Actor Love -- Writing the first five pages

I prefer spoilers.

Before seeing a movie I like to hear its plot told enthusiastically by someone who has seen it. Then, when I see the movie, I enjoy it earlier.

Screenwriting is condensed, with an enormous amount of information captured in impossibly few words. It's a densely coded language. 

A world is created with the story taking place in a certain time period, sometimes on a specific date. Imagery and music give clues about what the director wants me to feel. Then, the story begins. During the first 10-15 minutes I have to sort out who the characters are, what they want, complex relationships.

Sometimes this is done well but when it's not, it is not enjoyable. If I've heard the story I'm immediately begin to live the story with the actors, in their world. It is magic.

With the best-told stories I'm reassured that people can move from the emptiness of pursuing a goal (want) to realizing what they need. Then change can occur, all within 120 pages.

Change happens so rarely in real life, I believe successful change fascinates people. It's one of the reasons time seems to stop during movies as we watch every detail.

How do actors so realistically portray change when it rarely exists in real life? How do what do they do? I am in awe. It is truly miraculous.

I'm co-writing a screenplay with a friend. We worked on it for weeks before opening a laptop. 

The story begins in a small town. As we talked about each of the characters, they began to come to life. One is too big for the town; the world will one day marvel at his talent; another, who is from a wealthy family, will be content to live there the rest of his life. Another once had dreams of leaving. The protagonist has a flaw that could forever scar a child put under his care. 

We've enjoyed exploring each character and understanding how they see the world. We know when each character's defining moment will arrive. Defining moments are raw, brave, shocking.

We used Post-its and 5x7 cards as we crafted the story. Then, two weeks ago during breaks at work, we began to write the screenplay.

We've written the first five pages with great attention to how we create the world and introduce each character. 

The audience is watching in anticipation. The story begins and they meet a human being, a person, fascinating and like no other. How does each character come to life? What is their routine, and what hints are there about how they will react when their routine changes? 

Rising tension! Motivation! (I can still hear Irvin Kershner shouting those words, he must have said them hundreds of times). "In each scene the characters want something. What do they do to get it? Now that's interesting."

We are creating the scenes to be transparent and revealing. We've worked tirelessly to honor the actors' skill and the audience's time, inquisitiveness, and love of story.

If we're successful, it will be a movie that I would want to see before hearing spoilers. In fact, the movie would be less enjoyable if I knew anything about the storyline before watching it.