Screenwriting 101 by Film Crit - FILM CRIT HULK

Choose your reading experience: FULL HULK ALL CAPS VERSION Bruce Banner Sentence Case Version SCREENWRITING 101 BY FILM CRIT HULK! INTRODUCTION BY EDGAR WRIGHT EDITED BY MEREDITH BORDERS COPY EDITED BY LINDSAY MAHER COVER BY YANNICK BELZIL FILM CRIT HULK WAS CREATED IN A CHAOTIC LAB EXPERIMENT INVOLVING GAMMA RADIATION, THE GHOST OF PAULINE KAEL, AND TELEPODS FOR SOME REASON. NOW HULK HAS A DEEP AND ABIDING LOVE OF CINEMA WHEREIN HULK RECOGNIZES THE INHERENT VALUES OF POPULAR, NARRATIVE, OR EXPERIMENTAL STYLES! THROUGH A UNIQUE JOURNEY, HULK HAS ENDED UP WORKING IN HOLLYWOOD FOR OVER A DECADE AND NOW WRITES ABOUT CINEMA AND STORYTELLING IN THOROUGHLY HULK-SIZED FASHION. AND NOW YOU HOLD IN YOUR HANDS / HAVE ON YOUR SCREEN / WHATEVER IN YOUR WHATEVER, THE FIRST EBOOK BY FILM CRIT HULK. THE ONLY THING IT MEANS TO BE IS HELPFUL. FOR MAMA-HULK BECAUSE SHE WAS THE GIVING TREE. INTRODUCTION. HULK MUSE. HULK PONDER. HULK BEAUTIFULLY ARTICULATE THE JOY OF CINEMA. You won't like him when he's angry, but you will love him when he's passionate. Film Crit Hulk makes all other cinematic commentary look very puny indeed. Marvel as he pounds the CAPS LOCK button to properly expound his love for cinema. Imagine Pauline Kael caught in a gamma bomb blast and you will realise that in the desert of cinematic connoisseurs, Film Crit Hulk is the strongest one there is! In 1962, there once was a puny scientist with no love of the movie or regard for critical theory of cinematic arts. Then one fateful day, this non-cineaste was hit with massive amounts of radiation and transformed into a lumbering beast with superhuman strength, great invulnerability, but also with a newfound appreciation for classic storytelling, spatial awareness and genres of all form. This writer of this book may only transform into the brutish green goliath in the dark of the movie theatre. His change into a passionate mass of movie loving can only be triggered by the release of adrenaline when intensely engaged or enraged by the images before him. The green goliath of the movie theatre possesses none of his human counterparts’ snobbiness, making him the ideal creature to appreciate the highs and lows of cinema. Hulk will feast on the studio popcorn and arthouse carrot cake with the same voracious appetite. Just do not talk during the feature presentation or dare check your iPhone at any point, for you may be swatted into the parking lot. Film Crit Hulk bats away other movie buffs with their endless lists they think constitute as articles, and brings the essay back to roaring life. Why would you want to read other literature about cinema with its simple use of uppercase and lowercase characters? Film Crit Hulk knows that a true love of cinema CAN ONLY BE FULLY EXPRESSED WHEN USING THE CAPS LOCK BUTTON. WHY READ SMALL-MINDED FILM CRITICISM WHEN YOU CAN STAND IN AWE OF HULK'S GARGANTUAN LOVE OF THE MOVIES. I give this book two Hulk Hands up. WAY UP. Edgar Wright, 2013 - PREFACE SO YOU WANT TO WRITE A SCREENPLAY? BEFORE YOU DO, KNOW THIS: IT REQUIRES A GREAT DEAL OF EFFORT AND DEDICATION. A LOT OF THESE SCREENWRITING BOOKS LIKE TO FILL YOUR HEAD WITH FALSE PROMISES AND EASY TRICKS. BUT IT’S SO DAMN FAR FROM THE OBVIOUS TRUTH: BECOMING A TALENTED WRITER TAKES A LONG TIME AND A LOT OF HARD WORK. THEY ALSO CONVENIENTLY FORGET TO MENTION THAT THE ODDS ARE AGAINST YOU. THERE ARE OVER A MILLION SCRIPTS ALREADY FLOATING AROUND HOLLYWOOD. HULK HAS READ, OH... A COUPLE THOUSAND OF THEM. AND NEARLY EVERY SINGLE PERSON HULK MEETS IN THE FILM INDUSTRY ALREADY HAS A SCRIPT OF SOME SORT. NOT ONLY DOES THE SHEER VOLUME OF SCRIPTS MAKE IT DIFFICULT TO DISTINGUISH ONESELF IN THIS CLIMATE, BUT SO DOES THE FACT THAT THERE ARE ALREADY A VAST NUMBER OF TALENTED, PROFESSIONAL WRITERS IN NEED OF WORK. SO GIVEN ALL THESE CRIPPLING ODDS, WE SHOULD ALL JUST GIVE UP, RIGHT? WELL, NO. YOU’RE NOT HERE READING THIS BECAUSE THAT REALITY BOTHERS YOU. AND THAT’S THE THING ABOUT THE MOVIES: THEY’RE WONDERFUL. THEY’RE THE IMAGINATION OF STORYTELLING MADE TANGIBLE. THEY’RE OUR DREAMS MADE REAL. WHO WOULDN’T WANT TO BE A PART OF ALL THAT? BUT WITH CINEMA BEING SO POPULAR AND WITH THE OMNIPRESENCE OF TALENTED WRITERS, YOU WOULD THINK HOLLYWOOD WOULD BE KNEE-DEEP IN GREAT SCRIPTS, RIGHT? WELL, THE OBVIOUS PROBLEM IS THEY MOST DEFINITELY ARE NOT. THUS, HULK WILL AUGMENT THE PHRASING OF THAT PROBLEM AND ASK A DIFFERENT QUESTION OF YOU: WHY DO MOST MOVIES HAVE MAJOR SCRIPT PROBLEMS? QUITE FRANKLY, THE ANSWER LIES IN A LOT OF INDUSTRY BULLSHIT. NOW, HULK ISN’T HERE TO PARSE OUT AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE STUDIO SYSTEM, BUT JUST UNDERSTAND THAT THERE IS A GOOD DEAL OF PUTTING THE CART BEFORE THE HORSE SO TO SPEAK. SO MANY MOVIES PRESS ON BEFORE THEY EVEN REALLY HAVE A STORY, JUST HOPING THEY’LL FIGURE IT OUT LATER... BUT LIKE HULK SAID, THIS BOOK IS NOT ACTUALLY ABOUT SUSSING OUT INDUSTRY PROBLEMS. NOR IS THIS BOOK ABOUT WRITING SCREENPLAYS THAT SELL, OR POP, OR TELL YOU HOW TO PITCH TO A STUDIO. HULK WOULD NEVER FALSELY ADVERTISE TO YOU IN SUCH A MANNER. WHILE THESE ELEMENTS ARE CERTAINLY IMPORTANT TO BEING A “SUCCESS” IN HOLLYWOOD, THEY ARE NOT AN IMPORTANT PART OF BECOMING A GOOD WRITER, SO THEY WILL ONLY BE A TANGENTIAL PART OF WHAT WE SHALL DISCUSS HERE. IN FACT, HULK WOULD ARGUE THAT IF YOU ONLY POSSESS THE ABILITY TO SELL, POP AND PITCH, THEN YOU CAN ONLY HAVE THE KIND OF SUCCESS THAT DOES NOT LAST. HULK WRITES A BOOK LIKE THIS IN AN ATTEMPT TO CONNECT. IT FOSTERS A SOLIPSISTIC SENSE OF INDEPENDENCE. BUT PLEASE KNOW THIS BOOK IS NOT MEANT TO BE SOME AUTHORITARIAN RANT ON HULK'S PART. THE KNOW-HOW. TO SHARE. WITH EITHER LETTER OR ROMAN NUMERAL SUBHEADINGS. OR ITS EFFECT ON THE AUDIENCE. THIS BOOK IS ABOUT LEARNING THE WAYS TO CREATE ANY KIND OF STORY YOU WANT BY USING STORY MECHANISMS AND CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING. FOR THE ART OF STORYTELLING. THERE IS ONLY THE SAME LONESOME STRUGGLE TO EXECUTE ONE'S IDEAS. THIS BOOK IS MEANT FOR WRITERS FOR EVERY SINGLE LEVEL: . STILL. AND IF YOU'VE BEEN THROUGH THAT STRUGGLE.” IT IS MEANT TO BE HELPFUL TO YOU. SO THE FOLLOWING GARGANTUAN SEVEN-PART BOOK IS HULK'S HUMBLE ATTEMPT TO TRY AND SHED SOME LIGHT ON HOW TO BECOME A BETTER WRITER AND STORYTELLER. HULK IS NOT AN IDEOLOGUE AND THIS IS NOT ABOUT “HOW THINGS SHOULD BE DONE. AND EVER-LASTING. WHETHER WE DISTILL IT IN TERMS OF THE IDEAS. SO AS MUCH AS ANYTHING. HULK HAS TRIED TO MAKE THE STRUCTURE OF THIS BOOK AS EASILY DIGESTIBLE AND SIMPLE TO NAVIGATE AS POSSIBLE. THEN YOU KNOW THAT IT IS A SHAM FOR ANY WRITER TO REPRESENT THEMSELVES AS AN AUTHORITY. AND IT IS CONSTANT. THE BOOK'S HULK-SIZED-NESS IS INFORMED BY THE SHEER MASS OF THE SUBJECT ITSELF. NOTHING MORE. PERVASIVE. MEANWHILE. AS SUCH. FROM KNOWING THE SAME STRUGGLE THAT ALL WRITERS GO THROUGH. NOTHING LESS. AND AS EXPANSIVE AS OUR OWN UNIVERSE. THE FIRST HALF OF THE BOOK DEALS WITH IMPORTANT CONCEPTUAL ISSUES AND TAKES A GREAT DEAL OF (NEEDED) TIME TO WAX PHILOSOPHICAL ON THE STATE OF MIND AND PURPOSE ONE NEEDS TO APPROACH STORYTELLING. BUT THE LAST HALF OF THE BOOK IS (THANKFULLY) RATHER PRACTICAL IN TERMS OF HOW TO APPLY THOSE CONCEPTS TO CREATE A METHODOLOGY FOR YOURSELF AND HONE THE CRAFT. WHICH CAN ALSO BREED A SENSE OF CONTEMPT. TO NOT FEEL LIKE WE ARE SO ALONE IN THE PURSUIT. THE BOOK WILL CERTAINLY NOT HAVE SUFFERED FROM A LACK OF EFFORT. MOST OF THE SUBJECTS ARE LISTED BY CHAPTER NUMBER. KNOWING HOW TO WRITE LASTS. AND LIKE MOST HULK PIECES. IT IS TRUE OF ALL OF US. IT MAY ALL SEEM LIKE A LOT. THERE’S JUST TOO MANY CONCEPTS TO BOTH LEARN AND UNLEARN BEFORE YOU ARE READY TO REALLY START. AND WHATEVER SHORTCOMINGS THIS APPROACH HAS IN TERMS OF PONTIFICATION. IS AN ART THAT IS AS VARIED AS OUR OWN LIVES. HULK BELIEVES THIS STRUGGLE IS TOUGH ON WRITERS BECAUSE IT MAKES FOR A SOLITARY LIFE AND TRYING BATTLES WITH ONE’S OWN MIND. THE MOTIVES FOR WRITING IT ARE BORN FROM A GENUINE SENSE OF CAMARADERIE. BUT THAT IS VERY MUCH THE POINT: TOO MANY SCREENWRITING BOOKS PARSE OUT OVER-SIMPLICITIES THAT DO NOTHING BUT MAKE YOUR WORK FEEL MORE RESTRICTED AND MORE LIKE EVERYONE ELSE’S. IT MAY EVEN SEEM TO DIVE HEADLONG INTO NUANCE AT THE COST OF DIRECT CLARITY. THIS BOOK IS ALSO MEANT FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NO INTEREST IN SCREENWRITING WHATSOEVER. THIS IS ABOUT LEARNING HOW TO WRITE SCREENPLAYS THAT WORK.. EVEN CERTIFIED GENIUSES CAN SOMETIMES OVERLOOK SOME MISSING ELEMENT A SCRIPT MAY NEED IN ORDER TO FULLY ELEVATE THEIR STORY. BECAUSE ULTIMATELY THIS ISN'T ABOUT THE PATH TO SUCCESS. OR INDUSTRY SECRETS. <3 HULK . AND YES. BUT COULD ALWAYS BENEFIT FROM SEEING THE IDEAS MADE PLAIN.. AND WORKING PROS WHO PERHAPS KNOW MOST OF THESE THINGS ALREADY IN EITHER A CONSCIOUS OR UNCONSCIOUS MANNER. BUT ARE JUST CURIOUS ABOUT THE WRITING PROCESS AND HOW IT AFFECTS WHAT THEY SEE ONSCREEN. OR SOME ETHEREAL CONCEPT OF IMPORT. INTERMEDIATE.INTRODUCTORY. IT’S STILL NOT ABOUT “GETTING THINGS MADE” PART FOUR – HOW TO APPROACH A SCREENPLAY - CONCEPTUALLY 7.1 – THE LAW OF CAUSE AND EFFECT 7. STORY 18 – THE JJ ABRAMS QUESTION: MYSTERY? VS.2 – EMPATHY IS YOUR NEW BEST FRIEND 8 – BEWARE THE LURE OF INDULGENCE! 9 – VALUE THE CONSISTENCY OF CHARACTER MOTIVE 10 – CHARACTER TREES 11 – DON’T BASE YOUR CHARACTERS ON ONE PERSON. URGENCY! 19 – DON’T OVER-MYTHOLOGIZE 20 – EVERYTHING YOU WRITE IS INHERENTLY SAYING SOMETHING 21 – DON’T WRITE WOMEN JUST IN THE CONTEXT OF MEN 22 – THE VALUE OF PREEXISTING CONFLICT 23 – THE ENDING IS THE CONCEIT PART FIVE – HOW TO TELL THE STORY - STRUCTURALLY 24 – ECONOMY IS YOUR SECOND NEW BEST FRIEND 25 – THE MYTH OF THE 3 ACT STRUCTURE 26 – WHY WE HAVE TO QUIT IT WITH THE HERO JOURNEY SHIT . COMBINE THEM 12 – HOW TO FILTER YOUR REAL LIFE INTO STORYTELLING 13 – DO NOT JUST WRITE THE STORY OF YOUR LIFE WITH THE LINES YOU WISH YOU SAID! 14 – DO NOT WRITE “YOURSELF” AS THE MAIN CHARACTER 15 – THE BIOPIC/REALITY COMPLICATION 16 – RESEARCH! 17 – DRAMA VS. SERIOUSLY. - TABLE OF CONTENTS PART ONE – WHAT IS A STORY? PART TWO – WHERE TO FIND INSPIRATION PART THREE – 6 THINGS HULK WISHES HULK KNEW A DECADE AGO 1 – GET YOUR LEARN ON! 2 – NO. GET YOUR LEARN ON… 3 – WHAT YOUR EXPERIENCE MEANS FOR THE STATE OF YOUR OWN WORK 4 – THE SCRIPT MATTERS 5 – WHY YOU STILL NEED TO BE ABLE TO TELL AN ORIGINAL STORY 6 – BUT REMEMBER. . PART 2 - MERGE INTO CONFLICTING ARCS 35 – LEARN YOUR GENRE CONVENTIONS! 