Writing a Great Movie by Jeff Kitchen

Author:Jeff Kitchen [Kitchen, Jeff]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: How To
ISBN: 9780823069781
Publisher: Bistro Publishing Company
Published: 2012-08-13T21:00:00+00:00

The Use of the Central Proposition for The Godfather

Some additional explanation is required to locate the central conflict in The Godfather, as it is somewhat subterranean. The fight to the finish—the war on Barzini—is largely hidden, because Michael never goes directly head-to-head with Barzini, who operates entirely behind the scenes through his agents Sollozzo, Moe Green, Carlo, and Tessio. But when Michael and Moe Green argue over the Las Vegas hotel and casino that they co-own, Moe threatens to deal with Barzini, who has chased the Corleones out of New York. In the next scene, Don Corleone warns Michael that Barzini will call a meeting at which his safety will supposedly be guaranteed, but that he’ll by assassinated there. The point of no return has been crossed. We are left with the Central Dramatic Question: Can Michael defeat Barzini and save the family?

What set up this potential fight was Michael’s execution of Sollozzo, Barzini’s agent in a power play to overthrow the Corleones. It’s as if the leader of the Crips sends a messenger to the leader of the Bloods and they kill the messenger—you know there’s going to be a fight. The common term has to do with Michael being thrust into a position of power—both when Sollozzo requests a meeting with him and when Don Corleone puts him in charge of the family—and he takes control in both situations

Now let’s lay out the five steps needed to determine the Central Proposition for The Godfather.

Step 1: Visualize the Fight to the Finish. Michael is involved in an indirect fight with Don Barzini.

Step 2: What is the Central Dramatic Question? Will Michael defeat Barzini and save the family?

Step 3: What Action by the Protagonist Touches Off the Fight to the Finish? Michael declares war on Barzini by throwing down the gauntlet at Barzini’s agent, Moe Green.

Step 4: What Earlier Action by the Protagonist Sets up the Potential Fight? Michael executes Barzini’s agent, Sollozzo.

Step 5: Do the Set-up and the Touch-off Have Anything in Common that Can Bind Them Together? Michael finds himself thrust into a position of power and takes control of the situation.

Here’s the three-sentence proposition:

Set up the potential fight

Michael, finding himself thrust into a position of power, takes control of the situation and executes Barzini’s agent, Sollozzo.

Touch off the fight to the finish

Michael, now put in charge of the family by his father, takes control and declares war on Barzini by throwing down the gauntlet at Barzini’s agent, Moe Green.

The Central Dramatic Question

Will Michael defeat Barzini and save the family?

Now let’s review the proposition again with a little more detail.

Set up the potential fight

Michael Corleone, son of a Mafia don in the 1940s, does not want to enter the family business, but an attempt on his father’s life changes all that. When the would-be assassin, Sollozzo, asks for a meeting with him, Michael finds himself in the driver’s seat and, taking control of the situation, executes Sollozzo and his bodyguard, McCluskey.

Touch off the fight to the finish

Having been

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