Resort to Ice started out as a spoof on the high society, organized crime syndicated and spy movies of the 1960s. At least that's what I wanted to think as I sat down to write it. I sat down to write it with one line in mind: “The last man standing proves to be a woman.” I didn't know why she'd say that. I knew she was a tough as nails, ass-kicking super bad-ass. I named her Linda, which is my mother's name. My mom is a ass-kick super bad-ass.
I also knew that an organized crime caper would need more than a great line delivered by a great character. These types of stories need plot.
As my experience at Rocket House continued, I had to begin thinking about things in a different way. The improvements these animators were making were astounding and I found that I could not keep pace with their progress. One animator in particular was developing at a rate that rivaled what the larger more deep pocketed studios could do. That animator, Hutt Wigley, could do more with less, even at the onset of the project. When I found out that Hutt would animate the next film, I figured I could write several characters and several scenes and he could do it. Where Resort to Ice grew was that it would have fifteen different scenes in a 20 minute film. As you recall, Pastrami on Rye was one scene, a real and tangible scene. As a concept film, it was still very much of an analog project. In the months to follow that first film, the use of computers for affects made stop-motion join the Hi-Fi revolution. Hutt shot most of Resort to Ice on blue screen. That means that the action of the characters was later added to the superimposed set.
For me, as the writer, it gave me more freedom.
Resort to Ice did not need to be a wise screenplay. It did not need theatrical appeal. It did not need to be revolutionary. After all, this short screenplay was a spoof, it took its inspiration from Ian Flemming and not Dalton Trumbo. This screenplay was meant for Hutt. This screenplay was meant for Hutt to flex his muscle as an animator. And he did just that.
Back on the page, I knew that what we needed was a very linear plot: A then B then C. One event leads to the next which leads to the next. That's really how action movies work, right? There are good guys and bad guys. They both want something and many times it's the same thing. The whole conflict is how one beats out the other. The good guys are flawlessly good, and the bad guys are sheer evil. I think that's the best way to simplify the plot.
That isn't exactly who I am as a writer. I don't believe people, much less characters, are inherently good or evil. Human beings don't work like that. I feel like righteous people have wickedness in them, whether they want to believe it or not. Likewise, evil folk do have benevolent moments. It's what makes them interesting. If you remember Darth Vadar, he wasn't evil through and through. Sure, he was a bad guy, but he was loyal and he was loyal to his code of ethics. It gave him an appeal, it made the audience care about him.
In this action film Resort to Ice, I tried to fray the lines of good and bad. Even as I look at them now, I still don't know who is good and who is bad. All I know is that there is a mission and it has to get done.
In this plot exercise, we will look at a few small elements. First, let's write our plot premise. The actions plot: two characters want to rob a bank. Pretty linear, right? They plan it, they execute it and they get off or get caught. But we know life doesn't work that way, nor does film. So what we have to do it this, we have to give them obstacles and challenges. Each one of these challenges or obstacles become the points of the plot.
Your assignment, should you choose to accept it:
- Write down five tasks which need to be accomplished. For instance:
a) Catch a white whale
b) Rescue a princess from a dark lord
c) Save Britten and the free world from...
d) Go back to future
e) Heist a casino
2) With each of the five tasks, write down three things that go wrong.
3) One sentence outcome: win or lose?
That's all you need for the linear plot or your next short screenplay. That's plot. End of story. Done.
That's not who I am, and I doubt that's who you are as writers.
Let's add these two elements, back story and slow burn exposition.
Each of our characters has had a “life” before the action on the page. It's up to us as writers to discover the back story. Next it's also up to us as writers to slowly let both the audience and the other characters in on the back story with the use of exposition.
In Resort to Ice, all the characters recount their experiences in Malta. We never fully know what happened in Malta, but it wasn't good. We also see that Mr. Stone is manipulating the characters much the same way as Zeus might be inclined to do.
So when it came to Linda's infamous line: “the last man standing proves to be a woman,” we know that all unresolved conflicts from Malta have been settled. We also know that the moment of denouement, or the fruition of the “mark” that all past conflicts have their resolution.
