FRIDAY'S SCRIPT TIP:

BAD GUY LEADS


Buy The Joker

Not all protagonists have to be heroes like Spider-Man... some protagonists can be mean SOBs. No matter how morally wrong your protagonist is, the audience IS them for 2 hours and from their point of view what they are doing is right and necessary. They aren't heroes, they are anti-heros.

THE JOKER was a surprise hit, and is now the #1 R rated comic book movie (not much competition, there) and is a great example of one of the types of anti-heroes. The film is a mash up of two Scorsese movies, TAXI DRIVER and THE KING OF COMEDY, inserted into the DC Comics world. It alters the DC comics origin stories for The Joker, and I suspect that the screenplay didn’t begin as a Joker story, but was shoe-horned into the DC world to find an audience for the kind of bleak 70s films they don’t make anymore. The same story about Arthur Fleck without the Joker connection would have played for a week at the local arthouse-indie theater before heading to Netflix. But as The Joker?

Like Travis Bickle and Rupert Pupkin, Arthur Fleck is a social outcast living in a gritty 1970s version of New York City. He has no friends, he takes care of his aging mother in a small apartment. Like Pupkin, he looks outward for attention and approval instead of inward - and wants to become a stand up comedian. Believing that he has that talent - which I guess are delusion of grandeur... even though he also feels insignificant and alone in the world. He works for a company that hires clowns to spin signs and visit hospitals and anything else a clown will do (a strange idea for a business) and in the opening scene is beat up by a group of teenagers just because he’s a clown.

The story uses that to build sympathy for this outsider - he is a man-child who takes care of his ailing mother living in a hellish environment... and he has a dream of being a comedian. We can identify with these things, even though we know that Fleck is insane and kind of creepy. As the story takes him deeper and deeper into hell, he reacts violently and turns into the villain from the comic books and films. An insane person who thinks nothing of killing those whom he feel threatens him.

Sorry, spoiler, I guess.

But the character’s descent from madness to violent madness is the story in the film.

Because we *understand* Fleck’s violent reactions, we can empathize with the character. One of the reasons why I think that it was a surprise hit is that people are particularly angry at this point in time and want to lash out at what they think are the causes of their anger... and this film provides that fantasy. This is the Descent Into Madness Trope, and has been around forever. It’s critical for the audience to *understand* your protagonist even if they are an anti-hero and do very very bad things. The key to a great anti-hero is that we are able to see the world through their eyes because we understand why they are doing what they do. We may not like Arthur Fleck and I don’t think any of us would like to hang out with him, but we understand him. In his world, in his situation, he does what he thinks will solve his problems. Like Travis Bickle, this requires that the people who he thinks are causing his problems meet with violence. In “Secrets Of Action Screenwriting” I talk about how the protagonist has been taking a beating for most of the film, and when we click into Act Three it’s time for the protagonist to dish out a beating equal to the sum of all of the beatings they have taken. That’s what happens in JOKER... just with an anti-hero instead of a hero.


WHAT IS AN ANTI-HERO?

Buy The Killing Joke

In the first version of “Secrets Of Action Screenwriting” I used the terms “hero” and “villain”, which can often lead to confusion. There’s nothing heroic about Arthur Fleck. He’s a bad guy, who is the lead character in the movie. It’s easier to understand if I used the terms “protagonist” and “antagonist” - which have no moral requirements. There’s another tip in rotation about my favorite antagonist in a film, Cameron Diaz’s character in MY BEST FRIEND’S WEDDING, who is the nicest, sweetest character in that film... and the antagonist. She is the character who gets in the way of the protagonist achieving their goal. The protagonist is trying to break up a wedding, and the antagonist (the bride to be) keeps getting in the way and preventing the protagonist from attaining their goal.

The Protagonist of your story can be the meanest, most evil character in the story. The word just means that they are the lead character of your story.

Oh, and Protagonist means Lead Character, so those folks who want to add to the confusion by having other requirements for the Protagonist, like: they must learn a valuable lesson, or they must perform the actions that create change in the story, are full of beans. Often a protagonist learns their valuable lesson by watching another character perform the actions that create the change in the story. They are observers. Which makes them passive, which is usually a bad thing. But in some stories, that’s what works - the audience identifies with (understands) the Protagonist who learns by observing what someone else does.

