I disagree that there's plenty of conflict here. Allow me to "play teacher" for a moment.

<<Can you imagine a fan of Ayn Rand who moved to Argentina to find love and live in Buenos Aires (as a substitute for living in Paris) deciding to "Go Galt" in Argentina, a cleary more "socialist" country than the USA?>>

But what's the conflict? Was anything or anyone trying to prevent the Ayn Rand fan from moving to Argentina? If not, then as it stands now, you might have an interesting situtation but not a *dramatic* one. Dramatic conflict is very specific: "X wants ______ because of _______; but he can't get ______ immediately or easily because A, B, C, D, E, F, G are trying to prevent this from happening by throwing obstacles in X's way."

<<Can you imagine multiple scenes dealing with a hysterical and violent Argentine girlfriend who tells him he must put her name on the deed of the apartment he wants to buy and send the funds from the USA to her lawyer or he will go to jail for money laundering?>>

But what's the conflict? Was he, in fact, laundering money in the US? If so, is he on the run from the law? But if not, why would someone's arbitrary and vindictive threat matter to him? Also, for what the advice is worth: violence, per se, is not drama. It can sometimes add to a scene's impact IF it is done in the pursuit of some value, such as the protagonist's motivating want, need, or desire. (As a film buff, I admit, of course, that violence photographs well! It puts the "move" in "movie"! But unless it moves the story along, it so often adds nothing.)

<<Can you imagine the same woman threatening to have him deported because he had told her that less than 30 minutes of his first arrival in Argentina he was extorted and paid a "fee" of $100 USD to the airport vet?

But what's the conflict? Dramatic conflict is: He wants, needs, desires X, but he can't get X immediately or easily because Y is throwing obstacles in his way. "Y" can be: another person's will; physical nature (storms, earthquakes, fires, etc.); or something internal to the protagonist himself (a prior value, a "tragic flaw", a lack of knowledge, etc.).

<<Can you imagine a scene where he accompanies her to a visit to the shrink she has been seeing for ten years and she spends the entire hour unloading on him because he will not follow her "instructions" and wanted to do anything on his own?>>

But what's the conflict? Dramatic conflict is: HE wants, needs, desires _______; SHE doesn't want him to get _______ because of _________. HE is the protagonist; SHE is the antagonist.

That a biotch talks trash about the protagonist to her shrink in no way throws an obstacle in his way.

<<Can you imagine a scene where she is threatened by his ipod because it is "Only for one person?">>

But what's the conflict? They're fighting over who gets to listen to an iPod? You started off with a philosophical/political/moral premise regarding "going Galt," and now we've been reduced to the characters bickering over inconsequentials.

<<Can you imagine looking for an apartment in a city where most real estate agents will do as much as they can to squeeze as much as they can out of a foreign buyer..by lying about as much as they can?>>

Sounds like New York City. But what's the conflict? Your main character has gone Galt in order to escape what he believes will be a social collapse in the US following an economic collapse, as the US follows its current arc toward socialism. That tells us what your character does NOT want. But what does he WANT? What is he pursuing?

If he's simply pursuing a desire for a kind of self-reliant "Thoreau-esque" lifestyle, away from the IRS, away from the NSA, away from ObamaCare, etc., and instead of the idyllic life he expected in Argentina he meets up with small disappointments in his love life, in his apartment searches, etc., then I believe at most what you have here is a light comedy, similar in tone to a fiction film like "Lost in America" (1985) with Albert Brooks and Julie Hagerty. If you remember, Brooks and Hagerty were a married "Yuppie" couple who wanted to be "free", so they sell everything they have, drop out of society, and drive off in their mobile home. The first problem they have (if I remember correctly) is when they temporarily stop in Las Vegas. Brooks gets up in the middle of the night looking for his wife, who has left their bed. He wanders around and finds her in a casino . . . having just gambled away their life's savings (it turns out she was a compulsive gambler and he never knew it). So now a real conflict begins for them: they have to start their lives anew completely broke.

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with light comedy — and Brooks's comedy, though light, usually has some (slight) philosphical implications attached, which makes it rise slightly above pure fluff.

<<Can you imagine a scene where he flee's from the Argentine woman's apartment (for the last time) after she boxed his ears when he asked if she would watch his dog while he went to Bariloche to look at property?>>

A funny bit. But what's the conflict? How does her boxing his ears throw an obstacle in the way of his gaining his main want, need, or desire?

<<Can you imagine his relief when he meets a trustworthy real estate from Australia who helps him sell his apartment and buy the "ranchito" in the pampas?>>

Conflict? How does this pose a challenge or obstacle to his achieving his main goal?

