HDTWI - 100 Characters PDF

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HDTWI: 100 CHARACTERS

INTRODUCING CHARACTERS IN YOUR SCREENPLAY
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Compiled by Nathalie from mentorless.com

fn ctrl alt cmd alt hdtwi
p. 2 Introducing characters in your screenplay
compiled by Nathalie from mentorless.com
About HDTWI: 100 Characters

HDTWI: 100 Characters is the fourth extension of How Did They Write It, a free eBook that compiles over 400 examples from 25
screenplays providing screenwriters with possible formatting for specific scenes (montage, tracking shot, phone conversation, car
chase, family dinner etc.) If you havent already, you can download How Did They Write It here: www.mentorless.com/HDTWI
HDTWI: 100 Characters offers examples of how Characters have been introduced in a variety of screenplays.
RECOMMENDATION:
For an optimized learning experience, I always recommend reading the screenplay and watching the film selected below.
FORMATTING
The screenplay is reproduced as found online. A word in CAPITAL LETTERS, bold or italic , will be reproduced as such in
HDTWI:100 CHARACTERS.
For easier reading, actual line jumps are replaced with the // symbol. In other words, the symbol // represents a line jump in the
actual screenplay.
A page number [XX] at the end of each extracts corresponds to the original screenplay page.
Please Note: Page numbering varies depending on the screenplay version you read. The version featured in HDTWI or its
extensions might no longer be available online.
mentorless 2015 www.mentorless.com/HDTWI-100-characters

About HDTWI: 100 CHARACTERS

LEARN MORE
When deemed fit, a Learn More section with links to interviews, making-ofs and master classes are available to read on
www.mentorless.com
SELECTION
The below selection is subjective and mostly based on me having the screenplays and seen the films.
My goal is to make it as interesting and useful as possible for screenwriters looking to learn from seasoned peers by
showing as many examples as possible for introducing a character.

On LEARNING, SHARING & HELPING

ON LEARNING & SHARING
How Did They Wite It and its extensions are intentionally free, open to the public, and for educational purposes only.
The goal of the project is to help screenwriters.
If you enjoy HDTWI: 100 Characters and would like to share it with others, please send them the following link
www.mentorless.com/HDTWI-100-characters instead of directly emailing them the pdf.
HDTWI and its extensions are part of a global continuing education effort that started more than two years ago with
mentorless.com, a site where I share articles that I found useful and inspiring.
HOW YOU CAN HELP

- Share this link on Social Media and in your networks: www.mentorless.com/HDTWI-100-characters
- U se this content mindfully. If you want to use extracts from HDTWI or its extensions, credit @mentorless along with the
screenwriter(s) behind the selected screenplay(s).
- Foster healthy debates, reach out, and share with your community whatever you think might be helpful and inspiring.
Thank you for taking the time to explore HDTWI and its extensions.
If you have any questions, dont hesitate to contact me at [email protected],
Nathalie.

About Schmidt (2002) by Alexander Payne & Jim Taylor

MAIN CHArACTER - MAN (66)
WARREN SCHMIDT, 66, sits at his desk looking up at the clock. The desk
is completely clear except for a telephone.
// Next to the desk are several large CARBOARD BOXES. They are marked
SCHMIDT ACTIVE DOCUMENTARY, and SCHMIDT FILES ARCHIVE.
[p1]
MAN (34)
GARY NORDIN, 34, clinks a greasy knife on his water glass. His neck is
thick, and his Brooks Brothers collar is too tight. [p2]
ADAPTATION (2002) by Charlie Kaufman & Donald Kaufman

MAIN CHArACTER - MAN
Charlie Kaufman, a fat, balding man in a purple sweater with tags still
attached, paces. His incantational voice-over carpets this and every scene
hes in. It is at times barely audible, but always present. [p1]
AINT THEM BODIES SAINTS (2013) by David Lowery

MAIN CHARACTER - WOMAN (27)
This is where we find RUTH, 27 years old now. Lines on her face and dirt
under her nails. Theres a calmness to her that wasnt there in that wired
girl in the farmhouse. She moves, gently, calmly. [p10]
MAN (30s)
A big hound dog loafs by the bar. Standing behind which, presiding over
it all, chatting with customers is SWEETIE. An affable guy, probably
in his 30s, wholl look much the same in 10, 20, 30 years, simply because
hes happy where he is. [p25]
AMERICAN BEAUTY (1999) by Alan Ball

LESTER (V.O.)
My name is Lester Burnham. This is my neighborhood. This is my street.
This... is my life. Im forty-two years old. In less than a year, Ill be dead.
[p1]
TEENAGE GIRL (16)

On VIDEO: JANE BURNHAM lays in bed, wearing a tank top. Shes sixteen,
with dark, intense eyes.
JANE
I need a father whos a role model, not some horny geek-boy whos gonna
spray his shorts whenever I bring a girlfriend home from school. [p1]
WOMAN (40)
CAROLYN BURNHAM tends her rose bushes in front of the Burnham
house. A very well-put together woman of forty, she wears color-co
ordinated gardening togs and has lots of useful and expensive tools. [p2]
An EDUCATION (2009) by Nick Hornby

