5 examples of primal desires in movie storytelling
1. The desire to save one’s family (Die Hard)
2. The desire to protect one’s home (Home Alone)
3. The desire to find a mate (Sleepless in Seattle)
4. The desire to exact revenge (Gladiator)
5. The desire to survive (Titanic)
9 rules for finding and fixing weak spots in a script
1. Does my hero lead the action?
2. Do my characters “talk the plot”?
3. Is the bad guy bad enough?
4. Does my plot move faster and grow more intense after the midpoint?
5. Is my script one-note emotionally? All drama or comedy?
6. Is my dialogue flat?
7. Do my minor characters stand out from each other?
8. Does the hero’s journey start back as far as it can go?
9. Is it primal?
15 points of a screenplay beat-sheet (with page numbers)
1. Opening image (1)
2. Theme stated (5)
3. Set-up (1-10)
4. Catalyst (12)
5. Debate (12-25)
6. Break into Two (25)
7. B story (30)
8. Fun and games (30-55)
9. Midpoint (55)
10. Bad guys close in (55-75)
11. All is lost (75)
12. Dark night of the soul (75-85)
13. Break into Three (85)
14. Finale (85-100)
15. Final image (110)
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