The “Save the Cat!” beat in any movie, novel, or story is that moment when we meet its hero and he does something “nice” — like save a cat — that makes us like him and want to root for him.

It is, I’m finding, a ritualistic turning point, a truly magical event when we in the audience “step into the shoes” of, and become, the hero.  And because of that, his story now becomes our story.

Though it doesn’t have to be that bald a moment, it must be considered in any type of communication —  in a 30-second commercial, a political ad, a YouTube short, or even a speech one is giving to an audience.  And we see textbook examples at the movies all the time!

Will Smith “saves a lion cub” in I Am Legend; Steve Carell “pats a dog” in the early moments of the recent Get Smart; and Robert Downey Jr. tries to “save his pals” in the beginning of Ironman.  

The “Save the Cat!” moment is also seen in a 30-second spot for Kentucky Fried Chicken when a harried stay-at-home Dad or Mom, who wants to make a well-balanced meal for the kids — but doesn’t have time to cook —  comes to the rescue with a family fast food favorite; or when a politician cites good deeds done in the service of others; or when a radio talk show host tells his listeners a self-deferential story that compels those listening to “identify,” and thus, stay tuned.

For that very small consideration, we as an audience think: “I’m like that! I’m rooting for him!”

And there are a million more variations on how to do this that aren’t so obvious, too.

There is the “Kill the Cat!” moment I point out in Save the Cat! Goes to the Movies in regard to Reese Witherspoon’s character Elle Woods in Legally Blonde.  When Elle learns that her boyfriend, Warner, is not only not going to ask her to marry him (”I want a Jackie and not a Marilyn”), Elle is essentially smooshed. Up till then, Elle is just verging on annoying, put down for being blonde — and kind of deserving the label! But from this moment on, we want Elle to win. Why? Because we too have been “smooshed” in life and readily identify with wanting to get some sense of justice.

Another method is “Save the Cat! by proxy.” Often a hero in a film will not be likeable on the surface, but there may be someone in his or her circle whom we do trust, who makes a statement of support. In What Women Want, in the introduction of the “ladies man” Mel Gibson plays in that film, there is a sense the narrator can’t help liking this lovable rogue, and by proxy so must we!

There is also “Kill the Cat! by proxy” wherein a not so likeable guy is hated by someone who is worse — and that is its own recommendation for liking an “unlikeable” hero. A classic example of this is found in Pulp Fiction when we meet John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson, killers, but made lovable not only by their funny patter, but the fact that there is someone who is worse! Marcellus (Ving Rhames) tossed a fellow hitman off the roof for giving Marcellus’ wife a foot massage. In this universe, we now know, there are degrees of badness, and our guys aren’t the gold medalists.

Recently, in The Dark Knight, I’d argue that the “Save the Cat!” moment comes when we meet Batman, by definition the moodiest and most depressed of superheroes, who is fighting not only criminals, but the citizens of Gotham who hate him and call him a “terrorist.” The caped crusader even runs afoul of Batman lookalikes with guns who are true vigilantes. Poor Batman is so under the thumb of others, so misunderstood, so put down and despised, we expect him to throw in the cowl? But he doesn’t. He is either a glutton for punishment, or maybe worth pulling for?

Heroes like this are worth following for awhile… if only to learn why they do what they do!

As I point out in both books, and hopefully in my workshops, and soon-to-be-available recordings too, the mistake is to not care about this first step in getting any act of communication off the ground. Storytelling is like building a case in court. We start with an audience who knows… nothing.  What do we want them to know? What do we need them to know to keep their interest?  

All stories are like this: an argument, a debate about a particular theme or “moral to the story.” What are we trying to say — and who will be our spokesman?  Whether it’s a classic hero, anti-hero, non-human hero (WALL-E), or even if it’s just us — someone making a speech, or the person trying to get across a point of view in a debate or in court — we must be conscious of an audience who isn’t standing in our shoes and must be brought along in order for them to do so.

