Monday, May 9, 2011
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Danielle & The Sherry Area
Danielle, post what we discussed in class. Put it in a formatted, outline form.
Everyone else post your comments.
Everyone else post your comments.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
New Story
As you continue to break stories, keep in mind that you can work with a couple of different storylines and have them dovetail at the end to create a comedic twist.
Here are the makings of a story that incorporates several elements that we discussed in class.
Let's fill this out and turn this into a great story.
______________________________________________________
Walter’s divorce is finalized. He’s completely depressed.
He listens to a karaoke tape of himself.
He finds a bottle of sleeping pills in Amanda’s bathroom.
Amanda comes home and hears a karaoke recording of Walter singing, “This’ll be the day that I die. This’ll be the day that I die" - (from "American Pie").
Amanda wants Walter to turn down the music. She gets no response.
She finds him in the bathtub, eyes closed, and sees an bottle of sleeping pills next to the tub.
She thinks he's trying to commit suicide.
Trying to save Walter's life, Amanda calls 9-1-1.
Walter is rushed to the hospital.
They pump his stomach.
Walter wakes up and finds himself in the ER.
He was just asleep.
He took one sleeping pill. The bottle was empty because there was only one pill left.
Doctors find out he doesn't have a prescription for the pills. He says he got it from Amanda.
But she doesn't have a prescription either. It's Sherry's prescription. But Amanda has been calling in the refills from a bottle Sherry left in the medicine cabinet.
When Walter lost his job, he lost his health insurance.
At the hospital, he’s handed a bill for $12,000.
He took a nap, and it cost him 12 grand.
He's completely pissed at Amanda.
Here are the makings of a story that incorporates several elements that we discussed in class.
Let's fill this out and turn this into a great story.
______________________________________________________
Walter’s divorce is finalized. He’s completely depressed.
He listens to a karaoke tape of himself.
He finds a bottle of sleeping pills in Amanda’s bathroom.
Amanda comes home and hears a karaoke recording of Walter singing, “This’ll be the day that I die. This’ll be the day that I die" - (from "American Pie").
Amanda wants Walter to turn down the music. She gets no response.
She finds him in the bathtub, eyes closed, and sees an bottle of sleeping pills next to the tub.
She thinks he's trying to commit suicide.
Trying to save Walter's life, Amanda calls 9-1-1.
Walter is rushed to the hospital.
They pump his stomach.
Walter wakes up and finds himself in the ER.
He was just asleep.
He took one sleeping pill. The bottle was empty because there was only one pill left.
Doctors find out he doesn't have a prescription for the pills. He says he got it from Amanda.
But she doesn't have a prescription either. It's Sherry's prescription. But Amanda has been calling in the refills from a bottle Sherry left in the medicine cabinet.
When Walter lost his job, he lost his health insurance.
At the hospital, he’s handed a bill for $12,000.
He took a nap, and it cost him 12 grand.
He's completely pissed at Amanda.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Walter and Dirk story
Take the elements we talked about and continue to flesh out the story until we have a well worked out, detailed outline.
Walter, the F.O. (First Officer) gets together with Dirk, the captain he flew with.
Dirk is Walter's hero. Dirk tolerates Walter.
Amanda tries to fix Walter up with women to help him move on after his wife, Betty, filed for divorce.
Walter commiserates with Dirk, drinking at the bar.
Dirk tells Walter he got another job – flying corporate.
Walter, desperate to get back to work, asks Dirk to help him get a job.
Amanda’s friend shows up at bar. She's gorgeous.
Walter is pissed that his time with Dirk has been interrupted.
He told Amanda he wasn't ready to start dating. He's still grieving.
Dirk perks up when he sees Amanda's friend.
He tells Walter he needs a place to crash.
Amanda sees that Walter brings Dirk home instead of the girl. Amanda is pissed.
Dirk now plays it like he's Walter’s best friend - but it's just to be around the girls, not Walter.
After Walter keeps pushing Dirk to help him get a job, Dirk finally explodes, revealing that he doesn't have a job.
(His ego wouldn't let him admit to anyone that he wasn't working.)
Dirk winds up with the girl Amanda tried fixing Walter up with.
The girl’s father owns a huge company.
Dirk gets a corporate flying job through the girl.
Amanda was trying to help Walter, but her efforts wind up helping Dirk instead.
Walter loses the job opportunity and his hero.
Again, Walter is pissed at Amanda for breaking up another one of his relationships.
Walter, the F.O. (First Officer) gets together with Dirk, the captain he flew with.
Dirk is Walter's hero. Dirk tolerates Walter.
Amanda tries to fix Walter up with women to help him move on after his wife, Betty, filed for divorce.
Walter commiserates with Dirk, drinking at the bar.
Dirk tells Walter he got another job – flying corporate.
Walter, desperate to get back to work, asks Dirk to help him get a job.
Amanda’s friend shows up at bar. She's gorgeous.
Walter is pissed that his time with Dirk has been interrupted.
He told Amanda he wasn't ready to start dating. He's still grieving.
Dirk perks up when he sees Amanda's friend.
He tells Walter he needs a place to crash.
Amanda sees that Walter brings Dirk home instead of the girl. Amanda is pissed.
Dirk now plays it like he's Walter’s best friend - but it's just to be around the girls, not Walter.
After Walter keeps pushing Dirk to help him get a job, Dirk finally explodes, revealing that he doesn't have a job.
(His ego wouldn't let him admit to anyone that he wasn't working.)
Dirk winds up with the girl Amanda tried fixing Walter up with.
The girl’s father owns a huge company.
Dirk gets a corporate flying job through the girl.
Amanda was trying to help Walter, but her efforts wind up helping Dirk instead.