<<Can you imagine a scene where the closing for the sale of his apartment and the purchase of the ranchito are scheduled to take place in the same room at the same time, but only the closing for the sale of the apartment takes place because a last minute lien was placed on the ranchito?>>

Conflict?

<<Can you imagine a scene where instead of riding the 650 km from Buenos Aires to the ranchito with the previous owners (who did not come to the closing but allowed him to occupy the house without papers!), he rides in the cab of the moving van with his three dogs, over $60,000 USD in a money belt, and a driver who drinks a full bottle of red wine when they stop for dinner...and then continues to drive?>>

Colorful. But where's the conflict? How does this throw an obstacle in the way of his satisfying his main want, need, or desire?

<<Can you imagine how elated he is when he meets another Argentine woman (the Florida socialite) on line (on the same website where he met the Tango dancer) and she knows who John Galt is?>>

Conflict?

<<Can you imagine multiple scenes when she leaves her 3.5 million dollar home in Boca Raton to visit him in a poorly heated and poorly insulated home in a semi rural location (with dirt streets) during the coldest and ugliest time of the year?>>

Romantic possibilities. But . . . conflict?

<<Can you imagine a scene at the regional airport (when they actually meet for the first time) and she is wheeled out of the baggage claim area in a wheel chair with her dog in her lap after requesting the wheel chair so she would receive special treatment..even though she was perfectly capable of walking?>>

Conflict? Obstacle to his main goal?

<<Can you imagine a woman getting a note from he plastic surgeon that siad she needed to have the poodle (now a "service" dog) with her (in ther lap) in the first class cabin for psychological reasons?>>

Conflict? Obstacle to his main goal?

<<Can you imagine his reaction when, after sending hundreds of emails back and forth for seven months she reveals that she is ten years older than her "stated age" on the website, is living on Social Security income, unable to borrow against her home, but still flying first class, not only to Argentina, but tooEurope as well as another South American country where she is perceived as a major player and potential investor?>>

Conflict? Obstacle to his main goal?

<<Can you imagine how much danger she has created for herself by projecting the image of a wealthy American woman, but does not have the liquidity to pay the kind of ransom which would be demanded by kidnappers?>>


Conflict? Obstacle to his main goal?

<<I did not have to imagine any of the above, and there is a grreat deal more to the "true life" story that what I've written in this post, but this is as much as I'm willing to reveal here.>>

Your series of events has romance, intrigue, humor, and adventure — everything but dramatic conflict. I still can't figure out *WHAT* your main character wants; *WHY* he wants it; and *WHO* or *WHAT* is preventing him from getting it.

See why compelling screenwriting — even in documentary — is so difficult? You have to define a main goal for the main focal character, and break that down into lots of smaller goals. Each smaller goal = one scene; each scene either moves the main character a little bit toward his main goal, or sets him back. Each scene has some new challenge or obstacle that he must meet and (if possible) overcome.

Finally: I'm not saying you shouldn't continue to make a list of the colorful, memorable moments that have occurred to you (or your protagonist). But I also encourage you to seek a single, unifying, want, need, desire, or goal that DRIVES you (or the protagonist) to act; and to root out of each colorful memory the actual obstacle to the achievement of this goal.

I get the sociopath business. I think you honed in on TWO of them. what is weird to me, is that you are fixated on her misrepresenting her age. I'm back to my eyes analogy. accept it. You were partly taken in by the beguiling. an objectivist first meeting would have gone much differently. easy for me to weigh in after the fact. It can happen to any of us. the grounding of a good woman will not start with a tango dance....jus sayin

The ear boxing was the third voilent act on her part. If I had stayed I might have responded in kind. I called a BA psychologist I knew and she agreed that I should not see or even call this woman again. I was unwise to stay whith her as long as I did. There is no reason for a man to stay with a woman he has only known for a couple months who is obviously mentally unballanced and cannot control herself.

Would you stay with a man who boxed your ears...or twisted one until it bled...or threw samll bronze sculptures at you (with good aim)? I kinda doubt it...and I kinda doubt you would box or twist any man's ears, either.

I don't have to deal with the Tango dancer in any way. I actually feel sorry for her. The vigilante twist for the Florida socialite will be to sell my story, see it published in book form, or made into a movie...after she had expressed a desire to collaborate with me in the first place.

Ironically, she indignantly (and instantly) ended our relationship after I sent her a "scene" (aka dialogue) in which two of her women friends (of my creation) scolded her for lying about her age on the dating website and gave me credit for not dumping her.