36 – “PAGE 17” 37 – IF YOU USE CHARACTERS. PART 1 - BREAKING INTO CONCURRENT ARCS 34 – M. I) A BLATANT MOVIE-STOPPER II) SOMETHING THAT ONLY SEEMS CONFUSING IN RETROSPECT III) AN EVENT THAT SIMPLY OCCURS OFF-SCREEN IV) A LOOSE END (THOUGH IT CAN BE) V) A REAL-LIFE INACCURACY 46 – WRITING IS RE-WRITING 47 – WHEN & HOW TO DISREGARD THESE GUIDELINES PART SIX – HOW TO WRITE A SCREENPLAY (SCRIPT-SPECIFIC INSTRUCTION!) .S.F..A.A. THEY SHOULD LIKELY BE REUSED 38 – HOW TO ACTUALLY USE DEUS EX MACHINA 39 – BEWARE THE OPENING FLASH-FORWARD 40 – DON’T TRY TO BE “COOL” 41 – DON’T FUCK WITH THE AUDIENCE JUST TO FUCK WITH THE AUDIENCE 42 – THE MODERN DIFFICULTY OF RELATIVISM 43 – ADAPTATION 44 – SPEC SCRIPTIN’! 45 – HOW TO APPROACH PLOT-HOLES AND MOVIE LOGIC A PLOT-HOLE IS NOT.S. VI) DON’T BLATANTLY USE THE ELIXIR REMEDY / DEUS EX MACHINA VII) DON’T THINK “THE RETURN” ONLY MEANS THAT CHARACTERS SHOULD COME HOME AT THE END VIII) DON’T USE “CUZ DESTINY!” IX) WRAPPING IT ALL UP 27 – THE SEQUENTIAL APPROACH 28 – TREY PARKER + MATT STONE’S “THEREFORE / BUTS” NOT “ANDS” 29 – DAN HARMON’S CIRCLES 30 – VLADIMIR PROPPISMS! 31 – THE SNOWFLAKE METHOD 32 – INDIVIDUALITY AND HULK’S “MULTI-ACT FLOW STRUCTURE” 33 – M.F.I) DON’T MAKE PEOPLE HEROES SIMPLY BECAUSE THEY ARE THE MAIN CHARACTERS AND THEY ARE GETTING CALLED TO AN ADVENTURE! OR SOMETHING II) DON’T HAVE THE CHARACTERS REFUSE THE CALL FOR THE ENTIRE DURATION OF THE MOVIE III) DON’T OVER-RELY ON THE WISE OLD CRONE IV) DON’T MISTAKE THE NOTION OF TRIALS AS THE HERO FIGHTING A BUNCH OF THINGS V) DON’T JUST FALL BACK ON MEETING THE GODDESS / WOMAN AS TEMPTRESS FOR YOUR FEMALE ROLES. SHOOTING SCRIPTS (AND HOW IT AFFECTS ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING) 51 – KNOW IT IS BEING READ BY EVERY KIND OF PERSON 52 – THE GOLDEN RULE OF DESCRIPTION 53 – OH BY THE WAY. 61 – FEEDBACK – GET A THICK SKIN AND EXPECT OTHERS TO HAVE NONE 62 – LETTING GO PART SEVEN – NOW HERE COMES THE HARD PART ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ENDNOTES & BIBLIOGRAPHY .” “LIKES.” AND “YOU KNOWS” II) YOU WANT CHARACTERS’ DIALOGUE TO BE MORE CLEAR AND ON POINT THAN YOU’D ASSUME III) YOUR CHARACTERS CAN’T ALL TALK THE SAME WAY 60 – READ YOUR ENTIRE SCREENPLAY OUT LOUD… MANY TIMES.48 – YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND GRAMMAR AND SENTENCE STRUCTURE 49 – SCREENPLAY FORMAT BASICS! I) HEADER II) ACTION LINE III) CHARACTER IV) DIALOGUE V) CHARACTER PARENTHETICAL VI) DIALOGUE PARENTHETICAL VII) TRANSITION VIII) OVER BLACK IX) SCENE NUMBERS 50 – SUBMISSION SCRIPTS VS. YOU ARE NOT THE DIRECTOR 54 – THE POETIC ART OF ACTION LINES 55 – WRITING ACTION SCENES! 56 – DON’T WASTE OPPORTUNITIES TO SAY SOMETHING 57 – AND IF YOU WANT TO BE COLLOQUIAL… 58 – VOICE-OVER… PERHAPS TRY NOT USING IT… 59 – THE PRACTICAL ART OF DIALOGUE I) ELIMINATE THE FOLLOWING IN DIALOGUE: “UMS. ESPECIALLY TO THE PEOPLE WE LOVE. ANGER. THINK ABOUT HOW THAT OUTRIGHT CLARITY MATTERS. SUBSTANTIAL WAY. AND IT’S PROBLEMATIC WHEN WE TRY TO SIMPLIFY THE SHEER TOTALITY AND RANGE OF MOST OF THESE CONCEPTS. BUT RARELY DO WE TRY TO ACTUALLY DEFINE THEM IN A SINGULAR. AND DEFINING “A STORY” IS SO HARD BECAUSE STORIES CAN HAVE SO MANY DIFFERENT PURPOSES. IF THE ALIENS WERE ASKING FOR A DEFINITION OF LOVE. TO EMBRACE THAT RANGE MEANS NOT CATERING TO A SIMPLE ONE-OFF LINE LIKE "LOVE MEANS NEVER HAVING TO SAY YOU'RE SORRY. PERHAPS BECAUSE THESE WORDS TEND TO CAPTURE ENORMOUS EMOTIONS. SO HOW DO WE NARROW IT DOWN? FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS BOOK." BUT INSTEAD CONSIDERING EVERYTHING THAT THE CONCEPT TRULY MEANS. LIFE IS FULL OF THESE OBVIOUS WORDS THAT WE CAN DEFINE SO EASILY. LIKE. BUT LET'S TRY AN EXPERIMENT: DEFINE “A STORY” IN A SINGLE SENTENCE. HULK CALLS THESE KINDS OF DEFINITIONS “WORKING DEFINITIONS” AND THEY ARE A TRULY LOVELY THING. THE WORD ITSELF IS SO UNBELIEVABLY DEXTEROUS. HAPPINESS. .. HULK WILL MOSTLY BE NARROWING OUR FOCUS TO THE KIND OF STORYTELLING WE CALL NARRATIVE. WE USE THOSE WORDS EVERY SINGLE DAY OF OUR LIVES. FULL-ON NARRATIVES. AND THAT MEANS GIVING YOU A DEFINITION THAT HELPS YOU BEST APPLY THE IDEA IN A CONCRETE. SO IMAGINE IF ALIENS LANDED ON THE PLANET AND THE FATE OF THE HUMAN RACE DEPENDED ON YOUR CLEAR EXPLANATION OF WHAT A STORY IS. CLEAR WAY. AND COME ON. AND LUST (CAN'T FORGET LUST!). BUT HULK WANTS TO DO A SILLY THING WITH YOU HERE AND TRY TO DEFINE THE WORD STORY. RUMORS. YOU SEE. HULK BELIEVES THAT SOMETIMES DEFINITIONS SHOULDN’T BE ONLY ABOUT ACCURACY OR CONCISION. THESE WORDS CONTAIN MULTITUDES. FEELINGS SO BIG THEY CAN TAKE OVER OUR ENTIRE BODIES. BUT INSTEAD ABOUT APPLICATION (TAKE NOTE AS THIS WILL BE A RUNNING THEME WITH HALF THE TERMINOLOGY USED IN THIS BOOK). 60% OF THE THINGS WE SAY AND DO. NEWS ARTICLES.” BECAUSE THEY’D BE SUPER CONFUSED AND PROBABLY ENSLAVE US OR WHATEVER. THEY CAN BE ACCOUNTS OF FACTS. WE COULD JUST CALL A STORY "ONE OF THOSE THINGS PEOPLE TELL" AND BE DONE WITH IT. IT'S HARDER THAN IT SEEMS. LEGENDS. YOU COULDN’T TELL THEM “LOVE MEANS NEVER HAVING TO SAY YOU’RE SORRY. AND NARRATIVES ARE ONLY SOMETHING THAT HUMANS HAVE BEEN CREATING SINCE THE FREAKIN' DAWN OF CULTURE. IS IT? AND THAT’S WHAT MATTERS. BUT THAT'S NOT VERY HELPFUL.. "NEVER HAVING TO SAY YOU'RE SORRY?" A GOOD DEAL OF US SHOULD BE APOLOGIZING FOR. JEALOUSY. YEAH. CONCEPTS LIKE LOVE. BACKGROUND INFORMATION. THEY ARE BORN FROM THE NEED TO COMMUNICATE THE MOST .PART ONE - WHAT IS A STORY? YOU INSTINCTIVELY KNOW WHAT HULK MEANS WHEN HULK SAYS THE WORD STORY. BUT IT IS STUNNING HOW OFTEN WE FORGET THIS. ABSTRACT SITUATION DESIGNED TO IMPART LESSONS UPON YOUTH. THE VERY FIRST STORIES WERE FABLES: A HYPOTHETICAL. AND THEY COULD JUST BE LIKE "DO THIS!" OR "DO THAT!" BUT THAT TENDS NOT TO WORK VERY WELL. AND THAT SUCKS BECAUSE THAT’S NOT THE PURPOSE OF STORIES. ELDERS SPEAK TO YOUNGIN’S. WE BUILT LANGUAGE. AND SHAPES OF AUDIENCES HAVE CHANGED MANY TIMES OVER THE COURSE OF HISTORY. EVERY DAY. IT DOESN’T EXPRESSLY NEED TO BE SOME LONG-WINDED TALE. OUT OF OUR NEED TO USE LANGUAGE TO BEST COMMUNICATE IDEAS. FROM THERE. IT SHOULD BE THE VERY POINT OF YOUR STORY. FROM THERE. PURPOSE. INACTION. NARRATIVES MEAN SO MUCH TO OUR CULTURE. PAINTED. THEY MAKE OUR HUMANITY SOMETHING TANGIBLE. FORMATS. “Okay. WROTE. WE CREATED NARRATIVES. OUT OF OUR NEED TO TELL AND INFORM. WHY IS THIS HISTORY IMPORTANT? BECAUSE IT TELLS US WHY WE STILL DO IT. BUT THE STUNNING IMPORTANCE OF NARRATIVE HAS ALWAYS REMAINED. THINK ABOUT IT. AGAIN. BUILT AROUND CAMPFIRES AND COMMUNAL EXPERIENCE. NOT JUST BECAUSE THEY INVOKE A BASIC SENSE OF MORALITY. FROM THERE WE MADE SYMBOLS. OR HOW OFTEN OUR MODERN SENSIBILITIES THUMB OUR NOSES AT ANYTHING THAT TRIES TO SAY SOMETHING MEANINGFUL OR EARNEST. THE UNIVERSAL TROPES AND DEVICES INVOLVED IN THESE NARRATIVES HAVE STAYED INTACT AND REMAIN WHOLLY RELEVANT FOR GOOD REASON: NARRATIVES ALLOW US TO COME TO A SENSE OF UNDERSTANDING ABOUT LIFE AND OUR FUNCTION WITHIN IT. PARENTS TRY TO TEACH THEIR CHILDREN HOW TO LIVE. WHICH FIRST SPRANG UP AS PART OF THE ORAL TRADITION. CONSEQUENCE. ACTION. AND THIS SHOULD BE YOUR PURPOSE IN STORYTELLING. BUT BECAUSE THEY MAKE OUR VERY HUMANITY SOMETHING UNDERSTANDABLE. AND THE MEDIA. IT'S ALL THERE. TEACHERS INSTRUCT THEIR PUPILS. IT’S MORE OF A CONDITIONAL WAY TO CONVEY MEANING. IDEALLY. THIS WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS NECESSARY FOR US TO OPERATE. THEY MAKE IT SOMETHING FELT. THEY CAN CONVEY SO MUCH MORE THAN MERE INSTRUCTION. THEY SPREAD TO EPICS AND NOVELS AND POEMS AND PLAYS AND NOW WE FIND OURSELVES ROOTED IN THE GLORY OF CINEMA. IT SHOULD BE YOUR PURPOSE. THE PLATFORMS MAY HAVE CHANGED. AFTER ALL.RUDIMENTARY CONCEPTS OF SURVIVAL. WHATEVER IT IS THAT YOU WANT TO COMMUNICATE TO BOTH THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU AND FUTURE GENERATIONS SHOULD NOT JUST BE WHAT EXISTS IN YOUR STORY. BUT THE PURPOSE HAS REMAINED THE SAME SINCE THE ORIGINAL FABLE: TO DEMONSTRATE CAUSE AND EFFECT IN THE FORM OF ABSTRACTION IN ORDER TO PROVE SOMETHING TRUE ABOUT OUR HUMAN EXPERIENCE. we get it Hulk! Narratives are important! We know that! That’s why we are here reading!!!” . FABLES GREW INTO MYTHS AND HERO STORIES AND FAIRY AND FOLK TALES. AND HULK HONESTLY THINKS IT’S ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS WE CAN DO. DOES IT? BUT BY TAKING THE SAME POINTS AND ENVELOPING THEM WITHIN A STORY. THE PROVERBIAL AUTHOR. JUST THAT WE STILL NEED TO BE REMINDED WHY WE ACTUALLY DO THIS STORYTELLING STUFF IN THE FIRST PLACE. AS WE GET OLDER IT BECOMES EASY TO FORGET THAT. BUT WHEN YOU DO GO OUT OF BOUNDS IT HAS TO BE FOR A REALLY GOOD REASON. IT BECOMES OUR DUTY TO INSTEAD PASS ON THAT MEANING. YOU CAN'T LOSE SIGHT OF ALL THE THINGS A GOOD STORY NEEDS. THEY GET TO SEE THE ONGOING CYCLE OF HIGH SCHOOL KIDS ACROSS THE COUNTRY DISCOVERING THE SAME BIG IDEAS THAT YOU DID IN HIGH SCHOOL AND THEY HAPPEN TO FEEL JUST AS REVOLUTIONARY AS THEY DID FOR YOU. OKAY. IF YOUR STORY IS REALLY CONCERNED WITH THE THEMATIC MEANING OF A GIVEN SCENE IT CAN INDULGE IN SOME ASPECTS THAT ARE NOT WHOLLY CRUCIAL FOR STORY ECONOMY. BUT CRITICAL TO OUR FUNCTION. THESE ARE MOMENTS THAT SHAPE OUR LIVES AND CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD AROUND US. SURE THAT GOOD REASON MOSTLY DEPENDS ON WHAT MATTERS TO YOU. AND WHILE THE JOY OF INTELLECTUAL DISCOVERY TENDS TO HAPPEN LESS AND LESS FREQUENTLY IN ADULTHOOD. OF COURSE. SORRY! HULK JUST HAD TO MAKE IT CLEAR IN CASE IT WASN'T. THEY’LL SPEAK TO THAT POWER. THERE IS. SOME FOLKS JUST THINK A STORY IS SOMETHING TO PASS THE TIME. OR YOU. AND THAT’S NOT TO SAY THAT IT CAN’T ULTIMATELY BE A LIGHTHEARTED THING. FOR INSTANCE. LIKE PLATO DESCRIBING THE CAVE. SOME AMOUNT OF WIGGLE ROOM WHEN IT COMES TO HOW SUCCESSFUL EACH OF THESE ELEMENTS NEEDS TO BE IN RELATION TO EACH OTHER. DETAIL. SO LET'S JUST GO FOR IT! HERE HULK PRESENTS A WORKING DEFINITION OF IDEAL STORYTELLING: A GOOD NARRATIVE IS COMPELLING TO THE AUDIENCE. WE USE OUR CONSIDERATE AND THOUGHTFUL MINDS TO PASS THE TORCH OF UNIVERSAL TRUTHS AND DO OUR BEST TO DISTINGUISH THEM FROM THE SHADOWS. BUT HULK THINKS IT'S SAFE TO