As I wanted the characters in my outline to take precedents and provide comedy from their interactions, I knew I needed to first develop the ones I would create, particularly the central male duo who guide the film along. Because I knew I wanted their bickering to be a main part of the film, I knew the two had to contrast, then with the situation they were placed in I needed both of them to be at least partially idiotic/passive as to not reach for the logical conclusion of standing up to such an individual. I knew I wanted one of the protagonists to be more passive than the other, similar to Zach Braff’s protagonist in Garden State (Braff, 2004) where instead of him tackling problems and causing conflict, instead actions simply happen around the individual. This would allow me to use a lot of the character’s reactions to mine for comedy. It also justifies the presence of another protagonist for the sake of conflict, as ‘a weak character cannot carry the burden of protracted conflict’ (Egri, 2004, 80), therefore the other half of the duo would need to be more self-assured and confident in his actions, an active protagonist. I thought back of other examples of central duos within films and began to look at the relationships of friends that provide good ground for comedic dialogue and began to develop the two characters and explore their relationship and backstory:

Michael – Late 20s sales assistant who lives with Jacob. The more adult of the two: smart, sensitive and logical in thought. Witnessing the murder has a severe emotional impact on Michael, who uses it as an excuse to abandon his responsibilities for a short period of time. His goal is to feel as free as Jacob appears to seem daily. He is the passive protagonist of the two and, due to how burnt out he feels by his job, seems to go with the flow and latch onto Jacob’s paranoia and actions throughout the film. Because he seems fed up with how his life going, his jealousy of Jacob’s ‘free spirit’ attitude will help me add character to the film and allow the two to become three dimensional, adding an extra layer to their relationship instead of having them just be jokes throughout the entire outline.

Jacob – Late 20s, currently unemployed man who lives with Michael. Childish, lazy and extremely idiotic, his paranoia infects Michael throughout the film multiple times. Recently single, he’s still hung up over the breakup with Katie and tries to use his situation to enforce himself into her life once again. His primary goal is simply not to die, though he’s secretly worried Michael plans to kick him out the house and attempts to stop that happening at any cost. He’s the more active of the two and is the primary source of arguments and conflict. The backstory of his break-up allows for subplots to be present throughout the film’s main story, and will allow me to flesh the character out towards the second act where his love for his ex puts the two of them in danger once more.

I’ve begun noting down small plot plot points that could develop these character traits within the plot, but I think I need to think more about structure in the next couple of days so I know the limits of what I can and can’t do.

 

Bibliography:

Braff, Z. (dir.) Garden State [DVD]. Fox Searchlight Pictures.

Egri, L. (2004) The Art of Dramatic Writing. London: Simon and Schuster.