Katherine Bennett-Greer
Forum Replies Created
-
Katherine Bennett-Greer’s Act 2 Reaction to TP1
what I learned in doing this assignment is that the Act 2 Reaction to TP1 must be significant enough to put the Protagonist into a greater corner. Knowing that this is the function of the TP helped me to craft the scene.
INT. THUGS’ “HAPPY PIPES PLUMBING” SURVEILLANCE VAN – DAY
The Thugs, Thugs #1 and #2 in the front seats, and Thug #3 and Thug with the Thick Glasses in the back seat, all watch intently as Emily’s family disembarks their car.
Thug #2 picks up the binoculars and examines what they’re carrying to the school.
INSERT: BINOCULAR VIEW – Emily’s family leaving the car and stepping across the street, complete with their hands full of supplies, lunch bags and signs for “Take Your Pet to Work Day”. Emily holds Churro the Chihuahua in the crook of her arm.
THUG #2
Do you see the dog?
Thug #2 yanks the binoculars away from Thug #1. Thug #1 resists until the binoculars hit Thug #2 in the face.
THUG #2
Give me those, you moron!
Thug #2 puts the binoculars to his eyes.
THUG #1
Well, do you see it?
INSERT: Binocular view clearly shows light snowfall, and Kat and Emily’s Siblings stringing the “Take Your Pet to Work Day” banner across the wall near the signage of the school. Churro pokes his head out of Emily’s tote bag.
At eyeing Churro the Chihuahua, Thug #2 smiles a sinister grin.
THUG #2
Sure do. It’s showtime.
INT. SCHOOL OFFICE – DAY
Emily sees figures on the closed-circuit camera that covers the front door. There are three figures, wearing winter ski caps.
EMILY
Can I help you?
THUG #1
Uh, yeah, we’re here to inspect the pipes.
THUG #2
Yeah, the pipes.
EMILY
Um, just a minute.
Emily watches the security footage as,
INSERT: On the security camera footage of the front door of the school: Thug #1 hits Thug #2 on the forehead. One cap comes off, and the other cap’s pulled off in a near fight among the thieves.
Emily’s eyes widen as she recognizes these men as the Thugs from the hotel in Mexico who were following her.
INT. PRINICPAL’S OFFICE, MOUNTAIN HILL ELEMENTARY – DAY
Emily steps to the doorway of her mother Kat’s office, The Office of the Principal. It’s just big enough for a desk and a few chairs in front of the desk. A credenza behind the desk is piled high with files. Kat’s landline receiver is under pinned between her shoulder and ear; she’s on the phone.
EMILY
Mom, I…
Kat puts her finger up to stop Emily from continuing. She lifts a thick report of computer print-outs and tries to turn to a particular page but the document falls on itself.
KAT
Yes, Mr. Rodriguez, I understand. I know it’s important. We’ll make it happen. Yes..I know it’s my responsibility. I’ll make it happen. You’ll have that report on your desk as soon as possible.
Kat hangs up the phone and sits back in her chair, overwhelmed and overworked.
EMILY
Mom?
KAT
What is it, Emily?
Kat’s phone rings. She holds a finger up to Emily to wait again.
KAT
Yes, Mr. Rodriguez, page. 249, right. I see that.
Kat leafs through the pages and props her elbow between pages.
KAT
Page 174, yes. No, what would you like that to say?
Kat takes a pen and frantically starts to write. She leans back in her chair and it loses its balance. She catches the edge of her desk before she falls completely backward. She pulls herself up again and falls back again and her legs go out like a V in front of her, as if she’s riding a bronco.
Emily shuts the door.
INT. SCHOOL OFFICE – DAY
Sadie gives a message slip to Emily. It’s Mrs. Davis, the School Secretary. She’s not coming in.
SADIE
Mrs. Davis isn’t coming in today. We’re on our own in the office.
EMILY
We’ve got a problem.
Josh, Emily’s brother, walks past the open office door.
JOSH
What?
EMILY
Well, there were these guys at the hotel in Mexico. They were following me, I mean us, I mean the dog. They work with that lady who tried to steal him at the beach, They’re here.
JOSH
Where?
EMILY
Out front.
Josh looks to the security camera feed of the front of the school.
JOSH
They’re plumbers.
EMILY
No…
JOSH
Plumbers.
EMILY
From Mexico.
Josh shrugs.
JOSH
They look like plumbers. See their van? Parked in front of the school. They’re plu-mb-ers.
EMILY
But, they were at the hotel!
JOSH
Okay, hotel plumbers. Maybe they were on vacation. I don’t know what to tell ya. I gotta finish setting up for the assembly. Mom’s counting on me. Catch ya later.
Emily looks at her dog, Churro. His head tilts sideways like he also recognizes the bad guys. Emily hurries to him and picks him up. Churro buries his head into Emily’s hair, like he’s hiding.
Emily’s face twists into a grin. She knows what to do.
Emily hits the intercom button for the front door of the school.
EXT. SCHOOL – DAY
EMILY (V.O.)
Sorry. The Principal says to give her about ten minutes and then come around to the back door of the school. Don’t come back before that. She needs to clear a path for you.
The Thugs look to each other. They look cold in the light falling snow. Thug #1 uses a hand signal to indicate drinking coffee. The Thugs NOD in agreement.
THUG #2
Back of the school. Ten minutes. Got it.
INT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ALCOVE – DAY
In a narrow and darkish red brick alcove that leads to a back door, Emily gets to work building a contraption that she thinks will thwart the bad guys. She places a rope around a pulley that holds a huge mesh bag of gym balls. She pulls the rope up and sets it to loosen when someone grabs the back doorknob.
She sets the contraption, and retreats through a side door.
The thugs come nonchalantly into the alcove. One of them grabs the rope. The balls come tumbling down.
INT. SCHOOL OFFICE – DAY
Emily spies the bad guys on the security camera. She calls to her siblings, who are in her mom’s office.
EMILY
Josh, Sadie!
They come running.
JOSH
What is it?
EMILY
Those guys, the plumbers, I mean the bad guys from Mexico. Look!
INSERT: SECURITY CAMERA FEED
The camera footage shows just gym balls on the alcove floor.
JOSH
It’s a bunch of balls. So what?
Emily turns red in the face.
Josh looks at Emily like there’s more to say, but he doesn’t. He beelines it out of the office. Emily goes after him.
Meanwhile, Sadie’s remains in the office. On the close circuit camera of the alcove, Sadie watches a raccoon root around the floor. Then, she sees a Thug with thick glasses come into frame. He’s holding a cro bar.
SADIE
Guys, Guys!
Emily and Josh rush in to witness the closed security camera feed.
INT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ALCOVE – DAY
The Thug with the Thick Glasses picks up the Raccoon to examine its face more clearly. He can’t make it out.
SPLIT SCREEN: The Racoon’s face and the Chihuahua’s face on split screens. The two pictures move towards each other until they merge into one image of the Chihuahua.
The Thug with the Thick Glasses gently puts the cro bar on top of a tall stack of wrestling mats. He picks up and holds the Raccoon well out in front of him. He jumps around triumphantly.
THICK GLASSES THUG
I found it!
The Raccoon reaches out and attacks the Thick Glass Thug’s face. He FLINGS the Raccoon up in the air and Thug #2 catches it, in time for him to face the Raccoon’s wrath. Thug #2 wrestles with it, and it flies into the hair of Thug #3. He grabs it and the Racoon clings onto his jacket, until he tosses the racoon onto a stack of wrestling mats. The Raccoon hitting the wrestling mats causes the cro bar to launch in the air and hit Thug #1 on the head.