SAY THAT EVERY GREAT FILM DOES CAPTURE ALL OF THESE ELEMENTS IN SOME WAY. A GOOD STORY DOES ALL OF THOSE THINGS. BUT IF YOU ASK A DOZEN ENGLISH TEACHERS ABOUT THE PURPOSE OF STORIES. SORRY. ECONOMICALLY TOLD. GOOD FRIEND. FEELS REAL EITHER IN TERMS OF EMOTION. THERE’S A NEGOTIATION TO ALL OF THIS. AND IF WE CAN FUNDAMENTALLY AGREE THAT STORIES ARE BOTH IMPORTANT AND HAVE A PURPOSE… THE REAL QUESTION BECOMES: WHAT MAKES A GOOD NARRATIVE? IS IT SOMETHING THAT INVOLVES YOU? IS IT SOMETHING THAT IS WELL-REALIZED? THAT FEELS HONEST AND REAL? THAT IS CRAFTED WITHOUT EXTRANEOUS EXCESS? THAT GETS YOU TO LEARN SOMETHING YOU NEVER KNEW BEFORE? OR IS IT SOMETHING THAT SPEAKS TO SOME BASIC TRUTH THAT YOU NOW RECOGNIZE IN YOURSELF? THE CORRECT ANSWER IS "YES." WHY YES. OR . WE TEND TO LOSE SIGHT OF JUST HOW AMAZING THE SIMPLE LESSONS IN A STORY CAN FEEL. THE CYCLE IS NOT ONLY CONSTANT. THE PROVERBIAL AUDIENCE MEMBER. INTERESTING. AND SOUL (WITH RESONANCE). gee. . AND RESONANT. BODY (VISCERALLY). REGARDLESS OF OUR ABILITY TO ACTUALLY LIVE UP TO IT. but I don’t even know where to begin… I mean… what kind of stories do I even tell?” WELL.TEXTURE. SO WHY WOULDN’T YOU WANT YOUR OWN STORIES TO DO THE SAME? HULK IS ALL ABOUT EMBRACING THE HIGH STANDARD. ARE YOU TRYING TO BE COOL INSTEAD OF COMPELLING? ARE YOU TRYING TO BE DISAFFECTED AND EDGY INSTEAD OF AUTHENTIC? ARE YOU BEING DISINGENUOUS TO THE WORLD YOU'VE CREATED IN THE NAME OF A QUICK FIX? HECK. ASK YOURSELF. A WELL-TOLD. INSTINCTIVELY KNOW WHAT MAKES STORIES GOOD AND HOW THEY WORK. NOT RESTRICTIVE. PROVERBIAL READER WHO LIVES IN HULK’S BOOK. TA-DA! AND ALL HULK HAD TO DO WAS CHEAT WITH A LONG. HULK WON’T INHERENTLY EXCLUDE ANYTHING FOR LACKING A COMPONENT. THE KEY IS SIMPLY TO BECOME AWARE OF WHAT YOU ALREADY KNOW. YES. “Okay. BUT PLEASE REMEMBER IT IS NOT MEANT TO BE EXCLUSIVE OR LIMITING OR INFLEXIBLE. COMPELLING ONE WILL STILL FEEL REAL. AND SPEAKS TO SOME THEMATIC TRUTH THAT YOU RECOGNIZE IN YOURSELF OR THE WORLD AT LARGE. MEANING THE DEFINITION IS MEANT TO BE BOTH PRACTICAL AND AN INSPIRATION. SILLY SENTENCE THAT WAS JUST A LIST OF THE STUFF HULK SAID EARLIER. JUST SIT DOWN AND LOOK AT THAT DEFINITION AGAIN. IT’S INSTEAD AN IDEAL MODEL FOR HOW TO TELL THE BEST POSSIBLE STORIES. THEN LOOK AT YOUR OWN STORIES. YOU. ARE YOU AT LEAST TRYING TO DO ALL THE THINGS YOU NEED TO FIT OUR WORKING DEFINITION OF A GOOD NARRATIVE? AND THE ANSWERS TO THESE QUESTIONS WILL TELL YOU EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW. IT’S JUST THAT HULK TENDS TO RECOGNIZE THAT ALL THE BEST STORIES ARE MULTIFACETED. AND THE BEST STORIES SPEAK TO YOUR MIND (THEMATICALLY). NO MATTER HOW TECHNICALLY "UNTRUE" A STORY MAY BE. HULK WOULD LIKE TO SUGGEST THAT YOU IMPLICITLY KNOW STORIES. COMPLEX. Thanks Hulk for the big definition there. THIS DEFINITION SETS A HIGH STANDARD FOR EXECUTION. NO MATTER WHO YOU ARE. YOU KNOW THEM IN YOUR BONES. ARE YOU EVEN THINKING ABOUT WHAT YOUR STORY SAYS ON A LARGER THEMATIC LEVEL AT ALL? IN TOTAL. YOU'VE SEEN / READ / HEARD THOUSANDS OF THEM. THE IDEA ITSELF SHOULD BE A THROUGH-LINE THAT SAVES YOUR SCRIPT THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS. ORGANIC AND RATHER PERSONAL.PART TWO - WHERE TO FIND INSPIRATION FOR SOME PEOPLE. THEY ARE CONCEPTUALLY THE SAME THING. HALF-WRITTEN SCREENPLAYS. HULK COULD GIVE YOU THE THOROUGHLY BAD (AND RATHER POPULAR) ANSWER OF SAYING "STORIES ARE ALL AROUND YOU! YOU JUST HAVE TO LOOK FOR THEM!" BUT THAT DOESN'T REALLY HELP NOW. STORIES AND INSPIRATION ACTUALLY ARE EVERYWHERE. AND A LOT OF HARD WORK. WHEN YOU ARE IN THE SLOG OF WORKING OUT THE LOGISTICS. BECAUSE THE GERM OF YOUR IDEA CAN BE THE THING THAT MUST CONSTANTLY LIGHT THE FIRE UNDERNEATH YOU AS YOU GO FORTH. A FINISHED FILM IS AS CLOSE TO THE INSPIRATION THAT SPAWNED IT AS THAT ORIGINAL SCRIBBLED NOTE ON A NAPKIN. YOU MUST FIND THAT SAME INSPIRATION. SURE. HULK THOUGHT THE KEY TO INSPIRATION WAS HAVING THE ABILITY TO DECIPHER A STORY THAT WAS WORTH TELLING VERSUS ONE THAT ISN'T WORTH TELLING… BUT THAT WAS WRONG. EVEN A LITANY OF SMALL IDEAS WRITTEN ON NAPKINS AND SCRAPS OF PAPER. CONSIDER THE FACT THAT HULK HAS TONS OF IDEAS AT THE MOMENT AND THEY EXIST IN VARIOUS FORMS: BRAIN STORMS. FULLY-WRITTEN SCREENPLAYS. NO MATTER HOW MUCH THEY MIGHT HAVE CHANGED. SO THAT MEANS THE REAL KEY IS UNDERSTANDING HOW TO TAKE THAT INSPIRATION AND MAKE IT MANIFEST AS “STORY. THE HARDEST PART OF WRITING IS FINDING INSPIRATION. INSPIRATION IS LARGELY A MYSTERIOUS PROCESS THAT IS. TO THE CREATOR. PATIENCE. BUT THE REAL KEY IS TRAINING YOUR BRAIN HOW TO RECOGNIZE THIS INSPIRATION AND APPLY IT READILY. FOR FAR TOO LONG. SHORT STORIES.” SO THE FIRST THING WE HAVE TO DO IS DECIPHER WHY THE MOMENT OF INSPIRATION ITSELF REALLY MATTERS. ANYTHING IN THIS UNIVERSE CAN BE A STORY WORTH TELLING. WHERE TO GET THAT IDEA WRITTEN ON A NAPKIN? THE GERM OF THE IDEA? THE VERY FIRST THING THAT YOU WRITE DOWN? THE ANSWERS TO THOSE QUESTIONS ARE SO ETHEREAL AND VAGUE THAT IT IS ALMOST FOOLISH TO REALLY . BUT EVEN THEN. NEVER FORGET THAT. PERVASIVE. OUTLINES. TELEPLAYS. THE PROBLEM WITH HULK TRYING TO HELP YOU FIND INSPIRATION IS THAT INSPIRATION SORT OF HAS TO BE… UM… NATURAL. NOVELS. AS AN INDIVIDUAL. BY ITS NATURE. WHAT THIS PERSONAL INFORMATION IS MEANT TO IMPLY IS THAT THE RELATIVE "DONE-NESS" OR FORM OF THE PROPERTY HAS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH THE IDEA AND CONCEPT ITSELF. AND EVEN DOWNRIGHT SUFFOCATING TO THE POINT WHERE YOU WON’T BE ABLE TO KEEP UP. THE MOMENT OF INSPIRATION IS BOTH YOUR MOTIVE AND MOTIVATION. AND IN DOING SO IT WILL BECOME CONSTANT. IT CERTAINLY CANNOT BE FORCED. AND TO UNDERSTAND HOW YOU. FIND THAT INSPIRATION TAKES PRACTICE. BUT SOMETHING THAT CAN WORK AS A BACKBONE FOR THE ENTIRE PROCESS OF WRITING. AS LONG AS YOU KNOW HOW TO BEST TELL IT. IT'S NOT JUST THE STARTING POINT. EVEN IF THE PROJECT RADICALLY CHANGES. DOES IT? EVEN IF THE STATEMENT IS WEIRDLY TRUE. ANYTHING IS THE VERY PURPOSE OF ART. MINDLESS ENTERTAINMENT WE THINK THEY CRAVE. IT’S A BIT OF A FORGOTTEN ELEMENT IN ALL THIS. WHO FEEL IT IS DIDACTIC. OF COURSE. HULK ALSO REJECTS THIS NOTION. BUT. BUT LET’S TRY THE MOST LITERAL AND CONCRETE FIRST. BOTH ARE NARRATIVES THAT SERVE THE SAME PURPOSE OF INFORMING LIFE. YOU CAN BEMOAN THE RISE OF REALITY TV AND SAY THAT IT’S NOT SAYING ANYTHING BECAUSE IT’S CLEARLY FULL OF FALSE AND MANUFACTURED STORYLINES. A CHALLENGING NOTION THAT PREVENTS US FROM PLACATING AUDIENCES WITH THE DUMB. HUMANITY CREATES NARRATIVES.TRY AND ANSWER IT. BUT AS A CULTURE WHO WATCHES IT. WE GIVE THINGS MEANING AND VALUE AND IMPORT. AND NARRATIVE IS THE BEST VEHICLE IN THE WORLD FOR CONVEYING MEANING. WE STILL ASSIGN SOCIALIZATION AND NARRATIVE TO REALITY TV ALL THE SAME. BUT AS HULK ALLUDED TO IN PART ONE. SO HULK WILL NOW ASK YOU A BETTER QUESTION: WHAT COMPELS YOU? THERE ARE A LOT OF DIFFERENT AVENUES YOU CAN GO DOWN WHILE TRYING TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION.. FOR SAYING SOMETHING. ESOTERIC. PRETENTIOUS. FOOLISH AS IT MAY BE. ISSUE-BASED LEVEL: ARE YOU CONCERNED WITH PROBLEMS FACING OUR NATION’S YOUTH? THE CONDITIONS OF FARM ANIMALS? CROOKED POLITICIANS? THE UNSUNG PLIGHT OF NURSES AND OTHER PEOPLE TRYING TO DO GOOD IN A BUREAUCRACY? CORRUPT PRACTICES OF CORPORATE BUSINESS? MUNDANE HEROISMS? GENDER INEQUALITY? SEXUAL POLITICS? REALLY. PEOPLE TALK OF THE MOTIVES OF THE KARDASHIANS THE SAME WAY WE DO THE MOTIVES OF THE HIGHEST FICTION. IT’S SO GOOD IT CAN DO IT INCIDENTALLY.. WHAT DO I HAVE A STRONG OPINION ABOUT? THE FUNNY THING IS THAT PEOPLE USE THESE TOPICS IN MAKING DOCUMENTARIES .” AND THERE MAY BE AN INTELLECTUAL CHASM BETWEEN THE SUBTLETIES OF THAT KIND OF SHOW AND THE PINNACLE OF ART. HULK DISAGREES WITH THIS IDEA. BUT IT IS RATHER EASY TO FORGET THAT WE’RE EFFECTIVELY DOING THE SAME THING WITH BOTH PROPERTIES. HULK WANTS TO HELP YOU. HULK WILL START WITH A QUESTION: WHY DOES IT SEEM LIKE SO MANY MOVIES AREN’T TRYING TO SAY ANYTHING THESE DAYS? … PROBABLY BECAUSE A LOT OF MOVIES AREN’T TRYING TO SAY ANYTHING THESE DAYS. SO HULK’S GOING TO DO HULK'S BEST HERE AND TRY TO GIVE YOU SOME PRODUCTIVE WAYS OF FINDING STORIES YOU WANT TO TELL. OFTEN WE VIEW A FILM TRYING TO “SAY SOMETHING” AS AN OBSTACLE TO ENTERTAINMENT. YOU ARE JUST ASKING YOURSELF. HULK IMAGINES THERE ARE THOSE OF YOU OUT THERE WHO THINK THAT A FILM TRYING TO “SAY SOMETHING” IS ANNOYING. FIRST LET US TRY TO ANSWER IT ON A MACRO. TO DO THAT. IT IS SOMETHING THAT IS INSPIRATIONAL TO YOU. SO WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SAY? WHAT IS IT THAT YOU WANT TO TELL THE WORLD? THAT’S WHAT INSPIRATION IS. ALL OF WHICH IS LIKELY TRUE. THE KARDASHIAN SHOW MAY NOT BE INTENTIONALLY TRYING TO “SAY ANYTHING. MEANING BOTH LOW-FICTION AND HIGH-FICTION SAY SOMETHING. MAKING THE STORY REEK OF BEING HOLLOW AND MANUFACTURED. EVEN IF THAT SOMETHING IS AMBIVALENT OR ESOTERIC. ARE YOU TELLING A SCARY STORY? YOU SHOULD DELIGHT IN SCARING YOUR AUDIENCE. YOU SHOULD TREAT THE SCREEN THE SAME WAY YOU WOULD IF YOU WERE TELLING THE STORY AT THE PROVERBIAL CAMPFIRE. AND THE ONE FILM OF HIS HE WAS EXCITED ABOUT WAS RUSH HOUR. THE MAIN REASON THIS ISSUE-CENTRIC APPROACH WORKS IS THAT IT TENDS TO NATURALLY IMBUE YOUR FILM WITH THE THEMATIC BACKBONE A STRONG NARRATIVE REQUIRES. IT RADIATES OFF THE PAGE OR SCREEN. TOO (LOOK AT THE CAREER ARC OF BRETT RATNER. WHICH ACTUALLY CONNECTED WITH PEOPLE IN A VALID POPCORN WAY. AND IF YOU DON'T CARE? THAT COMES ACROSS PLAIN AS DAY. OR THAT YOU WILL RETROACTIVELY CREATE A NARRATIVE THAT ONLY FITS WHAT YOU WANT TO SAY. HULK THINKS WRITE WHAT COMPELS YOU IS A MUCH MORE FUNCTIONAL WAY TO DISCOVER YOUR OWN IDEAS. YOU NEED TO CRAFT A STORY THAT IS ACHINGLY HUMAN AS A PARTNER TO YOUR THEMES. HOWEVER. YOU SHOULD FREAKING CARE ABOUT THE STORY YOU ARE TELLING. SO YOU ESSENTIALLY NEED A SECOND INSPIRATION TO GO ALONG WITH YOUR ISSUE. BUT HULK WANTS TO CONVEY TO YOU THAT THIS IS ALSO A GREAT WAY TO FIND INSPIRATION FOR FICTION. AESTHETICALLY EVERYTHING IS PLEASING ENOUGH - OR AT LEAST A CARBON COPY OF WHAT HE INTENDS TO MIMIC. AND IN ORDER TO DO THAT: YOU HAVE TO HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY. PLUS IT SPEAKS TO THE OLD ADAGE "WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW. THEY MAKE IT ALL . OF COURSE. EVEN IF YOU HAVE A STRONG. WHICH IS 100% MORE IMPORTANT TO THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOUR MESSAGE. GOING BACK TO OUR DEFINITION OF “WHAT IS A STORY?”