As I read the prior post I thought I had to do some major rework of my beat sheet. Either I was wrong or I got lazy as there's not a lot of changes. A little more detail to make it readable to someone who's not in my head, and some small content changes. But I think this was more of a tweaking phase. Bottom line: I'm ready to move on from here.
Title: Dark Disciple
Genre: Buddy Love – the more I think of it and watch “Buddy Love” movies the more I realize that this movie is about Wells and Porter’s relationship formation. Sure, there’s a horrible servant of the Dark Lord of the Pit they’re trying to stop, but the real story is between these two.
1. Opening image (p. 1): Night. Exterior. Busy parking lot. Porter's car pulls into the parking lot. It's LOUD and filled with mobs protesting capital punishment. Porter gets out of his car alone.
2. Theme Stated (p 5): Someone comments to Porter, "You’re a real end justifies the means kind of guy, aren’t you?" (Having trouble with the theme.)
3. Set-up (pp 1-10): Intro to Porter as a loner, despised by others as a tabloid journalist. Driven and hard-bitten. "Save the cat" moment when he protects/offers comfort to the “Pied Piper's" mother. Intro to Wells as a medical examiner. Intro to the Dark Disciple in the crowd. Walk through the Pied Piper’s execution. Porter seeing Wells capture the soul. Show Porter making glass dagger, or at least starting to in his car. Porter stalking Wells to her house. (Phew! That’s a lot of action in there I think. But in my original short story I think it’s less than 10 pages too.)
4. Catalyst (12): Fight on Wells’ front porch. Wells kills Porter.
5. Debate (12-25): Wells interrogates Porter. How can they find the Dark Disciple? Learn about Necromancers. Reveal on Witch hunters. Decide they will have to work together!
6. Break into Act 2(25): They decide to work together. Porter tells Wells they'll "need some things” which brings us to the Secret Lair of the Witch Hunters.
7. B Story (30): Porter's world. They travel to a Witch Hunter sanctuary to get some stuff to face the Disciple.
8. Fun and Games (30-55): Wells' and Porter's "buddy love story" as they get to know each other and become friends. We learn more about Porter and the Witch Hunters through the expository mechanism of nerdish witch hunter monks trying to impress Wells with their wealth of knowledge on Disciples and the gear they have to kill them. Reinforcement of Porter as a heart-of-gold behind the tough guy exterior. This gives us our “fun” moments with the nerds-around-a-hot-chick syndrome. (Have I mentioned that Wells is an understatedly-hot babe? Jessica Biel in glasses, or Mira Sorvino with black hair.)
9. Midpoint (55): (False success) Porter feels on top of the world as he realizes he has a new friend and ally in the war against evil.
10. Bad guys close In (55-75): Disciple's minions attack the sanctuary. Not quite sure what the minions are but they’re scary and kill nerdy monks like nobody’s business. (Sorry nerd lovers, but you shoulda known it was coming) Despite all the cool gear they can pull out, Porter and Wells flee for their lives with little more than what they started with. But they go after the Disciple in her lair. Where another fight ensues.
11. All is lost (75): This fight goes poorly for our heroes, too. Porter is left for "dead" on the floor, looking at the Disciple's reflection in a shard of broken mirror. (Hint: He’s going to make a Glass Dagger like he did to use against Wells.)
12. Dark night of the Soul (75-85): Wells is being interrogated by the Disciple, while Porter lies seemingly dead in another room. Wells begins to think that all is lost.
13. Break into Act 3 (85): Back to Porter on the floor. We hear Wells being interrogated in the distance. Porter blinks, and rises.
14. Finale (85-110): Big fight. Glass dagger comes in handy and WOW – we see that it really does do what Porter said it would do back on page 14. So does Porter's new knowledge that he's already undead. After their triumph Porter confronts Wells about being undead, and learns that she doesn't know what might happen for him next.
15. Final Image (110): Dawn breaking. Porter and Wells drive together down a quiet country highway, in silence.
All right – so I think this is good enough. Now I have to set up The Board…
Thursday, April 10, 2008
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