Walter loses the job opportunity and his hero.
Again, Walter is pissed at Amanda for breaking up another one of his relationships.
How To Submit Your Scripts
After you write a draft, email it to everyone in the class.
That way, instead of printing 15 copies, each student can print out their own copy.
When you send your script to me, email it AND bring in a hard copy to class.
Make sure you have a title page. Give your webisode a title and include what draft it is and the date.
That way, instead of printing 15 copies, each student can print out their own copy.
When you send your script to me, email it AND bring in a hard copy to class.
Make sure you have a title page. Give your webisode a title and include what draft it is and the date.
Tamaira Witherspoon & George Mowbray - Story Ideas
Copy & Paste the ideas you first submitted ... as well as any new story ideas.
Danielle Weintraub & Evan Jones
Copy & Paste the ideas you first submitted ... as well as any new story ideas.
Edward Pisari & Christina Kishbaugh - Story Ideas
Copy & Paste the ideas you first submitted ... as well as any new story ideas.
Nathan Tamayo & Josh Rivera - Story Ideas
Copy & Paste the ideas you first submitted ... as well as any new story ideas.
Gabriel Rodriguez & Robert Willett - Story Ideas
Copy & Paste the ideas you first submitted ... as well as any new story ideas.
Lauren Stenmoe & David Lynam - Story Ideas
Copy & Paste the ideas you first submitted ... as well as any new ideas.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
The Pilot
Good work tonight.
This is where we're at so far. Continue to break the rest of the story. Bounce ideas off each other.
PILOT EPISODE
WALTER enters the apartment, on his cell phone with his wife, Betty, who kicked him out of the house and wants a divorce. While he gets ready for bed, Walter lets Betty know how desperately he wants to save the marriage. (Establish through attitude that they’re childhood sweethearts.) But Betty’s not interested in reconciling. Walter has spent more time in the air than he has at home, and she's tired of it. For all the time he’s away, she might as well be single. She says goodbye.
Walter tries to go to sleep, but his mind is racing. This isn’t how his life was supposed to turn out. He turns off the light.
OVER BLACK, SUPERIMPOSE: 11:35pm
From the crack under the bedroom door, we see the light go on, and through the door, we hear Walter’s plea as he’s back on the phone, imploring his wife to let him come home. Again, she ends the call.
OVER BLACK, SUPERIMPOSE: 2:07am
Again from under the door, we see the light go on. Through the door, we hear Walter make another plea to Betty to let him come home.
SUPERIMPOSE: 5:15am
Traces of light peer through the curtains. The apartment is quiet…when AMANDA enters, wearing a little black dress, holding a bottle of champagne, clearly drunk from a night of partying in Miami.
She kicks off her stilettos, heads into the bedroom and gets in bed…when she sees Walter in her bed. Surprised by his presence, she starts beating on him, defending herself. (Perhaps she knows martial arts.)
It’s revealed that they’re roommates, but they’ve never met. Amanda lets Walter know that he's in her room. He wasn’t expecting her to be in town. Even so, he has no business being there. She kicks Walter out and sends him to his bedroom.
We see Walter’s bedroom. It’s the size of a broom closet. He’s clearly not happy about it. He hears his cell phone ring. He looks for it, then realizes It’s in Amanda’s room. He goes back to the room, but the door is locked. He knocks on the door, asking Amanda to let him in.
Inside the bedroom, Amanda is passed out on the bed, with Walter’s cell phone ringing next to her.
The next morning, Amanda opens her bedroom door, hung over. Walter is asleep in his boxer shorts, just outside Amanda’s door. She steps over him, heads to the kitchen, and attempts to sober up – either with coffee or hair of the dog.
Amanda heads into the bathroom and brings her drink with her. The sound of the shower being turned on Walter wakes up. He goes back into Amanda’s bedroom, sees that his cell phone is dead, is pissed at Amanda, and locks to door to get some sleep.
Amanda gets out of the shower and heads to her bedroom...but the door is locked, and Walter won’t let her in.
Amanda goes into Walter’s room and throws his suitcase with all his clothes out the window. On the street below, the suitcase either hits a car or Walter’s wife, Betty.
Betty knocks on the apartment door. When the door opens, she sees Walter is in boxer shorts…Amanda is in a towel. Betty takes it the wrong way. She thinks Walter and Amanda are having an affair. Now there’s no chance for reconciliation.
Walter and Amanda are stuck with each other.
This is where we're at so far. Continue to break the rest of the story. Bounce ideas off each other.
PILOT EPISODE
WALTER enters the apartment, on his cell phone with his wife, Betty, who kicked him out of the house and wants a divorce. While he gets ready for bed, Walter lets Betty know how desperately he wants to save the marriage. (Establish through attitude that they’re childhood sweethearts.) But Betty’s not interested in reconciling. Walter has spent more time in the air than he has at home, and she's tired of it. For all the time he’s away, she might as well be single. She says goodbye.
Walter tries to go to sleep, but his mind is racing. This isn’t how his life was supposed to turn out. He turns off the light.
OVER BLACK, SUPERIMPOSE: 11:35pm
From the crack under the bedroom door, we see the light go on, and through the door, we hear Walter’s plea as he’s back on the phone, imploring his wife to let him come home. Again, she ends the call.
OVER BLACK, SUPERIMPOSE: 2:07am
Again from under the door, we see the light go on. Through the door, we hear Walter make another plea to Betty to let him come home.
SUPERIMPOSE: 5:15am
Traces of light peer through the curtains. The apartment is quiet…when AMANDA enters, wearing a little black dress, holding a bottle of champagne, clearly drunk from a night of partying in Miami.
