[Leigh Clemons]

ASSIGNMENT: 1.1 Five Star Model
What I learned doing this assignment is how necessary it is for the world of the show to be intricate, active, and compelling. There must always be something happening that leads the audience to keep asking questions and watching the next episode to learn the answers.

Marvel’s Jessica Jones

5 Star Points

Big Picture Hooks
What is the big hook of this show?
This is a superhero show that isn’t about superheroes and their powers, but the consequences of using them, and how having superpowers cannot save a person from every traumatic experience.
Amazing and Intriguing Character
What makes these main characters intriguing and interesting?

Empathy / Distress
What situation causes us to feel both empathy and distress for this character?
Her superpowers aside, Jessica is a smart, beautiful, empathetic woman. She should be strong, but she is broken and vulnerable. Her trauma has crippled her and cut her off from real human connection because it is too painful for her. Her PTSD flashbacks and her attempts to control them are vivid. She is also quite aware that she is barely holding her life together, but is helpless to change it.
Layers / Open Loops
What questions are created by this first episode that can only be answered by watching the entire season?
What will happen to Hope in the aftermath of shooting her parents?
Why is Jessica stalking Luke Cage? Why does she feel emotional around him? What is her connection to the woman in the picture in Cage’s medicine cabinet? Why does it make her cry?
Who is the mysterious Englishman? Is it the same person as Jessica’s mysterious tormentor? What did he do to Jessica that resulted in such severe PTSD?
Now that Jessica has decided to “do something about it” instead of run away, what will she do? Will she help save Hope?

Inviting Obsession
How does this pilot create the need to see every single episode?
A superhuman woman, beautiful and smart to boot, is so terrified of this unknown man that she wants to flee to another continent, but she chooses to stay and fight in order to save another woman from him. How will she defeat him? Can she defeat him, or will her PTSD cripple her and give him the advantage? He controlled her once; will he control her again? What will happen with Luke Cage when Jessica’s connection to him is revealed? Will Hope be exonerated?
3. Watch the same first episode A SECOND TIME while looking at your 5 Star Point analysis. This time, your purpose is to see beyond the obvious answers. Assume there is more to learn and discover it!
Jessica’s relationship with Trish–Trish is the one who is more balanced and comes across as the one in charge.
Cage avoids entanglements–he literally lets nothing get under his skin. Jessica says its better to be alone so that Kilgrave has nobody with whom he can hurt her.

[Leigh Clemons]

Apologies for the formatting snaffu. I cut/pasted from a Google Doc.

[Leigh Clemons]

1. Leigh Ann Clemons

2. “I agree to the terms of this release form.”

GROUP RELEASE FORM

As a member of this group, I agree to the following:

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.

[Leigh Clemons]

1. Name? Leigh Ann Clemons

2. How many scripts you’ve written? 3 complete scripts

3. What you hope to get out of the class? A complete script

4. Something unique, special, strange or unusual about you? My students say that I am loud and you are lucky that we will only be interacting online. 👀