MAIN CHArACTER - TEENAGE GIRL (16)
JENNY, our heroine, is bent over a small desk. Victorian novels, Latin
primers and dictionaires teeter in huge towers either side of her. She
stands and stretches as she turns to us. She is sixteen and beautiful. Shes
also tired and bored. [p1]
DAD (60s)
Jennys father JACK is in his forties, bespectacled, moustachioed,

becadiganed. MARJORIE, her mother, is slightly younger than JACK, but
every bit as middle-aged. [p1]
WOMAN (60s)
Jenny looks nervous. For the first time we see her wearing make-up but
its been inexpertly applied, and she looks gauche -especially compared
to Helen, who is in her mid-twenties, beautiful, and as far from anyones
idea of an aunt as one can get. Shes no more beautiful than Jenny, but
shes dressed both appropriately and spectacularly, in early-60s,

pre-hippy Bohemian gear. She turns head in a way that Jenny is not yet
able to. [p21]
ATTACK THE BLOCK (2011) by Joe Cornish

MAIN CHArACTER - WOMAN (20s)
SAM, mid 20s, emerges from the crowd. Well dressed, pretty, mousey. She
takes out a PINK MOBILE. [p1]
MAIN CHArACTER - YOUNG MAN

They defer to the LEAD YOUTH. His eyes are still on the smoking WRECK.
He pulls his MASK OFF and we see his FACE. He is calm, authoritative. His
name is MOSES. [p6]
YOUNG MAN
YOUTH 5
That thing was small bruv. I aint scared.
// MOSES
Pest, got bangers?
// So this kids called PEST. He forages in his pockets. Pulls out a couple of
bangers. [p9]

BACK TO THE FUTURE (1985) by Robert Zemeckis & Bob Gale

MAIN CHArACTER - TEENAGe boy (17)
The light becomes brighter as we pan over to

// MARTY MC FLY, 17, a good looking kid wearing Porsche mirrored
sunglasses. The mirrored lenses reflect the MUSHROOM CLOUD of an
ATOMIC EXPLOSION. [p1]
MAN (65)
The driver is DR. EMMETT BROWN, about 65. He looks like an old
hippie, with shoulder length white hair, Hawaian shirt, faded jeans,
an Indian turquoise around his neck and lively -almost wild- eyes. Hes
full of energy, full of life, talks fast and is immediately likeable for his
eccentricities. [p8]
DAD (47)
Looking on with horror is timid GEORGE McFLY, 47, a balding, boring,

uninspired man who wears a suit he bought at Sears 4 years ago. [11/12]
MUM (47)
Martys mother, LORRAINE, 47, was once very attractive. Now shes
OVERWEIGHT, in a rut, a victim of suburban stagnation. She has more
p. 10 introducing characters in your screenplay
food on her plate that anyone else, and a glass of vodka. [p13]

SISTER (19)
Sister LINDA, 19, is cute but wears too much eye makeup. Brother DAVE,
22, wears a MCDONALDS UNIFORM and is wolfing down his food. [p13]
BLUE VALENTINE (2010) by Derek Cianfrance

MAIN CHARACTER - MAN (35)
DAVID PERIERA, 35 years old and 35 pounds overweight, sleeps in a
lazyboy chair. His body is contorted in the most awkward position; and
the snore that seeps from his body could wake a bear. [p1]
BUTTER (2011) by Jason A. Micallef

MAIN CHARACTER - GIRL (12)
A YOUNG BLACK GIRL rides her bike down a long dirt driveway toward a
yellow house. She has multi-colored barrettes in her hair and a white
wicker basket attached to her bike.
// This is DESTINY, age 12. Shes adorable. [p1]
WOMAN
This is LAURA PICKLER and her age is none of your business. [p6]
CASABLANCA (1942) by Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein & Howard Koch

MAN
Now we see RICK, sitting at a table alone, playing solitary chess. Rick is an
American of indeterminate age. There is no expression on his face
-- complete deadpan [p12]
CHILDREN of MEN (2006) by Alfonso Cuaron, Timothy J. Sexton, David

Arata, Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby
MAN (55)
INT. CAFE -- DAY

// A man enters the coffee shop, making his way through the people:
THEO FARON (55). Detached, unkempt, scruffy beard, glasses, Theo is
a veteran of hopelessness. He gave up before the world did. [p1]

MAN (60s)
JASPER PALMER was young in the 60s, and has refused to let go of his
youth ever since. Thick glasses, wispy beard, long hair, he is probably the
coolest 75-year-old on the planet. [p4]

