Screenwriter/director Gaz Alazraki

Last week’s blog from screenwriter/director Gaz Alazraki generated a lot of interest in hearing more about the process of creating a box office record-setting feature film, especially one that so consciously employed STC! principles. Master Cat! Tom Reed sat down with Gaz to examine his methodology. We hope you find the depth and insight of his answers as inspiring as we did.

TR: Congratulations on the amazing success of Nosotros Los Nobles. And thanks for agreeing to do this. So let’s get started. At what point in the process of creating this project did you first employ STC! teachings? Was it at the premise level? That is, were you thinking of Blake when you first came up with the idea? Or was it at the stage where you were defining the genre/s? Or was it when you started beating out the story?

GA: This was my eighth script. I kept aiming for less ambitious stories as I threw away script after script. No matter how much simpler I tried to write, and how many screenwriting books I read, I kept getting lost….Keep in mind that I even attended McKee’s seminar three times. I paid Linda Seger for an analysis of a script… and yet after 10 years of trying to write one good script, I kept failing.

I showed an old Mexican movie to a Warner Bros exec, saying that it could be a great remake. He offered to pay for the rights and my salary as a screenwriter (he knew me from film festivals where he had seen my short films screened). It was The Great Madcap by Luis Buñuel. So I figured “Perfect! The movie is already made….The first half doesn’t work, so I have to restructure it in order to rearrange the premise, and we should be shooting by the end of the year. This time, structure should not be a problem.”

I finished the first draft in three months. All the partners loved it. The WB exec approved it… just asked me to tweak a few details, but we should be getting the money in no time! So I went to prepare for a casting strategy with Judith Weston in LA. She read the script and asked me “Have you thought about hiring professional screenwriters?”

I was devastated. I went back to the bookstore and decided to buy more books. I bought Save the Cat! and Your Screenplay Sucks. And as I was flying back to Mexico, I read on Your Screenplay Sucks that they compared Save the Cat! on par with McKee… so I opened STC… and couldn’t put it down! Everything I could never decipher about structure was neatly drawn out in those 15 beats… the logline structure… the genre… the 40 scenes….I had finally found the handbook for creating a Hollywood movie in Spanish!

Now… I had to put it all in practice…

TR: I know exactly what you mean. There’s a lot of great insight out there regarding how to write a screenplay — McKee, Truby, Seger, Vogler, Hauge, et al — much of it saying the same thing in different terms, different languages. Did Blake’s language resonate with you more clearly than the others? Any parts in particular, or just the whole package?

GA: The difference between Blake and all other gurus is that Blake outlines a PROCESS, and he then backs it up with explanations and examples.

The 15 beats were the first thing that broke down a Berlin Wall in my mind. I was able to learn screenwriting by re-viewing all my favorite films, with a display counter running.

I mourned all the years spent on trying to decipher structure–when someone had it down so simply–and kept watching in awe, the simplicity with which the 15 beats landed on every spot.

I later began to spot the beats without even having a counter running. And THEN I began to notice a correlation between movies that executed the 15 beats properly and their Tomatometer ratings and Box Office. The formulaic ones had bad ratings, but a decent Box Office. And the ones that built true emotion on an original premise and solid 15 beats, kept doing well on ratings and many on Box Office AND Ratings.

Then my brother and I began texting each other with quizzes on the genre of our favorite films… which is the 2nd MOST important breakthrough I had with Save the Cat!:

Blake’s study on Genre originated from Literary Genres–which later on manifested themselves on film–(while Voytilla and Vogler did the same study on genre films–based on the Blockbuster breakdown of genre–which only confused me more than ever). So as we began to hone our eye for the 15 beats and the Genre breakdown, my understanding of film kept growing and evolving.

TR: Your process is remarkably conscious and thorough. I think that level of thoroughness–and immersion–is essential in finally understanding the power of these tools. At what time in the process of writing the screenplay did you identify the genre for yourself (in STC! terms) and did your script become a conscious genre hybrid? In my own study of films using STC! methods I’ve found that most films have a primary and secondary genre, and sometimes trace elements of a third (or even a fourth). But it’s one thing to identify these elements after-the-fact, and quite another to make these conscious decisions and/or discoveries up front. How was if for you on this project?

GA: My first guess was that I was making a Fool Out of Water film, but I was struggling with hitting all the conventions that Blake outlined for the genre. It was only until my 16th out of 18 drafts that I realized that I was missing the genre for the B Story, which was the Right of Passage the family had to overcome. It was the death of the mother, who had the father stuck in time (Stasis=Death).

But even during the shooting phase, this wasn’t all too clear. Even now, I wouldn’t dare to pin down the genres on concrete. I always tried to use “The Melody” of the genre more than the “Rules” of the genre, because I wanted to stay more true to the characters than the convention of the genre, and I was afraid of losing freshness by sticking religiously to the rules… which led me to have 30 minutes of extra footage that never made it to the screen (the consequence of lacking rigour in the script phase).

TR: I think that’s an excellent example of having a plan but staying flexible, especially when it comes to keeping characterization organic and true. But now that the film is done would you say it’s a Fool Triumphant/Rite of Passage (Death Passage) hybrid, or something else?

GA: Yes. I would say it’s a hybrid of a Fool Triumphant/Rite of Passage….But I would love to see what people find in the Chat Forum, where they guess the genre… I’m thinking there might be more to analyze–but I never did. I wanted to get out of my head and into the story.

TR: There’s always more to analyze so I hope it gets a lot of attention along those lines. But you provide the perfect segue–”into the story.” Did you outline the script according to the 15 beats? Did you keep going back to the 15 beats as you refined the script? Did you go deeper into any particular beat than you thought you would have at the outset? Was there any one part of the BS2 that was especially illuminating to you while you found your way through the story?

GA: Yes!!! Oh god, yes!!! When I discovered the 15 beats I was like “Finally! So easy!”… I dived into them! But then I began to struggle and then I got confused about the story. And then I wrote myself into an ending that made no sense….And Warner Bros wasn’t happy…

So I began beating out my cousins (It Happened One Night, Coming to America, Trading Places, Overboard, The Royal Tenenbaums, Swept Away [1974]), and began to understand the nuances and different spins that other writers had on the same beats….And I began to understand the variety of meanings behind Bad Guys Closing In… and the Mythical Midpoint….And yet, I was never sure how to structure all of this, cause even though the story was about a Wealthy Father who stages the bankruptcy of his company in order to teach his lazy children how to work, the father didn’t do anything during the 2nd act! He had no true action. He only fixed up the house, facing no real enemy! So… maybe I should structure the beats around the daughter, who has the love triangle? Or should I change the logline, because it isn’t about a wealthy father and his lazy children, since his enemy is the lazy son-in-law-to-be, who wants to blackmail him in exchange of his daughter’s hand and inheritance?….But that’s NOT the Fun n Games!!!! And the B Story is supposed to come in during minute 30, but the “Object of Affection” doesn’t show up until minute 43!!! So Who the hell is my B Story????

So I kept experimenting with the Logline, guessing which character was B Story, A Story, ’cause there were all these characters in the movie….So I never knew if I was right or not, but I came to the following conclusion:

A Story: The Wealthy Father has to stop his spoiled daughter from marrying a lazy gigoló. (The Love Triangle fits in this story.) B Story: The Wealthy Father has to teach his spoiled children a lesson.

I decided to split the children into A Story and B Story… so that way, it made sense when Break into 2 happened, and when the B Story began, and when they met during the Midpoint and the All Is Lost scene, and the Break into 3. It took me 15 drafts to get this right! And yet… I still wasn’t sure what or when was my Debate, or why the All Is Lost happened on page 85 instead of 75… but it worked on Overboard… so I stuck with that structure.

HOWEVER… I botched it with the scenes… Blake wanted around 40. I had 52. Every character needed their arc, their weight in the story… One father, 3 children, one business partner, one gigoló… There was no way to cut them down!…

Until I hit the editing room and lived through the horror of how long and slow the movie felt!!! 135 minutes!!! With trimmed scenes!!!

It was only then and there that I dared to cut out all the scenes that I didn’t want to take out in the script, and only then and there that I finished understanding why the beats were set in those minutes….And only then and there, where the theme stated landed on minute 6 instead of page 12. It was only then and there that the movie came together. It was ALSO then and there that I understood the gravity of the lack of discipline in the script. I wasted 6 days of shooting that never made it to the screen… 6 days that would have made my shoot a much easier shoot, if I would’ve spread out the scenes that I actually needed on the days I had money for shooting. And in the end, on the screen I had 43 scenes…

TR: Gaz, this is an inspired answer, and I know it’s going to be incredibly instructive to anyone who reads the blog. It’s a testament to the quality and reliability of the system, even though everyone has to wrestle their way through the particulars of every story, as you clearly did. Now that the film is done, are you happy with the result? And is there anything you’ll do differently on your next project that has a bearing on STC?