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD can be confusing as all heck: The audience identifies with Scout (Protagonist) who is telling the story about her father Aticus who performs the actions that allow her brother to learn a valuable lesson. Hey, Scout learns the lesson, too - but her brother has reached the end of childhood and these lessons have a direct impact on him. Okay, is Aticus the “Lead Character” in this scenario or brother Jem? This is why it makes more sense to use Protagonist as the lead character - our point of view character - the person who the audience will understand and identify with throughout the film. And that can be a very bad person.


ANIT-HERO PROTAGONISTS

Buy The Driver

There's a great Walter Hill movie called THE DRIVER (the inspiration for last year's hit BABY DRIVER by my fellow Raindance Film Fest jurist Edgar Wright) about a getaway driver for robberies and the policeman pursuing him. Because the getaway driver is the protagonist, we live his life for 2 hours - the policeman is the antagonist.

Now, morally the policeman is doing the right thing and the getaway driver is doing the wrong thing, but morals have nothing to do with story. They don't matter.

The getaway driver is our protagonist and we are rooting for him to get away from the policeman. While watching this film, we dislike the policeman because he's getting in the way of the getaway driver's goal - a goal we understand. Though the policeman is portrayed as a bad person, that's ONLY because we see him from the Driver's POV. The policemen is focused on winning at all costs - at capturing the criminal even if it means breaking a few rules. As an audience we were cheering that attitude when the policeman was DIRTY HARRY - we wanted Harry to stomp on Scorpio's wounded leg! The same traits that made us root for Dirty Harry make us hate the policeman in THE DRIVER. It's all a matter of perspective (not morality). For THE DRIVER to have a satisying ending for the audience, the protagonist must acheive his goal and the antagonist must be vanquished... that means the CRIMINAL must win (and that's exactly what happens at the end of THE DRIVER). If the policeman had killed the getaway driver he'd be killing the audience - the audience IS that character for 2 hours.

Buy The Driver

In the original DEATH WISH Paul Kersey begins as a man who believes in the system, believes that criminals deserve a fair trial... he's described as a bleeding heart liberal by his co-worker. Then, his wife is murdered and daughter raped, and the police seem powerless to do anything. His anger begins bubbling. He snaps at his son-in-law and co-workers. He snaps at his co-workers, and his office sends him to Arizona to work on a project. There, in conservative country, he starts playing with guns and talks to a mentor-type character who believes in street justice. The mentor gives him a present - a gun. The first time he's mugged and uses the gun is an accident... then, he becomes more and more comfortable using the gun... and eventually sets traps for muggers so that he can kill them. There's a detective who begins wanting to get him off the street, but shifts into an ally. By the time we get to the end of the movie, he takes an enormous risk - shaking off a police tail so that he can go hunting. He has been completely transformed.

This is one of the rare revenge movies that end with the protag still wanting to get revenge. Most often, they come to realize that revenge isn't really the answer (POINT BLANK, GET CARTER, THE LIMEY). The Truffaut film BRIDE WORE BLACK also ends with revenge still on the protag's mind - but that film has a cool twist end, where the bride has killed all of the people responsible for her husband's death... except one (who is in prison). Then she's arrested, tried, convicted... and sent to prison... where she manages to get to the last guy (very end). You realize that being caught was all part of her plan!

Buy The Driver

THE OTHERS is another great example of a "bad guy lead" - Kidman doesn't become the antagonist at the end - we just learned that she wasn't an innocent victim. She's the protagonist all the way through the movie, even though we learn that she did a very bad thing... (hey - some people may not have rented the video, yet!) We realize she's not a nice person - but we don't pop into some other character's POV so that she's the antagonist. Instead, we realize we've been rooting for a person who isn't as nice as we thought they were... and I kind of felt sorry for her. I mean, she can't even claim to be a victim at the end - she has to face up to the fact that she's a bad person. Man, that's gotta be hell.

Right and wrong and morality don't mean anything in story.

You have a protagonist who has a goal.

Someone stands in the way of them acheiving that goal - the antagonist.

The protagonist and antagonist fight it out, and the protagonist overcomes the antagonist and acheives his goal - the end.

