[Mr. Brunken]

Rodney Brunken. I agree to the terms of this release form.

[Mr. Brunken]

My name is Rodney Brunken, and this will be my first completed script. I am taking this class to get the tools and accountability I need to bring my first script to a successful completion. Something interesting about me is: I am working toward a goal of climbing The Matterhorn in Switzerland next summer (2024). This is pushing me to break through my comfort zone both in terms of excellent physical fitness as well as acquiring the technical skills needed. It will take all the time between now and then to reach both of these.

[Mr. Brunken]

Rodney Brunken

I agree to the terms of this release form.

[Mr. Brunken]

As a member of this group, I, Rodney Brunken, 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.

[Mr. Brunken]

My name is Rodney Brunken, and I am an aspiring screen writer. I’m a little embarrassed to say it, but I’ve never completed a film script. I have been tempted to give up on the idea, but something in me just won’t quit. Why am I here? Well, the idea of writing a PROFOUND script inspires me to reach high and finally finish that first script. The clock is ticking for me and I feel an urgency to do so, even if it ends up doing nothing more than giving me the satisfaction of having completed it. I can use all the encouragement I can get, so anything you can add to my time here will be appreciated. I’ll do the same for you as well. As to something interesting about me, I have an interest in the Greek classics of Homer; the Iliad and The Odyssey, and I am learning to read both of them in their original Ancient Greek. I’m not sure if that will ever play out in my script writing, but possibly so.

• This reply was modified 2 years, 3 months ago by  Mr. Brunken.

[Mr. Brunken]

Rodney Brunken’s Character Emotions

What I learned from this class is that emotions and varied and are often covering up some inner wound in characters.

Reverend Boggs:

Hope and Fear: He hopes to be affirmed as an upstanding and important fixture in his community. He’s afraid of rejection.

Want/Need: He wants recognition, but what he needs is love and acceptance.

Masks: His base negative emotion is fear of rejection and his mask is grandiosity.

Weakness: His need for approval

Triggers: Rejection and ridicule

Coping Mechanism: To bully others

Brooks:

Hope and Fears: To live up to his father’s example and is afraid he won’t.

Motivation: Validation in the eyes of the community

Mask: Bravado

Weakness: His need for love and acceptance by women

Triggers: To be ignored

Coping: Aloofness

Ana:

Hope and Fear: Hopes to be integrated fully into the community in spite of her status as an hispanic woman.

Motivation: Wants to prove herself as just as good as any male physician.

Mask: Uses her beauty to intimidate men.

Weakness: Is an alcoholic

Triggers: Men who bully her

Coping Mechanism: Her sexuality

[Mr. Brunken]

Rodney Brunken’s Intriguing Character Layers

What I learned from this assignment: By creating characters with obvious levels of intrigue, we stay interested in the narrative because we see our own layers of intrigue mirrored in their actions.

Boggs:

Secret Identity: He is the leader of a white supremacist group.

Conspiracy: He is working with other town leaders to stop Brooks from building a home for a black professional’s family.

Hidden Agenda: He wants to acquire the property Brooks owns for himself.

Secrets: He murdered Brooks’ father.

Deception: He covers up the murder and makes it appear to be a suicide.

Ana:

Wound: She is an hispanic woman trying to make it as a physician in a misogynistic community.

Secrets: She had an affair with a married professor when she was in medical school.

Deception: She lies about why she chose Catfish Bend as a place to set up her practice.

Secret Identity: Her family is on a hit list by the Cuban government.

Hidden Agenda: She is trying to seduce Brooks.

Brooks:

Wound: He was rejected by his mother while growing up in Catfish Bend. He is a widower with a 12 year old daughter.

Secrets: He has been given information that leads him to believe his father was murdered.

Secret Identity: He was a covert CIA informative in a conspiracy case.

Hidden Agenda: He is out to destroy Boggs and the rest of the power structure of Catfish Bend.