GA: Well… the movie is being hailed as the reconciliation of Mexican Cinema with the Mexican Audience. We are breaking every record ever set by every Mexican filmmaker I ever admired. Kids are dressing up like my characters for costume parties… T-Shirts with catch-phrases from the movie are beginning to emerge on the twittersphere. Everyone thanks us for finally making a movie that portrays Mexico in a positive light. That’s all you see on #NosotrosLosNobles… people claiming to love the movie. A huge interaction with our Facebook site, from all our fans….Not bad for my first movie.

However, I feel like I never figured out the story arc for the younger brother. I feel like I sped through the ending. I would’ve liked to take out the scenes that didn’t make it to the final cut, in a previous draft, and maybe just take two more pokes at a couple of rewrites to polish these things about the younger brother and a sharper ending. I mean, the ending is basically a videoclip with voice over. It was always written that way. But… you know… you’re always finding things…

TR: Gaz, I think that’s a perfect note to end on. You have my deepest congratulations. And thank you for participating in this interview. You’ve made the STC! method feel immediate, relatable, and profoundly relevant–like any of us can do it if we just keep at it. I hope many more of us join your club of success. And may your film continue to break records.  Go Team STC!

Great news from writer/director Gaz Alazraki in this email from late March:

the poster

After 8 yrs of trying to write a decent script (and 8 different scripts), I discovered STC! and it changed my life! Blake’s ideas helped me focus my idea and got the writing to a point where I was able to raise a lot of interest from Warner Bros. and Fox in Mexico City. I shot Nosotros Los Nobles and edited it sticking very closely to the STC! principles.

Warner Bros and Fox both bid on the film, which is a comedy about a wealthy father who after realizing how spoiled his children are, decides to stage the bankruptcy and seizure of their properties, tricks them into thinking they’re fugitives, hides them in a poor house and makes them do something none of them had ever done before… Work!

Warner Bros was the winning bidder and began preparing the campaign in November 2012. Just as Sensei Blake wrote: “When the promise of the premise is clear, the Fun and Games will come through the campaign and sell the movie.”

We got great praise for a unique campaign, and out of 11 major critics in Mexico, we got 9 positive reviews, one mixed review, and one negative review—with praise like “The Return of The Comedy to Mexican Cinema,” “The Reconciliation between audiences and Mexican Cinema,” and ‘Finally, a movie that paints our society in a positive light.”

Here’s the tale of the numbers:

(Some context: we have a total of 5,000 screens in Mexico, and we are opening in the middle of Easter Break, which lasts for 2 weeks, fighting it out against Oz, Jack the Giant Killer, The Croods and G.I. Joe.)

The original release strategy was to do a limited release on March 22 (beginning of Easter Break) of 80 copies. We were to warm up the audience with some word of mouth, before our wide release of 320 copies on March 28… today (the day before Good Friday and Easter Week).

But the movie theaters asked us to bump up the number of copies for our pre-release from 80 to 150 copies. Our good scenario was to make $450,000 usd on the limited release weekend, but we made $1 million… the same amount Django made with 300 copies on opening weekend. A big amount of shows were sold out and many people weren’t able to see the film. We were #1 in our average per screen, more than doubling The Croods on its opening weekend.

So WB bumped up the number of copies to 450 screens (about the same amount that Jack Reacher had) for our Opening Weekend. But we made around another $200,000 usd on Monday, around another $200,000 usd on Tuesday, and by Wednesday the movie had made around a total of $1.6 million usd.

Screenwriter/director Gaz Alazraki

So WB decided to open  with 650 copies. But with the interlock, we opened in 750 screens. That’s 90% of the country with at least 2 screens per cinema complex… on Easter Week.

Yesterday we opened to a Record Breaking $650,000 usd first day. It looks like by Monday we will be crowned 2nd place in the All-Time Live-Action Mexican Film openings.

And I will never get tired of saying that I owe all of this to….

… Save the Cat!

I even thank Blake Snyder on the credits…. ha!

So… Be proud of spreading the DaVinci Code of Screenwriting Wisdom, gentlemen.

Best,

Gaz Alazraki

Screenwriter Mike Rinaldi

Our friendly neighborhood STC! Forum co-moderator and guest blogger, Mike Rinaldi, recently wrote a feature for EchoLight Studios and director Mike Norris (Chuck Norris’ son). Between the feature films and web series he has in development, Mike also writes for PR and talent marketing company SDI Entertainment, representing clients from Marvel’s The Avengers.

I have a recurring dream that Kathleen Kennedy walks into the elevator car and pushes the P2 button. I have seven floors to make her like me so I ask her how much lens flare is too much in an Abrams-directed lightsaber duel. She gives me a stern look because lens flare is not a laughing matter and gets out two floors early. Apparently I too pushed a button. I wake up in a cold sweat, knowing I should have gone with the Wookie joke.

I lied. This isn’t a recurring dream, just an illustration. But in this fictional account you’ll notice between my lens flare question and Wookie joke, I did not entertain the third option: blurt out a logline for my whimsical, four quadrant, flying squirrel comedy.

It may seem an obvious choice to not spring an elevator pitch on an unsuspecting producer because self-control is the conventional wisdom. Rightly so. But when I meet up-and-coming writers and ask what their screenplay is about, I usually get long-winded rambles. Why is this happening? Because they’re not preparing elevator pitches due to a misunderstanding of Hollywood’s social protocol.

The myth is: Don’t have an elevator pitch. The rule is actually: Don’t instigate an elevator pitch.

When someone approaches us for our elevator pitch we better have one ready — hopefully more than one so we can confidently reply to the infamous, “What else have you got?”

The tables were turned on me several times this year when a producer or actor sprung on me, the unsuspecting screenwriter, an invitation to pitch them. It happens anywhere and everywhere from the ordering line at your favorite coffee shop to the pages of Linked In to pump #4 at the Chevron on Highland and Beverly. And it’s almost never a request to contact them at my leisure.

It’s usually a lunchtime email saying, “Mike, I got funding and distribution for a family comedy in suchandsuch budget. I need a screenplay. What have you got?” If you guessed flying squirrels defeating al-Qaeda are not in suchandsuch budget, you’d be correct. “What else have you got?” The flying squirrel who saved Hanukah was closer, still over budget. Meanwhile, I’m going over my brilliant scripts in various stages of near completion and trying to figure out how to expand the logline into a reasonable elevator pitch.

So here are a few takeaways from my recent experiences:

1. Always be prepared. Develop an elevator pitch for each of your scripts or screenplay ideas. The need for an elevator pitch arsenal is the new normal. Producers spring out like ninjas.

2. Develop your brand. Know yourself as a writer, but diversify your story ideas within a consistent brand. Not everyone wants flying squirrels. It turns out Disney prefers flying monkeys.

3. Write screenplays in varied budget ranges. This is a tip Blake shared with me and with technological innovation, it’s even more true today. At all times you want to pull from your quiver a big budget pitch, a mid-budget, a low budget, and especially a micro-budget screenplay. Micro-budgets don’t pay well but there is constant demand for these.

If you find it a challenge to construct a tight, compelling elevator pitch, reread Save the Cat! and revisit your logline and beat sheet. Get to know your story and theme, remind yourself why you love your characters, and identify the the plot points that pack the most irony. For additional assistance, I recommend Stephanie Palmer and Michael Hauge. Stephanie, who has guest blogged for us before, authored Good in a Room, the standard authority for pitch meetings. Michael Hauge’s book, Selling Your Story in 60 Seconds, helps you figure out which elements of your story do and don’t belong in your pitch. Both books are very Cat!-compatible and in essence are more of what Blake taught us.

And don’t forget, you can always find assistance in our warm and collaborative Save the Cat! Forum from many writers like yourself who are eager to build one another up!

Author Cynthia Ellingsen

Our guest blogger, Cynthia Ellingsen, started her career as a screenwriter, working with screenwriting partner Natalie Compagno. The two penned Modern Love and Three Card Monte, both optioned by Identity Film. Cynthia went on to write contemporary fiction for Penguin-Berkley. Her novels, Marriage Matters and The Whole Package, are represented for book-to-film by Jon Cassir at CAA.

As a contemporary fiction writer for Penguin-Berkley, I have two novels on the shelf. Marriage Matters, my latest, is the story of a mother, daughter, and grandmother who all get engaged at the same time and decide to share a wedding. CAA is currently shopping the film rights. The Whole Package, the story of three best friends who essentially open a male version of the restaurant Hooters, was released in 2011.

The cover of Cynthia’s latest novel

One thing I consistently hear from readers is: “When I read your books, I feel like I’m watching a movie. Do you imagine the movie when you write?”

The answer is a resounding yes, primarily because I plot out the rough draft of my novels using the assistance of Save the Cat!

Save the Cat! is the best title, isn’t it? It conjures up a bright red fire truck screaming towards an emergency and a rugged fireman – perhaps one that forgot to shave– leaping out of the truck and racing towards the scene.