WOMAN (70)
INT. JASPERS HOUSE -- NIGHT

// The Stones Ruby Tuesday plays. JANICE (70) sits in a chair, staring
ahead. She was young in the 60s, and now is old. The light is gone from
her eyes, her face a blank mask. [p8]
CLOUD ATLAS (2012) by Tom Tykwer, Andy Wachwski & Lana Wchowski
MAIN CHARACTER - MAN (50s)
Zachry (50s) looks old, more weathered than aged, wearing a mix of furs
and strange futuristic armor. [p1]
MAN (35)
MOVING POV ON a trail of footsteps in the sand... being followed by ADAM
EWING (35), a lawyer from the city of San Francisco who appears out of
place on the shore of this Pacific Island [p2]
WOMAN (30S)
LUISA REY (mid 30s), a feminist from the days when it was an ideal, not a
fashion statement, talks into her tape recorder. [p3]
WOMAN
The Archivist sits across from SONMI-451, a young femal replicant, who
watches him, her magnetic shackles securely locked to the armrests. [p4]
MAN (20s)
ROBERT FROBISHER (early 20s) looks as though he has been up for days.
He places an envelope carefuly on the desk, just above a manuscript entitled
The Cloud Atlas Sextet. [p5]
CRAZY STUPID LOVE (2011) by Dan Fogelman

MAIN CHARACTER - MAN (42)
WHITE SNEAKERS sitting opposite FANCY HIGH HEELS. These feet
arent nuzzling. Theres distance here.
// PULL UP, REVEALING CAL WEAVER (42) and his wife, TRACY (41). A
handsome couple. Hed be JFK to her Jackie O... if he gave a shit.
// Unfortunately, he doesnt (i.e.: white sneakers in fancy French
restaurant) [p1]
TEENAGE GIRL (17)

JESSICA (17) chases after MOLLY (9). Jessicas skinny, wears glasses, a
hipster T-shirt. In five years, shes going to make all the boys heads spin.
But not yet. [p2]
MAN (32)

THE CROWD PARTS, revealing: JACOB PALMER (32). The smoothest,

coolest son-of-a-bitch youve ever seen. He tilts his glass at them, toasting.
DJANGO UNCHAINED (2012) by Quentin Tarantino

MAIN CHARACTER - MAN
One of the seven slaves is our hero DJANGO... hes fourth in the leg iron
line. We may see or may not notice a tiny small r burned into his cheek
(r for runaway), but we cant help but notice his back which has been
SLASHED TO RIBBONS by Bull Whip Beatings. [p1]
MAN
Directly above Lara Lee, on the third floor balcony over hand, out steps...
// STEPHEN
eyeing Calvin and the approaching caravan.
// Whos STEPHEN? Stephen is a very old blackman, who with his bold
pate, and tufts of white curly hair on the sides, looks like a character out
of Dickens - if Dickens wrote about House Niggers in the Antebellum
South.
// Stephen has been Calvins slave since he was a little boy.And in
(almost) every way is the 2nd most powerful person at Candyland. Like
the characters Basil Rathbone would play in swashbucklers, evil,
scheming, intriguing men, always trying to influence and manipulate

power for their own self-interest. Well, that describes Stephen to a tree.
// The Basil Rathbone of House Niggers. [p91]
ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND (2004) by Charlie

Kaufman, Michel Gondry & Pierre Bismuth
MAIN CHARACTER - WOMAN (30s)
The door opens and Clementine enters. Shes in her early thirties, zaftig in
a faux-fur winter coat over an orange hooded sweatshirt. Shes decidedly
funky and has blue hair. [p2]
MAIN CHARACTER - MAN (30s)

The platform is crowded with business commuters. Joel is among them.
He is in his 30s, gaunt, and holding a briefcase. The platform across the
tracks from him is empty. Suddenly he turns and makes his way
through the crowd. He climbs the stairs, crosses the overpass to the
empty platform. Joel gets on and watches the business
commuters through the dirty window as his train pulls out
of the station. [p6]
FIGHT CLUB (1999) by Jim Uhls

MAIN CHARACTER - MEN (30s)
INT. SOCIAL ROOM - TOP FLOOR OF HIGH RISE -- NIGHT

// TYLER has one arme around Jacks shoulder; the ohter hand holds a
HANDGUN with a barrel lodged in JACKS MOUTH. Tyler is sitting in
Jacks lap.
// They are both sweating and dishelved, both around 30; Tyler is blond,
handsome, and Jack, brunette, is appealing in a dry sort of way. [p1]
WOMAN
MARLA SINGER enters. She has short matte black hair and big, dark eyes
like a character from japanese animation. [p10]
FROST/NIXON (2008) by Peter Morgan

The TECHNICIAN looks up to see RICHAR NIXON, 37th President of the
United States, standing in front of him. The TECHNICIAN beats a hasty
retreat... [p3]
WOMAN (30s)
JAMES RESTON JNR - (mid 30s) - academic, author and journalist - the
long-ish hair of a liberal intellectual, is being interviewed for a
documentary n 1982... [p4]

GONE GIRL(2014) by Gillian Flyinn

MAIN CHArACTER - MAN (30s)
Nick Dunne, 30s, handsome, is watching bits of trash float along the
Mississippi River; a McMansion behind him. His yard is the only one
mowedall around him wilderness encroaches.[p2]

