MINUTE 42
SURPRISE REVEAL
Ally/Hero reveals something surprising
Our ears perk up when our friends tell us something surprising, don’t they? Same trick works in storytelling, which is used during Minute 42 to reel in the audience. Sometimes the Surprising Reveal is a negative surprise, sometimes positive, as we’ll see in the following examples . . .
SKYFALL
Bond’s (wounded) arm gives way while holding onto the elevator.
THE AVENGERS
Captain America flings his shield, which strikes Loki.
THE HANGOVER
Stu’s stranger-wife gives him a surprise passionate kiss.
A BEAUTIFUL MIND
Alicia tells John that she tried to count all the stars. She made it to 4,348.
THE CONJURING
The oldest daughter shows fear for the first time.
GONE GIRL
Nick’s girlfriend shows up at Margo’s place — he’s been having an affair.
MINUTE 43
SURPRISE REVEAL 2
Ally reveals something even more surprising
What if your friend, who just revealed something surprising to you, followed up with something even more surprising? We’d be riveted and would want to know more. So will the audience. Death, or the mention of possible death, seems to be a popular surprise reveal during Minute 43.
SKYFALL
Drawing his Walther PPK, Bond sees the enemy agent cutting a hole in the high rise window.
THE AVENGERS
Iron Man’s explosives drive Loki backwards.
THE HANGOVER
Stu’s new wife is wearing his grandmother’s Holocaust ring.
A BEAUTIFUL MIND
Alicia wants John sexually.
THE CONJURING
The oldest daughter rolls on the floor as if something is attacking her.
GONE GIRL
Nick’s girlfriend is much younger than him.
MINUTE 44
NEW NEWS
Hero reacts to new news
During this minute the hero either reacts to last minute’s surprise, like Indiana Jones does in Raiders of the Lost Ark (by drinking heavily after Marion’s death), or the hero reacts to new news during this minute, like Don Corleone does in The Godfather when he sees two armed men approaching him. Here’s how our case studies react to New News:
SKYFALL
Bond realizes that the enemy agent is going to shoot somebody in the neighboring building. He wonders if he should intervene.
THE AVENGERS
After seeing Thor grab Loki, Captain America says: “That guy’s a friendly?”
THE HANGOVER
Surprised Stu learns that his new wife is a stripper/escort.
A BEAUTIFUL MIND
John sees code patterns emerging in the newspapers and magazines.
THE CONJURING
Ed reacts to his students’ overwhelming response.
GONE GIRL
Nick’s girlfriend takes off her shirt. He starts foreplay.
MINUTE 45
OUT OF THE ORDINARY
Hero does something brave and out of the ordinary for him
This is the minute we see another side of the hero — something Out of the Ordinary. It’s a moment when the hero shows courage. This moment makes us respect the hero on a subconscious level because we admire people who show this quality. Why? Because stepping out of your comfort zone is extremely difficult to do. If they can do it, maybe the audience can too.
SKYFALL
Bond allows the enemy agent to kill his target.
THE AVENGERS
Captain America leaps from the plane.
THE HANGOVER
Stu waits at the police station to be processed.
A BEAUTIFUL MIND
John types in the code imbedded in his arm.
THE CONJURING
Carolyn attends a ghost hunter talk.
GONE GIRL
Amy says that Nick uses her for sex.
TURNING POINT 45
Between Minutes 44–47, there’s another big Turning Point. Keep in mind that major Turning Points happen in the middle of the story — Acts 2 and 3 — every fifteen minutes to keep the audience off guard, engaged, and guessing (Minutes 30, 45, 60, and 75).
Usually someone attacks the hero during this Turning Point, as happens in The Avengers, The Hangover, and A Beautiful Mind, which you’ll see below. Other times something surprising is revealed that will send the hero down a wildly different path, as in The Conjuring and Gone Girl.
