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Okay, so your protagonist is a 17-year-old orphan and heroin addict living on the streets of Hollywood. She wants to be an actress, convinced that fame will solve all her problems, but what she really needs is just to be loved. Eventually, she ends up in front of the camera on a porn set somewhere in The Valley, and that’s when the real tragedy begins. This is a good start. You have an interesting character, full of flaws (addiction, abandonment, self-absorption), she has a clear goal, gets locked into a complicated situation, and most importantly, you understand the…

Screenplay Genre: Comedy / Drama / Fantasy Movie Time: 112 minutes 1. INCITING INCIDENT After being convinced by his wife Lotte Schwartz (Cameron Diaz) to get a day job, puppeteer Craig Schwartz (John Cusack) gets a job as a filing clerk from Dr. Lester (Orson Bean) at Lester Corp. During orientation at the strange company, Craig meets a beautiful woman Maxine (Catherine Keener), whom he’s instantly infatuated. (00:13:44)