REV 07/24/09
Resort to Ice
Ext. Far shot Ice. Day.
Mr. Stone (Voice-over)
I assure you ladies and gentlemen everything is on schedule. Phase one is nearly completed. And phase two is staged and ready to move in.
Boardroom Member (Voice-over)
Your confidence, Mr. Stone astounds me. How do we know this is going to work out on our time-line?
Mr. Stone (Voice-over)
I've got the package in transit now. I would venture to guess that it will all be done by this time tomorrow.
Boardroom Member (Voice-over)
Are you sure they'll work? There are too many possible complications.
Mr. Stone (Voice-over)
And by complications you mean people? Too many people is that it?
Boardroom Member (Voice-over)
Mr. Stone, there are too many pieces riding on the completion of this project—
Mr. Stone (Voice-over)
(Interrupting) Nothing, and I mean nothing will interfere with the completion of phase one. The package is complete. I assure you, I've got my people on it. Nothing, and I mean nothing will stop the delivery of it now
Boardroom Member (Voice-over)
You are certain.
Mr. Stone (Voice-over)
Yes, there are no authorities, none of those too smart policemen to ask questions. There is nothing to impede progress. The package has safely left Brazilian customs, it has safely passed through the United States. All we have to do now is wait for the completion.
Screen Black.
Wide shot: Black to airport scene.
Credits roll here.
There has to be some separation from the opening scene and the action to ensue.
Int. Airport. Day.
The scene opens with the package. It is held in Mug's hands. As camera pans out, he stands there quietly waiting. Enter Linda first, then Johnny.
Linda
Here at the appointed time.
Mug
Hello Linda. Haven't seen you since Malta.
Linda
That was too bad, really too bad.
Mug
Not too bad for you. You must be Johnny.
Johnny
Mug.
Linda
We have the envelope. Nome?
Mug
Not as civilized as Greece, huh?
Linda
What is Mr. Stone thinking?
Mug
I don't know. All I know is this: You have to take this package there.
Split screen:
Ext. Ice. Day.
Int. Boardroom. Day.
Mr. Stone
(Into Phone) You know what needs to be done. It has to happen swiftly.
Ext. Ice. Day.
Nick
(On some sort of communications device) Mr. Stone. (Beat) Mr. Stone. (Beat) Yes.
Int. Boardroom. Day.
Mr. Stone
Take the package to the mark. The mark. Follow the directions there.
Int. Airplane. Day.
Johnny
What happened in Malta?
Linda
It was before we were married.
Johnny
Why'd he say “too bad?”
Linda
It was a botched job. His fault.
Johnny
How long have you been with Mr. Stone?
Linda
You know, as long as you have, I'd think.
Johnny
I didn't go to Malta.
Linda
Johnny, I don't know. A while. Besides, Mr. Stone has been good to us.
Johnny
Yeah, good to us.
Linda
A year long honeymoon on Mr. Stone's yacht seems like a pretty good wedding gift, doesn't it?
Johnny
I wonder why Nome. Alaska. Who would have guessed that? It seems fishy.
Linda
Fishy? It's Mr. Stone, and that's not fishy.
Split screen:
Int. Boardroom. Day.
Mr. Stone on the phone.
Int. Airport. Day.
Talks to Mug
Mr. Stone
Are they off?
Mug
Yes sir.
Mr. Stone
Tail them.
Mug
Sir?
Mr. Stone
You're on the next plane, you have an envelope waiting for you at the American Express office. Inside you'll find a map. You cannot be late. Meet them at the mark. All the instructions are waiting for you in the envelope.
Ext. Nome Airport. Day.
Linda and Johnny are met on the steps of the airplane by Nick. The light in Nome can be twilight-evening or indirect light.
Nick
Welcome to Nome.
Johnny
Hello Nick, I never would have guessed I'd be seeing you here.
Nick
Well, I'll be damned, Johnny, good seeing you. Holy hell, when did we see one another last?
Johnny
Quebec.
Nick
That was a nightmare, huh?
