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The Important Man and I by Kirby Gamel - Short, Drama - A young man goes to seek out a mentor. Things goes south not long before the young man gets what he wants through an unconventional turn of events. 9 pages - pdf, format
CARDIN (17) steps through a curtain into a small private
I think some physical description of Cardin would be helpful.
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He retracts and sets down his coffee, shakes his hand properly and sits down.
Since John is also involved - I think it reads better as "shakes hands" properly.
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CARDIN Great to get to meet you Sir.
Need a comma after "you"
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CARDIN Great to get to meet you Sir. JOHN Great to meet you. You know, it's great to see someone so young like you already taking initiative.
Three "greats" in two sets of dialogue - shake it up - use another term. Maybe - it's nice to meet...
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WE PAN TO A CU of Cardin. TITLE: the Important Man and i PRIVATE ROOM We see a blank green wall. We PAN back towards John.
I would lose the camera directions and the we sees. Also don't think you need to put in your title here - does nothing for the story - it actually disrupts the flow.
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CARDIN finds the words he is going to use.
No CAPS on CARDIN - you already intro'd him. Also - we know he finds the words because he says them right after this. Maybe something like Cardin pauses.
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WE SWITCH SIDES. Cardin is now looking left.
Not needed - again - kind of ruins the flow.
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CARDIN Well wait up, what did I say wrong.
Missing ?
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Heads to the door then pauses. Turns around to call 911.
Not a great action sentence. How does he do it? i.e., pulls out his phone and presses 9-1-1.
There is a lot to like here. I'm not sure about the ending. I think a line linking it back to ruthlessness would help. Also not sure why he would call 9-1-1. He's stealing his stuff.
Nice to see a new one on the boards - hope these help - best of luck.
Hi Kirby, I like the story...confrontational and quick but. as written, it needs some revisions. Too many repetitions (great). Also, I would make the ending more dramatic with action words. A more elaborated description of John's death. Review the script and make it more concise. Overall, a good writing effort. All my best, Fausto
Others have noted the errors and problems with the writing. I'll comment on the story.
Generally, you would be better off putting these two in the room and across the table in the middle of the conversation. All the stuff prior to take can be inferred or referenced in the conversation. The real point of this isn't the introductions, it's the chat about becoming ruthless. Now, for me, there are some issues with a 17-yr-old architect. I believe there is a lot to learn in the discipline, and teenagers don't get there often. If you want us to believe that he has the bona fides, you should give him some architect jargon--load bearing walls or beams, maximum sunlight, solar radiance, space usage, plumbing details, etc. Without that, it's just a kid with some drawings. And of course, he has to convince John too. So, John has to quiz the kid about such items and problems. 'If you want to build 100 story building, how deep do you bury the foundations?' After all, John has only the kid's say-so for the drawings. Give us the lingo that will make us believe in this story.
I'm a bit confused by the ending, and that's probably a good thing. The kid swipes the plans but goes back to get help for John. Second thoughts.