But this scruffy superman is not carrying a ladder to help some kitten trapped in a tree. No, no. He’s waving the Blake Snyder beat sheet at some poor writer completely at odds with story structure.

Story structure is one of the most critical components in writing. When you have a strong story structure, your readers are more likely to trust in the story you’re going to tell. Why? Because story structure, especially of the Hollywood variety, is universally recognizable.

Don’t believe me? Well, I bet you’d recognize this:

A hero who desperately needs a change experiences a catalyst to make this change, but still debates the need to follow through. Eventually, the hero commits to making said change. Cue celebration with a B-story and rollicking fun and games section. At least, until the bad guys close in. Then, the hero loses everything and is forced to face down the dark night of the soul. The hero rises from the ashes, triumphant.

Isn’t that a great story?!

When you work with a set story structure, it’s so much easier to stay on track and figure out what, exactly, to write. Save the Cat! has helped me to revisit the power of story structure again and again. Whenever someone tells me they want to write a book or a screenplay but don’t know how, this is the first book I recommend.

Even though it doesn’t really come with a scruffy fireman.

Keep me up to date with all your story structure adventures at www.facebook.com/cynthiaellingsen or https://twitter.com/CynEllingsen Or, you can also find me at www.cynthiaellingsen.com

José Silerio makes a point

José Silerio served as Blake Snyder’s Development Director. He has been integral to the success of Blake’s workshops and classes as he worked alongside Blake schooling writers in the Cat! method. As a teacher and consultant, José continues to help numerous writers learn Blake’s paradigm and apply it to their projects. You can see José as he leads one of the “Power Half Hours” at the Your Career in a Day event in Burbank on June 1. In today’s blog, José offers some guidance in an often challenging section of your script:

“Why is the Bad Guys Close In beat soooo hard?”

Ever felt that way? I hear it every time in workshops. Blake even says it in the book. The BGCI is the toughest part of the screenplay. It’s the part of the script he always had trouble with.

Remember, the BGCI beat does not only refer to the external forces that are hunting your hero down. This isn’t just the villains tightening their grip. The BGCI also refers to the internal forces that are making your hero’s journey much harder.

This is the section wherein internal dissent takes place. This is where your hero’s resolve in obtaining his goal is truly tested. It doesn’t just get harder because your hero’s enemies have found a way to regroup (if you gave your hero a false victory at Midpoint… but let’s save that for another blog) and are back on the chase. It gets harder because your hero doubts himself and whether the goal he’s been chasing all these 55 or so pages is really the right goal after all.

In Silver Linings Playbook, Pat (Bradley Cooper) was very clear with his goal from the get-go: win Nikki (his ex) back. He has a great false victory at Midpoint when Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence) agrees to give Nikki his letter that will win her back – but only if he dances with Tiffany. Now that the external stakes are raised — learning to dance and all the pressures that go with it (especially if you’re bipolar) — Pat discovers something else. His life is actually going ok. Not only is he happy (a call back to the theme stated; check out the previously posted beat sheet of SLP), but he’s actually happy with Tiffany – not Nikki. Now the internal stakes are being raised.

This is where I like to say: The BGCI is where the hero learns the problem was never them. The problem was me. And once that grain of doubt gets planted in your hero, the internal BGCI happens. Now your story is raised to another level. Now your BGCI doesn’t merely repeat your Fun & Game moments. Now your BGCI beat becomes stronger.

What will your hero do to resist change? What will your hero do to fight the biggest battle he must overcome – himself?

Isn’t it always hardest to admit when we’re wrong (especially when arguing with your spouse or – heaven forbid – your mother-in-law!)? Well, it’s the same for your hero. He now knows he must change. He was wrong. “His way or the highway” doesn’t work anymore. He can no longer get away with the lie he’s been telling, or passing the blame all the time, or running away from his biggest fear (whatever that may be in your story).

The external BGCI forces your hero to face his internal BGCI. It’s a one-two punch. And that’s how your hero goes down for the count in the All Is Lost (… or so we think – but that’s another discussion for yet another day).

And that’s why BGCI is soooo hard … for our hero and us, the writer. Not to get all Dr. Phil here, but we have to tap into our emotions, our fears, our pains as writers and put it in paper through our heroes. It’s easy to add plot (just drop an anvil, kitchen sink, or piano at your hero), but it’s a heck of a challenge to build character.

And that’s what we, as writers, have to do. If you’re unsure how to push your story forward past Midpoint and struggling through your BGCI, maybe you need to jiggle your structure a bit. Do you have the right goal for your hero? Did you set up enough character flaws in the 1st Act? Do you have the right theme (I know, I shouldn’t have gone there – and, yes, that is a discussion for yet another day)?

Hey, nobody said it would be easy – but doesn’t everyone also say don’t quit just because it gets hard?

It may be tough writing the BGCI, but the harder we make it for our hero, the greater the reward will be for our hero and our audience. And that’s the only goal that truly matters in the end.

The poster from today's 3D release of the Spielberg classic

Tom Reed and Cory Milles collaborated on this magnificent and insightful beat sheet. Cory begins with this intro:

Jurassic Park is one of my favorite films of all time. No matter how many times I see it, I still feel like a kid again. I remember seeing the movie for the first time, experiencing the new surround sound that was so loud it shook the seats. From the opening scene, I was on the edge of my seat. I loved everything about it: the story, the suspense, the sound, the special effects…

Actually, I think that the special effects in this movie still rival those in some of the newer films. Back when Jurassic Park came out, CGI was somewhat new, and the artists went to great lengths to ensure its realism. Today, twenty years later, it still looks real. And it’s still scary.

The musical score from Jurassic Park was the first soundtrack I bought. Instantly, I fell in love with movie music. In fact, my iPod is 100% movie scores. But Jurassic Park did not just introduce me to the world of movie music; it introduced me to the worlds of reading and writing. After seeing the film, I was encouraged to read the book, and I fell in love with it. The story, both on paper and on film, encapsulates the excitement I strive to create for my readers. It taught me how a good story is put together and what kind of experience it leaves with the audience.

The 20th Anniversary re-release of the movie offered a chance to really dig deep into the story, to understand why it works by looking at it through the lens of the Blake Snyder Beat Sheet. In fact, Tom Reed and I began to collaborate on it, sending massive e-mails back and forth discussing the different beats and appreciating the subtleties. I gained a whole new appreciation and excitement for the movie by discussing it with him.

Initially, I wondered if there truly was a single All Is Lost moment. I also noticed how the Debate and Set-Up continued to overlap seamlessly throughout. Our conversation and collaboration became so big that Tom started writing down his thoughts at a deeper level. Reading through them, I was amazed at his depth of analysis. It truly gave the movie the justice it deserved. Instantly, I knew that this was exactly what should be posted on the blog, a culmination of our conversations and observations.

The writing is wholly Tom’s; I only wish I had the ability to dig as deep as he does! His thoughts on this classic Monster in the House story gave me a newer appreciation for my favorite movie, once again reminding me what a great story it is and why it works so well.  Enjoy!

Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Screenplay by: Michael Crichton and David Koepp

Jurassic Park is one of the most successful films ever made. It is a classic Monster in the House story and occupies the 20th position in the All-Time Box Office List (Adjusted for Inflation), though it is likely to creep up the list with today’s re-release. Only two MITH films have been more popular, one of which was also directed by Steven Spielberg – that would be Jaws which occupies the 7th position in the All-Time Box Office list. The other is The Exorcist at number 9. As Blake pointed out, MITH is one of the most powerful genres because there’s nothing more primal than running for your life from a monster, especially a slavering reptilian demon brought back to life by miraculous but misguided science.

In honor of the re-release of Jurassic Park in 3D, Cory and I decided to see how it looks from a Snyderian perspective. Just as we expected, it holds remarkably close to the form, but it also departs from it in interesting ways, making it a rewarding case study and an important reminder of how every story follows its own unique course. Analyzing it deepened our appreciation for the film and we hope reading this does the same for you.

OPENING IMAGE (00:00 – 03:24):

He's going to need a bigger gun.

A dark jungle rustles with the low growl of a powerful creature. A group of armed men watch apprehensively, guns locked and loaded. But it’s not a creature that emerges, it’s a forklift holding aloft a cage. The brilliance of the Opening Image is that it captures the film’s essence immediately: the primordial jungle is disturbed by the technology of modern man. This is the premise of the film. Opening Image foreshadowing is rarely this seamless. By the end of the scene the genre is also clearly established. A terrifying MONSTER breaks out of the crate and kills one of the men, though the exact kind of Monster remains a tantalizing mystery.

SET-UP (03:25 – 08:58):

The Set-Up is a study in efficiency. Because of the vicious attack, John Hammond (Richard Attenborough), the creator of Jurassic Park, now has nervous investors. Genarro, the lawyer representing them, travels to an amber mine to discuss the problem with Hammond, but the quixotic billionaire has already left. Gennaro complains to the mine foreman just as an important discovery is made: a piece of amber with a large mosquito entombed inside. Just why it is valuable is another tantalizing mystery (05:17).

