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  Ed listens for Lorraine in the walls. Where did she fall?

  GONE GIRL

  Amy and her new neighbor chat. Amy refuses to tell her what really happened to her face.

  MINUTE 79

  MYSTERY MISSION 2

  Hero and/or ally continue to engage/interact; more mystery

  Mystery Mission 2 prompts the curious hero or the audience to continue asking questions. In Top Gun, we wonder what the mysterious classified information contains. In The Sixth Sense, we wonder what’s in the box. When Dewey and Gale find Neil Prescott’s car in Scream, they wonder aloud: “What’s he doing here?”

  SKYFALL

  M engages with Silva who keeps his real plan a mystery. What’s he planning to do?

  THE AVENGERS

  Fury tells Agent Hill: “We need full evac on the lower hangar bay.” Will that be enough to repel the enemy?

  THE HANGOVER

  The hooded man is not their friend Doug. Where’s Doug?

  A BEAUTIFUL MIND

  John looks at Alicia — What’s happening to me?

  THE CONJURING

  Lorraine hears someone speaking. Who is that? Where’s that noise coming from?

  GONE GIRL

  Amy and her new neighbor continue to chat. Amy tells her some things, but not all. The neighbor wonders: What’s she hiding?

  MINUTE 80

  TICK TICK BOOM

  An emotional or physical explosion occurs

  Just like a stick of dynamite with a timer attached, the tension has built since Minute 70’s New Journey began, which has taken the hero through the Valley Of Death, a fight, and a couple unanswered questions. The frustration and stress is too much and the dynamite has finally ignited. As a result, an explosion surprises the hero or ally. Sometimes it’s an actual explosion. Most of the time, though, it’s an emotional explosion.

  SKYFALL

  Silva springs to his feet and demands that M say his real name.

  THE AVENGERS

  The enemy fires at furious Hulk.

  THE HANGOVER

  Phil screams: “Goddammit!”

  A BEAUTIFUL MIND

  John writhes because of the electric shock.

  THE CONJURING

  A hanging woman drops. Lorraine screams!

  GONE GIRL

  Attorney Tanner Bolt bursts out laughing at Nick’s story.

  MINUTE 81

  SURPRISED HERO

  Bad guy or ally surprises hero

  Not only does the explosion surprise the hero or ally, the surprises keep coming over the next two minutes. If your hero is surprised, your audience will be too. Here’s how our case studies surprise the hero:

  SKYFALL

  Silva pulls out his retainer. Bond sees Silva’s disfigured face.

  THE AVENGERS

  Enemy soldiers surprise Captain America.

  THE HANGOVER

  Drug-dealer Doug’s enlightening roofies comment surprises Stu.

  A BEAUTIFUL MIND

  Sol surprises Alicia by asking how she’s doing through all this.

  THE CONJURING

  A demonic spirit lifts Nancy and propels her.

  GONE GIRL

  Tanner Bolt finds a witness against Nick’s wife with amazing speed, which impresses Nick.

  MINUTE 82

  SURPRISE-SURPRISE

  Another quick surprise happens

  I once visited Dracula’s Castle in Wildwood, New Jersey — a boardwalk horror funhouse teenage friends and I were curious about. As we felt our way through the dark hallways, passing tableaux of dungeon scenes and guillotines, an occasional funhouse employee, costumed as a demon or ghoul, would dart out at us. Toward the end of the twelve-minute tour, however, they hit us with two surprises in a row: A hissing vampire leapt out of a concealed compartment and a werewolf barked out a blood-curdling howl above us. The vampire startled me, yes, but the werewolf really surprised me. That’s what Minute 82’s Surprise-Surprise is about: to follow up with another unexpected scare.

  SKYFALL

  Imprisoned Silva laughs when Bond and M leave.

  THE AVENGERS

  Hawkeye surprises Fury.

  THE HANGOVER

  Stu tackles Phil.

  A BEAUTIFUL MIND

  Sol pays John a surprise visit.

  THE CONJURING

  Lorraine sees the dead body of her daughter floating in the water.

  GONE GIRL

  Amy’s ex-boyfriend tells Nick that Amy falsely accused him of rape.

  MINUTE 83

  GOTTA GO!

  Hero hurries somewhere

  If we were strolling through the city and we saw someone sprinting down the sidewalk, we would stop for a few moments and watch, wouldn’t we? What are they running away from? What are they hurrying toward? The screenwriter uses this same Gotta Go! technique to hold the audience’s attention.