Johnny
Well, yeah. I never would have see that one coming. Oh, hey, meet Linda.
Nick
Sure. Yes? The wife?
Linda
Yes.
Nick
I heard you solved the Malta equation.
Linda
Well, I guess. It earned us a year long furlough.
Nick
Well, better than a permanent one, yeah?
Johnny
Sure. (Beat) All right Nick.
Nick
If you're ready.
Ext. Close shot package. Day.
Nick (Voice-over)
It's going to take a few hours. Let's do this.
Ext. Road/Ice. Day.
This “twilight” road shot has the jeep on it. The headlights are on, etc. In the jeep are the three people and the package. Nick is driving, Johnny is in the front, and Linda sits in the back with the package on her lap.
Mr. Stone (Voice-over)
Ladies and gentlemen, the construction of the world's most secluded resort is on it's way. The exclusive membership will appreciate their new found privacy in the most luxurious place on Earth. Our construction crews are staged and ready to move. Before year's end there will be no more manhunts, no more fears. No, ladies and gentlemen, the building of this exclusive resort will be the beginning of the new way, a new world, a retirement community for us all.
Ext. Ice. Day.
Mug outfitted in Arctic gear is consulting the map. He has a snow mobile (or any number of modes of transportation).
Mug
Well, Linda, it's time to settle the score. I should have taken care of you in Malta. (Beat) (Looks around) Time to put you on ice.
Ext. Wide shot Ice. Day.
Here we see Mug on his way to the mark. He is alone, moving quickly.
Ext. The Mark. Day.
At this location, there has to be some sort of recognizable object: a shack, or a pole, or a phone booth. Anything. There is ice and tundra etc. Cold. Icy. Mug arrives first, clearly. He upsets the snow mobile, makes the scene look like an accident. He then finds a place to hide.
Mug
Yes, Linda, this is it. This is it. (He locks and loads his rifle)
Int. Jeep. Day.
The three drive up to the overturned snow mobile. The POV should be Linda's from the backseat.
Nick
What the hell is this?
Johnny
An accident.
Nick
Yeah, but how? There shouldn't be anyone else here.
Linda
A trap?
Ext. Accident. Day.
The jeep has arrived and the three get out of it and walk to the accident scene.
Linda
This is a set-up. It's a trap.
Johnny
Yeah? No body. (Beat) (Nick follows the footprints away from the accident) Nick? No!
Ext. Down the gun barrel. Day.
Mug (Whispering)
Move, move you fuck. Come out Linda, let me get a good look at you.
Ext. Wide shot. Day.
Nick pulls out his gun as he stalks the footprints.
Ext. Down the gun Barrel. Day.
Mug (Whispering)
Okay Linda, one step sweetheart. One step, right or left. (Looking down the barrel the scene is the jeep, the accident, and the three other people. When Linda moves out from behind Johnny, Mug prepares for a shot. He breathes in and the rifle goes up and then down.)
Well, sweetheart, we'll always have Malta. (He squeezes off a round)
*Camera suggestion: can we follow the bullet? As the bullet nears Linda, Johnny steps in the way and gets dropped. (Beat) As the bullet drops Johnny confusion ensues, both Nick and Linda hit the snow.
Ext. Brief case. Day.
Linda screams, drops the case and low crawls to Johnny. Snow is stained red.
Linda (shouts)
Nick? Nick, it is a trap.
Nick
Stay down. Stay down. Cover the case. (Beat) Don't let loose the pacakage.
Linda
He's dead. He's dead.
Nick
Stay down!
Mug (Shouts)
Linda? Oh, Linda, this next one is for you. Do you hear me?
Linda
Mug?
Mug
Do you hear me? This next one is for you. It seems we left some unfinished business in Malta.
Linda
Unfinished business?
Mug
We'll finish it now.
Ext. Accident. Day.
Nick looks back at Linda and nods. She nods back. As this is transpiring, Nick continues to low crawl though the snow.
Int. Boardroom. Day.