We move to Montana where Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill), a famous paleontologist, and his girlfriend Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern), a paleobotanist, are excavating a dinosaur skeleton. We don’t know it yet, but the skeleton they’re working on is the species Velociraptor. Excavating dinosaur bones is the only means we modern humans have of learning about these prehistoric creatures, and Grant and Ellie are experts. This is the status quo, ‘life before’ Jurassic Park – a man in a hat using a brush to scrape away dirt from a fossil to gain knowledge. Mankind’s means of learning about dinosaurs, and the personal experience of them, is about to change radically.

The first suggestion of change is through the use of high-tech (more seamless foreshadowing). Grant and Ellie are called away to watch a computerized apparatus detect dinosaur bones underground using sonar. Here we learn that Grant “hates computers” and has issues with technology in general. He’s something of a throwback, which perhaps explains his interest in the distant past. But the machine works and another Velociraptor skeleton is located. We witness Grant’s love and command of his profession as he looks at the image on the computer screen and points out the similarities between ‘raptors’ and modern birds, but a skeptical kid scoffs that a raptor “isn’t scary” and “looks more like a six-foot turkey.”

This raises Grant’s professional hackles, and also his dislike for children. He proceeds to take grisly pleasure in describing exactly how a trio of raptors would hunt down and eat the kid alive, which succeeds in deeply unnerving the little fellah. Hardly Saving the Cat, we get instead both a demonstration of Grant’s professional expertise and a demonstration of his flaw, one of the Six Things That Need Fixing in his life, as we soon learn that Ellie wants kids and he doesn’t. Sorting this out will be Grant’s emotional and spiritual journey. At this point he appears to value dinosaurs more than children. By the end he will learn otherwise, and that will be done through the B Story.

Grant’s speech also shows the filmmaker playing with the language of cinema. While Grant spins his story about the most dangerous ‘predatory bird’ ever to have lived (Velociraptor means “bird of prey”), we hear the screeching of a hawk — a bird of prey. The past and present echo off each other, a motif that will happen repeatedly. It’s subtle to the point of being subliminal, but it’s there by design. Furthermore, Grant’s description of the raptor hunting strategy precisely describes how the character of Muldoon (who we haven’t met yet) will meet his end in the climax, more seamless foreshadowing. All of this is done with astonishing efficiency and a perverse sense of humor – the filmmaking team’s particular brand of Fun & Games.

THEME STATED (08:59 – 09:09):

Grant ends his speech about raptors with a very simple idea: “Try to show a little respect.” In other words, don’t underestimate dinosaurs, especially raptors. Later we will discover this is the very thing that Hammond and his enterprise have failed to do. The kid doesn’t know any better; Hammond (and his ilk) should. The primary SIN of Jurassic Park is human arrogance, hubris, and that’s exactly what the theme stated references, though for now, invisibly, just as it should be.

CATALYST (09:40 – 13:11):

Catalyst is coming. Hold onto your butts.

A helicopter arrives disrupting the dig site. An angry Grant and Ellie discover an old man inside their dusty trailer opening a bottle of champagne. To their surprise, it’s Hammond, one of their most generous benefactors. As research scientists they rely solely on donations such as his, which is another one of the Six Things that Need Fixing in their lives – they’re perpetually underfunded. Hammond apologizes for his dramatic entrance (an entrance in keeping with his larger-than-life personality) and reveals the problem he has with his latest “biological preserve” on an island off Costa Rica: he needs their professional assessment of its viability to appease his anxious backers.

“Why us?” asks Grant. Hammond evades the question, prolonging the mystery. Grant and Ellie decline his offer, but when he promises to fund their research for another three years it addresses their ongoing need and they accept and toast their good fortune (or is it?) with a glass of champagne.

Standard storytelling teaching (including the BS2) tells us that the protagonist should have the primary story problem that needs solving and/or the desire that propels the story forward. That’s not the case here unless you consider Hammond the protagonist, and most people do not. It’s a significant departure from form, then, for Grant (and Ellie) to simply be along for the ride at this point, helping to solve the need of another. But telling the story this way accomplishes a couple of things. First, it gives Grant and Ellie underdog (cat?) status. It’s kind of hard to relate to a billionaire, after all. Second, since they know nothing about the mysteries of Jurassic Park, they embody the point of view of the audience who will come to learn about the park through them. We will all be initiated together.

CATALYST #2 (13:12 – 15:15):

Dennis Nedry, a Jurassic Park insider, makes a deal with a man representing a rival genetic technology firm. The man gives Nedry $750,000 and promises $50,000 more for every “viable embryo,” totaling $1.5MM if Nedry gets “all fifteen species” off the island. Industrial espionage is afoot, and we’re left to wonder what kind of embryos could possibly be worth so much. The SIN of greed is implicit in this transaction, but is made explicit when Nedry, after gorging on a meal when the bag man has eaten nothing, expects the other guy to pick up the check. “Don’t get cheap on me, Dodgson. That was Hammond’s mistake.” Nedry’s SIN will play a crucial role in letting the Monsters into the house. Greedy pissants will ever vex the plans of great dreamers (and everybody else).

MORE SET-UP (15:16 – 19:01):

Now that the MONSTER and SIN(s) have been established, it’s time to enter THE HOUSE, and we do that in a spectacular fashion via jet helicopter to Hammond’s headquarters, Isla Nublar. Assembled in the helo are Hammond, Grant, Ellie, Gennaro, and the final member of the team, famous mathematician (er, “chaotician”), Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum). Though there’s Fun & Games aplenty in this film, Malcolm is as close to a character of comic relief as we come. Hammond describes him as “suffering from a deplorable excess of personality,” and he is indeed quirky and clever and has some of the wittiest lines. But he’s no fool; despite his playfulness, which first manifests in a provocative interest in Ellie, he’s the most serious voice of caution in the debate looming ahead.

The approach to Jurassic Park requires crossing a series of gateways and thresholds, befitting a Mysterious Island/Lost World locale; first the moat (the ocean), then the walls (the knife-like ridges and valleys of Isla Nublar), through precipitous wind shear and an electrified fence charged with 10K volts (why 10K? Isn’t that overkill? – more mystery), all to a heroic theme by composer John Williams called “Journey to the Island,” which seems to say there is nothing Man can’t accomplish. It evokes the excitement of testing and pushing through barriers, which suggests both Adventure and Hubris. Musical foreshadowing.

DEBATE (19:02 – 19:31):

As they make for the visitor’s center in two Jeeps, Gennaro asks Hammond about the “full 50 miles of perimeter fence” and the “motion sensor tracking systems,” all of which, assures Hammond, have been put in place. Gennaro reminds Hammond that “this isn’t a weekend excursion, this is a serious investigation into the stability of the island and I can shut you down in 48 hours.” Hammond responds, “In 48 hours I’ll be accepting your apology.” This frames the nature of the debate to come: Hammond on one side, supremely confident in his creation, Gennaro and the others arrayed against him, waiting to be convinced. The debate itself hasn’t begun yet, though; until Grant, Sattler, and Malcolm (and the audience) know exactly what they’re dealing with, all is preamble. By now, however, the stage has been set. Let the wonder, awe, and debate (in that order) begin.

Turns out they do move in herds.

BREAK INTO TWO (PRECURSOR) (19:51 – 22:47):

Though we didn’t know it then, passing through the electrified fence was when we entered the ‘upside-down/funhouse mirror’ world of Jurassic Park where dinosaurs and man coexist. Grant suddenly sees something and by his flabbergasted reaction in extreme close-up we know it rocks his world. He forces Ellie to look, she’s equally overcome, and they climb out of the Jeep for their first ‘close encounter of the dinosaur kind.’ A living, breathing, flesh and blood Brachiosaurus thunders past, towering over them as it nibbles from the treetops while the main theme to Jurassic Park soars on the soundtrack, underscoring the emotional reaction of the scientists: wonder and awe.

Steven Spielberg is known for delivering wonder and awe better than any filmmaker, and he’s never been more successful than this moment. All elements converge – premise, writing, acting, dialogue, staging, music, and breathtaking special effects (especially for its time, though it completely holds up even by today’s standards) – in a scene that magnificently pays off the primary mystery that has been so carefully sustained since the film started, that being, “What is Jurassic Park?”

Now we know. It’s a place where dinosaurs have somehow been brought miraculously to life. As Blake said, all stories are about Transformation, and this story has Transformation encoded in its DNA right from the premise. And the nature and magnitude of the Transformation is so great it provides insight into Hammond’s confidence: he knows that no one will be immune to the primal power of seeing these long extinct creatures walk again, especially the team he has brought to endorse it.