AMY ELLIOTT, 30s, gorgeous, is in a crowded party of hipster media types.
Dude-heavy. She weaves her way through the guys. [p3]
WOMAN (30s)
Nicks twin sister, GO, 30s, nerdy-hot, is washing mugs. The bar is packed
with 80s kitsch. Their very own clubhouse. [p2]
GOOD WILL HUNTING (1997) by Matt Damon & Ben Affleck

MAIN CHArACTER - YOUNG MEN (20s)
The guy holding court is CHUCKIE SULLIVAN, 20, and the largest of the
bunch. He is loud, boisterous, a born entertainer. Next to him is WILL
HUNTING, 20, handsome and confident, a soft-spoken leader. On
Wills right sits BILLY MCBRIDE, 22, heavy, quiet, someone you definitely
wouldnt want to tangle with. Finally, there is MORGAN OMALLY, 19,
smaller than the other guys. Wiry and anxious, Morgan listens to
Chuckies horror stories with eager disgust. [p1]
GRAVITY (2013) by Alfonso Cuaron & Jonas Cuaron

His name is MATT KOWALSKI. He is the best guy to be with in outer space,
but youd never want to hang out with him back on Earth. he is the
Guidance Officer for this mission. He coordinates all the opeartions and su
pervises all space walks.
// With a flashlight he inspects all of the shielding tiles on the Shuttles
surface.
// MATT is an old dog of space exploration. He has been on several missions
since the early stages of the Space Station. He holds world records for accu
mulated time spent spacewalking (over 130 hours) This is his last mission.
[p3]
MAIN CHArACTER - WOMAN

RYAN STONE is a medical engineer, specialized in hospital scanning
systems. Shes focused on her work as though shes all alone in the world.
This is her first mission. [p6]

HITCHCOCK (2012) by John J. McLaughlin

The camera pans until we discover:

// ALFRED HITCHCOCK
// in his trademark black Mariani suit. Hes been watching the whole
thing, standing in the smouldering field only a few feet away, sipping
at a cup of tea... [p2]
IN BRUGES (2008) by Martin McDonagh

MAIN CHArACTER - MEN
EXT. BRUGES STREET - DAY
// KEN and RAY walking through the pretty Christmas tide streets. From
Minewater Park to the Burg; past quaint chocolate shops, past horse and
carts, past canal boats, past tourists taking photos of all these.
// KEN, map in hand, is quite enjoying the novelty of the place. RAY, in a
sulk, keeps his head down, barely looking at anything.[p1]
JACKIE BROWN (1997) by Quentin Tarantino

We hear the rhythm of funky seventies SOUL MUSIC.
// Then SHE steps into FRAME.
// She is JACKIE BROWN, a stewardess dressed in her CABO AIR uniform.
(A little shuttle airline that flies from Los Angeles to Cabo San Lucas.
Approximate flight time: forty five minutes)
// Jackie stands still as a people-mover slowly inches her through the
airport. The CREDITS APEAR and DISAPPEAR in front of her.
// Jackie Brown is a very attractive black woman in her mid forties, though
she looks like shes in her midthirties. [p1]
L.A. CONFIDENTIAL (1997) by Brian Helgeland & Curtis Hanson

December 24th. Wendell BUD WHITE, 30, stares at the enormous
Christmas tree on the deco platform over Bullocks entrance. An LAPD
cop, Buds rep as the toughest man on the forces has been well earned.[p5]
Suspects, mostly drunk and disorderly, are ushered through. Sgt. ED

EXLEY, 30, bespectacled, is at the desk with a YOUNG OFFICER. Exley is
an up-and-comer. Burning with ambition. The faster he rises through the
ranks, the more resentment he leaves in his wake. [p11]
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE (2006) by Michael Ardnt

MAIN CHArACTER - GIRL (6)
A six-year-old girl sits watching the show intently.
// This is OLIVE. She is big for her age and slightly plump.
// She has frizzy hair and wears black rimmed glasses. She studies the
show very earnestly. [p1]
MAN (45)
RICHARD (45) stands at the front of a generic community college classroom

-- cinderblock walls, industrial carpeting.
// He wears pleated khaki shorts, a golf shirt, sneakers. He moves with the
stocky, stiff-legged gait of a former athlete. His peppy, upbeat demeanor just
barely masks a seething sense of insecurity and frustration. MUSIC
continues underneath. [p1]
Woman (40s)
INT. CAR - DAY

A woman, SHERYL, 40s, is smoking and talking on a cell phone as she
weaves through a strip-mall landscape. She wears office attire
and a name tag that reads, Sheryl. [p2]
MAN (40s)
In a wheelchair, parked against a wall, is Sheryls brother, FRANK, also

middle-aged. His wrists are wrapped in bandages. [p3]

GRANDFATER (80)
INT. BATHROOM - DAY

// Two hands spill a brown powder onto a small mirror.
// A razor blade cuts the powder into lines.
// A rolled-up dollar bill lowers. The lines are snorted.
// The snorter lifts his head up. He is a short, chunky, balding old man -- a
Roz Chast kind of grandfather.
// This is GRANDPA, 80 years old.
// He sits down on the toilet seat, rubs his nose, takes a breath and relaxes
as the drugs flood his system. [p4]
teenage boy (15)
DWAYNE is a handsome, skinny fifteen year old with a mohawk. He lies on

his back in his bedroom, bench-pressing a barbell. [p4]
LOOPER (2012) by Rian Johnson

