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  TROUBLE TURN

  The event that will get the hero into trouble later

  Trouble Turn is something that will get the hero deeper into a predicament. The deeper into trouble he gets, the more the audience feels for him. The more they feel for him, the more they’ll follow him through every other twist and turn. In Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indy learns that Hitler wants the ark so he can obtain great power (which will get Indy into trouble later). In Jaws, the victim’s bloody floating device washes ashore (which will soon get Chief Brody into trouble). In Scream, Casey discovers that two teenagers were brutally murdered (news that will affect her deeply later).

  SKYFALL

  Someone blows up MI6’s offices.

  THE AVENGERS

  SHIELD wants Bruce Banner to help them.

  THE HANGOVER

  Phil tells Stu that they can do whatever the fuck they want.

  A BEAUTIFUL MIND

  Charles pushes all John’s work out the window.

  THE CONJURING

  Ed finds out that his daughter has snuck into the forbidden room to look at the possessed Annabelle doll.

  GONE GIRL

  Nick discovers that his dad is being booked in the jail.

  MINUTE 19

  THE THREAT

  Bad guy, or secondary bad guys, make a threat/warning

  The Threat, especially posed by a bad guy whose intent is to harm the hero, tweaks our audience’s attention. Why is this? Because their sympathy for the hero has deepened by this point. They care what happens to him because of the sympathy we’ve established for him earlier. Let’s look at the various types of bad guys who make threats during Minute 19.

  SKYFALL

  A scorpion may sting Bond.

  THE AVENGERS

  Black Widow pulls a gun on Bruce Banner when he yells: “Stop lying to me!”

  THE HANGOVER

  Alan interrupts Phil. Phil glares at him.

  A BEAUTIFUL MIND

  When a girl looks at John, Hansen says: “He (John) may have the upper hand now, but wait till he opens his mouth.”

  THE CONJURING

  The doors says: Demonology. Witchcraft. Danger!

  GONE GIRL

  Nick’s dad tells him: “Get your fuckin’ hands off me.”

  MINUTE 20

  PUSH BACK

  The hero pushes back in some way

  Bad people or circumstances, to this point, have been pushing around the hero. Now it’s time for him to push back. It shows that he has a bit of a backbone, which gains the audience’s respect. They’ll find themselves saying, “Good for you!” Most times anger is the emotion the hero evokes during the Push Back. The hero can also push back by being contrary, or flirting back, or by saying or doing something shocking.

  SKYFALL

  Bond defeats the scorpion. Locals cheer Bond for his courage.

  THE AVENGERS

  Fury wants The Avengers to help, which upsets the World Security Council.

  THE HANGOVER

  Stu tells Phil: “We are definitely not supposed to be up here.”

  A BEAUTIFUL MIND

  John makes the pretty girl smile.

  THE CONJURING

  Lorraine levels Ed with a gaze and says: “Stop blaming yourself.”

  GONE GIRL

  Nick has sex with Amy in the library.

  MINUTE 21

  THE GREAT EFFECT

  Something happens that greatly impacts the hero

  The Great Effect not only impacts the hero, but it impacts the audience who’s been cheering for him even harder since he showed he has a bit of a spine. What happens to the hero here can either have a positive impact, a negative impact, or be a double-edged sword (positive and negative combined).

  SKYFALL

  Bond sees on the TV that MI6 was blown up.

  THE AVENGERS

  Steve Rogers remembers the people he lost.

  THE HANGOVER

  Alan slices his hand with a knife. Stu and the guys recoil.

  A BEAUTIFUL MIND

  John realizes that everyone will benefit if everyone does what’s best for themselves and the group.

  THE CONJURING

  Roger hears creepy noises.

  GONE GIRL

  Margo scolds Nick for telling the police that Amy was “complicated.”

  MINUTE 22

  TRUTH DECLARED

  A truth is stated

  This is the moment of truth, literally. It could be the bad guy, the hero, or the ally, but someone speaks a truth during Minute 22. Why is Truth Declared effective storytelling? Because in our everyday world, we’re so inundated with white lies and fluff that when someone speaks the truth, our ears immediately perk up. Advertisers lie to us, politicians, salespeople. Sometimes even bosses, lovers, and friends tell us untruths. Because it is so rare, truth has power. And so it will be in your story and for your audience.