She kicks off her stilettos, heads into the bedroom and gets in bed…when she sees Walter in her bed. Surprised by his presence, she starts beating on him, defending herself. (Perhaps she knows martial arts.)
It’s revealed that they’re roommates, but they’ve never met. Amanda lets Walter know that he's in her room. He wasn’t expecting her to be in town. Even so, he has no business being there. She kicks Walter out and sends him to his bedroom.
We see Walter’s bedroom. It’s the size of a broom closet. He’s clearly not happy about it. He hears his cell phone ring. He looks for it, then realizes It’s in Amanda’s room. He goes back to the room, but the door is locked. He knocks on the door, asking Amanda to let him in.
Inside the bedroom, Amanda is passed out on the bed, with Walter’s cell phone ringing next to her.
The next morning, Amanda opens her bedroom door, hung over. Walter is asleep in his boxer shorts, just outside Amanda’s door. She steps over him, heads to the kitchen, and attempts to sober up – either with coffee or hair of the dog.
Amanda heads into the bathroom and brings her drink with her. The sound of the shower being turned on Walter wakes up. He goes back into Amanda’s bedroom, sees that his cell phone is dead, is pissed at Amanda, and locks to door to get some sleep.
Amanda gets out of the shower and heads to her bedroom...but the door is locked, and Walter won’t let her in.
Amanda goes into Walter’s room and throws his suitcase with all his clothes out the window. On the street below, the suitcase either hits a car or Walter’s wife, Betty.
Betty knocks on the apartment door. When the door opens, she sees Walter is in boxer shorts…Amanda is in a towel. Betty takes it the wrong way. She thinks Walter and Amanda are having an affair. Now there’s no chance for reconciliation.
Walter and Amanda are stuck with each other.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Amanda's Character
Amanda is going to a strong, witty, intelligent, independent woman - not over-the-top.
The dialogue between Walter and Amanda will be clever, not jokey.
So for any of you with fears that she's becoming too broad, too out-of-control, or a "desperate housewife" type, that will not be the case.
The dialogue between Walter and Amanda will be clever, not jokey.
So for any of you with fears that she's becoming too broad, too out-of-control, or a "desperate housewife" type, that will not be the case.
Writing Teams & Assignment for Next Week
WRITING TEAMS:
Lauren Stenmoe & David Lynam
Gabriel Rodriguez & Robert Willett
Nathan Tamayo & Josh Rivera
Edward Pisari & Christina Kishbaugh
Danielle Weintraub & Evan Jones
Katelyn Fisher & Will McDowell
Tamaira Witherspoon & George Mowbray
ASSIGNMENT:
Each person must come up with three stories - (typed; to be handed in).
Each story must have AT LEAST a beginning, middle, and end.
Set up the problem quickly, and look for a twist in the end.
Each team will then meet/talk about their total of six stories.
Together you will fully work out the three stories you feel are the strongest.
Type up those three stories - in the form of outlines or beat sheets.
Be ready to pitch those stories next week.
STORY AREAS WE DISCUSSED:
Walter's wife shows up, sees Amanda at the crash pad. No chance to reconcile.
Walter looks for a job. No airlines are hiring.
What kind of work is Amanda looking for?
Like many pilots and co-pilots, Walter and the captain he flew with are joined at the hip.
They do everything together.
Hearing Walter on the phone sounds like a relationship (i.e. "You hang up first.")
Now that the airline went under, Walter thinks they're in the same boat...but the captain retires.
Amanda hooks Walter up with one of her friends.
Amanda's roommate, Sherry, breaks up with her boyfriend, and returns to the crash pad.
When an old friend comes to town, Walter tries to pass himself off as successful.
Walter's ex-wife burns all of Walter's clothes.
Walter has to wear his pilot's uniform on a date.
Bed bugs in the crash pad
Lauren Stenmoe & David Lynam
Gabriel Rodriguez & Robert Willett
Nathan Tamayo & Josh Rivera
Edward Pisari & Christina Kishbaugh
Danielle Weintraub & Evan Jones
Katelyn Fisher & Will McDowell
Tamaira Witherspoon & George Mowbray
ASSIGNMENT:
Each person must come up with three stories - (typed; to be handed in).
Each story must have AT LEAST a beginning, middle, and end.
Set up the problem quickly, and look for a twist in the end.
Each team will then meet/talk about their total of six stories.
Together you will fully work out the three stories you feel are the strongest.
Type up those three stories - in the form of outlines or beat sheets.
Be ready to pitch those stories next week.
STORY AREAS WE DISCUSSED:
Walter's wife shows up, sees Amanda at the crash pad. No chance to reconcile.
Walter looks for a job. No airlines are hiring.
What kind of work is Amanda looking for?
Like many pilots and co-pilots, Walter and the captain he flew with are joined at the hip.
They do everything together.
Hearing Walter on the phone sounds like a relationship (i.e. "You hang up first.")
Now that the airline went under, Walter thinks they're in the same boat...but the captain retires.
Amanda hooks Walter up with one of her friends.
Amanda's roommate, Sherry, breaks up with her boyfriend, and returns to the crash pad.
When an old friend comes to town, Walter tries to pass himself off as successful.
Walter's ex-wife burns all of Walter's clothes.
Walter has to wear his pilot's uniform on a date.
Bed bugs in the crash pad
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Grounded - (the series)
Be ready to pitch story ideas on Monday.
If you have any comments or questions, post them.
THE SETTING
Miami Beach. Sunshine, Latin music, a party atmosphere.
Airline personnel refer to these apartments as crash pads. ("Crash Pad" is a possible title for the show).
Our unlikely couple lives in a very small apartment, very bare bones – and feels more like a hotel room than a home. It’s in an old rundown apartment building that has no amenities. And even though it’s right on the beach, it’s a dump.
