Sunday, May 28, 2017

TV and movie comparisons/ my old scripts

Feb. 14, 2016 Comparisons:

A character kidnaps the wrong person:

It was done on the TV show In Plain Sight.  The bad guys were to kidnap Brandy, but instead kidnapped Mary who is a FBI Witness protection agent.

It was kind of done in the movie Alpha Dog:

1999, Claremont, California. Middle-class kids, in their 20s, talk trash, wave guns, hang out in a pack. Johnny Truelove, drug dealer and son of a underworld figure, threatens Jake Mazursky, an explosive head case who owes Johnny money; Jake responds by breaking into Johnny's house. On impulse, Johnny and a couple pals kidnap Jake's 15-year-old brother, Zach. Zach's okay with it, figuring his brother will pay the debt soon. Johnny assigns his buddy Frankie to be Zach's minder, and they develop a brotherly friendship. Zach parties with his captors as things begin to spin out of control. Group think, amorality, and fear of prison assert a hold on the pack. Is Zach in danger? Written by


Also this movie:

A senator arranges for his son, a rich white kid who fancies himself black, to be kidnapped by a couple of black actors pretending to be murderers to try and shock him out of his plans to become a rapper.


Character A chases another Character B to get something that A wants:

Premium Rush:

In Manhattan, a bike messenger picks up an envelope that attracts the interest of a dirty cop, who pursues the cyclist throughout the city.



The TV show Dark Angel had an episode called "Art Attack" where 2 things were delivered to 2 different places.  Max then has to deliver to the right people.  The boss Normal was kidnapped by the mob so Max had to save his life by delivering the package.

Sept. 5, 2016 A character or characters running in the woods: The Blair Witch Project, The Hunger Games.

Mar. 5, 2017:

The line "I would rather be judged by 12, than carried by 6": It's mainly on cop shows.

I saw this on the TV show Frequency:

"A police detective in 2016 discovers that she is able to communicate with her father via a ham radio, despite the fact that he died in 1996."


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5531470/?ref_=nv_sr_1

I watched the Training Day pilot and a character says the same thing too:

"TV follow-up to the 2001 film 'Training Day' about a rookie cop partnered with a corrupt officer."

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4946972/?ref_=nv_sr_1

Mar. 7, 2017 The lead character's close friend/ cop partner dies.  The lead character avenges his or her death:

Training Day pilot: Kyle's cop partner was killed on the job.  Kyle has to avenge her death in the pilot.

Arrow episode: In season 5, Dinah's cop partner was killed and she avenges his death.

APB: The pilot has the billionaire Gideon's friend killed as he was protecting him.

"After witnessing a violent crime, a tech billionaire purchases a troubled police precinct, rebooting it as a private police force."

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5542294/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

The pilot was average.  I never watched the show after that.

Writing tip: A character has to have a deep and meaningful reason to achieve a big goal.  It also has more drama, conflict, and tension and raises the emotional stakes.

Mar. 17, 2017 "2 worlds colliding."  A Bad Guy and a Good Guy are together.  A Bad Guy gets into the Good Guy's personal life and professional workplace:

It was done on Mary Kills People episode "Wave the White Flag" where the drug dealer Grady goes to the hospital that Mary works at.

It was done before on Rookie Blue episode "Going Under."  Chris arrests his personal drug dealer Jamie (played by Edmonton actor Kyle Mac) and Jamie is at the precinct.

Apr. 14, 2017 A character goes missing.  Years later, he or she reappears:

The TV show Thirteen:

"26-year-old Ivy Moxam steps out of an ordinary house, on an ordinary street, on an ordinary day. Ivy hasn't been seen for thirteen years, she was kidnapped in 2003 at the age of thirteen."

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5159916/

The Family: This show came out in 2016.  It was very good with the writing and acting.

"A community is rattled when a politician's son, who was presumed murdered years ago, returns home."

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4428038/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2

Apr. 17, 2017 A character force feeds kids and teens medication:

I was watching a Blindspot season 2 episode called "Senile Lines."

"As the team tries to defend itself against an old rival, a tattoo leads them to a mysterious death at a foster home."

It turns out the foster mother was feeding the foster kids and teens she was taking care of, with this medication to help them.  It was really to test the medication on them so this doctor and drug company could get their drugs FDA approved faster.

My script: It reminded me of the second TV series I ever wrote when I was 15 yrs old and in gr. 10.  I wrote something like this before.  It was more about this school that was forcing teens/ students to take medication (like Ritalin) to improve their grades.

The script was called Wired.  It wasn't really developed, because there was no deeper reason.

Why is the school force feeding medication to students to get good grades?  There is drama, conflict, and tension there.

So the school gets good grades and then get more money for the school? 

Or you can give the students really easy tests so they can get good grades.  A couple of months ago, I read in the Edmonton Journal about teachers inflating grades.

 A family adopts a kid/ teen:

Kyle XY:

"A family takes in a formerly institutionalized teen savant who is missing standard human behaviors such as anger, joy and love."