Deception: He plays ignorant when it comes to his suspicions about his his father’s murder.

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[Mr. Brunken]

Deleted

• This reply was modified 3 years ago by  Mr. Brunken. Reason: I deleted this post because I originally posted it in the wrong location

[Mr. Brunken]

Rodney Brunken’s Engaging Main Character’s

What I learned form this assignment: I learned how to apply my own past history and experience to create characters.

The journey of the show centers around Brooks and his arrival as a stranger to Catfish Bend as an outsider to his becoming the center of the town’s power.

Main Characters:

Brooks:

His role is as protagonist who upsets the power structure of Catfish Bend. His expertise is in the area of the law and knowing how to use it. His secret is that he has an insider who provides him with knowledge of what is happening. His moral issue is that he doesn’t always play by the rules with his use of the law. He is unpredictable in that he can be charming in a way that throws people off of his true intent. He is empathetic because he is in town for his dad’s funeral when he uncovers evidence the his dad did not commit suicide but was murdered.

Boggs:

Boggs is the corrupt mayor of Catfish Bend, a town filled with white supremacist leanings. His purpose is to stop change. His secret is that he arranged for the murder of Brooks father. His moral issue is that he will use any thing needed to get his way. He is unpredictable because he may murder Brooks too. He is empathetic because he wants to maintain law and order.

Ana: She is a Cuban-American pediatrician in Catfish Bend, a town with an anti-hispanic bias. Her expertise is that she knows the particulars of how to survive in Catfish Bend. Her Moral issue is her desire to help Brooks in ways that may violate her professional ethics. She is unpredictable in that she and Brooks have times of falling out. She is empathetic in that she is a woman who is both a professional and a hispanic in a town that is dominated by a white male oligarchy.

[Mr. Brunken]

Lesson 3, Assignment 1:

The character from The Young Pope I am commenting on is Cardinal Voiello, the Vatican Secretary of State.

His unique purpose is to stop Benedict XIII who he considers to be a threat to the survival of the church. He is determined to save the church no matter what it takes.

Intrigue: Pius XIII is as much a threat to Voiello as Voiello is to him. Who will gain the upper hand?

Moral Issue: Voiello does not stop at anything to stop the young pope. He uses black mail and calumny as well as threats of force to accomplish his ends.

He is unpredictable in that he at times appears remorseful for his deeds and then turns his back on his remorse and repeats them.

Empathetic: Voiello is persecuted by the pope who goes out of his way to humiliate him. Voiello is soft-hearted when it comes to the handicapped boy he cares for. He evokes mixed reactions of revulsion and empathy both. We care because we understand his concerns without approving of his methods.

[Mr. Brunken]

Assignment Two: Rodney Brunken’s Three Circles of Characters

What I learned from this assignment: I learned that I already have enough inspiration from my own experiences in life to create characters on all three levels.

Main Characters:

Jackson who is the protagonist and son of the contractor in Catfish Bend who supposedly committed suicide due to a business failure.

Ana who is the daughter of a local physician who immigrated from Havana to escape the revolution.

Phillips who is mayor of Catfish Bend and who is determined to keep it in the Jim Crow era.

Connected Circle:

The Adams who are a black family made up of a mother and a father who is an engineer and two adolescent children.

Jill who is the 12 year old daughter of Jackson.

Mildred who is the mother of Jackson.

Judge Hartwell who works hand in glove with the mayor to keep Catfish Bend in the status quo.

Hardy who is the expert in where to find Catfish.

Environment Circle:

Reverend Miller who is the minister at the church Mildred attends.

The sheriff and his deputies.

The city council.

Various members of the community including shop keepers and businessmen.

Various members of the church Mildred attends.

• This reply was modified 3 years ago by  Mr. Brunken.

[Mr. Brunken]

The Young Pope Circles:

The Main Characters: Lenny Bellardo, Pope Pius XIII., Sister Mary, special assistant to Pius XIII., Cardinal Voiello, Vatican Secretary of State.

