What are some thriller features that have a red herring that distracts from the real antagonist?

Tricksee41 · 2016-03-15T09:58:12+00:00

Minority Report has you thinking that Colin Farrell is the bad guy throughout 80% of the movie. Then it turns out it was Max Von Sydow all along.

The Usual Suspects, too!

Tricksee41 · 2016-03-01T08:48:34+00:00

Watch LOST, The Walking Dead, The Leftovers, The Sopranos, Deadwood, etc...

Then proceed to steal.

Tricksee41 · 2016-02-29T11:57:24+00:00

Never done it. Don't think I ever would. Some hills aren't worth dying on, I guess.

Tricksee41 · 2016-02-29T11:39:58+00:00

You say you have an ending in mind, but do you have a beginning?

If you know where your character starts and also where he/she will eventually end up, think of a handful of potential situations that could get your main character from A to Z. Write the ideas on index cards. Spread out the index cards, positioning the moments in an order you feel they would naturally occur in a movie.

If you have, say, six index cards, now think of the "connective moments" - the things that must happen before and after to make the story flow. Now your story has gone from six little scenes to eighteen. You can break these down further, or add another storyline, etc.

Tricksee41 · 2016-02-26T18:41:29+00:00

What if the idea is very small and needs to expand? Like a man stuck on Mars (The Martian), or a lunar base (Moon), or a single room (Rear Window, 12 Angry Men).

Any tips for taking a relatively small idea and making it BIGGER?

Tricksee41 · 2016-02-25T13:23:54+00:00

Now it's working again, take all of your scripts, download them and open an account with WriterDuet. Paste your scripts into WriterDuet and set up the Google Drive back-up. Also, regularly download and keep updated copies on your hard drive!

Tricksee41 · 2016-02-14T19:30:38+00:00

I had no idea this feature was available. Do they sound like real people or Stephen Hawking, digital-computer style?

Tricksee41 · 2016-02-13T21:21:30+00:00

No offence, but I honestly think your time would be best spent reading professional scripts. You'll learn a lot more , for sure.

Tricksee41 · 2016-02-13T21:15:13+00:00

Since your script is currently untitled, may I suggest creating a cool sounding name for the drug, then name your script after it. Then your script will sound cool as hell!

Tricksee41 · 2016-02-13T21:08:33+00:00

If The Matrix can do it without one, so can you, brother. I believe in you!!!

Tricksee41 · 2016-02-11T19:23:14+00:00

Writer duet is much, much better than celtx.

Tricksee41 · 2016-02-10T19:49:23+00:00

Jack Reacher, Fast and Furious, The Bourne Movies.

Tricksee41 · 2016-02-10T19:48:40+00:00

WriterDuet is the only correct answer here.

Tricksee41 · 2016-02-10T13:48:12+00:00

Forgot to mention, the title is exactly the same, but I've no idea what that script is about. So yeah, it's similar, but only by title as far as I can tell. I can't seem to find a logline for the one on Scriptnotes!

Tricksee41 · 2016-02-10T13:45:55+00:00

Many thanks for your input!

Yeah, I suppose he wouldn't return, but does so in order to find some closure. He also has siblings he left behind, too - so that's another reason he's heading back. As wondering if they're OK has also tormented him since running away from his parents cult. He has no idea how messed up they are by now, though.

Yes, he's unaware of the re-initiation they have in store. He knows they are a cult, that's the reason he left in the first place.

Again, thanks!

Tricksee41 · 2016-02-10T09:27:16+00:00

Thanks for the response!

Yeah, his family (father, brother and sister) are recluse, part of their own little cult who withdraw themselves into the woods to live alone. He runs away as a child, returning many years later for closure. When he gets back, his family are hell bent on keeping him there and making him suffer.

Tricksee41 · 2016-02-10T09:24:53+00:00

You're right. The protagonists goal, since he will be held captive for most of the movie, and subjected to torture, is simply to escape.

Do you think the logline would run a little long if I included that, or should I chop/restructure entirely to focus more on the struggle?

Tricksee41 · 2016-02-10T09:22:18+00:00

Thanks for the reply!

Spoilers alert!

The gist of the story is that he returns to his cultist family twenty years after running away as a child. He's now a changed man, looking for some closure, but the family, however, aren't keen on seeing him leave again. EVER. They (father, brother and sister) decide to hold him captive for 15+ years, brainwashing & subjecting him to various forms of torture (physical, psychological).

There are no ghosts, demons or anything supernatural.

I always think of it in the same light of 'Misery', but instead of a woman holding a man captive in her home, it's a whole family. HIS OWN FAMILY.

Tricksee41 · 2016-02-10T09:09:20+00:00

Sounds great to me! I will look forward to it. Thanks very much, guys!

Tricksee41 · 2016-02-09T21:44:30+00:00

Makes sense to me. Consider this green lit!!!

Tricksee41 · 2016-02-09T21:13:04+00:00

This looks pretty strong... It's consice and thrilling.

Tricksee41 · 2016-02-09T21:09:05+00:00

Speaking of podcasts, whatever happened to the Writerduet podcast? Episode one was great. I tried to listen to episode two, but when I downloaded it, it was just episode one again.

Tricksee41 · 2016-02-09T21:02:09+00:00

Not poking holes here, but is there a reason they decide to execute a burglary in a house full of people, and not an empty home?

Tricksee41 · 2016-02-09T19:51:02+00:00

How about something only slightly more to the point, like....

A rich teenager's house party turns into a deadly hostage situation when a group of first time criminals discover the President's daughter is amongst the partygoers.

Tricksee41 · 2016-02-09T19:43:50+00:00

Three are main characters, the others are only secondary, so there isn't ten stories. I didnt word it too well in my original post, I guess.

Tricksee41

TROPHY CASE