I’d be interested in any new ways to embrace the “Save the Cat!” moment. As storytellers, communicators, and proclaimers of opinion, any time we can share an insight we all benefit.

And there is always a new way to skin… or save… a cat!

P.S. A quick note of thanks to everyone at the Romance Writers of America conference this weekend! I’d especially like to thank Erin Fry who arranged for my appearance, Jenny Gardiner (author of the hilarious Sleeping with Ward Cleaver) who introduced me and was the moderator for my event, Nina Bruhns (author of the award winning Night Mischief) who helped me prepare my presentation, and all the deee-lightful writers who made me feel so at home! It was great fun!

My relationship with RWA started in 2007 when I was asked to speak to the Seattle branch in January, and ever since, my interactions with this fabulous group has encouraged me in my efforts with screenwriters, too. As organized as I’d like to be with our Cat! groups, and as pro-active as I hope they become in creating and marketing their scripts, we have a long way to go to match the efficiency, good feeling, and positive results found by members of this fine national organization.

This Saturday I will be talking about everything I’ve learned from Romance Writers and everything Hollywood, as perceived by the Save the Cat! method, can give Romance Writers in terms of concept, structure, and that mysterious “it” that separates great stories from the merely good.  

Yes, I will be revealing “The Secret” that elevates storytelling of all kinds to a higher plane.  

But I would not have been quite so clear about this had it not been for my work and interaction with RWA members.

In fact, my “Five Point Finale” was crystalized thanks to this interaction. One of the features of this weekend’s speech will be the 15-point beat sheet of a well-known Romance novel, by one of its best known and most admired authors. It was in trying to figure out “Act Three” of the Nora Roberts’ novel, Born in Fire, that I kept bumping my head on the discovery that there seemed to be a second “All Is Lost” moment in that finale.  

Like any great love story, it’s about what I identified in Save the Cat! Goes to the Movies, the motto of every Buddy Love tale: “My life changed for having met another!” And in the third act of Born in Fire, there was a loss of this potential boon for the heroine, and a moment when it was taken away. In exploring other Romance novels, I found the same; it seemed to be what the story was really all about. 

But it’s more than that.

As the heroine of Roberts’ novel discovers, and what love stories focus on, is this basic, but terrifying, dilemma: You are the one person who understands me exactly as I want and need to be understood.  I do the same for you. And yet there is something that is keeping us apart. Our primal fear in any love story is: What if I extend myself and you don’t take my hand? What if the one person who can save me, who can make sense of everything in life that hasn’t, won’t recognize me in the same way? 

And yet the risk is worth it. That’s Act Three of most Buddy Love stories: the fear of loss of this amazing, life saving thing I’ve discovered. 

I know it exists, but can I keep it?

Not only does this fear of loss inform love stories, but every story. It’s why Romance is the number one most successful genre in publishing with half — that’s half! — of all paperbacks published devoted to this “simple” conundrum. It’s why the “Five Point Finale” is generally part of every Act Three. 

What I marvel at, both for screenwriters and novelists, is the fact that we can re-tell these easy to understand stories in a million ways — and each time out, if we’ve done our job, they remain as fresh as the first time we heard them.  It’s why my teeth grit every time I hear someone decry “formula” applied to what we do. It’s usually leveled at us by someone who really doesn’t know that it’s a combination of the familiar and the new that is so difficult to pull off — and must be if we are to succeed!

It’s why people line up around the block to see the latest “good versus evil” tale and why bookstores are filled with buyers hoping to be informed and transported by a love story.

Story is everywhere. And as storytellers we find clues to our own tales, and better ways to tell them, from many different sources. We recognize these patterns in fiction and in life, in novels and in movies, in 30-second commercials, in a blogger’s rant, or in a message in a fortune cookie.

Here’s yours: Greatness comes to those who know that God is in the details.