Next door to this dump is paradise – a big, luxurious hotel called The Paradiso. The hotel bought the rundown apartment building and rents out the crash pads. They only rent to airline personnel, so all the tenants are transient – always coming and going – and always to and from the best places in the world. Then, they return from their exotic international trips and stay at this dump.
Inside their refrigerator, there’s no real food – just condiments. In the pantry, there are a ton of minis (mini bottles of booze), as well as crackers, chips, and an individual-size cereal box. Also, coffee and Ambien are a fixture.
Those who stay at the crash pad have a key card to the hotel – so they have full use of all the amenities – the pool, gym, free Internet – so they go there all the time. The hotel serves airline personnel free breakfast. For other meals, the hotel bar offers free food with the purchase of one beer. In the bar, they pour big, cheap drinks.
The hotel is THE place to stay. It’s a party atmosphere seven nights a week. It’s right on the beach, and the rate for airline personnel is $90/night. But the reason they all want to stay at the crash pad is because they can live in a $1200/month apartment for $400 when they split it three ways, which drastically cuts their costs, and they still get to take advantage of everything the hotel has to offer.
They all live in other cities, in other parts of the country. That’s why they don’t want an expensive place. They all have other homes. They use the crash pad so they can all get to work at the base. So their home might be New York, but the crash pad is in Miami.
THE LIVING ARRANGEMENT
AMANDA BURNS, the flight attendant, is the only one whose name is on the lease of this two-bedroom apartment. One of the bedrooms is big. The other is the size of a broom closet. Amanda has the big bedroom because she shares it with SHERRY, another flight attendant. But Sherry is never there. She spends every night at her boyfriend’s place – but she keeps the crash pad because her boyfriend doesn’t want her to move in. He’s not ready to make that kind of commitment. So the crash pad is her life raft in case they break up.
Captain “DIRK” DIRKSON, who bleeds red, white and blue, was renting the other bedroom. It was a great situation for Amanda. There was no drama with this guy. She hardly knew him and hardly saw him. He was almost never there. Then, he put in for a transfer to another base - in Dallas. When his transfer went through, he moved out of the crash pad, headed to Dallas, and Amanda needed another roommate.
To find a roommate, Amanda posted on “Pilot Ops” (Operations). There’s also Flight Attendant Ops, but she wanted another pilot since the last one worked out so well. Amanda went to the airport where there’s a floor of offices. That's where Pilot Ops is located. It's separate from Flight Attendant Ops because the company’s philosophy is “divide and conquer”.
First Officer WALTER ELLISON, saw the post for a roommate. (There are flyers put out by the hotel that advertise the rental cost, so Amanda can’t say one amount when it’s actually something else.)
Walter has been staying at the hotel, waiting to get into a crash pad to save money. He takes the second bedroom – the broom closet – with nothing in it but a futon and a goose-neck lamp. Still, they split the rent equally, three ways, since, theoretically, Amanda is sharing a bedroom, and Walter has his own room.
HOW WALTER AND AMANDA WIND UP GETTING STUCK TOGETHER
The airline goes under – and the other airlines are going through major layoffs. No one is hiring. The job doesn’t prepare these people for anything else.
Now, Walter is looking for corporate flying jobs (i.e. FedEx, Express Jets, Apple, Microsoft, IBM, etc.)
Amanda’s home was in New York. But she found herself upside down on her mortgage. She lost her home, and now she has to live at the crash pad. The place was supposed to be a temporary, transient thing – but now it’s become her only residence.
Walter is married to his grade school sweetheart back in Boise, Idaho. She’s the only woman he’s ever wanted, and the only woman he’s ever known. Now, she’s kicked him out of the house and filed for divorce.
So, Amanda and Walter are both screwed. She lost her home...and he can’t go back to his home. The temporary crash pad is all they’ve got left. It’s cheap, it’s all they can afford, and there’s nowhere else to go even if they wanted to.
HOW IT’S WORKING OUT
Not well. The last thing Amanda wanted was drama. Now, she’s got more than she ever imagined. Now that Walter is going through a bitter divorce, it’s turned his life upside down, and Amanda is subjected to all of the hell he’s going through.
The last thing Walter wanted was to be stuck with a wild woman who used her job to do nothing but party. She doesn’t have the time or patience for real life.
They couldn’t be more different. It’s constant conflict. But if she kicks him out, her rent goes up – and she needs his rent money. And he doesn’t want to move out because the place is so cheap, and his wife, who’s lawyered up, is about to take him for everything he's got.
Amanda’s name is on the lease, so she has the power. So it's the rare case where a pilot has to defer to a flight attendant – which wreaks havoc with Walter’s ego.
Amanda has a car but no license. Walter has a license but no car. Amanda’s license expired while she was flying all over the world – and she has a tendency to ignore things that show up in the mail. She only communicates electronically – through emails and texts. Walter’s soon-to-be-ex-wife is keeping the car – and he’s trying to save every penny he can, so he finds other ways to get around a city that he had no intentions of calling home.
Both of their lifestyles have been compromised. He can’t go back to his wife, and she can’t go to Paris for dinner. And while they’re stuck together, they make each other crazy.
They would never admit it – but when you look at it – all they really have is each other.
CHARACTERS
WALTER ELLISON (30s)
A former Air Force pilot, Walter has been stuck at First Officer for years because the captains’ retirement age went up from 60 to 65 – and captains are now hanging around five years longer.
NOTE: First Officers (co-pilots) get promoted only when the company needs more captains (i.e. when captains retire). Promotions are based on need – not on how long they’re around. Since captains are now sticking around five years longer, First Officers are getting screwed. And if the company is stagnant or shrinking, the First Officers get stuck, with no way to advance. And that’s the position Walter finds himself in.
