Beat by Beat Page 4
SKYFALL
Eve helps Bond corner the enemy agent (Friend).
THE AVENGERS
Fury and Selvig stand against Loki (Fist).
THE HANGOVER
Melissa fights with Stu over his Vegas trip (Fist).
A BEAUTIFUL MIND
John and Charles bond over booze (Friend).
THE CONJURING
Roger and Carolyn bond over their new home (Friend).
GONE GIRL
Nick and Margo play a game of Life while he tells her about his souring marriage (Friend).
MINUTE 8
SOMETHING STARTLING HAPPENS
A startling event occurs
Minute 8 startles somebody in the movie — mostly the hero — and in turn startles the audience. The audience needs a jolt here to keep them awake until the Inciting Incident happens during Minute 12. The Minute 8 startling event comes in all shapes and sizes . . .
SKYFALL
Bond is shot!
THE AVENGERS
Hawkeye shoots Fury!
THE HANGOVER
Phil calls out to Stu (Melissa hears): “Paging Doctor Faggot!”
A BEAUTIFUL MIND
John shouts and calls his fellow students “lesser mortals.”
THE CONJURING
The family dog refuses to enter their new home.
GONE GIRL
Nick discovers that his coffee table is smashed.
MINUTE 9
THE PURSUIT
Hero discovers something extraordinary/astonishing that must be pursued
The hero goes into pursuit mode here, and the audience will want to follow if you’ve properly addressed the steps leading to this minute. Whatever extraordinary thing the hero learns here, it prods him into action. His action peaks our curiosity — What’s going to happen next?
SKYFALL
Bond pursues the enemy agent with the earthmover.
THE AVENGERS
Agent Hill discovers that Hawkeye turned traitor. She must stop him and Loki.
THE HANGOVER
Alan says without irony: “That’s why I managed to stay single this whole time,” which prompts Stu to say: “Oh really, that’s why you’re single?”
A BEAUTIFUL MIND
John tries to find an algorithm for the random movement of pigeons.
THE CONJURING
April says to her sister: “Look what I found.”
GONE GIRL
Nick discovers that Amy is not in the house. Where is she?
MINUTE 10
THE DISCUSSION
Someone important to the hero wants to discuss something significant
The Discussion draws in the audience. When someone important to us — either a lover, boss, parent, sibling, enemy, or friend — approaches us with a serious face and says, “I have something to discuss with you,” it tweaks our interest. What’s this important thing they want to talk to me about? Movie storytellers use this same real-life attention grabber during Minute 10 to keep us interested in their story.
SKYFALL
M says to Bond: “What’s going on? Report!”
THE AVENGERS
Coulson tells Fury: “We’re clear upstairs, sir. You need to go.”
THE HANGOVER
Phil asks Doug if Alan is “all there mentally.”
A BEAUTIFUL MIND
Hansen asks John: “What if you never come up with your original idea?”
THE CONJURING
Roger and Carolyn’s daughter tells Roger she didn’t mean to break something in the (mysterious) closet.
GONE GIRL
Detective Rhonda asks Nick questions about his wife.
MINUTE 11
THE WARNING
Warning or threat is made
When a warning or threat is made to us in real life, we must address it immediately. If someone is threatening us, it could affect our lives in a major way. It could impact our finances, our health, our important relationships, or even our very existence. So it is for the audience, and why The Warning works in the next couple minutes.
SKYFALL
Eve tells M: “There isn’t much road. I don’t think I can go any further.”
THE AVENGERS
Fury shoots at Loki.
THE HANGOVER
Phil confronts Stu: “Don’t you think it’s strange that you have to lie about going to Vegas?”
A BEAUTIFUL MIND
Charles tells John: “You watched a mugging. That’s weird.”
THE CONJURING
Nancy tells her sister to shut up (after her sister tattles on her).
GONE GIRL
Detective Rhonda marks a spot that looks like blood.
INCITING INCIDENT
The Inciting Incident is a predicament that interrupts the Main Hero’s ordinary routine during this time in his life — a predicament that will eventually lead to the exposure and testing of his flaw. Most times the Main Hero finds this predicament unsettling and fears it. In other cases, however, the predicament thrills the Main Hero — he sees it as an opportunity.