SKYFALL
Bond witnesses Silva’s henchman assassinate someone important. Bond and the henchman try to kill each other. (Minute 45)
THE AVENGERS
Thor shows up in a dramatic lightning storm, attacks the Avengers, and kidnaps Loki. (Minute 45)
THE HANGOVER
Cops burst through the door and arrest the guys. (Minute 44)
A BEAUTIFUL MIND
John becomes certain that he’s being followed. (Minute 44)
THE CONJURING
Lorraine begs the Warrens to come to her house. “I’m so afraid this thing wants to hurt us,” she pleads. It’s the first time the Warrens and Lorraine meet. This meeting will change the course of both their lives. (Minute 46)
GONE GIRL
Nick has sex with a young student whom he’s been secretly dating. (Minute 44)
MINUTE 46
THE REVELATION
Something significant is revealed
Revelations, doled out bit by bit, are like clues left on a trail leading somewhere interesting for the audience. The Revelation comes in four different forms during Minute 46: 1) Revelations that rock the hero’s world; 2) Revelations about the ally; 3) Revelations about the hero; 4) Revelations about the bad guy.
SKYFALL
The woman in the other room has seen Bond.
THE AVENGERS
Loki tells Thor: “I remember a shadow. Living in the shade of your greatness.”
THE HANGOVER
A cop reveals that they found the guys’ Mercedes parked in the middle of Las Vegas Blvd.
A BEAUTIFUL MIND
Someone drives by and looks at John. They are watching him.
THE CONJURING
Carolyn tells Ed and Lorraine: “I have five daughters who are scared to death.”
GONE GIRL
Amy tells Nick she wants a baby.
MINUTE 47
THE ESCORT
Ally takes, or will take, the hero somewhere
One of the functions of the ally, especially during Minute 47, is to lead the hero somewhere. This action drives the hero, and the story, forward into fresh territories, like in Jaws when Hooper takes Brody out into the ocean at night, or in Raiders of the Lost Ark when Sallah says he will take Indy to the old man, and in The Matrix when Tank says he will take Neo to his training.
SKYFALL
Bond finds a clue that will lead him closer to the list.
THE AVENGERS
Iron Man forces Thor away from Loki.
THE HANGOVER
The cop tells the guys that he will take them to see the judge Monday morning.
A BEAUTIFUL MIND
Alicia takes John on a picnic.
Carolyn takes Lorraine to meet her daughters.
GONE GIRL
Detective James accompanies Detective Rhonda into a crack area.
MINUTE 48
NEEDED KNOWLEDGE
Ally gives/shows hero needed knowledge
The next three minutes are devoted to giving the hero knowledge. The knowledge the ally gives the hero (and the audience) during Minute 48 aids the hero’s goal or situation, or shows him what he needs to do next. You’ll also notice that during these three minutes the knowledge becomes more and more ominous as the minutes progress . . .
SKYFALL
M says: “(The hacker has) posted the first five names. Get them out now.”
THE AVENGERS
Iron Man tells Thor: “He (Loki) gives up the cube, he’s all yours.”
THE HANGOVER
Stu asks Phil: “What are you getting at?” Phil tries to get them out of their situation with the cops.
A BEAUTIFUL MIND
Alicia kisses John — she accepts him for who he is.
THE CONJURING
Rogers tells Ed that the banging noises come in threes. Ed says it’s an insult to the trinity.
GONE GIRL
Crack addict/informant tells Detective Rhonda that Amy wanted a gun.
MINUTE 49
FOREBODING FACT
Hero is given more knowledge/warning, often ominous
During this minute, a dark undertone accompanies the Needed Knowledge the hero learned in the previous minute. For example, during Minute 49 in The Godfather, Tom is told that Don Corleone is dead. In Forrest Gump, Forrest discovers that Lt. Dan is wounded.
Here are the Foreboding Facts in our case studies:
SKYFALL
Eve tells Bond that the enemy has broken the encryption. British agents’ lives are in danger.
THE AVENGERS
Iron Man turns Thor’s power against him.
THE HANGOVER
The cop tasers Stu.
A BEAUTIFUL MIND
Charles tells John that his sister died in a car crash.
THE CONJURING
Lorraine hears screaming noises in the basement.
GONE GIRL
Margo saw Nick with the young girl and calls him a fuckin’ idiot.
