Natasha Paris
Forum Replies Created
-
ASSIGNMENT
I am a uniquely amazing, inspiring, prolific, and successful writer/director whose name alone sales. I have a huge following because I help change the world for the better.
Title: Missing in Costa Rica
Genre: Drama
Logline: Based on a true story, a newlywed immigrant, suicidal struggling writer, Victoria, desperately retraces her sister’s steps in Costa Rica, while navigating the challenges of keeping her family together, confronting her own demons, and discovering her own strength.
Protagonist Character: Victoria
• Logline: Victoria, a suicidal and struggling writer, grapples with her inner demons as she searches for her missing sister in Costa Rica, ultimately discovering the power of hope and resilience.
• Unique: Victoria’s battle with her own mental health adds a layer of complexity to her character as she navigates the challenges of her new life, her family’s tragedy, and her own personal struggle.
Hidden agendas: Protecting Her Mental Health, Finding Closure, and Protecting Her Family’s Reputation.
Secrets: Regrets About Her Sister and Financial Burden.
Unspoken Wound: Beneath Victoria’s surface, there exists an unspoken wound, a deeply personal trauma from her past that she’s kept hidden. As she confronts her own emotional struggles while searching for her sister, Victoria’s unspoken wound becomes a central theme of her personal growth.
Secret Identity: Victoria’s relentless pursuit of her sister’s whereabouts eventually leads her to the revelation of her sister’s secret identity.
-
I am a uniquely amazing, inspiring, prolific, and successful writer/director whose name alone sales. I have a huge following because I help change the world for the better.
Title: Missing in Costa Rica
Genre: Drama
Logline: Based on a true story, a sister retraces the steps of her missing sister in a foreign country.
Protagonist Character: Victoria
• Logline: A newly wed, newly immigrant tormented artist desperately tries to find her sister lost in Cost Rica while keeping her family afloat.
• Unique: She’s an immigrant, a newly wed, and now she has to save her sister while keeping her family and parents together.
Arc Beginning: happy, newly wed, and sister/mother/daughter
Arc Ending: hurt, lost, heartbroken sister
Internal Journey: starting a new life with new prospects
External Journey: lost her sister but better relationship with her husband
Old Ways: rely on sister, not value husband words, happy, believe in life
New Ways: lost, value husband, weight of family.
Subtext Identity:
She starts as an immigrant, newlywed, tormented writer and mother, leaning on her sister for support and guidance. Victoria battles not only the challenges of her sister’s disappearance but also her own internal demons. Her journey involves not just finding her sister but also finding her voice as a writer and a reason to keep living, evolving into a resilient and resourceful problem solver who shoulders the weight of her family’s well-being.
Subtext Trait:
Artistic resilience. She must confront not only external challenges but also her own creative and emotional struggles. As she confronts her suicidal tendencies, she discovers an inner strength and determination to not only survive but to also be a beacon of hope for her family, especially when her sister goes missing.
Subtext Logline:
“In the midst of her sister’s mysterious disappearance, Victoria, a struggling and suicidal writer, embarks on a harrowing journey of self-discovery, discovering a profound resilience within herself as she transforms from a troubled soul to a determined leader in her quest for family and truth.”
Possible Areas of Subtext:
Identity Shift: Victoria’s journey is not just about finding her sister but also about discovering her own strength and identity as an immigrant and wife. This subtext explores how her roles and sense of self evolve throughout the story.
Finding Purpose: As Victoria delves deeper into the search for her sister, the subtext can explore how this mission becomes her newfound purpose in life, giving her a reason to live and fight.
Connection to Her Sister: The link between Victoria’s suicidal thoughts and her sister’s disappearance can be explored, adding depth to their relationship and highlighting the emotional complexity of the story.
Survivor’s Guilt: If Victoria’s sister’s disappearance is linked to her suicidal tendencies or if she feels responsible for it in any way, the subtext can delve into her survivor’s guilt and how she copes with this complex emotion.
-
Missing in Costa Rica
Genre: Drama
Based on a true story, a sister retraces the steps of her missing sister in a foreign country.
Protagonist Character: Victoria
• Logline: A newly wed, newly immigrant writer desperately tries to find her sister lost in Cost Rica while keeping her family afloat.
• Unique: She’s an immigrant, a newly wed, and now she has to save her sister while keeping her family and parents together.