. CHARACTERS THAT ARE NOT MERE PROPS TO LARGER IDEAS. COME ON. OTHERWISE. BUT THE FILMS ARE SOULLESS. WHETHER IT IS THE GENRE. AND THUS IT WILL FEEL LIKE A MOUTHPIECE AND NOT AN ORGANIC STORY. INTERESTING OPINION ON A SUBJECT." THE ONE PROBLEM WITH THAT OLD ADAGE. FOR INSTANCE. THE PRIME WORRY OF DOING SO IS THAT YOU’LL JUST END UP MAKING A POLITICAL ESSAY IN THE FORM OF A MOVIE. BUT THE POINT OF EMBRACING THESE KINDS OF BROAD ISSUES FROM THE GETGO IS THAT THEY ALWAYS SEEM TO HAVE SOME SORT OF PERSONAL RELEVANCE.ALL THE TIME. OR CRAFT IMPLEMENTATION. THIS LARGE-SCALE. YOU CAN'T JUST REVERSE ENGINEER SOME CHARACTERS THAT FIT YOUR IDEAL SITUATION AND HAVE THEM ACT OUT WHAT YOU WANT TO SAY AND DO. WHY EVEN DO IT? WHEN A WRITER/ FILMMAKER GENUINELY CARES. AUDIENCE EFFECT. IT BREEDS THE IDEA THAT WE CAN ONLY TELL THE UBER-PERSONAL. EVERYTHING IS GROUNDED IN CHARACTER. THE IDEA STILL HAS TO BE EXPLORED THROUGH THE CONTEXT OF STORYTELLING. ONE THAT WILL HELP DRIVE THE CREATIVE VOICE OF YOUR WORK. THE AUDIENCE REALLY CAN TELL. YOU SHOULD ENGAGE THE AUDIENCE. ISSUE-FIRST APPROACH IS JUST ONE HALF OF THE DEAL.) MOST WRITERS AND FILMMAKERS CARE FOR SOMETHING WITHIN THE FILM’S IDENTITY. BUT REMEMBER. AND THAT MEANS YOU HAVE TO CRAFT ORGANIC CHARACTERS. THUS. AND BECAUSE. IS THAT THE PHRASING STINKS BECAUSE IT TENDS TO BREED A LACK OF COURAGEOUS THINKING AND RESEARCH. SO FOR THE SAME QUESTION OF MAKING A HUMAN FILM… WHAT COMPELS YOU? THIS TIME LET US ANSWER IT ON A MICRO LEVEL AND THINK OF SPECIFIC LIFE DETAILS THAT REVEAL LARGER IDEAS. TINY LITTLE NUGGETS OF INSPIRATION THAT INVITE YOU AND EXCITE YOU TO LARGER POSSIBILITIES OF STORYTELLING. AND THUS ALLOW HULK TO ARGUE THAT THE WHOLE POPULAR HATRED FOR QUIRKY INDIE MOVIES HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THEIR BEING QUIRKY." BUT IN HULK’S OPINION THAT IS A MISDIAGNOSIS. SO IT’S ONE OF THEM). AGAIN. WE NEED DETAILS TO SHOW US WHAT CHARACTERS WANT AND NEED AND WHAT THEY WILL LIKELY DO. She volunteers at a hospital and…". IT DOESN'T EVEN HAVE TO BE PEOPLE-CENTRIC. BUT SO OFTEN WE GET CHARACTER DETAIL APROPOS OF NOTHING. A GOOD NARRATIVE HAS TO BE CREATED. SO MANY FILMS ARE VOICELESS. SO OFTEN PEOPLE THINK TO START WITH THE TINY NUGGETS AND THEN FIGURE OUT WHAT YOU WANT TO SAY LATER. "I read this great article about so and so. HULK WILL GET BALLS-DEEP INTO WHY THAT IS SO TRUE . IN FACT. YOU CAN JUST HAVE A SINGLE LINE OR IMAGE THAT YOU FIND COMPELLING. WE DON’T NEED DETAILS TO TELL US WHO CHARACTERS ARE AND WHAT THEY LIKE.” OR HECK. PEOPLE LATCH ONTO HATING THE QUIRK. THERE HAVE BEEN A LOT OF RECENT MOVIES THAT HAVE GOTTEN INTO TROUBLE FOR ASSUMING TEXTURE AND CHARACTER DETAIL SOMEHOW IS THE SAME THING AS CHARACTER MOTIVE. IT'S BECAUSE THEY'RE OFTEN EMPTY. THESE MICROLEVEL DETAILS ARE A MUCH MORE COMMON FORM OF INSPIRATION. OR SACCHARINE. IT IS THE REASON HULK PUT THE TWO HALVES OF INSPIRATION IN THAT ORDER. FOR EXAMPLE. interesting person. INSISTING THAT IT DOES NOT "FEEL REAL. YOU HAVE TO GO FURTHER THAN THAT. … BUT THEY ALONE ARE NOT NARRATIVES. EVERYTHING NEEDS A PURPOSE. IN FACT THOSE QUIRKY MOVIES WITH REAL MEAT TO THEM TEND TO WORK LIKE GANGBUSTERS.” AND THINK THAT IT WILL SOMEHOW MAGICALLY PRODUCE A TEXTURED. FOR INSTANCE: "My friend so-and-so is amazing. BUT IT’S JUST HOW THE BEST STORIES RESONATE WITH US. EXTRAVAGANT CHARACTER DETAILS ARE WELCOME IF THERE’S PURPOSE. THEY ARE WONDERFUL. IT'S THAT SO OFTEN THESE OBLIQUE CHARACTERISTICS TRY TO HIDE A LACK OF NARRATIVE OR THEMATIC PURPOSE. WE GET HEAVY GRIT APROPOS OF NOTHING. BUT IT IS HULK’S EXPERIENCE THAT PEOPLE DON’T REALLY KNOW HOW TO DO THAT. OR. CRAFTED. SO MANY FILMS SIMPLY SAY "I want to write about this textured. OR MAUDLIN. INTERESTING STORY. WORKED THROUGH TIME AND TIME AGAIN BEFORE IT IS SOMETHING SO MUCH MORE. AND SO WITH REAL LIFE STORIES YOU HAVE TO ALSO REALIZE THAT SOMETIMES THE "FACTS" GET IN THE WAY OF GOOD STORYTELLING. THIS IS THE HEART OF DRAMA (WELL… HULK WILL USE THIS PHRASE A LOT. SLAVED OVER. HULK WILL EXPLAIN IN THE UPCOMING SECTIONS ON EMPATHY.” HECK.FEEL HUMAN. YOU CAN BE LIKE "I thought of this great scenario where…” OR "Here’s this really neat sci-fi world where so-and-so is possible. WHAT THIS DYNAMIC ACTUALLY SPEAKS TO IS THE GREAT LESSON THAT SINGULAR DETAILS ARE NOT STAND-INS FOR CHARACTERIZATION. THAT IS SO IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND. WHEN ALAN BALL CREATED SIX FEET UNDER. FIRST. RIGHT UP UNTIL THE SERIES’ FINAL EPISODE. WHICH ALLOWED HIM TO COLOR THE SHOW WITH DIFFERENT MEANINGS AND THEMES TIME AND TIME AGAIN. A TRULY GOOD NARRATIVE IS BORN FROM THE COMBINING OF THE MACRO AND MICRO INTO ONE SINGULAR. 35 YEAR OLD GRANOLA TRANSIENTS. BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY TO OUR SUBJECT AT HAND. HE FILLED IT OUT WITH RICH. DO YOU SEE THE ROLE THAT THE GERM OF THE IDEA PLAYS IN THE STORY CONSTRUCTION? WE THINK ABOUT WHAT COMPELS US. THE MORE CAPABLE YOU WILL BECOME IN FINDING INSPIRATION. WHETHER IT'S A DETAIL. OR A THEME. BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY BOTH STORY DECISIONS HELPED REINFORCE THE CENTRAL THEME OF THE SHOW. SO LET’S GET SPECIFIC WITH AN EXAMPLE. COHERENT APPROACH. "THE END. AND THE MORE UNDERSTANDING OF THAT PROCESS WE HAVE. PRIM MATRIARCHS. YOUR PROVERBIAL NORTH STAR IN THE . BUT AGAIN. HE HAD SO MUCH FURTHER TO GO BEFORE IT BECAME A STORY FILLED WITH PURPOSE. YOUR CHARACTERS AND THE STORY THEY INHABIT SHOULD BE IN COMPLETE ALIGNMENT WITH THE INTENTION OF YOUR THEMES. THAT WAS THE GERM OF THE IDEA. A PERSON. WHICH MEANS YOUR NARRATIVE TOO BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT YOU ARE SAYING. AND THE SECOND DEVICE WAS THAT EVERY SINGLE EPISODE WOULD OPEN WITH A DIFFERENT FUNERAL CLIENT'S DEATH." BUT THAT THE CHARACTERS ENGAGED AN INTERESTING IDEA SO PLAINLY AND TANGIBLY.LATER. IT IS THE SUBLIME COMBINATION OF TEXT AND SUBTEXT. AND IN THIS CASE IT WAS THE IMAGE OF A FAMILY AND THE IDEA OF "CONFRONTING MORTALITY. BUT HULK JUST WANTS YOU TO UNDERSTAND THAT WHEN WE’RE DEALING WITH THE MOMENT OF INSPIRATION WE HAVE TO ALSO UNDERSTAND HOW THAT MOMENT WILL TRANSLATE INTO A GOOD STORY FROM THE GET-GO. THEIR FATHER DIES IN THE OPENING MOMENTS OF THE SHOW SO THAT THIS SHOW ABOUT “CONFRONTING MORTALITY” DIDN’T JUST DO SO ON THE ABSTRACT OR TANGENTIAL LEVEL. AND WHEN YOU THINK ALL THE WAY BACK TO THAT GERM OF AN IDEA THAT COMPELS YOU. BECAUSE ULTIMATELY." AND HE USED THAT AS THE THROUGH-LINE FOR THE ENTIRE SERIES. HELPING TO MARRY THE TEXT AND SUBTEXT. BUT ON A DEEPLY PERSONAL LEVEL TOO. EVERY DETAIL HELPED CONFRONT MORTALITY IN EVERY POSSIBLE WAY. THEY BATTLE A CONCEPT THAT IS SO DAMN PERTINENT TO OUR CULTURE. IT WOULD BE EASY FOR HULK TO SIT HERE AND TALK ABOUT THIS ON AND ON IN THE ABSTRACT. DRAMATICALLY AND PHILOSOPHICALLY. YOU MUST THEN ZERO IN AND FIGURE OUT HOW THAT GERM THEN BECOMES A STORY. PARTICULARLY ONE THAT LARGELY AVOIDS THE TOPIC OF DEATH ALTOGETHER. AND DISAFFECTED TEENS. TEXTURED CHARACTERS THAT ALSO COMPELLED HIM. SO HE THEN CAME UP WITH TWO DEVICES THAT HELPED PROPEL EVERYTHING. BUT THAT WAS JUST THE CONCEIT. A CONCEPT. CLOSETED GAY ADULTS. EITHER. AND WITH THIS IDEA HE FIGURED OUT A WAY TO IMMEDIATELY BLEND TEXT AND SUBTEXT. THAT DOESN'T MAKE A STORY. IT WASN'T JUST THAT IT WAS "WEIRD" OR "DIFFERENT." THE MOMENT OF INSPIRATION CAN BE YOUR GUIDE. HE HAD A PASSING THOUGHT ABOUT A FAMILY WHO WORKED AS UNDERTAKERS AND HOW THAT MUST BE A WEIRD LIFE WHEREIN THEY ARE CONFRONTING MORTALITY EVERY DAY OF THEIR LIVES. THIS IS IMPORTANT TO REALIZE BECAUSE HULK READS THINGS EVERY DAY THAT WOULD REALLY BEST BE SUITED AS OTHER MEDIA. YOU HAVE NO EXCUSE EITHER WAY. NOTICE HOW HULK BROUGHT UP A TV SHOW AS THE PRIME EXAMPLE? HULK DID THAT ON PURPOSE. AS THEY APPLY MORE TO THE PROCESS OF WRITING WE WILL EXPLORE IN LATER PARTS OF THE BOOK. SOME MAKE SENSE FOR A COMEDY SKETCH. WHATEVER. INSPIRATION IS THE MOST ETHEREAL AND LEAST-EXPLAINABLE PART OF THE PROCESS. BUT THE IDEA IS TO REALLY ZOOM IN ON WHAT MAKES THE STORY WORK FOR ITS OWN PURPOSES. OR MAYBE YOU FIND A WAY TO BROADEN THAT STORY INTO A RUNNING SERIALIZED TV SHOW. NOR IS THERE ANYONE NATURALLY UNGIFTED IN DOING SO.” SO GET READY TO EMBRACE ALL OF IT. SO HAVING SOME IDEA OF THE LATER APPLICATION IS CRITICAL. FOR WE ARE WRITERS. LITTLE STORY. DON’T WORRY ABOUT SHAPING YOUR INSPIRATION INTO WHAT YOU DEMAND IT TO BE. AND IT ONLY HAS THE ENDING EFFECT OF LIMITING THE BEST POSSIBLE ARTICULATION OF YOUR IDEA. THE IMPORTANT PART IS TO JUST BE AWARE THAT YOU ARE NOT CRAMMING ONE INTO THE OTHER. SOME MAKE SENSE FOR A NOVEL. THERE ARE NO PEOPLE ON THIS PLANET WHO ARE NATURALLY GIFTED IN DOING SO. A TV SHOW. AND WORSE THAN THAT.” ETC. HULK ALSO REALIZES THAT ALL THESE PIECES OF ADVICE MAY SEEM LIKE WE ARE GETTING AHEAD OF OURSELVES. ETC. LET YOUR IDEAS GO WHERE THEY NEED TO GO. BUT HULK THINKS THEY ARE VITAL LITTLE BITS YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND FROM THE ONSET OF INSPIRATION.. COMIC. “But Hulk. LIKE ALL CRAFTS. IT JUST TAKES DEDICATION AND GOING THROUGH THE PROCESS TIME AND TIME AGAIN. OUR EXPERTISE IS A FUNCTION OF TIME INVESTED. YOU CAN PLAY WITH IT TO FIGURE OUT HOW THAT STORY BEST WORKS AS A MOVIE. SO WE MUST PRACTICE THE PROCESS OF SEEKING INSPIRATION THE SAME WAY WE WOULD BUILD ANY . SOME IDES MAKE THE MOST SENSE FOR TV. BUT WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND IS THAT IT TAKES BOTH AWARENESS AND LOTS OF PRACTICE TO EFFECTIVELY FIND INSPIRATION. OKAY IT'S ACTUALLY PRETTY DIFFICULT TO DISCERN AND USUALLY TAKES A LITTLE BIT OF TINKERING AND TRIAL & ERROR TO SEE THE PROBLEMS.” “TV WRITER. SOME MAKE SENSE FOR VIDEO GAMES. HULK ASSURES YOU. JUST THINK OF IT AS A STORY. NO MATTER WHAT THE FORM. how do I know what medium is best for my story?” .INCREDIBLE JOURNEY OF WRITING. THUS HULK'S ADVICE IS TO NOT THINK OF WHAT YOU ARE DOING AT FIRST AS A MOVIE. AFTER ALL. IT’S SYMPTOMATIC OF THE FACT THAT PEOPLE LIKE TO BOX THEMSELVES IN AS A “SCREENWRITER. THE FIRST REASON IS TO UNDERSTAND THAT A GERM OF AN IDEA CAN CARRY YOU ACROSS FIVE YEARS AND COUNTLESS HOURS OF STORY IF YOU’LL LET IT. AND THE SECOND