Connected Circle Characters: Esther, Sofia, Monsignor Guttierez, Father Tomaso, Cardinal Spencer, Andrew, Lenny’s childhood friend.

Environment Circle: Cardinals who make up the Curia, the media, crowds in Vatican square, other Vatican staff, young Lenny and Andrew, a kangaroo.

[Mr. Brunken]

Day 1 Assignment: Binge Worthy TV

What I learned doing this assignment is…That I don’t have to do perfect work. I fretted about getting tis assignment done, even though I knew it didn’t have to be perfect. Finally, I just plunged in and did it. This is going to be the biggest challenge for me as well as the biggest lesson learned once I have made it a habit. I’ll admit, it was really tough on me.

Title: The Young Pope

Beats:

Lenny Bellardo, the new young pope, dreams that as the pope he delivers his first homily which shocks the world, and in particular, the Vatican curia. He is then told by the Vatican Secretary of State that he is finished as pope and with God. He then wakes up in a sweat.

Later, a group of Cardinals discusses the young pope and refers to him as someone who was elected because Voiello, the Vatican Secretary of State, manipulated the outcome. He did so because all involved thought that Lenny could be manipulated by them.

Lenny begins by making it clear to the Secretary of State and other personnel that HE is in charge of affairs and not they. The Secretary of State then proceeds to create an investigation of Lenny to determine what his sins and weakness are so that they may be used against him.

Sister Mary, the woman who raised Lenny Bellardo, arrives in The Vatican by helicopter. She lectures Lenny that his life is not his own anymore because he is responsible for the souls of one billion people who are Roman Catholic. Lenny is visibly disturbed to hear this. He then makes a point of telling Sister Mary his plan is to make the church dominant in world affairs again.

The same group of Cardinals that previously commented on Lenny’s choice as pope now ask what will happen to Cardinal spanks who was bypassed in favor of Lenny, his protege. The scene shifts to show Cardinal Spanks attempting to commit suicide. He is prevented from doing so, but appears to be a broken man.

Lenny in conversation with Father Tomaso describes himself as a man of contradictions who always keeps his real motives and thoughts secret.

Sister Mary asks if Lenny still has “it”. Lenny shows her the pipe bowl his father gave him and says he keeps it with him at all times.

Lenny meets with Monsignor Guttierez in The sistine Chapel and asks him about his mother. He sincerely tells Guttierez that his mother made him into a good man. Lenny is visibly at ease with Guttierez.

Lenny meets once again with Father Tomaso and asks him to function as his informant. Tomaso reluctantly agrees. Lenny then proceeds to confess to Tomaso that he does not believe in God. He quickly says that he was joking. It is not clear which statement is the actual truth.

5 Star Points:

Big Picture Hooks: Lenny is an outsider who is taking on one of the world’s most powerful organizations, The Vatican.

Intriguing Characters: Lenny is the new pope who is an unknown to the inner circle of The Vatican. He is a mystery. He lets it be known that he will not defer to others, especially the Secretary of State. Sister Mary is the one person Lenny allows to see him for who he truly is. He goes against Voiello’s wishes and chooses her t act as his private assistant.

Empathy:Distress: Lenny is an orphan who is now the pope in charge of one billion souls. He is opposed by the curia which makes up the Vatican oligarchy. Lenny is obnoxious and crude in his contempt for those around him. He treats those beneath him with contempt.

Open Loops: Will Lenny be ousted as the pope? Will the plot against Lenny on the part of Voiello to find his sins to use against him succeed? What role will Spanks, the passed over cardinal play? Will sister Mary be able to influence Lenny to use his power properly?

Inviting Obsession: Lenny must come up with a first homily to give the public before the enclave of cardinals will leave the Vatican. He struggles with what to say. He keeps putting it off. Will he find his own words or will he have to rely on Voiello’s draft?

