A question I frequently get asked is: “What if someone steals my idea?” The fact is, you cannot protect an idea. You can only protect the expression of the idea. Your unique expression or individual point of view is what makes any of your script ideas valuable or protect-able.

In a few seconds the audience (or executive in a pitch session) should be able to get the essential core of your story and character. One of my favorite quotes is by Albert Einstein: “If you can’t say it simply and briefly you probably don’t understand it well enough.”

Power of Truth characters value loyalty and commitment very highly, but they can be very unsettled and indecisive. They can become self-doubting and suspicious to the point of paralysis. At that point, they no longer trust their own instincts.

The Dark Knight is a classic example of the Emotional Toolbox premise that– “In the battle between reason (plot) and emotion (connection), emotion ALWAYS wins.”

In a Power of Truth film things are never what they seem. None of the major characters in The Dark Knight are what they seem at first glance. The tangled undergrowth of human duplicity catches and pulls at every character in the film.

A character driven by the Power of Love is often someone who tirelessly pushes another forward in a story. These characters— often soft-spoken, gentle and compliant on the outside— are made of strong, even steely, stuff on the inside. They believe the best place to be is the “power behind the throne.” All these qualities are very evident with Alfred.