THE WRONG SIDE OF THE TRACK poster

We’ve just received this email from filmmaker Dave Sharkey in Seattle:

“So what do you do when you have no way to prepare, only 48 hours to write, shoot, edit and master a 8 minute movie to DVD? You turn to Save the Cat! Software and the big board, of course. My name is Dave Sharkey, a Seattle Producer, and I’m an alumni of TheFilmSchool in Seattle, WA, where John Jacobson introduced us to Save the Cat method & software. A group of TheFilmSchool alumni (including myself) and a few other Seattle filmmakers competed in the 48 Hour Film Contest as a team called “Remote Viewing Apparatus.” We were able to secure the Seattle Monorail for our location thanks to help from the Mayor’s Office on Film & Music, but we knew the secret to success would be a great script. It’s about the STORY.

Our goal was to use what we had learned to make the best story complete with 3 acts, beats, & conflict in 8 minutes. Well, at 7 p.m. Friday, we drew Romance as our Genre, nail file for a prop, the line: “What time do you get off?”, and the character: Mike Jordache, a paparazzi. We used the Save the Cat software set to 7 pages, set the genre to Buddy Love and followed the revised beat sheet. Then we set up the board on the table, and handed out blank 3×5 cards to brain storm. It was a great tool to work as a group while keeping us focused on the beats. We had a complete script by morning, and thanks to a great cast & crew, we wrapped at 10 p.m. Saturday. The editors took over and by Sunday, we had created the short, Wrong Side of the Track, shot entirely on the Seattle Monorail.

We received an email yesterday that our entrée won the Audience Award for our showing. It will be up on the contest site www.48hourfilm.com in a couple of weeks. Thanks for the Save the Cat method & the software - it really works.”

They had both seen the hit summer Pixar movie WALL-E and wondered if the hero, the lead, the namesake of the movie, does something  we screenwriters try our darndest to make happen for all our heroes:

Does Wall-E arc?

The story of WALL-E  finds its tin hero alone until he falls for a slinky fembot he goes to the ends of the universe to win. But the question is a good one, and speaks to the qualifiers of both heroes and arcs.  

It’s not about being metallic. Another animated feature, Robots, starring the voice of Robin Williams among others, gave its clanky characters personalities, and a full-on saga of an underdog (under robot?) sent to the big city to make good. Haley Joel Osmond in the Spielberg/Kubrick collaboration, A.I. Artificial Intelligence, starred as a human playing a robot, but faced similar WALL-E -like questions from audiences who wondered why we followed Haley to the end of time to see if he would be reunited with his “mother.” If a hero is by definition not alive, can we still root for him? Artificial emotions can be as relevant as real ones — a topic explored in Philip K. Dick novel-to-films like Blade Runner, and to a lesser degree, Minority Report. But we are not as interested in the philosophical debate as we are in what this means for the rules of storytelling.

What makes us root for someone — what makes us want to see him win?

For animators trying to bring life to inanimate objects, it’s all in the eyes. Emotion is found in the window to the soul; it’s The Margaret Keane Effect (the kitschy artist known for little ragamuffins with big ocular orbs). In the movie Cars, the Pixar hit from two summers ago, the entire windshield of each character was devoted to the eyes, and each cars’ grillwork was elasticized to enhance their expressions and further anthropomorphize the cast. And there was rooting interest a plenty for star voice Owen Wilson in what is essentially “Doc Hollywood with automobiles.”

“Arc” is another matter. It’s a term that  basically means change. If the whole point of a story is to show transformation in a hero, if the only reason we get it is if something happens, then it would seem to be a must.

We have seen human characters who by design aren’t allowed to arc, do so. In Being There, Peter Sellers as cipher Chauncy Gardener does not cry at the start of the movie when his benefactor dies, but does  shed a tear when Melvyn Douglas passes away at the end.  Does Chauncy arc? Catalyst figure Rain Man (Dustin Hoffman) has a similar moment at the end of that film when he rests his head on Tom Cruise’s shoulder, but is that a character change or an involuntary reaction? And the “save the stag!” moment Helen Mirren experiences toward the end of The Queen humanizes and affects the real life character depicted as “cold” until that moment in the woods,  a fortuitous urging that leads to a third act change in Royal policy — and maybe a personal change in the title character.

