WEDNESDAY'S SCRIPT TIP:

CHARACTERS AND DOG JUICE

Martell's "Theory of Dog Energy" is that all dogs have the exact same amount of energy. For a normal sized dog, like a Retriever or a Shepard, that's the perfect amount of energy... but a really big dog barely has enough energy to move (which explains St. Bernards) and really small dogs have LOTS of extra energy (which explains Chihuahuas).

This theory also works with characters. In order to be memorable to the audience everyone in the script has to have the minimum daily requirement of character... the same amount of character no matter how big or small the part is. This is easy when you are dealing with lead characters who have 110 pages to meet their minimum requirements, you can spread it out. A little character here, a little character there. You can be subtle... show character through actions or show gradual changes in reactions to similar situations. Lead characters can take a while to get to know... you have the time to peel back layers and show us different, conflicting aspects of the character.

But when you have a supporting character who may only be in a couple of scenes, the character is going to come in strong, concentrated doses in order to meet the minimum requirements. Patrick Shane Duncan (Mr. HOLLAND'S OPUS, COURAGE UNDER FIRE) says that the less time a character spends on screen, the broader (bigger) that character has to be to make an impression on the audience. With a small character, you don't have the time to build character... they have to come fully assembled. They also have to come on strong enough to leave an impression... or the audience will forget who they are. They aren't on screen long enough to be subtle. The smaller the character the more exaggerated or quirky they need to be.

The British film BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM was nominated for a Writer's Guild Award a few years back. As Ebert said on that little TV show of his, "If you liked GREEK WEDDING, you'll love BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM" - it's much better written than GREEK WEDDING and much funnier. The story is simple - Parminder Nagra plays Jessie, a high school senior who loves playing soccer, but her traditionalist Indian parents think it's time for her to stop playing games, learn to cook, and find a husband. If she can't find a nice Indian boy on her own, her parents would be happy to find one for her (arranged marriages are part of the tradition). Talk about universal stories - how many of us have dreams and parents who think it's time to wake up and find a real job? In order to dramatize the concept of finding a husband and settling down, the story takes place in the months leading up to her older sister's wedding. That way we can SEE what her parents want for her. The traditional wedding isn't an abstract idea - we can see the steps involved. The other side of the dramatic dilemma is represented when Jessie is asked to join a girl's soccer league... and becomes one of the team's top players.

That's how BECKHAM ends up with a huge cast of characters. We have Jessie's family and all of the relatives in town for the wedding (plus the in-laws and their family) and we have the soccer team, her coach, and her best friend on the team Jules (Keira Knightly).... plus we have Jessie's parents. Oh, and there are Jessie's neighborhood pals - she plays soccer in the park with them. They're all hunky Indian guys who see her as a pal rather than dating material. She's too much of a tomboy.

You might think with this huge cast of characters that we wouldn't get to know any of them very well, but you'd be wrong. Writers Gurinder Chadha and Paul Berges do a fantastic job of distilling each character down to their essentials so that we instantly know them. Her team mates and coach are people you know, her family is your family, and the guys at the park are your pals. To illustrate how well this is done - there's a minor character at the engagement party - I don't think he has a single line of dialogue... but you really know who this guy is. At the engagement party, an entire sofa full of aunts and old women ask Jessie when she's going to get married... and what kind of Indian boy interests her - a clean-shaven man or one with a full bushy beard? A bearded guest at the engagement party pushes closer to overhear her answer. This guy may be traditionally dressed, but he gives off a Disco Dan vibe... and later when there is dancing he grabs Jessie and tries to force her to dance with him. Yikes! This is the Indian community's most eligible bachelor! Throughout the rest of the film, whenever there's a family function in preparation for the wedding, this guy is there to hit on Jessie. He may not have any dialogue, but he shows his character through actions. This guy is all hands! He's constantly inappropriately touching women - his hand slips while dancing. In one scene he "accidentally" nuzzles the breasts of a woman he's dancing with.

STORY PURPOSE

Though this is a only a minor character, he symbolizes Jessie's worst nightmare - he's the guy she could have to marry if her parents opt for an arraigned marriage. That is his character's STORY PURPOSE - remember, even if you have a cast of thousands, each character must have a purpose in the story... why else would you pay an actor $650 a day to play the role? If the have no purpose - cut them. By the end of the film Jessie's worst nightmare husband has found a single gal who doesn't mind the way his hands slip when they are dancing... and they end up making out in the bathroom at the wedding reception. This guy may not spend much time on screen, but he is given a juicy character and juicy actions that expose his character in every scene he's in. You really know who this guy is.

All of the other characters in BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM are also well-drawn. Jessie's father (Anupam Kher), who spends much of the film in the background, is a fully developed character. We know him, we understand him, we care about him... we feel HIS dilemma of being a traditional man with a modern daughter. There's a great scene when he sneaks into a soccer game and watches his daughter play - at first angry that she has disobeyed him, then slowly becoming involved in the game and rooting for her. Again - the key is to know the essence of the character and find situations the pull the character to the surface.