A pocket watch. Open. Ticking. Swinging from a chain.
// Held by a young man name JOE in a clearing beside an endless field of
thick sugar cane. [p1]

LOST IN TRANSLATION (2003) by Sofia Coppola

In the backseat of a Presidential limousine, BOB (late-forties), tired and
depressed, leans against a little doily, staring out the window. [p1]

Across, at the other side of the elevator he sees CHARLOTTE, a pretty Ivy-
League girl in her mid-twenties, and the only other westerner in the
elevator. Her honey-colored hair stands out in the crowd. [p8A]
MEMENTO (2000) by Christopher Nolan

The Polaroid camera is lowered, revealing the sweaty, heavy-breathing face
of LEONARD (mid-30s). There are droplets of blood across his face.
Leonard stares, satisfied, at something on the ground in front of him. There
is WET BLOOD on his BLUE SHIRT and BEIGE SUIT. His hand opens and
catches a HANDGUN which leaps up into his grasp. [p1]
MIDDLE OF NOWHERE (2012) by Ava DuVernay

MAIN CHArACTER - WOMAN (28)
RUBY MURRAY, 28, dices onions. Disobedient hair. Eyes shining with

promise and possibility. [p1]
MAN (23)
DEREK MURRAY, 29, seasons an array of vegetables. Handsome.
In jeans. White T-shirt. Whiter sneaks. Casually, he glances over at her
work. [p1]
MAN (30s)
The doors SWING OPEN to reveal BRIAN, commanding the drivers seat. The
hardworking type with a sly smile. Thirties. [p16]
MIDNIGHT EXPRESS (1978) by Oliver Stone

MAIN CHArACTER - YOUNG MAN (21)
BILLY HAYES - 21, babyface, attractive, medium build - an aura of
innocence. His eyes moving off his belly to:
// MIRROR. FULLSHtc)pj. Climax. A creature in abondage of his own devise,
he is naked in his underpants, his body crisscrossed by a network of TL?PE
and 40 tightly pressed plaques of BASI-IISE in every conceivable crevice of
his body. The eyes are hard. [p1]

YOUNG WOMAN (23)

SUSAN - 23, healthy outdoor looks, dressed casually colorful like an
American student abroad. [p2]
MOON (2009) by Duncan Jones & Nathan Parker

INT. REC ROOM -- MORNING

// The sounds belongs to a regular old TREADMILL like you see in most
gym across the world. Running on it: SAM BELL, mid thirties, thick beard,
handsome, striking blue eyes. [p1]
WOMAN
Tess is a far cry from the stereotypical Astronauts Wife of the

1960s/70s with the plastic smile and beehive hairdo.
// Tess is modern, sophisticated, and jaw-droppingly beautiful. She looks
like shed be a hard woman to leave behind. [p5]
MOTHER AND CHILD (2009) by Rodrigo Garcia

WOMAN (50)
INT. KARENS ROOM - NIGHT
// Close on KAREN -- NOW AGE 50 -- while she sleeps. There is
perspiration on her brow and she stirs and mumbles, in the grip of a
nightmare. She wakes up suddenly, scared and disoriented. [p1]
WOMAN
ELIZABETH
I was born here, in Los Angeles, and I was given up for
adoption on the day of my birth. My mother was fourteen when
I was born. That is all I know about her. My adoptive father died
when I was ten. My adoptive mother and I are not close. My name,
Elizabeth Joyce, is a name that I picked out for myself in junior
high school. Its my legal name now; I dont go by any other. I
live alone; I have since I turned seventeen. Ive never been married
and have no plans to marry. I value my independence above all
things, that way I dont have expectations to fulfill. Other than my
own, which are great enough. [p4]
PLEASE GIVE (2010) by Nicole Holofcener

WOMAN (28)
INT. X-RAY ROOM - DAY
// AN ANXIOUS WOMAN removes her robe to expose her small breasts.
The technician is REBECCA, 28 years old and plain looking. [p1]

WOMAN (45)
KATE, 45 years old and attractive, is being lead through an enormous, dark
apartment by a middle aged man, ADAM. [p3]
TEENAGEr (15)
Kate is cooking dinner while her DAUGHTER ABBY, 15, does homework at
the table. Abby is in an awkward stage of development and has a bad case of
acne. [p7]
MAN (42)
ALEX, Kates husband, comes into the room sifting through photos. Hes 42
and attractive despite a pot belly and unkempt hair. [p8]
WOMAN (33)
Rebeccas sister Mary, 33, very pretty with a tense, turned down mouth,
leans into the room holding up a frozen dinner - Beef Medallions.[p10]
REQUIEM FOR A DREAM (2000) by Hubert Selby Jr. & Darren Aronofsky
MAIN CHArACTER - YOUNG MAN (20s)
Harry Goldfarb, young twenties, is an eccentric kid with a seductive
smile.
// He tries to stop his mother, Sara Goldfarb, from locking herself in the
closet.
SEX, LIES, AND VIDEOTAPE (1989) by Steven Soderbergh

