Answering the “Big Seven” questions for screenwriting that are outlined in Krevolin’s book, How to Adapt Anything into a Screenplay:
1) Who is your main character? (one)
Tina Fey. This was her autobiography so it’s fitting that she will be my main character. Krevolin’s standard is that the character must be “likable.” Well, she’s likable by me so that counts for something.
2) What does your main character want/need/desire? Dramatic problem/must have inner/outer need.
More than anything, Tina Fey wants to succeed in comedy. After getting her bachelor’s degree in drama and scraping by with a job at the YMCA to pay for improv classes, Tina is dedicated to her mission of succeeding in comedy – no matter who gets in her way.
3) Who/what keeps him from achieving what he wants? (antagonists)
Tina’s antagonists that I would focus most intently on are the people she encounters while she is working at the YMCA to pay for her improv classes. Characters would include Joe the Mail guy, Donna, and the office people who work upstairs. It is at this job that Tina has a revelation that she does not fit in well as a desk assistant. She sees her potential and reaches for it. During her career, her biggest antagonists can be seen as a permeable attitude of sexism that she must overcome in order to be successful.
4) How does he/she achieve what they want in an unexpected, interesting, and unusual way?
Tina Fey’s career through comedy has been entertaining to say the least. She’s a comedian, so almost every part of her struggle can be portrayed in an “interesting” light. Also, her celebrity status lends itself to being well received by many. At the end of the story, Tina Fey is riding out her success due to her role on SNL as Sarah Palin, her show (30 Rock), and her daughter and is contemplating how to make her next move in her career.
5) What are you trying to say by ending the story this way? (theme? unifying filmic devices?)
By showing the life story of Tina Fey and all of her hard work culminating to well-deserved fame, I and showing that it is possible to succeed in a male-dominated industry such as comedy, while preserving one’s sense of self.
6) How do you want to tell your story? (Who tells it, narrative devices?)
My film will not have a voice-over narrative. Instead, it will be told chronologically, third person, in the style of 30 Rock. It will tell the story of Tina Fey starting from childhood and ending after her performance as Sarah Palin on SNL.
7) How do your main character and any supporting characters change over the course of the story?
Tina Fey begins as a self-doubting, quirky girl who sells box office tickets for Summer Showtime, and ends as a high-powered manager who inspires women to work hard to achieve their dreams.
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