Are your small characters big enough? If they only pop up in two scenes, is there enough CHARACTER in the first scene so that the audience can easily remember them in the second scene? Do all of your characters meet the minimum requirements?

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Mitch Robertson stepped over the body of an ex-child star turned sex tape star turned pop star and entered the room, spotted a gun on the floor and picked it up... careful not to spill his coffee with three pumps of mocha syrup from Penny’s Coffee Shop. That coffee was gold, the only thing keeping him going in this dazed state of wakefulness. The gun felt light. Holding it, he saw the silhouette of an 80s action star sitting sideways on a tipped over chair. Motionless. Was he dead? Mitch was still hung over from the Awards Party the night before, and wondered whether this was all some sort of crazy nightmare that he would wake up from... but when he tripped over the brown legs of a bottomless Superhero, flaccid junk encased in a condom but still wearing his mask, and hit the edge of the sofa, gun skittering and coffee spilling, he realized that it was all very real. What the hell had happened here?"

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IT'S NEW!!

All About Rewrites!

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Rewriting In Waves?

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MAKES A GREAT GIFT!

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STORY IN ACTION SERIES!

THE MISSION IMPOSSIBLE MOVIES

NEW: Updates On Films 7 & 8 Casting!

All Six Movies analyzed! All of the mission tapes, all of the “that’s impossible!” set pieces and stunts, the cons and capers - and how these scenes work, the twists and double crosses, the tension and suspense (and how to generate it), the concept of each film as a stand alone with a different director calling the shots (broken in the sixth film), the gadgets, the masks, the stories, the co-stars and team members (one team member has been in every film), the stunts Tom Cruise actually did (and the ones he didn’t), and so much more! Over 120,000 words of fun info!

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ARE YOUR SCENES IN THE RIGHT ORDER?
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Your story is like a road trip... but where are you going? What's the best route to get there? What are the best sights to see along the way? Just as you plan a vacation instead of just jump in the car and start driving, it's a good idea to plan your story. An artist does sketches before breaking out the oils, so why shouldn't a writer do the same? This Blue Book looks at various outlining methods used by professional screenwriters like Wesley Strick, Paul Schrader, John August, and others... as well as a guest chapter on novel outlines. Plus a whole section on the Thematic Method of generating scenes and characters and other elements that will be part of your outline. The three stages of writing are: Pre-writing, Writing, and Rewriting... this book looks at that first stage and how to use it to improve your screenplays and novels.

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GOT STRUCTURE?!

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William Goldman says the most important single element of any screenplay is structure. It’s the skeleton under the flesh and blood of your story. Without it, you have a spineless, formless, mess... a slug! How do you make sure your structure is strong enough to support your story? How do you prevent your story from becoming a slug? This Blue Book explores different types of popular structures from the basic three act structure to more obscure methods like leap-frogging. We also look at structure as a verb as well as a noun, and techniques for structuring your story for maximum emotional impact. Most of the other books just look at *structure* and ignore the art of *structuring* your story. Techniques to make your story a page turner... instead of a slug!

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MOVIES ARE CHARACTERS!

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Expanded version with more ways to create interesting protagonists! A step-by-step guide to creating "take charge" protagonists. Screenplays are about characters in conflict... characters in emotional turmoil... Strong three dimensional protagonists who can find solutions to their problems in 110 pages. But how do you create characters like this? How do you turn words into flesh and blood? Character issues, Knowing Who Is The Boss, Tapping into YOUR fears, The Naked Character, Pulp Friction, Man With A Plan, Character Arcs, Avoiding Cliche People, Deep Characterization, Problem Protagonists, 12 Ways To Create Likable Protagonists (even if they are criminals), Active vs. Reactive, The Third Dimension In Character, Relationships, Ensemble Scripts, and much, much more. Print version is 48 pages, Kindle version is once again around 205 pages!

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I WRITE PICTURES!

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Show Don't Tell - but *how* do you do that? Here are techniques to tell stories visually! Using Oscar Winning Films and Oscar Nominated Films as our primary examples: from the first Best Picture Winner "Sunrise" (1927) to the Oscar Nominated "The Artist" (which takes place in 1927) with stops along the way Pixar's "Up" and Best Original Screenplay Winner "Breaking Away" (a small indie style drama - told visually) as well as "Witness" and other Oscar Winners as examples... plus RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES. Print version is 48 pages, Kindle version is over 200 pages!

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DESCRIPTION & VOICE Blue Book!

DESCRIPTION & VOICE Blue Book.

IS HALF OF YOUR STORY IN TROUBLE?

Most screenplays are about a 50/50 split between dialogue and description - which means your description is just as important as your dialogue. It just gets less press because the audience never sees it, the same reason why screenwriters get less press than movie stars. But your story will never get to the audience until readers and development executives read your script... so it is a very important factor. Until the movie is made the screenplay is the movie and must be just as exciting as the movie. So how do you make your screenplay exciting to read? Description is important in a novel as well, and the “audience” does read it... how do we write riveting description?

