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How realistic should a super dark thriller be?

I'm writing a screenplay which I wanna make into my first film in time. It's an action film and it's about as dark as United 93. The thing is, since it's low budget and my first, I don't want to have a lot of characters. The main character is a cop trying to track down terrorists, who are committing attacks around the city. But during the action scenes I wanna have him work mostly alone, without any back up. Because of the low budget of course.

How do I write it so that it's believable without back up though? Especially since he's on the trail of the terrorists that are bringing the city to it's knees, you think any other cops would wanna lend a hand. But I have to write so that they are often unavailable. Accept for the climax where a big police showdown happens with some surprise twists. But for the other action scenes, I only want the main character. So when I have a story that's very dark and tragic, how realistic would I have to write this plot convenience? Thanks.
 
I'm writing a screenplay which I wanna make into my first film in time. It's an action film and it's about as dark as United 93. The thing is, since it's low budget and my first, I don't want to have a lot of characters. The main character is a cop trying to track down terrorists, who are committing attacks around the city. But during the action scenes I wanna have him work mostly alone, without any back up. Because of the low budget of course.

How do I write it so that it's believable without back up though? Especially since he's on the trail of the terrorists that are bringing the city to it's knees, you think any other cops would wanna lend a hand. But I have to write so that they are often unavailable. Accept for the climax where a big police showdown happens with some surprise twists. But for the other action scenes, I only want the main character. So when I have a story that's very dark and tragic, how realistic would I have to write this plot convenience? Thanks.

depending on your direction, you could go a number of ways.

one could include that said terrorist group could have bombed the police department, causing a conundrum and, therefore, a lack of police.

for the climax, out-of-state officers could hear about the crysis and come to aid.
 
Well I thought about that, but they don't commit terrorist acts by bomb. It's a twist in the story how the attacks are being carried out. But if they police department was all killed, that would cause a lot more things in the story, to go in other directions, and I couldn't have that. Plus I need a lot of the police left alive for the climax. The terrorists actually do strike at the police which leads to a lot of bad things happening, but that doesn't happen till the third act though, and I need to have it so their is not back up for the scenarios before that. Another thing I forgot to mention is that in real life the police would have helicopters, especially in a crisis like this. However, because of the low budget, would I be able to write so that there are no helicopters, or is that just too fake?

The tone is about as serious as United 93, but does that work with the one man working alone tone?
 
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Well I thought about that, but they don't commit terrorist acts by bomb. It's a twist in the story how the attacks are being carried out. But if they police department was all killed, that would cause a lot more things in the story, to go in other directions, and I couldn't have that. Plus I need a lot of the police left alive for the climax. The terrorists actually do strike at the police which leads to a lot of bad things happening, but that doesn't happen till the third act though, and I need to have it so their is not back up for the scenarios before that. Another thing I forgot to mention is that in real life the police would have helicopters, especially in a crisis like this. However, because of the low budget, would I be able to write so that there are no helicopters, or is that just too fake?

probably too fake, but you dont need to dumb down your script because of funds.

if this is your first film, dont worry about having to pay anyone on your staff. focus on trying to get a believable story.

perhaps this particular story is a tad bit expensive, though, as you would need a lot of resources.
 
during the action scenes I wanna have him work mostly alone, without any back up. Because of the low budget of course. How do I write it so that it's believable without back up though?

Budget should not be a concern for you. Ever seen Die Hard?

I'm not going to look up how many millions that film cost, but they made a film about one guy in a skyscraper with no backup.

There's that almost identical film with Dean Cain (in Breakaway) about one guy in a shopping mall with no backup. Direct-to-DVD, and a fraction of the cost.

You, too, can do the same. :cool:

You could also switch things up a bit - maybe your cop character is outside of his jurisdiction (foreign country, on his own) or maybe he's lost his badge in his own area (LA Confidential type of thing)... heck there are dozens of reasons why someone has no access to backup, but available budget should not be one of those concerns.
 
Well yeah, but I am trying to come up with reasons, when there is no back up, during wanting to capture terrorists, cause if you call for back up in that scenario, the force would be much more eager to help get them.

In Die Hard they still had several cops, on the ground though, and a SWAT team trying to break into the building. And they had a helicopter too. So it seems Die Hard still made more sense, because the police at least arrived. I don't think can't have the main character get suspended because then he wouldn't be assigned to perform certain duties in the first half that is required. However after he causes something to go horrible wrong, I could have him get suspended from then on. Plus the other cops might not wanna work with him after his big mistake. But mainly I need an explanation for why he has no back up for the first half.
 
Sure. there is one car chase though, where the police are in pursuit and setting up road blocks and all. The characters then abandoned the cars and are on foot, and in hiding while on the run. Normally a helicopter or more would search for them, but the police are doing it all from the ground. Do I need an explanation for no helicopter or can I just write it without one, with the realistic tone? I thought about him getting his radio ruined, but wouldn't he have a cellphone and a car radio too, that need to get fried?
 
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Sure. there is one car chase though, where the police are in pursuit and setting up road blocks and all. The characters then abandoned the cars and are on foot, and in hiding while on the run. Normally a helicopter or more would search for them, but the police are doing it all from the ground. Do I need an explanation for no helicopter or can I just write it without one, with the realistic tone? I thought about him getting his radio ruined, but wouldn't he have a cellphone and a car radio too, that need to get fried?

Weather.
 