  SKYFALL

  When asked by M where he’s been, Bond replies: “Enjoying death.”

  THE AVENGERS

  Fury tells Steve Rogers that they’re trying to save the world.

  THE HANGOVER

  Phil says: “To a night the four of us will never forget.”

  A BEAUTIFUL MIND

  John says that Adam Smith’s long-held-to-be-true theory is wrong.

  THE CONJURING

  The oldest daughter tells Roger that Cindy is sleepwalking.

  GONE GIRL

  Margo and Nick say that Amy attracts drama.

  MINUTE 23

  SCARY STUFF

  Hero experiences something scary with ally or love interest

  When Scary Stuff happens to the hero and those he cares about, it scares the audience as well. Why? Because the hero is playing proxy for the audience by this point. They’ve put themselves in his shoes emotionally. The scariness amplifies in intensity over the next three minutes, for the hero and for the audience . . .

  SKYFALL

  Bond tells M that maybe they’ve been playing the game too long.

  THE AVENGERS

  Steve Rogers tells Fury that they should have left the Tesseract in the ocean.

  THE HANGOVER

  Stu and Alan wake up in a severe stupor.

  A BEAUTIFUL MIND

  John waits to see what Professor Helinger thinks of his paper.

  THE CONJURING

  Roger sees Cindy banging her head against the wall.

  GONE GIRL

  Detective Rhonda is told that the splatters in the kitchen are, indeed, blood.

  MINUTE 24

  SCARY STUFF 2

  Hero and/or ally/love interest experience more scary stuff

  During Minute 24, the scariness amps up a notch to hold our audience’s attention, like it does in The Godfather when Don Corleone tells his nephew to act like a man (the Godfather’s sudden anger scares Johnny). In Knocked Up, Alison thinks that she might be pregnant (scary situation for a single girl). In Die Hard, the bad guys fire guns near the employees, which scares them. In The Matrix, Trinity pulls out a scary contraption and presses it onto Neo’s navel.

  SKYFALL

  Tanner tells Bond that someone hacked into “everything.”

  THE AVENGERS

  Jarvis tells Tony Stark that SHIELD is on the line, which Stark wants no part of.

  THE HANGOVER

  Alan encounters a tiger in the bathroom.

  A BEAUTIFUL MIND

  Displeased Hansen approaches John.

  THE CONJURING

  Roger sees another bruise on Carolyn’s body.

  GONE GIRL

  Nick and Margo drive to the courthouse for the press conference.

  MINUTE 25

  SCARY STUFF 3

  Hero and/or ally/love interest experience even more scary stuff

  In our trilogy of scary minutes, the scariness escalates, as it does in Jaws when Brody studies his scary shark book even more, or in Forrest Gump when Jenny places Forrest’s hand on her breast (scary for him because
he’s never had sex). In Die Hard, the head of the bad guys, Hans Gruber, speaks in threatening tones to the scared employees.

  SKYFALL

  Tanner tells Bond that he’ll be meeting with Mallory, the man who tried to fire M.

  THE AVENGERS

  Jarvis tells Stark that SHIELD insists they speak with him, which he wants no part of.

  THE HANGOVER

  Stu discovers that he’s missing a tooth.

  A BEAUTIFUL MIND

  John is shown a complicated code from Moscow.

  THE CONJURING

  Roger finds a dying pigeon next to the house.

  GONE GIRL

  Nick faces the press.

  MINUTE 26

  THE BIG UNEXPECTED

  Something big and unexpected occurs

  A classic example of The Big Unexpected is when Indiana Jones enters Marion’s bar. She laughs, brushes off her hands and says, “Indiana Jones, I always knew some day you’d come walking back through my door.” We think everything is cool between them, so does Indy, when suddenly she punches him in the face! Big and unexpected! Before this minute we experienced three minutes straight of scary tension. There has to be an unexpected moment here to keep the audience off balance.

  SKYFALL

  Bond collapses after taking his physical.

  THE AVENGERS

  Coulson/SHIELD shows up in Stark’s apartment unannounced.

  THE HANGOVER

  Stu and Phil discover a baby in their suite.