GRAHAM DALTON, twenty-nine, drives his 69 Cutlass while smoking a
cigarette. One could describe his appearance as punk/arty, but neither
would do him justice. He is a man of obvious intelligence, and his face is
amiable. There is only one key on his keyring, and it is in the ignition. [p1]
MAIN CHArACTER - WOMAN (26)

ANN BISHOP MILLANEY, twenty-six, sits opposite her therapist.
She is an extremely attractive woman, dressed in a mature preppy style.
There is a wedding ring on her left hand. [p1]
MAN (29)
JOHN MILLANEY, twenty-nine, sits at his desk talking on the telephone.
He is dressed very well, sporting real suspenders with his striped pinpoint
oxford shirt and cotton suit. He fingers the wedding ring on his left hand.
[p2]
WOMAN
CYNTHIA BISHOP, Anns SISTER, opens her door to reveal the freshly coifed
John Millaney. They kiss passionately and begin to disrobe. Cynthia bears a
slight resemblance to Ann, but is not as overtly attractive. She does,
however, have a definite carnal appeal and air of confidence that Ann lacks.
[p4]
SCOTT PILGRIM Vs. THE WORLD

(2010) by Michael Bacall & Edgar
Wright
MAIN CHArACTER - YOUNG MAN (22)
SCOTT PILGRIM, 22, fresh faced with an unruly yet adorable mop of hair,
drinking coffee (sugary) [p1]
SHORT TERM 12
Warm water shoots down from an aging shower head. GRACE PETERSON,
20s, sits on the bathtub floor, naked and beautiful, chin on her knees,
surrounded by bouncing droplets.
// She stares down at her toes, picking at the corner of her thumb with her
pointer finger, nervously, repeatedly, violently.
// She purses her lips and lets a glob of spit fall from her mouth to her feet.
The water washes it away.

TEENAGE BOY (14)

SAMMY, 14 and small for his age, kneels down in only his underwear, care
fully drawing a target onto the inside of his window with a red marker. [p1]
TEENAGE BOY (17)

MARK, 17, an intimidating quiet presence, sits on his bed with a dew rag on
his head. In the corner of his room is a miniature drum set. He pinches
some worms into a fishbowl and watches his pet fighting fish gobble them
up.
TEENAGE GIRL (15)

JAYDEN, 15, in worn jeans and high-tops with scribbles all over them, sits
on the floor surrounded by all her belongings, drawing in a sketchbook,
fixated on a dead roach lying onits back a few feet away. [p22]
SHUTTER ISLAND (2010) by Laeta Kalogridis

A MAN, late 30s, is bent over the toilet, PUKING his guts out. He raises his
head, LOOKS at himself in the mirror--
// Meet TEDDY DANIELS.
// Square-jawed, strong build, a born fighter with something WARY around
his eyes. He wears a clean-cut SUIT, but theres a sense of DANGER to im;
hes SCARRED on the inside. [p1]
MAN (30s)
A TALL, GANGLY MAN in his mid-30s stands at the railing, watching the
dark water race by beneath the prow.
// Hes dressed like Teddy, crisp but government-bland suit and hat, the
buldge of a GUN at his belt. This is CHUCK AULE. [p2]
SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK (2012) by David O. Russell

PAT SOLATANO stands in the middle of his room, his back to camera. [p1]
MAIN CHArACTER - WOMAn
PAT LOOKS UP TO SEE VERONICAS SISTER TIFFANY ENTER: THEY LOCK

EYES IMMEDIATELY. SHE IS TALL, STRIKING, INTENSE. She walks to
Ronnie and Pat, who is unsure how to behave.[p40]
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO (2011) by Steven Zaillian

MAIN CHArACTER - YOUNG WOMAN (20s)
Lisbeth Salander walks in: A small, pale, anorexic-looking waif in her early
20s. Short black-dyed hair - pierced eyelid - tattoo of a wasp on her neck.
probably several more under her black leather jacket - black t-shirt, black
jeans, black Caterpillar boots. [p6]
WOMAN (40s)
Erika Berger is about Blomkvists age, and - like the IKEA furniture - sends
a mixed message: a feminist in a mini-skirt. [p4]
MAN (40s)
Dragan Armansky, 40s, who looks more like a boss of a New Jersey crim
family than a CEO of a high-tech security firm, sits behind his desk, waiting
with an older client. [p5]
THE KINGs Speech (2010) by David Seidler

MAIN CHArACTER - Man (30s)
PAN DOWN to the handsome features of Albert, Duke of York, known to his
family as BERTIE. Hes in his late thirties, the second son of King George V,
the reigning King of England. He conveys a sensitivity which appears
in conflict with the manner in which hes been bedecked.