MORE SET-UP/MORE DEBATE/FUN & GAMES (22:48 – 38:04):

No filmmaker could have maintained the tension generated by the unanswered questions for much longer, which is why this Break into Two beat happens relatively early, at minute 22. This forced the preceding structure beats to come fast and furious, giving the first section of the film a tremendous pace. It can now afford to slow down, and it does just a bit, by side-stepping a full Break into Two and presenting the debate.

Emotionally, it’s still gliding on the wonder generated by the previous scene felt by the entire team. Grant and Ellie are beside themselves with excitement and filled with questions. But ironically, it’s the antagonistic lawyer Gennaro who undergoes the greatest change, and it’s immediate: “We’re going to make a fortune with this place!” From this point forward “the blood-sucking lawyer” is Hammond’s biggest supporter. Not only is this a Transformation, but his shift in attitude taps directly into the already established sin of greed. More importantly, it puts Hammond firmly in charge going into the Debate. He feels he has the upper hand and he relishes taking center stage.

Blake tells us that the Debate step is where the hero gathers information, knowledge, or advice, and that’s exactly what happens here as the team is brought into the visitor’s center and taken on the first leg of the tour. Part of the Promise of the Premise of Jurassic Park is making the concept of dinosaur-making plausible, and that’s done through a brilliant extrapolation of existing science. It’s really the bedrock on which this ‘monster movie’ rests. The challenge to the filmmakers was how to present what is essentially complex exposition in an entertaining way that didn’t stop the story, and they succeeded brilliantly with Fun & Games.

It’s also a kind of Fun & Games that’s rooted in character, specifically Hammond’s character, a jolly, playful visionary very much in touch with his inner child (albeit with an iron will), sort of a Scottish Walt Disney. So the Debate exposition is done in a style that evokes Disneyland as Hammond sits the team down in a small revolving auditorium where they see a film hosted by a folksy animated character called Mr. DNA. The mystery of the mosquito trapped in amber is answered here, as this turns out to be the source of the dinosaur blood that allowed scientists to recreate dino-DNA (with an assist from present-day amphibian blood to fill in the gaps).

"Clever girls" in the making.

From there the team moves on to the hatchery, where they learn that the dino population is strictly controlled by breeding only females, and then they witness the birth of a baby dinosaur. Grant, in another moment of wish-fulfillment fantasy, gets to hold a baby hatchling. This is a Break-into-Two moment, delivering on the ‘best case scenario of the Promise of the Premise’ (man and dinosaurs safely coexisting), until Grant realizes he’s holding a raptor hatchling. “You bred raptors?” Uh-huh. Uh-oh.

We jump back into the Debate at the raptor pen where we meet the Game Warden, Muldoon, while the raptors are being fed with a live steer hoisted in on a crane. Muldoon thinks the raptors “should all be destroyed,” putting him firmly in the naysayer camp of the Debate-in-progress. The team learns from him how fast the raptors are, how smart, how formidable, which is why they’re kept separate. They’re simply too dangerous (foreshadowing). The scene is punctuated by the shredded harness that once held the steer being lifted out of the pen for all to see. “Ready for lunch?” asks Hammond cheerfully, almost blithely. Fun & Games.

The Debate culminates at lunch where all three scientists express deep concern over the inherent dangers posed by the park. Malcolm speaks of the “staggering lack of humility” on display, Ellie of the unpredictability of an extinct ecosystem brought back to life, and Grant, though clearly impressed by the unprecedented scientific achievement, remarks “How can we possibly have the faintest idea of what to expect?” This ends the Debate sequence on a direct reference to the Theme Stated (“try and show a little respect”), the implication being the right amount of respect would have been to never proceed with building the park in the first place.

This movie’s Debate is uncommonly long for a mainstream film, over 15 minutes (actually over 19 minutes if you calculate it from when it actually begins), but it doesn’t feel overlong nor does it stop the story because it’s pulling triple duty: 1) it’s setting up Jurassic Park itself (and so is a kind of Break-Into-Two experience of what’s behind the scenes of JP), 2) it’s providing necessary context for an intelligent moral argument, and 3) the details are fascinating and depicted with both deep emotion and Fun & Games. Structure beats are rarely so concentrated. Jurassic Park totally owns its Debate and is proud of it, as it deserves to be.

B STORY (38:05 – 41:41):

Hammond’s grandchildren Timmy (9) and Lex (12) arrive, commencing the B Story. They are Hammond’s “target audience” and will be accompanying the scientists on the tour. Grant is instantly uncomfortable around them, reminding us of his psychological flaw and his journey of growth to come. Timmy is a precocious motormouth who has read Grant’s book and pesters him with questions, and Lex tells him that Ellie said he should ride with them “because it will be good for you,” which he refuses to do. Two self-driving electric vehicles transport them towards the main gates, Gennaro, Lex, and Timmy in one, Grant, Ellie, and Malcolm in the next. Meanwhile, we learn a storm is on the way – another seamless metaphor for what’s about to unfold.

BREAK INTO TWO (41:42):

The vehicles pass through faux-primitive gates that evoke the classic MITH film from 1933, King Kong. In case anyone missed the visual reference, Malcolm quips, “What do they got in there, King Kong?”, a nice F&G moment. And so another threshold is crossed, this time through a literal gate, the definitive Break into Two. Notice how this is very late from a mainstream storytelling perspective, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the filmmakers got studio notes urging them strongly to get these characters through this gate by page/min 30. But that would have shortchanged the all-important Debate. It would also fail to see how every story is its own exception and strict adherence to form is rarely necessary.

What’s important is that everything prior to this works well both structurally and emotionally, which it does, and that this beat is included, bold and unmistakable, and in the proper order, which it is. In fact, rarely is this beat so visual and literal.

FUN & GAMES (41:43 – 57-56):

The primary Promise of the Premise of JP, as we’ve known all along (this being a MITH movie and marketed as such), is man being chased by ferocious dinosaurs. We might think this would be the very next thing that happens, but no. The filmmaker has his own Fun & Games in store called delayed gratification. He knows to put the audience off guard first. He knows to make them wait, even more. Besides, we’re still in the Promise of the Premise of the Best Case Scenario, living the wish-fulfillment fantasy.

So at first we have excitement over the promise of seeing dinosaurs, then disappointment over them failing to appear, followed by a powerful close encounter as Grant leads the others out of the vehicles to examine an incapacitated Tricerotops attended by another game warden. Grant and Ellie are once again emotionally overcome as they safely touch an adult dinosaur, Grant saying, “She’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” Ellie tries to determine what’s making the dino sick by unflinchingly exploring the prodigious “Trike” droppings, another kind of F&G.

More F&G from a storytelling perspective as long delayed subplots are put in motion. Dennis Nedry is revealed to be the computer genius behind all the integrated systems of the park and he initiates his plan just as the approaching storm forces the tour to be cut short. Ellie separates from the group to help the game warden with the Trike as the rest of them climb back into the vehicles and head back to the visitor’s center. Nedry has disarmed the security systems in order to gain access to the embryo storage chamber and make his escape, but in so doing the tour vehicles lose power and come to a stop in front of the T-Rex paddock just as the electrified fences fall offline.

MIDPOINT (57:57 – 1:03:01):

Blake tells us that the Midpoint is where stakes are raised, time clocks appear, A & B Stories cross and the pace accelerates. He also mentions that, if it’s a “False Defeat” Midpoint, it’s where the hero’s plans fail due to an unforeseen complication. All of this happens at the Midpoint of Jurassic Park. Nedry’s plan fails as he gets lost in the storm, but the more important failure is Hammond’s, and his vain attempt to keep people safe from dinosaurs. Here the filmmakers finally deliver on the Promise of the Premise of any MITH story. Spectacularly. It’s time for this scientific debate film to turn into a relentless action film. In other words, it’s time for the MONSTER to enter the HOUSE.

BAD GUYS CLOSE IN/ALL IS LOST (1:03:02 – 1:10:39):

Cars that wish they weren't Jurassic parked.

And what monster appears? Nothing less than the granddaddy of all prehistoric monsters, the biggest, baddest alpha-predator ever to have walked this earth: Tyrannosaurus Rex. T-Rex eats the goat left for it on the other side of the fence, but its attention is drawn to the vehicles as Gennero, petrified, flees and takes refuge in a nearby bathroom shed. This, of course, leaves the children alone as the T-Rex easily breaks through the now powerless fence. When Lex turns on a flashlight T-Rex zeros in on them. It breaks through the plexiglass roof and would surely have eaten the kids had the plexiglass not protected them like a transparent shield.

T-Rex flips over the vehicle and starts viciously attacking the undercarriage. Mud pours in through the broken windows around the kids and Grant finally acts, igniting a flare and waving it to get the dinosaur’s attention as the rain pours down. Then Malcolm does the same thing and T-Rex chases him to the bathroom structure and he’s injured as the structure topples exposing Gennaro sitting on the toilet. There is more than a whiff of death as the lawyer is quickly eaten up whole, the first casualty of the sin of greed (and hubris, of course).

