SKYFALL
The woman recognizes Bond (negative revelation).
THE AVENGERS
Stark says that the portal can open as wide or as long as Loki wants (negative revelation).
THE HANGOVER
Stu says he has internal bleeding (negative revelation).
A BEAUTIFUL MIND
Alicia and John marry (positive revelation).
THE CONJURING
Ed explains that the church has to authorize a new exorcism (negative revelation).
GONE GIRL
The police photos indicate “blunt force” (negative revelation).
MINUTE 55
SIDESWIPE
The hero or ally is sideswiped in some way, either positively or negatively
It’s time to give the hero, and the audience, another jolt. When I was sixteen, I pulled my car onto Pennsylvania’s Route 22 and a silver van sideswiped my Nova at 60 mph. That same year a cute neighbor girl I secretly liked kissed me unexpectedly while we sat on her porch. Both moments seized my attention, to say the least. Movies use this same sideswipe moment to elevate our adrenaline levels and keep us glued to the screen.
SKYFALL
Severine wants Bond to have a drink with her.
THE AVENGERS
Stark offers a rare compliment to Banner.
THE HANGOVER
Alan confesses that he drugged them.
A BEAUTIFUL MIND
Russians shoot at Parkin and John.
THE CONJURING
Carolyn’s voice didn’t record on the tape machine.
GONE GIRL
Nick lies to the crowd — calls Amy his “soulmate.”
MINUTE 56
DARK TWIST CHAT
Hero talks with a friend, and then there’s a dark twist
We’re having a pleasant chat with a friend outside a grocery store. We’re about to wrap up the conversation and finish our errands when he says, “Oh, did you hear that your brother-in-law was arrested?” That’s the Dark Twist Chat. Suddenly we forget about our errands. We want to know more. The writer uses this same technique to make the audience forget about the outside world and keep their attention focused on the movie . . .
SKYFALL
Eve tells Bond over his earpiece that the woman is pretty. Bond drops his earpiece in Eve’s drink.
THE AVENGERS
Captain America tells Fury that they should start with Loki’s scepter. Fury responds: “It is powered by the cube.”
THE HANGOVER
Stu tells Phil and Alan: “Our best friend Doug is probably face-down in a ditch right now with a meth-head butt-fucking his corpse.”
A BEAUTIFUL MIND
Parcher tells John to stay back, and then he fires a gun.
THE CONJURING
Lorraine tells Ed the house’s history. The original owner’s wife sacrificed a baby there.
GONE GIRL
Nick spots his girlfriend in the crowd. She mouths the word “asshole” to him.
MINUTE 57
DIFFICULT WORDS
Difficult question/request/statement is asked/made
The posing of a difficult question, request, or statement within a scene keeps us turning pages. A difficult question, request, or statement has to be dealt with in some way. And “dealing with it” drives the story forward. For example, my friend’s parents once gathered him and his sisters into the den one night. Once everyone was settled, his dad told them he and his mom were getting a divorce. These Difficult Words caused immediate emotional upheaval within the siblings. Storytellers borrow the tension created in such moments to spark life into their movie minutes.
SKYFALL
Severine says to Bond: “I am correct in assuming that you killed Patrice?”
THE AVENGERS
Captain America tells Stark: “Threatening the safety of everyone on this ship isn’t funny.”
THE HANGOVER
Alan: “What about the tiger? What if he got out?”
A BEAUTIFUL MIND
Alicia asks John where he was. He can’t tell her that he was almost killed.
THE CONJURING
Rory’s mother killed herself in the cellar.
GONE GIRL
Detective Rhonda asks Nick if he knew Amy was pregnant.
MINUTE 58
VITAL EVENT
A vital event happens to the hero or ally
The Vital Event can be portrayed in a number of ways: Something alters the hero’s life (in Knocked Up, the guys find out that there’s already a mrskin.com — their website is screwed!); it touches upon the past (in Top Gun, Maverick stares at his dead father’s picture); information is explained (in Star Wars, Tarkin says he will blow up Alderaan); it reveals the state of a relationship (in The Godfather, Michael can’t tell Kate that he loves her); or it poses a threat (in Scream, Billy threatens Randy).
SKYFALL
Severine asks Bond if he can kill “him.”