Mr. Stone
Ladies and gentlemen, I have for you the light life of the far north. In our new city, we will have the world's premier bars, lounges, theaters, restaurants. It will be a modern day, ultra-sheik, Montmartre, sans the dirt and the poor. Everything there will run independently of the rest of the world, off the grid entirely, and completely independent of everything else. No one will pass through, no one will find our residents. No, once established, the complete solution is in the seclusion. Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce the exiles' paradise.
(Applause)
Ext. Accident. Day.
Nick crawls around the hiding place completely unseen. He crawls up to hide where Mug is kneeling. Mug continues slowly.
Mug
Come here Linda and get what's coming to you. It's over, you bitch, I will never be made a fool again.
Nick comes up behind Mug.
Nick
Drop the rifle pal. I got you. (Beat) [He pulls the gun closer to the back of Mug's head. Mug drops the rifle]
Nick
Slowly stand up, turn around. (Beat) I don't know who you are, but I've never shot a man in the back.
As soon as Mug turns around Nick shoots him through the head. Mug falls.
Nick
Linda? Linda come here.
Linda runs through the snow.
Nick
Do you know this man?
Linda
This is Mug. Mug, meet Nick...
Nick
Who is he?
Linda
He's dead.
Nick
Who is he to you?
Linda
He's a problem to me. He's single handedly responsible for the disaster at Malta. And he killed Johnny.
Nick
It's over now.
Linda
I'm glad he's dead. His partner tried to flip the mark in Malta. I solved the problem then, I should have solved him too.
Nick
How'd he get here?
Linda
Tailed us. He delivered the package to us in Seattle.
Nick
But the tracks come from the other direction.
Linda
Well, it's over now.
Nick
Where is the package?
Linda
Fuck.
Nick
We're not quite there, we have to go.
Linda
Good, I can't wait to get out of here off this God forsaken ice.
Nick
What? Oh, yeah.
Ext. Jeep close shot. Day.
Nick reaches the jeep first. He reaches down to pick up the package (case).
Linda
Hold on a minute, cowboy. That case belongs to me.
As Nick stands up and tries to face Linda, she takes out her gun. She shoots him, he falls.
Linda
Well, last man standing proves to be a woman.
She takes the package and climbs into the jeep.
Linda
Hi ho! Hi ho! To the mark, we go.
Int. Boardroom. Day.
Mr. Stone
Yes ladies and gentleman, phase one will be completed now.
Mr. Stone fusses with the phone on the desk. He dials a number and a few sequences later he gets a ring.
Split Screen.
Int. Boardroom. Day.
Ext. Jeep. Day.
Linda
Hello?
Mr. Stone
Well, Linda, what's happened?
Linda
Mr. Stone. Now, you know what happened.
Mr. Stone
Are you at the mark?
Linda
Yes Mr. Stone.
External scene only
Linda
I'm here.
Mr. Stone (Voice-over)
Open the package Linda.
Linda
Are we on the level Mr. Stone.
Mr. Stone (Voice-over)
We've always been on the level Linda, always been on the level.
Linda
But Malta?
Mr. Stone (Voice-over)
Never mind that. Open the package.
Ext. The Mark. Day.
Linda has the package on “the mark” she opens it and beams, fire, smoke come out of it. This package has proved to be a bomb, and someone had to detonate it. If possible make the blast resemble a nuclear blast, a mushroom cloud. Sounds of steam and water rushing are present. After the smoke clears a little bit, the camera must be on the sun. Butterflies come into the scene, between our POV and the sun. The butterflies are on the rise and the camera follows them upward.
As the camera pans down the ice had been melted and dark colored earth has taken it's place. Linda's body has been reduced to a skeleton and her clothes are in tatters.
Int. Boardroom. Day.
Mr. Stone
Now, ladies and gentlemen the construction of the future can begin. All has been taken care of. The far north awaits us. As the last of the steam evaporates and creates a dome of ice over our construction sight, our workers are on their way with a caravan, materials to build our future.
Fade to black.
Use of plot and even a plot heavy screenplay works with short film. Just remember that the confines of 20 minutes can happen quickly.
As always, good luck and happy writing.
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