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0756509/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

This is Us:

"Follows a unique ensemble, as their paths cross and their life stories interwine, from sharing the same birthday, to so much more than anyone would expect."

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5555260/?ref_=nv_sr_1

A family adopts a baby here.

My script: It reminded me of the first TV series script I wrote called Outlier.  The family has 3 adopted kids and then a cousin moves in with them.  The cousin was eccentric with quirky habits.  I was 14 yrs old and in gr. 9.

 Apr. 24, 2017: I was watching Quantico and it reminded me of the show Alias.  When Quantico first came out, it was training people to be in the FBI.  In season 2, it was training people to be in the CIA.  On Alias, it was about a young woman was a CIA agent and became a double agent.

 Teens and kids trained to be spies:

 Wired: My TV script of teens being trained to be spies was inspired by me watching Alias.

 Alex Rider: This was a book series that I read.  It turned into the movie Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker, but it didn't go well at the box office so there was no sequel.

 "After the death of his uncle, the 14-year-old schoolboy Alex Rider is forced by the Special Operations Division of Britain's secret intelligence service, MI6, for a mission which will save millions of lives."

 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0457495/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

 Spy Kids: Kids as spies.

 "The children of secret-agent parents must save them from danger."

 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0227538/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

 Kingsman: The Secret Service:

 A spy organization recruits an unrefined, but promising street kid into the agency's ultra-competitive training program, just as a global threat emerges from a twisted tech genius.

 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2802144/

This is my right brain/ writer making connections.

My left brain is saying: There is no way what the TV show Quantico teaches the recruits, they would ever teach teens these things.  The teens would not be able to get into these places and missions because they are teens.

I also thought no teen was really good or smart enough to be trained as spies because they are so young.  I know there are teens who have already decided what they want to be and careers they want to go into. 

When I was 14 yrs old, I wanted to be a TV writer and producer and I was going for that dream until after I graduated out of high school. 

However, I was deterred when I couldn't get into NAIT's TV program and went to their Graphic Communications program instead for a yr.  Then I went and started into the TV writer path again by getting into Professional Writing at MacEwan. 

I would not be good enough with the intelligence to get into FBI or CIA or be a cop.

 Schools for specific talents: I was thinking about Victoria Performing Arts school and lots of performing art schools.

 There is Wagner and they're a tech school.

 However, there is no high school about law enforcement.

 May 18, 2017 A flash forward to a few years into the future:

 On Blindspot season 2 finale: There is 2 yrs into the future.

 On Alias season 2 finale:  There is 2 yrs into the future.

 On Desperate Housewives season 5 finale: There is 5 yrs into the future.

 I had just finished watching the Blindspot season 2 finale today.

 May 25, 2017 A shoot out or action scene in a green house:

 In Smallville ep "Craving":

"Overweight Jodi submits to a diet of meteor-infested vegetables from her father's greenhouse. They magically make her thin, but she has an intense craving for body fat. Anyone in her vicinity is in danger, including her date, Pete."

 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0702941/?ref_=ttep_ep8

 There was one in the Flashpoint episode "Good Cop":

"When a cop mistakenly shoots and kills a teenage boy and is found innocent, Team One confronts a rioting crowd and a father whose dreams died the night he lost his son. "

 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1946873/?ref_=ttep_ep2

 There may have been a Criminal Minds episode.

 My week:


May 25, 2017 Victoria Day long weekend: I worked all weekend.  However, I did have fun by sitting outside in my lawn chair and reading the newspaper.  The weather was warm.

 Shades of Blue: I also watched the last 2 episodes of Shades of Blue season 2.  It was good because it was unpredictable with the characters getting killed. 

Filmmakers Meetup: Yesterday I went to this, and I met 4 new people.

May 26, 2017 Things are getting cheaper:

 Cellphone: Last month my cellphone of 3 yrs stopped working.  The microphone didn't work so people can't hear me.  I went to Dr. Mobile (in West Ed Mall) and they said they don't have the part or something.  I decided to buy a new cell phone.  The last one was $90.  This new one is $57.

 I didn't want to buy one because I'm cheap.  But also I didn't want to adjust and adapt to a new cellphone.  I have to deal with change.

 Recycle cellphone: I then mailed my cell phone to be recycled.  Place the cell phone (and battery) in the plastic bag/ envelope and mail it.

"Help the Phones- For Food program.  Proceeds from your recycled wireless phone will go to a local food bank.  You'll also be helping the environment."

www.phoneforfoods.com: This website (on the bag/ envelope) doesn't work, but the one below does:



http://www.recyclemycell.ca/participating-programs/

No- name chips at Shoppers Drug Mart: Each bag is 200 grams.  The deal is always buy 2 bags for $3.  I went there and it was 2 bags for $2 so that's good.  I bought it.

May 27, 2017 Meeting: I had a meeting at work today.  It was alright.  I had pizza and got some leftovers too.

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