[Melanie Berlier]

“What I learned doing this assignment is…?” How to develop characters by digging deep into their motivations and wounds which help them play off each other and advance the story.

1. Tell us your genre, title, and concept: Rom Com, Surf & Turf Wars, A grumpy Maine lobsterman is roped into helping his sister’s eccentric, shellfish-allergic city friend save the island’s worst seafood restaurant — but between quinoa specials, a vengeful health inspector, and a barefoot mystery chef, falling in love might be the least predictable thing on the menu

2. Identify your characters by name: Eli, Gemma, Toonie, Vanessa and Fin.
1. Straight guy: Eli Dunbar
2. Lead comedy character: Gemma Palomares
3. Supporting comedy character: Toonie Blanchard and Fin
4. Conflict character: Vanessa Crown
5. Write a short profile for each, including:

Straight Guy: Eli Dunbar
Role: A down-on-his-luck Maine lobsterman
Personality Traits: Stoic, practical, deeply rooted in tradition, slightly grumpy but with a good heart
Motivation: Regain respect of his sister, island and himself by finding a way to be useful thus be in control of his life again.
Wound: Deeply ashamed by how things ended with Vanessa, spiraling into a loss of identity and self-worth as he helpless watched all facets of his life unravel..
What Makes Him Funny:
Eli's humor comes from his dry, deadpan reactions to the absurdity around him. He’s baffled by quinoa, terrified of Yelp, and allergic to change. He says what everyone’s thinking but is too polite to say. His only modern tech skill? Fixing a lobster trap GPS with duct tape and anger.
Purpose: Eli grounds the chaos. He’s the audience’s anchor, making the madness feel even more absurd by contrast.

Over the top Foodie: Gemma Palomares
Role: The eccentric new owner of the failing island restaurant
Personality Traits: Optimistic, naive, high-energy, addicted to food trends, allergic to seafood
Motivation: To prove she can build something real — on her own terms.
Wound: She believes she’s a fraud — and if people look too closely, they’ll see she’s in over her head.
What Makes Her Funny:
Gemma bought the restaurant because she “loved the vibes,” not realizing it's actually a seafood joint and she’s severely allergic to shellfish. She’s constantly trying to introduce absurd vegan fusion dishes (like "kelp-wrapped air tacos") and thinks lobsters are "emotionally manipulative." Her enthusiasm is unmatched—and misplaced.
Purpose: Drives much of the fish-out-of-water comedy, forcing Eli into new situations while being hilariously out of her depth herself.

Bizarre local: Name: Toonie Blanchard
Role: Eccentric lifelong island resident and self-appointed “restaurant consultant”
Personality Traits: Paranoid, overly confident, speaks in lobster-related metaphors
Motivation: To preserve the island’s old ways — and prove he still matters in a world that’s forgotten how things used to be done.
Wound: He fears he's already been left behind — by the town, the sea, and time itself.
What Makes Him Funny:
Toonie lives in a shack shaped like a buoy, believes the government is poisoning the sea with “liberal fish,” and insists every meal needs to involve a “sacred crab dance.” He often misquotes health codes and says things like, “You can’t trust a man who salts his chowder before tasting it.”
Purpose: Adds local color and unpredictability; constantly derails progress with folk wisdom and conspiracies.

Conflict Character: Vanessa Crown
Role: Ruthless island health inspector and Eli’s ex
Personality Traits: Smart, sarcastic, vindictive, impeccably dressed
Motivation: To maintain control, earn respect, and never be made a fool again.
Wound: She was made to feel disposable, mocked, and powerless — and she swore she’d never feel that way again.
What Makes Her Funny:
Vanessa is overly intense about regulations, showing up unannounced with a ruler to measure sneeze guard heights. She weaponizes the health code to exact revenge on Eli for breaking up with her in high school via a Post-it note. Her inspections come with cryptic threats and Shakespearean insults.
Purpose: She creates obstacles for the team while revealing Eli’s messy romantic past, fueling tension and dark humor.

Agent of Chaos: Finn (no last name—“Just Finn”)
Role: Mysterious drifter who shows up as head chef… despite no one hiring him
Personality Traits: Charismatic, unpredictable, possibly high, always cooking barefoot
Motivation: He wants to live carefree, hidden from responsibility and accountability while also needing to fit in with a chosen family. To be free — creatively, emotionally, and existentially.
Wound: Imagined or real, he’s been rejected by authority and structure at an early age, leaving him lacking in reliable social structure and surviving on improvised imagination. He was once pinned down, defined, and broken by it — so now he runs from structure like it’s a trap.
What Makes Him Funny:
Finn cooks like a savant but might be a fugitive. He claims to have been Gordon Ramsay’s "shadow" and talks to lobsters like they’re old friends. He creates insane specials (e.g., Lobster Gelato with balsamic Pop Rocks) that somehow go viral. He vanishes mid-shift and reappears playing harmonica on the roof.
Purpose: Finn forces the team to adapt on the fly, igniting wild plot turns and creating unintentional breakthroughs

• This reply was modified 3 weeks, 3 days ago by  Melanie Berlier. Reason: formatting

[Melanie Berlier]

“What I learned doing this assignment is…?”
This assignment helped me think deeper about my characters and the core of the story that will drive the characters and scenes.