EMILY
See, he said “I found it”.
JOSH
Yeah, maybe he meant, he found the door. All this proves is that no one should handle a raccoon. I gotta go.
Josh disappears from the doorway.
EMILY
Wait!
EXT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ALCOVE – DAY
One thug limps, The Thug with the Thick Glasses holds the glass lens up to try and see his reflection in the lens. He sees blood. He touches his face and stares at the blood on his hand. Thug #1 holds his head.
Thug #1 pushes the intercom button.
EMILY (V.O.)
Yes? Did you find what you needed?
THUG #1
Uh, no, but’s it’s time for our lunch. We’ll come back.
EMILY
Okay.
The Thugs fight over who gets to walk out of there first. They limp and moan, elbowing each other out of the alcove.
From the Principal’s office, Kat yells,
KAT
Sadie, come in and finish your breakfast.
Emily turns to Sadie.
EMILY
You believe me, that I saw those men before, don’t you Sadie?
Sadie looks unsure and doesn’t answer her.
SADIE
Coming, Mom.
Emily picks up Churro and cuddles the little dog to her face.
EMILY
That’s ok. They don’t have to believe me. I can handle the bad guys on my own.
-
Katherine Bennett-Greer Finished Act I
What I learned from doing this assignment is that as the story flowed (easily), I was thrown off by trying to gauge how the story fit into the story elements (Acts, Turning Points, etc.). I found that the story flowed in the correct order and with the correct elements, building my confidence. That, coupled with the draft writing focus on 20%, and this process is coming along very well. I am behind because I’ve been getting over a virus, but even so, this process is producing great results.
Act I is written and no outline addition is needed. Moving on!
-
What I learned doing this assignment is that the Protagonist may not realize she has been locked into a journey with the choice she makes, just like in life.
EXT. BEACH BOARDWALK – DAY
Mitzi glances behind her, and when she turns around, she nearly runs into two cops.
Emily catches up and stops at Mitzi’s side. It’s a face off between Mitzi, the Cops, and Emily. Emily looks to the Cops and to Mitzi.
EMILY
She has my dog.
MITZI
Oh, this dog? I rescued the little guy. He was flirting with a Great Dane. Not a great match. It wouldn’t have ended well.
The Cops fold their arms, expecting Mitzi to hand over the dog. Emily puts her hands out to take the pup. Mitzi resists handing over the dog, but the cops’ stare-down seals the deal. Mitzi hands over the dog.
The Cops continue on their way.
MITZI
I’ll buy the dog.
EMILY
No! He’s mine.
From Mitzi’s fanny pack, Mitzi pulls out the most cash anyone can cram into a fanny pack. Emily’s eyes widen, but the Chihuahua in the tote bag pokes his head out and whines. Mitzi tries to drop the money into Emily’s tote. Emily jerks the tote away with the dog in it, and Mitzi and Emily STRUGGLE for the tote.
Emily gets her hands on the dog and drops him into her beach tote, out of sight.
From 25 yards out, Kat, Emily’s Mom, sees what appears to be a stranger messing with her kid. She runs towards Emily.
KAT
What is going on here?
EMILY
Nothing..I..
MITZI
My money dropped out of my fanny pack, and she was just returning it to me.
KAT
Emily, is that what happened?
EMILY
Yep.
Mitzi flashes the wad of U.S. bills.
KAT
That’s a lot of cash to be carrying around.
MITZI
I like to shop. Well, you take care.
Mitzi turns to leave.
EMILY
Aren’t you forgetting something?
MITZI
I…
EMILY
You know, the reward?
KAT
Emily!
MITZI
That’s okay. She’s..honest…
Mitzi peels away a one-dollar bill from inside the stack of bills.
MITZI
And I’m happy to reward her for her..honesty.
Mitzi hands the bill to Emily. Emily smirks. Mitzi looks down at the bill.
MITZI
Oh, it that a dollar? I meant to give you this.
Mitzi slips the one-dollar bill into her pocket and snags a five-dollar bill from the bill stack. She hands it over.
MITZI
That’s Honest Abe, and a lot of Pesos.
Emily takes the bill.
EMILY
(Fake gratitude)
Thank you.
MITZI
Oh, you’re very welcome.
Mitzi stashes her cash into her fanny pack.
Mitzi
I have a feeling I’ll be seeing you.
-
Katherine Bennett-Greer’s Turning Point 1 Scenes
What I learned from this assignment is that the Protagonist’s turning point sets up what happens next.
OUTLINE, ACT 1 Turning Point
Emily realizes that her dog Churro is afraid.
She believes that the bad guys mean business.
She sets up a contraption in the back entrance of the school, but it backfires.
She vows to take care of the threat.
INT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ALCOVE – DAY
In a narrow and darkish red brick alcove that leads to a back door, Emily gets to work building a contraption that she thinks will thwart the bad guys. She places a rope around a pulley that holds a huge mesh bag of gym balls. She pulls the rope up and sets it to loosen when someone grabs the back doorknob.
She sets the contraption, and retreats through a side door.
The thugs come nonchalantly into the alcove. One of them grabs the rope. The balls come tumbling down.
INT. SCHOOL OFFICE – DAY
Emily spies the bad guys on the security camera. She calls her siblings, who are in her mom’s office.
EMILY
Josh, Sadie!
They come running.
EMILY
Those guys, the ones with that lady who stole my dog, they’re here. Look!
iINSERT: SECURITY CAMERA FEED
The camera footage shows just gym balls on the alcove floor.
JOSH
I don’t see anyone. I think your paranoia about that dog is getting to you. You said you saw those guys at the airport, and now you say you see them here. I don’t get it? Why are you lying?
Emily turns red in the face.
EMILY
I’m not lying!
Josh looks at Emily like there’s more to say, but he doesn’t. He storms out of the office flabbergasted. Emily goes after him.
Meanwhile, Sadie’s remains in the office. On the close circuit camera of the alcove, Sadie watches a raccoon root around the floor. Then, she sees a Thug with thick glasses come into frame.
SADIE
Guys, Guys!
Emily and Josh rush in to witness the camera feed.
INT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ALCOVE – DAY
The Thug with the thick glasses pick up the raccoon to examine its face more clearly. He can’t make it out. He focuses in on its face,
From the raccoon’s POV, the Thug swears he sees a Chihuahua. Then, the Thug holds the raccoon up for his fellow bad guys to see.
THICK GLASSES THUG
I found the dog!
The raccoon attacks the guy’s face. He throws the raccoon up in the air and another thug catches it, in time to face the raccoon’s wrath. He wrestles with it, and it flies into the hair of the third thug. He grabs it and the racoon clings onto his jacket, until he flings the racoon onto a stack of wrestling mats.
INT. OFFICE – DAY
Emily, Josh, and Sadie sit back against the wall.
EMILY
I told you. I have to stop them.
-
Katherine Bennett-Greer’s Inciting Incident
What I learned from this assignment is that it is important to note the Protagonist’s emotional call to action.
Outline:
Emily sees Mitzi’s thugs at the back door of the school
Emily realizes they’re at the school to steal her dog
Emily’s Chihuahua puts its paw over its face when the dog sees the bad guys on the camera footage
Emily picks her dog up and promises to protect him.