He’s very conservative, with a healthy ego, and, like many pilots, can be a bit condescending toward flight attendants.
Walter’s a family man. The problem is, his wife BETTY just threw him out of the house. After years of spending more time in the air than at home – and with his union constantly making concessions and accepting cutbacks in salary and benefits – Betty finally had enough.
Walter desperately tries to reconcile. He and Betty have been together since grammar school. She’s the only woman he’s ever known.
When he thinks all hope is lost, she pays him a surprise visit and shows up at the crash pad, giving Walter one last chance to win her back. But when the door opens, music is blasting, and she sees Amanda in her bra and panties, wearing a bondage collar and holding a bottle of champagne. Walter, who was trying to sleep, shuffles into the living room in his boxer shorts to tell Amanda to turn down the music…when he sees Betty, who is sure that Walter has been cheating on her, and that the crash pad is his love nest – which closes the door on any hope for reconciliation.
Now, Walter is stuck in every area of his life. There’s no going back to the way things were – and he doesn’t want to go forward. And Betty is going after him with lawyers, trying to make his life as miserable as possible.
So the irony is that the conservative guy is the one with all the drama going on around him. And Amanda, who was looking to avoid drama by having a guy stay in the other bedroom, now finds herself constantly inundated with it.
Walter is incredibly cheap. He’ll do anything to save a buck. When he was still flying, he never bought a newspaper. Instead, he’d search the plane for one left by a passenger. For dinner, he’s always gone to the cheapest place he could find.
He was staying at The Paradiso, waiting for a place to open up in the crash pad. And when it did, he jumped at the chance. It was just another way to save a buck.
Walter has absolutely no sense of style. He dresses horribly (i.e. shorts with black socks). He shops at Ross and buys the cheapest stuff in the store.
In the kitchen, he’s helpless. He’s the kind of guy who’d put a Pop Tart in the broiler.
Walter is very quirky. And his OCD has only gotten worse now that he’s alone and broke and has to deal with this wild woman every day of his life.
AMANDA BURNS (30s)
She became a flight attendant as a way to see the world for free.
Amanda is a free spirit, a party girl, who has men in every city in every country in the world. She never needs a reason to celebrate. Every day is reason enough.
She eats like shit, and carries around hot sauce. She puts hot sauce on everything. The crash pad is filled with minis - the little liquor bottles she takes from the plane.
Unlike pilots, there’s no retirement age for flight attendants. So as long as she can do the job and pass the drills, Amanda planned to keep on working. She had no intentions of giving up the life. It’s like she never grew up...and never intends to.
Despite the fact that she’s getting older, she still dresses young and sexy and parties till dawn. When she first started flying, she posed for Playboy when they did a pictorial called “The Girls at 37,000 Feet”.
Amanda has no sense of fiscal responsibility. She’s buried in debt, maxes out all of her credit cards, and continues to spend like there’s no tomorrow – which includes expensive dinners in great restaurants all over the world.
In her effort to say forever young, she got Botox treatments in Bolivia, so she needed Santa Cruz layovers. She also had a masseuse in San Salvador, named Yolanda, who charges 84 Boliviano (the equivalent of twelve US dollars) for a two-hour massage.
Despite the fact that the airline went under, Amanda still thinks everything is going to work out – which drives the out-of-work, out-of-marriage Walter crazy. He tells Amanda that she’s in denial. She disagrees. She thinks her way of getting through the day is a hell of a lot better than his – with his sense of hope sinking and his blood pressure soaring.
While Walter continues to carry a torch for Betty – (even though she’s got her lawyers going after everything he’s got) – Amanda tries to help Walter move on with his life. She tries to fix him up with women, while he tries to help her become more responsible – especially since they now have to rely on each other to make this living situation work.
If you have any comments or questions, post them.
THE SETTING
Miami Beach. Sunshine, Latin music, a party atmosphere.
Airline personnel refer to these apartments as crash pads. ("Crash Pad" is a possible title for the show).
Our unlikely couple lives in a very small apartment, very bare bones – and feels more like a hotel room than a home. It’s in an old rundown apartment building that has no amenities. And even though it’s right on the beach, it’s a dump.
Next door to this dump is paradise – a big, luxurious hotel called The Paradiso. The hotel bought the rundown apartment building and rents out the crash pads. They only rent to airline personnel, so all the tenants are transient – always coming and going – and always to and from the best places in the world. Then, they return from their exotic international trips and stay at this dump.
Inside their refrigerator, there’s no real food – just condiments. In the pantry, there are a ton of minis (mini bottles of booze), as well as crackers, chips, and an individual-size cereal box. Also, coffee and Ambien are a fixture.
Those who stay at the crash pad have a key card to the hotel – so they have full use of all the amenities – the pool, gym, free Internet – so they go there all the time. The hotel serves airline personnel free breakfast. For other meals, the hotel bar offers free food with the purchase of one beer. In the bar, they pour big, cheap drinks.
The hotel is THE place to stay. It’s a party atmosphere seven nights a week. It’s right on the beach, and the rate for airline personnel is $90/night. But the reason they all want to stay at the crash pad is because they can live in a $1200/month apartment for $400 when they split it three ways, which drastically cuts their costs, and they still get to take advantage of everything the hotel has to offer.
They all live in other cities, in other parts of the country. That’s why they don’t want an expensive place. They all have other homes. They use the crash pad so they can all get to work at the base. So their home might be New York, but the crash pad is in Miami.