This is not a small debate. As big a success as WALL-E is, it isn’t generating the kind of buzz as last year’s Ratatoullie. And as funny and wonderful an entertainment as it is, we have to wonder if we write inanimate characters, is making them capable of change — as well as root-able — a prerequisite?

Does WALL-E arc? is a question I’d prefer to let the brilliant minds on this site chime in on. It’s a puzzle we need to solve. The mystery of how to create, enhance and exploit rooting interest in our heroes is not only an exacting science, it’s essential to the discussion about any story we write.

And one only we humans can decide!

Spoiler alert: let’s take look.

The Set-up finds Gotham plagued by a new crime wave, and Batman (Christian Bale), still dark after all these years, bugged by Comic-con copycats and getting no respect as usual. The Stasis = Death is clear early on: Mansion-less, friend-less, tired of the grind – if things don’t change, Bruce Wayne will “die.” 

Catalyst comes when the Joker’s criminal actions are brought to the attention of Batman and the world, and after some Debate about how he will enter the fray, Batman “takes the case” at the Break into Act Two.

Fun and Games follow with Joker running amok among the crime world, rising to fame as Batman tries to catch up. Each of Joker’s appearances top the last; he is pure evil. The stakes raise at a Midpoint party (amazing) when the Joker appears in Bruce Wayne’s world and the two meet for the first time. The midpoint cross of A and B, however, involves Bruce, and Rachel (Maggie Gyllenhaal) and Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart).

Harvey (and by extension Rachel) is the B Story, the “helper story” that will help Batman “get” what this latest crime spree is really all about. Harvey is the soul that Batman and Joker battle over, and tear right down the middle, literally, when he becomes “Two Face” in a really lovely — and gruesome — twist.  

This “worse off than when this movie started” moment occurs right on schedule at All ls Lost with the death of Rachel and the maiming of Harvey, followed by a classic Dark Night of the Knight when the world’s most famous butler (Michael Caine) finds Bruce slumped in his chair wondering, what’s it all about, Alfie? 

But because superheroes are compelled to do right, even at the risk to, and sacrifice of, themselves (check out Chapter 10 of Save the Cat! Goes to the Movies), Batman must stop Joker in the Finale that is textbook “Storming the Castle.” Its “Dig, Deep Down” beat comes as a result of a “divine intervention” when, given the chance to blow up a boatload of prisoners to save themselves, Gotham citizens choose not to. Yes, there is a Good. And there is a reason to fight the Evil that is Joker — even if it means more self-sacrifice — and even if Joker never dies. That after all is the point, and the eternal problem: Batman will always be on call.

So, riding off into the Dark Knight, hounded by hounds, Batman will just have to keep doing what he does. But he’s been oddly re-booted for the task, and given proof, thanks to Harvey and the citizens of Gotham, that there’s a reason good is good. And no copycat can take on the task that Batman now must face alone.

It’s not the car chases, it’s not Heath, it’s not the cool new motorcycle… it’s the story.  Plot and theme are blended together as the A and B stories, and for a so-called comic book movie, it’s “about something.”  

Now regarding Batman’s voice…

Opportunity!

Booming! That describes the movie business. Hollywood does it better than any entity in the history of storytelling. Enlarge your tents — and tent pole movies! There is more audience than we can squeeze into theaters! Recession? What recession? Perhaps it’s times of trouble that lead to greater ticket sales — that has always been the accepted wisdom.

My theory is we’re just creating and marketing our stories better than ever before. The intersection of art and commerce is widening to include more of us, and whether we are veterans with movies already in the works, or fresh-faced aspirants striving for our first brass ring, there are more chances for success than we can gather into one bushel basket.

