Million-Dollar Screenwriting: The Mini-Movie Method by Chris Soth

Author:Chris Soth [Soth, Chris]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3, mobi
Publisher: ScreenwritingU Press
Published: 2014-11-01T23:00:00+00:00

MINI-MOVIE 6, END OF ACT TWO

(pp. 75-90)

CHAPTER TWELVE

We’ve hit the last leg, the beginning is past, the middle is over, this the beginning of the end.

Our hero retreated to his cave to lick his wounds after the drubbing he received at the midpoint. Now he will emerge, and come up with another new and even more grandiose plan, again, either stated or implied, to vanquish the forces of evil allied against him...or get the girl, often both.

Again, remember, I say this speaking symbolically, broadly. So it may not be a literal villain stopping our hero from getting to his want. In a love story, it may not even be a person our hero even dislikes—by this point, it quite possibly may be the one they love most in the world. And, as I said before, this plan may be stated OR implied.

They’re going to do something, they may not state it, they may not even be conscious of it, but a plan is forming again. And through this mini-movie, we’ll see them preparing for the plan, gathering what they need, be it materials or allies or just their courage, and putting the plan into action.

Yes, for those of you with good memories, this may seem a little like mini-movie four, where we’ve seen our hero make a plan to rid themselves of this problem. And that plan went horribly wrong. But with some key differences—this time, at the end of mini-movie six, our hero WILL complete his change and the plan may, in fact, necessitate that change in order to work.

This will be the final battle between our hero and his opponent—whether that conflict takes place on a battlefield, in a courtroom, in a lover’s embrace or flying through the trenches of The Death Star, this is it.

The French Dramatic Theorists spoke about something they called the “scene a faire,” literally, “the scene to do” (or to make), but often translated as the “obligatory scene”—this is the scene you are obliged to deliver to your audience. Arguably, the most important scene in your movie.

Just by the structure of your story you’ve acquired a debt you owe the viewer—if you don’t deliver this scene in a gratifying and satisfying way, there is no doubt but that your audience will feel cheated. The whole movie long, your story has been implying that these two forces will come into direct conflict, that only one of them can triumph. They may have had skirmishes along the way or this may be the first time our hero has unveiled his enemy. But now, they can abide each other no longer, this will be the battle to end all battles, “The Final Confrontation.” This town ain’t big enough for the two of them. Get ready to rumble. Two men enter, one man leaves.

And this mini-movie will contain all that leads up to that scene, and finally the confrontation itself. Here’s where Rambo straps on a quarter million knifes and guns. Or where Rocky tapes up his knuckles.

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