Arc Beginning: happy, newly wed, and sister/mother/daughter
Arc Ending: hurt, lost, heartbroken sister
Internal Journey: starting a new life with new prospects
External Journey: lost her sister but better relationship with her husband
Old Ways: rely on sister, not value husband words, happy, believe in life
New Ways: lost, value husband, weight of family.
Actor attractors!
Lead Character Name: Victoria
Role:
1. What about this role would cause an actor to want to be known for it?
• Victoria goes through all the steps of grief – without closure.
2. What makes this character one of the most interesting characters in your story?
• Staying strong for the family while falling apart. A lot of subtext.
• Trying to have the answer for someone out of her control
3. What are the most interesting actions the Lead takes in the script?
• Victoria’s reactions from a letter/email addressed from her sister.
4. How was the role introduced in a way that sold it to an actor?
• Victoria works as a 1st AD on a film set of a thriller.
5. What is this character’s emotional range?
• From in control/confident to being powerless and broken.
6. What subtext did the actor play?
• Victoria has to stay strong for her mother, her daughter and everyone one else.
• Inside, she is heartbroken, feels betrayed, lost, confused, and guilty.
7. What’s the most interesting relationships this character had?
• Her constant/telepathic/soul sister relationship with her sister Mia – who has cut the cord.
• Her sister relationship stronger than with her husband.
• Victoria and her new husband, just getting to know and live with one another
8. How was this character’s unique voice presented?
• She is a writer, who can’t create because of her grief.
• She loses all when she loses her sister – she has failed her sister.
9. What made this character special and unique?
• Her determination, her struggles, finding solutions and getting new ideas to find her sister.
-
I am a uniquely amazing, inspiring, prolific, and successful writer/director whose name alone sales. I have a huge following because I help change the world for the better.
2. Watch a movie that matches this criteria to see what would attract the actors to be in that movie.
Criteria:
A. In your genre.
B. Has big actors.
C. Is a well known movie (but not a Marvel or DC movie).
3. For each lead character, list out the 9 Actor Attractors as I did with 3:10 TO YUMA. Use the Actor Attractor questions below.
Searching
John Cho
1. Actor notoriety – Wants to be known for this part.
It’s more of a drama role, while we know him more for comedy. This opens doors.
2. Character that is most interesting in movie.
He is the lead character, a father who’s trying to find his missing daughter, only through his computer/phone/social media.
3. Takes most interesting actions in the story.
He’s pretty much the only one acting. As we see him “live”, searching to find his daughter in many different ways, learning about her on social media and such. It’s almost a solo performance.
4. Outstanding Introduction.
The character creates an account for his daughter, and the entire family appear on screen and smile for it.
5. Range of emotions the actor can play.
There’s definitely a range of emotion from lost, sadness, confusion, anger, fear, etc.
6. Subtext the actor can play.
Trying to stay strong while panicking.
7. Relationships that are interesting.
How much does a father know his teenage daughter?
8. Unique Voice expressed through dialogue and action.
All seen through his computer.
9. Something truly special about this character.
Resourceful, determined, truth seeker
-
Genre Conventions
I am a uniquely amazing, inspiring, prolific, and successful writer/director whose name alone sales. I have a huge following because I help change the world for the better.
What I learned doing this assignment is that I come to accept that my story is more of a drama than thriller. The main character’s life is not enough at stake. It’s more of a heartbreaking story with discoveries, but no life or death situation.
Missing in Costa Rica
Genre: Drama
Based on a true story, a sister retraces the steps of her missing sister in a foreign country.
Protagonist Character: Victoria
• Logline: A newly wed, newly immigrant writer desperately tries to find her sister lost in Cost Rica while keeping her family afloat.
• Unique: She’s an immigrant, a newly wed, and now she has to save her sister while keeping her family and parents together.
Arc Beginning: happy, newly wed, and sister/mother/daughter
Arc Ending: hurt, lost, heartbroken sister
Internal Journey: starting a new life with new prospects
External Journey: lost her sister but better relationship with her husband
Old Ways: rely on sister, not value husband words, happy, believe in life
New Ways: lost, value husband, weight of family.
Act 1:
• Opening
On a thriller film set. Victoria is the 1st AD.
A crisis between the DP and the producer she has to resolve.
Intro of history of the two sisters, Mia and Victoria, growing up as twins, in synchronicity. Ends with them promising to buy a house and grow old together.
