Chelsea Regenold: Production assistant and scr…

I'm writing a character driven, fate structured short. The male hero & female antihero meet in the opening scene. She is attracted to him. How would she show her interest in him by action?

The story morphs into a 'Cinderella' like structure in Act II in which she becomes the hero by her actions. He...

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The Church -

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The Church -

"Living in a downward spiral of drug abuse after the death of her husband and unborn child, a young woman is spurred to action when she finds out that her sister has gone missing after joining a secretive religious cult with her boyfriend. She joins the cult and travels to their location - a small commune dominated by a massive archaic church - where she discovers the disciples all follow an enigmatic priest who uses and encourages self mutilation in order to gain a higher enlightenment and servitude. After being told that they never heard of her sister, the woman finds her sister's boyfriend but he is too far brainwashed by the priest and his harsh teachings to be of any help except for confirming that her sister was once there. Desperate to find out what happened to her sister, the woman begins to dig deeper into the church's activities while the priest slowly begins to work his "magic", trying to convert her while helping to cure her drug problem and get over her husband and baby's deaths. Convinced there is something far more sinister than just pain and punishment going on and, with the help of a young ally, the woman sneaks into the lower levels of the church to find carious torture rooms for the more "difficult" conversions and eventually comes across the body of her sister - having died from too much punishment. She breaks down after this and becomes a true convert until her ally - a child - snaps her out of it and reveals the horrible truth the priest has been hiding all along..."

And that is where my movie idea dies. For the life of me I cannot come up with some evil plot for the priest and his followers to be in on outside the predictable "he's just doing it for control". I want to do something like "A cure for Wellness", where there is almost a supernatural goal for the church but I can't come up with anything that flows without taking the story too far our of the realm of possible. What is the point of all the self mutilation and punishment? Summoning a demon (too predictable)? What is the priest trying to accomplish?

If anyone has and good suggestions, I'd love to hear them. Either on a goal for the church and pries or anything in general to make the story better. For example, when and where should this take place?

Thanks everyone!

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Thomas Lee Howell

1 year ago

Stay away from my sister.

E Langley

Get the hint. You've been on your knees for three years. The answer is "NO!"

James L. Lytle III

There's always some dude, fcking it up for us real guy's!

Joey Madia

1
1 person likes this
- Matthew Parvin
4 years ago

Hi Catalina!

Kinney Scott

wow (:

Carmen Mosley

Catalina Querida - I will check it out for sure. Have a good one

Toby Davidow

3
3 people like this
4 years ago

Nick Assunto - Stage32 Script Services Coordinator , thank you so much for this wonderful perspective and for sharing this article! The article puts into words what I could not previously express. I h...

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Jackie Young

2
2 people like this
- Jim Boston
- David China Woolf
4 years ago

Yes, it’s definitely possible. However, as usual do your research or listen more to your female friends and women generally. It will be good for you.

Robert Sacchi

2
2 people like this
- David China Woolf
- Mike Romoth
4 years ago

A male writing a female leads and females writing male leads can have advantages. All depends on the writers talent of course. A case of someone else's perspective. I might think of myself as Santa Cl...

Doug Nelson

4 years ago

The storyline has the two characters switching roles - she's becoming the A character (hero) but needs him to move forward; I've got them touching and eye locked. Now she just needs to lead him into t...

Karen "Kay" Ross

1
1 person likes this
- Chaun Lee
4 years ago

So much more information is needed. What exactly is she interested in? As an anti-hero, would she be all about the physical encounter and not interested in sentiment? How do they know each other - wor...

Chelsea Regenold

I'd recommend reading/watching Fleabag. She's an anti-hero who shows attraction towards several men throughout the series. Although she breaks the fourth wall and shares her inner thoughts with the audience, she also uses a lot of body language and expression. Plus, it's just a great show!

Jim Boston

1
1 person likes this
- Chelsea Regenold
4 years ago

Chelsea, I see where Neal's coming from...and I feel more comfortable finishing the screenplay before pitching.

Great post you came up with...and all the VERY BEST to you!

Allen Lawrence

Absolutely and you will usually need to rewrite your pitch again after you finish your story.

Erik A. Jacobson

2
2 people like this
- Chelsea Regenold
- Jim Boston
4 years ago

I write in advance the scenes and words in my script's movie trailer that will be pitching the movie to my target viewing audience. It helps ensure that I stay on track.

2
2 people like this
- Carmen Mosley
- Alyscia Cunningham
4 years ago

Erick Freitas I hadn't considered reading horror poetry. Great idea!

Alyscia Cunningham

Thanks Erick, I'll try that.

Erick Freitas - great idea... I love the horror poetry book - "I'm Not Your Final Girl" - by Claire C. Holland... I was a guest on a Horror Podcast and read my favorite. It is a great collection!

Christiane Lange

Tim Mihocik There you go: Scratch sex abuse, substitute human sacrifice :D You could intertwine with the drug abuse, i.e. drug addict stumbles on a human sacrifice (of another child), but is high, and...

Tim Mihocik

You read my mind again, Christiane :) I love the folk horror trope, i.e. Wicker Man, Midsommar, Blood on Stan's Claw, The Apostle, etc. and this is my attempt at one but it seems like for every idea I...

Ya like cannibal stories? Back in the '60s when I attended the Univ of Colorado, there was a grill in the student union building - we students voted to change its name to The Alfred Packer Memorial Grill.