Pior to sending the dialogue I had not said a word aoout the fact that she lied about her age for seven months before telling me the truth. This way my way of letting her know that I wasn't pleased but I still wanted to be with her.

I don't think she liked the reference to the back of her thighs or her 64 year old naked butt (which I had never seen). She's had a lot of work done on her face, but I have to say it looks good...very good (nothing like some of the former Hollywood stars who can barely open their mouths when the speak).

Recently, I googled the expression Narcissistic Sociopath.

It fit like a glove.

yes, I realize I was using the phrase in a different context. They were obviously both alluring but their shenanigans were too much. I think a great twist would be to go back and deal with both women in unique ways. perhaps a vigilante twist. It serves to empower you more than walking or running away. The men in my life would have not "fled" an ear-boxing-jus sayin. I think you might not have either.
I'd love to see them in their own pickle that you can provide a solution for whose price is something they had dealt onto you. Lessons in Argentina

One popular technique to show the timeline and quickly introduce political "events" without actually depicting them is to have a TV in a scene that is tuned to CNN or Fox news as the stories ae being reported. One (fictional and futuristic) example that just came to mind would be the POTUS signing an executive order authorizing Homeland Security to enter any private home without a warrant to seize food storage. (I believe he's already done so regarding wholesale suppliers.)

And to provide an example of a less than cerebal discussion of Ayn and and Objectivism at an expat lunch, just imagine one "expat" who despises her proclaiming that the American who admires her wants to have sex with her and perform acts that I would never mention here (but were mentioned by an MSNBC's Matin Bashir in an offensive reference to Sarah Palin several months ago).

This is based on what an expat wrote about my admiration for Ayn Rand in an expat forum at about the same time.

The threats to liberty will be a very big issue in the story, but it is the threat to liberty in the United States as well as the possiblitly of a concommitant crisis in Argentina (that could turn Buenos Aires into a "zone of chaos") that not only "drove" the American in the story to move to his present location in the pampas, it is also what motivates other Ameicans to consider joining him, or at least do something to be prepared for the worst case (if not inevitable) scenario (the collapse of the dollar and the US economy) by building a log home on adjacent land.

There are cerebral conversations in the ealy part of the story (actually on the same day): one is a conversation about Ayn Rand and the future of Argentina in an art gallery, and that is followed by a discussion of what is happening in the USA at an expat lunch.

The dinner conversations are mostly between the American and the two Argentine women. When the Tango dancer and the American meet for the fiirst time it is at a restaurant in Buenos Aires. The conversation includes her explaination of the crisis in 2002 in Argentina and how the foreigners who have arrived in droves since then know nothoing about it. On the other hand, she has no idea of what is going on politically in the USA and her prime concern will soon be controlling her man.

The other Argentine woman is well aware of what is going on in the USA and appears to be seriously considering the option of "Going Galt" with him in the pampas. She may invest the proceeds of the sale of her luxury home in a counrty that borders Agentina. Either way, she wants to get out of the USA.

The "common criminal" may have to be introduced in the story to demonstate that not all who claim to be Objectivists adhere to Objectivist principles, and just because some express a desire to "Go Galt" they may have entierly different motives.

It really may be necessary to introduce this character to provide an element of danger, as there is no threat to living here with interference from anything like the EPA or Homeland Security.

The Argentine police and military pose no threat whatsoever to the general population and never hassle foreigners from North America or Europe.

Migraciones was only a minor annoyance when first applying for a resident visa. Deportations are extremely rare and overstaying a visa is not a crime.

How Argentina will react to a collapse of the dollar is the BIG question.

And I am not saying anything here about what I think will happen then...

Robbie, you may just have to see the movie, after all;-)

That's an interesting expresion to use here, khalling. My grandmother used to use it in context with overloading my plate at a buffet, but I just don't see how it applies in this case.

Perhaps you could compare meeting someone on a dating website to "buying a pig in a poke" but tens of thousannd have found a partner this way ;-)

And I'm glad to know you "would not be using that website to meet eligible females" since you are a married woman.

I have had profiles on other sites and only received a few notices of "interest" in a year. I have received over five thousand "interests" from women on this site in the past 14 months.

The two closest cities to my location have a combined population of over 400,000 but only a handful of woman have profiles on the Latina dating website. Last night there were about 1500 women on line at 10pm. Only seven of them were from Argentina.

Argentine women generally don't even try to meet men outside their circle of friends and family and the freindships usually begin in childhood. They also can meet men at work, but don't usually go to bars or clubs to meet men.

Using the internet to meet men is way down on the list and not a very "acceptable" alternative, at least compared to other Latin American countries.

I never use the click to show interest on the site. I send an email in English and have only sent a handful...all to women who indicate they are fluent in English.

