My first screenplay,I Need Help Figuring Out How To Kill Off A Character

[Paul Holloway]

I am a film student but currently on a LOA from my university. One of the next classes I would of taken would be a screenwriting class. I decided to create my first screenplay without that class but hopefully I can go back to it to get some pointers.

During Act 1, the male lead has to leave his girlfriend behind and move in with his family. The ex-girlfriend has a part in Act 1 and 3. When he arrives to the new town he meets up with a new love interest but before he acts he finds out that he is "no longer with the company. During the rest of the script the male lead thinks she is just gone from the store but he finds out at the end that she died. Trying to make it as shocking as it can be, because he can still see her because he can connect with her ghost. So he thinks nothing bad has happened to her. I need to think of a creative way to explain how she dies.

The last time they see each other before she dies. The male character is outside his work and she drives up in a car. The female lead is in the passenger seat while there is a male driving the car. They drive up and look at each other through the window of the car. Then the driver speeds out of the parking lot.

That is the last time they see each other and she dies after this I explain the death in act 3 when the male see's how she died " It is explained like "It's A Wonderful Life" in a way.

I need the death to be creative. She is last seen in a car but don't want the death to be a car accident. I am open to all ideas, thanks

Paul

 

[sohapilee]

OMG. I can't believe THIS!
I have exactly the same dilemma. I'm not a film student though, but I'm trying to become one.
I'm trying to make a video for my portfolio in order to apply for an awesome scholarship for a prestigious film school.
The "screenplay" is almost finished, but I'm stuck as to how to kill the lead girl.
My story involves a GHOST TOO!!! OMG.

 

[Kim Welch]

People die everyday. Maybe, read or watch news until you find a story you like based on reality?

 

[sohapilee]

Gee, thanks. I'm trying to think of something less common than a car accident. Someone actually suggested that she be raped (my main character).
To be honest, my mind goes blank whenever I get to that scene.
We're set to start shooting two weeks from today.
Btw, I'm a newbie here, and not even a student yet. :-(
NICE TO MEET YOU!

 

[Kim Welch]

I guess you haven't watched the news lately. People die or are killed in so many ways that they even have a series on crazy ways people get killed. Real life is pretty unreal sometimes.

Drown her if you want a ghost. Have her get pregnant by her lover and then he falls for another women. He wants the other woman so badly he takes her on a boat out in the middle of the lake and drowns her. And, to make it interestingly cruel - have him think she is sedated or knocked out but after he tosses her overboard she starts swimming to the boat calling his name. So, he grabs an oar or a baseball bat and beats her back into the water but she is still alive and struggling to swim up to the boat so he uses the bat to hold her head under but it slips. She is calling his name between gurgles and gasps. After a few more fierce determined tries he finally succeeds. We watch bubbles trickle from her nose as her wide blue eyes fade into the dark depths of the cold November water. Suddenly, from the still cold night air we hear her repeat the words she said in a previous scene. In a harsh haunting whisper her ghost voice says, "Remember, i will n-e-v-e-r leave you."

 

[Kim Welch]

by the way that is a twisted version of the way Clyde Griffiths kills his girl friend in the book called "An American Tragedy" by Theodore Dreiser. It is an excellent book.

 

[Kim Welch]

be sure and refresh i had to edit it a little !

 

[sohapilee]

Actually, my story is about waiting. The girl waits for a guy not realizing that she's already a ghost. It's not a horror story, and she's more of a good ghost than a scary one. They were supposed to meet, and she died on the way. Or before she went her way. A car accident is the more logical, expected death of course
Btw, I wanted her to fade away in one of the scenes, like this:

I want her to fade away, like this man in the photo. I know photoshop can do this well for images, but is this even possible in videos? For a beginner like me?
(I'm probably posting at a wrong thread too, sorry)

 

[Paul Holloway]

Through my entire story the main lead is trying to figure out what happen to this love interest. He finds out because her ghost appears to him because he is in a coma and in "dream world" but finds out that this girl died as it flashes back to what really happened to her. I am trying for a tragic end so the audience will feel for the character. I am thinking of having her raped by the brother-in-law and she figures out he is a cheating bastard. When he figures out she knows everything he kills her. Originally I he had her trapped in the car with the exhaust on and strangled her with a pillow but may go down another sinario. What I really need to figure out is the scene where the anatagonist and protagonist are face to face. His day basically repeats and has a chance to stop anyone from dying. So there is a scene where he tries to save her but the bad guy gets in the way. Trying to map out a good situation for this scene.

 

[Paul Holloway]

Actually, my story is about waiting. The girl waits for a guy not realizing that she's already a ghost. It's not a horror story, and she's more of a good ghost than a scary one. They were supposed to meet, and she died on the way. Or before she went her way. A car accident is the more logical, expected death of course
Btw, I wanted her to fade away in one of the scenes, like this:
View attachment 246
I want her to fade away, like this man in the photo. I know photoshop can do this well for images, but is this even possible in videos? For a beginner like me?
(I'm probably posting at a wrong thread too, sorry)

Sounds a lot like my story lol. I am sure it's a little different. Mine is a ghost story too