SCENE:
INT. SCHOOL OFFICE – DAY
Emily sees figures on the closed-circuit camera. There are three figures, wearing winter ski caps.
EMILY
Can I help you?
THUG #!
Uh, yeah, we’re here to inspect the pipes.
THUG #2
Yeah, the pipes.
Thug #1 hits Thug #2 on the forehead. One cap comes off, and the other cap’s pulled off in a near fight among thieves. Emily recognizes them from the beach with Mitzi. Emily looks into her Mom’s office. Her Mom’s trying to get a live phone line.
EMILY
Um, yeah. Let me have you come in the back. Give me a few minutes. I need to get it cleared for you.
THUG #1
Around the back. Okay.
Emily looks at her dog, Churro. His head tilts sideways like he recognizes the bad guys also. Emily hurries to him and picks him up. Churro puts his paw over his eyes and buries his head into Emily’s hair, like he’s hiding.
EMILY
Churro, I promise. I won’t let them take you.
-
KATHERINE BENNETT-GREER’S OPENING SCENES
What I learned from doing this assignment is that when the characters have revealed themselves through the Q & A, I have what I need to create the draft.
Opening Scene, Protagonist
INT. EMILY’S HOME, FAMILY ROOM – DAY
A modern family home with just enough room for a family of four. Gray light eeks in through early morning windows. A stone chimney and raw wood beams gives an air of strength to the space. EMILY, a scrappy nine-year-old contraption builder with Dennis the Menace luck, aims a small catapult made out of steel bars and exercise bands at an Elf on the Shelf perched on the kitchen counter’s edge. KAT, Emily’s worn-out but resourceful mom, pours pancake batter from a ladle onto the griddle. Emily launches a rubber band ball towards the Elf on the Shelf. It’s a bullseye, and the Elf launches into the air. Kat flips a pancake and catches the Elf with her free hand.
KAT
What have I said about the Elf? She’s off limits. And my exercise bands. Hand ‘em over. And, come eat.
EMILY
All right….
Emily slogs to the kitchen table and lays down the exercise bands. Her Mom scoops them up and drops them in her pocket and places a plate of pancakes in front of Emily.
KAT
Breakfast is ready!
Emily’s two siblings scamper down the stairs that border the family room and beeline for the table. Emily’s oldest brother JOSH rushes the table, and her youngest sister SADIE shuffles her feet. She holds a Gameboy in her hand. Josh chows down. Sadie stares out the window. Emily pushes food around her plate.
SADIE
It’s snowing!
Emily looks out the front window and tears up. She tears away from the table and rushes the stairwell. She scrambles up the stairs.
INT. EMILY’S HOME, EMILY’S BEDROOM – DAY
Emily collapses on her bed. She puts her pillow over her face to muffle her crying. She screams into the pillow. A knock on the door. Kat opens it. She comes in and sits on the edge of the bed. She looks to a poster on Emily’s wall, palm trees and sunshine.
KAT
I have an idea.
~ ~ ~
Opening Scene, Antagonist
INT. MITZI’S LAIR, COMMUNICAATIONS HEADQUARTERS – DAY
A room like a Pentagon communications hub. Broad flat screens, computer towers, a wall of servers, and techy Staff bathe in greenish light. The metal walls create a sense of cold. On the giant flat screens, a live feed of a museum heist goes down. A carved Hippo labeled “Sand King’s Luckiest Possession” rests under a glass dome. Thugs dressed as Japanese school children drop a blue smoke bomb. When the smoke clears, the Thugs and the artifact are gone.
EXT. STREET – DAY
Thugs dressed as Hari Krishna dance to a waiting black van. They get in and the van enters traffic. The van pulls into a parked semi-truck container. They lose the disguises. A drone shot shows a two lane tunnel up ahead. SIRENS in the distance.
INT. TUNNEL – DAY
A two-lane tunnel nearly dark with smooth stone walls. The truck drives into the tunnel. In the tunnel, the Thugs hit a button and the dash display says, “Choose Color”. THUG #1 touches “LIGHT BLUE”. The back truck container doors open, and the van backs out and onto the street. The truck’s back doors close and it zooms away. Behind it, the van.
EXT. TUNNEL – DAY
Out the other side of the tunnel, the van’s now light blue. Police cars with blaring sirens and lights zoom past them going the other direction. THUG #1 touches his earpiece.
THUG #1
Got it, Boss.
INT. MITZI’S LAIR, COMMUNICAATIONS HEADQUARTERS – DAY
Close on the face of MITZI GAIN, a global crime boss with a flair for bad fashion and an obsession with stealing the world’s luckiest objects.
MITZI
Excellent. Now get back here. And pick me up one of those burritos.
THUG #!
Umm, I would Boss, but we’re in Japan. So…
Mitzi blushes at her oversight.
MITZI
Obviously you’re in Japan. I mean when you get back.
THUG #1
Well, we get in at 3 am, so…
Mitzi cringes.
MITZI
Right. For lunch then. When you get back.
SPLIT SCREEN
INT. VAN – DAY
The thug in the front passenger seat gives Thug #1 a signal to hurry up the call.
MITZI
Get yourself one. Heck, burritos for everyone. A job well done.
Thug #2 in the front passenger seat gives a bird beak hand signal miming that Mitzi talks too much. Audible CHUCKLING in the van.
MITZI
Is someone laughing, are you laughing?
THUG #1
CSHHH CLICK CSHHHH. We’ve CSHHH got a bad signal.
Thug #1 touches his earpiece to end the call. A plump thug in the back of the van chimes in.
THUG #3
I like those burritos.
The thug next to him smacks him on the back of the head.
INT. MITZI’S LAIR, COMMUNICAATIONS HEADQUARTERS – DAY
Mitzi stands up like she’s been victorious.
MITZI
You know what I need?
Mitzi’s assistant GRACE, a mouse of a woman, looks around. No one wants to answer Mitzi.
GRACE
What do you need?
MITZI
A vacation.
END
-
What I learned from this assignment is that the Antagonist’s character arc can be the difference between a flat and fulfilling story.
Weaving the Antagonist:
ACT 1:
ELEMENTS OF ACT I:
EXT. HOTEL HALLWAY – DAY
Mitzi can’t get Emily’s dog out of her mind.
INT. PSYCHOTHERAPY OFFICE – DAY
Mitzi’s in her therapy session. Her therapist’s tied up, as he’s there against his will. He has a sheet of paper he reads from that she’s given him. It’s about her needing control. Mitzi says something that prompts him to ask a question that’s not on the paper. It’s about her mom. Mitzi sprays him with a giant water gun designed for the pool.
FLASHBACK
EXT, PLAYGROUND – DAY
Mitzi steals lunch money from nearly every kid on the playground.
INT. HOUSE – DAY
Mitzi proudly offers the money to her mother. Her mother tells her that the take seems light. She asks whether Mitzi stole any money from her teacher’s purse. Mitzi says ‘no’. Her mom tells her to go back and finish the job.
EXT. PRINCIPAL’S OFFICE – DAY
Mitzi’s suspended from school for taking money from her teacher’s purse. Mitzi’s mother chews her out for getting caught.