  SKYFALL

  Q hurries to break Silva’s encryption.

  THE AVENGERS

  Iron Man hurries to restore the propeller.

  THE HANGOVER

  The guys hurry back to the hotel to look for Doug.

  A BEAUTIFUL MIND

  John hurriedly changes the subject as to why Bender didn’t visit him.

  THE CONJURING

  Ed and Lorraine hurry to get the priest.

  GONE GIRL

  Amy’s ex-boyfriend tells Nick how he hurried into a relationship with Amy because she was beautiful and smart.

  MINUTE 84

  GAP SUBTRACT

  Gap between hero and bad guy/ally decreases

  If someone steps into our personal space, we have no choice but to pay attention. I call this the Gap Subtract. It forces the hero to react. It works the same way for the audience during Minute 84, like in Top Gun when the MiGs close in on Maverick, or in Raiders of the Lost Ark when Indy closes in on the Nazi trucks, or in Jaws when the shark swims closer to the boat.

  SKYFALL

  Bond says to Q: “Stop, go in on that (Silva’s cryptic code on the screen). Q brings the numbers closer to Bond.

  THE AVENGERS

  Thor approaches Loki.

  THE HANGOVER

  Doug tackles Phil.

  A BEAUTIFUL MIND

  Alicia comes to take the crying baby from John.

  THE CONJURING

  Ed and Lorraine show Father Gordon their footage in hopes of getting an exorcism.

  GONE GIRL

  Nick and Amy’s ex-boyfriend share similar stories.

  MINUTE 85

  BAD GUY BOO-BOO

  Bad guy is hurt

  I call this minute Bad Guy Boo-Boo, referring to what my friend’s mom used to call scrapes on the knee or accidental burns. This is the minute we see hints that the bad guy is vulnerable. There’s a chink in his armor. He has an Achilles’ heel. When the audience sees this weakness, they’ll think it just might be possible for the hero to defeat him. The audience will stick around to see if it actually happens.

  SKYFALL

  Bond figures out Silva’s key.

  THE AVENGERS

  Black Widow hurts Loki-controlled Hawkeye.

  THE HANGOVER

  Stu hurts the stripper’s feelings.

  A BEAUTIFUL MIND

  John has his paranoia under control.

  THE CONJURING

  Father Gordon says he will push Ed and Lorraine’s exorcism request through to the Vatican himself.

  GONE GIRL

  Amy’s new neighbor says that Amy (on the TV news) was an uppity rich bitch, which Amy hates.

  ACT 3 CHECKLIST

  Have you kept your dialogue and scenes centered around the theme?

  Have you made the Main Hero go through the absolute worst experiences of his life?

  Is there tension and conflict in every scene, and in every bit of dialogue?

  Is the Main Hero fully aware of his flaw now? Does he see how his flaw has been a major hindrance in his life?

  THE FINAL QUEST

 
; This is when the Main Hero heads toward his final battle with the Villain, which usually happens between Minutes 85–100. This is the act where (for a happy ending) the Main Hero will sacrifice his flaw for the greater good, defeat the Villain, and be rewarded; or (for a tragic ending) the Main Hero will refuse to give up his flaw and do the greater good. As a result, he suffers and is not rewarded (but we still learn from his mistake).

  SKYFALL’S FINAL QUEST

  Bond tells M that it’s time to “get out in front; change the game.” He heads toward Skyfall where his final battle against Silva will happen. (Minute 99)

  THE AVENGERS’ FINAL QUEST

  Captain America tells Black Widow, “Time to go.” — They’re heading to Stark’s building where Loki will be. (Minute 97)

  THE HANGOVER’S FINAL QUEST

  The guys race back to Doug’s father-in-law’s place — to try to make it on time for the wedding. (Minute 87)

  A BEAUTIFUL MIND’S FINAL QUEST

  John refuses to take meds — he’s going to try to ignore his imaginary friends and be a normal working person again. (Minute 99)

  THE CONJURING’S FINAL QUEST

  Lorraine says to Ed: “Let’s finish this together.” (Minute 90)

  GONE GIRL’S FINAL QUEST

  Nick and Tanner Bolt prepare to go on nationwide TV to discuss Nick’s infidelity. (Minute 97)

  ACT 4

  The Final Quest

  (Starts between Minutes 85 and 100, depending on your story.)

