Kathleen Martin
Forum Replies Created
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I, Kathleen Martin agree to the terms of this release form.
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Hi,
I’m Kathleen Martin and I’ve written several scripts. I hope to learn as much as possible about marketing and getting my screenplays out there. I live in Washington State where we have a State Filming Incentive Program. I’m currently enrolled in a Film Directing Class and looking forward to this class and finishing up on the other one and improving my scripts.
I just retired and now I have the time to focus on my writing and directing.
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Kathy’s Phone Pitch
What I learned doing this assignment is writing out and planning a phone pitch.
Hi, I’m Kathleen Martin and I see your company does Drama. I have a script that I think fits your company and it’s based on a true story.
With the controversy over women rights today, I have a true story of what it’s actually like living in a country where women are second class citizens.
I lived in Saudi Arabia and wrote a Drama called “Second Class Citizen” and it’s about a young naive woman who believed in the power of love, when she fell in love and married an older and wiser man who worked in Saudi Arabia. Her world turned upside down after she moved there when he started using the male dominance system by manipulating and abusing her. Through her friends she found a support system to survive and leave him. As soon as she built her life back up again her country wanted to change women’s rights.
The budget range is between 1 -5 million dollars.
I see young and new actors and actresses in this.
It’s about 110 pages.
No one has seen it.
It fits your company because you do Dramas.
It ends with the hero empowering herself and helping others and learning she ahead of the game when America wants to take away women’s rights.
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Kathy’s Pitch Fest Pitch
What I learned doing this assignment is writing out and doing a Pitch.
This is actually a true story based on my experience living in Saudi Arabia through the Bechtel Corporation back in 1982. This experience led me to volunteer at my local YWCA’s Battered Women’s Shelter where I became an advocate for domestic violence survivors.
Genre -Drama
Title – Second Class Citizens
Can an American woman who once survived as a second- class citizen in Saudi Arabia learn to live like that again when her own country wants to take away women’s rights?
The Budget Range- Between 1-5 million.
I like to see a new young actress play the lead woman and a new young actor play the male lead.
ACT I
A young naive woman meets an older wiser man who works in Saudi Arabia when he comes home on an R & R. They date and it becomes a world wind courtship. After having a long- distance relationship, they decide to get married.
After the wedding she quits her job and leaves her family and friends and joins him in Saudi Arabia to begin a new life in love. After arriving there her world turns upside down when he starts using the male dominate culture by playing games and becoming physically and emotionally abusive.
ACT II
When she realizes what is happening, she starts building a support system with her friends and sees a doctor there who says he can help her. She soon leaves him and comes back home where she seeks marriage counseling.
Learning that it is not a marriage problem but a domestic violence problem she divorces him and starts to build a new life for herself by going back to school to finish her education. She graduates from college and volunteers at her local YWCA Shelter helping other victims.
ACT III
After building her life back up again she learns that her country wants to go backwards by getting rid of women’s rights. She fights back again.
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Kathy’s Query Letter
What I learned doing this assignment is writing a Query Letter and putting down my actual experience with this story.
Can a woman who once lived as a second- class citizen in a third world country survive again when her own country wants to turn back the clocks on women?
Synopsis:
A young naive woman meets and falls in love with an older and wiser man who works in Saudi Arabia. After a world wind courtship, they marry, and she quits her job, and leaves her family and friends to live with him there.
Being a young woman in love she discovers her world changes when he starts to play games by putting her down and using physical and emotional abuse to manipulate and control her through the culture there.
She finds the strength to leave him and come back home where she goes into marriage counseling where she divorces him. After building her self-esteem, self- worth and life back again she goes back to school and finishes her education.
Years later she discovers that her country is becoming like the third world country she once lived in when they want to start taking away women’s rights.
BIO
I actually lived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia back in 1982 through the Bechtel Corporation where this actually happened. Through Counseling and volunteering at my local YWCA, I learned about domestic violence, and I’m concerned about the direction my country is heading over losing Women’s Rights in America.
At your Request, I will be happy to send you, my script.
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Kathy’s Synopsis Hooks
What I learned doing this assignment is to select hooks to put into a synopsis.
Great News! A young woman heals after returning from living in Saudi Arabia. Bad News! She discovers she needs to become a second -class citizen again.
America meets Saudi Arabia
A young naive woman who meets and falls in love with an older and wiser man who works in Saudi Arabia marries him after a whirlwind courtship.
After they marry, her world changes when she quits her job and leaves her family and friends to join him there. Believing she found love and is in the newlywed stage, physical and emotional abuse start to take place on Saudi soil.
Thinking that he can control and manipulate her through the culture there, his world changes when she starts to stand up to him.
After leaving and not putting up with his games anymore she returns back to America where she goes into marriage counseling and receives the support she needs.
She learns that she has no marriage because of domestic violence and divorces him to go back to school to finish her education.
