IFH 584: Secrets to Creating Great Character Moments with Chris Riley

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Chris Riley is a screenwriter whose first film, After The Truth, an award-winning courtroom thriller written with his wife and professional partner, Kathy, sparked international controversy in 1999 when it was released in Germany. Other credits include 25 To Life, a dramatic thriller for Junction Entertainment and Touchstone Pictures; The Other White House, a political thriller for Sean Connery’s Fountainbridge Films and Intermedia; Aces, an action-adventure romance for Paramount Pictures; and a screen adaptation of the book Actual Innocence for Mandalay Television Pictures and the Fox television network. A veteran of the Warner Bros. script department, Riley is the author of The Hollywood Standard: The Complete and Authoritative Guide to Script Format and Style. He serves as professor of film at John Paul the Great Catholic University in San Diego and previously taught in the MFA program in writing for screen and television at Pepperdine University. He served as creative director at Yellow Line Studio where he executive produced the web series Bump+ and produced the feature Red Line. He is a founding partner of the online Story Masters Film Academy. His new book is The Defining Moment How Writers and Actors Build Characters. Aimed at both the head and the heart, The Defining Moment plumbs the depths of the most memorable characters ever to appear on the screen, the stage or the page. The book focuses on those moments so pivotal in a character’s formation that they create a distinct boundary of before and after, moments without which the character couldn’t exist and moments through which characters can transform before our eyes. Writers, actors and storytellers of all stripes will discover a powerful new key to unlock any character they seek to develop, write or portray. They may even unlock a deeper understanding of themselves. Features: The first in-depth study of the essential principles that will redefine the way storytellers understand their characters and themselves. Essential insights into the forces that create character Dozens of examples of character-defining moments from film, television, theater and literature An exploration of pivotol moments: birth, death, discovery, decision-making, injury and healing An examination of how writers and actors employ defining moments in their deepest and most unforgettable works Insights into how directors, editors, cinematographers and composers dramatize key moments Practical exercises for defining and redefining character Tips for discovering the moments that matter most Deeply personal stories from the authors’ lives to illustrate the variety of moments that define us. For every storyteller, no matter their medium, The Defining Moment will redefine the way they understand their characters and themselves.