THE LIVING ARRANGEMENT
AMANDA BURNS, the flight attendant, is the only one whose name is on the lease of this two-bedroom apartment. One of the bedrooms is big. The other is the size of a broom closet. Amanda has the big bedroom because she shares it with SHERRY, another flight attendant. But Sherry is never there. She spends every night at her boyfriend’s place – but she keeps the crash pad because her boyfriend doesn’t want her to move in. He’s not ready to make that kind of commitment. So the crash pad is her life raft in case they break up.
Captain “DIRK” DIRKSON, who bleeds red, white and blue, was renting the other bedroom. It was a great situation for Amanda. There was no drama with this guy. She hardly knew him and hardly saw him. He was almost never there. Then, he put in for a transfer to another base - in Dallas. When his transfer went through, he moved out of the crash pad, headed to Dallas, and Amanda needed another roommate.
To find a roommate, Amanda posted on “Pilot Ops” (Operations). There’s also Flight Attendant Ops, but she wanted another pilot since the last one worked out so well. Amanda went to the airport where there’s a floor of offices. That's where Pilot Ops is located. It's separate from Flight Attendant Ops because the company’s philosophy is “divide and conquer”.
First Officer WALTER ELLISON, saw the post for a roommate. (There are flyers put out by the hotel that advertise the rental cost, so Amanda can’t say one amount when it’s actually something else.)
Walter has been staying at the hotel, waiting to get into a crash pad to save money. He takes the second bedroom – the broom closet – with nothing in it but a futon and a goose-neck lamp. Still, they split the rent equally, three ways, since, theoretically, Amanda is sharing a bedroom, and Walter has his own room.
HOW WALTER AND AMANDA WIND UP GETTING STUCK TOGETHER
The airline goes under – and the other airlines are going through major layoffs. No one is hiring. The job doesn’t prepare these people for anything else.
Now, Walter is looking for corporate flying jobs (i.e. FedEx, Express Jets, Apple, Microsoft, IBM, etc.)
Amanda’s home was in New York. But she found herself upside down on her mortgage. She lost her home, and now she has to live at the crash pad. The place was supposed to be a temporary, transient thing – but now it’s become her only residence.
Walter is married to his grade school sweetheart back in Boise, Idaho. She’s the only woman he’s ever wanted, and the only woman he’s ever known. Now, she’s kicked him out of the house and filed for divorce.
So, Amanda and Walter are both screwed. She lost her home...and he can’t go back to his home. The temporary crash pad is all they’ve got left. It’s cheap, it’s all they can afford, and there’s nowhere else to go even if they wanted to.
HOW IT’S WORKING OUT
Not well. The last thing Amanda wanted was drama. Now, she’s got more than she ever imagined. Now that Walter is going through a bitter divorce, it’s turned his life upside down, and Amanda is subjected to all of the hell he’s going through.
The last thing Walter wanted was to be stuck with a wild woman who used her job to do nothing but party. She doesn’t have the time or patience for real life.
They couldn’t be more different. It’s constant conflict. But if she kicks him out, her rent goes up – and she needs his rent money. And he doesn’t want to move out because the place is so cheap, and his wife, who’s lawyered up, is about to take him for everything he's got.
Amanda’s name is on the lease, so she has the power. So it's the rare case where a pilot has to defer to a flight attendant – which wreaks havoc with Walter’s ego.
Amanda has a car but no license. Walter has a license but no car. Amanda’s license expired while she was flying all over the world – and she has a tendency to ignore things that show up in the mail. She only communicates electronically – through emails and texts. Walter’s soon-to-be-ex-wife is keeping the car – and he’s trying to save every penny he can, so he finds other ways to get around a city that he had no intentions of calling home.
Both of their lifestyles have been compromised. He can’t go back to his wife, and she can’t go to Paris for dinner. And while they’re stuck together, they make each other crazy.
They would never admit it – but when you look at it – all they really have is each other.
CHARACTERS
WALTER ELLISON (30s)
A former Air Force pilot, Walter has been stuck at First Officer for years because the captains’ retirement age went up from 60 to 65 – and captains are now hanging around five years longer.
NOTE: First Officers (co-pilots) get promoted only when the company needs more captains (i.e. when captains retire). Promotions are based on need – not on how long they’re around. Since captains are now sticking around five years longer, First Officers are getting screwed. And if the company is stagnant or shrinking, the First Officers get stuck, with no way to advance. And that’s the position Walter finds himself in.
He’s very conservative, with a healthy ego, and, like many pilots, can be a bit condescending toward flight attendants.
Walter’s a family man. The problem is, his wife BETTY just threw him out of the house. After years of spending more time in the air than at home – and with his union constantly making concessions and accepting cutbacks in salary and benefits – Betty finally had enough.
Walter desperately tries to reconcile. He and Betty have been together since grammar school. She’s the only woman he’s ever known.
When he thinks all hope is lost, she pays him a surprise visit and shows up at the crash pad, giving Walter one last chance to win her back. But when the door opens, music is blasting, and she sees Amanda in her bra and panties, wearing a bondage collar and holding a bottle of champagne. Walter, who was trying to sleep, shuffles into the living room in his boxer shorts to tell Amanda to turn down the music…when he sees Betty, who is sure that Walter has been cheating on her, and that the crash pad is his love nest – which closes the door on any hope for reconciliation.
Now, Walter is stuck in every area of his life. There’s no going back to the way things were – and he doesn’t want to go forward. And Betty is going after him with lawyers, trying to make his life as miserable as possible.
So the irony is that the conservative guy is the one with all the drama going on around him. And Amanda, who was looking to avoid drama by having a guy stay in the other bedroom, now finds herself constantly inundated with it.
Walter is incredibly cheap. He’ll do anything to save a buck. When he was still flying, he never bought a newspaper. Instead, he’d search the plane for one left by a passenger. For dinner, he’s always gone to the cheapest place he could find.