INT. MITZI’S CHILDHOOD LIVING ROOM – DAY
In a cold and dark concrete living room on Christmas morning, Mitzi wakes to find one gift under the steel and rebar tree. Mitzi opens her Christmas gifts to find a book on the “Art of Stealing”. Mitzi expresses great disappointment that she didn’t receive the Chihuahua she asked Santa for.
EXT. DRIVEWAY – DAY
Mitzi’s mom is shaken down for cash. Her mom says she doesn’t have it. Mitzi gets taken by thugs and sold to a circus where she’s given the job of stealing from circusgoers.
END OF FLASHBACK
INT. PSYCHOTHERAPY OFFICE – DAY
Mitzi tells the therapist that he probably thinks that she’s suffering from a lack of love from her mom. She tells him she’s wrong and that her mother made her the success she is today.
ELEMENTS OF ACT 2:
INT. DOG NURSERY – DAY
Mitzi stands in a dog nursery with a flamboyant interior designer. The room’s like a baby nursery but dog-themed with a dog bed designed like a throne.
She gets a call on the Satellite phone and strolls into the dungeon to take the call. In a 10-foot square cage, a piece of masculine eye candy grips the cage bars. He’s in a modest speedo (it’s a family film). On the cage is a small sign like a species identification sign that shows him on the cover of a romance novel that is Mitzi’s favorite.
The Goons are on the phone. She tells the goons to keep at it and stop calling her with reports about their defeat. She wants results.
OTHER ELEMENTS OF ACT 2:
INT. MITZI’S LAIR – DAY
Mitzi decides to take matters into her own hands. She flies to the U.S.
INT. PRIVATE JET – DUSK
Mitzi takes her private jet on route to Emily’s school.
INT. SOUP KITCHEN – DAY
Dressed as a nun, Mitzi’s mom, a convert to a life of good, sees her daughter in the cockpit of a jet on the news footage of NORAD tracking Santa. Mitzi’s mom rushes out of the soup kitchen.
EXT. SIDEWALK – DUSK
Mitzi’s mom spots Mitzi’s jet in the sky, steals a motorcycle and follows the jet from the streets.
EXT. PRIVATE AIRFIELD – DUSK
Mitzi gets into a helicopter. Mitzi’s mom catches up with the jet at the airfield just as Mitzi boards a helicopter. Mitzi’s mother continues the chase of the helicopter.
EXT. ROOF – NIGHT
Mitzi takes a rope to the roof. She wrestles with Emily to get the Chihuahua. Mitzi catches the dog in midair.
Santa’s sleigh lands. In the sleigh, Santa, Emily’s missing Dad. From Mitzi’s mother’s vantage on the ground, Santa looks like he’s pointing a gun. Mitzi’s mom guns the motorcycle, and she pulls an Evel Knievel stunt that allows her to parachute with her nun’s robe. She wrestles a candy cane from Santa’s hands. He explains he has been held captive by the sleigh until he delivers the one outstanding Christmas present that has been impossible to deliver since the recipient lives underground. It’s for Mitzi. It’s a Chihuahua puppy. He hands Mitzi the dog.
Mitzi and her mom reunite. Mitzi hands over Emily’s chihuahua.
INT. GYM – DAY
Mitzi, her mom and Emily . Mitzi’s never looked happier. The three compare their Chihuahua’s matching quilted jackets. Behind them, a banner for “Bring Your Pet to School Day”.
-
What I learned from this assignment is that I can create a first draft framework that can then be followed, by focusing on fast beat sheet writing.
ACT 1:
INT. ACAPULCO HOTEL ROOM – DAY
A nice hotel suite that a family can score at a resort. Emily and her two brothers sit on the sofa and her mom folds clothes that sit atop an open suitcase. She picks up clothes off the floor. It’s a mess. Emily’s finishing a catapult and aims it at an Elf on the Shelf that sits on a ledge near her mom. The catapult collapses and the wad of paper she launched hits her mom instead of the Elf. Emily apologizes. The family heads out the door to the beach.
INT. ACAPULCO PARKING LOT – DAY
Mitzi Gain’s Goons are crammed in the back of a black van. Their blow-up water toys crowd the otherwise cramped space. As they’re sparring for space, a limo pulls up alongside them. They stop fighting. They watch the chauffeur get out of the driver’s side and walk to the back door. They vie to get out of the back of the van first.
EXT. ACAPULCO PARKING LOT – DAY
Mitzi’s thugs from the back of the van line up military style. It’s hard for them to look dignified in their black military style garb with their blow-up water floaties dangling from their waists and necks, but they try.
Meanwhile, the Chauffeur/Assistant opens the left passenger door of the limo. Out steps a plump crime boss diva who exudes a beach at night vibe. She has a bejeweled fanny pack that brims with tech gadgets. She wears strappy heeled sandals that are the last things anyone should be wearing in the sand. The footage slows like a video shot for a shampoo ad. She dramatically flips the bottom of her shortish hair with little or no impact. She stares at her gang who she expects should acknowledge her attempt to be attractive. She takes a step towards them and trips, gets up and wrestles her earring away from the blow-up water wing strapped to her left upper arm.
She inspects her crew. She orders them to go have fun.
EXT. BEACH – DAY
Mitzi and her Chauffeur/Assistant make their way to the water, her gang following close behind. As she’s barely able to walk in the sand and they’re following incredibly closely, she gestures them to go around her. They run like kids out a school’s front doors after the bell.
Meanwhile, Emily’s family walks around Mitzi. Emily notes Mitzi’s shoes and says to her mom, who wears heels to the beach? Her mom admonishes her to speak more quietly.
Mitzi hears the comment and stands taller, vowing that the comment slide-off her back.
Emily’s family find their place on the beach and lay out their towels. Emily leans down to untie her tennis shoes and when she goes to stand up she sees brownish textured linen. When she stands, she’s face to face with a gypsy woman who’s cradling the most beautiful blue-eyed chihuahua. Emily takes one look and asks if she can hold it. The gypsy woman says, “For You”. Emily takes the dog in her arms, and he licks her face. He nibbles on her ear and gently bites her hair. Emily laughs at this. The gypsy woman sees beat cops walking nearby. Emily moves her hair out of her eyes. The gypsy woman’s gone.
Emily looks around the beach and the gypsy woman’s nowhere. She takes the dog towards her towel and runs into Mitzi. Mitzi says that the dog has beautiful eyes. Did Emily know that a blue-eyed Chihuahua is incredibly rare and lucky? She’d like to buy it. Mitzi pulls out a wad of cash from her fanny pack. Emily refuses. Mitzi sees Emily’s Mom returning to their towels and decides to walk away for now. Emily heads to her towel and puts the dog in her tote bag so her mom can’t see it.
Emily builds a sandcastle with a catapult in the middle of it. While Emily’s distracted, Mitzi takes the dog from Emily’s tote bag. She’s headed towards the parking lot when Emily hears a bark. She sees the dog’s gone and tears after Mitzi.
EXT. BOARDWALK – DAY
Mitzi spills into a crowd and almost runs into beat cops. Emily tells the cops that Mitzi’s got her dog, and when asked for i.d., Mitzi hands over the dog, saying she found it.
OTHER ELEMENTS OF ACT I:
EXT. HOTEL HALLWAY – DAY
Emily returns to the hotel room with the dog. Mitzi can’t get the dog out of her mind.