• Inciting Incident
Victoria calls Mia for her birthday and plans to visit her in Costa Rica in a couple of months. Mia is acting weird, and not confirming any info.
Mia’s words take priority over Victoria’s husband’s – for Victoria.
• Turning Point
Mia’s husband calls Victoria – Mia has disappeared for 10 days.
Act 2:
• New plan
Victoria freaks out. Sickness. She wants to go find her sister in Costa Rica, but she has to also comfort her mother, daughter, and family in Canada.
When her father hears the news, he decided to go to Costa Rica, to kill her husband.
Victoria’s husband refuses to go a 3rd world country. Fearing the worst as a white American.
• Plan in action:
Victoria heads to Canada crying in her new husband arms. Beginning him to go to Costa Rica, find her sister and calm her father down.
Time is of the essence to find Mia.
In Canada, Victoria announces the bad news to her mother, daughter and the rest of the family.
She organizes communication with Canada, France and USA Embassy.
She files a missing report. Cops show up at her door!
Victoria gets access to Mia’s emails and discovers an email addressed to her, but was never sent. Mia starts the email with “If you read this, I’m either dead or in a coma”! The letter is delusional, angry, accusing her husband of wrong doing and asking for revenge. Mia has also attached all her credit cards info.
She starts a website for her sister and creates a missing person paper.
Her husband finally caves and goes to Costa Rica with her father.
They meet with the local police, Canada, France and USA Embassy, and a missing person foundation who turns out to be the most helpful.
put the missing person posters up everywhere – but people take them down afraid it will drive tourism away. They are threaten to stop looking for Mia.
Other cases of missing persons are announced.
Victoria tries to raise funds, but shocked at the little amount family members provide.
Victoria receives Mia’s belongings and tries to decipher or find information/a clue through them.
Costa Ricans report unreliable, unverifiable sights of Mia, mostly to push investigation away from the touristic area – even to other countries.
Friends and family members each have their own theories: kidnapped for her organs, for human trafficking, moved to a retreat/community, was pregnant and escaped, her husband sold her to pay a debt.
• Midpoint Turning Point
Mia cannot be found.
Victoria’s husband and her father return home, empty handed.
Victoria also returns home. She is devastated, heartbroken.
Act 3:
• Rethink everything
Victoria starts to rely on mediums, hoping to find her sister another way. None of them say the same story. Except that she is between life and death, probably drugged, and some repeat that she’s in some sort of caged environment.
• New plan
Victoria meets with a friend of Mia while in Costa Rica, she describes someone else, a very different Mia, fearful and anxious.
• Turning Point: Huge failure / Major shift
That same friend sends an angry email to Victoria saying that her husband has seen Mia on a bike with a friend. So the entire story is fake! But she won’t respond to Victoria’s call/email.
Victoria reports the information to the local police who goes to see the husband to check – only to find out that he believes he was wrong. Costa Ricans seem to enjoy lying.
Trolls watch Victoria’s movie and finds one about a missing person. They accuse Victoria of possibly setting up the entire story to boost her film career.
Act 4:
• Climax/Ultimate expression of the conflict
A chef at the new work place of Mia’s husband finds Victoria and tells her that he tells people that his wife died in an accident in a ditch. He is convinced her husband killed her, he has been lying and stealing money at his new job, and he already had a new girlfriend when Mia disappeared.
But none of it is enough to be proven or used.
Her husband’s passport have been removed and Mia had mentioned before that she didn’t think he was allowed back in Canada anyway.
• Resolution
Mia didn’t want to be found.
Victoria has to let her go.
Nothing has been solved. Her family is broken for it.
Victoria has grown a stronger bound with her husband.
-
I am a uniquely amazing, inspiring, prolific, and successful writer/director whose name alone sales. I have a huge following because I help change the world for the better.
Missing in Costa Rica
Genre: Thriller
Based on a true story, a sister retraces the steps of her missing sister in a foreign country.
Protagonist Character: Victoria
• Logline: A newly wed, newly immigrant writer desperately tries to find her sister lost in Cost Rica while keeping her family afloat.
• Unique: She’s an immigrant, a newly wed, and now she has to save her sister while keeping her family and parents together.