  A BEAUTIFUL MIND

  John breaks the complicated code and shows the General the enemy’s entry points.

  THE CONJURING

  Carolyn hears April talking to someone who isn’t there.

  GONE GIRL

  Nick smiles for the media’s pictures — an unexpected reaction for a worried husband.

  MINUTE 27

  THE MINI-QUEST

  A Mini-Quest happens just before the Big Quest

  Now that we’ve jolted the audience, let’s take them on a Mini-Quest before Act 2’s Big Quest begins. This Mini-Quest involves something that is immediately important to the hero or ally. The Mini-Quest’s undertone is urgency. Examples of the Mini-Quest in classic movies are when Indy tells Marion that he needs the bronze medallion (Indy’s Mini-Quest before searching for the ark). In Jaws, the fisherman tries to swim to shore before the shark eats him (the fisherman’s Mini-Quest before all the fishermen try to capture the shark). In Top Gun, Maverick must defeat the instructor during the first training exercise (Maverick’s Mini-Quest before battling the real bad guys).

  SKYFALL

  Bond attempts to hit the bullseye.

  THE AVENGERS

  Coulson tries to convince Stark to join The Avengers.

  THE HANGOVER

  The guys try to figure out what to do with the baby.

  A BEAUTIFUL MIND

  John asks who “Big Brother” is.

  THE CONJURING

  April to Carolyn: “Can we play Hide and Clap?”

  GONE GIRL

  The detectives want to know about Amy’s former boyfriend.

  MINUTE 28

  BIG QUEST PREP

  Hero prepares for the bigger quest with ally

  Now that the Mini-Quest has been taken care of, or has just about been taken care of, it’s time for the hero to make preparations for Act 2’s Big Quest. And if you’ve done your job correctly up to this point, the audience will follow the hero on this bigger quest. They’ll want to know how he’ll fare in this new endeavor. The Big Quest Prep develops over the next two minutes . . .

  SKYFALL

  Bond takes a psychological exam with MI6’s psychologist.

  THE AVENGERS

  Stark studies the information Coulson gave him about the Tesseract situation.

  THE HANGOVER

  Phil grabs a paper and pen.

  A BEAUTIFUL MIND

  John prepares for their latest assignment with Sol and Bender.

  THE CONJURING

  Carolyn hears a clap in the dresser. She tries to figure out who made the noise.

  GONE GIRL

  Nick and Detective Rhonda discuss “Clue One” that Amy left behind.

  MINUTE 29

  BIG QUEST PREP 2

  Hero and/or ally’s preparation for bigger quest continues

  Big Quest Prep continues, almost as if the story is accelerating up a ramp, ready to propel the hero into Act 2. Maverick defeats his instructor in Top Gun’s training drill (in preparation to deal with the real enemy). In Knocked Up, Alison and Ben meet in a restaurant to talk, preparing themselves to deal with the pregnancy. Morpheus offers Neo the red or blue pill (preparing him to see The Matrix).

  SKYFALL

  Bond gives the bullet shrapnel from his chest to forensics.

  THE AVENGERS

  Coulson tells Steve Rogers that they’ve made some modifications to his suit.

  THE HANGOVER

  Phil writes down a list of what they remember.

  A BEAUTIFUL MIND

  Sol and Bender remind John that he has to teach MIT class.

  THE CONJURING

  Something pulls on Christine’s foot. What was it?

  GONE GIRL

  Nick and Detective Rhonda find Clue Two.

  MINUTE 30

  THE NEED

  A need is shown or expressed

  The definition of The Need is: A condition requiring relief; anything that is necessary but lacking. When we have a need in our life, whether it’s to buy some fast food because we’re starving, or a need to be on time for a job interview, or a need to pursue a love interest, that need becomes our main focus. When the characters in our story express a need, we pay attention because we know the feeling oh too well.

  SKYFALL

  Bond glances at his watch and paces — he needs to have a meeting with M.

  THE AVENGERS

  Loki needs to rule the world.

  THE HANGOVER

  Stu needs to know: “What the hell is going on?”

  A BEAUTIFUL MIND

  The students express a need to have the window open.

  THE CONJURING

  Christine needs to know what pulled on her foot.

  GONE GIRL

  Nick needs to shut off the blaring security system.