[Ledona Hentley]

Ledona Hentley’s First 3 Decisions

What I learned doing this assignment was these 3 decisions are necessary to flesh out and really help direct your story.

1. What is my profound truth?

God can change anyone who wants to be changed. A traumatic childhood does not have to dictate your whole life. You don’t have to continue to live in survival mode and settle for less for the remainder of your life, because you had a rough beginning.

2. What is the change my movie will cause with an audience?

They will decide to committ to their own healing journey, ready to take the first step.

3. What is the entertainment vehicle?

As it happended and with embellishment if needed, religion, ceremony or special event.

[Ledona Hentley]

Subject: Ledona Hentley Analysis of Groundhog Day

What I learned during this assignment: The films that become classics have a deeper meaning, and touch people because they see themselves in the film.

1. The Change:

A self centered person who lives on the ‘surface’ finds the deeper meaning of life and love, the character learns how to come out of himself, learns how to be authentically himself and then learns how to connect authentically with others.

2. The Change Agent: humility through coming to grips with mortality/death. The character who is caught in the loop begins to think that he is special/gifted/invincible, until he encounters a man who he cannot ‘save’ from death.

Transformable character: Phil is an egocentric jerk, he’s the right character because we get to see his shallow selfish character in the beginning, and then we see the change in him. He started out bad, and then turned good.

The Oppression: His self image, he’s too smart and smug for this little know nothing town.

3. We’re lured into the journey because we connect with a person who is living the ‘same old, same old’, which we all experience in life – is there more than this?

4. Phil’s old way: I’m better than others, people are not worth caring about unless they get on my agenda, I can manipulate others easily. Phil’s new way: every one is a human being, worthy of consideration, just like himself, there is joy to be found in simplicity and service. He goes from being a shell of a human being, disconnected, to being fully connected to others, and thus more human.

5. Steps of Change: being humbled by his own humanity: he couldn’t get his way, manipulation wasn’t working, being surface and self focused wasn’t working, trying to manipulate and being a taker wasn’t giving him what he really wanted – love and connection. He became hopeless after he couldn’t connect with his love interest, whom he knew was a better person than himself.

6. His old ways were challenged by a better person than himself. He saw a real glimpse of himself – trying to manipulate a good person, he was always seen for his shallowness, he couldn’t live with his reflection.

7. Profound moments: the revealing of his lower self: taking advantage of a woman, stealing money, his suicide attempts, his encounter with humility – not being able to manipulate situations and things.

8. ‘Why are you still here?’ – you’re a good person who has rejected me because of me not being good, do you see something good in me that you would want to stick around?

9. The ending pays off because we see his transformation, his seeking love and affirmation outside of himself, finding it in himself first, and then attracting it from another.

10. The profound truth of this movie: When you think you’re better than others, you will find out you are not, and the only way to become better is to find out that you’re not for yourself. Self actualization.

[Ledona Hentley]

Hi, I’m Ledona, 50 years old, have never completed a script, also interested in playwriting. Hope to gain insight into this craft. Nothing strange or weird about me. I love a good story.

[Ledona Hentley]

Ledona Hentley

I agree to the terms of this 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 reply was modified 1 year, 10 months ago by  Ledona Hentley.