B swindle in Malaysia that brought down the government and Z is now in hiding in New York.
1. What are the conventions of your story?
Unwitting but
Resourceful Hero:A is a young actress in Manhattan originally from Malaysia, who accidentally meets someone from her high school years who proves to be a threat to her life.
Dangerous
Villain:Z has executed a $12 billion financial swindle and is now in hiding in New York.
High stakes:
Z has systematically eliminated people in his past, including his ex-wife and step-daughter (A’s classmate), who might identify him.
Life and death
situations:A discovers in a random search that her classmate and her mother were actually murdered in their home and that her x- husband has disappeared.
This story is thrilling
because A (and her partner) have to escape from the Z’s deadly web involving
multiple police agencies and private actors seeking the money.2. Tell us the Big M.I.S. of your story?
Big Mystery: Who is Z and why is he interested in helping
A?Big Intrigue: The villain is trying to find “fall
guy” for his massive swindle. -
“THE DEPARTED” THRILLER CONVENTIONS
The Set up:
Villain: Boston Gangster Costello (Jack Nicholson) who is shown executing a couple, right at the start of the movie. Costello has stolen some top secret digital cards which he is attempting to sell to the Chinese
Unwitting Hero: Billy (Leo de Caprio) is a newbie cop in a elite police unit that is investigating Costello. Billy is persuaded to go undercover and get himself recruited into Costello’s organization (there are ties between Billy’s family and Costello). His situation is known only to his two bosses and Billy is forced to rely on his wits and deviousness.
High Stakes: Billy’s situation is mirrored by a mole, Colin (Matt Damon) that Costello has managed to plant in the same police unit that is running Billy, though the two men never meet (till the end). The two moles begin to suspect each other’s presence, and they each alert their bosses, which puts both of them at greater risk. A different high stake is that both men fall for the same woman, but none of the three knows the true nature or risk of the triangular relationship. There is also misdirection, e.g., Colin points the finger at the two bosses of the elite unit esp. Queenan (Martin Sheen).
What I learned from this assignment is how intricate a great thriller is. As this movie is based on a “mirror” situation (i.e., the opposing moles) it’s takes longer to set up and requires more back and forth between the two “moles.”
Big Mystery: Each of police
and the gangsters are trying to uncover the “rat” in their midst.Big Intrigue: Gangster Costigan
is trying to checkmate the police as he launches a crooked deal while the
police are trying to catch him red-handed.Big Suspense: Who will manage to protect their identity
while unmasking their opposite number first?This is a slow burn thriller because of the mirror plot. What carries it is a great villain, (Costigan played by Nicholson), and the similarity/contrast between Matt Damon and Leo De Caprio… Also, some great, funny dialogue. A lot of the events are triggered and information conveyed through texts and phone calls. It is a chess game on steroids…
The original is a Hong Kong policier, which is truly sensational. Here Scorsese relocates it within the larger social scene in Boston, and I believe changes the ending (in the HK film if I recall, the Matt Damon character gets away with it). The Departed is a great thriller but I think the stripped-down HK original is even greater though on a narrower canvas!
-
Kannan Menon.
Screenplays: 2
Trying to write more like an architect than a gardner.
-
I agree to the the terms of the release form.