INT. MITZI’S UNDERGROUND LAIR – DAY
Mitzi orders her Goons to stake out the hotel to find Emily and the dog. When they find her, Mitzi orders them to try and steal the dog. Emily’s family gets a call about something that prompts them to go home early, just as customs approves their request to take the dog home. They check out just as Mitzi’s goons pose as cleaning staff to gain entry into their room. By the time they realize that they’ve missed them, Emily, her family and the dog are on their way home.
INT. PSYCHOTHERAPY OFFICE – DAY
Mitzi’s in her therapy session. Her therapist’s tied up, as he’s there against his will. He has a sheet of paper he reads from that she’s given him. Mitzi says something that prompts him to ask a question that’s not on the paper. Mitzi sprays him with a pink water gun. She gets a call that the dog’s gone and the family’s checked out. Mitzi orders her Goons to go to the U.S. and find the dog.
EXT. RESIDENTIAL STREET – DAY
Emily’s Goons find Emily’s house and witness Emily and her family along with the dog, load into the family van. The Goons follow them to an elementary school. It’s “Take Your Pet to School Day”. The Goons let Mitzi know the dog’s at the school. Mitzi tells them to hang out and wait for the kids to leave the school and to take the dog then.
A snowstorm comes in. Emily’s mom, the principal of the school, is told that the school will need to shelter in place as the Mayor says it’s too dangerous to drive on the roads.
Mitzi’s Goons call Mitzi to tell her it’s snowing and that they should abandon the mission. She tells them that it’s a perfect scenario. Just go into the school and get the dog.
EXT. SCHOOL – DAY
Mitzi’s Goons approach the school doors. They try them. The doors are locked.
INT. PRINCIPAL’S OFFICE – DAY
Emily sees the Goons on the school security cameras. She recognizes one of them. She realizes they’re here for the dog. She tells them to make their way to the back door and to wait. She’ll let them in there.
INT. EQUIPMENT CAGE – DAY
Just inside the back doors, Emily sets up one of her contraptions. She unlocks the door for them. The contraption backfires and just makes the Goons mad.
Act 2:
New plan – Emily realizes she will need more than herself to battle the bad guys and reaches out to other kids and her mom to execute her take-down plan.
INT. SCHOOL GYM – DAY
Emily tells her siblings about the bad guys. They tell her she’s being paranoid. She begs them to look at the security footage.
INT. SCHOOL OFFICE – DAY
Emily and her siblings check out the live security camera. The only thing they see is a racoon rooting around her disheveled contraption. Her big brother tells Emily to stop obsessing about her dog so much because it’s messing with her head.
Emily retreats to sulk. Her big brother leaves. Her youngest sister hangs out near the cameras to watch the racoon. She begins to draw it. She sees the bad guys come into the frame. She yells for Emily.
INT. SCHOOL HALLWAY – DAY
Her big brother hears his sister and beelines it for the office. He sees the Goons on-camera and he yells for Emily. She arrives just as,
INT. EQUIPMENT CAGE – DAY
One of the goons with thick glasses tries to check out the raccoon.
SHORT DREAM SEQUENCE
INT. ROOM – DAY
The Goon with the thick glasses envisions the Chihuahua’s face and merges that vision with the racoon’s.
BACK TO INT. SCHOOL EQUIPMENT CAGE
INT. SCHOOL EQUIPMENT CAGE – DAY
The raccoon attacks the Goon with the thick glasses. There’s a scrappy exchange and the raccoon goes flying, and scampers away.
INT. SCHOOL OFFICE – DAY
Emily asks her brother if he believes her now. He says yes and says they needs a plan.
INT. VAN – DAY
The Goons get into the van. The Goon with the thick glasses has blood on his face. The Goons make a call to Mitzi.
INT. DOG NURSERY – DAY
Mitzi stands in a dog nursery with a flamboyant interior designer. The room’s like a baby nursery but dog-themed with a dog bed designed like a throne.
She tells the goons to keep at it and stop calling her with reports about their defeat. She wants results.
It’s really snowing hard. The Goons get out a roll of paper towels and draft a plan of attack.
INT. SCIENCE CLASSROOM – DAY
Emily and her siblings have a big piece of butcher paper on the lab counter. They start to draw a blueprint of the school. They discuss entry points to guard and a plan to take down the Goons.
They enter the School Office just as,
INT. PRINCIPAL’S OFFICE – DAY
With the door to the office open, Emily’s Mom, the Principal of the School, watches a news report about the fact that the freak storm will intensify in less than ten minutes, and then not let up for twelve hours. The kids step into the doorway. She watches the mayor tell the public to stay off the roads and shelter-in-place, and that power lines and phone lines are expected to go down. The mayor tells parents of her elementary school to not attempt to come up the hill to the school, as weather will make the trip impossible, and that the school has the resources to keep their kids safe.
The kids try to talk to their mom about what’s going on, but she tells them that she’s got too much going on and whatever they have to tell her will have to wait.
OTHER ELEMENTS OF ACT 2:
The phones go down.
Plan in action – Emily executes a multi-tier plan to thwart the bad guys. Think “Home Alone” meets an elementary school. Emily and her siblings try to draw the Goons into various traps, with only limited success.
Midpoint Turning Point – Emily realizes their plans won’t cut it. She needs to up her game. She decides to turn to other kids for ideas. She introduces her dog to her schoolmates and explains that Goons are there to steal it. Her schoolmates volunteer to help.
Act 3:
Rethink everything – Every attempt to defeat the bad guys hasn’t quite worked, but the bad guys don’t yet have the dog.
INT. MITZI’S LAIR – DAY
Mitzi decides to take matters into her own hands. She flies to the U.S.
INT. PRIVATE JET – DUSK
Mitzi takes her private jet on route to Emily’s school.
EXT. PRIVATE AIRFIELD – DUSK
Mitzi gets into a helicopter.
New plan –
INT. PRINCIPAL’S OFFICE – NIGHT
The kids watch the local news broadcast tracking Santa. The camera footage clearly shows Mitzi in the cockpit of a helicopter over their town. The kids believe that she’s coming to the school. Her younger brother, who has drawn a robotic dragon blueprint for the science fair, comes up with a way to use the robot to defeat the bad guys. Emily lays out a plan to build it. The kids form a plan to confront Mitzi from the Widow’s walk on the roof.
INT. EQUIPMENT CAGE – NIGHT
The kids go over the plan and suit up MacGyver / ninja-style.
The kids prepare their staging area near the vertical metal ladder that leads to the roof hatch.
Turning Point: Huge failure / Major shift –
EXT. ROOF – NIGHT
The hatch to the roof closes and gets stuck, locking Emily out and away from her team and the contraption.
Act 4:
Climax/Ultimate expression of the conflict –
EXT. ROOF, WIDOW’S WALK – NIGHT
In the Widow’s walk tower of the school, Emily builds a contraption with items she finds.
ELEMENTS OF ACT 4:
Resolution –
The hatch opens, and the Emily’s gang gets on the roof, along with Emily’s Chihuahua and the roof hatch gets stuck, locking them on the roof.
EXT. SANTA’S SLEIGH – NIGHT
Mitzi’s helicopter lands.
Mitzi puts her hands on Emily. The Chihuahua gets free from Emily’s sister and runs to Emily’s defense. Emily picks up the dog.
Emily’s Dad, dressed as Santa, sees a skirmish on the roof of the school and calls the cops.
EXT. ROOF – NIGHT
Mitzi goes for the dog in Emily’s arms, and the Chihuahua gets launched in the air.