He was staying at The Paradiso, waiting for a place to open up in the crash pad. And when it did, he jumped at the chance. It was just another way to save a buck.
Walter has absolutely no sense of style. He dresses horribly (i.e. shorts with black socks). He shops at Ross and buys the cheapest stuff in the store.
In the kitchen, he’s helpless. He’s the kind of guy who’d put a Pop Tart in the broiler.
Walter is very quirky. And his OCD has only gotten worse now that he’s alone and broke and has to deal with this wild woman every day of his life.
AMANDA BURNS (30s)
She became a flight attendant as a way to see the world for free.
Amanda is a free spirit, a party girl, who has men in every city in every country in the world. She never needs a reason to celebrate. Every day is reason enough.
She eats like shit, and carries around hot sauce. She puts hot sauce on everything. The crash pad is filled with minis - the little liquor bottles she takes from the plane.
Unlike pilots, there’s no retirement age for flight attendants. So as long as she can do the job and pass the drills, Amanda planned to keep on working. She had no intentions of giving up the life. It’s like she never grew up...and never intends to.
Despite the fact that she’s getting older, she still dresses young and sexy and parties till dawn. When she first started flying, she posed for Playboy when they did a pictorial called “The Girls at 37,000 Feet”.
Amanda has no sense of fiscal responsibility. She’s buried in debt, maxes out all of her credit cards, and continues to spend like there’s no tomorrow – which includes expensive dinners in great restaurants all over the world.
In her effort to say forever young, she got Botox treatments in Bolivia, so she needed Santa Cruz layovers. She also had a masseuse in San Salvador, named Yolanda, who charges 84 Boliviano (the equivalent of twelve US dollars) for a two-hour massage.
Despite the fact that the airline went under, Amanda still thinks everything is going to work out – which drives the out-of-work, out-of-marriage Walter crazy. He tells Amanda that she’s in denial. She disagrees. She thinks her way of getting through the day is a hell of a lot better than his – with his sense of hope sinking and his blood pressure soaring.
While Walter continues to carry a torch for Betty – (even though she’s got her lawyers going after everything he’s got) – Amanda tries to help Walter move on with his life. She tries to fix him up with women, while he tries to help her become more responsible – especially since they now have to rely on each other to make this living situation work.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Story Areas
Post brief ideas.
Bounce those ideas off each other.
Focus on the conflict between the characters.
Bounce those ideas off each other.
Focus on the conflict between the characters.
From Class Discussion (February 14)
IMPORTANT: Everyone email me your 1-page write-up on the series premise ASAP.
It was part of your assignment that was due last night.
Email: aauscriptdoctor@gmail.com
ARCHETYPES
Pair up some other "odd couple" type characters.
Here are the actors we discussed last night:
William H. Macy
cross between Ed O'Neill (Jay in "Modern Family') and Ted Danson (Sam Malone in "Cheers")
Rob Lowe
Guy Pearce
James Woods
John McGinley
Parker Posey (insincere, off-center)
Zoe Saldana (feisty, sexy, spirited)
Emma Stone
Liz Lemon
Elizabeth Banks
Sarah Silverman
Katey Sagal
Sean Young
Angela Bassett
Regina King
Aisha Tyler
Pam Grier
Taraji P. Henson
TONE
Dramedy
Black Comedy
DO YOU SEE HIM AS A PILOT OR CO-PILOT?
As a pilot, he can be an older character who would have trouble finding a job.
That adds the generation gap element.
OR:
As a co-pilot, he's one day away from being a pilot...when he gets laid off.
Then, our two leads would be closer in age.
It was part of your assignment that was due last night.
Email: aauscriptdoctor@gmail.com
ARCHETYPES
Pair up some other "odd couple" type characters.
Here are the actors we discussed last night:
William H. Macy
cross between Ed O'Neill (Jay in "Modern Family') and Ted Danson (Sam Malone in "Cheers")
Rob Lowe
Guy Pearce
James Woods
John McGinley
Parker Posey (insincere, off-center)
Zoe Saldana (feisty, sexy, spirited)
Emma Stone
Liz Lemon
Elizabeth Banks
Sarah Silverman
Katey Sagal
Sean Young
Angela Bassett
Regina King
Aisha Tyler
Pam Grier
Taraji P. Henson
TONE
Dramedy
Black Comedy
DO YOU SEE HIM AS A PILOT OR CO-PILOT?
As a pilot, he can be an older character who would have trouble finding a job.
That adds the generation gap element.
OR:
As a co-pilot, he's one day away from being a pilot...when he gets laid off.
Then, our two leads would be closer in age.
Monday, February 7, 2011
The Girl's Character
Give her a name and an approximate age.
She was a flight attendant, using the job just to see the world.
She has the upper hand with him.
She's honest, blunt, doesn't edit herself..
Sarcastic
A Southern belle
A female Ricky Gervais
She's into feng shui.
She was a flight attendant, using the job just to see the world.
She has the upper hand with him.
She's honest, blunt, doesn't edit herself..
Sarcastic
A Southern belle
A female Ricky Gervais
She's into feng shui.
The Guy's Character
Give the character a name and approximate age.
You're not locked in to using the character descriptions that we discussed.
Let's just make sure we come up with a very strong character.
Here are the character notes from tonight's class. If there's anything missing from the list, add it.
He was thrown out of the house.
He's trying to save the marriage.
He was a co-pilot (First Officer) - always riding shotgun. He was one day away from making Captain.
He got a letter that he thought was to congratulate him on his promotion to Captain.
Instead, it was a letter notifying him that he was being laid off.
He's ex-military.
