.

Your story now has a strong plot and subplot, but this is still not enough for an entire screenplay. What’s missing is the heart of the story, the “why” of it—why you feel drawn to write this particular story, and why the hero or heroine of the story belongs in it. That’s why we need to find and dramatize what we call the premise.

The premise of a screenplay is the fundamental statement that drives the plot. We are all teachers and when we write we want to do more than just entertain our audience; we want to communicate something we have learned or consider important. The premise is like the rudder on a boat—it will keep your story flowing in the right direction, lending even a first draft a professional, finished quality.

Before committing to writing your screenplay, ask yourself why you’re eager to tell this story, and what underlying communication you want to make. Try to formulate that answer as a statement, such as: “The end doesn’t justify the means.” This statement might describe the premise of Wall Street, because Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen) wants to get to the top and is faced with tough moral choices about how to achieve his goal. “Prejudice destroys love” is another strong premise, which would support any version of Romeo and Juliet. The premise of both The Fugitive and ArtRage is “Good triumphs over evil.” There are many premises. My own personal favorite is “One person can make a difference,” so it’s not surprising that the films I watch over and over are Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and North by Northwest.

Before you begin your screenplay, write down a premise for your story. You can change it or rework it as you go along, but you need something to start. This statement must contain a pearl of wisdom that concerns not just your character but you, the writer, as well. For example, Everett Aisen, the author of ArtRage, is an artist, and has taught screenwriting for many years. The question about the importance of art is very real to him, not simply an intellectual concept.

By analyzing the films you love you will find that, however different they are plot-wise, many will have the same premise. For example, if you watch a lot of love stories, “Love conquers all” is a likely premise. If you watch action films, “Good conquers evil” will likely keep popping up. Using a premise that resonates with you personally will help you write a better, more cohesive script.

Tomorrow I leave for New Mexico where I will be presenting two workshops at the 10th Annual Screenwriting Conference in Santa Fe. It's one of the most respected screenwriting conferences in the world - largely because of the great work put-in by organizer Larry Stouffer and his team - and I am very pleased I have the opportunity to participate.

I have already made plans to meet-up with some of my students who will also be at the conference and if you will be attending, please come-over and say 'hello.'

I’ve been working on two romantic comedies with two different students. One’s about a 25-year-old guy having a quarter-life crisis and the other is about a 50-year-old man having a mid-life crisis. The two stories have different plots, but the two characters have an amazing amount of the same problems. Both have mortality issues, both struggle to overcome a feeling of powerlessness and to gain control of their lives. The plots both concern work, women and low self-esteem.

The good news is that in the end they both overcome their problems. The bad news is that just because you solve them at 25, you will probably have a whole new set at 50.

The journey for both characters at these critical moments in their lives is to realize what they can and cannot control, and accept responsibility. This concern over control is certainly a theme in all of our lives. We can control what we order at Starbucks, but not who is running our country. The trade-off seems to be that we either bemoan the lack of control in politics or embrace our freedom in coffee. Are we being given an unfair trade?

The decision to focus on the coffee or to change the country is a metaphor for what all of us must take stock of and decide. Ask yourself, what do I really have control over? Then ask yourself what your main character believes they have control over? How are the two of you alike and different? What could the old expression, “Wake up and smell the coffee,” possibly mean today.”

In Star War, Luke feels powerless at the beginning of the movie. But at the end, he is able to destroy the Death Star. In the same episode, Han Solo feels no commitment to anything but money, until the very end, when he finally risks his own life to defeat the Empire.

My student Caytha Jentis has had an inspiring success with her romantic comedy And Then Came Love.

The first step is to return to the source material, whether it’s a book, magazine article, or an original idea. A subplot can be defined as a minor storyline that runs parallel to the main plot of the film and often comments, contrasts, or supports and expands the issues and themes raised by the main plot.

Often a romance serves as the subplot in a film, Casablanca being a good example of this. The main plot is about whether Rick (Humphrey Bogart) will help Viktor Laszlo (Paul Henreid), the resistance leader, escape from Casablanca; the subplot is about Rick’s love affair with Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) and his discovery that she has left him for Laszlo. The subtext is about sacrificing personal passion to serve a higher purpose.