I want to be sure they understand exactly what I mean when I explain (among other things) that the current POTUS is not what he appears to be...as well as why I am living where I do now.

I would not be using that website to meet eligible females.
I think your eyes were bigger than your stomach, shrugin

Thanks for the advice. I kept most of the story "close to the vest" but believe me, there is plenty of conflict in the story...and as I indicated it the initial post, the story is "mostly true" and FULL of dramatic conflict which I did not have to imagine:

Can you imagine a fan of Ayn Rand who moved to Argentina to find love and live in Buenos Aires (as a substitute for living in Paris) deciding to "Go Galt" in Argentina, a cleary more "socialist" country than the USA?

Can you imagine multiple scenes dealing with a hysterical and violent Argentine girlfriend who tells him he must put her name on the deed of the apartment he wants to buy and send the funds from the USA to her lawyer or he will go to jail for money laundering?

Can you imagine the same woman threatening to have him deported because he had told her that less than 30 minutes of his first arrival in Argentina he was extorted and paid a "fee" of $100 USD to the airport vet?

Can you imagine a scene where he accompanies her to a visit to the shrink she has been seeing for ten years and she spends the entire hour unloading on him because he will not follow her "instructions" and wanted to do anything on his own?

Can you imagine a scene where she is threatened by his ipod because it is "Only for one person?"

Can you imagine looking for an apartment in a city where most real estate agents will do as much as they can to squeeze as much as they can out of a foreign buyer..by lying about as much as they can?

Can you imagine a scene where he flee's from the Argentine woman's apartment (for the last time) after she boxed his ears when he asked if she would watch his dog while he went to Bariloche to look at property?

Can you imagine his relief when he meets a trustworthy real estate from Australia who helps him sell his apartment and buy the "ranchito" in the pampas?

Can you imagine a scene where the closing for the sale of his apartment and the purchase of the ranchito are scheduled to take place in the same room at the same time, but only the closing for the sale of the apartment takes place because a last minute lien was placed on the ranchito?

Can you imagine a scene where instead of riding the 650 km from Buenos Aires to the ranchito with the previous owners (who did not come to the closing but allowed him to occupy the house without papers!), he rides in the cab of the moving van with his three dogs, over $60,000 USD in a money belt, and a driver who drinks a full bottle of red wine when they stop for dinner...and then continues to drive?

Can you imagine how elated he is when he meets another Argentine woman (the Florida socialite) on line (on the same website where he met the Tango dancer) and she knows who John Galt is?

Can you imagine multiple scenes when she leaves her 3.5 million dollar home in Boca Raton to visit him in a poorly heated and poorly insulated home in a semi rural location (with dirt streets) during the coldest and ugliest time of the year?

Can you imagine a scene at the regional airport (when they actually meet for the first time) and she is wheeled out of the baggage claim area in a wheel chair with her dog in her lap after requesting the wheel chair so she would receive special treatment..even though she was perfectly capable of walking?

Can you imagine a woman getting a note from he plastic surgeon that siad she needed to have the poodle (now a "service" dog) with her (in ther lap) in the first class cabin for psychological reasons?

Can you imagine his reaction when, after sending hundreds of emails back and forth for seven months she reveals that she is ten years older than her "stated age" on the website, is living on Social Security income, unable to borrow against her home, but still flying first class, not only to Argentina, but tooEurope as well as another South American country where she is perceived as a major player and potential investor?

Can you imagine how much danger she has created for herself by projecting the image of a wealthy American woman, but does not have the liquidity to pay the kind of ransom which would be demanded by kidnappers?

I did not have to imagine any of the above, and there is a grreat deal more to the "true life" story that what I've written in this post, but this is as much as I'm willing to reveal here.

I know it is possible to make the story more damatic with enchanced incidents and putting it into the contex of current Argentine and US politics as well as world events (especially if the story reaches its climax a few years into the future).

The comment by JerseyBoy is (IMO) very interesting. I hope it is useful to ShruginArgentina.

It is possible to make a good story and film without conflict, as a few in the French style, and there is 'My Dinner with Andre'. It will not do for the theme wanted here.

Shrug's outline shows good episodes, there could be contrast between successive ones, but no development is shown, nor any conflict or adversary or enemy. Obviously Shrug has given us a bare outline and he has a lot more.

I reckon the public, well the Gulch public, want not simply a series of cerebral dinners about liberty and economics and a touch of crime, but there should be a build up of tension with threats to the central character not from a common criminal but related to the liberty and economics theme.

