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Marilyn Horowitz

Marilyn Horowitz

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Steal This Movie

May 13, 2010 by Marilyn Horowitz

I saw this story on the AP today about a man who defrauded Comerica Bank out of millions of dollars to finance his independent films.

I obviously don’t condone his methods but I do have to respect his creative drive.

As an exercise:
Why does your character (hero or villain) steal? Is it to feed himself and his family like Jean Valjean in Les Miserables? Or to get revenge against a former employer like Woody Harrelson’s character did in Money Train? Or maybe it’s to protect a family member’s reputation like in How To Steal A Million…

Even if your character doesn’t steal something in your story, imagine they do. By deciding what it would take to drive them to steal, you can learn a lot about them. And no one said they have to steal money or priceless works of art. Maybe they just steal the girl 😉

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  • Home
  • About
  • Writing Services
  • Writing Guidance
    • Writing Evaluation
    • Writing Guidance
    • Comprehensive Packages
    • Ongoing Coaching
  • Classes & Seminars
    • New York University Classes
    • Seminars
    • Free Video Tutorials
    • Movie Breakdowns
    • Online Stores
  • Books & Media
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Scripting
    • What is Scripting?
    • Scripting Cheat Sheet
    • Free Scripting Class
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