Marc Koller
Forum Replies Created
-
What I learned doing this assignment is to keep the suspense, intrigue and mystery growing in each scene.
Log Line
While asked by an old associate to try and uncover proof of the actual cause of the Challenger disaster, the soon-to-be US Congressman struggles to stay alive after finding the proof and uncovering a global threat.
1. What are the conventions of your story?
Unwitting but Resourceful Hero:
A retired executive is appointed to fill a vacant US Congress position when he is approached by a famous physicist from his past to help uncover a hidden secret.
Dangerous Villain:
A former head of Regans’ SDI program who was instrumental in hiding the truth of the Shuttle disaster, is now working with major a defense contractor and a Russian Oligarch, to cause a tactical nuclear confrontation between the US and Russia.
High stakes:
Millions of lives and trillions of dollars are at stake if the conflict between the US and Russia is accelerated.
Life and death situations:
The hero uncovers unknown proof of the shuttle disaster, but soon discovers a much bigger plot. He is pursued by governments, and private agencies, bot form the US and Russia, to prevent the truth from being told.
This story is thrilling because?
The hero never knows who is telling the truth, who is protecting him, and who is trying to kill him. The ones he trusts most are the ones that put him in the most danger. He is trying to uncover the truth while staying alive.
2. Tell us the Big M.I.S. of your story?
Big Mystery: What is the main mystery of your story that will keep
us wondering throughout the story?The initial mystery is who was responsible for the destruction of the Challenger in 1986 and why has it been hidden for 35 years. The larger mystery is what is going on behind the scenes when the truth is revealed. There is also another effort not revealed until near the end that may ultimately save the world.
Big Intrigue: What is the covert, clandestine, underhanded plot that
will live under the surface for most of the movie?A Russian oligarch working alongside an American government official are conspiring to cause a tactical nuclear strike between the US and Russia. Their common goal is to get both governments to commit trillions of dollars in increases in defense spending, regardless of the loss of human life.
Big Suspense: What is the main danger to your Hero that will
continue to escalate throughout the script?Once the Hero uncovers the truth behind the Challenger destruction and the collusion between the Soviet and US contractors he is targeted by both sides. Someone, however, continues to keep him alive.
-
The movie is Jack Ryan Shadow Recruit
the conventions of THIS story.
unwitting but Resourceful Hero:
Ryan was recruited to be an analyst but soon gets forced by circumstances to become a field operative.
Dangerous Villain:
The villain, early on is identified as a finance minister in Russia, who has a vendetta against th3 United States.
High stakes:
The villains’ plan is to destroy the US economy by crashing the Dollar in the international markets, thus causing the “Second Great Depression”.
Life and death situations:
From the earliest scene in the movie, the hero escapes a helicopter crash, then fights off an assassin in his hotel room in Moscow. In almost every scene in the last half of the movie, his life or that of his girlfriend are always in danger.
This movie is thrilling because?
The viewer never knows how they will succeed in stopping the villain’s plans and not get killed in the process.
What is the BIG Mystery?
How the villain plans to implement the big plan to crush the US Economy.
Intrigue: The hero isn’t sure who to trust, and where the net danger is coming from.
<font face=”inherit”>The suspense of this story: There is a deadline for implementing the terrorist strike that will signal the actions to </font>destroy<font face=”inherit”> the US /</font>dollar.
Big Mystery: Where will the terrorists strike the US
Big Intrigue: The struggle behind the scenes in Moscow, and the motivation for the main villain.
Big Suspense: Stopping the terrorists’ bomb.
4. Anything else you’d like to say about what made this movie a great thriller? The love affair between the hero and his girlfriend makes the viewer care more about what happens to them.
5. Answer the question “What I learned doing this assignment is that every thriller follows the same plan. Want the hero to survive, introduce an evil villain who has no redeeming qualities, set an urgent crime scene, that has a time crisis to stop, stop the horrible event, kill the bad guy, and hero gets the girl.
-
My name is Marc Koller and I agree to the terms of this release form.
-
My name is Marc Koller, a retired corporate “executive” I have finished a “Final Draft” of a novel, that would likely be better suited for a movie or series.
I live in the Portland Oregon area.