Well I did wanna write it so that for the first half, the cops are at some popular public function, like a policeman's banquet or something. The main character tries to call them but they wanna stay at their banquet for the time being and don't come out, until later when the crisis is over for the time being. If that works. For a car chase in the opening though, the main character will have to do a car chase without back up though, and realistically an officer is usually not suppose to run cars off the street, on his own, since it can cause more danger. That's what road blocks are for, but he will have to do a whole car chase himself and drive just as recklessly as the villains, since there are none. Is that type of car chase maybe a little Fast and Furious-ish for a United 93 style thriller?
 
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Well I did wanna write it so that for the first half, the cops are at some popular public function, like a policeman's banquet or something. The main character tries to call them but they wanna stay at their banquet for the time being and don't come out, until later when the crisis is over for the time being. If that works. For a car chase in the opening though, the main character will have to do a car chase without back up though, and realistically an officer is usually not suppose to run cars off the street, on his own, since it can cause more danger. That's what road blocks are for, but he will have to do a whole car chase himself and drive just as recklessly as the villains, since there are none. Is that type of car chase maybe a little Fast and Furious-ish for a United 93 style thriller?

What the hell does that have to do with weather? :hmm:
 
What about a solar storm that's knocked out all the satellites and cell towers.

Or maybe it actually turns out that it wasn't a solar storm after all but really the terrorist group knocking out communications.
 
Write out the treatment and ignore all the justifications. Get the whole story down first. Then go back and look at the logic of the scenes. My experience is that planning the story is important but bogging down in too much detail upfront can stifle creativity.

The audience will follow the story and suspend belief to an extent. You might change his profession to FBI or Homeland security. Local law enforcement often are uncooperative with federal authorities. He may be on vacation/assignment. His partner is killed/kidnapped so he must do it low key. Since he's federal, they can resent his 'ordering' them about and take his request for air back-up as 'overkill'. By putting him on a different team, it weakens his support in pursuing the terrorists. And if he is in a sensitive mission and his partner is compromised/dead, he may be unable to get federal assistance until the last moment.

But get the story down first. Then tweak it to make it plausible. Don't worry about fitting the story to the genre. You may be breaking new ground, which is okay. Just tell a good story.
 
Assuming you're following the safety of the now cononized three act structure:

ScriptStructure.jpg


Solutions:

INADMISSIBLE EVIDENCE
ACT I Uses (single or successive) inadmissible evidence to track terrorists.
ACT II Is ordered by superiors to stop, thrown off case.
ACT III Gets fired for pursuing, but continues anyway.

TIME CONSTRAINT
ACT I Protag & partner investigate suspicious but inconclusive activities.
ACT II Partner is kidnapped by terrorists on the go, message to Protag to quit or else partner killed.
ACT III No time for back up to get there as pursuit continues.

FAMILY / ROMANCE
ACT I Suspects family member or romantic interest is involved, withholds critical intel from superiors.
ACT II Terrorists escape as Protag's suspicions are confirmed, refuses back up assistance.
ACT III Plea to abort plan or at least run away ends in death of family member/romantic interest, plot continues.

Gopherit & GL
 
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Well the first half of my story, is closer to the INADMISSIBLE EVIDENCE 3 acts there, but there is also another subplot going on during that's connected. Then the last half goes off into completely different directions. I didn't follow a three act structure really, I just came up with my own story. Same thing with another script I finished, didn't follow the three act structure. I try to come up with a really good climax idea first, then build into that climax. At least that's what I've done so far for my first two.

One thing I never really got is why do movie cops go out and try to solve their own after being suspended or fired, since any evidence obtain will be deemed inadmissible anyway. If he gets fired for bringing forth inadmissible evidence, going out and getting more won't help. But in this case it's about stopping the next attack. I can come up with reasons why back up is not available in some parts, but the one I am stumped on is how do I have a whole car chase happen in the city without any other cops noticing, or being available? If the terrorists biggest suspect is fleeing in a speeding car, throughout the city, you think that maybe the police would put off what they are doing, or I guess I could have him handle the whole chase himself if that's believable enough for the tone.
 
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Write out the treatment and ignore all the justifications. Get the whole story down first. Then go back and look at the logic of the scenes. My experience is that planning the story is important but bogging down in too much detail upfront can stifle creativity.

The audience will follow the story and suspend belief to an extent. You might change his profession to FBI or Homeland security. Local law enforcement often are uncooperative with federal authorities. He may be on vacation/assignment. His partner is killed/kidnapped so he must do it low key. Since he's federal, they can resent his 'ordering' them about and take his request for air back-up as 'overkill'. By putting him on a different team, it weakens his support in pursuing the terrorists. And if he is in a sensitive mission and his partner is compromised/dead, he may be unable to get federal assistance until the last moment.

But get the story down first. Then tweak it to make it plausible. Don't worry about fitting the story to the genre. You may be breaking new ground, which is okay. Just tell a good story.

Yeah I got a lot of the story already down. Now I'm just looking to fill in the logical gaps. But for those examples before, I don't know what will work best.
 
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One thing I never really got is why do movie cops go out and try to solve their own after being suspended or fired, since any evidence obtain will be deemed inadmissible anyway.

1. Because it's an freakin' movie.

2. If they didn't go on there wouldn't be a movie.

3. Movies have nothing to do with reality.


Besides, the bad guy almost always end up dead, so there won't be a trial.
 
Well yeah for most thrillers that can work, but since I'm doing a really dark one (no I'm not exaggerating), I feel that perhaps it should take place in the real world more than the average thriller. I can set it in a the more fake movie world, if that's okay, but I don't want the dark material to come off as too dramatically realistic for a semi-unrealistic movie. I mean where is the line drawn? Die Hard 2 for example had a plot that just wouldn't happen, but in that one they did kill off a whole plain full of innocent people. But that was only like five minutes before the tone went back into more escapist movie mode.
 
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