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Logline: A grumpy Maine lobsterman is roped into helping his sister’s eccentric, shellfish-allergic city friend save the island’s worst seafood restaurant — but between quinoa specials, a vengeful health inspector, and a barefoot mystery chef, falling in love might be the least predictable thing on the menu.

Theme: You don’t have to change who you are – just what you are afraid of.

Main Conflict: Can a grumpy lobsterman and a food trend–obsessed outsider save the island’s worst restaurant before it’s shut down by his vengeful ex — or will their differences ruin everything, including a shot at real love?

Stakes:
• The restaurant closes permanently, and the island loses a local landmark — even if it's terrible, it’s their terrible.
• Gemma loses everything — her investment, her pride, and her fresh start. She’s back to being a punchline.
• Eli’s sister is furious — her attempt to bring people together (and maybe set up a romance) fails, and Eli’s stubbornness is to blame.
• Vanessa (the ex/health inspector) wins, proving to herself and others that Eli is still a flake and a screw-up.
• The community loses its only source of social drama, which oddly might matter in a tiny island town — especially with Toonie fanning the flames.
Romantically – Eli & Gemma personally stay stuck in misery & wonder what could have been.
The island goes back to status quo — no surf, no turf, no heart, no change.

Transformational Journey:
Eli is stuck, deeply traditional & allergic to change. He transforms from reluctant involvement to Annoyed Mentor to Curious Partner. He is a man who has learned that holding on too tightly to tradition is just another way of hiding. He still loves the sea, but he’s no longer afraid to grow past it.

Gemma is optimistic, performative, full of ideas but secretly terrified she doesn’t belong. She fears that if people see the real her, they’ll realize she has no idea what she is doing. Confident outsider to Clumsy dreamer to Honest Collaborator. She becomes a woman who understands that authenticity is braver than branding and that love doesn’t require a curated identity.

• This reply was modified 4 weeks ago by  Melanie Berlier. Reason: formatting

[Melanie Berlier]

***There is no AI option for me. Anyone else find it?

What I learned today is…? Try everything, be outrageous and have fun! Also, AI is a good tool for stirring up creativity.

Genre: Romantic Comedy
Title: Surf & Turf Wars
Concept/Logline: Failed Maine Lobsterman must somehow impress his sister’s new friend who just bought a failing restaurant on one of Maines islands

Main Characters:
Straight Guy: Eli Dunbar, A down-on-his-luck Maine lobsterman
Over the top Foodie: Gemma Palomares, The eccentric new owner of the failing island restaurant, allergic to seafood
Bizarre local: Name: Toonie Blanchard, Eccentric lifelong island resident and self-appointed “restaurant consultant”
Personality Traits: Paranoid, overly confident, speaks in lobster-related metaphors
Conflict Character: Vanessa Crown, Ruthless & sarcastic island health inspector and Eli’s ex
Agent of Chaos: Finn (no last name—“Just Finn”), Mysterious drifter who shows up as head chef… despite no one hiring him, Charismatic, unpredictable, possibly high, always cooking barefoot
l breakthroughs.

Short synopsis: In a boiling cauldron of unlikely characters, each on a personal journey that unknowingly conflicts with the others, island inhabitants turn chaos into culinary delight, personal success and lasting love.

What makes this movie funny? Classic incongruent pairings, filled with slapstick humor and illogical remedies, tied together with true love discovered.

• This reply was modified 4 weeks ago by  Melanie Berlier.

[Melanie Berlier]

Melanie Berlier

“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.

[Melanie Berlier]

1. Name? Melanie
2. How many scripts you’ve written? rough draft of 3 features, 2 pilots and a lot of co-editing/writing. 0 produced
3. What you hope to get out of the class? Finally prepare at least one for submission.
4. Something unique, special, strange or unusual about you? I dabble in astrology, speaking to the dead and am drawn to the mystical.

[Melanie Berlier]

yeah. its not there. I’ve not received any responses either AND they double charged me. I feel so scammed and disappointed so far, this experience has left a bad taste in my mouth. They don’t give feedback either. They put their grubby hands in your pockets multiple times, throw you in a tank with others who are just as clueless, do not provide what they promise and refuse to support or answer any of your questions or straighten out billing.