MINUTE 50
THE PORTENT
Something potentially deadly is seen or explained
Portent means: An indication that something calamitous may occur. The knowledge given during this minute is laced with possible danger or even death. In Raiders of the Lost Ark, Sallah spots the dead monkey and catches the poisoned date before Indy eats it. In Little Miss Sunshine, the literary agent informs Richard that his book deal fell through — his dream is dead. In Juno, Juno tells us that Paulie’s mom doesn’t like her (deadly to her and Paulie’s relationship).
SKYFALL
Bond hands Eve his razor.
THE AVENGERS
Captain America strikes Thor in the head with his shield.
THE HANGOVER
The boy who Alan kicked at earlier volunteers to taser him.
A BEAUTIFUL MIND
John asks Charles if he should marry Alicia. “How do you know for sure?”
THE CONJURING
April tells Lorraine that something bad happened to her imaginary friend Rory.
GONE GIRL
Margo tells Nick that he’s “a liar and a cheat just like Dad.”
THE ENGAGE
Hero and/or ally engage the enemy, the enemy intimidates the hero
Now that the hero has his knowledge, or has been warned, the enemy shows up — I call the moment The Engage. It’s where they mix it up for a bit, like fighters in a ring feeling each other out, testing each other’s endurance for the remaining rounds. And the enemy shows up for the next three minutes:
SKYFALL
Bond looks at the dragon he’s about to enter.
THE AVENGERS
Loki grins at Banner.
THE HANGOVER
The cop tasers Alan until he collapses.
A BEAUTIFUL MIND
John is late again for dinner. Alicia glares at him.
THE CONJURING
Lorraine sees a ghost in the mirror.
GONE GIRL
Margo shows Nick the TV news, which makes him out to be a bad guy.
MINUTE 52
SAY UNCLE
Pressure is applied to the hero or ally
When I was a kid, bullies would seize weaker classmates, put them into headlocks, and make them to say “Uncle” before releasing them. The phrase originated from the similar sounding Irish word “anacol,” which means “an act of mercy or quarter.” The experience was always humiliating for the victim. That’s why the phrase is fitting for Minute 52. Not only does the enemy intimidate the hero in the previous minute, now he almost defeats him, which draws even more sympathy from the audience.
SKYFALL
Bond tells Eve over his headset: “I’ve got three exits, lots of blind spots.”
THE AVENGERS
Loki tells Fury: “It burns you to have come so close . . . to have the Tesseract; to have power.”
THE HANGOVER
Grief overcomes Alan because Doug might be dead.
A BEAUTIFUL MIND
John wants to ask Alicia to marry him, but the notion unsettles him.
THE CONJURING
Lorraine sees a dead body dangling behind Ed (which overwhelms her).
GONE GIRL
The TV show host calls Nick a sociopath, which stuns him.
MINUTE 53
THE INTIMIDATION
Enemy intimidates hero
In the Old Testament story of David and Goliath, the Philistine’s nine-foot-tall super-soldier stood on the opposing hillside and hurled taunts at the much smaller Israelite soldiers. He did this to intimidate them; to show them who’s boss. The bad guy uses this same intimidation against the hero during Minute 53. And sometimes the bad guy is simply life.
SKYFALL
The bodyguard stares at Bond.
THE AVENGERS
Thor tells The Avengers that Loki has an army.
THE HANGOVER
A man leaps out of the trunk and attacks Phil.
A BEAUTIFUL MIND
John weighs Alicia’s data and wonders if he should marry her, or if she will marry him.
THE CONJURING
Lorraine tells Roger and Carolyn that a dark entity has latched onto their family and is feeding off them.
GONE GIRL
A detective states that it’s Amy’s blood all over the kitchen.
MINUTE 54
THE LIGHTBULB
New positive or negative revelation is made
Another revelation is made during this minute — a lightbulb blinks on in the mind. The lightbulb will either illuminate something positive or negative. Whichever one it is, you must reveal something here to keep the audience interested in your story, as in Raiders of the Lost Ark when Indy discovers that the sun’s rays work through the medallion (positive revelation), or when Jester surprises Maverick with an unexpected attack in Top Gun (negative revelation).