REASON IS THAT IT IS IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND FROM THE GETGO THAT NOT EVERY IDEA IS A GREAT FIT FOR THE MEDIUM OF SCREENWRITING. IDENTICAL FORM OF “MEDIA CONSUMPTION. BUT ONCE YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT THE STORY IS ON ITS OWN MERITS. BIG STORY. THE SHAPE OF EACH MEDIUM IS RAPIDLY CHANGING INTO ONE SINGULAR. AND MAYBE YOU CAN FIND A SMALL PIECE OF THAT STORY THAT WORKS AS A MOVIE.. YOU WILL HAVE PLENTY MORE INSPIRATION. THE IDEA IS TO SIMPLY BUILD THE MUSCLE. GET BETTER. BUILD YOUR ABILITY TO LOOK FOR INSPIRATION AND FORM A STORY AROUND IT. THE PLACE TO START IS ALWAYS THE SAME. KEEP DOING IT. COME UP WITH TWO STORY IDEAS THIS WEEK.MUSCLE. LUCKILY. THE NEXT WEEK COME UP WITH THREE IDEAS. AGAIN. “Hey! Stop by the office on Friday and pitch us a couple things!” PRACTICE THE PROCESS. IT DOESN’T MATTER IF THEY ARE EVEN GOOD. SO START NOW. PRETEND SOME HOLLYWOOD BIGWIG SAID. WHO CARES IF YOU USE THEM. ASK YOURSELF: WHAT COMPELS YOU? . IT DOESN’T MATTER IF YOU USE THEM. JUST FLESH THEM OUT. BUT AS HULK MENTIONED IN THE INSPIRATION SECTION. IT ALL SOUNDS NICE. AND IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT BEING ABLE TO ARTICULATE WHAT YOU KNOW IN YOUR BONES. HULK! Get to the good stuff!!! HULK SORRY. AND FROM THERE YOU CAN COME TO CRITICALLY UNDERSTAND THE ONGOING PROCESS OF CINEMATIC EFFECT. ON THE SIMPLEST LEVEL. YOU JUST KNOW MOVIES. THERE IS A WAY THAT FORM AND INTENT REALLY MATTERS. More definitions and treading water before the actual advice?!?! Come on. WE’RE TALKING ABOUT “CINEMATIC EFFECT.” WHICH IS THE PROCESS OF UNDERSTANDING HOW A SPECIFIC ACTION. IT’S ABOUT MAKING THE UNIVERSAL SUBCONSCIOUS EXPERIENCE OF WATCHING A MOVIE INTO A CONSCIOUS ONE. BUT THIS IS IMPORTANT. MOMENT. BUT THE GOOD NEWS FOR YOU IS THAT THIS KNOW-HOW IS SOMETHING THAT IS ALREADY LOCKED INSIDE YOUR MIND IF YOU’VE SEEN ENOUGH OF THEM. GET YOUR LEARN ON! YES. ETC. AND TO UNDERSTAND HOW TO BEST DO THAT. SO YOU JUST NEED TO WATCH AS MANY AS POSSIBLE FROM HERE ON IN AND THEN IT IS JUST ABOUT OPENING UP YOUR BRAIN TO BEST UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS. INSTINCTIVELY. YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND HOW THEY AFFECT YOUR BODY AND HOW YOUR SYNAPSES RESPOND WHILE WATCHING THEM. AND NOT JUST IN THE SENSE THAT A STORY CAN MAKE FOR A GOOD MOVIE OR A GOOD TV SHOW. 1. BUT IN THAT THERE IS ALWAYS A WAY THAT YOUR SPECIFIC STORY WILL WORK BEST. IT’S ABOUT ADOPTING A CONSTANTLY EVOLVING PROCESS OF LEARNING. YOU REALLY HAVE TO UNDERSTAND HOW MOVIES. BUT OBVIOUSLY IT’S NOT SIMPLE AT ALL.PART THREE - 6 THINGS HULK WISHES HULK KNEW OVER A DECADE AGO Ugh. FROM BIG TO SMALL AND HIGH TO LOW. ACTUALLY WORK. TRULY UNDERSTANDING FILM IS A PERCEPTIVE ART THAT TAKES YEARS TO GET A GOOD GRASP ON. SO WHY IS THIS PROCESS SO IMPORTANT TO WRITING? BECAUSE IF YOU INTRINSICALLY UNDERSTAND MOVIES (EVEN IF YOU'RE TOTALLY UNAWARE). WHICH MEANS YOU CAN'T DO THAT THING THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE LOVE TO DO . SCREENPLAYS ARE JUST STORIES AND ALL STORYTELLING HAS A COMMONALITY. OR SOUND CUE WILL MAKE AN AUDIENCE MEMBER HAVE A VERY SPECIFIC REACTION. THEN THAT MEANS THE AUDIENCE INTRINSICALLY UNDERSTANDS MOVIES TOO. YOU'VE BEEN WATCHING THEM YOUR WHOLE LIFE. THE REAL PROBLEM WITH HULK TELLING YOU THIS IS THAT UNDERSTANDING HOW MOVIES WORK IS REALLY A WHOLE LIFETIME OF COLUMNS AND EXPERIENCES. IN FACT. CAMERA ANGLE. AND THE EVOLUTION OF THOSE ACTIONS OVER THE COURSE OF A FILM COMBINES INTO THE OVERALL EXPERIENCE. HULK CANNOT IMPRESS THIS ON YOU ENOUGH: HULK REALLY BELIEVES THAT PEOPLE KNOW GOOD TRADITIONAL MOVIES BY INSTINCT (AGAIN.IN THIS TOWN AND THAT’S JUST SLING CRAP UP ONSCREEN AND EXPECT THE LOWEST COMMON DENOMINATOR TO LOVE IT. GOOD MOVIES RESONATE THROUGH TIME. PLUS. MOVIES CAN STILL WORK VISCERALLY FOR EVERYONE IN THE THEATER. YOU CANNOT CONFUSE MARKETING AND ECONOMIC SUCCESS WITH SOMETHING BEING SUCCESSFUL BECAUSE IT WAS "A GOOD STORY. WE MUST UNDERSTAND THAT WELL-TOLD. BUT HULK WOULD ARGUE THAT THAT IS A RARE AND SPECIAL CASE OF AN AUDIENCE KNOWING THE BRAINLESS FODDER THEY ARE ABOUT TO RECEIVE AND GOING FOR IT. SO THE QUESTION YOU HAVE TO ASK WHEN EVALUATING A FILM IS SIMPLE: DID MOST PEOPLE WALK OUT OF THE FILM FEELING LIKE IT “WORKED?” IT REALLY IS A DIFFERENT QUESTION THAN “IS IT GOOD OR BAD?” IT REMOVES THE OPAQUE EVALUATION OF WORTH AND INSTEAD GETS CLOSER TO THE “WHAT WAS THE FILM INTENDING?” AND “DID IT WORK ON ITS OWN MERIT?” WHICH ARE QUESTIONS THAT BETTER GET TO THE HEART AND PURPOSE OF STORYTELLING. TRADITIONAL NARRATIVES USUALLY WORK VERY WELL ON A GENERAL AUDIENCE. KNOWING HOW TO WRITE LASTS. NOW YOU MAY POINT TO THE SUCCESS OF THE TRANSFORMERS SERIES AS EVIDENCE THAT SHITTY STUFF SUCCEEDS TOO." JUST BECAUSE IT GETS BUTTS IN SEATS DOES NOT MAKE IT A GOOD MOVIE. EVEN THE MOST GENERAL AUDIENCES WALKED OUT OF THE FIRST PIRATES FILM. QUITE SIMPLY: GOOD STORIES CAN REACH THEM. BUT HULK ARGUES IT IS THE KIND OF SUCCESS THAT DOESN'T LAST." SO TO SPEAK. REMEMBER THIS BOOK’S MISSION STATEMENT? HULK HAS A CONDENSED VERSION FOR YOU HERE: THIS BOOK IS NOT ABOUT SCREENPLAYS THAT SELL. THEY INSTINCTIVELY . THESE ARE ALL ELEMENTS OF SUCCESS. DON'T TORTURE BUMBLEBEE!) ACTUALLY EARNED THE SERIES A GREAT DEAL OF PUBLIC GOODWILL GOING FORWARD. EVEN IF THEY CANNOT ARTICULATE IT. AND THAT IS SO DAMN IMPORTANT BECAUSE AUDIENCES INSTINCTIVELY KNOW HOW THEY SHOULD WORK. THE GENERAL AUDIENCE INSTINCTIVELY KNOWS GOOD STUFF WHEN THEY SEE IT. IGNORING OBVIOUS BARRIERS SUCH AS A SLOWER PACE AND ARTISTIC ABSTRACTION. AND WHILE THERE WILL ALWAYS BE ERRANT CASES OF SOMEONE ACTING OUTSIDE THE BAROMETER. OR POP. HULK WOULD ARGUE THAT THE TINY BIT OF EMOTIONAL CONNECTIVE TISSUE IN THE FIRST FILM (NO. BELIEVE IT OR NOT. SO THIS COLUMN IS ABOUT BECOMING A BETTER WRITER AND STORYTELLER. FOR THE MOST PART) AND THAT IS BECAUSE EVERY PERSON ON THE PLANET IS IMPLICITLY AFFECTED BY THE FUNCTIONS OF NARRATIVE. AND BOURNE SUPREMACY AND "GOT IT. TRIPLE-PLUS. OR HOW TO PITCH. DOUBLE-PLUS. BASED ON A HEAP OF PREEXISTING FACTORS. JUST BECAUSE A POPCORN MOVIE IS LIGHT AND FUN DOESN’T MEAN THAT IT DOESN’T TAKE A HECK OF A LOT OF KNOW-HOW AND CRAFT TO MAKE THAT FUN MOVIE WORK. MEANWHILE. RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES. IT IS ABOUT WRITING SCREENPLAYS THAT WORK. ALL OF THESE FILMMAKERS WILL NOT ONLY BE ABLE TO TALK AT LENGTH ABOUT THE THEMES AND CHARACTERIZATION OF THEIR OWN FILMS. . YOU NEED TO WATCH A TON OF MOVIES. BECAUSE THE WORLD AROUND YOU IS WHAT IS ACTUALLY COMPELLING TO AN AUDIENCE. TO POLITICS. SO LOOK TO YOUR LIFE. EVEN THE ONES WHO MAKE ‘DUMB MOVIES” WILL STRIKE YOU AS BEING INCREDIBLY AWARE AND ARTICULATE. SOCIOLOGY. HISTORY. YOUR MIND WILL BE BLOWN. THEY WILL COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND THE AUDIENCE PSYCHOLOGY HULK MENTIONED IN POINT #1. STUDYING FILM AS A MEDIUM IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THE FILMMAKING TOOLS. AND WRITING PROCESS. BUT IT ONLY WORKS FOR A MUCH SMALLER GROUP OF PEOPLE. SO KNOWING HOW AN AUDIENCE WILL RESPOND TO WHAT IS ONSCREEN IS EVERYTHING. CULTURE.KNOW IF THEY FELT CONNECTED. DO YOU REALIZE HOW SMART MOST WRITERS AND FILMMAKERS REALLY ARE? THEY ARE VERY. BUT IT DOESN'T STOP THERE. PSYCHOLOGY. WRITERS AND FILMMAKERS ARE AT THEIR BEST WHEN THEY ARE INTERESTED IN THE WORLD OUTSIDE OF FILM. THEY KNOW IF THEY WERE COMPELLED. THEY KNOW IF THEY HAD FUN. YES. TO ART. OR IF THEY LAUGHED OR SCREAMED. YOU SHOULD HAVE SOMETHING INTERESTING TO SAY ABOUT THE WORLD AROUND YOU. YOU NEED TO GET YOUR LEARN ON! 2.. THEY WILL HAVE SEEN MOST EVERYTHING. LITERATURE. YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND CINEMA AT EVERY LEVEL. LOOK TO OTHER PEOPLE. OR INTERESTED. YOU MAY THINK THAT PLAYING AROUND WITH FILM CONVENTIONS IS NEAT. GO AHEAD. GET YOUR LEARN ON. YOU HAVE TO USE THAT UNDERSTANDING TO BE EFFECTIVE. YOU NEED TO READ A TON OF BOOKS AND CRITICS. BUT IT IS A WORTHLESS PURSUIT UNLESS YOU CAN CONVEY SOMETHING ABOUT THE ACTUAL WORLD. YOU JUST HAVE TO UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH WORK IT TAKES. GREAT STORYTELLERS TEND TO BE MARKED BY AN INSATIABLE CURIOSITY ABOUT LIFE ITSELF. SERIOUSLY. OR THE ABSOLUTE INTENTION OF EACH SCENE. THEY WILL BE ABLE TO TALK ABOUT THE ENTIRE LANDSCAPE OF FILM HISTORY. SIT DOWN FOR ANY CONVERSATION. BUT THEY WILL SHOW THAT THEY ARE COMPLETELY AWARE OF THEIR FILM'S RELATIVE SHORTCOMINGS AND CAN EVALUATE WHY THIS OR THAT OCCURRED BETTER THAN ANYONE ELSE ON THE PLANET. WHY? BECAUSE OTHERWISE YOU WON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO TALK ABOUT. EDITORIAL CADENCE. SAME POINT ONLY A DIFFERENT MANIFESTATION! THIS TIME HULK MEANS IT IN THE SENSE THAT HULK WANTS YOU TO START BECOMING AN ARMCHAIR EXPERT IN STUFF THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH MOVIES. NO. STANLEY KUBRICK WAS FAMOUSLY INTERESTED IN SO MANY FIELDS OF STUDY: MATHEMATICS. ENGINEERING. AND WHILE HULK WILL DELVE INTO A WHOLE BUNCH OF TOOLS AND SUGGESTIONS ON HOW TO BE EFFECTIVE. BECAUSE THE WORLD OUTSIDE DOESN'T LIVE IN CINEMAS LIKE WE DO.. VERY SMART. BUT MORE THAN THAT. BE PREPARED TO BE AN EXPERT IN SOMETHING BESIDES FILMMAKING. HE MAY HAVE A HOST OF REFERENCES AT ANY GIVEN MOMENT. BUT AGAIN. BUT WHAT IS IT ABOUT SCREENWRITING SPECIFICALLY THAT MAKES HULK ABLE TO CONTRIBUTE? KNOW THIS: HULK IS MORE FAMILIAR WITH THE CRAFT OF SCREENWRITING THAN PROBABLY ANY OTHER ELEMENT OF FILMMAKING. AND EXPERIENCES. THAT THERE ARE A LITANY OF VASTLY MORE ACCOMPLISHED SCREENWRITERS OUT THERE WHOM HULK CONSIDERS HEROES. SO AT THIS POINT YOU MAY BE WONDERING WHY HULK FEELS LIKE HULK CAN EVEN TALK ABOUT THIS PARTICULAR SCREENWRITING SUBJECT WITH ANY KIND OF AUTHORITY. I) ON THE WRITING SIDE. HULK HAS NOT ONLY WRITTEN A DELUGE OF SCREENPLAYS. IT’S ABOUT THE WRITING PROCESS ITSELF. SO IF YOU WANT TO BE A WRITER OR FILMMAKER. IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING. THEN BE PREPARED TO BE A PART OF THAT WORLD TOO. BUT HIS STORY-CRAFT AND COMMITMENT TO HIS OWN WORLD-BUILDING ARE BEYOND SOLID. II) WHAT HULK THINKS IS FAR MORE IMPORTANT TO HELPING YOU IS THAT HULK HAS READ A METRIC FUCK TON OF SCRIPTS. IT’S ABOUT HULK’S ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE WHAT IS VITAL TO YOUR LEARNING. HOWEVER.. WORK THE LAYERS! DOUBLE NOTE: SOME PEOPLE SAY TARANTINO ONLY MAKES MOVIES ABOUT MOVIES.. THAT'S ALL. THIS IS A FALSEHOOD. HULK HAS A SOLID FOOT IN ALL THE NEEDED WORLDS THAT COMBINE TO FIVE ELEMENTS THAT MAKE HULK THINK THAT HULK CAN HELP YOU. BIG BUDGET . 