Let's Write a Screenplay!

I just started reading the newly revised and updated Screenplay - the Foundations of Screenwriting - by Syd Field. It is described as being "the preeminent guide to screenwriting from the most sought after screenwriting teacher in the world".

The purpose of this hub is to serve as my journal as I study the book and apply what I learn. I want to see if I really have what it takes to write a professional grade screenplay. The book contains 18 chapters. My goal is to complete at least one chapter per week. Let's get started.

Chapter 1 What is a Screenplay? After studying chapter one, I've learned that a screenplay is a story told in pictures. Like any story it has a beginning, a middle, and an ending. ACT I is the beginning of a screenplay. This is where I will set up the story. ACT II is the middle . This is where our story unfolds and where we introduce the confrontation. ACT III is the ending. This is where the confrontation is resolved.

Chapter 2 The Subject In this chapter I learned that in order to write a screenplay you must know what the story is about and who the story is about. When you know the answer to these two questions you've identified the subject of your screenplay. I also learned that you can find a subject almost anywhere. My first exercise was to look for a person, an incident, or a situation that grapped my attention. I recalled reading a magazine article about the popularity of energy drinks and the concern that some people had over the safety of the ingredients contained in them. Following the book's advice, I did some research, put my thoughts on paper, reduced it down to a few paragraphs, eliminated anything that was unnecessary, and came up with this brief synopsis for my screenplay:

Johnnie Oh, a cynical private eye, is hired by a secret government organization to discover the secret behind the insanely popular energy drink, Toro Rojo. The drinks creator, Dr. Maxwell Plume, and his beautiful but deadly assistants, the occassionally conjoined Siamese twins, Eva and Tera Wong, are equally determined to thwart Johnnie Oh at every turn. Just when it seems there is little hope of Johnnie Oh accomplishing his goal, he meets and falls in love with a mysterious and stunning red head who shares with him an ominous revelation that leads to a fateful showdown with Dr. Plume.

And an even briefer tag-line:

Who is this one-eyed private eye who thinks he's a love machine to all the ladies?

I will continue with Chapter 3 and 4, which deal with character creation and development, in a separate hubpage. In the meantime I'd like to present the cover and some scenes from my screenplay:

Clockwise from the top we have the main character, Johnnie Oh, his benefactor, Winston Mills, Winston's private doctor, Nathan Smart, Winston's assistant, Julie Nigia Pearl, and his personal sushi chef, Jon Son Buoy.

They are standing in front of Win's palatial estate located not very far from Washington, D.C.

Win, by the way, is the head of the secret government organization mentioned in the logline above.

This is Dr. Maxwell Plume, the brilliant scientist who created the popular energy drink Toro Rojo. If he bears any resemblence to Marlon Brando that is because that is who I based my drawing on. I found a still from Apocalypse Now and using the techniqus I learned in Drawing From the Right Side of the Brain this is what I came up with.

These lovely ladies are Dr. Plume's assistant's, the occassionally conjoined Siamese Twins, Eva and Tera Wong. By some miracle of nature (or did Plume's brilliance have something to do with it?) they can exist as one person, two people partially attached or fully separated.

Finally we present Maria, the beautiful red head who J.O. falls in love with. Who is she, where does she come from and what does she want? And what secret does she reveal that causes J.O.'s world to come crashing down on him like a ton of bricks?