Grant pulls Lex from the overturned vehicle but T-Rex returns. Grant tells her that “he can’t see us if we don’t move,” and they kneel in the mud, completely exposed, holding still as T-Rex searches for them, seemingly blind, its powerful exhale blowing Grant’s hat off his head. It pushes the car to the wall and Grant and Lex are forced to go over, using the broken fence wire as a rope. T-Rex finally pushes the vehicle – with Timmy still inside – over the wall and it barely misses Grant and Lex as it slams into a tree below. The awesome power of T-Rex, and the presence of imminent and ferocious death permeates this entire sequence.

In the control room, Hammond asks Muldoon to retrieve his grandchildren. Ellie joins him. Arnold says to Hammond that he can’t get Jurassic Park back online alone, which is the death of solving the problem without Dennis Nedry.

BAD GUYS CLOSE IN #2/ALL IS LOST #2 (1:10:40 – 1:14:22):

In addition to having an uncommonly long and complex Debate, this film also exceeds the average number of BGCI/AIL scenes. Instead of one, or two, we have four in a row — rewarding the patient viewer with its action-filled Promise of the Premise. The next beat picks up the thread of Nedry’s story as his Jeep slides in the mud and he crashes into the jungle. But the road snakes around in front of him and so he uses the Jeep’s winch to pull free. He’s followed by a little dinosaur that doesn’t seem immediately threatening but we suspect is a Dilophosaurus, the first dino we heard about in the tour, when we learned that it spits poisonous venom that paralyzes and kills its prey. Nedry, a truly contemptible sort, insults the dinosaur but gets spat in the face with the poisonous, paralyzing goo. He takes refuge in the Jeep only to find another Dilo waiting for him. The Jeep jostles and we know it’s the death of Dennis Nedry. The Monster is in the House and Sins will be punished.

BAD GUYS CLOSE IN #3/ALL IS LOST #3 (1:14:23 – 1:18:16):

Grant and a traumatized Lex are at the base of the tree where the vehicle with Timmy is perched. Grant tells her that he has to go help her brother, but she rants (referring to Genarro), “He left us! He left us!” Grant responds, “But that’s not what I’m going to do.” He may not like children much, but he’s going to do all he can to save the kids in his care given the circumstances.

Grant climbs the tree and finds Timmy inside. What’s so interesting about this sequence is that it’s not another dinosaur attack. We just had two back-to-back and there will be more to come, so the genius here is that an opponent and an entire action sequence was developed that has nothing to do with marauding dinos. The opponent is gravity, and the weakness of tree branches. When Grant pulls Timmy from the vehicle it shifts the balance, and as they descend the vehicle breaks through and careens towards them, an altogether unexpected kind of monster. They make it to the bottom and into the cleft between two tree roots just as the car crashes around them. Ingenious. And death narrowly averted. We hear Timmy’s voice: “Well, we’re back in the car again.” Fun & Games!

BAD GUYS CLOSE IN #4/ALL IS LOST #4 (1:18:17 – 1:21:36):

Muldoon and Ellie arrive at the breached T-Rex paddock. They find Malcolm injured and load him onto the Jeep then explore over the wall. They find the destroyed vehicle beneath the tree but no sign of Grant or the kids. Malcolm feels impact tremors and he knows what that means – T-Rex is nearby. Muldoon and Ellie arrive back at the Jeep just as T-Rex emerges through the trees. A spectacular and hair-raising chase ensues as T-Rex almost snatches Malcolm from the Jeep before the Jeep finally pulls away. Once again, death narrowly averted. Malcolm quips, “Think they’ll have that on the tour?” F&G. The T-Rex roars.

DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL (1:21:37 – 1:24:41):

Lex, Timmy, and Grant hear the T-Rex roar and Grant forces them to take refuge up another tree. Timmy is reluctant, nursing recent bad memories of trees, but Grant knows it’s a safe haven. They find a nook out of T-Rex reach and notice, as the storm clears, a group of Brachiosaurs feeding nearby. They’re singing like whales, and when Grant mimics them it gets their attention. Lex screams, “Don’t! The monsters will overhear!” Grant responds, “They’re not monsters. They’re animals.” At least herbivores are. The meat-eaters are something else, though Grant, ever the scientist, is not one to judge. “They do what they do.”

The kids climb into Grant’s arms and he doesn’t resist, showing some character growth. He finds the raptor claw in his back pocket, the one he used to terrorize the skeptical kid at the dig site. Lex asks him what he and Ellie are going to do if they don’t have to dig up bones anymore? His answer is telling: “I guess we’ll just have to evolve, too.”

Grant is facing no less than the death of his profession as he knows it, yet he doesn’t despair. He’s open to adaptation, a crucial survival tactic. It’s a moment of clarity concerning his professional life. As we pull away, Timmy tells a couple of F&G dinosaur jokes, and Lex asks Grant if he’ll stay awake to protect them. He says he will and tosses the raptor claw away. He’s finished with terrorizing children. Another moment of clarity, this time concerning his personal life. He’s making progress on his inner journey.

DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL #2 (1:24:42 – 1:28:22):

From the sounds of Brachiosaurs singing we cut to a stuffed Brachiosaur in the visitor’s center gift shop – an F&G scene transition. We see the JP T-shirts, the lunch boxes, all the plush as Ellie finds Hammond eating ice cream in the dining area, music shifting the mood to quiet reflection. Hammond tells Ellie about the first attraction he ever built – a flea circus. It was all an illusion. But with JP he wanted something that wasn’t an illusion. Ellie says it was an illusion that he could ever think he could control nature, recapitulating the Debate.

His iron will asserts itself and he tells her that every mistake is correctable. He’s facing the death of his dream, but unlike Grant, he’s unwilling to evolve. He hasn’t yet learned the lesson of Jurassic Park, the lesson of respect. He stubbornly refuses a moment of clarity, so denies himself life-preserving character growth. This is F&G foreshadowing, essentially a misdirect. We’re led to believe it’s too late for this sinner to repent, that Hammond is doomed. But since he’s not motivated by greed (his intentions were good, after all), he will have another chance to save himself.

MORE FUN & GAMES (1:28:23 – 1:31:26):

Veggiesaurus incoming.

Grant and the kids are awakened by a Brachiosaurus feeding on the branches around their feet. Lex is terrified but Grant calms her, and Timmy does, too, by telling her it’s a “Veggiesaurus.” Grant feeds it some branches and everyone gets to pet it. Now even the kids get to experience the Promise of the Premise of the Best Case Scenario, the wonder and awe of dinosaurs in the flesh and up close.

As for Grant, he learns he can love dinosaurs and children equally, and share his love for the former with the latter. It’s not one or the other, it’s a new third way. It’s Synthesis – punctuated by an F&G moment when the Brachiosaur sneezes on Lex, covering her in dino snot. Not life threatening, but pretty gross. Timmy says, cheerfully, “God bless you!” Dinosaurs deserve God’s blessing, too.

Trekking through the forest Grant discovers some dinosaur eggs, proof that the dinos are breeding. Timmy says that he thought all the dinos were girls, and here we get to see the hero do what he does best, and in Grant’s case, it’s using his scientific knowledge of dinosaurs to solve this perplexing mystery. He tells them it must have been the use of amphibian DNA to fill in the gene sequence gaps that allowed this to happen, because some African frogs have been known to spontaneously change sex in a single-sex environment. He’s overwhelmed with the realization that natural biology creates its own miracles, and he has new appreciation for Malcolm’s assertion heard earlier that “life will find a way.”

BREAK INTO THREE (1:31:27 – 1:35:40):

This structure beat always concerns a bold new idea put into action, and the radical idea here, championed by Hammond, is to shut down all of the park’s computer systems in order to purge Nedry’s virus and reset the system. Arnold opposes it (there’s always somebody opposing every bold idea, right?), but Hammond knows it’s the only chance they have of regaining control of the park. It works, except that the main circuit breakers were tripped as a result, so a new mission is required: a foray to the maintenance shed to manually reset them. Arnold volunteers as Hammond insists the others, which include Ellie, Malcolm, and Muldoon, join him in the emergency bunker.

Blake also tells us that here the A and B Stories cross, and so we cut to Grant and the kids trekking across an open field on their way back to the visitor’s center. They are swarmed by a herd of Gallimimus, ostrich/antelope-like dinos that are moving, Grant marvels, “just like a flock of birds.” Suddenly the T-Rex crashes through some trees, gobbling down a Gallimimus right in front of the awestruck humans. Lex is horrified, Timmy’s in awe, and Grant, ever the scientist, is fascinated by how it moves and eats just like a bird. Grant would probably sit happily behind the collapsed tree where they’re taking cover content to watch the T-Rex for hours, living his paleontologist’s dream, but he has kids to protect so they beat a hasty retreat.