  MINUTE 86

  WORRY WOUND

  Hero or ally is wounded in some way

  Something happens during Minute 86 that worries one of our main characters and wounds him. And when a Worry Wound occurs, it has to be remedied in some way, like in The Matrix when Cypher shoots Tank and Dozer.

  SKYFALL

  Bond sees that Silva has escaped.

  THE AVENGERS

  Thor can’t get out of the falling pod.

  THE HANGOVER

  Stu learns he pulled out his own tooth.

  A BEAUTIFUL MIND

  John sees that Alicia thinks he’s relapsed into talking to himself.

  THE CONJURING

  Ed and Lorraine’s daughter enters the forbidden room.

  GONE GIRL

  Nick tells Margo that Tanner Bolt’s retainer is $100,000, way more than Nick has.

  MINUTE 87

  DAMAGE DONE

  Bad guy provokes physical or emotional damage

  The bad guy may have been hurt a couple minutes ago, but this only made him angrier. He’s going to retaliate here until there’s Damage Done, especially during the next two minutes . . .

  SKYFALL

  Bond sees a train coming.

  THE AVENGERS

  The enemy soldier’s bullets pin down Captain America.

  THE HANGOVER

  Tracy’s pout hurts her worried father.

  A BEAUTIFUL MIND

  John is unable to have sex with Alicia.

  THE CONJURING

  A demonic spirit pounds on Ed and Lorraine’s daughter’s door.

  GONE GIRL

  TV host suggests that Nick and his sister are lovers.

  MINUTE 88

  DOUBLE DAMAGE DONE

  Bad guy causes additional physical or emotional damage

  The villain continues to cause damage during this minute, like in Raiders of the Lost Ark when the German soldier punches Indy’s wounded arm and throws him through the windshield, or in Scream when the killer stabs Dewey and then chases Sidney, or in Knocked Up when the bouncer tells pregnant Alison she’s a bad parent.

  SKYFALL

  The train almost kills Bond.

  THE AVENGERS

  Worried Fury speaks to dying Coulson, who Loki stabbed.

  THE HANGOVER

  Tracy looks for Doug.

  A BEAUTIFUL MIND

  John’s lack of sexual interest makes Alicia scream and break the glass cup.

  THE CONJURING

  The Annabelle doll scares Ed and Lorraine’s daughter. She screams!

  GONE GIRL

  Amy tells police about “strange activity” near Margo’s woodshed.

  MINUTE 89

  RED ALERT!

  Circumstances grow more serious for hero

  We’ve all seen that moment in WWII movies where the aircraft carrier’s speakers blare out Red Alert! Red Alert! as the enemy’s torpedo races toward the crippled and vulnerable hull. In a sense, this is what’s happening to the hero during this minute . . .

  SKYFALL

  Bond can’t find Silva in the train.

  THE AVENGERS

  Fury tosses Coulson’s bloody cards at Captain America and says: “We’re dead in the air.”

  THE HANGOVER

  The guys are running extremely late for the wedding. They dress on the way there.

  A BEAUTIFUL MIND

  An emotional distance grows between Alicia and John.

  THE CONJURING

  The demonic spirit throws a chair at Ed, Lorraine, and their daughter.

  GONE GIRL

  Mr. Collings, Amy’s creepy ex, refuses to help Nick.

  MINUTE 90

  RESCUING ALLY

  Ally helps the hero

  And just when things have gone Red Alert for the hero, the ally comes to the rescue! In Raiders of the Lost Ark, Sallah helps Indy and Marion escape. In Knocked Up, Debbie tells pregnant and miserable Alison she’s young and beautiful. Let’s see how the ally comes to the rescue in our case studies:

  SKYFALL

  Q tells Bond to get on the train.

  THE AVENGERS

  Fury tries to inspire the discouraged Avengers.

  THE HANGOVER

  Tracy’s father winks at Doug and whispers, “Vegas.”

  A BEAUTIFUL MIND

  Alicia gives John his pills.

  THE CONJURING

  Lorraine says: “Let’s finish this together.”

  GONE GIRL

  Tanner Bolt shows up in Missouri to help Nick.

  TURNING POINT 90

  If your story is to continue on, another major Turning Point must happen at this point to keep the audience disoriented and guessing. Most times you do this by adding a big complication for the hero that’s going to take some time to solve, as in Skyfall, The Avengers, A Beautiful Mind, and The Conjuring. Or you bring in a surprise guest who will help the hero solve his big problem, as in Gone Girl. This Turning Point usually occurs between Minutes 89–91.