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PRO DIALOGUE TECHNIQUES!

*** DIALOGUE SECRETS *** - For Kindle!

***

Expanded version with more ways to create interesting dialogue! How to remove bad dialogue (and what *is* bad dialogue), First Hand Dialogue, Awful Exposition, Realism, 50 Professional Dialogue Techniques you can use *today*, Subtext, Subtitles, Humor, Sizzling Banter, *Anti-Dialogue*, Speeches, and more. Tools you can use to make your dialogue sizzle! Special sections that use dialogue examples from movies as diverse as "Bringing Up Baby", "Psycho", "Double Indemnity", "Notorious", the Oscar nominated "You Can Count On Me", "His Girl Friday", and many more! Print version is 48 pages, Kindle version is over 175 pages!

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WHAT IS A SCENE?

*** SCENE SECRETS *** - For Kindle!

***

What is a scene and how many you will need? The difference between scenes and sluglines. Put your scenes on trial for their lives! Using "Jaws" we'll look at beats within a scene. Scene DNA. Creating set pieces and high concept scenes. A famous director talks about creating memorable scenes. 12 ways to create new scenes. Creating unexpected scenes. Use dramatic tension to supercharge your scenes. Plants and payoffs in scenes. Plus transitions and buttons and the all important "flow"... and more! Over 65,000 words! Print version was 48 pages, Kindle version is around 210 pages!

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SUBPLOTS?

*** SUPPORTING CHARACTER SECRETS *** - For Kindle! (Exclusive)

Expanded version with more techniques to flesh out your Supporting Characters and make them individuals. Using the hit movie BRIDESMAIDS as well as other comedies like THE HANGOVER and TED and HIGH FIDELITY and 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN and many other examples we look at ways to make your Supporting Characters come alive on the page. Print version was 48 pages, Kindle version is around 170 pages!

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ACT TWO SOLUTIONS!

*** ACT TWO SECRETS *** - For Kindle!

Expanded version with more techniques to help you through the desert of Act Two! Subjects Include: What Is Act Two? Inside Moves, The 2 Ps: Purpose & Pacing, The 4Ds: Dilemma, Denial, Drama and Decision, Momentum, the Two Act Twos, Subplot Prisms, Deadlines, Drive, Levels Of Conflict, Escalation, When Act Two Begins and When Act Two Ends, Scene Order, Bite Sized Pieces, Common Act Two Issues, Plot Devices For Act Two, and dozens of others. Over 67,000 words (that’s well over 200 pages) of tools and techniques to get you through the desert of Act Two alive! Print version was 48 pages, Kindle version is well over 200 pages!

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All About Endings!

GRAND FINALES Blue Book!

The Perfect Ending For Your Story!

The First Ten Pages Of Your Screenplay Are Critical,
But What About The Last 10 Pages?

Creating the perfect ending to your story! This 100,000 word book shows you how to end your story with a bang, rather than a whimper. Everything from Resolution Order to Act Three Tools to Happy or Sad Endings? to How The Beginning Of Your Story Has Clues To The Ending (in case you were having trouble figuring out how the story should end) to Falling Action to How To Avoid Bad Endings to Writing The Perfect Twist Ending to Setting Up Sequels & Series to Emotional Resolutions to How To Write Post Credit Sequences to Avoiding Deus Ex Machinas, to 20 Different Types Of Ends (and how to write them) and much more! Everything about endings for your screenplay or novel!

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All About LOGLINES, TREATMENTS, and PITCHING!

LOGLINES, TREATMENTS, and PITCHING! Blue Book!

Distilling Your Screenplay!

Loglines, Treatments, Pitching, Look Books, Pitch Decks, One Pagers, Rip-O-Matics?

You have written a brilliant 110 page screenplay, but how do you get anyone to read it? You need to distill it down into some form of verbal moonshine or story rocket fuel that will ignite that bored development executive or manager or agent and get them to request your screenplay. But how do you shrink those 110 pages into a 25 word logline or a 2 minute elevator pitch or a one page synopsis or a short paragraph? This 100,000 word book shows you how! Everything you need to know! From common logline mistakes (and how to solve them) to how your pitch can reveal story problems to the 4 types of pitches!

272 Pages - ONLY $4.99!

READY TO BREAK IN?

THE BUISINESS SIDE

*** BREAKING IN BLUE BOOK *** - For Kindle!

Should really be called the BUSINESS BLUE BOOK because it covers almost everything you will need to know for your screenwriting career: from thinking like a producer and learning to speak their language, to query letters and finding a manager or agent, to making connections (at home and in Hollywood) and networking, to the different kinds of meetings you are will have at Studios, to the difference between a producer and a studio, to landing an assignment at that meeting and what is required of you when you are working under contract, to contracts and options and lawyers and... when to run from a deal! Information you can use *now* to move your career forward! It's all here in the Biggest Blue Book yet!

Print version was 48 pages, Kindle version is over 400 pages!

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FINAL DRAFT SOFTWARE

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copyright 2021 by William C. Martell