Beat by Beat Read online

  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

  Parcher won’t allow John to quit.

  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

  “As soon as Loki took the doctor,” says Coulson, “we moved Jane Foster.” Thor is relieved to hear this news.

  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