Re: Protags: Likable? Relatable? Empathetic? Or is intriguing enough?
Not kidding I'm blown away any writer doesn't love Breaking Bad. Like I watched all of The Sopranos -- I have plenty of problems with it -- but just watching James G as Tony was one the best acting experiences of our lifetime. The show was good but he was great. It's really what started this all for modern times.
And it's just fiction. It's not real life. I have these fights with non-writers -- but always surprised writers -- who probably write some terrible things their characters do that they would never do in a million years -- can't appreciate the difference.
If you like Goodfellas or Godfather movies -- you are routing for the bad guys but they are against other bad guys.
Anyway in 2020 -- a character like Walter White is the norm on drama TV it seems to me. Ozark is it's cousin. Even the good guys that were on TV like on Justified -- he would walk around shooting everyone and the bad Neo Nazi guy became like the second lead and you started to like him.
I'll admit I did watch The Shield and I didn't like it. So it's not just them being bad and I'm in. It's still about the story and characters.
I understood Tony. Walter White. And I wanted to know see if they could survive the crazy world they lived in and part of me deep down wonders could I do anything they did...
First "bad guy" I recall liking was Hans Gruber in Die Hard. They always say the bad guy doesn't know he's the bad guy he thinks he's the good guy. And that is key to these characters. Walter White is convinced he's doing it for his family but by the end he comes to terms with that he's doing it for himself. And the pitch was taking a teacher Mr. Chips to Scarface. And they did that. And it's great. You should all give it another chance.
Not kidding I'm blown away any writer doesn't love Breaking Bad. Like I watched all of The Sopranos -- I have plenty of problems with it -- but just watching James G as Tony was one the best acting experiences of our lifetime. The show was good but he was great. It's really what started this all for modern times.
And it's just fiction. It's not real life. I have these fights with non-writers -- but always surprised writers -- who probably write some terrible things their characters do that they would never do in a million years -- can't appreciate the difference.
If you like Goodfellas or Godfather movies -- you are routing for the bad guys but they are against other bad guys.
Anyway in 2020 -- a character like Walter White is the norm on drama TV it seems to me. Ozark is it's cousin. Even the good guys that were on TV like on Justified -- he would walk around shooting everyone and the bad Neo Nazi guy became like the second lead and you started to like him.
I'll admit I did watch The Shield and I didn't like it. So it's not just them being bad and I'm in. It's still about the story and characters.
I understood Tony. Walter White. And I wanted to know see if they could survive the crazy world they lived in and part of me deep down wonders could I do anything they did...
First "bad guy" I recall liking was Hans Gruber in Die Hard. They always say the bad guy doesn't know he's the bad guy he thinks he's the good guy. And that is key to these characters. Walter White is convinced he's doing it for his family but by the end he comes to terms with that he's doing it for himself. And the pitch was taking a teacher Mr. Chips to Scarface. And they did that. And it's great. You should all give it another chance.
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