THE AVENGERS
Banner wonders why SHIELD is in the energy business.
THE HANGOVER
Mike Tyson punches Alan in the face
A BEAUTIFUL MIND
John’s paranoia elevates. He walks out on his class.
THE CONJURING
Ed and Lorraine’s tape recorder plays demonic sounds at 3:07 a.m.
GONE GIRL
The detectives accuse Nick of murdering Amy.
MINUTE 59
THE DECEPTION
A deceit occurs
Robert Southey once wrote that deception is “a lie reduced to practice.” When we witness someone deceiving another person in real life, it creates immediate suspicion within us. Again, it goes back to self-preservation: If he deceives her, will he also deceive me? Deception can threaten our relationships, our jobs, and ultimately, our security. But deception isn’t entirely bad in some cases. When the hero uses deception to “put one over” on the bad guy, we admire his cleverness. Here are a number of ways characters deceive each other in movies:
SKYFALL
Severine pretends for the bodyguards that she’s deceiving Bond.
THE AVENGERS
Stark and Banner wonder what SHIELD is hiding.
THE HANGOVER
Mike Tyson’s friend gives the guys Doug’s jacket that he had been holding.
A BEAUTIFUL MIND
Parcher sneaks up on John. He’s been following him.
THE CONJURING
Ed sets up a camera to secretly take a picture.
GONE GIRL
Nick says that he did not buy all the items on his credit card statement — “This is identity theft!”
MINUTE 60
THE SHOCKER
Something shocks the hero or ally
During the one-hour mark, we experience The Shocker: something that draws a swift inhalation of breath from the audience. And it either happens to the hero or his allies, as it does in Star Wars when Tarkin blows up Alderaan, or when the teenager shows Cole the back of his blown-out skull in The Sixth Sense.
SKYFALL
Bond falls into the pit with the beast.
THE AVENGERS
Stark tells Banner that the Hulk probably saved his life.
THE HANGOVER
The guys put roofies in the tiger’s red meat.
A BEAUTIFUL MIND
THE CONJURING
Sudden images flash in Lorraine’s mind when she touches Carolyn’s photo.
GONE GIRL
Margo calls Nick out for lying about not wanting kids.
ACT 2 CHECKLIST
Have you kept your dialogue and scenes centered around your theme?
Have you escalated the Main Hero’s complications in his life?
What are the worst things that could happen to your Main Hero? Are you making them happen to him in your script (saving the worst for Act 3)?
Have your Main Hero’s Sidekicks, Maiden, and Villain or Henchman tested your Hero’s fl
aw?
THE MIDPOINT
This is the Midpoint in your story. The Midpoint’s “Cave Collapse” or “False Light” (as I refer to them) usually happens between Minutes 55 and 65. Here’s how the Midpoint in our case studies play out:
SKYFALL
Bond falls into the pit occupied by a deadly creature. The bodyguard readies himself to kill fallen Bond (Cave Collapse — Minute 60).
THE AVENGERS
Stark and Banner suspect SHIELD (who they work for) of wrongdoing (Cave Collapse — Minute 59).
THE HANGOVER
Mike Tyson’s friend gives Doug’s jacket to Stu (False Light – Minute 59).
A BEAUTIFUL MIND
Parcher refuses to allow John to quit his spying activities (Cave Collapse — Minute 60).
THE CONJURING
Lorraine receives an “insight” to Carolyn’s happy family (False Light – Minute 60).
GONE GIRL
Detective Rhonda confirms that Amy was pregnant, much to Nick’s shock (Cave Collapse — Minute 60).
THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND FOR ACT 3
Act 3 is what I call “Death Valley.” This should be the absolute worst stretch of time in the Main Hero’s entire life. You must pound his flaw and his weaknesses over and over until he can no longer take it. It’s during this time, around Minute 75, that the Main Hero will experience the lowest point of his existence. Why? As The Mamas & the Papa’s used to sing: “The darkest hour is just before dawn.”