Arc Beginning: happy, newly wed, and sister/mother/daughter
Arc Ending: hurt, lost, heartbroken sister
Internal Journey: starting a new life with new prospects
External Journey: lost her sister but better relationship with her husband
Old Ways: rely on sister, not value husband words, happy, believe in life
New Ways: lost, value husband, weight of family.
Act 1:
• Opening
Intro of history of the two sisters, Mia and Victoria, growing up as twins, in synchronicity. Ends with them promising to buy a house and grow old together.
• Inciting Incident
Victoria calls Mia for her birthday and plans to visit her in Costa Rica in a couple of months. Mia is acting weird, and not confirming any info.
Mia’s words take priority over Victoria’s husband’s – for Victoria.
• Turning Point
Mia’s husband calls Victoria – Mia has disappeared for 10 days.
Act 2:
• New plan
Victoria freaks out. Sickness. She wants to go find her sister in Costa Rica, but she has to also comfort her mother, daughter, and family in Canada.
When her father hears the news, he decided to go to Costa Rica, to kill her husband.
Victoria’s husband refuses to to go a 3rd world country. Fearing the worst as a white American.
• Plan in action:
Victoria heads to Canada crying in her new husband arms. Beginning him to go to Costa Rica, find her sister and calm her father down.
In Canada, Victoria announces the bad news to her mother, daughter and the rest of the family.
She organizes communication with Canada, France and USA Embassy.
She files a missing report. Cops show up at her door!
Victoria gets access to Mia’s emails and discovers an email addressed to her, but was never sent. Mia starts the email with “If you read this, I’m either dead or in a coma”! The letter is delusional, angry, accusing her husband of wrong doing and asking for revenge. Mia has also attached all her credit cards info.
She starts a website for her sister and creates a missing person paper.
Her husband finally caves and goes to Costa Rica with her father.
They meet with the local police, Canada, France and USA Embassy, and a missing person foundation who turns out to be the most helpful.
put the missing person posters up everywhere – but people take them down afraid it will drive tourism away.
Other cases of missing persons are announced.
Costa Ricans report unreliable, unverifiable sights of Mia, mostly to push investigation away from the touristic area – even to other countries.
Friends and family members each have their own theories: kidnapped for her organs, for human trafficking, moved to a retreat/community, was pregnant and escaped, her husband sold her to pay a debt.
• Midpoint Turning Point
Mia cannot be found.
Victoria’s husband and her father return home, empty handed.
Act 3:
• Rethink everything
Victoria starts to rely on mediums, hoping to find her sister another way. None of them say the same story. Except that she is between life and death, probably drugged, and some repeat that she’s in some sort of caged environment.
• New plan
Victoria meets with a friend of Mia while in Costa Rica, she describes someone else, a very different Mia, fearful and anxious.
• Turning Point: Huge failure / Major shift
That same friend sends an angry email to Victoria saying that her husband has seen Mia on a bike with a friend. So the entire story is fake! But she won’t respond to Victoria’s call/email.
Victoria reports the information to the local police who goes to see the husband to check – only to find out that he believes he was wrong. Costa Ricans seem to enjoy lying.
Act 4:
• Climax/Ultimate expression of the conflict
A chef at the new work place of Mia’s husband finds Victoria and tells her that he tells people that his wife died in an accident in a ditch. He is convinced her husband killed her, he has been lying and stealing money at his new job, and he already had a new girlfriend when Mia disappeared.
But none of it is enough to be proven or used.
Her husband’s passport have been removed and Mia had mentioned before that she didn’t think he was allowed back in Canada anyway.
• Resolution
Mia didn’t want to be found.
Victoria has to let her go.
Nothing has been solved. Her family is broken for it.
Victoria has grown a stronger bound with her husband.
-
I am a uniquely amazing, inspiring, prolific, and successful writer/director whose name alone sales. I have a huge following because I help change the world for the better.
Missing in Costa Rica
Genre: Thriller
Based on a true story, a sister retraces the steps of her missing sister in a foreign country.
Scheme and Investigation: One sister Mia schemed her disappearance while the other sister, Victoria, tries to find her and find clues. Mia has planned her ways of trying to find her and has clean her path.
The Fish Out of Water: Victoria fins herself in a world she doesn’t know how to maneuver. When her father and husband go to Costa Rica, they also find themselves as fish out of water.
-
I am a uniquely amazing, inspiring, prolific, and successful writer/director whose name alone sales. I have a huge following because I help change the world for the better.