The audience will BECOME the protagonist for 2 hours - we are Elliot riding the bike through the sky, we are John Nash seeing delusions, we are Walker in POINT BLANK killing everyone who comes between us and our $92,000. We are the protagonist. Even if he's the bad guy... an anti-hero.

Who is your protagonist?

Who will the audience be for 2 hours?


COMING SOON!!!

Want to look like an expert?

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RESEARCH & WORLD BUILDING Blue Book!

Does this gun fire 6 shots or only 5? In all of the excitement of writing your action scene, you might not have done the research... and your hero could be out of ammo! Whether you are writing a novel or screenplay, you can save your hero, and your story, by doing a little research first! This book looks at Why you should research, Whether you should research First or Later, PLUS the importance of World Building in Science Fiction, Fantasy... and the worlds you explore in every other genre. Movies like JOHN WICK and THE GODFATHER take place in their own unique worlds... and writers must create them! YOU are the technical advisor on your Screenplay or Novel.

Using movie examples like TOP GUN, HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER, BLUE CRUSH, ADVENTURE LAND, several of my produced films, JOHN WICK, the novels of Donald E. Westlake and Thomas B. Dewey, SPY KIDS, the LORD OF THE RINGS movies, SOYLENT GREEN (which takes place in the far off future of 2022), and many others we will look at researching stories and creating worlds. The 8 Types Of Research, the 10 Types Of Information To Look For, 12 Important Elements Of World Building. Plus chapters on How To Rob A Bank and Commit Murder And Get Away With It for those of you interested in crime fiction, and Researching The Future for those writing science fiction, and Levels Of Reality if you are writing about a version of the real world.

No matter what you are writing, this book will help you find the facts... or make them up in a convincing way! MID JUNE!


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WriteItFilmIt



Making Your Own Movie?
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If you are making your own movie, budget, is even more important - and you need to think about budget *before* you write your screenplay... or you will end up with a script that you can’t afford to make (or is a struggle to make). Everyone is making their own films these days, and even if you have done it before there are lots of great techniques in this book to get more money on screen - for less money! You can make a film that looks like it cost millions for pocket change.

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All five "Bourne" movies (including "Legacy" and it's potential sequels) - what are the techniques used to keep the characters and scenes exciting and involving? Reinventing the thriller genre... or following the "formula"? Five films - each with an interesting experiment! A detailed analysis of each of the films, the way these thrillers work... as well as a complete list of box office and critical statistics for each film. This book is great for writers, directors, and just fans of the series.

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OUTLINES & THE THEMATIC!

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OUTLINES & THE THEMATIC Blue Book.

ARE YOUR SCENES IN THE RIGHT ORDER?
AND ARE THEY THE RIGHT SCENES?

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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ALSO NEW!

DESCRIPTION & VOICE Blue Book!

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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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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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Alfred Hitchcock, who directed 52 movies, was known as the *Master Of Suspense*; but what exactly is suspense and how can *we* master it? How does suspense work? How can *we* create “Hitchcockian” suspense scenes in our screenplays, novels, stories and films?

This book uses seventeen of Hitchcock’s films to show the difference between suspense and surprise, how to use “focus objects” to create suspense, the 20 iconic suspense scenes and situations, how plot twists work, using secrets for suspense, how to use Dread (the cousin of suspense) in horror stories, and dozens of other amazing storytelling lessons. From classics like “Strangers On A Train” and “The Birds” and “Vertigo” and “To Catch A Thief” to older films from the British period like “The 39 Steps” and “The Man Who Knew Too Much” to his hits from the silent era like “The Lodger” (about Jack The Ripper), we’ll look at all of the techniques to create suspense!

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READY TO BREAK IN?

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NEW!

*** 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!

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STORY: WELL TOLD!

*** STORY: WELL TOLD *** - For Kindle!


This book takes you step-by-step through the construction of a story... and how to tell a story well, why Story always starts with character... but ISN'T character, Breaking Your Story, Irony, Planting Information, Evolving Story, Leaving No Dramatic Stone Unturned, The Three Greek Unities, The Importance Of Stakes, The Thematic Method, and how to create personal stories with blockbuster potential. Ready to tell a story? Print version was 48 pages, Kindle version is over 85,000 words - 251 pages!