After building her self- esteem, self-worth and life back up again she learns America is going backwards where women are second class citizens.
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Kathy’s High Concept /Elevator Pitch
What I learned doing this assignment is thinking out and writing it down helps me organize and decide what the high concept and elevator pitch are.
How can a naive woman who believes in the power of love survive in a country where the culture makes women second class citizens, and her American husband uses it to manipulate and abuse her?
My High Concept: A young naive woman named Colleen meets an older sophisticated man named Tony and moves to Saudi Arabia where he works, but with the different culture and new marriage, she learns to fight battles she didn’t expect.
I can tell it in the most interesting way possible by:
Dilemma – Colleen must decide to leave Saudi Arabia to figure out if it’s the marriage or Saudi Arabia that is the problem?
Main Conflict – Colleen discovers that her loving husband is not the person she thought he was. He uses the culture to manipulate and abuse her and she must find a way to survive.
What’s at Stake? – Is her marriage.
The Goal/Unique Opposition – After standing up to him doesn’t work, she goes to a doctor and witnesses her abuse and offers to help her leave.
My Elevator Pitch – A young naive woman who believes in the power of love learns she needs to survive in a country where women are second class citizens when her new sophisticated husband uses the culture to manipulate and abuse her.
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Kathy’s 10 Most Interesting Things
What I learned doing this assignment is thinking about my story and finding the most interesting things that would attract a producer.
A. The most unique thing about my villain and hero is that it’s a Love Story. Young Newlyweds moving to a different country and the man uses the cultural to abuse his new wife.
B. The major hook of my opening scene is that they are in Saudi Arabia, and the hero learns her world is changing by abuse. Her new husband starts verbally abusing her.
C. The turning points are when she starts to stand up to him, it gets worse.
D. The emotional dilemma is the hero is at a disadvantage living in Saud Arabia because the culture is different than America.
E. The Major Twists are the hero finds a support system in Saudi Arabia.
F. The Reversals are people are seeing his abuse towards her.
G. The Character Betrayals are the villain is not the loving supportive husband the hero thought he was. He is selfish and only thinks about himself.
H. The big surprise is the hero eventually leaves and comes back home and goes into marriage counseling where she is told he is abusive and a psychotic.
10 most interesting things:
1. It’s a true story.
2. Saudi Arabia is in the news today.
3. Women Rights are changing.
4. Domestic Violence is a concerning cause.
5. Saudi Arabia is a country where women are second class citizens.
6. America is slowly becoming like Saudi Arabia with losing women’s rights and the fight over religion.
7. One can fight back with the proper support system.
8. Things are not what they think they are.
9. People change.
10. Domestic Violence is more common than people want to believe. Knowing the signs can help others before they get involved in with an abusive partner.
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Kathy’s Producer/Manager
What I learned doing this lesson is that managers and producers have different goals and knowing what each one needs and want helps me getting my projects out there.
I would present myself and my project to a producer by saying the logline and then be quiet. I would answer any questions they have. I would be open to any suggestions they might have. I know that working with a producer is a team effort and building a professional relationship with them will help the project move forward. I would thank them for the time and ask if I could contact them again in the future with other projects. I would leave the meeting open, not burn any bridges.
I would present myself and my project to a manager, the same way as the producers. I would answer any questions they would have. I would be open to any suggestions they would have. I would try to mention that I have other projects in the making. I would sit back and take their direction. Again, it is a team effort, and I would let the managers know that I’m a team player. I will thank the manager for taking the time to meet with me and send them a personal hand- written thank you note. I would leave the meeting open, not burn any bridges.
“It takes a village to make a movie.”
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Kathy’s Marketable Components
What I learned doing this assignment is how elevate my pitch to make it better.
Logline: A young naive woman who believes in the power in love, falls in love with an older sophisticated man who works in Saudi Arabia. After marrying him and moving there with him she soon learns that she must stand up to both of them and fight for what she believes in.
Components that I have already:
1. It’s a true story.
2. Title
3. Timely
I’m going to try to change and add things to make it more marketable.
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Kathy’s Project and Market
What I learned doing this assignment is thinking about which project I want to work on and who I want to target first.
Genre – Drama
Title – “Lost in Sand”
Concept – A young American woman meets a handsome older American who is working in Saudi Arabia. She falls head over heels in love with him and decides to marry him. She leaves her family and friends behind to join him there. After discovering her new husband and culture are not what she expected she learns to stand up to both of them.
I think this story is attractive because with women losing their rights today, I need to let people know what it was like for a woman to live in a country where women are literally second -class citizens by living in a country run by religion.
I think I would like to target managers first because they could help me with my other projects.
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I, Kathleen Martin agree to the terms of this release form.
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Hi,
I’m Kathleen Martin and I have written 3-4 Scripts. I’m hoping to get a manager so I can get my scripts to production companies. I’m currently enrolled in a Film Directing Class in Seattle and hoping to become a woman Film Director.