[Shawn Maricich]

The Walking Dead

5 Star Model

Sheriff’s Deputy Rick is scavenging for gas and supplies at an abandoned convenience store on a deserted highway in rural Georgia when he finds a little girl who shockingly turns out to be a zombie. He shoots her in the head and flashbacks in time. Rick is shot while chasing down criminals alongside his partner Shane and goes into a coma. Hospitalized after the injury, Rick experiences a series of dreamlike encounters with friends and family. Regaining consciousness, he finds that he is alone in an abandoned hospital. Weak and dazed he searches the ransacked and blood covered hallways. Dead bodies, some laying where they fell, and others wrapped in sheets litter the ward.

Looking for his family, Rick heads for his home. In a park he encounters his first Zombie, a decaying woman who, lacking the lower half of her body, drags herself across the lawn to attack him. Not finding his wife and son at home, Rick is in despair and starts to give up. He is captured by humans Morgan and his son, who explain to him that a mysterious sickness is the cause of the “Walkers” if they bite or scratch you, you will contract the disease and become Zombified.

Rick then sets out to find his wife Lori and son Carl who he believes are at a government safe haven in Atlanta. Running out of gas in his patrol car, he commandeers a horse from a farm where the family have committed suicide to escape the apocalyptic horror around them. Riding the horse into Atlanta, he is trapped by a Zombie hoard in the streets. Attacking him, they kill the horse and start to feast. Rick escapes their clutches by shooting his way free and crawling into an Abrams Tank that has been abandoned in the middle of the street. Safe, but surrounded by Walkers, his survival is in question. The tank’s two-way radio crackles. Other survivors have seen his brave, but stupid fight with the Walking Dead!

1 Big Picture Hooks

Rick is a man against the world. But what has happened to this world?

He’s a husband and father, who is looking for his family. He’s a protector, and he has failed them.

Will humanity survive?

What has caused this sickness? Is it natural? Manmade? A biological Attack? A cure?

2 Amazing and Intriguing Character

Rick could give up, fend for only himself, or go anarchist in this apocalyptic world. But he doesn’t. True to his duty as a sheriff, he gives aid to others, he even goes so far as to “mercy” killing for the Walking Dead he finds to end their misery. His quest is to find his family and unite with other survivors.

3 Empathy and Distress

What would we do if we were Rick? An ordinary person thrust into extraordinary circumstances. Will he find his family? Will he survive? Will humanity survive?

4 Layers and Open Loops

What has caused the virus? How easy is it to be infected? Is there a cure? Will Rick find his family? Shane, Rick’s best friend, is romantically involved with Rick’s wife at their camp. Who are the other survivors. Will anarchy prevail?

5 Inviting Obsession

Will Rick survive and find his family? Will the Zombi-pocalypse end all human life on earth?

What I learned doing this assignment is?

Small plot hooks, teases about the overall problem, characters that I care about or intrigue me drive curiosity and make me want to learn more about them.

[Shawn Maricich]

Shawn Maricich

I agree to 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.

[Shawn Maricich]

Shawn Maricich

I agree to the terms of this agreement.

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.

[Shawn Maricich]

Shawn Maricich

I 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.

[Shawn Maricich]

Shawn Maricich

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.

[Shawn Maricich]

Shawn Maricich

I agree to the terms of this release form.