'Risky' hero

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  • #31
    Re: 'Risky' hero

    @ylekot43: I'll do that

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    • #32
      Re: 'Risky' hero

      The key to this seems to be that your terrorist's motives must be rooted out. After all, it's the government that approaches him I assume. So this gives you wide latitude in finding what will bring him around. Also, his final motivation may not match what his handlers hope for.

      I definitely think his past actions should be reprehensible. If you give him too much sympathy, i.e., his family was blown up, he loses the "risky- tag you are going for from the outset. Let the audience learn to like him for what he becomes, not forgive him for what he was.
      www.silvercop.com
      If we don't get the information, and if we don't get the leads, we can't track down the killers.

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      • #33
        Re: 'Risky' hero

        @silvercop : that's wonderful said.

        I've started to write some ideas and dialogue lines I already have on the cards and start assembling the thing sloooowly. But I'll definitely write it.
        I'm not sure if I should bring anything remotely reminding on "romantic" into it, but we will see, what the characters say ^^.

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        • #34
          Re: 'Risky' hero

          If you're going to have him be at least somewhat responsible for a crime, it might help to have him be under 18, or at least under 21, when the crime takes place.

          This might increase the believability of his redemption.

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          • #35
            Re: 'Risky' hero

            (Hope I don't trample on anyone's nerves with the topic. I just like to discuss this with co-writers )

            So, well, @SticcoCo: I get your point, this would be helpful. However, I cannot manage it. My character is 45 - 50 years old, and he should be a high level terrorist, not only an abused child-soldier.

            I will definitely make a cut between terrorists attacking civilian targets, and ones attacking military targets (I know, this is tricky, but this is a whole different thing, and I'm confident I can pull it through - at least from writer's point of view. The audience... well, that's why I discuss this here
            But this will be one of the angle points. The difference between my protagonist and his brother. One considers civilian targets as legitimate, the other not. But he has raised and trained his "rogue" brother, so what went wrong - an interesting side plot.

            I read a lot of personal stories from criminals with a 'redemption'-history (no terrorist, however). There can be some events and situations in a life making these hard core people really think and change. It's no myth. Some ended up really working for crime-prevention, later. So I THINK, it is not far fetched.

            I have just to find a way to make it graspable for a movie. In a novel, this would be easier, because I could dive into the man's mind.

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            • #36
              Re: 'Risky' hero

              Here's another suggestion on the redemption angle.

              What if your terrorist is languishing in a prison in Iraq, because he had plotted a bombing there and the bomb killed scores of people? But he suffers from terrible guilt. Why?

              It turns out he was building a huge bomb, in a factory next to his apartment building. When he was away, the bomb accidently detonated, killing his own family along with others. Irony.

              Now you have a terrorist in prison torn between his warped religious/political beliefs and his guilt for having killed his own family. He has been suffering unbearable mental anguish for three years and will suffer for the rest of his life in prison. He was a higher level terrorist whose religious beliefs won't allow him to commit suicide.

              He's ripe for redemption. He can redem himself by agreeing to be brought to the U.S. to help prevent a plot that would kill other innocent women and children.

              He works with a young female agent to stop the plot, which his brother is involved in. You could kill him and his brother in the end, as he sacrifices himself to save others.

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              • #37
                Re: 'Risky' hero

                @jonpiper: sounds intriguing, too.

                Did you know, that one terrorist behind the WTC-attack actually had a bomb mixed together which blew up in his apartment? It was in the "early stages" of their attack plan.

                Sometimes reality is not far from our writer's imagination.

                What do you folks think about letting the protag die in the end? It's easy, and I already wanted to do this often, but in the end - couldn't bring myself to it. First giving the hell of an imagination to one's redemption, then let him/her die.

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                • #38
                  Re: 'Risky' hero

                  Having your protag die is risky. But if the story is good, it won't stop people from liking it. Think, "Saving Private Ryan."
                  www.silvercop.com
                  If we don't get the information, and if we don't get the leads, we can't track down the killers.

                  Comment


                  • #39
                    Re: 'Risky' hero

                    Originally posted by VanceVanCleaf View Post
                    An idea popped up in my mind lately, but I'm not sure if it's worth pursuing it in matter of 'filmeability' and 'commerciality', you know what I'm trying to say, when I've told you I like to share input with fellow writers and creative minds.

                    So, I would like to make something evolving about a rather 'old' theme: terrorists threaten to blow up the UN building in New York. BUT: There should be some tricky things all around this, making it really difficult to do something against it (not figured out the specifics). So the SF and police, the law-and-order-part, has to seek help from am ex - terrorist mastermind sitting in High Security confinement.

                    He would be the hero and he should 'save the day'. And in the course of events, what we think is good and what evil might turn violently several times. But nonetheless, the guy is a top terrorist and evil doer, and I NEED him to be.

                    What do you think? Would this have a chance? Would you read / watch such stuff, concerning the idea and this hero?
                    Sounds like another Die Hard, but you wouldn't sell it as that. If you do it right, you'll make billions. The originality is in the characters and dialogue. Go with it.
                    Story Structure 1
                    Story Structure 2
                    Story Structure 3

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                    • #40
                      Re: 'Risky' hero

                      @Timmy: yep, making billions would be great. Thanks folks for all your feedback!

                      This gave me enough testground to start the project. I've another script ready to send out first, but I've already made some basic studies for this new stuff. Think I'll title it "Pact with the Devil" or something like that... and this "pact" will NOT be the deal the FBI makes with my terrorist protag.

                      I will watch all the movies you mentioned before if not done so, to avoid walking too much in beaten out tracks.

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