FIVE-POINT FINALE

Gathering the Team (1:35:49):

In the emergency bunker, Arnold has not returned, forcing Ellie and Muldoon to take on the mission of turning the breakers back on. Muldoon grabs a high-powered weapon and Ellie a walkie-talkie headset so Hammond can take her through finding the breaker boxes, all working as a team. Once they’re outside, Muldoon discovers the raptor pen breached, and he sees raptor tracks leading into the jungle. This man, an experienced game warden who’s rattled by absolutely nothing, is clearly nervous. So begins the Finale of Jurassic Park, which could aptly be titled ‘Man vs. Raptor.’ It also begins a 20-minute sequence of relentless action.

Storming the Castle (1:38:00):

Ellie sees the power shed, but Muldoon, staring unblinkingly into the tangle of palms, stops her. “We’re being hunted.” All the information we’ve learned about the danger posed by raptors dances in our heads as Muldoon says, “I’ve got her. Run! Now!” Ellie dashes for the maintenance shed and enters, breathless. Castle stormed.

Meanwhile, Grant and the kids approach one of the 30-foot-tall electric fences, over which they’ll have to climb to get back to the visitor’s center, another castle to storm. The fence appears to be offline, but when Grant grabs it and screams, the kids are terrified. That is, until he smiles impishly. Clearly he hasn’t completely shaken his perverse sense of humor, but this time it’s playful, not malicious. Lex is not amused; Timmy loves it. F&G. Even here.

Ellie makes her way towards the breakers and into the horror movie genre as she travels down dark cement corridors and into creepy dead ends. She doesn’t know it yet, but she’s inside a “haunted house” where monsters lurk. As Grant leads the kids over the fence, Ellie succeeds in finding the breakers and is instructed by Hammond how to prime and reset them. What’s truly masterful about this sequence is that it’s another case (like Timmy being caught in the tree) where the real threat is not posed by dinosaurs.

Ironically, the bold plan to bring Jurassic Park back online is at this moment life threatening to anyone on the perimeter fence, once power surges back through it. Ellie’s actions may spell the doom of her lover and Hammond’s grandchildren, another case where technology wielded blindly is potentially fatal, seamlessly linking this action to the theme. An added narrative bonus is how all stories converge here in a very tight story web, leaving out none of the main characters. Act III narrative concentration at its best.

High Tower Surprise (1:43:26):

I interpret the High Tower Surprise as a success for the forces of antagonism, usually in the form of a reversal or surprise, which almost always means a dire setback for the hero(s). Looking at things in Snyderian terms, what we have during this sequence is a series of high-octane HTSes in a row. It’s the roller coaster, the ever-escalating thrill ride. First, Ellie engages the breakers while Timmy is still on the fence. He’s electrified and blown backward into Grant’s arms and stops breathing — a harrowing HTS moment as villainous fate strikes down a child.

Ellie, meanwhile, is thrilled to see the lights in the shed blink back on, but her exultation turns to horror as a raptor claws at her through electrical wiring. From this point forward Jurassic Park fully delivers on all the conventions of the MITH genre, starting here with the staple of a solitary woman trapped by a monster in a haunted house. Arnold’s bloody arm falls on her, evidence of his death by raptor, and she barely makes it out of the shed with a reptilian demon on her heels. She succeeds in closing the door behind her, but will that be enough to contain it?

Muldoon is held rapt.

The raptors continue to prove their awe-inspiring implacableness and astonishing hunting skill. They succeed in killing Muldoon using the very tactics explicated by Grant at the film’s beginning, a decoy in front and attacking from the side (HTS). Then Grant, having successfully revived Timmy, arrives back at the visitor’s center knowing nothing about the loose raptors, which is why he parks the kids at the buffet and goes in search of Ellie. Lex then sees a raptor (actually its shadow through a raptor adorned stained-glass diorama – how F&G!) and she leads Timmy into an industrial-sized kitchen, apparently safe behind a latched door.

The problem is, raptors know how to open doors (HTS). This, of course, means the raptor Ellie left in the maintenance shed will be able to get out, so there will once again be three to contend with (off screen HTS). The one here in the kitchen is joined by its hunting partner, so now two raptors stalk the kids in one of the greatest cat-and-mouse sequences in the history of MITH movies, if not the entire history of movies, a sequence that surely feels like it will end in a gruesome HTS. However, Timmy succeeds in luring one of them inside a walk-in freezer, and as it slips on the icy floor he shuts it inside, sure to lock it in this time. One down, two to go. The other one has fallen while chasing Lex, so the kids have time to retreat to the control room where they join Grant and Ellie.

Secret Weapon/Dig Deep Down (1:53:30):

The control room’s electrical door lock mechanism has not yet been re-engaged via computer, so when the raptor appears it takes the strength of both Grant and Ellie to hold the door against it. That leaves no one to re-engage the system except… Lex, a proud computer hacker! Using her specialized knowledge she digs deep down and finds the controls for locking the mechanism before the raptor breaks through. All are jubilant at subverting what surely would have been an HTS of collective doom. She then brings up all the systems, including the phones. Grant calls Hammond in the emergency bunker: “Mr. Hammond, the phones are working. Now call the mainland and tell them to send the damn helicopters.”

Executing the New Plan (1:55:30):

The path to escape leads to the helo pad. But before Hammond can hang up the phone he hears gunshots. An off-screen HTS forces our team in the control room to climb into the air ducts as the raptor crashes through the bullet-hole weakened security glass. The tight space leads to a grating over construction platforms surrounding the centerpiece of the visitor’s center atrium, a full-scale skeletal mock-up of a T-Rex battling a Brachiosaur. The raptor has not been eluded, however, so everyone is forced to leap onto the flimsy skeletons, which buckle under the weight.

Not only is this an F&G reference to another film featuring a paleontologist, Howard Hawks’ Bringing Up Baby (which also climaxes on a toppling dinosaur skeleton), but it’s also a reoccurrence of the motif of the past echoing against the ‘new present’ as a real raptor terrorizes them while they all spin on loosened sections of dinosaur fossils. The ceiling cables supporting the structure give way and everyone topples to the floor.

Final Twist/Transformation (1:57:16):

When things couldn’t possibly get worse, of course they do: the second raptor (the one that freed itself from the maintenance shed) arrives and our heroes are hemmed in on both sides by raptors — death by raptor now appears unavoidable (imminent HTS!). Just as Raptor One is about to pounce, we have delivered unto us Deus Rex Machina – the T-Rex (employing decidedly raptor-like tactics) strikes from the side and snatches the raptor mid-pounce, making a tasty morsel of it. Raptor Two, focusing on the new threat, jumps upon the T-Rex, allowing our heroes to escape.

Though the last-second appearance of T-Rex is convenient in the extreme, it is so emotionally satisfying that it’s hardly questioned. It is also, as Blake would be quick to point out, a Transformation: T-Rex, the alpha-predator, becomes man’s unwitting protector. As monster vanquishes monster, irony helps bury narrative convenience without a trace.

Hammond and Malcolm arrive in a Jeep to meet them. Grant, demonstrating heroic F&G quipster ability, tells Hammond he has decided “not to endorse your park.” Hammond, in his moment of clarity, responds, “So have I.” Hammond has finally learned his lesson. He has learned respect. As painful as it is, he gives up his dream for the good of all, and survives.

We return to T-Rex, who heaves Raptor Two into what’s left of the skeletons, demolishing them completely. In an absolutely sensational Fun & Games theatrical flourish to the scene and the entire movie, the T-Rex has the last word: it roars in triumph, striking the exact pose, in the exact spot, where its forebears’ skeleton stood moments before, past and present echoing against each other once again as a banner falls, the words clearly visible: “When dinosaurs ruled the earth” – as they do here, now, again.

You are now leaving Jurassic Park. We hope you enjoyed your stay.

It’s a colossal moment of Convergence/Synthesis, elevated to mythic heroism by John Williams’ triumphant theme reprising on the soundtrack. Spielberg’s genius as a showman has never been so flamboyantly and yet organically on display. This image also contrasts with the Opening Image, a perfect bookend to the raptor’s eye imprisoned inside the human cage: now we see T-Rex, in all its glory, master of mankind’s flimsy domain. Bravura storytelling. Bravura filmmaking.

FINAL IMAGE (1:58:50 – 2:00:00):
Inside the helo, Hammond wistfully looks upon his amber-topped cane, thinking of how close he came to achieving an impossible dream, and at what cost. This brilliantly brings the story back to its point of origin, the humble prehistoric mosquito that provided the crucial means for the Transformations concocted in Jurassic Park. The kids nestle into Grant’s protective arms, and Ellie approves, sharing a look with her partner that speaks of how far he’s come in his emotional/spiritual B Story journey – proof of Transformation.

Finally, Grant looks through the window and sees birds soaring outside, a magnificent pelican leading the way, and so past and present echo against each other a final time as the flying dinosaur and the flying man, two species accompanying one another on the rocky road of evolution, follow the sunbeam across the ocean towards an uncertain future, together.

