I'm working on an action movie as we speak, so this is gold. Thanks. Actually thanks for the whole blog. Kind of you to share with the world.

kiwichick, I'll have a few more posts re action movies in the next couple of days, some additional thoughts to follow up on this post and a couple other things. If you have any questions or concerns about your script or writing in general, please post. I'm happy to give my two cents.

Scott -

This is a fantastic idea! Thanks for creating the blog board. I've missed your tidbits of inspiring wisdom, coupled with touching bases with our fellow screenwriters!

It took me a while to get past the blog nazi - but I finally managed to break the code --- I'M IN!

Thanks!!!

Julie :)

Glad you could make it, Julie. As I mentioned elsewhere, one of the main reasons I started this blog is because of my students, but it's open to anyone interested in the craft of screenwriting.

Scott,
Kiwichick is correct, this is GOLD!! Thanks so much for your response. I look forward to your follow up posts.
BTW, I love this blog. As a former student of yours I know you have a great way of illustrating your points that makes everything crystal clear. Great job, hombre!
Don Perez

Don, thanks. More thoughts to come re action writing and character.

Clint's "give-the-horse-a-drink-first" moment reminds me of Jean Reno in The Professional - he'll take out anyone that needs taking out but don't you dare touch his plant. Nothing more appealing than a broody 'closed shop' of an alpha male who really does care deep down. Who really does respect life.

And thank you for the offer to send in my questions/concerns etc. That is so generous it's off the planet.

Scott,

FInally got a chance to check out the blog, thanks for sharing all this with us and your continued enthusiasm.

Life is about collecting those nuggets and I loved this:

"When digging around your Protagonist's Internal World, look for core psychological and emotional dynamics, not so much the events that may have happened to them... but rather the Protagonist's key responses to those events."

I've always tried to create backstory and "cause" but haven't thought much about effect.

Anyway, thanks again! I'll be back often!

Craig

Welcome, Craig. I do think the effect of events in a character's backstory can be huge in determining the core 'stuff' the story deals with. Consider Clarice Starling (Jodi Foster) in Silence of the Lambs. Her father, a cop, is killed when she is a young girl. That event and the subsequent spring slaughter of the lambs on her uncle's farm creates a conflation, where she subconsciously identifies her father's and the lambs' 'murders'; hence, the screaming of the lambs that torments her in her dreams. How does she respond as an adult? Driven to become an FBI agent to put her in a position where she can 'atone' for the deaths of those 'innocents.' Clearly, those events have an enormous effect on her.

Again, look for events that have a primal or archetypal impact on characters. A good shorthand way to create an emotionally deep character.