{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Write On: 'Countdown' Creator\/Writer Derek Haas","description":"\u201cOne thing I\u2019ve found in the crime genre is that homicides are always interesting. When somebody\u2019s killed, whatever that case may be, it\u2019s usually compelling drama. So then it\u2019s up to you as the writer to surprise the audience and do things that they didn\u2019t think were coming. I\u2019ve described it like this before: If you can hit the sweet spot of, \u2018I didn\u2019t see that coming! I should have seen it coming, but I didn\u2019t see it coming,\u2019 That, to me, is the best writing. It\u2019s like, when you got to the end of The Sixth Sense, and you were like, \u2018Oh my god, I should have seen that coming!\u2019 That was great writing,\u201d says Derek Haas, creator and writer for the show Countdown on Prime.  You may know Derek Haas from the popular NBC procedural dramas like Chicago Med, Chicago Fire and Chicago PD. Now, he\u2019s got a new crime drama on Prime called Countdown that tells one twisty crime story over 13 episodes \u2013 all written by Haas. Set in Los Angeles, Countdown follows a secret task force who discover a sinister international plot that threatens millions of lives. The show stars Eric Dane, Jensen Ackles and Jessica Camacho as undercover agents all harboring dark secrets of their own.  On this episode of the podcast, we chat with Haas about starting his career as a crime novelist, writing movies like 2 Fast 2 Furious, 3:10 to Yuma and Wanted before making the switch to TV. Haas talks about working with director John Singleton, prolific TV producer Dick Wolf and writing characters that hook audiences. He also shares his advice for writing action sequences that both stun visually and surprise the audience.  \u201cWhen I think about action sequences, I always go back to Raiders of the Lost Ark. My favorite action sequence of any movie ever is when Indiana Jones has to fight this gigantic Nazi guy, and \u2013 in any other movie \u2013 that would have been the only thing that\u2019s happening. But they put Marion in a plane where she gets trapped because the cover of the plane closes. Then the plane\u2019s propellers start spinning. The plane starts spinning, gas is leaking out of the plane, there\u2019s other people running by with machine guns. So it\u2019s not just, \u2018Oh, here\u2019s a fight,\u2019 it\u2019s \u2018Here\u2019s a fight, but there\u2019s eight other things happening at once.\u2019 I really try to do that in these chase sequences, because you have seen a million of them. What\u2019s the other factors I can bring to it? How can I show you something you haven\u2019t seen before? Sometimes it\u2019s character, and sometimes, it\u2019s the stunt itself,\u201d says Haas.  To hear more screenwriting advice from Haas, listen to the podcast.     ","author_name":"Write On: A Screenwriting Podcast","author_url":"https:\/\/www.finaldraft.com","html":"