In all the successful movies I’ve researched, the Inciting Incident usually happens during Minute 12 (page 12 of your screenplay). The Inciting Incident lands on Minute 12 for all our successful case studies:
SKYFALL
Eve accidentally shoots Bond. The wound will test Bond’s flaw — he may be getting too old to be an agent.
THE AVENGERS
The Tesseract ends up in the hands of hostile forces, which will ultimately test Tony Stark’s flaw of selfishness.
THE HANGOVER
The guys enter Vegas, which will test Stu’s flaw of accepting his girlfriend Melissa’s bullying.
A BEAUTIFUL MIND
A classmate wants John to meet a girl. This will test John’s flaw — his inability to connect fully with other people and (later) with his wife Alicia.
THE CONJURING
The dog barks a loud warning to the family. If the dog could speak he would be yelling: The house is full of evil entities! Run away! These entities will eventually test Lorraine’s flaw — her deep-seated fear of demons.
GONE GIRL
Amy tells Nick that her mom’s book character, Amazing Amy, is a better version of her (Amy). Nick takes Amy’s side. This serious issue with Amy will test Nick’s flaw — his chronic need to please people.
MINUTE 12
HARSHER WARNING
Harsher warning or threat is made
Someone can warn us, and it’ll grab our attention, but if they amp up their threat or warning, we have no choice but to devote our full attention to the problem. The same is true in movie storytelling. For example, in Top Gun, the Chief threatens to demote Maverick. In Spider-Man, Osborn’s assistant warns him not to do the test. In Knocked Up, the bartender yells at Ben: “Come on, Man!” — a warning not to take the beers. In Jaws, the mayor warns Brody not to put up the “No Swimming” signs.
SKYFALL
Eve accidentally shoots Bond! He falls to his apparent death (a threat to national security).
THE AVENGERS
Fury warns everyone that the Tesseract is with a hostile force.
THE HANGOVER
Stu warns Doug that counting cards is illegal.
A BEAUTIFUL MIND
One of the guys wants John to meet a girl that’s attracted to him (a threat to John’s insecurity).
THE CONJURING
“I don’t want any of you girls going down there,” Roger warns.
GONE GIRL
Detective Rhonda discovers that Amy is “Amazing Amy” — a famous children’s character (a threat to Nick’s privacy).
MINUTE 13
THE SUBMISSION
Final warning/threat is made and the hero submits
Submission gains the audience’s sympathy. We all react, subconsciously, when the hero submits. Why? Because we have been there ourselves. How many times have we tucked our tail between our legs and took it from a boss, a spouse, a te
acher, a parent, or a traffic cop? It’s humiliating. And when this happens to the hero, his weakness makes him real and gives us an extra reason to cheer for him. Hopefully, down the road, he’ll overcome this weakness. And if he doesn’t, we’ll feel pity for him. Either way, we’re on his side.
SKYFALL
Bond’s lifeless body goes over the waterfall.
THE AVENGERS
A Russian general threatens Black Widow, who can’t move — she’s tied up in a chair.
THE HANGOVER
After Stu fibs about being a doctor, Phil tells Stu: “You’re a dentist. Don’t try and get fancy.” Doug looks at him, ashamed.
A BEAUTIFUL MIND
The woman slaps John. John gives up on her.
THE CONJURING
Carolyn to Roger: “You still too fried to christen the new house?” Roger submits: “Who said I’m fried?”
GONE GIRL
Amy’s mother wants reluctant Amy to talk to the media. Amy (the hero in this scene) begrudgingly does.
MINUTE 14
DANGER WATCH
Docile hero watches danger approaching
The audience’s heart rate elevates when they watch danger drawing closer. Once when I was a kid, my cousin Lisa and I hid in the back corner of a walk-in closet during a game of Hide and Seek. When my sister Wendy — the Seeker — opened the closet door and stepped inside to look for us, Lisa became so filled with anxiety when she saw my sister’s sneakers stepping toward us that she screamed and gave up our hiding spot. Danger Watch builds anticipation the same way with the audience.
SKYFALL
Seated M watches Mallory, her unhappy boss, step toward her.
THE AVENGERS
Tied-up Black Widow watches the Russian general turn toward her with a torture tool.
THE HANGOVER
Docile Stu doesn’t want the room on his credit card (Melissa checks his statements).