MAIN CHArACTER - Man (40s)

Princess Elizabeth is not used to this sort of thing. Shes further appalled
by the loud gurgling of a toilet being flushed, and startled by the entrance
of - LIONEL LOGUE. Hes in his forties, tall, with piercing eyes and
charismatic features. His demeanor is friendly, but professional. The
accent, although Australian, is not heavy, he is after all a speech therapist.
HISTORICAL FIGURES
KING GEORGE V - a barrel-chested man with Naval beard and uniform, ac

companied by his wife.
// QUEEN MARY - an elegant but icy grande dame.
// DR COSMO LANG - a tall, unctuous, churchman with a high, domed,
balding head, and a perpetual expression of moral superiority.
// WINSTON CHURCHILL - a politician of sixty, as portly as Lang is lean.
They are bantering rivals in ambition.
// STANLEY BALDWIN - the Prime Minister of the day. Heavy-browed. His
hair, as always, parted down the middle.
// NEVILLE CHAMBERLAIN - Chancellor of the Exchequer. Tall, thin,
lugubrious, with the expression of a quizzical chicken hawk.

THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES (2010) by Derek Cianfrance

MAIN CHArACTER - MAn (28)
LUKE GLANTON; 28, handsome; hears echoing strains of Bon Jovis Dead
or Alive on the PA mix & a cheering audience. Deep breath. He obsessively
touches four little tchotchkes which are arranged perfectly in front of his
mirror. OCD.
// He zips up a motorcycle jacket over two faded prison tatoos, strides from
his trailer through the corridors of the arena, passing other performers on
his way to the main ring.
// Luke climbs onto his bike, revs the engine. Roadies slap his back, give him
high 5s. He is joined by 2 motorcyclists.[p1]

AVERY CROSS, 28, rookie, patrols the western district. [p31]
WOMAN (22)
ROMINA GUTIERREZ, twenty-two, Hispanic; sits in the bleacher seats,
watching the spectacle. Enraptured. [p2]

THE RUNAWAYS (2010) by Floria Sigismondi

EXT. ENCINO VALLEY - BUSY STREET - EARLY EVENING - 1974
// A 14-year-old SURFER GIRL with long blonde hair is clutching her
underwear, her mini-skirt hiked way up. This is CHERIE CURRIE and she
just got her period. [p1]

INT. USED CLOTHING STORE - CHANGING ROOM - EARLY EVENING
// CLOSE ON a pair of BLACK PRO KEDS HI TOPS. PAN UP to reveal
someone checking themselves out in a mirror, wearing tight black leather
pants and a black leather jacket.
// We hear a KNOCK on the door. Its a HIPPIE SALESMAN whose scraggly
ponytail barely warrants a rubber band.
// HIPPIE SALESMAN
Everything okay in there?
// BLACK LEATHER
(jittery)
Yes, please. I mean... yes. Thank you.
// Reveal a 16-year-old GIRL, tough, pretty, with dark hair and a pale
complexion. She wears a SILVER PACIFIER around her neck. Shes cool
as hell, but for the BEADS OF SWEAT collecting on her forehead. This

is JOAN JETT. [p4]
THE Wrestler (2008) by Robert D. Siegel

Present day. Post-match. Randy, pushing 50, still with the same long, dyed-
blond mane, sits on a bench in the boys locker room of a Wilmington, Dela
ware high school.
// CHYRON: 20 YEARS LATER
// He pulls off his purple spandex wrestling tights. Lime-green rams horns
run up the sides. Theyre the same kind of tights as in the 80s picsand
may well be the actual same pair.
// Naked except for a jockstrap, Randy takes a breath. Achy, sweaty, saggy,
exhausted. A battered warrior. Scars all over his body. Despite the rough
shape hes in, its clear hes just given it his all in the ring. He swigs down a
few pills with a beer. [p2]
MAN (44)
Promoter SCOTT BRUMBERG, a heavyset man in a Mets jersey with

BRUMBERG - 44 on the back, approaches.

YOUNG WOMAN (22)
RANDYS POV: Standing there in an otherwise empty hallway is a plain-ish

YOUNG WOMAN (22). She looks at him with an unsmiling expression. This
is STEPHANIE. [p11]
WOMAN (36)
Randy peeks through the curtain. Inside, he sees CASSIDY (36), a sexy,
tattooed, aging rocker chick in a white spandex dress. With her are six
hair-gelled, goombah-wannabe BACHELOR- PARTY DUDES (early 20s). The
BACHELOR is sitting in a chair in the middle.[p20]
THERE WILL BE BLOOD (2007) by Paul Thomas Anderson

MAIN CHArACTER - MAn (30s)
DANIEL C. PLAINVIEW (late 30s here) is, with pick and ax, in the middle of
the day, in 110 degree heat in New Mexico, searching for SILVER. [p2]
A few (six) years later. He is dressed well now. slight show of some wealth.
overcoat, haircut, clean shaven, etc. We see nothing but him as he speaks.
[p7]

