The 90-Day Screenplay: From concept to polish by Watt Alan

Author:Watt, Alan [Watt, Alan]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Publisher: The 90-Day Novel Press
Published: 2014-02-22T16:00:00+00:00

DAY 35

“Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.”

—RALPH WALDON EMERSON

END OF ACT ONE: DECISION

Hi Screenwriters,

Writers are idealists. We are seeking a better world. At our best, we are more interested in the nature of things than we are in our own particular struggle. If we allow ourselves to be surprised by what happens next, the audience will be too. This can be challenging, particularly if our screenplay reflects our personal life. Let’s be clear that we cannot solve our personal lives in fiction. It’s too painful. Trust me, I’ve tried. Just because a scene occurred in our real life does not mean it belongs in our screenplay. Without identifying its thematic relevance, it can lead to a detour from the through-line of our story. When events emerge from our real life, we must be more interested in the nature of the event than the event itself. This does not mean that we cannot pull from our real life; however, the art comes in distilling real life events so that we can integrate them seamlessly into our fictive world.

Today, we are reaching the end of our first act. Our hero makes a decision. The adventure begins. Whether it involves a cross-country quest (Planes, Trains and Automobiles), or sleeping with his parent’s friend (The Graduate), or realizing that he is incapable of lying and deciding to try the case regardless (Liar, Liar), or setting off on the yellow brick road (The Wizard of Oz), or deciding to fight the bad guys (Die Hard), or protecting the homestead (Home Alone), this is the moment where our hero makes a decision to leave the ordinary world of Act One for the extraordinary world of Act Two.

Everything in Act One has been leading up to this decision. The decision is connected to our hero’s want, and yet, there is reluctance preceding this decision. It is not that our hero is ambivalent, it is that he is scared of the unknown. What is going to happen? Is he going to get what he wants? The stakes are raised at this moment. He is about to make a crucial decision that he cannot go back on. This does not mean that he literally cannot return to his previous world but that, after this decision, his world will never be the same. In a romantic comedy, it might be where a character reveals his true feelings. In a thriller, it might be where the hero makes a decision to get into bed with the villain.

It is important to be very specific about the moment of decision. For example, in Liar, Liar, the end of Act One scene occurs when the protagonist realizes that he cannot tell a lie. But the specific moment occurs when he decides to try the case. The end of Act One is not a scene, it is a decision. In this way, we ensure that we are constantly searching for ways to make our protagonist active. Even if his

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.