A BEAUTIFUL MIND
The professor tells John he hasn’t attended class or published any papers.
THE CONJURING
Carolyn sees a light shining in the basement . . .
GONE GIRL
Nick approaches Amy and asks her to marry him.
MINUTE 15
WHEW, THAT WAS CLOSE!
Hero experiences a close call while danger approaches
We’ve all had that moment when the tractor-trailer almost hit our car; or we almost fell down the steps; or a cop flicks on his lights, but then passes us to catch another speeder instead. We drag the back of our hands across our foreheads and say, Whew, that was close! The top movie screenwriters use this familiar real-life feeling to make the audience’s hearts race faster.
SKYFALL
Mallory wants M to retire early. She refuses and keeps her job. Whew, that was close!
THE AVENGERS
A Russian thug grabs Black Widow. She defeats him. Whew, that was close!
THE HANGOVER
Phil gestures to Stu: Why aren’t you ready? Stu wraps up his phone call so they can leave. Whew, that was close!
A BEAUTIFUL MIND
John may not get placement, but he’s still in the running. Whew, that was close!
THE CONJURING
The scary basement light is just Roger looking through junk. Whew, that was close!
GONE GIRL
Detective Rhonda has Nick examined and says: “Crossed off the list.” Nick is probably not a suspect. Whew, that was close!
MINUTE 16
THE BIG CONCERN
Something causes deep concern for the hero or ally
The definition of The Big Concern is: A troubled or anxious state of mind. Whatever causes The Big Concern must be addressed immediately, which is a writer’s secret weapon to slingshot the story forward. In Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indy shows concern when he learns that army intelligence has come to see him. In Jaws, Brody shows concern about going into the water. In The Matrix, Neo is concerned that he might go to jail.
SKYFALL
M is concerned over her near firing.
THE AVENGERS
Bruce Banner shows concern for the little girl’s safety.
THE HANGOVER
Phil’s concerned eyes stare at Stu’s engagement ring.
A BEAUTIFUL MIND
John is worried he might not get placement or recognition.
THE CONJURING
Concerned Carolyn says to Roger: “This clock stopped at 3:07 and so did the one in the hallway.”
GONE GIRL
(Seemingly) concerned Nick tells the detectives that they have a serious homeless problem in his neighborhood — they should check that out.
MINUTE 17
WORLD UPSIDE DOWN
Bad guy turns a good person’s world upside down
The World Upside Down moment is when you’ve been minding your own business and someone comes along and ruins your day. A school bully trips you in the hall . . . a driver, not paying attention, smashes into your back bumper . . . a cop pulls you over for rolling through a stop sign. When the bad guy picks on someone on the big screen, it draws the audience’s sympathy and we become even more invested in the story.
SKYFALL
Someone has hacked into MI6 and burned M’s image.
THE AVENGERS
SHIELD finds Bruce Banner, who’s been in hiding from them.
THE HANGOVER
Phil tells Stu that Melissa is a complete bitch.
A BEAUTIFUL MIND
Charles yells at John and pushes him.
THE CONJURING
Carolyn and Roger find their dog dead.
GONE GIRL
“You haven’t called your wife’s parents?” Detective Rhonda asks Nick in an accusing tone.
TURNING POINT 17
Between Minutes 16–18, there’s a big Turning Point in the story. To reiterate from this book’s opening pages: Think of Turning Points as events that send the hero, or the story, into a dramatically different direction. Usually there’s an attack on the hero or his ally during this minute, or an event embeds the hero deeper into his flaw, or a key member of the hero’s core team is recruited (for Act 2’s upcoming Quest).
SKYFALL
The Villain blows up MI6. (Minute 18)
THE AVENGERS
Black Widow recruits Bruce Banner to help SHIELD. (Minute 18)
THE HANGOVER
Stu informs the guys that he’s going to ask (mean) Melissa to marry him. Phil calls Melissa a complete bitch and tries to talk Stu out of it. (Minute 17)
A BEAUTIFUL MIND
Charles pushes John’s desk (and all his work) out the dorm window. (Minute 18)
THE CONJURING
Carolyn and Roger discover their beloved dog dead. (Minute 17)
GONE GIRL
Nick discovers that his father has been arrested. (Minute 18)
MINUTE 18