ACT 3
Death Valley
MINUTE 61
PLUS MINUS
A positive turns into a negative, or a negative turns into a positive
The Plus Minus is another way to keep your audience on an emotional roller coaster ride. It’s the good-news/bad-news scenario, or vice versa, like in Raiders of the Last Ark when Indy is excited about getting the lid open (+), but then he sees the snakes (−); or in The Godfather when Michael visits his father in the hospital (+), but discovers there are no guards protecting him (−); and in Star Wars when Luke does well with the light saber (+), but then the practice-blaster zaps him (−).
SKYFALL
The bodyguard tries to shoot Bond (−) but the gun won’t work (+).
THE AVENGERS
Stark tells Banner that his curse of changing into the Hulk (−) might be for a good reason (+).
THE HANGOVER
The tiger that threatens the guys’ safety (−) eats the drugged meat (+).
A BEAUTIFUL MIND
Alicia wants to know if John’s okay (+), but he tells her to leave (−).
THE CONJURING
Demons lurk somewhere in the house (−), but Drew and Andrea connect and smile at each other (+).
GONE GIRL
Everyone thinks Nick is guilty (−), but Nick gives Margo evidence that he went to a fertility clinic. She believes him (+).
MINUTE 62
FLIRTIN’ WITH DISASTER
Hero or ally experiences something potentially disastrous
The band Molly Hatchet had a hit with their song, Flirtin’ with Disaster, which sums up Minute 62 perfectly. Here are a number of ways blockbusters Flirt with Disaster: In Jaws, the local girl sees a shark fin in the pond. In The Matrix, Neo drinks with Cypher (the man who will betray him). In Knocked Up, Debbie thinks Pete is cheating on her.
SKYFALL
The guard tells Severine that it’s time to cast off — Bond’s not coming.
THE AVENGERS
THE HANGOVER
Alan accidentally bangs the tiger’s nose into the hallway wall.
A BEAUTIFUL MIND
John tells Charles that he got himself into something and might need help.
THE CONJURING
The closet door creaks open.
GONE GIRL
Margo discovers the letter from Amy’s creepy boyfriend.
MINUTE 63
ALLY ATTACK
Bad guy, or secondary bad guy, deeply affects hero’s ally or love interest
Not only does the bad guy attack the hero, now he takes a swipe at the hero’s ally as well. Will he stop at nothing? I call this moment Ally Attack. The bad guy who executes this attack can be the out-and-out bad guy, like the shark in Jaws, or he can be an ally who’s competing for the girl, like Harry in Spider-Man. Or he can be a temporary bad guy added during this minute to briefly affect the hero, ally, or love interest, in some way.
SKYFALL
Severine (the Villain’s accomplice) has sex with Bond.
THE AVENGERS
Loki’s behavior fills Thor with regret.
THE HANGOVER
The tiger wakes up in the backseat.
A BEAUTIFUL MIND
John sees bad guys enter during his lecture.
THE CONJURING
The basement door opens by itself.
GONE GIRL
Nick scrambles to figure out Amy’s Clue Three.
MINUTE 64
BAD GUY THREAT
Bad Guy, or secondary bad guy, threatens hero in some way
The bad guy keeps up the pressure this minute by posing a threat, like the enemy ship that fires at the Millennium Falcon in Star Wars, or the Black Panther who threatens Forrest in Forrest Gump, or when Michael Myers grabs Lynda’s boyfriend in Halloween.
SKYFALL
The villain’s men kill one of the MI6 agents.
THE AVENGERS
Loki refuses to tell Black Widow what he’s done with Agent Barton.
THE HANGOVER
Mike Tyson’s friend growls: “You’re late.”
A BEAUTIFUL MIND
A man in a black hat chases John.
THE CONJURING
Lorraine feels a threatening presence in the basement.
GONE GIRL
Detective Rhonda finds Amy’s diary in a furnace.
MINUTE 65
THE RESISTANCE
Hero or ally attacks/resists the bad guy
The bad guys have been putting on the pressure, in some form, the last three minutes. Now it’s time for the hero, or his ally, to fight back, like when Indy resists the snakes by torching them in Raiders of the Lost Ark, or when Michael resists the enemy by hiding his father in The Godfather, or when Forrest tackles the guy who slapped Jenny in Forrest Gump.
SKYFALL
Bond refuses to leave “before it’s too late.”
THE AVENGERS
Black Widow manipulates Loki.
THE HANGOVER