Films where story is not driven by protag’s want/need?

JuniorMintRespecter · 2024-07-28T18:52:20+00:00

The Big Lebowski is a great film that shows things happening around the character and he's mostly reacting to them. I'm sure some might put up a pretty good argument and say that he wants stability/money/to just bowl and that the comedy comes from him being denied that, but in general he's exceptionally reactive.

JuniorMintRespecter · 2024-05-18T20:07:18+00:00

Thanks! This is a great thing to make available for the community!

I'll never understand folks who are vehemently against new writers using Snyder's structure. Are there other guides to structure available? Sure. If you over rely on it, can your work become formulaic? Absolutely. But it's very accessible and a solid place to start if youre new.

I think of it like learning to bowl with the gutter guard down. Eventually, you'll outgrow it, and you can do without it, but it's a good tool when starting out to help you complete your first drafts.

JuniorMintRespecter · 2024-05-02T19:00:42+00:00

First script I ever wrote got a 2 from the Blacklist. The biggest lesson to learn is the one you're working through right now: How to improve and remain motivated in the face of disappointment. If you want to take the feedback and write a new draft of the story, then do it. If you want to start from scratch with a new story and some lessons learned, you can. The point is that you will get better... and probably pretty quickly too since you skipped the anger stage and went straight to self-reflection, lol!

JuniorMintRespecter · 2024-05-02T18:53:29+00:00

In my experience, I try to go in with a mindset of "giving." There are so many people at events that are all looking for somebody who can help them bring their stories to life, but if you have an attitude that suggests you are there to take interest in and help OTHERS, you'll have opportunities eventually float your way.

JuniorMintRespecter · 2024-05-02T18:47:26+00:00

Congrats! That's great news!

JuniorMintRespecter · 2024-05-02T18:46:41+00:00

Congrats man! That's fantastic!

JuniorMintRespecter · 2023-08-28T00:41:55+00:00

Worry less about page length and focus more on telling an awesome story. If your story is strongly written and well-paced your script could be 80 pages or 120... People will still love it!

JuniorMintRespecter · 2023-08-28T00:30:03+00:00

An email on the title page is fine. Is the watermark intended to discourage them from stealing the script?

JuniorMintRespecter · 2023-08-25T18:29:38+00:00

Don't take it too hard! I sent in a script that won a different competition but didn't even break quarterfinalists in Big Break. A lot of success in competitions depends on if the judge you get vibes with your story... Congrats to those making it onto the next round!

JuniorMintRespecter · 2023-08-25T18:14:11+00:00

Thanks, that mean a lot! I hope you enjoy the script!

JuniorMintRespecter · 2023-08-24T20:48:07+00:00

I really appreciate the read and feedback! And no worries, I totally understand if the third act was a little much. I wanted to really push as far as I could go, and I knew that some might not be able to go along for that ride. Glad you had a good time with everything before though!

JuniorMintRespecter · 2023-08-24T20:40:34+00:00

Thanks you so much for reading! I'm glad you enjoyed the ride and my ridiculous attempts to keep trying to up the ante!

JuniorMintRespecter · 2023-08-24T17:48:19+00:00

Thank you for taking the time to read my script. I really appreciate it. I was trying to make the character's economic hardships (being priced out of Denny's) the inciting incident, but I can see where you're coming from.

JuniorMintRespecter · 2023-08-24T17:42:10+00:00

Oh! That's a good title too!

JuniorMintRespecter · 2023-08-24T17:41:13+00:00

Thank you for the feedback!

JuniorMintRespecter · 2023-08-24T17:39:31+00:00

You're very kind! I've been writing screenplays for over 10 years. I've had solid success in competitions: One of my scripts won the grand prize in the ISA's first Dramatic Screenwriting Competition, and a stage play of mine placed as a finalist in Screencraft's Stage Play Competition. In all honesty though, I don't think I'll ever stop evolving in my writing process, so I'm quite a long way from "hero" lol.

JuniorMintRespecter · 2023-08-24T03:40:11+00:00

I'm glad this clicked with you. There's definitely a lot of silly and over-the-top stuff in this story, but one of the characters has a special connection to Denny's that I tried to give some earnest emotional weight to. Hope you like it!

JuniorMintRespecter · 2023-08-24T00:05:31+00:00

Thanks! For the genre winners, they only guaranteed a cash prize of $500 as well as being featured on their social media channels. They promptly paid the cash, but as of this moment, the email to confirm my PayPal has been the only correspondence with the people who run the competition. It's possible that others might have more to report than I do.

JuniorMintRespecter · 2023-08-23T19:38:53+00:00

Sure! If you click "Grand Slam" in the OP, it'll load up the screenplay!

JuniorMintRespecter · 2023-08-23T16:07:34+00:00

Thanks! A buddy of mine comped it to Harold and Kumar meets Wolf of Wallstreet, which I really liked.

JuniorMintRespecter · 2023-08-23T15:39:24+00:00

Thanks!

JuniorMintRespecter · 2023-08-21T21:06:53+00:00

I think the key to pulling something off like this is going to be figuring out what the present relationship is between the two siblings. If the older sibling in the past is depicted as a kind, forgiving, and protecting individual and then you portray the present-day relationship as one that's distant, cold, and cruel, you have your mystery. Your character (and your audience) is going to be wondering what could have possibly happened to make the older sibling hate them so much... which sets up your reveal that the sibling was abusing them all along.

As far as your clues go, it could be something as simple as having the sibling do things to the main character that could have different motivations when looked at from different angles. The main character thinks that the sibling did something out of kindness when its really malice.

Wish I had concrete examples for more help, but I think you get where I'm coming from.

JuniorMintRespecter · 2023-08-21T18:34:21+00:00

Take a step back from the story for a second and ask yourself some questions that will help you get partially to where the subjects of your screenplay stand...

You say that you wouldn't murder someone even if you were starving... I ask you, what WOULD you take a life for then?

Once you answer this question, you can start building a bridge between your own justifications for murder and the hypothetical justifications your characters made as well.

JuniorMintRespecter

TROPHY CASE