Why? Because he or she has yet to enter into the new world you've created for them later on in the story. Your Protagonist's ordinary world shows us his or her current state of mind and like I said - this world could be a totally messed up world but your Protagonist just doesn't know it. There should be SOMETHING about your Protagonist that sets him or her apart from the other characters - lead me by the spiritual umbilical cord that I should have with your Protagonist. You owe it to me to make the best first impression you can with your Protagonist. This is the character that drives the story forward - or should be driving the story forward. Remember, this is the character that the story revolves around. Speaking about your Protagonist - again, you really should consider introducing them within the first 10 pages. The point is that we expect you to introduce your Protagonist and stay with them so that we understand this character is the character we're supposed to be concerned about. Does anyone really think anyone else is going to be interested in a screenplay like that? I think all told, I spent at least 40 minutes going back and checking to see if I read it wrong. Why? Because I invested my time and energy and generally cleared my head and hoped to my God that I was in for the story of my life. Of course he had introduced other characters before this and to be honest, I didn't even know this new character was the protagonist until I read another 25 pages. I recently read a script where the screenwriter didn't introduce the protagonist until page 22. Most likely, he or she is unhappy there although he or she may not even be aware of it.Īlong with showing us your Protagonist's ordinary world, you'll also be introducing your Protagonist to us. Remember this is the world that has helped form your Protagonist but obviously not all the way. Let us know what kinds of things can happen there - what kinds of things we can expect to happen there. Establish the rules and regulations of your new story world. Remember, you're God now so it's time to be in charge. That's right, immerse yourself into that world. Set the stage for me so that when one of your characters does something - anything - I'm okay with it. Show us the characters in that world - good and bad. The ordinary world could be as small as a clique and as large as the universe but you've got to show us that world. It doesn't matter if your Protagonist's ordinary world looks a lot like our world. The new world that sets the stage for your story. Not the rules of the world I left behind to read your screenplay or watch your movie. If you can't even sell me on your Protagonist's ordinary world - how the hell are you gonna sell me on the rest of the story? Remember, this ordinary world is the world YOU created for us. One of the things that shine through almost immediately within the first 10 pages of a script is the authenticity of that particular story world.Ĭome on. Movies, screenplays, books, interviews, newspaper and magazine articles, and the Internet. Just because you've seen a few movies with a similar ordinary world doesn't make you an expert.Īny way you can. Don't just THINK you know all about your Protagonist's ordinary world. I want to know as much or more about his or her world than he or she does. I was flabbergasted to realize that it was being offered to us as something that happens in Perry’s real world.Take me to a world I've never seen before. (I honestly thought this was a dream sequence, it’s that fantastical. It is during this party that the most absurd validation of Perry as the supercool guy he believes he is occurs: an old girlfriend (Judy Greer … poor, poor Judy Greer) from his band days, who has herself somehow managed to grow up and still be rock-’n’-roll awesome, shows up out of nowhere to cuddle him, give him a nice massage, and reassure him that he is totes amazing. But today is the big 4-0, and Perry is going to throw himself a wild rock-star sort of party in a fancy hotel in Manhattan, which he can manage because he is momentarily flush from the thousand bucks cash his brother (Chris Messina: Manglehorn, Alex of Venice) has just handed to him, just because, and even though Perry is utterly useless in helping to run the family hardware store (which is ostensibly now his job). That level of immature incompetence is just a normal day for Perry.
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