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MOVIES ARE CHARACTERS!

*** CREATING STRONG PROTAGONISTS *** - For Kindle!

*** CREATING STRONG PROTAGONISTS *** - For Nook!

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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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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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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*** VINTAGE #1: HOW TO WRITE PHOTOPLAYS *** - For Kindle!

***

Screenwriting books have been around as long as films have. This series reprints vintage screenwriting books with a new introduction and history, plus new articles which look at how these lessons from almost 100 years ago apply to today’s screenplays. Anita Loos book is filled with information which still applies. In addition to the full text of the original book, you get the full screenplay to Miss Loos' hit THE LOVE EXPERT, plus several new articles on the time period and women in Hollywood.

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I WRITE PICTURES!

*** VISUAL STORYTELLING *** - For Kindle! (exclusive)


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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BEST SELLER!

*** YOUR IDEA MACHINE *** - For Kindle!

*** YOUR IDEA MACHINE *** - For Nook!

Expanded version with more ways to find great ideas! Your screenplay is going to begin with an idea. There are good ideas and bad ideas and commercial ideas and personal ideas. But where do you find ideas in the first place? This handbook explores different methods for finding or generating ideas, and combining those ideas into concepts that sell. The Idea Bank, Fifteen Places To Find Ideas, Good Ideas And Bad Ideas, Ideas From Locations And Elements, Keeping Track Of Your Ideas, Idea Theft - What Can You Do? Weird Ways To Connect Ideas, Combing Ideas To Create Concepts, High Concepts - What Are They? Creating The Killer Concept, Substitution - Lion Tamers & Hitmen, Creating Blockbuster Concepts, Magnification And The Matrix, Conflict Within Concept, Concepts With Visual Conflict, Avoiding Episodic Concepts, much more! Print version is 48 pages, Kindle version is over 175 pages!

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PRO DIALOGUE TECHNIQUES!

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

*** DIALOGUE SECRETS *** - For Nook!

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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FINAL DRAFT SOFTWARE

Use your creative energy to focus on the content; let Final Draft take care of the style. Final Draft is the number-one selling application specifically designed for writing movie scripts, television episodics and stage plays. Its ease-of-use and time-saving features have attracted writers for almost two decades positioning Final Draft as the Professional Screenwriters Choice. Final Draft power users include Academy, Emmy and BAFTA award winning writers like Oliver Stone, Tom Hanks, Alan Ball, J.J. Abrams, James Cameron and more. * * * Buy It!

copyright 2023 by William C. Martell


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Cult Films, Exploitation, Bikers & Women In Prison, Monster Movies.

FIRST STRIKE PRODUCTIONS
Producing my own scripts, investment possibilities, pipe dreams.

NAKED SCREENWRITING MP3s

Naked Class The NAKED SCREENWRITING CLASS ON MP3! The 2001 London Class on 8 MP3s! Recorded *live* the morning after the Raindance Film Festival wrapped. The two day class on 8MP3s, plus a workbook, plus a bonus MP3 with PDFs.
The 2 Day Class on MP3!

BOOKSTORE

Every screenwriting book in the world!
SCREENWRITER'S BOOKSTORE
In Association With Amazon.com
From the latest screenwriting book to guides for finding agents and producers... all with at the Amazon.com discount!

BOOKLETS & PRODUCTS

bluebook FIRST STRIKE BLUE BOOKS
Each Blue Book is 48 pages and focuses on a different aspect of screenwriting. Dialogue. Visual Storytelling. Your First Ten Pages. Act 2 Booster. Protagonists. Great Endings.
Seventeen Blue Books now available!

THE SECRETS OF ACTION SCREENWRITING The Best Nuts & Bolts Screenwriting Book On The Market!

BILL'S CORNER

My nineteen produced films, interviews with me in magazines, several sample scripts, my available scripts list... And MORE!
...............................BILL'S CORNER


Available Scripts

CLASSES ON MP3

Class MP3s CLASSES ON MP3! Take a class on MP3! GUERRILLA MARKETING - NO AGENT? NO PROBLEM! and WRITING THRILLERS (2 Full length classes on MP3). Now Available: IDEAS & CREATIVITY, WRITING HORROR, WRITING INDIE FILMS, more!
Take classes on MP3!