GROUP OF MEN
DANIEL is working again in a large field with some MEN. There is:
CANBURRY (30s), an OLDER MAN (50s) and a YOUNG MAN (around 15)
and a mining acuqaintance: H.B. AILMAN (30s) and nearby, kept in the
shade in a small bassinet, is a ONE YEAR OLD BABY, Ailmans son (H.W.)
[p4]
YOUNG MAN (16)

A YOUNG KID (PAUL SUNDAY aged 16) knocks on the screen door, looks in
side. He is skinny, dirty, traveled, worn. [p13]
FAMILY
Standing, waiting outside is the SUNDAY FAMILY:
// MOTHER SUNDAY (50s) RUTH SUNDAY (aged 12) MARY SUNDAY
(aged 7)
// and a very skinny, man/boy, the son: ELI SUNDAY (aged 18) [p21]
TOOTSIE (1982) by Larry Gelbart & Murray Schisgal

VOICE
Michael... Dorsey, is it?
// PULL BACK to hold MICHAEL in f.g., looking toward the
darkened auditorium. He is an actor, 40 years old. He holds a

script.
// MICHAEL
Thats right
WELCOME TO THE PEOPLE (2012) by Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci &

Jody Lambert
MAIN CHArACTER - MAn (20s)
Into frame comes... SAM HARPER. Late-20s, good looks, restless
intelligence. Last years Brioni suit off the rack, but still a Brioni. [p1]
WOMAN (20s)
Down the hall, a WOMAN rises from a chair. Ashen. HANNAH LINSON, late
20s. Tolerant, kind, and cool -- always hoping for the best in Sam. [p3]
WOMAN (50s)
This is LILLIAN HARPER: once extremely beautiful, in her fifties shes still
very striking with an almost soldierly quality of anythings possible when
youre in control. [p8]

thank you !
mentorless 2015
written by Nathalie www.mentorless.com - twitter: @mentorless // designed by Christine Sejean www.christinesejean.com

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HDTWI: 100 CHARACTERS

Compiled by Nathalie from mentorless.com

About HDTWI: 100 Characters

mentorless 2015 www.mentorless.com/HDTWI-100-characters

About HDTWI: 100 CHARACTERS

mentorless 2015 www.mentorless.com/HDTWI-100-characters

On LEARNING, SHARING & HELPING

HOW YOU CAN HELP

mentorless 2015 www.mentorless.com/HDTWI-100-characters

About Schmidt (2002) by Alexander Payne & Jim Taylor

ADAPTATION (2002) by Charlie Kaufman & Donald Kaufman

AINT THEM BODIES SAINTS (2013) by David Lowery

AMERICAN BEAUTY (1999) by Alan Ball

TEENAGE GIRL (16)

An EDUCATION (2009) by Nick Hornby

Jennys father JACK is in his forties, bespectacled, moustachioed,

shes dressed both appropriately and spectacularly, in early-60s,

ATTACK THE BLOCK (2011) by Joe Cornish

MAIN CHArACTER - YOUNG MAN

mentorless 2015 www.mentorless.com/HDTWI-100-characters

BACK TO THE FUTURE (1985) by Robert Zemeckis & Bob Gale

The light becomes brighter as we pan over to

Looking on with horror is timid GEORGE McFLY, 47, a balding, boring,

BLUE VALENTINE (2010) by Derek Cianfrance

BUTTER (2011) by Jason A. Micallef

CASABLANCA (1942) by Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein & Howard Koch

CHILDREN of MEN (2006) by Alfonso Cuaron, Timothy J. Sexton, David

INT. CAFE -- DAY

mentorless 2015 www.mentorless.com/HDTWI-100-characters

INT. JASPERS HOUSE -- NIGHT

CRAZY STUPID LOVE (2011) by Dan Fogelman

TEENAGE GIRL (17)

mentorless 2015 www.mentorless.com/HDTWI-100-characters

THE CROWD PARTS, revealing: JACOB PALMER (32). The smoothest,

DJANGO UNCHAINED (2012) by Quentin Tarantino

mentorless 2015 www.mentorless.com/HDTWI-100-characters

ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND (2004) by Charlie

MAIN CHARACTER - MAN (30s)

FIGHT CLUB (1999) by Jim Uhls

INT. SOCIAL ROOM - TOP FLOOR OF HIGH RISE -- NIGHT

FROST/NIXON (2008) by Peter Morgan

mentorless 2015 www.mentorless.com/HDTWI-100-characters

GONE GIRL(2014) by Gillian Flyinn

MAIN CHArACTER - MAN (30s)

GOOD WILL HUNTING (1997) by Matt Damon & Ben Affleck

GRAVITY (2013) by Alfonso Cuaron & Jonas Cuaron

MAIN CHArACTER - WOMAN

mentorless 2015 www.mentorless.com/HDTWI-100-characters

HITCHCOCK (2012) by John J. McLaughlin

The camera pans until we discover:

IN BRUGES (2008) by Martin McDonagh

JACKIE BROWN (1997) by Quentin Tarantino

L.A. CONFIDENTIAL (1997) by Brian Helgeland & Curtis Hanson

MAIN CHArACTER - MAN (30)