While the cineplexes loaded up with ticket buyers this weekend, I got to speak to a really generous and receptive audience of writers thanks to Pam Binder, who’d heard me speak earlier in the year and arranged to have me come back up to Seattle for yesterday’s talk. The PNWA is mostly about books — fiction and non-fiction — but one of the theories sweeping the weekend conference was how screenplay structure can inform any kind of writing.  And when it comes to codifying what that is, I think Save the Cat! explains the movie template more easily than any other method.

I spoke for 90 minutes and yes, my new suit was a hit! But what I really loved were the questions from writers —  what a smart group! By the time we were finished, I felt that I’d made a few hundred new friends — and hopefully new converts to this common-sense structure.

What’s it all about? 

Communication.

Tell me your story.

But bring me into your world as if I don’t know anything about what’s on your mind — because I don’t.

Have compassion for me, your potential ticket buyer or reader, who really wants to give you the benefit of the doubt, but will only give you my attention as long as you intrigue me with a grabber of a headline, a hero, or theory I can identify with — and a progression of ideas that lead me from one stop to the next in solving “the problem” you told me about up front.  

How do my old ideas die for having come along with you, and how have you replaced the old with something truly new, and a little bit divine? Every story, essay, or argument must have that spark, that life-giving and mysterious bolt of  lighting that renews my faith — and leads me to something I never dreamed possible.

There is no ceiling on the number of movie theaters we can pack with ticket buyers, and no boundaries on our creativity, whether we are movie writers or novelists, short story tellers or essayists supreme.  If you can communicate, your horizons will have to be raised and readied with greater expectations. 

There are no limits — and no time like the present — to expand our skills and enlarge our tents!

I’m having flashbacks to perhaps the best summer of my life, 1989. Then as now, the WGA writer’s strike had just ended, I was hot on the trail of figuring out how I would go on to sell a big spec that fall, and I was excitedly looking forward to seeing Batman. The more things change, the more they… now I remember!

That summer, 1989, the crowd for Tim Burton’s Batman was huge, and when the lights came down and the hoots began in my local theater (a beaut of a movie palace called The Arlington in Santa Barbara, California that I talk about in Cat! 2), I felt “a part of” an industry that was booming. I’ll never forget that moment.

Like you I anticipate that same chill sitting and watching the latest Batman installment this summer, which looks to be the greatest opening ever, and as before, signals a very healthy business sector. In a time of uncertainty in many industries, the entertainment business is robust… and looking for new ideas. This summer we’ve had two films crack the $300 million dollar mark — Indiana Jones and Ironman — and these have made the several $100 million dollar hits seem like they’re just doing okay. 300 is the new 100. The new measure of success, the bottom rung of ringing in a certified hit has been raised.  And so has ours.

But it also signals the same thing it did for me in 1989… “they” have plenty of money to buy my script!

Yes, there have been setbacks, such as the recent pullout of financing for Paramount’s slate of films; we’ve also been troubled by an actor’s strike that is still not settled. But overall, all over the world, we want to be entertained. And those that can figure out how to draw big crowds into theaters will never stop working.

I love the business of creativity, because whether we are screenwriters, novelists, advertising copywriters and marketers, or even politicians (all readers of this blog, and all with a vested interest in telling a better story), the creative challenge we face every day never ceases to fascinate. And in particular I love being part of a film industry that’s always trying to reinvent itself, find new talent, and bring it into the fold of the greatest entertainment engine ever invented. Whether we begin with a franchise and try to give it a new spin, or start from scratch with our own endeavors, it’s a business that’s always looking for the next hit.

And we are the ones who can provide it.

The business of  communication is constantly evolving and growing; new means of getting our ideas out there such as IMAX — to the giant side — or YouTube —  to the minute — are different, but the same. And an audience for our efforts is waiting to line up around the block.  All we have to do is deliver.

The next big rush of spec sales this fall will indicate if you too are inspired by this challenge. Ever raising the bar, and ever changing the nature of what a “hit” really means, is an opportunity for all of us to play.