3. BUT A BOOK LIKE THIS ISN’T ABOUT HULK’S ABILITIES IN PROFESSIONAL LIFE. EMBRACE THE HIGH STANDARD! NOTE: HULK IS NOT SAYING THAT YOU CAN'T EVER GO META WITH YOUR STORY. BUT FOR REAL-DEAL PROFESSIONAL PURPOSES OF DEVELOPMENT AND PRODUCTION CENTERING AROUND A PLETHORA OF A-GRADE MATERIAL HULK CAN PRETTY MUCH GUARANTEE YOU’VE SEEN AND PROBABLY LIKED. IN THE INTRODUCTION. JUST UNDERSTAND THAT THE META-NESS NEEDS TO HAVE A CONCURRENT FACE-VALUE NARRATIVE LEVEL IF YOU STILL WANT TO KEEP FOLKS INTERESTED. AND THAT’S IMPORTANT BECAUSE THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF SCRIPTS OUT THERE THAT HAVE NO REAL UNDERSTANDING OF STORYTELLING. BUT YES. HAS GONE DOWN THE CONCRETE PATH OF SELLING THEM AND KNOWS HOW THEY MANIFEST IN THIS BUSINESS AND ALL THAT JAZZ. SPECIFICALLY.THEY HAVE THEIR JOBS. AND UNIQUE SETS OF DISPOSITIONS. THAT’S NOT WHAT THIS BOOK IS ABOUT. NOT FOR HULK’S OWN CASUAL LEARNING EITHER. HULK BRIEFLY DISCUSSED HULK'S HUMBLE FEELINGS ON THE NATURE OF ADVICE AND THE NEEDS TO SHARE IN THE STRUGGLE OF WRITING. WHAT YOUR EXPERIENCE MEANS FOR THE STATE OF YOUR OWN WORK OKAY. MATERIAL. SURE. HULK IS NOT WILLING TO GIVE YOU OVERLY PAT SYD FIELD-ESQUE “SOLUTIONS. HECK. AND HULK WASN’T JUST THERE TO READ AND EVALUATE. SO PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT HULK EFFECTIVELY VIEWS THIS BOOK AS A PRACTICAL TEACHING PLATFORM. WHICH IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE HULK LISTENS TO SO MANY TRULY GREAT WRITERS OUT THERE WHO TRY TO EXPLAIN THEIR PROCESS AND IMPART ADVICE AND… WELL… HULK FINDS THAT SO MUCH OF THEIR ADVICE COMES OFF AS ESOTERIC. HULK IS NOT USING ANY OF THIS EXPERIENCE AS AN EXCUSE TO POSE HULK-SELF AS SOME KIND OF AUTHORITY (BEYOND SIMPLY QUALIFYING HULK-SELF). BUT HULK HAS DONE THIS FOR A REASON… . YOU MUST UNDERSTAND THAT HULK WILL NEVER LIE TO YOU. AFTER ALL. STILL. HULK’S DONE THIS FOR YEARS AND YEARS. AND THAT JUST MAY BE OF SOME USE TO YOU. BUT THEY HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO TEACH. BUT HONE INTO IT AND DEEP-TISSUE ANALYZE AND THEN COMMUNICATE ABOUT IT. AND HULK SWEARS THAT THIS EXPERIENCE HAS GIVEN HULK A UNIQUE WINDOW THAT MANY OTHER SCREENWRITERS MAY NOT HAVE. YOU NAME IT. BUT MERELY USING IT TO OFFER UP SOME HELP BASED ON WHAT HULK HAS KNOWN AND EXPERIENCED. THEY MAY BE GREAT WRITERS. AT THIS POINT YOU PROBABLY NOTICED THAT HULK IS STILL TALKING ABOUT WRITING PHILOSOPHY AND BACKGROUND WITHOUT A HINT OF PRACTICALITY YET. THEY MAY HAVE ALL THE QUALIFICATIONS IN THE WORLD AND SOME DEEPLY PERSONAL PROCESS OF THEIR OWN. AND THAT MATTERS MORE THAN ANYTHING.” WRITING IS SOMETHING SO MUCH MORE EXPANSIVE THAN THAT. THIS IS THE JOY OF SHARING. AND UTTERLY UNHELPFUL. OVERSEEING THOUSANDS OF HOURS OF TOP TIER CONTENT. MEANING HULK'S ABILITY TO LOOK AT A SCREENPLAY AND IDENTIFY WHY IT WORKS AND WHY IT DOESN'T IS QUITE LITERALLY HULK’S TRADE. IV) BECAUSE THE MOST IMPORTANT THING ABOUT ANY OF THIS BACKGROUND IS THAT HULK BELIEVES HULK CAN OFFER YOU SOMETHING SO MUCH MORE AND THAT IS CLARITY OF EXPRESSION. AND WHILE THIS BOOK WILL GET RATHER SPECIFIC AND PRACTICAL. VAGUE. NOT THE JOY OF TELLING. WOULD YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT WORKS FOR ONE PERSON DEALING WITH SOMETHING IN A VERY LIMITED SET OF PERSONAL CIRCUMSTANCES? OR WOULD YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT WORKS FROM SOMEONE INGRAINED WITH HUNDREDS OF EXPERIENCED WRITERS. BUT IT IS ALSO FROM SOME HULK WITH AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE METHODOLOGY OF TEACHING AND THE WILL AND DETERMINATION TO TRY AND TELL YOU NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH. DEALING WITH EVERY POSSIBLE KIND OF STORYTELLING. IT’S FROM SOME HULK WITH A REALLY SOLID BACKGROUND. INDEPENDENT MATERIAL. TELEVISION MATERIAL. YOU MAY BE CURIOUS AS TO WHY WOULD HULK GO ON AND ON ABOUT QUALIFICATIONS AND BACKGROUND IN THE MIDDLE OF THE THIRD PART OF THIS BOOK? SURELY. V) AND THAT MEANS YOU WILL FIND NO BLINDLY REDUCTIVE HOW-TO’S IN THIS BOOK. AND PLEASE KNOW: III) THE INTENTION OF THIS BOOK IS… WELL… PURE. AND DOING SO AT A TREMENDOUSLY FREQUENT RATE? THIS IS SIMPLY WHAT HULK CAN OFFER. OF COURSE. THIS WOULD MAKE MORE SENSE IN AN INTRODUCTION? YOU’RE RIGHT. BUT HULK'S OBVIOUS PROBLEM IS WITH THE LACK OF AWARENESS. SO IMAGINE IF YOU SUDDENLY HOPPED ON A MAJOR LEAGUE FIELD AND JUST WENT UP TO BAT SAYING “I can do this too!” HULK REALIZES THAT MAY SOUND LIKE A RIDICULOUS ANALOGY. BUT STILL MIGHT MORE THAN YOU'D THINK). ONLY THIS HAPPENS ALL THE TIME IN LOS ANGELES AND NOBODY THINKS TWICE ABOUT IT. THE BLIND ASSUMPTION THAT SOMEBODY’S LITERAL FIRST ATTEMPT TO WRITE A SCREENPLAY COULD SOMEHOW BE WHOLLY WORTHY IS DOWNRIGHT STRANGE (NOTE: IT DOESN'T FULLY APPLY TO WRITERS OF OTHER NARRATIVE FORMS. NOW. IS ACTUALLY A CRITICAL ELEMENT TO UNDERSTANDING HOW TO PROCEED IN YOUR WRITING DEVELOPMENT. SO MANY PEOPLE JUST HAVE NO AWARENESS OF WHERE THEY STAND. BUT THEY HAVE NOT EVEN PUT IN CLOSE TO 1/100TH THE WORK THAT SO MANY WORKING PROFESSIONALS IN THIS INDUSTRY ACTUALLY HAVE. AND SORRY. THEY MAY HAVE A GOOD SENSE OF MOVIES. AND IT'S A KIND OF DELUSION THAT SUFFOCATES THE INDUSTRY AND MAKES IT HARDER FOR FOLKS WHO CAN ACTUALLY WRITE. HULK TOTALLY SEES HOW THIS ENTIRE SECTION COULD REEK OF . AND IN COMPLETE HONESTY. BUT KNOWING WHERE YOU REALLY STAND. THERE IS THIS WEIRD ASSUMPTION THAT JUST BECAUSE ANYONE CAN WRITE A SCREENPLAY IT MEANS ANYONE CAN WRITE A SCREENPLAY DESERVING OF CONSIDERATION. AND THEY ARE REALLY GOOD AT IT. BUT HULK RESPECTS THOSE WORKING PROFESSIONALS TOO MUCH TO NOT ACKNOWLEDGE THE STUNNING GAP IN QUALITY AND (MUCH MORE IMPORTANTLY) HARD WORK AND HOURS PUT INTO THE WORK. BUT THAT’S REALLY WHAT THIS IS LIKE. HENCE: DELUSION. HULK TOTALLY INCLUDES HULK-SELF IN THIS ONE TOO. THEY MAY HAVE A GOOD IDEA.IT MAY SOUND CRITICAL. UBER-PRESSURING JERKS WHO ARE UNAWARE JUST HOW FAR AWAY THEY REALLY ARE. WHAT THEY HAVE WRITTEN IS MORE THAN LIKELY NOT UP-TOSNUFF. THIS ISN'T ACCUSATORY. THEY WORK AT THE CRAFT OF WRITING THE SAME WAY ONE WORKS AT ANY TRULY DEMANDING JOB. HULK DOESN’T WANT TO SOUND LIKE HULK IS STIFLING YOUR AMBITION. REALLY. HULK KNOWS THIS IS NOT LIKE OTHER FIELDS AND IS INSTEAD MORE OF A DEMOCRATIC MERITOCRACY AND THAT IS ACTUALLY ONE OF THE GREAT THINGS ABOUT THE INDUSTRY. AND HOW FAR YOU HAVE TO GO. THE DELUSION HELPS FOSTER A CULTURE WHERE IT'S MORE DIFFICULT FOR QUALIFIED PEOPLE TO HAVE CONFIDENCE TO SELL THEMSELVES BECAUSE THEY DON'T WANT TO BE LIKE THE REST OF THE DELUSIONAL. THEY MAY HAVE GOOD INTENTIONS. YOU REALLY HAVE NO IDEA HOW HARD MOST OF THEIR PATHS WERE IN GETTING TO WHERE THEY ARE NOW. IT IS BECAUSE THERE ARE THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE IN LOS ANGELES WHO HAVE CLAIMED TO HAVE WRITTEN A SCREENPLAY AND ARE NOW TRYING TO SELL IT. ANYONE WITH THE RIGHT CONNECTION OR THE MEANS TO THEIR OWN PRODUCTION CAN HAVE A SHOT AT BEING A SCREENWRITER. THEY MAY HAVE EVEN DONE A DECENT JOB. THIS ISN’T ABOUT NOT HAVING CONFIDENCE IN YOUR ABILITY. BUT ONE OF THE BEST THINGS YOU CAN DO AS A WRITER IS COME TO AN UNDERSTANDING ABOUT WHERE YOU ARE CURRENTLY FALLING IN THE GRAND SCHEME OF THINGS. IDEALLY. BECAUSE IN THE END… 4.” IT’S TERRIBLE. THE STATEMENT IS MEANT TO SHOW YOU THAT YOU HAVE TO REALLY WORK FOR IT. CALLING A SCRIPT “A BLUEPRINT’ IS TOTAL BALLS. REALLY WANTS YOU TO BE A BETTER SCREENWRITER. VERY CAREFULLY ON THIS ONE. IT’S JUST NOTHING COMPARED TO WHAT A TRUE-BLUE WORKING PROFESSIONAL WITH A GENUINE ADULT DISPOSITION CAN OFFER. BUT UNKIND IN THE BROADER PHILOSOPHICAL SENSE. WE NEED TO TAKE IT MORE SERIOUSLY. BECAUSE THE THING IS THAT HULK REALLY. GAAAAAAAAAAAAH. YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO TAKE THE SCREENPLAY AS CONSTRUCTED AND ... WHY. SURE.. HULK REALLY WISHES YOUNGER-HULK UNDERSTOOD THIS. DESPITE HAVING SO MANY THINGS GO HULK’S WAY AND YEARS OF GENUINE FILM SCHOOL EXPERIENCE. HULK WOULDN’T WRITE ANY OF THIS IF THAT WEREN’T TRUE. SOME STUDIO FOLK WILL PUT THE TIME IN.." AND THAT PHRASE… IT JUST…. LIKE MANY. HULK SIMPLY DID NOT REALIZE THE STUNNING GAP BETWEEN WHAT HULK COULD DO AT THE TIME AND WHAT HULK WOULD BE ABLE TO DO ALL THESE YEARS LATER.. AND THE NUMBER ONE THING YOU CAN DO TO ACHIEVE THAT IS TO TAKE THE ENTERPRISE TRULY SERIOUSLY AND APPROACH IT THE WAY YOU WOULD ANY OTHER TECHNICAL FIELD THAT TAKES A GREAT DEAL OF LEARNING. BUT THAT'S NOT HOW IT'S MEANT. OKAY. MEANING “THIS IS JUST THE GENERAL GUIDE AND WE WILL MAKE IT GOOD LATER. YOU HAVE TO RESPECT THE CRAFT AND THE EFFORT THE SAME WAY THE PROFESSIONALS DO. HULK CAN COUNT ON HUNDREDS OF HANDS THE MANY TIMES THAT HULK HAS HEARD SOMEONE IN THAT SETTING REFER TO A SCRIPT AS A "BLUEPRINT. WHICH MAY PROVE DIFFICULT BECAUSE HOLLYWOOD HAS THE PESKY AND UNFORTUNATELY ACCURATE REPUTATION OF BEING RATHER UNKIND TO SCREENWRITERS. BUT OFTEN THEY ARE WORKING TOWARD SOMETHING THEY DON’T QUITE UNDERSTAND IN THE WAY OF PROCESS. SO YOUNGINS? YOU HAVE TO BE PREPARED FOR THAT. LISTEN TO HULK VERY. A LITERAL BLUEPRINT IS EXACTING. EVEN AS AN INDUSTRY. BUT OFTENTIMES THE PHRASE IS USED IN THIS WAY TO INDICATE THE LACK OF NEED FOR BEING EXACTING..ELITISM. IT . YOU HAVE TO BE PATIENT. SURE. HULK COULDN’T HAVE BEEN FURTHER FROM BEING RIGHT. THE SCRIPT MATTERS! AND DON’T LET ANYONE EVER TELL YOU DIFFERENT. HULK EMERGED ON THE SUNNY SHORES OF LOS ANGELES CERTAIN THAT HULK’S SMARTS AND GUMPTION WOULD DO MOST OF THE WORK. AND NOT JUST IN THE GOSSIPY WAY WHERE STUDIO PERSON A DOES SOMETHING SORDID TO WRITER PERSON B. YOU HAVE TO WORK ON YOUR CRAFT. BUT HULK’S “THE SCRIPT MATTERS” PHILOSOPHY IS EVEN TRUE FOR ALL THE POPULAR IMPROV COMEDIES YOU SEE THESE DAYS. IT'S ALL THERE. SORRY. CONCERNING SCRIPT VALUE YOU MAY SAY: “But Hulk. Improv is so hot right now and there’s a bunch of great actors who can make it happen!” FIRST OFF. OR AT LEAST DISASTER-PROOFING. AND IN REALITY. HULK DOES NOT MEAN TO MAKE THIS SOUND LIKE A CHASTISING ACCUSATION AGAINST ALL OF STUDIO-DOM. HULK THOUGHT SO. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MANY SUMMER TENT-POLES ARE GREEN-LIT AND SENT INTO HEAVY PRE-PRODUCTION WITH AN INCOMPLETE TO NON-EXISTENT SCRIPT? LOADS OF THEM. MORE IMPORTANT IS THE FACT THAT 95% OF GOOD MOVIES HAVE GOOD SCREENPLAYS. THEY’LL EVEN HIRE AND FIRE WRITERS WITHOUT THINKING ABOUT THE CONSEQUENCE THIS HAS ON THEIR PRODUCTION CONTINUITY. AS THERE ARE SO MANY GREAT PEOPLE WHO REALLY DO KNOW THEIR STUFF. THERE HASN’T BEEN A SINGLE GOOD ONE BECAUSE IT PROVES YOU LARGELY NEED THE WRITTEN CONSTRUCTS TO EXECUTE CINEMATICALLY. AND THUS HULK WOULD LIKE TO SUBMIT THE IDEA THAT THIS IS THE SINGLE GREATEST FAULT OF MODERN HOLLYWOOD FILMMAKING. EVEN IN PRE-PRODUCTION. THE CHARACTER ARCS. AND THEY'RE A LOT CLOSER TO THE FINAL PRODUCT THAN YOU MAY HAVE REALIZED. SO THE REAL . YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU NEED IN ORDER TO EVEN HAVE IT IN PLACE. BECAUSE GUESS WHAT? ALL THOSE HEAVILY IMPROVISED ADAM MCKAY MOVIES. SO IF YOU EVER CALL A SCRIPT A BLUEPRINT CHANCES ARE YOU ARE GOING TO MAKE A BAD MOVIE. FOR INSTANCE? HAVE YOU EVER READ THOSE SCRIPTS? THEY'RE PRETTY FREAKING GOOD. WRITING A GOOD SCREENPLAY IS EFFECTIVELY IDIOT-PROOFING. BECAUSE THEY HAVE ALREADY STARTED BUILDING SETS?! HULK HAS SEEN SO MUCH MONEY WASTED IN PREPRODUCTION AS A BUNCH OF RELATIVE OVERT-TINKERERS REARRANGE THE STORY ON THE FLY. ACCOMPLISHING THAT IS A MIRACLE. OR EVEN THE EDITING ROOM IS AN INCREASINGLY LAUGHABLE IDEA. DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY TIMES PRODUCTIONS GET LOCKED INTO A TERRIBLE SCENE. THE RELATIVE POINTS. THE TONE. THE PROBLEM IS SYSTEMIC. AND THE “SCRIPT IS A BLUEPRINT” ATTITUDE TENDS TO SWEEP UP EVEN THE BEST OF THEM. PRODUCTION.MAKE A SOLID MOVIE. THEN YOU CAN JUST FLESH IT OUT DURING PRODUCTION. THE CONFLICTS. THE ASSUMPTION THAT A FILM'S STORY CAN BE SIMPLY "FLESHED OUT" IN HEAVY PREPRODUCTION. OR MAYBE EVEN NO SCRIPT AT ALL. HOW OFTEN DO YOU HEAR ABOUT IMPROVISED DRAMAS? [CRICKET CRICKET] YEAH. ALMOST EVERY SINGLE BAD MOVIE CAN BE TRACED BACK TO A BAD SCRIPT. BUT HULK FEELS QUITE STRONGLY ABOUT THIS. AGAIN. THAT IS NOT AN ACCIDENT. AND IT IS ALL BUILT ON THE BLIND ASSUMPTION THAT SCRIPTS AREN'T REALLY THAT IMPORTANT AND YOU CAN MAKE DUE IF YOU HAVE THE BARE BONES OF THE STORY IN PLACE. AND SHE WAS WHOLLY BORN FROM THE SECOND CITY IMPROV MODEL. WELL… THE WAY ANY CORPORATE BUSINESS WOULD. THE SCRIPT HAS TO BE THE SOUL OF YOUR PROJECT AND SOMETHING YOU'D BE PROUD OF. WHICH IS SUPER-GREAT FOR THEM . WHICH AUTOMATICALLY MEANS THE STORY IS SOMETHING THAT HAS TO BE CAREFULLY SET AND ACCOUNTED FOR ON A SCRIPT LEVEL. TO REITERATE: WHEN YOU'RE ACTUALLY FILMING A MOVIE YOU CAN INDEED CHANGE A SCRIPT IN THE RIGHT WAYS TO ENHANCE. BUT REALLY THIS IS JUST THE SURFACE-LEVEL EXECUTION STUFF THAT COMES FAR ALONG IN THE PROCESS. IT BECAME BIG BUSINESS. AND THE ONLY MOVIES THAT MANAGE TO ACCOMPLISH ANYTHING SUBSTANTIAL WITH IMPROV DO SO BY GETTING SOME OF THE BEST COMEDIC MINDS IN A ROOM TOGETHER AND GOING AT IT. THE STUDIOS DISCOVERED THAT THROUGH MARKETING. TONE APPEAL.. BUT IT IS NOT A CRUTCH FOR A MISSING STORY. THE CORPORATIONS APPROACHED THE STORY THE WAY. YOU KNOW WHO AGREES WITH THIS PHILOSOPHY? TINA FEY. SO TO ALL YOU BUDDING IMPROV-BASED WRITERS. THIS FACT SHOULD BE OBVIOUS. ESPECIALLY BECAUSE IT'S HOW PEOPLE MADE MOVIES FOR NEARLY 80 YEARS. IT WAS ALL ABOUT THE PROCESS OF SAFE CHOICES AND MINIMIZING RISK AND FOCUSING ON FACTORS THAT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH DRAMA.. AND PROPERTY RECOGNITION THEY COULD STILL GET BUTTS IN THE SEATS FOR OPENING WEEKEND. IT WAS A SUREFIRE WAY TO GET OVER BAD STORYTELLING. THIS IS ABOUT THAT “SYSTEMIC PROBLEM” HULK MENTIONED BEFORE: IT WAS JUST A FUNDAMENTAL SHIFT IN THE KINDS OF PEOPLE WHO HAD OVERSIGHT. IT’S JUST TO FIND THE BEST POSSIBLE JOKES TO PUNCH IT UP. MEANING HAVING A COMPLETELY SET SCRIPT THAT YOU KNOW FRONTWARDS AND BACKWARDS ACTUALLY ALLOWS YOU TO MAKE MORE INFORMED DECISIONS ON HOW TO CHANGE IT DURING PRODUCTION. YET SHE BASES ALL HER WRITING ON THE WORK OF GOLDEN AGE TV AND THE SIMPSONS. YOU CANNOT REDEFINE YOUR NARRATIVE. AND WHILE EXPLORING HOW TO ACCOMPLISH THAT. YOU NEED THE FOCUS THAT REAL NARRATIVE BRINGS. THEN YOU CAN TRY TO USE IMPROV TO IMPROVE THE SURFACE LEVEL.FUNCTION OF IMPROV IS NOT TO FIND THE STORY OR THE WORLD OF THE MOVIE. IMPROV TRULY IS A GREAT PERFORMANCE TOOL (AND CAN EVEN HELP TRAIN YOUR MIND FOR CONSTRUCTING BETTER WRITTEN STORIES). INTENTION. YOU'RE NOT EVEN REALLY RE-CONSTRUCTING IT. THIS ISN’T A KNEE-JERK OPINION ABOUT BIG BUSINESS BEING BAD OR ANYTHING AS SILLY AS THAT. AND LOGIC OF THE REST OF THE STORY. UNIVERSAL TRUTHS. WHERE THE BOTTOM LINE IS GETTING BUTTS IN SEATS AT ANY COST. AND COMPLEMENT WHAT IS ACTUALLY BEING FILMED. BUT IT'S JUST A DIALOGUE RE-WRITE. NOT AN IMPROVISED NARRATIVE. AND WHILE YOU ARE IN PRODUCTION YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE WORKING ON AND HOW IT FITS WITH THE CONTEXT. YOU'RE REFINING. YOU NEED TO WRITE A SCRIPT YOU'RE PROUD OF FIRST. BUT QUITE HONESTLY THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS OF SCREENWRITING DRAMATICALLY SHIFTED THE MOMENT THE CORPORATIONS MOVED IN. YOU CAN SEE THE WAY CERTAIN ACTORS ARE BRINGING THE CHARACTERS TO LIFE AND CALL THE NECESSARY AUDIBLES. REFINE. IT COMES WHEN EVERYTHING IS ALREADY SET IN PLACE AND YOU HAVE ALREADY MADE ALL YOUR MOST CRITICAL DECISIONS. OR THE IMPORTANCE OF STORIES. STAR POWER. BUT STILL THE REALLY LONG PLAY. KEEPING ONE’S JOB ISN’T DEPENDENT ON YOUR CAPABILITY TO UNDERSTAND STORYTELLING AND ITS PURPOSE. JAMES CAMERON GETS A LOT OF FLAK FOR HIS STORYTELLING SIMPLICITY AND YET. AND WHEN THEY HAVE TO JUSTIFY THEIR FAILURES THEY HAVE TO BACK UP THEIR DECISIONS WITH “I attached this star! And used this recent successful formula!” AND WHEN THEIR BACKS ARE AGAINST THE WALL THEY CAN’T GO TO THEIR BOSSES WITH “My script expressed the heart of drama!” THEY’RE JUST TRYING TO KEEP THEIR JOBS. WHICH IS YET ANOTHER IDEA THAT HULK WOULD LIKE TO SUGGEST IS SHORTSIGHTED BALLS. BUT THOSE BASICS RESONATE SO DEEPLY WITH PEOPLE. BUT THE MARKETINGBASED SYSTEM THEY CREATED WAS CRIPPLING TO THE IMPORT OF STORY. IT’S BASED ON THE FINANCIAL SUCCESS OF THE PACKAGES YOU PUT TOGETHER. WELL TOLD. HULK IS BEING HARSH HERE. HE IS JUST DOING THE BASICS. BUT IT’S TRUE. BUT HULK ISN’T ADMONISHING A SYSTEM FROM THE WRITER’S PERSPECTIVE. RAISE AN EYEBROW OR TWO. EVEN WITH THE GOOD DEAL OF EXECUTIVES WHO ARE STUNNINGLY BRILLIANT. CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING THREE ARGUMENTS: FIRST. THAT THE REAL-DEAL FINANCIAL GAIN OF A FILM IS NOT ACTUALLY BASED ON OPENING WEEKEND. IT IS THE SYSTEM AND THE SET OF PRESSURES THAT ARE THE PROBLEM. TO BE FAIR. NO. TO HULK. AND IT DIDN'T HAVE MUCH TO DO WITH OPENING WEEKEND BOX OFFICE. LOOK AT THE NUMBER ONE AND TWO FILMS OF ALL TIME IN TITANIC AND AVATAR. AND A LOT OF THOSE EXECUTIVES TRULY LOVED MOVIES. THIS COMES FROM HULK’S PERSPECTIVE OF BEING ON THE STUDIO SIDE. WAS YOUR FREAKING BUSINESS MODEL. BOTH HAD SOLID BUT NOT JAW-DROPPING OPENINGS AND YET BOTH EVENTUALLY WENT ON TO HAVE INCREDIBLE LONG PLAYS. . THE BUSINESS OF MOVIES WAS ACTUALLY BASED ON A LONG-PLAY SELL FOR WEEKS AND WEEKS WHERE WORD OF MOUTH WAS WHAT MANAGED TO GET AUDIENCES IN THEATERS OVER TIME AS MOVIES SPREAD AROUND THE COUNTRY. THE BIGGEST PROBLEM WITH THIS IS THAT MAKING A FILM THAT GETS TO THE HEART OF DRAMA WOULD ACTUALLY BE THE BEST WAY TO MAKE A FILM A FINANCIAL SUCCESS.AND STUFF BECAUSE MOST DIDN'T UNDERSTAND HOW SCRIPTS WORKED IN THE FIRST PLACE. THE REAL HITS (AKA GOOD MOVIES WITH GOOD SCRIPTS) ARE THE ONES THAT HAVE STAYING POWER IN THE WEEKS THAT FOLLOW. HECK. WHILE THE OPENING WEEKEND IS CERTAINLY A GREAT STARTING POINT. WRITING A GOOD STORY. NOW? IT'S A NEAT LITTLE BONUS. ON THE STUDIO SIDE. HE IS SOMEONE WHO UNDERSTANDS THE VALUE OF STORY SIMPLICITY BETTER THAN ANYONE. IN THE GOLDEN AGE OF HOLLYWOOD EVERYONE USED TO UNDERSTAND THAT STORYTELLING MATTERED FINANCIALLY TO YOUR FILM. BUT LACK OF UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT. HOW IS THIS NOT OBVIOUS? AFTER ALL. BUT INSTEAD IS A DIRECT REACTION TO THE LAST ONE. IN HULK’S WORKING ADVENTURES. .ANACHRONISTIC? MAYBE. AND BECAUSE WE DON’T SEE IT. AND DON’T LET ANYONE TELL YOU DIFFERENT. THERE IS THE COMMON BUSINESS KNOWLEDGE THAT THE BOX OFFICE OF SEQUELS HAS LITTLE TO DO WITH THE QUALITY OF THE ACTUAL SEQUEL. RENTALS. HULK CAN GUARANTEE IT’S NOTHING COMPARED TO THE BOON YOU GET FROM LOCKING DOWN A GREAT SCRIPT. JAWS ISN’T JUST A GREAT MOVIE THAT WE CAN ENJOY TO THIS VERY DAY. IF THE MOST VALUABLE THING A MOVIE STUDIO CAN GET THEIR HANDS ON THIS DAY AND AGE IS A FRANCHISE. HULK WOULD LIKE TO SUGGEST THAT THIS IS THE VERY PINNACLE OF "NOT GETTING IT." THE SCRIPT MATTERS. WE SET RELEASE DATES BEFORE WE EVEN HAVE FILMS ON THE PAGE. FOLKS. THEN DOESN’T THAT MEAN YOUR CENTRAL INTEREST SHOULD BE GETTING YOUR AUDIENCE TO COME BACK A SECOND TIME? WHAT WOULD BE THE KEY TO DOING SUCH A THING? OH YEAH. IT’S STILL FINANCIALLY REWARDING THE STUDIO. BUT HULK’S ENTIRE POINT IS THAT THE ERRORS OF DEVELOPMENT ARE NOT COMING FROM A LACK OF EFFORT. THE MEGAHITS LAST! THIRD. WITH A LOT OF MONEY TOO. ANCILLARY INCOMES. THEN A GOOD STORY TOLD WELL IS SECRETLY STILL THE BUSINESS MODEL - WE'RE JUST NOT SEEING IT. BUT LOOK AT THE WAY HIS FILMS RESONATE ACROSS THE BOARD. NOT TO GET TOO SMASHY. AND THE PROBLEM IS THAT WHATEVER THE ADVANTAGE OF A GOOD RELEASE DATE IS. BUT TV AIRINGS. BUT SERIOUSLY PEOPLE. YOU MAKE A GOOD FIRST MOVIE. AND THAT MEANS YOU NEED. HE’S SHOWING US THE VALUE OF BASICS AND TRADITIONAL STORYTELLING. AND THE GREAT THING ABOUT THESE MODELS IS THAT THEY FINANCIALLY REWARD THE VERY BEST STORIES WE HAVE TO OFFER. VOD WINDOWS. AND FRANCHISING IS THE BEST WAY TO MAKE LONG-TERM MONEY. NETFLIX. WE HAVE ONE OF THE GUYS RUNNING DISNEY TELLING THE PRESS THAT AUDIENCES DON’T CARE ABOUT STORY AND THAT "ONLY SET-PIECES MATTER. HULK’S GOTTEN TO TAKE A FEW PEEKS AT THE STUDIO BOOKS FROM TIME TO TIME AND MOVIES MAKE A HUGE DEAL IF NOT MOST OF THEIR MONEY ON ANCILLARY INCOMES." AND THEN HE CAN'T FIGURE OUT WHY NOBODY REALLY LIKED TRON. THE THING ABOUT THESE THREE ARGUMENTS IS THAT HULK UNDERSTANDS THE HUMAN ELEMENT AT PLAY. THE BUSINESS MODEL DOESN’T JUST END WITH THEATRICAL RUNS. A GOOD STORY. IF THE LONG