Missing in Costa Rica
Genre: Thriller
Based on a true story, a sister retraces the steps of her missing sister in a foreign country.
Protagonist Character: Victoria
• Logline: A newly wed, newly immigrant writer desperately tries to find her sister lost in Cost Rica while keeping her family afloat.
• Unique: She’s an immigrant, a newly wed, and now she has to save her sister while keeping her family and parents together.
Arc Beginning: happy, newly wed, and sister/mother/daughter
Arc Ending: hurt, lost, heartbroken sister
Internal Journey: starting a new life with new prospects
External Journey: lost her sister but better relationship with her husband
Old Ways: rely on sister, not value husband words, happy, believe in life
New Ways: lost, value husband, weight of family.
Antagonist Character: Mia
• Logline: A suicidal, abused newly married, who seeks revenge against her abusive husband.
• Unique: She’s suicidal, but also missing. She left clues, but also erased some, making it impossible to find her.
Arc Beginning: constantly adjusting to new challenges in her new life in CR
Arc Ending: Vengeful, suicidal, missing person
Internal Journey: confused, joyful, sad, day-at-a-time,
External Journey: vengeful, suicidal, escapist
Old Ways: rely on sister, put on a face, takes care of self
New Ways: withdrawn from family, lost, scared of her husband, abused, many questions lefts unanswered.
-
I am a uniquely amazing, inspiring, prolific, and successful writer/director whose name alone sales. I have a huge following because I help change the world for the better.
What I learned from doing this assignment is my antagonist is the missing sister – even though she won’t be “present” in the story.
Missing in Costa Rica
Genre: Thriller
Based on a true story, a sister retraces the steps of her missing sister in a foreign country.
• Protagonist Character: Victoria
• Logline: A newly wed, newly immigrant writer desperately tries to find her sister lost in Cost Rica while keeping her family afloat.
• Unique: She’s an immigrant, a newly wed, and now she has to save her sister while keeping her family and parents together.
• Antagonist Character: Mia
• Logline: A suicidal, abused newly married, who seeks revenge against her abusive husband.
• Unique: She’s suicidal, but also missing. She left clues, but also erased some, making it impossible to find her.
-
Natasha Paris’ Title, Concept, and Character Structure!
I am a uniquely amazing, inspiring, prolific, and successful writer/director whose name alone sales. I have a huge following because I help change the world for the better.
What I learned from doing this assignment is going through the Title, Concept, and Character Structure activity that I need to find an antagonist to my story! LOL!
Missing in Costa Rica
Genre: Thriller
Concept: Based on a true story, a woman retraces the steps of her missing sister in a foreign country.
Character Structure you’ve chosen: Protagonist versus Antagonist.
-
Hi everyone!
Very excited about the class!!
1. Name?
Natasha Paris
2. How many scripts you’ve written?
Depends. I wrote 30 scripts between 16 yo and 18 yo, but they are not great! Lol! Finished 6 feature films, none of them produced, but they do have recognitions. I plan on revisiting them after completing the course to make them even better.
I’ve produced/written/directed a few shorts, some won at film festivals. I’ve worked mostly worked as 1st AD and Scripty in many shorts and features.
Feel free to check out my work at:
Lunaluzproductions.com
3. What you hope to get out of the class?
Become a better screenwriter. Write faster, more efficiently.
4. Something unique, special, strange or unusual about you?
In the past 5 generations on my mother’s side, none of the daughters were born in the same country as their mother’s! I continue this tradition with my second daughter! My eldest was – instead – born in the exact same hospital as me.
-
This reply was modified 1 year, 10 months ago by Natasha Paris.
-
This reply was modified 1 year, 10 months ago by
-
I, Natasha Paris, agree to the terms of this 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.
-
Ha! I love this! What a great concept!
-
No, unfortunately. And she won’t either in this version.
-
Hey Jim!
That’s so awesome to let me know!! I’ve never been, but I may have tons of questions along the road! Thank you! Where in Costa Rica are you located? The story takes place in Santa Teresa.
-
Hi Tully,
Your story sounds like a lot of fun! I’d watch it! Great work on exploring so many of your characters!
-
Great question! Not the way she wanted, no! LOL
-
Hey Anna,
If you meant to use the french word for mermaid, it’s actually La Sirène. The accent is on the other side! 😉