"The Problem Is..." Screenplay by Matthew Maledon https://padlet.com/mmaledon231/usuwnhwutlfh69 Written by Matt Maledon for Universal Pictures en-us 2022-06-28 04:23:39 UTC 2022-07-01 04:37:55 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.net/icons/png/1f60d.png Brainstorm mmaledon231 https://padlet.com/mmaledon231/usuwnhwutlfh69/wish/2232157943 1. Modern Technology
I. Set back in time, early-mid 20th century, makes fun of modern technology/luxuries through sarcastic dialogue between snobby characters. 
II. Ex: one character telling the other(s) that he wishes there was 'some sort of social community connected via artificial three-dimensional representative avatars in which we could communicate...' The outlandish wishes of the characters would make some of the technologies we have today seem ridiculous and unnecessary, satirically.
III. The names of some of the characters could allude to modern superfluities like 'Jonathan Francis Tiktok' or 'Mr. Tweet.'

2. "The Problem is... I can't read this."
I. The first line of dialogue starts with, "The problem is, you see, ..." and the last line of dialogue on page five is, "I can't read this." The story in-between is the character stalling to admit what's on his mind, but the story also builds up that whatever document that is before this character is very important to be able to read -- for whatever reason that will be established. Comedic story.
II. One possibility may be that the person who admits at the end that he cannot read is a publisher for a major printing label, but he gets placed before a board of clients to address why he has undelivered on his "credentials" as an experienced publisher.
III. The publisher (or whatever occupation this character ends up having) is very established in his field, so saying "I can't read this" has extra weight at the end.

3. Middle Seat
I. The main character has the middle seat on an airplane and must go through an entire flight where typical "middle-seat problems" are personified as other characters.
II. To the left of the main character is the mother of a small child, the baby crying the whole time and the mother nervously talking for the entirety of the flight. The main character cannot read his/her book or fall asleep and his/her AirPods are out of battery.
III. To the right of the main character is a rather muscular gentleman who takes up the armrest and some personal space of the middle seat, inconsiderately munches on his food, and watches a movie on his laptop without earphones.]]> 2022-06-28 05:44:13 UTC https://padlet.com/mmaledon231/usuwnhwutlfh69/wish/2232157943 Questionnaire - Brainstorm Idea #2 mmaledon231 https://padlet.com/mmaledon231/usuwnhwutlfh69/wish/2232218213 1. The film is about a well-established book editor whose performance levels have recently gone down and is now under fire from some trusted clients -- some of the biggest authors in the industry. The story is set between the 1970s-'80s, where online publishing networks had not yet taken over. The main scene itself takes place in a conference room where some of the top authors and journalists have gathered to ask why typos, misunderstandings, and other flaws have begun easily slipping through the cracks of late. It's because, as it turns out, this editor could not actually read this entire time.
2. This film would be a very dry comedy, sort of like a Wes Anderson movie that features a lot of irony, satire, awkwardness, and sarcasm. This is for teens and up that are old enough to appreciate this kind of humor and are looking for a little kick of laughter.
3. The important point this screenplay makes is not very explicit, but I think it should get across the idea that we're all just trying to make it. Some of us feel as though we're imposters or we've gone far in something we underestimate ourselves in. In this case, a successful editor has succeeded for a long time in something he is actually horrible at, but it's finally catching up to him. We're all just trying to get by, and this lightens that seriousness -- it's okay.
4. I want the audience to get that dry humor sort of feeling, the kind where you feel like every joke is an inside joke because it's not very overt -- it feels like a joke that was slipped to you underneath the table. The best way I can describe this genre is "intimate comedy." This is how some Wes Anderson, Woody Allen, or Coen Brothers films (just to name a few) often feel. Unlike slapstick directors and writers (which are still funny) that produce very obvious humor in their films.
5. 
I. Walter Renfroe was nothing to write home about when you first conversed with the man. His wordage was boring, his voice dry and nasally. His stature was roughly two inches shy of six feet and supported a rather boney build, hunched at the neck just slightly. But that's what happens when you're a writer and you can't help but sit at a desk all day, pen in hand. This also means that his fingers are always covered in ink, but that's besides the point -- though, it is in fact one of the first noticeable things when shaking his hand. His old blue eyes dart quickly from eye contact at first, and he has a nervous hitch in his bottom lip below a mustache when he can't find the right words to say. Wally, he says, is what never to call him.
II. An overwhelming cologne is expected on a man like this. "Gordon," reads his front license plate on an old Trans Am he's had valeted to the upper parking lot. Gordon Greely, that is. His suit was designer, no doubt. He dressed like money just happened for him, and he walked like it, too. When he entered a room, though, you also knew he served his country years ago; people like that, you can just tell. A certain look -- a certain drive deep behind his glance that gives you that feeling. That's Mr. Gordon Greely.
6. The story matters to me because I really love the dry humor style of movies that are few and far between nowadays, and I also love the subliminal message that we're all just trying to make it somehow, but we shouldn't take it all so seriously.
7. My audience will be interested in this mostly because of the humor and outlandish idea of an illiterate editor admitting to the most famous authors in the world that he can't actually read and hasn't been reading their books for the past many years now. I also think my audience will desire that sense of relief that comes with a satirical portrayal of the problem mentioned above in Question #3.
8. I will grab their attention by setting the scene as very important -- the conference room of one man clearly under fire by a bunch of the most well-established authors in the world. They will first be questioning why this is so, but they will be even more grabbed at the mandatory first line of "The problem is..." which I strategically do not reveal until the final line of the script.