Matt Allen at January's "Save the Cat!" one-day event in Los Angeles

Our guest blogger, Matt Allen, has been a working screenwriter since 1999 when he and his writing partner, Caleb Wilson, sold their first spec script, Manchild, to New Line Cinema. Since then, Allen & Wilson have worked steadily for Universal, Paramount, Warner Brothers, Fox, Lionsgate, and many others. Matt and Caleb are best known for their original Vince Vaughn & Reese Witherspoon comedy, Four Christmases, as well as their adaptation for 2010’s surfing drama, Soul Surfer.

Want to create great content faster? Form a writing posse!

Let’s face it, writing can be a slow and isolating process. Most of us have more ideas than we have the time to write them. That said,  if you had a group of writers working with you toward the same goal, you’d be able to end that isolation and write a hell of a lot faster.

Think about it: television writers write fast and often with great quality. How do they do it? Episodic television is written with groups of writers who work out story, character, and dialogue in the writer’s room. A team of writer’s can brainstorm, analyze, outline, and write a story much faster than just one writer. Wouldn’t it be great if you could create your own writer’s room like they do in television? Oh that’s right — you can.

Myself and a group of five other screenwriters founded a writing team, The Job Factory, back in 2003. The experience has made me a much better screenwriter, and created opportunities that never would have existed before.

The group formed organically when our literary manager began hosting writer gatherings in his conference room after work. We’d get together once a month and pitch each other ideas that we were working on, and give notes on each other’s scripts. Some of us became fast friends, and one night we got the idea to write a movie together — six of us at the time.

We met the following weekend, talked about the movie we wanted to write, and quickly wrote a (Save the Cat!) outline for it. We liked what we came up with, and decided to write the first act right away. Saturday night we all went to our respective shitty apartments and wrote five pages each, then one of us stitched the pages together. By Sunday morning we had a 30 page “Frankenscript.”

That afternoon we had a notes session, made some adjustments and BAM! We had the first act of a feature script that was pretty damn good. So good, in fact, that we sent the pages to the Wayans Brothers. Long story short — they loved it, and three weeks later we sold the project to a studio.

The Job Factory is comprised of myself, Josh Cagan, Jon Davis, Rob McKittrick, and Caleb Wilson. Since writing that first Wayans’ script, we’ve gone on to write a couple of feature scripts for Disney, two TV pilots, and a slew of rewrite gigs. Most recently, the Job Factory wrote a short film/promo called “Bananapocalypse” for director Justin Lin (Fast & Furious 3,4,5, and 6). The promo was directed by Justin to announce the launch of his new Youtube network, YOMYOMF – You Offend Me You Offend My Family.

On top of that, we just completed our web series for YOMYOMF entitled, “Jon Davis Gets a Sex Robot,” which will premier this summer. As you can see, aside from all of our solo careers, the Job Factory has generated a lot of extra work, and it was only made possible because we are a part of the team.

Going forward as development dollars shrink in Hollywood, I truly believe that more and more movie studios will employ writing teams to speed up development and save money.

ADVANTAGES OF WRITING IN A TEAM

Speed
Most of us can write at least four or five “good” pages a day. If you’re a part of a five-person writing team, that’s 20 pages a day — minimum. Using this process, you can have a workable first draft in less than a week.

Kills the Urge to Procrastinate
For us procrastinating writers, I find it infinitely helpful knowing that if I don’t complete my task, I am letting down more than just myself. I don’t want to be the guy who doesn’t get his pages in on time. Knowing that a team is counting on you forces you to not slack off — as much.

Fun
Do you like fun? Me too. If you’re writing with people you like and respect, you’re going to have fun.

Become a Better Writer
Being forced to discuss your craft as you problem solve with other screenwriters will only help you become a better writer. On top of that, you’ll be exposed to writers who have different skill sets than yourself,  and be able to learn from them.

DISADVANTAGES OF WRITING IN A TEAM

You’re Like a Band
Writers can be passionate about their words and ideas. If your group is not creatively in sync, it could be a nightmare. When you join a group or form a group, try to make sure you have similar sensibilities, and aren’t teaming up with people who are too egotistical.

You’re Splitting Up the Money
Know that you’re doing it for the love, because splitting money five ways can be depressing.

The minor disadvantages aside, aligning yourself with other writers and forming a team is almost always a good idea. Aside from the career benefits, it will force you to keep fresh and continue to learn. Just choose your writing posse wisely, my friends.

Master Cat! Ben Frahm

After teaching a recent Beat Sheet Workshop in New York City, Master Cat! Ben Frahm and some great writers experienced a couple of breakthrough moments that really crystallized the benefit of outlining your story. Ben reports:

Using the 15 beats of Save the Cat!, students were able to identify problem areas and structural advantages before they dove in and started writing. And in figuring out some of the major turning points, it became clear that there was a tendency to overthink. To overcomplicate these beats. There’s an inclination to get caught up in the minutia of the scene or what the character is wearing or what they did earlier that day, or had for breakfast two days ago, and all the while, miss the important information of that scene… the actual beat.

Here’s an example. We looked at the movie The King’s Speech as a template for great structure, particularly on how it relates to the 15 STC! beats. And students were surprised to see that some of these major turning points and story beats were actually quite simple. For instance, Opening Image could be simplified as “KING STUTTERS.” And the Closing Image and scene could easily be put on a 3 X 5 card as “KING NO LONGER STUTTERS.”

However, it was easy to get caught up in some of the other details of those beats. The date that the movie took place. The wardrobe of the King. The peripheral characters present. What time of day was it? What country were we in? Was there a war going on at the time? Is the King really a soccer fan in the beginning? But all the while, we neglect the important information… the essence of the beat.

And in doing so, students were able to realize that it’s important to boil down your beats. To clean out all of the extra information and focus on the bare bones of what is actually happening. What’s moving the story ahead? And what is the most important information that can be captured in only a few sentences on a 3 X 5 card (or your nifty virtual card in the STC! software).

And to our surprise, once this was digested, the outlines of the students’ stories immediately improved. They became clearer. More focused. And there was a lot less superfluous information. The writers started focusing on the necessity of the beats and how they served their overall stories.

So… in looking ahead… keep it simple. Find those simple 15 beats that your story’s structure rests on… and keep all of the detail and minutia and extra information… for the actual writing of the script.

Don’t let those details get you stuck in the beginning. Move ahead. And look at the big pieces. Because that’s what makes for good, clear beats. And ultimately what allows for a well-structured, impactful story.

Keep the beats SIMPLE!

The poster for “For Sale By Superhero”

Guest blogger Jamie Nash and his writing partner Pete Barnstrom were great friends of Blake. He would be so thrilled at the success they’ve had, especially their latest. Their path to Amazon offers a new way to bring your screenplay to life:

People of the Cat-i-verse! Greetings! I’m thrilled to share with you a project that has Blake’s fingerprints all over it — For Sale By Superhero — a test movie created by Amazon Studios (yeah, those zany book people!) from a script written by Pete Barnstrom and Jamie Nash (uh…me).

For Sale By Superhero is a family comedy about an unemployed father who discovers that his new house is really the former secret headquarters of a deceased superhero and decides to assume the hero’s identity in order to win back the respect of his family.

It’s very “Blake-ian.” Pete and I were Save the Cat! fans before the Cat was cool. Back in the day, Blake used both of us as guinea pigs for his Cat-ideas as he was secretly toiling away in the laboratory on his influential first book. For Sale wouldn’t have been made without Blake’s mentorship and methodologies. As collabers, Pete and I speak “Cat’”(meow?). Not a day goes by without uttering about popes in pools (especially this week!), Double Mumbo Jumbo, and debating “leaving out the news.”

When I met Blake back in the early aughts, I was a writer who had found most of his luck in the horror genre; Blake was the guy that made me curious about trying my hand at the family/4-quad world. And I’m glad he did. I have several projects in development in that world, including two at Amazon Studios.

Amazon Studios has an open submission policy where anyone can privately post feature scripts (television too) on their website to be read and evaluated by their professional readers. If they like what they read, they’ll option it for $10,000 and put it on their dev-slate. Pete and I had For Sale optioned last year (and I have another script The Detourist over there too) and were hired to do a couple of rewrites (and you’ll be happy to know their development folks also spoke “Cat!”) for Amazon Studios before they greenlit our “test movie.”

Amazon likes to prototype their properties using storyboards, concept art, and test movies. Test movies, like For Sale By Superhero, are a rough draft way to put a story on its feet. They’re kind of “living storyboards” or animatics. The Amazonians create them to further develop scripts and to gauge how the stories are working for audiences.

The end goal is to create an actual feature film. Amazon currently has a first look deal with Warners. They’re doing TV over there as well, with similar terms. They have several pilots in production right now. So, if you’re interested about learning more about this whole New Media wave go over to Amazon Studios.

But in the meantime check out the Test Movie of For Sale By Superhero and see if you can find the Catalyst, Dark Night of the Soul, Five-Point Finale, etc!

Or watch it on Amazon Prime in glorious HD.

As Blake would say, “Enjoy the show!”