Mitzi catches the dog just as
Santa’s sleigh lands
Mitzi signals her helicopter to pick her up.
In the sleigh, Santa, Emily’s missing Dad. explains he was to be held captive by the sleigh until he delivered the one outstanding Christmas present that has been impossible to deliver since the recipient lives underground. It’s for Mitzi. It’s a Chihuahua puppy. He hands it to her.
Mitzi hands over Emily’s chihuahua as Mitzi has a transformational healing.
Emily and her dad reunite.
-
Katherine Bennett-Greer, Transformational Events
What I learned is that resolution of character flaws that create my Protagonist’s wound lead to the construction of the character arc. Employing this lesson 6 step shows me that I am on the right track, as I already have most of this in place from earlier brainstorming.
Starting Point: Emily is destructive, bored, and doesn’t believe in what she can’t see. She’s burdened by the fact that her dad left for work 2 Christmases before and disappeared. She builds contraptions for fun that backfire with Dennis the Menace impact.
Goes on vacation, gets a dog, dog almost gets stolen, takes dog to take your pet to school day, rejects others’ help in taking down bad guys, comes up with a plan without input from others that doesn’t go well, she asks others for help and gets good input, executes those ideas and is successful. Ultimately builds a contraption by herself that successfully takes down the bad guy.
These changes have to do with deciding to trust others and depend on them, caring about a mission that exceeds her own grief, and believing that outcomes can be good.
-
What I learned from doing this assignment is that it’s possible to lay out the plot of the film through a process of charting out character transformations.
1.
Concept – Family Holiday Comedy: Emily, a 9-year-old scrappy kid, must battle the will of crime kingpin Mitzi Gain, who’s bent on stealing Emily’s Chihuahua, a perceived lucky charm.
Main Conflict – Mitzi Gain wants Emily’s Chihuahua, a dog she believes is a powerful lucky charm. When Mitzi’s first attempt to steal the dog fails, she unleashes her army of thugs to take the dog. They descend upon Emily’s school during “Take Your Pet to School Day”, and battle Emily and her gang. When Mitzi’s thugs are unsuccessful, Mitzi shows up to finish the job.
Old Ways, Protagonist: Emily suffers from doubting what she can’t see. She expects unhappy endings. This includes the notion of love and everything about Christmas. The only time she’s happy is when she’s creating contraptions. But, often, her contraptions backfires. This lends itself to feeling jinxed, uninspired, and isolated.
New Ways, Protagonist: Emily feels capable, inspired, and part of a team when her resourcefulness leads other kids in a plot to take down the bad guys.
Old Ways, Antatagonist: Mitzi functions as a thug using power to get what she wants. She’s chronically insecure that she isn’t good enough. She feels she needs to surround herself with lucky things to keep her edge. She takes what she wants. She pushes people away.
New Ways, Antatagonist: Mitzi witnesses her own kindness at a time when an animal could die. She puts aside her need to have a lucky charm in favor of the welfare of Emily’s dog, rescuing it from certain death. In this moment, she feels she is good enough. Her childhood wound of not feeling like she’s good enough is healed.
2. Fill in each of these with the answers you have right now.
Act 1:
Opening – Emily, her mom, and her 2 brothers are in an Acapulco hotel room. Emily knocks an Elf on the Shelf off with a shot from a mini catapult. The family heads out to the beach. On the way, a gypsy woman sells Emily a mini-Chihuahua with blue eyes. Meanwhile, dressed in black, Mitzi Gain, a crime boss and her entourage of thugs, hits the beach for a day of fun.
Inciting Incident – Mitzi spies Emily’s Chihuahua and plots to steal it. She manages to pick it up when Emily’s back is turned and gets through the crowd just as Emily catches up. Nearby beat cops create a no-win for Mitzi and she hands back the dog.
Turning Point – Mitzi’s thugs descend upon Emily’s school to steal the Chihuahua during “Take Your Pet to School Day”.
Act 2:
New plan – Emily realizes she will need more than herself to battle the bad guys and reaches out to other kids and her mom to execute her take-down plan.
Plan in action – Emily executes a multi-tier plan to thwart the bad guys. Think “Home Alone” meets an elementary school.
Midpoint Turning Point – Emily realizes her plan won’t cut it. She needs to up her game. She decides to turn to others for ideas. Her younger brother, who has created a robotic dragon for the science fair, comes up with a way to use the robot to defeat the bad guys. Others chime in, and before you know it, Emily’s reached out to others for help and they have a great plan.
Act 3:
Rethink everything – Every attempt to defeat the bad guys hasn’t quite worked, but the bad guys don’t yet have the dog. Mitzi decides to take matters into her own hands and takes her private jet and then a helicopter to the school. She’s prepared to drop down on the school’s roof.
New plan – The kids watch the local news broadcast tracking Santa. The camera footage clearly shows Mitzi in the cockpit of a helicopter over their town. The kids believe that she’s coming to the school. The kids form a plan to confront Mitzi from the Widow’s walk on the roof.
Turning Point: Huge failure / Major shift – The hatch to the roof closes and gets stuck, locking Emily out.
Act 4:
Climax/Ultimate expression of the conflict – Emily builds a contraption in the Widow’s walk tower of the school to take down Mitzi.
Resolution – The hatch opens, and the gang gets on the roof, along with Emily’s Chihuahua. Mitzi goes for the dog, and the Chihuahua gets launched in the air. Mitzi catches the dog just as Santa’s sleigh lands. In it, Santa, Emily’s missing Dad, explains he was to be held captive by the sleigh until he delivered the one outstanding Christmas present that has been impossible to deliver since the recipient lives underground. It’s for Mitzi. It’s a Chihuahua puppy. Mitzi has a transformational healing. Emily and her dad reunite.
-
Katherine Bennett-Greer’s Character Interviews
What I learned from this assignment is that when the characters are developed and I don’t know it, I can use the interview technique to find out what they already know that I don’t.
QUESTIONS FOR YOUR PROTAGONIST
Tell me about yourself: I’m a kid who misses her dad. I really don’t care about much more than that. He left on Christmas day during a blizzard to go to work. They found his car but not him. Since, I build things to destroy other things. I’m not having fun if I’m not doing that. I try to be a good kid for my mom when I’m at school because I don’t want to make life harder for her. I pay attention and try not to get into trouble. I do get into the occasional fight at school when someone insults my mom. She’s the principal at that school so it’s important that I’m good.
Why do you think you were called to this journey? Why you? I was called to this journey because that lady wants to steal my dog. He’s so little and he needs protection. And her bad guys want to take down my school to get my dog. So, I can’t not do something. It’s up to me to save everyone.
Considering who ou are up against, what is it about them that makes this journey even more difficult for you? Who I’m up against is a bad lady. She’s obsessed with my dog. She’ll stop at nothing to get him. She’s got everything she needs to steal my dog. And, she’s got guns.
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’m going to need to really plan my builds so that they work. I can’t build something that’s a dud. I’m also going to need to accept help and ask for it. I’m going to need to rally myself and others to get this job done. I think I can motivate others to help me. I can rally them.
What habits or ways of thinking do you think will be the most difficult to let go of? I need to let go of thinking everything will have a bad outcome, like my dad leaving and not coming back. I need to believe that good things can happen to me. I need to understand that this is real and it’s up to me and I need to step up.