]]> 2022-06-28 07:05:37 UTC https://padlet.com/mmaledon231/usuwnhwutlfh69/wish/2232218213 Style Idea Video #1 mmaledon231 https://padlet.com/mmaledon231/usuwnhwutlfh69/wish/2233128300 The dry, almost awkward, humor of a Wes Anderson film is what my screenplay is going for -- long pauses, sarcasm, irony, it's all genius.]]> 2022-06-29 05:37:53 UTC https://padlet.com/mmaledon231/usuwnhwutlfh69/wish/2233128300 Style Idea Video #2 mmaledon231 https://padlet.com/mmaledon231/usuwnhwutlfh69/wish/2233143855 This scene shows the feeling I want to get across -- the scene comedically represents a problem by making the issue way over-the-top and outlandish.]]> 2022-06-29 06:01:26 UTC https://padlet.com/mmaledon231/usuwnhwutlfh69/wish/2233143855 Style Idea Video #3 mmaledon231 https://padlet.com/mmaledon231/usuwnhwutlfh69/wish/2233145471 Watch only until 1:40 to get the idea of what I'm going for. The editor under fire by these major authors in my story is like Michael Scott, where he has to stall for an answer because he doesn't know what to say. I want the editor in my story to do this in a similar manner, before revealing he can't read at all.]]> 2022-06-29 06:03:40 UTC https://padlet.com/mmaledon231/usuwnhwutlfh69/wish/2233145471 Style Idea Picture #1 mmaledon231 https://padlet.com/mmaledon231/usuwnhwutlfh69/wish/2233147021 I want the main editor and all of the major authors (his clients) to meet in an old 1980s boardroom like this -- all facing one man, being the editor.]]> 2022-06-29 06:06:01 UTC https://padlet.com/mmaledon231/usuwnhwutlfh69/wish/2233147021 Style Idea Picture #2 mmaledon231 https://padlet.com/mmaledon231/usuwnhwutlfh69/wish/2233149318 Set in the late 1970s or early 1980s, I want the clients of the editor to show up wearing this kind of suit -- very bland and old-fashioned compared to some modern looks]]> 2022-06-29 06:09:55 UTC https://padlet.com/mmaledon231/usuwnhwutlfh69/wish/2233149318 Style Idea Picture #3 mmaledon231 https://padlet.com/mmaledon231/usuwnhwutlfh69/wish/2233152094 The attire and the setting are what I'm looking for from this scene, but I also like how the two characters in this scene (Cliff Booth and Rick Dalton) are meeting one important person. Not too far from the way I want all of the authors to realize the importance of the established "editor" character in my storyline.]]> 2022-06-29 06:13:39 UTC https://padlet.com/mmaledon231/usuwnhwutlfh69/wish/2233152094 Style Idea Picture #4 mmaledon231 https://padlet.com/mmaledon231/usuwnhwutlfh69/wish/2233154688 Another example of Wes Anderson's style -- symmetrical shots, wide shots, awkwardly placed subjects that fit perfectly with the irony and dry humor of the story.]]> 2022-06-29 06:17:17 UTC https://padlet.com/mmaledon231/usuwnhwutlfh69/wish/2233154688 Style Idea Picture #5 mmaledon231 https://padlet.com/mmaledon231/usuwnhwutlfh69/wish/2233157652 An 1980s desk -- perfect for the desk of my editor character, who would have story upon story to read. I also like how the camera is not as HD as cameras are now, that'd be a creative way to purposely shoot a movie.]]> 2022-06-29 06:21:54 UTC https://padlet.com/mmaledon231/usuwnhwutlfh69/wish/2233157652 The Final Words of Mr. Lydian mmaledon231 https://padlet.com/mmaledon231/usuwnhwutlfh69/wish/2234822654 2022-07-01 03:50:35 UTC https://padlet.com/mmaledon231/usuwnhwutlfh69/wish/2234822654 Reflection Questions mmaledon231 https://padlet.com/mmaledon231/usuwnhwutlfh69/wish/2234854923       1. This fourth week went well for me because it was nice to have a less time-consuming project. It was challenging, however, knowing that the project was due during the week and not the weekend, but really not that big of a difference. I think this assignment was set up well by Mr. Burr because it gives a lot of room for creative freedom and also provides some learning tools that taught about the proper formatting of a screenplay.

2. The most valuable thing I learned this summer in Mobile Media was probably the use of a storyboard, which really helped me complete my projects in this class, and I'm also going to use one to complete my final project for Photo Storytelling tomorrow. Another valuable thing I learned though, was the ability to AirDrop videos from my phone to my computer, because I thought you could only do this with photos. It made things significantly easier to know that this also worked with videos.

3. As far as this project, I felt constricted by the five pages -- I think I could have gotten a better story with more characters if I'd had more space, but for the space I was given, I think I got across the story how I wanted. I think my idea to put the entire story between "The problem is..." and "...I can't read" went well. The first line of the story made the reader want to find out what the problem is, but the reader only figures it out in the last sentence on the last page. However, I think I could have done a better job making the story as a whole more comedic. It's kind of difficult to write comedy with only two main characters and five pages of space, so I tried to make the dry, ironic joke of an editor not being able to read revealed at the very end, making use of the rest of the story as a sort of comedic build-up.

4. I really liked how this class gave a lot of creative freedom. Some other art classes are very specific to what you can and cannot do as far as the creative elements go, and to me, that ruins to point of a creative arts class. This class gave a prompt, but it also allowed us to take that prompt in any direction we thought could work. I initially did not like having to navigate multiple interfaces in each assignment (Canvas, Vimeo, iMovie, Photos) but by about Week 2, I had learned the quickest and easiest ways of doing things, so I think I'm fairly competent in using all of these -- it ended up being no problem at all. I cannot think of any room for improvement -- there was usually great feedback or encouragement on all assignments and plenty of videos/walkthrough/guides to help us along the way, which made for an enjoyable class.

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