In ArtRage, the novel I mentioned in an earlier post, there are several important characters. One is the cop, one is a sexy female lawyer, Yolanda, and one is Case's 17-year-old son, Nick. Since Mace is attracted to Yolanda in the book, what “if” we make her the “Ilsa” in our screenplay version? Again, we can “borrow” an idea, this time from Casablanca. What “if”—after Mace breaks out of jail—he goes to Yolanda and asks her to hide him? What “if” she tries to talk him into turning himself in, but he refuses? And what “if” the climactic scene is when she lures him to her apartment and the cop is waiting to arrest him?

The subplot also sometimes carries the story. In Witness, the subplot follows the love story between John Book (Harrison Ford) and Rachel (Kelly McGillis). It's their feelings for each other that drive the story to its climax.

Come out and celebrate the 2008 season with us, as we kick off the summer with a big blowout at the Angel Orensanz Foundation. There's an open bar, and The Brooklyn Bombshells will teach you some swing dance moves so you can dance to to the stylings of our band: Lady Luck and the Suicide Kings.

There's going to be a Photo Booth, Carnival Games of Chance, a Silent Auction, and performers including: the cast of the 2008 Coney Island Circus Sideshow; Miss Coney Island Serpentina, Diamond Donny, Heather Holiday, Angelica, Scott Baker, Nick Knack, Burlesque at the Beach's Bambi the Mermaid and The Great Fredini, Julie Atlas Muz, Tigger, Saturn, The Pontani Sisters, The Peach Tartes, Dirty Martini, Hula Harvest, World Famous *BOB*, Little Brooklyn, Brian Fisherman, Chris McDaniels, as well as Swing Dancing Sirens- The Brooklyn Bombshells, Shelly Watson, the inimitable Reverend Billy, Little Jimmy, Jo Boobs and the graduating class of the New York School of Burlesque, DJ Jeff Jackson, The MINI MERMAID PARADE, and MORE!!

Did we mention there's an OPEN BAR and Catered FOOD????

Tickets cost:

• $100 for regular Gala tickets ($80 tax deductible)
• $250 for VIP tickets that include access to the VIP seating area, swing dancing lesson priority, a gift bag, table service for food and drink, and meet and greets with performers! ($200 tax deductible)

Join the Host Committee!
Joining the host is another great way to get involved. Host Committee members sell five tickets and get a free ticket so they can host their friends. In 2008, Host Committee members will also get treated to dinner the week before the benefit and receive special updates through the year about activities in Coney Island and progress on our building renovation. This is the way that we expand our out reach...but getting our friends to help us contact their friends.

I recently attended an art show for Joan Sommers, the 85-year old mother of a dear friend. She is a marvelous painter and the work included pieces she’d created as a student at The Art Institute of Chicago in 1948. I’m lucky enough to possess one of her calligraphy pieces entitled, “A Heart Waiting For Spring,” and she has been a major influence in my work, teaching me about the relationship to the motion in the heart and how it affects the hand of the artist.

When I left the show (after a glass or two of superior wine) I walked in the fading weekend light towards the subway, surrounded by happy couples walking together in the warm spring air. I am currently single, and content for the moment, but of course Saturday nights are the one time everyone who doesn’t have a date wants one. I felt a stab of melancholy and wondered what I would include in a retrospective of my own life: Photos of the two husbands and all the boyfriends? A teaching award? A still from a movie I worked on? What about all of the cats?

I then realized that it wasn’t just the paintings that Joan exhibited that were significant; it was the image of her surrounded by her successful daughters, devoted and dashing husband, and many friends. It was the elegant outfit she wore, her soft-spoken manner, and her beautiful smile. This realization brought me back to my own writing and inspired the following exercise (to be done for both your main character and the villain or obstacle).

Exercise:

Imagine that the character is 85 and is in some way being feted for their life’s work. Pick the type of party—an art show, a dinner, an award ceremony, etc. How would the character look, who would be with them, what would they say? Where would it happen? Would the villain be there? Fill in the checklist below, and then have your character “talk” about the event for a page or two. You will discover wonderful new information that will enhance and enrich your current script, and may spawn ideas for new works.

Who is being celebrated?
What is the event?
Why is this happening now?
When is it?
Where is it?