What fears, insecurities and wounds have held you back? My dad disappearing has impacted me. I have felt that nothing good exists, that what I can’t see for sure isn’t worth investing in (my mom says I don’t believe she loves me). I haven’t moved on from being angry about my dad leaving.
What skills, background or expertise makes you well-suited to face this conflict or antagonist? I’m a great builder. It started out with Lincoln logs, then with legos, then I moved on to Fortenite, and building contraptions at home out of whatever’s there.
What are you hiding from the other characters? What don’t you want them to know? I don’t want them to know that I’m so sad about my dad that I don’t believe life can be good.
What do you think of? I think of before my dad left.
Tell me your side of this whole conflict / story. Well, I was on vacation with my family, and this lady tells me how cute my dog is. I turn my back and my dog’s gone, and she’s rushing away with him. I get him back, and her bad guys track us down and follow us to Bring Your Pet to School Day at my school, where my mom is Principal. A snowstorm hits, which brings up fear and sadness about my dad leaving, because it was the same kind of day. The bad guys come in and try to get my dog. We kick them out of the school, and then have to defend their attempts to get in and get the dog. When they’re not successful, Mitzi the crazy lady shows up in a helicopter to get the dog herself. But, my dad shows up in Santa’s sleigh (he helped a guy whose sleigh had broken down and ended up unable to move from the sleigh and has been trying to get home since (he has a gift for Mitzi – he’s been forced to try and track her down to give her the gift (her own chihuahua puppy – she had wanted one when she was a kid from Santa but her mom told her she was too fat). Santa delivering the Chihuahua heals Mitzi on the spot from her being so messed up, and she agrees to stop trying to get my dog. We end up inviting her to our house for Christmas dinner, and her new Chihuahua and mine become best friends. We go and visit Mitzi the next Christmas so our dogs can spend time together.
What does it do for your life if you succeed here? If I succeed, then I have shown myself and others that I can care enough about something beyond my dad being missing. This means I am able to go on with my life. When my dad comes back, everything’s great.
QUESTIONS FOR YOUR ANTAGONIST
Tell me about yourself: My name is Mizi Gain. I’m a successful entrepreneur in markets that are well..illegal. I’m careful to not sell drugs or people. Those are gross things. But, pretty things at a discount? Yes. Avoiding tariffs? Yes. Avoiding taxes by laundering money through bingo halls, Yes. I mean, who wouldn’t. They are advantages any self-respecting person trying to get ahead would take. It’s just good business sense, which I have plenty of. I also love beauty and I surround myself with pretty things, bought at a discount of course. Why pay full price?
Having to do with this journey, what are your strengths and weaknesses? My strengths have to do with my determination. When I want something, I want something. I always get it. I have lots of resources. I will convince anyone to do anything I need them to do. I have a hypnotic effect on people. Actually, I have hypnotic powers. I took a course. It was for getting the best timeshare deal through hypnosis. Perhaps you’ve heard of it.
Why are you committed to making the Protagonist fail? I don’t want her to fail, I just want her dog. Two separate things. Get it together.
What do you get out of winning this fight / succeeding in your plan / taking down your competition? That dog is lucky. A blue-eyed Chihuahua? It’s a rare thing. Heck, I could breed that dog until he drops dead and then make a gazillion dollars. But, I would like him to find love if he could, I mean, I wouldn’t deny him just because he could make cute little babies. I’m not a monster after all.
What drives you toward your mission / agenda, even in the face of danger, ruin, or death? What drives me forward is to be the best at what I do. I have my standards. I don’t just try and make a buck. There’s a right way and a wrong way. I’m sensible. But, when I want something, I want it. So, that drives me.
What secrets must you keep to succeed? What other secrets do you keep out of fear / insecurity? Secrets I keep to succeed? Well, if I had any, I wouldn’t share them, would I? But, if you and only you must know, then I carry a secret about how my mom used to treat me. She didn’t think I was good enough. I carry around that secret, that I’m not good enough. And, I’m still looking for real love. Until then, I’ll buy people’s loyalty. That’s the next best thing.
Compared to other people like you, what makes you special? I care about getting it done. Getting it done right. I don’t take no for an answer.
What do you think of Emily? She’s a kid. It’s nothing personal. It’s her dog I want.
Tell me your side of this whole conflict / story: I’m on the beach in Acapulco sunning myself, and I see this dog. Most beautiful dog I’ve ever seen, rare blue eyes. Have you ever seen a Chihuahua with blue eyes? Me neither. I see the dog, I ask the dog’s owner about him, his name’s Churro. Where she got him. She said at a dog shelter. I ask if I can buy him. She tells me no. She turns her back, I take the dog. She catches up to me right in front of the cops, and I hand him over. I can’t get the dog out of my head, so I tell my crew to find him. They see him board a plane for the U.S. I tell them to go and get him. They find the house. The Mom loads a big crate into the car. My guys break in. The dog’s not around. They find a flyer for take your per to school day, and they follow the car. They watch the girl’s mom take the crate into school. They look in the principal’s window to see kids and a chihuahua in the crate. I know it sounds crazy, but that’s what happened. They call me as it starts to snow, and it snows a ton. Blizzard style. Within an hour, the school’s snowed in. It’s all over the news. The kids and the dog are trapped. So, my guys have the perfect opportunity to take the dog. Only, Emily recognizes my guys from Acapulco and builds these things every step of the way and takes them down every time. I’ve finally had enough, and I take my private plane and hire a helicopter and as I’m shimmying down a rope to get on the roof, Santa lands. He and I fall down the school chimney. He has a gift for me. It’s a chihuahua puppy, just what I wanted for Christmas when I was a kid. Just then, Emily and her family show up in the room and they realize that Santa’s their dad. I feel different. Like changed on the inside. I even glow for a minute. Then, I decide to become good. We step out the front doors of the school and I see this fireman – he’s the spitting image of the model on the front of my favorite romance novel. I ask him about it and he tells me that’s him. He’s that guy. It’s love at first sight. We’re getting married at Christmas. Emily and her family will be there. And my dog and Churro? Well, they’re best friends and we’ll all be spending Christmas together. It turns out they make babies during our visit. We’re expecting perfect little Churros anytime now.
-
Katherine Bennett-Greer’s Character Profile Part 2
Emily, Protagonist (9 years old)
What draws us to this character? She’s reckless – we want to see her wreak havoc.
Traits: Fearless, short-sighted, resourceful, stubborn
Subtext: She always lights up before someone walks through the front door thinking it could be her dad
Flaw: Her displaced anger
Values: Courage and going it alone
Irony: She wants to go it alone, but she longs to have that healed
What makes this the right character for this role? Emily’s the right character for the role because the combination of her resourcefulness and courage, along with her wound of feeling disillusioned about love make her the perfect Protagonist to experience the transformation that the story will bring.
Mitzi, the Antagonist (Adult female)
What draws us to this character? She’s a train wreck of a crime boss. We know she’s going to make us laugh. We also know she’s going to do some bad things and we want to see it.
Traits: Demanding, insecure, clumsy, filthy rich
Subtext: She fishes for compliments, because she wants someone to tell her she’s good enough
Flaw: She’s replaced a lack of feeling good enough and unconditional love in her life with material things
Values: Getting a deal, loyalty, luck
Irony: She loves animals, but she hates people
What makes her the right character for this role? Mitzi’s a clumsy criminal mastermind who’s obsessed with luck and loyalty, a perfect villain for this story.
