FRIDAY'S SCRIPT TIP:
START WHEN THE STORY STARTS
In the first ten pages of a screenplay you
need to tell us:
1) Who the lead character will be.
2) What the story is going to be about.
3) What the external conflict of the script will be
(plot).
4) What the lead character's emotional problem will
be.
5) Plus get to the concept.
You have to have your lead character up and running by page
ten. That means you have to have that lead character introduced
and involved in some sort of conflict... and you need to involve
the audience in your protagonist's problems so that we care
whether he resolves them or not.
Don't you hate the way MTV has changed movies for the worse -
we are no longer allowed the proper amount of time to learn about
the character like in the good old days. Everything is so fast
paced now! Movies were better back in the good old days because
they weren't in such a hurry to get started...
Hey, let's look at one of those good old movies! The elegant
Cary Grant and the epitome of class Grace Kelly starred in the
romantic thriller TO CATCH A THIEF way back in 1955. Most of
hadn't even been born back in 1955 and a few of you can claim
that your PARENTS hadn't even been born when this film was made.
TO CATCH A THIEF has that leisurely 1950s pacing that allowed the
audience to really get to know the characters. Here's what
happens in the opening ten minutes of TO CATCH A THIEF...
Film opens with a woman screaming. Her jewels have been
stolen.
From 0:12 to 1:00 (minutes) We cut between cats on rooftops and
women screaming that they've been robbed.
At 1:00 there is a police meeting, ending with 5 policemen sent
to arrest John Robie (Cary Grant).
At 1:30 We see Robie's maid cleaning up... and the black cat.
At 2:00 Robie hears the police car racing towards the villa.
After he sees the police car, he runs inside.
At 2:50 the 5 policemen pull up, surround the villa.
At 3:25 Robie loads his shotgun, hides it.
At 3:50 Robie talks to the police - they're here to arrest him.
He says he's innocent - they don't believe him. He asks if he can
change...
At 4:30 Robie goes into the bedroom... and the shotgun fires!
The police rush the door (locked).
At 4:50 we see Robie on the roof of the villa.
At 5:00 the police break down the door - the bedroom is
empty.
At 5:10 the police hear a car roar away and run out of the
bedroom - the chase has begun!
From 5:10 to 7:20 there is a car chase - the police chasing
Robie's car around hairpin turns. There's a sheep obstacle, too.
When they catch up with the car - it's driven by Robie's maid!
The police turn around and go back to the villa.
At 7:20 Robie flags down a bus and goes to town.
At almost 8:00 Robie arrives at the restaurant. Everyone there
hates him - one guy throws an egg at him. The restaurant staff is
made up of ex-criminals who fought in the resistance with Robie.
They fear the police will arrest them for Robie's recent
crimes.
At 9:30 Robie tells the restaurant owner that he hasn't stolen a
piece of jewelry in 15 years - he's INNOCENT, wrongly
accused.
At 10:00 one of the guys breaks a plate - ready to attack Robie
with the jagged edge.
I think that covers everything you need to do in the opening
ten pages of a film made in the 1950s... or today! Plus it's an
exciting opening. We get a car chase, almost get a fight, have a
clever escape from the police... plus we learn about Robie, set
up the plot conflict in an exciting way, and I want to know how
he's going to convince the police that he's innocent when even
his friends think he's guilty... and have turned against him.
In my HOOK EM
WITH YOUR FIRST TEN PAGES Blue Book I have several examples of
movies from the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s that have exciting opening ten pages. If you
were to take your ten favorite classic films, you'd find that most of them start when the
story starts.
I've said in previous tips that a good scene does several things at once - you need
to have scenes that work on more than one level - that expose or establish character,
that move the story forward and contain plot information, and that are entertaining and
exciting. Your first ten pages needs to do all of those things in order to engage the
reader & audience - you can't start the story on page 11 if the script starts on page 1!
MY BLOG!
SCRIPT SECRETS STORE - time to monkey around!
Can't wait to see MICHAEL CLAYTON again? Think BRAVE ONE wasn't nearly as well written as DEATH SENTENCE? Did you hate the end of 3:10
TO YUMA... or love it? Be heard:
Movie Discussion!
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