• This reply was modified 3 years ago by  Mr. Brunken.
• This reply was modified 3 years ago by  Mr. Brunken.

[Mr. Brunken]

Rodney D. Brunken

Hello, everyone!

This is an entirely new adventure for me. I have never written any script, although I have written small non-published pieces for the enjoyment of myself and my friends. I am undertaking this challenge because I want to experience the satisfaction of creating a project that I can share with the public. I am semi-retired and a grandfather to boot, and I feel the need to complete this goal while I still can. I wrestled with the idea that maybe I was taking on something out of reach at this point in my life, but then I decided that proving myself wrong in this regard was part of the challenge I wanted to face down. I have decide to use my own memories of growing up in a town on The Mississippi River as the starting point for my series idea. The preliminary title I am using is, “Catfish Bend” which was the nickname for the town I grew up in. The characters and events will be inspired by real people and events that are taken from my time coming of age in that town. I am excited to finally be starting on a project like this and using it to grow both personally and as a writer.

• This reply was modified 3 years, 1 month ago by  Mr. Brunken.
• This reply was modified 3 years, 1 month ago by  Mr. Brunken.
• This reply was modified 3 years, 1 month ago by  Mr. Brunken.
• This reply was modified 3 years, 1 month ago by  Mr. Brunken.

[Mr. Brunken]

Rodney D. Brunken

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.

0

[Mr. Brunken]

Rodney D. Brunken

I agree to the terms of this release form.

[Mr. Brunken]

My heroine is a young woman who will be based on my mother and her experiences coming of age during The Great Depression and WW II. I haven’t yet come up with a name for the character.

My character is abandoned by her father who is an alcoholic. She is the only one left to care for her mother who is totally blind. She feels overwhelmed, isolated, helpless. This leaves her with deep abandonment issues that haunt her. While feeling depressed and forlorn she is given a free pass to go to the opening of Gone With The Wind in Minot, ND, her hometown. Enthralled, she stays through three performances in one day and is inspired by Scarlett’s determination, which she then makes her own. She gets a job in a bakery, faces threats posed by her supervisor and the harsh realities of the times. Eventually, after being noticed for her hard work and reliability by the owner of the bakery, she gets a chance to go to an elite boarding school. While there, she is ridiculed by the other students. She faces these taunts down and in the process is inspired to become a teacher. With no money to go on, finds a way to finish college to get hired as a teacher in a small midwestern town. While there, she has to adapt to new realities, but eventually wins an award from the state for her teaching. Still fearful of abandonment, she ultimately finds and marries a man whom she trusts and who will not abandon her.

[Mr. Brunken]

• This reply was modified 4 years, 2 months ago by  Mr. Brunken.

[Mr. Brunken]

Rod Brunken

This is my first.

The satisfaction of having my first script successfully completed.

I like to climb mountains in my free time and am in training to climb The Matterhorn in Switzerland this summer.

[Mr. Brunken]

I like the challenge your character faces in losing 50 pounds. I say this because I know from experience what this means. Over the pandemic, I put on pounds and ballooned up to 228.2 pounds. I made the decision to follow the advice of a friend and participate in a health and wellness program which I started October 19, 2020. By January 19 of this year, I had lost just over 50 pounds. I am now at 182 pounds and adding muscle through a regular workout program. I feel great, and the emotional payoff is one of the reasons why I feel I can now reach for other goals such as writing a script.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 2 months ago by  Mr. Brunken.

[Mr. Brunken]

Where will you be teaching surfing?

[Mr. Brunken]

Good luck as you write your first completed script. Haunted house; I’d like to hear more about that one.

[Mr. Brunken]

I’m from Southern California in the Orange County area, although at the moment, I’m living in Asheville, NC. Pasadena is one of my favorite places in the greater LA area, and I’m with you in getting cold if the temperature drops below 60 degrees.