-
What I learned from this assignment is that I’m developing this story and it reflects my comedic style. I can see certain elements of the story clearly. I can envision that from this, I can create a great, marketable movie.
– Pick the role the Protagonist will play and give us a few sentences on how they will fulfill that role:
Fighter: A capable warrior who can rise to the challenge of the conflict / Villain. The Protagonist, Emily, also has elements of the Explorer Role Type in that she’s always inventing contraptions to accomplish some purpose.<div>
<div>– Pick the type of role your Antagonist will play and give us a few sentences on how they will fulfill that role:
<div>
The Antagonist, Mitzi, is in the Antagonist role of Villain. She’s a drug crime kingpin who loves Chihuahuas, and considers the rarer of the breed, the greater the lucky charm. When Mitzi sees Emily’s Chihuahua on an Acapulco beach, she wants the dog. Emily’s Chihuahua has ice blue eyes, a rare trait. They are also the color of the swim trunks of Mitzi’s favorite romantic novel character Mario as seen on the book cover “Swimming for Your Love.”
– What other characters might be necessary?
Emily has 2 siblings. One is the oldest and he’s pragmatic and no-nonsense. In the story, this sibling is a Fighter. The youngest sibling is a Dreamer. He draws a lot and does a lot of staring out the window. He also will be a Helper.
Supporting characters: These will be Mitzi’s henchmen and women who are after the dog. Emily and her siblings’ mom is also a supporting character. She’s overworked and overwhelmed. She’s the principal of the elementary school where most of the story happens.Minor roles: A teacher, Joe, will be a helper to Emily’s Mom and her emerging love interest that culminates at the end of the movie.</div><div>
</div><div>Background characters: Mitzi’s mom, a character living inside the head of Mitzi, both in memory and in Mitzi’s self-criticism.</div>-Pick your genre. The genre is Family Holiday Comedy.
<div>
– Fill in whatever answers come to you about your lead character profiles.
Protagonist:
– Role in the story: Emily’s the Protagonist. She’s motivated to keep her dog from getting stolen. But she soon realizes that the bad guys intend to hold her school hostage to get the dog, so she becomes the Warrior Hero who also saves her school from the bad guys.</div>
– Age range and Description: Emily is a 9-year-old superkid whose DIY resourcefulness and Dennis the Menace luck are surpassed only by her dislike for Christmas, the day when her dad left the house and never came back.
– Internal Journey: Emily is a 9-year-old superkid whose DIY resourcefulness and Dennis the Menace luck are surpassed only by her dislike for Christmas, the day when her dad left the house and never came back. She’ll transform from a kid who doesn’t believe in what she can’t see to a kid who believes in both the power of love and Santa Claus.
– External Journey: Emily is a 9-year-old superkid whose DIY resourcefulness and Dennis the Menace luck are surpassed only by her dislike for Christmas, the day when her dad left the house and never came back. She’ll transform to a kid who uses her DIY resourcefulness to take down bad guys set out to lock down her school and steal her Chihuahua.
<div>– Motivation: Emily’s motivated to save her dog and to take down the bad guys.</div>
– Wound: Emily’s wound is that her Dad left on Christmas day and never came back.
<div>
– Mission/Agenda: To keep her dog safe and save her school.
– Secret: Her secret is that she wants the universe to show her that she can believe in what she can’t see. She wants a miracle.
– What makes her special? Emily’s special because she’s a skilled visionary and builder. She’s fearless when it comes to inventing and deploying her contraptions.
Antagonist:
– Role in the story: Mitzi is the Antagonist. She’s after Emily’s dog. She is the person who challenges Emily to grow and change to meet the challenges that Mitzi creates.</div><div>
</div><div>– Age range and Description: Mitzi’ is 37, still looking for Mr. Right, but going about it through being a thug. She’s insecure about her capability as a businesswoman and her ability to be in a romantic relationship. She’s a female Dr. Evil with a pre-occupation about luck, and an idealistic notion of love. She uses her authority to force others to conform and pledge loyalty.</div><div>
</div><div>– Internal Journey: Mitzi longs to be loved and she strives to dominate so she can ensure the loyalty that she believes brings love. She looks to secure her dominance by every means necessary, and by securing every advantage, including luck. Mitzi gets this approach from her mom who used this approach to demand love from Mitzi.</div><div>– External Journey: Mitzi operates as a crime kingpin and blows out all the stops to acquire lucky charms – a rare rock from Mars, an ancient Egyptian book about discount shopping, and Emily’s Chihuahua. She has an army of thugs who acquire what she wants.
– Motivation: Mitzi’s motivated to feel capable and good enough by surrounding herself with things that make her feel that way. This includes money, discounted luxury deals, and good luck charms.
– Wound: Mitzi’s wound is that she feels she isn’t good enough without other things to make up the difference.
– Mission/Agenda: To get Emily’s Chihuahua, a rare dog with a high luck factor.
– Secret: Her secret is that she wants to be loved just for herself.
– What makes her special? Mitzi’s special in that she has a soft side that shows itself when she’s faced with eating animals. She can’t do it. This gives a glimmer of hope that she can have empathy for others – that she is lovable and capable of love.
</div></div></div>
-
Katherine Bennett-Greer – Tranformational Journey
What I learned doing this assignment is: A valuable reminder that creating the Protagonist’s journey prompts vital questions that develop the plot. This process increases my confidence.
Working Logline: In this hilarious and heartfelt Holiday Family Comedy, Emily, a ten-year old resourceful geek, must take down thugs bent on stealing her rare pet Chihuahua during “Take Your Pet to School Day”.
2. Who is your Hero and what is their Character Arc that represents a transformation?
Internal Journey: Emily is a 9-year-old superkid whose DIY resourcefulness and Dennis the Menace luck are surpassed only by her dislike for Christmas, the day when her dad left the house and never came back. She’ll transform to a kid who doesn’t believe in what she can’t see to a kid who believes in both the power of love and Santa Claus.
External Journey: Emily is a 9-year-old superkid whose tech savvy and Dennis the Menace luck are surpassed only by her dislike for Christmas, the day when her dad left the house and never came back. She’ll transform to a kid who uses her DIY resourcefulness to take down bad guys set out to lock down her school and steal her rare Chihuahua.
3. What are the Old Ways and New Ways?
Old Ways: Emily suffers from not believing in what she can’t see. This includes the notion of love and everything about Christmas. The only time she’s happy is when she’s creating contraptions. But every contraption backfires. This lends itself to feeling jinxed, uninspired, and isolated.
New Ways: Emily’s feels capable, inspired, and part of a team when her resourcefulness leads other kids in a plot to take down the bad guys. Her Mom’s courage to save Emily from falling off the school’s roof proves to Emily that love is real. And when she spies Santa on the roof of the school battling the bad guys’ helicopter, she realizes that Christmas too is something she can believe in.
-
1. Name: Katherine Bennett-Greer
2. How many scripts have I competed? I write paranormal thrillers and comedies; 6 in all.
3. What do I hope to get from the class? A habitual mindset that supports timely and efficient completion of first drafts.
4. Something unique, strange or unusual about me? I am a professional intuitive and healer, and consult on possession, medical treatment plans, missing persons, self-growth, and help my clients communicate with loved ones who have passed away. My sense of humor is much lighter than this, and I love to watch and write comedies 🙂
-
Katherine Bennett-Greer
I agree to the terms of the release form.