[Roxanne Avery]

Roxanne’s Character Profile Part 1

What I learned doing this assignment is the strength in the depth of character. The deeper and more layered my characters are, the better my script.

My Protagonist is Robert (Robby) Grady Johnson, a victim of childhood abuse at the hands of his stepfather and his mother who was also abused and afraid to step in. He was a victim of abuse by society, which in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, did not accept homosexuality. He further became a victim at the hands of his lover Jay Wesley Neill.

Age Range and Description: Male, 21 years old, blonde hair blue eyes who looks like a model and is impeccably groomed.

Internal Journey: From an abused, naive 21-year-old to a mature adult who understands reality.

External Journey: From a care-free party-boy to a man with the mental strength to survive the cruel world of prison.

Motivation (Want/Need): His “want” is to either “fix” Jay and have a healthy relationship or to get away from him. His “need” is overcome the cycle of abuse.

Wound: His childhood trauma of being abused and his inability to stop his step-father from abusing his mother.

Mission/Agenda: To live a life of love, free from abuse.

Secret: His failure to save his mother from abuse.

What makes Robby special? His heart. He studied ministry in college and really just wanted to help people.

My antagonist is Jay Wesley Neill, a villain and a predator. In an effort to control their relationship, Jay mentally and physically continuously beat up his lover Robby Johnson. His manipulative, narcissistic personality led him to become a serial killer.

Age Range and Description: Male, 19 years old, blonde hair blue eyes who looked almost identical to Robby.

Internal Journey: From a toxic, controlling, manipulative narcissist with low self-esteem to acceptance of a life on death row with no control over anything.

External Journey: From a flamboyant, unstable and violent sociopath to an apologetic, “born-again” Christian accepting his ultimate fate.

Motivation (Want/Need): His “want” is money and to be admired. His “need” is to control everything in his life, especially Robby.

Wound: His childhood trauma of being abused by his stepfather and un-acceptance by society for his sexual preference.

Mission/Agenda: To rob a bank in order to have the money he believes he needs to keep Robby in the relationship.

Secret: Behind his mask of extreme confidence, Jay is unsure of his self-worth and is easily upset by criticism.

What makes Jay special? Initially charming, witty and sociable, Jay’s mental illness quickly reverts into that of a cold, calculated sociopath.

Supporting Characters:

Special FBI Agent Granville Long

Marilyn Roach – Victim

Dick Tannery – First Comanche County DA

Robert Schulte – Second Comanche County DA

Judge Allen McCall

Judge Jack Brock

Debbie Ward – Neighbor

Jim Pearson – Jay’s Lawyer

Mark Hendrickson – Robby’s Lawyer

Minor Characters:

Dr. Richard Boatsman, Medical Examiner

Calvin and Janie Bowles – Parents of Jeri Bowles

Kirk Mullenix – Husband to Joyce Mullenix

Tommy Dale – Geronimo Town Marshal

Bellen & Ruben Robles – Victims

Tony Burns – Grady County DA

Denise Donahue – Travel Agent

J.J. McDonagh – Limo Driver

Marie Cork – Teller

Roy Foreman – Special FBI Agent

Debbie & Hector Hernandez – Apartment Neighbors

Dave Knowlton – San Francisco FBI Agent

Neil Hunt – FBI Agent

Robert Gast – Special Agent FBI in charge of San Francisco

Daniel Murphy – Veteran NYC Homicide Detective

Dewayne Dewalt – Robby’s Stepfather

Homeowner

Real Estate Instructor

Colleen Trickey – Neighbor

Melanie Thiesen – Pacesetter Products Office Manager

Jeri Bowles – Victim/Teller

Kay Bruno – Victim/BankManager

Cynthia Cantu – Jay’s Mother

Richard Cantu – Jay’s stepfather

Church Member

Cameron University Classmate #1 and #2

El Chico Restaurant Manager

Jon Ella Long – Granny’s Wife

Jury Foreman

Host – 700 Club

Receptionist at DA’s office

Wes Roberts, Death Penalty Protestor

Newscaster

Extras:

Media

Drag Queen

Hotel Desk Clerk

Law Enforcement Members

FBI Agents

FBI Agent aka Realtor

Tom Harris – Jay’s High School Friend

Bartender

Dorm Residents

Genre: Drama

[Roxanne Avery]

Roxanne’s Transformational Journey

What I learned doing this assignment is: that every character has a transformation and that transformation is the foundation of the story. I will write this so the audience WANTS to go on the journey with my characters.

Logline: A young man convicted of being an accomplice in the deadliest bank robbery in Oklahoma in 1984 must prove his innocence while fighting a judicial system turned against him because of his sexual preferences.

Protagonist: Robbie

Character Arc: Robbie transforms from being a victim of abuse to being a realist.

Internal Journey: Young, naive and trusting, Robbie fights childhood demons and the hypocrisies of studying to be a pastor while being gay.

External Journey: From being a flamboyant and carefree young man to a victim of circumstance living out his life in prison.

• This reply was modified 2 years, 3 months ago by  Roxanne Avery.

[Roxanne Avery]

Happy New Year Everyone!

I’m Roxanne Avery and I’ve written two scripts and am an alumni of the ProSeries and MSC13. I have a professional writing degree from the University of Oklahoma. I am currently writing three scripts; one with a WGA writer in LA, one with a SAG member and one that has been optioned but needs a re-write. What I hope to get out of in this class is the discipline to quickly re-write that script.

My full-time job as a criminal trial specialist/investigator for a criminal defense law firm in Houston keeps me busy and continuously gives me true crime stories that will be amazing screenplays or series for TV. I’m also writing three true crime books.

In February, I was featured in a 10-page story in the New York Times magazine about one of my cases, “How the Bikers Walked – The Infamous Motorcycle-Gang Shootout in Waco, Texas that resulted in Nine Deaths and 177 Arrests but No Convictions – A Tangled, Seven-Year Tale of Prosecutorial Hubris and Tenacious Defense.” I’ve been interviewed and assist with factual information about that case with three production companies for documentaries including VICE-TV and A&E.

[Roxanne Avery]

Roxanne Avery

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.