I've written two screenplays — one of which was optioned — and have written, produced, and directed a few (low budget) commercials. For what it's worth, I've also taught film production (including screenwriting) in Los Angeles and New York.

Some broad, general points on story construction:

For me, "story" means "drama" (or, at least, a "dramatic situation", which would also include comedy), and "drama" means "conflict".

The problem as I see it with your description thus far is that there's no conflict.

"Conflict" means the prorotagonist — the main focal character who drives the movement of the story — wants, needs, or desires some value, but cannot obtain it immediately because he is blocked by a series of obstacles he must overcome — each obstacle getting progressively more difficult to overcome. Each obstacle represents one scene, and the upshot of each scebe — i.e., the protagonist either overcomes the particular obstacle in that scene and thus advances closer toward acquiring his want, need, or desire; or he fails (temporarily) to overcome the obstacle in that particular scene and experiences a setback.

Also, each time the protagonist struggles to overcome a particular obstacle, the "main trait" of his character (or, rather, characterization) is tested and "proved". In other words, in each scene, when the the protagonist meets, struggles with, and overcomes a particular obstacle, he does so specifically because of his one, main trait, which is tested and proved, over and over again, but more intensely. The so-called "climax" of the story, therefore, represents the greatest struggle against the greatest obstacle, which most clearly tests his one main trait, and also proves to the audience that "the hero of this story is, specifically, THAT kind of person" (whatever the main trait happens to be).

I realize this is all very generic, but I can certainly provide concrete examples if you wish. The main thing to realize is that the principles of dramatic construction apply just as well to documentary as they do to fiction writing. Except, instead of inventing the dramatic conflict out of your imagination, you have observe real life and find it in reality. The job of the documentary screenwriter (or filmmaker) is to find the dramatic conflict in a real life situation, isolate it, emphasize it (through camera angle, lens choice, editing, etc.) and thus — like the fiction writer — to tell a story.

The government is acting out a socialist agenda, as many other parts of the world. But it´s very improvised, and only applied on the enemies of the state. All allies and quiet ones get away with just about anything. Though the country has been sold many times in the past...

I have photographed commercials but no features. I have written in many mediums and assisted in several teleplays. However, I'm too old and infirm to be of much help. My only reason for writing is to ask if you are aware of the difficulties of getting an indie film financed and then distributed? Many good scripts go floating from one producer to another without being made. Some who have been made have been around for as long as 20 years before someone was willing to take a chance on them. The ones that do get produced are often because they are backed by a Hollywood notable. All that aside, I hope you succeed. It sounds like a fascinating project.

Shrugged, I wish you well with your project. You paint a rosy picture of Argentina. Is there a dark side to living there? Economy from an insider view, not visitors/tourism agency? How intrusive is the government? Little things which pop into my mind when I think of relocating to another country. Its been a hard winter here and warmer climes are looking better and better all the time. Then there is the politics here.

It would be more accurate to say that her words are at odds with reality and eventually serious defects in her character are revealed.

The two woman are nothing like Dominique and Dagn, but this is an entirely different story.

The Tango dancer (retiring from the stage at the age of 40) has never heard of Ayn and and knows nothing whatsoever about Objectivism, but how can a 56 yea ols American man (new too Buenos Aiores) possibly resist her beauty and charm?

The Florida socialite not only knows about Ayn Rand, she has seen the the Atlas Shugged films as well as The Fountainhead, and actually uses the expression "Who is John Galt?" in her first conversation with the American after he asks if she knows anything about Ayn Rand the first time they meet (in an art museum in La Boca).

She is also stunningly beautiful, but her outward appearance creates a misleading impession and conceals the fact that there is a "dark side" to her personality and her words are at odds with serious defects in her character.

There will be if you see the film in a theater in San Fancisco, Ca and you are naked.

As for the film, it's too early to say. At least there is a very seductive dance performed by the Tango dancer on the second date in the Ameican's apartment in Buenos Aires .

(I already indicated that she was manipulative;-)

Just wanted to add that the characters of the two Argentine women add as much if not more to the story than just about everything else.

The first Argentine woman (the dancer) is very manipulative and occasionally hysterical and even violent, and the second Argentine woman (the Florida socialite) creates a public image of herself which actually put's her in harm's way.

The story is immediately engrossing. Hope to see your idea come to complete fruition!

The romance adds intrigue to your plot. Very enticing.

Thank you. I hope so too.

I will continue to write on my own until I have something that is at least "presentable" to someone who can take it to the next level.

The story is as much (if not more) about culture, life, and love in Argentina as it is about the principles of Objectivism.

The latter provide the moral compass which guide my life, no matter where I choose to live and all of my actions have those pinciples as their foundation.