Rotten cops--the iconic essentials

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  • Rotten cops--the iconic essentials

    Looking to write a story involving corrupt cops. Want to create a list of iconic and essential elements that that all good stories like this include.

    So far I have:

    1. usually it's a team of bad cops, with a clear leader
    2. they're in bed with a crime boss, and/or
    3. they're in bed with a politician
    4. a murder (by the rotten cops) often gets the protagonist involved
    5. they have a clear plan with a clear goal (get rich, vigilante justice, etc)

  • #2
    Re: Rotten cops--the iconic essentials

    Dodgy cops are also:

    - charismatic (Training Day, Internal Affairs)
    - seemingly untouchable - have very few weaknesses
    - friends/acquaintances of influential people - politicians, magistrates, gang leaders
    - ruthless (LA Confidential, Witness)
    - usually one step ahead of the protagonist
    - able to manipulate the protagonist - compromise them professionally, morally and emotionally.

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    • #3
      Re: Rotten cops--the iconic essentials

      Or... you could aim for something original instead of trying to create the quintessential cliché of a dirty cop.

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      • #4
        Re: Rotten cops--the iconic essentials

        A clear "good by" date that is at least two months old.
        Not refrigerated - so the cops can't be cool.
        Smells bad - a scene where the cop is sniffed after being removed from the fridge.

        PS: I've always though Jonnie Rotten should have played a cop.

        - Bill
        Last edited by wcmartell; 07-31-2011, 08:07 PM.
        Free Script Tips:
        http://www.scriptsecrets.net

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        • #5
          Re: Rotten cops--the iconic essentials

          Cross one line, the bad cop will cross them all; arrogant, self-assured; abusive to family members; lover on the side; self-serving, will rat or turn on others.

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          • #6
            Re: Rotten cops--the iconic essentials

            Originally posted by sbbn View Post
            Or... you could aim for something original instead of trying to create the quintessential cliché of a dirty cop.
            But that's only half of my concept...the twist is: they're Vampires! I mean Demons! I mean Angels! I mean Aliens! I mean Ghosts!

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            • #7
              Re: Rotten cops--the iconic essentials

              Anything but vampires.
              Cufk, Tish, Sips.

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              • #8
                Re: Rotten cops--the iconic essentials

                Manboobs.


                Ginourmous manboobs.
                If you really like it you can have the rights
                It could make a million for you overnight

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                • #9
                  Re: Rotten cops--the iconic essentials

                  Gotta agree. Avoid the clichè where possibe (it's always possible), even if your bad cop is a cyborg. Instead of using a pre-fab shopping list, create your character as if he/she was an average, dedicated professional, then take away their ability to control some important aspect of their life, present them with a fix-it-quick opportunity, and let the story unfold.

                  If you start with a shopping list, you'll end up with a shopping bag character.

                  And btw, I disagree with your list.

                  aw

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                  • #10
                    Re: Rotten cops--the iconic essentials

                    Originally posted by alex whitmer View Post
                    And btw, I disagree with your list.

                    aw
                    Why?

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                    • #11
                      Re: Rotten cops--the iconic essentials

                      Though it's part of the second DVD volume of Columbia Film Noir Classics, you should see "Pushover" (I saw it on Antenna TV), SNAFU.
                      www.imdb.com/title/tt0047377

                      Directed by Richard Quine (the comedies "How To Murder Your Wife" and "Operation: Mad Bull", both starring Jack Lemmon) and written by Roy Huggins ("The Fugitive", "The Rockford Files" with a young Stephen J. Cannell), a straight-arrow cop (Fred MacMurray) is assigned to do stakeout a bank robber's girl (Kim Novak, in her first film work) in order to capture the thief and recover the cash, but he gets seduced by the cash and does un-straight-arrow cop things to get the girl. Pretty white-knuckled suspense that twists the film noir archetypes.

                      Also stars future soap opera icon Phil Carey (grew up in Rosedale, Queens!!!), Dorothy Malone and E.G. Marshall (the original Defenders, "12 Angry Men", "Absolute Power").
                      "A screenwriter is much like being a fire hydrant with a bunch of dogs lined up around it.- -Frank Miller

                      "A real writer doesn't just want to write; a real writer has to write." -Alan Moore

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