A family man
Conservative
Ex-athlete
A Charlie Sheen-type party guy
OCD
Hypochondriac
He may have had a past affair with the co-star of the show.
They may be Craig's List Roommates.
He may have sublet from someone he knows. (And she doesn't know that he's her new roommate.)
You're not locked in to using the character descriptions that we discussed.
Let's just make sure we come up with a very strong character.
Here are the character notes from tonight's class. If there's anything missing from the list, add it.
He was thrown out of the house.
He's trying to save the marriage.
He was a co-pilot (First Officer) - always riding shotgun. He was one day away from making Captain.
He got a letter that he thought was to congratulate him on his promotion to Captain.
Instead, it was a letter notifying him that he was being laid off.
He's ex-military.
A family man
Conservative
Ex-athlete
A Charlie Sheen-type party guy
OCD
Hypochondriac
He may have had a past affair with the co-star of the show.
They may be Craig's List Roommates.
He may have sublet from someone he knows. (And she doesn't know that he's her new roommate.)
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Class Email List
Christina Kishpaugh stinahole@aol.com
Danielle Weintraub dweintraub@me.com
David Lynam dlynam2@yahoo.com
Edward Pisari edpisari@gmail.com
Evan Jones woeboat@gmail.com
Gabriel Rodriguez gabriel.rodriguez24@gmail.com
George Mowbray gmowbray@live.com
Josh Rivera almostwin4@yahoo.com
Katelyn Fischer hulahut85@yahoo.com
Lauren Winsor Stenmoe LWStenmoe@gmail.com
Nathan Tamayo nathantamayo@gmail.com
Robert Willett cinebleu@gmail.com
Tamaira Witherspoon mairalv7@hotmail.com
Will McDowell singingpterodactyl@gmail.com
Danielle Weintraub dweintraub@me.com
David Lynam dlynam2@yahoo.com
Edward Pisari edpisari@gmail.com
Evan Jones woeboat@gmail.com
Gabriel Rodriguez gabriel.rodriguez24@gmail.com
George Mowbray gmowbray@live.com
Josh Rivera almostwin4@yahoo.com
Katelyn Fischer hulahut85@yahoo.com
Lauren Winsor Stenmoe LWStenmoe@gmail.com
Nathan Tamayo nathantamayo@gmail.com
Robert Willett cinebleu@gmail.com
Tamaira Witherspoon mairalv7@hotmail.com
Will McDowell singingpterodactyl@gmail.com
Monday, January 31, 2011
Series Ideas (Module 1)
Great job, everyone. Excellent first class.
Let's look to do a show that requires only a couple of sets. We can include some location shooting, but focus on the interiors.
Here are the areas that we discussed tonight...
CHARACTERS:
1. Chef
2. Butcher (a la "Patch Adams")
3. Exterminator
4. Overweight Drag Queen
5. Hoarder
6. Political News Commentator
7. Larper (Live Action Role Player) looking to get out of the group
PREMISES:
1. Ken Lay (former Enron CEO) hiding out in a homeless shelter
2. Exterminator with Reality Show
3. Cancer Support Group
4. Character with Imaginary Friend
5. Father claiming to be dying (a la "Greed")
6. Larping
7. Working Class Couple
8. "Odd Couple" scenarios - (acupuncturist and chiropractor) - but there are plenty of other possibilities to explore
ARENAS:
1. Casting Agency
2. High School Drama Club
3. Day Care Center
4. Sharper Image Store
5. Cannabis Club
A show set in New Orleans
When you blog about your series ideas, be sure to include whether you see it as a show with a regular cast or as an anthology series - and if it's a comedy, drama, or dramedy.
We're not locked in to anything, so feel free to come up with entirely new ideas.
Check in on the blog every day. Bounce ideas off one another. I'll be checking in several times a day.
Let's look to do a show that requires only a couple of sets. We can include some location shooting, but focus on the interiors.
Here are the areas that we discussed tonight...
CHARACTERS:
1. Chef
2. Butcher (a la "Patch Adams")
3. Exterminator
4. Overweight Drag Queen
5. Hoarder
6. Political News Commentator
7. Larper (Live Action Role Player) looking to get out of the group
PREMISES:
1. Ken Lay (former Enron CEO) hiding out in a homeless shelter
2. Exterminator with Reality Show
3. Cancer Support Group
4. Character with Imaginary Friend
5. Father claiming to be dying (a la "Greed")
6. Larping
7. Working Class Couple
8. "Odd Couple" scenarios - (acupuncturist and chiropractor) - but there are plenty of other possibilities to explore
ARENAS:
1. Casting Agency
2. High School Drama Club
3. Day Care Center
4. Sharper Image Store
5. Cannabis Club
A show set in New Orleans
When you blog about your series ideas, be sure to include whether you see it as a show with a regular cast or as an anthology series - and if it's a comedy, drama, or dramedy.
We're not locked in to anything, so feel free to come up with entirely new ideas.
Check in on the blog every day. Bounce ideas off one another. I'll be checking in several times a day.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Welcome to the Spring 2011 Writers' Room Blog
At the beginning of the semester, use the blog to:
1) post new series ideas, or
2) post a new angle on an idea we discussed in class
Once we've locked in our series idea, use the blog between classes to:
1) post new story ideas
2) post feedback on ideas
3) finish breaking stories
4) add any new angles on stories we're breaking
Check in daily to see if anything new has been posted.
1) post new series ideas, or
2) post a new angle on an idea we discussed in class
Once we've locked in our series idea, use the blog between classes to:
1) post new story ideas
2) post feedback on ideas
3) finish breaking stories
4) add any new angles on stories we're breaking
Check in daily to see if anything new has been posted.
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