Do let’s!

And when I settle into my seat and watch this latest Batman, I know I will feel especially satisfied to still be “a part of” a legacy of storytelling , and that we will write the next chapter ourselves.

Screenwriter Mark David Hatwood

One of the first Save the Cat! seminars took place in a castle in England. It’s true. That class at the Cornwall Film Festival was held on the grounds of an amazing medieval estate. It was there I met so many writers who would become my friends, and the first to hear me say: “You can do it!” — even while jet-lagged. Just heard from one of the writers I met there, Mark Hatwood, who’s finally seeing his screenplay come to life.  Marcello Marcello is a charming tale of a boy’s first love and, as the poster below indicates, will be premiering on the “big screen” (and that is not hyperbole)  August 12th at the International Film Festival of Locarno, Switzerland. The showing will be on the Piazza Grande on what is literally the biggest screen in the world and a potential crowd of 5,000. Mark writes that Save the Cat! “has become my bible” and wanted to keep us up to date as I had requested. I am truly impressed with Mark’s achievement and wish I could be there to say: Bravo! Best of luck, Mark, and thanks for keeping in touch!

The Marcello Marcello Poster

]]> http://www.blakesnyder.com/2008/07/mark-and-marcello/feed/ http://www.blakesnyder.com/2008/07/how-to-sell-a-script/ http://www.blakesnyder.com/2008/07/how-to-sell-a-script/#comments Mon, 14 Jul 2008 22:50:36 +0000 Blake http://www.blakesnyder.com/?p=330 We had a fantastic workshop in Austin, Texas, this weekend. Twelve strangers walked into the room Saturday morning and by Sunday afternoon each stood before their colleagues and pitched their story perfectly! And each had an honest-to-gosh winner of an idea: clear, concise, and sizzling with possibility! 

I love this class! I run to teach it whenever we have one scheduled and really look forward to it all week. I love the creative exchange, love to see projects get better over the course of 48 hours, and I LOVE it when a suggestion for a script — a scene or a plot point — comes flying across the room from another writer.  

It literally gives me chills when a great title, concept, and story come together. I am high for a week afterward thinking of how each will develop — for from that simple starting point, a great screenplay can begin. From that little acorn of a logline, everything we need to turn it into a mighty oak is right there!

It’s the story’s DNA!

I love the intersection of art and commerce. Saturday night, I had a chance to take a break and meet writer Mark Hacker and producer J.R. Ghaddar of Counter Clockwork Films. Both have ties to Hollywood and the business world, but have chosen to set up shop in Austin. The city is brimming with talent and energy. And Mark and J.R. are great examples of creative people putting their skills to the test — and winning.

How do I get an agent? How do I sell my script? How do I get my script in the hands of producers who will be interested? These are questions writers ask me all the time, and I’ve been there. I struggled to find an answer, fought the despair of the sound of “one hand clapping,” hung in there to discover what it took to get a sale.

Would you believe me if I told you that the way to sell a script is to do everything that is outlined in Save the Cat! Start with that killer idea! Pitch it! Get permission to continue and execute it in a way that satisfies. How many attempts will it take before you too “take a dollar from the man” (my favorite saying)? That is only a byproduct of how good you can get at formulating your ideas, writing better scripts, and getting them in the hands of those who are as excited about the intersection of art and commerce as you are.

But we are doing it! We are connecting to others who can help, sharpening our skills, networking through our writer’s groups and here on the site. And the person who is most excited about your success is me!

I want you to sell your script! I want you to have every tool, connection, skill set, and experience you need to get where you want to go. Tune in to this site each week and take a look around, from the Forum to the News section, to our classes, to our writer’s groups, we are succeeding. And if you have a question I can help you with, write me directly at blake@blakesnyder.com This is your best year ever! You are next!

And when you succeed you must pass on your experience and tell others How to Sell a Script!