PLAY. HULK KNOWS THAT EVERYONE IS REALLY TRYING TO MAKE A GOOD MOVIE AND ALL THAT. HOW OFTEN DO WE HEAR " _____ WAS SO GOOD THAT I CAN'T WAIT FOR ____2!" APROPOS OF NOT HAVING A SINGLE OTHER DETAIL? SO ISN'T THIS SIMPLE IDEA OF GETTING PEOPLE TO LOVE THE STORY THE WAY YOU BUILD THE FRANCHISE MODEL? LOOK. SECOND. LIKE. NOT JUST IN BLU/DVD SALES. BECAUSE WE’RE LOOKING AT ALL THE WRONG THINGS. IT SEEMS LIKE EVERY SINGLE THING WE PRODUCE IS EITHER A SEQUEL. IT MATTERS MORE THAN ANYTHING. NO ONE WANTS TO BE FIRED FOR CRAP REASONS. A REMAKE. AND HERE'S THE THING ABOUT THAT. 5. AND DOING SO WILL LIKELY EXTINGUISH THE VERY THING YOU NEED FOR YOUR FILM TO SUCCEED. THE OTHER ASPECT GOES BACK TO THAT INSIDIOUS REASON OF HOW THE SYSTEM CREATES A CONDITION WHERE EXECUTIVES NEED TO JUSTIFY THEIR FAILURES AND DECISION BY SAYING "I picked something popular I swear! Economically it made sense!” AND AGAIN. BUT ACTUALLY GET TO WORK WITH THOSE VERY PROPERTIES THAT INSPIRED US IN THE FIRST PLACE. BUT THE COMPLETE SYSTEM-WIDE MISUNDERSTANDING OF DECIDING WHAT KINDS OF STORYTELLING TO EMBRACE IS NOT UNDERSTANDABLE. BECAUSE IF YOU WANT TO BE A WORKING SCREENWRITER THIS DAY AND AGE. OR BASED ON ANOTHER THING. AND IN ORDER TO PROVE THAT YOU ARE A GOOD WRITER YOU NEED TO PROVE THAT YOU CAN WRITE AN ORIGINAL. DREW MCWEENY EVEN WROTE A GREAT PIECE ABOUT HOW WE ARE NOW IN THE AGE OF FAN-FIC. THE QUESTION THEN BECOMES: CAN YOU MAKE IT INTERESTING? CAN YOU MAKE IT ENGAGING TO AN AUDIENCE? CAN YOU MAKE THE WORLD COME TO LIFE IN A FULLY REALIZED WAY? CAN YOU MAKE IT COME ALIVE EVEN FOR THE PEOPLE WHO DON’T KNOW THE PROPERTY? CAN YOU MAKE IT UNIVERSAL? AND YOU JUST DON'T APPROPRIATE STORY BY WAY OF POINT-BY-POINT ADAPTATION. STORYTELLING NEEDS ROOM TO EMBRACE NARRATIVE. THE MAIN REASON THIS HAPPENS IS MORE INDUSTRY B.S. THEY DO IT FOR VALID MARKETING REASONS (MEANING IT SPIKES THE AWARENESS NUMBERS BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE ALREADY FAMILIAR WITH "THE THING" ITSELF). BUT ALAS. COMPELLING STORY. YOU STILL NEED TO KNOW HOW TO TELL AN ORIGINAL STORY. . HE DELVES INTO HOW WE NO LONGER HAVE TO LOOK AT OUR INFLUENCES AND APPROPRIATE THEM INTO OUR OWN ORIGINAL STORY. THE HUMAN ANGLE ON THAT IS UNDERSTANDABLE.. IT CANNOT BE A CHECKLIST OF MARKETING POINTS. WHY YOU STILL NEED TO BE ABLE TO TELL AN ORIGINAL STORY WITH ALL THIS "FRANCHISE" TALK. WORKING WITH EXISTING PROPERTIES IS THE NEW REALITY OF CORPORATE FILMMAKING CULTURE. THEN THAT COOL ORIGINAL SCRIPT YOU WROTE IS NOT NECESSARILY ABOUT TRYING TO “GET IT MADE” (THOUGH THAT WOULD OBVIOUSLY BE AWESOME). AS SUCH. YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND EXACTLY HOW AN ORIGINAL STORY WORKS AND HOW TO INTEGRATE FILM STRUCTURE INTO YOUR WORK.. IT'S ABOUT PROVING THAT YOU ARE A GOOD WRITER. AND YOU LEARN HOW TO DO THAT BY LEARNING TO WRITE AN ORIGINAL STORY FIRST. YOU MAY HAVE ALSO NOTICED THAT ORIGINAL SCRIPTS AND STORIES AREN'T BEING MADE BY HOLLYWOOD ALL THAT MUCH ANYMORE. EVEN WITH THE FILMS THAT ARE BASED ON OTHER PROPERTIES OR CHARACTERS. NOLAN DIDN'T MAKE BATMAN FOR ADULTS BECAUSE IT WAS MERELY "GRITTY. WHAT THE HELL DO YOU DO WHEN YOU’RE TRYING TO WRITE THE DAMN THING? . THEN NO MATTER WHAT PATH YOU END UP FOLLOWING THE INFORMATION CONTAINED WITHIN THIS PIECE WILL STILL BE OF VALUE TO YOU. AND IF YOU CAN COME TO A PLACE OF EXPERTISE. AND BY DOING THAT HE TRANSCENDED THE PROPERTY THROUGH THE POWER AND KNOW-HOW OF ORIGINAL STORYTELLING. . SO ALL HULK CAN PROMISE YOU IS THIS: IF YOU UNDERSTAND STORIES AND SCREENPLAYS. AFTER ALL.. IT GOES BACK TO THE INSPIRATION ANGLE ALL THE SAME: WHAT IS IT ABOUT THE PROPERTY THAT DRAWS YOU? AND FROM THERE YOU TELL THE STORY THAT INTERESTS YOU WITH THE DETAILS AND ICONOGRAPHY OF THE KNOWN PROPERTY. BUT REMEMBER. 6. AND FROM THE VERY START. SYMBOLS." HE MADE IT FOR ADULTS BY MAKING A BATMAN MOVIE THAT WAS ABOUT INTERESTING ADULT-MINDED CONCEPTS. IT'S A SEPARATE TOPIC. IT WILL BE TREMENDOUSLY VALUABLE TO EVERYONE AROUND YOU. NOVELIZATION. IT’S STILL NOT ABOUT "GETTING THINGS MADE" HULK’S TALKED A LOT ABOUT THE INDUSTRY IN THIS SECTION AND THAT WAS LARGELY TO GET IT OUT OF THE WAY. BUT THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS THAT GO INTO GETTING SOMETHING MADE THAT HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH WRITING. YOU MAKE IT YOUR OWN. HE TOOK THE BATMAN ICONOGRAPHY AND MARRIED IT TO IDEAS AND CHARACTERIZATIONS THAT INTERESTED HIM. TELEVISION. ANARCHISM. TOO. ALL THE ACCOLADES YOUR CREATIVE SOUL DESERVES. AND YOUR SUCCESS UTTERLY DEPENDS ON IT. SO THOSE ARE 6 THINGS HULK WISHES HULK KNEW OVER A DECADE AGO. CITY POLITICS.SO BELIEVE IT OR NOT. HULK WISHES HULK COULD PROMISE YOU ALL THE FRUITS OF SUCCESS. OR AT LEAST IT CAN'T HURT. HULK SAID THAT THIS BOOK WAS ABOUT WRITING ITSELF AND TRYING TO BECOME A BETTER WRITER.. NOW. OR MEDIA. SO THIS BOOK IS REALLY JUST ABOUT WHAT YOU CAN CONTROL. AND IF YOU WANT TO PURSUE SCREENWRITING OR SOME KIND OF CAREER IN FILM. IT IS YOUR JOB TO MAKE THE UNORIGINAL SEEM ORIGINAL AND FRESH. PLEASE UNDERSTAND THERE IS VERY MUCH A PURPOSE TO ALL OF THIS. SOMETIMES THEY ARE SMALL DEVICES. BUT EVERY TIME. TROPE. AND DEVICE. PART FOUR - - HOW TO APPROACH A SCREENPLAY - CONCEPTUALLY SO LET’S GET AWAY FROM THE BROADEST POSSIBLE IDEOLOGY ONE NEEDS TO WRITE AND ZERO IN ON SOME MORE SPECIFIC IDEAS / GUIDELINES / RULES / WHATEVERS THAT WILL HELP YOU DEVELOP YOUR STORY/SCREENPLAY. HULK WANTS YOU THINK OF THESE IDEAS AS “MECHANISMS. YOUR INSTINCT WILL EITHER BE TO ADHERE TO THIS FUNCTIONALITY OR TO SHAKE IT OFF. THE ONLY THING THAT HULK CAN IMPRESS UPON YOU AT THIS TIME IS THAT WHILE THESE ARE LARGELY GUIDELINES OF NARRATIVE CONVENTION… THEY MATTER. AND SO WHILE HULK WILL DISCUSS EACH OF THE FOLLOWING CONCEPTS IN DEPTH. AND WHILE THEY DO NOT REACH THE HIGHS OF OUR BEST CINEMATIC ART. AND THAT MEANS KNOWING IT INSIDE AND OUT. YOU CAN’T JUST REJECT CONVENTIONAL NARRATIVE. SOMETIMES THEY ARE LARGE-SCALE IDEAS. SO HULK WANTS YOU TO UNDERSTAND THE MECHANISMS OF . INSTEAD WITH THE NAKEDLY PRECISE WAY OF HOW THEY ARE MEANT TO BE USED. BUT HULK ARGUES THAT YOU MUST UNDERSTAND IT EITHER WAY. AND WHAT THEY LACK IN SUBTLETY. HE BLAZES RIGHT PAST NUANCE AND UTILIZES EVERY SINGLE VALID ARCHETYPE. HULK JUST TALKED ABOUT JAMES CAMERON’S LAST TWO FILMS AND HULK ISN’T SURE HOW YOU MIGHT FEEL ABOUT THEM. SOMETIMES THEY ARE BACKGROUND WORK NEEDED TO GET YOU IN THE RIGHT PLACE. A STORY CAN BE SO MUCH MORE THAN A LIST OF SET PLOT POINTS. AND BETTER YET. YOU HAVE TO TRANSCEND IT. AFTER PART FOUR. BUT HULK CAN ASSURE YOU THAT THE RELATIVE SUCCESS OF BOTH TITANIC AND AVATAR IS A TESTAMENT TO THE POWER OF CONVENTIONAL NARRATIVE. IT’S NO SURPRISE THEY ARE ROUSING SUCCESSES. BUT HULK ASSURES YOU THE KEY TO TRANSCENDING MERE FUNCTIONALITY IS UNDERSTANDING HOW TO TURN THAT SIMPLICITY INTO SOMETHING FAR MORE NUANCED. BUT NOT IN A HOLLOW WAY. TOO MANY SCREENWRITING BOOKS GIVE YOU A “SET WAY” ON HOW TO DO THINGS AND SAY “ALL GOOD SCRIPTS DO THIS!” HULK IS GOING TO GIVE YOU MORE POWER THAN THAT. THEY MAKE UP FOR IN 100% FUNCTIONALITY. THE MAN IS A TESTAMENT TO FUNCTIONALITY. AND FINALLY HULK WILL GIVE THE KEY TO PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER. MEANING JAMES CAMERON ESSENTIALLY PRINTS YOU A GUIDE FOR MAKING ENTIRELY FUNCTIONAL MOVIES. HULK WILL FOLLOW UP WITH STRUCTURAL ADVICE. IT’S ABOUT UNDERSTANDING THE FUNCTION OF EACH OF THESE IDEAS SO THAT YOU CAN BEST APPLY THEM TO THEIR FULL POTENTIAL.” BECAUSE THE WORD IMPLIES A CERTAIN PURPOSEFUL FUNCTION. THEN SCREENPLAY FORMATTING ADVICE. THEY ARE ANYTHING BUT CYNICALLY MADE. STORIES DON’T FUNCTION IN TERMS OF BEGINNINGS. SO LET’S GET STARTED! 7. HULK WOULD ARGUE THAT A LOT OF OUR CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING OF STORIES DEALS MORE WITH WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE. THE KIND OF THINKING AKIN TO “VAMPIRES ARE SO HOT RIGHT NOW!” WHEN THAT’S SO NOT THE MECHANISM THAT IS MAKING ANY OF THOSE FILMS WORK. IT’S WHY WE GET PLOT TURNS THAT DON’T FIT THE KIND OF MOVIE THE FILMMAKERS WANT TO MAKE. THIS IS NOT ABOUT HULK TELLING YOU HOW A STORY MUST BE. BUT FINDS THAT TO BE A MISGUIDED APPROACH. MIDDLES AND ENDS.WRITING SO THAT YOU CAN BEST APPLY THEM IN ANY WAY YOU WISH. BELIEVE IT OR NOT. THEY ARE SIMPLY MISTAKING FORM FOR FUNCTION. THEN IT MUST BE THE THING… THEY ARE WRONG. IF IT FEELS LIKE THE THING. NOR ARE THEY ABOUT HITTING FAMILIAR BEATS AND DOING CERTAIN THINGS BY CERTAIN PAGE COUNTS AND FILLING IN CERTAIN COMMONALITIES. THEY SIMPLY HAVE BEGINNINGS. BUT ALMOST NONE OF THEM GIVES YOU ANY INSIGHT TO HOW THOSE THINGS ACTUALLY WORK OR WHY. OTHER SCREENWRITING BOOKS WILL TELL YOU WHERE TO PUT ACT BREAKS. THIS IS CRITICAL. THEY ARE CONCERNED WITH HOW THE MECHANISMS FUNCTION. THIS IS ABOUT UNLOCKING YOUR OWN STORYTELLING POWER.1 THE LAW OF CAUSE AND EFFECT WHEN WE THINK ABOUT A STORY IT’S AMAZING HOW MUCH WE DON’T THINK ABOUT HOW IT FUNCTIONS. AND IT MEANS THEY DON’T ACTUALLY UNDERSTAND STORYTELLING. AND ENDS. BECAUSE IT’S TIME TO TAKE FUNCTION BACK FROM FORM. IN FACT. . IF IT ACTS LIKE THE THING. NO ONE ASKS: HOW DOES AN ACT BREAK AFFECT AN AUDIENCE? WHAT IS AN ACT BREAK ANYWAY? WHAT IS THE READER EXPERIENCING ON A DRAMATIC LEVEL? WHY CAN SOME MOVIES BREAK ESTABLISHED “RULES” WHEREAS OTHERS CAN’T? THESE QUESTIONS ARE NOT CONCERNED WITH TEXTURE. IT’S WHY STUDIOS MANUFACTURE EXCITEMENT IN FILMMAKING STYLE INSTEAD OF MANUFACTURING IT FROM STORY. AND IT’S WHY WE GET SO MANY MOVIES THAT TRY TO PUT THEIR VALUE IN THE TEXTURE OF THE FILM WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING THE PURPOSE OR EFFECT OF ANY OF IT. PEOPLE ASSUME THESE SURFACE THINGS ARE THE REASON THESE FILMS WORK. THEY THINK IF IT LOOKS LIKE THE THING. IT’S WHY WE GET SO MANY MOVIES THAT ARE NOTHING MORE THAN BLIND COPYCATS OF ANOTHER. OR TELL YOU HOW TO WOW A POTENTIAL BUYER. OR GIVE YOU METHODS ON WRITING ENDEARING CHARACTERS. HULK WOULD ARGUE THAT MOST PROBLEMS IN MOVIES COME FROM THE FACT THAT PEOPLE MISTAKE FORM FOR FUNCTION. MIDDLES. HECK. . HOW DOES GALACTUS GET DEFEATED? IT’S BECAUSE ALICIA MASTERS APPEALS TO THE SILVER SURFER'S SENSE OF EMPATHY. AND THAT IS BECAUSE THE FAR-REACHING VALUE OF HUMAN EMPATHY IS WHAT HULK CONSIDERS NOT JUST A GREAT UNIVERSAL TRUTH. THEY LINK SCENES TOGETHER. YOU’LL HAVE TO EXCUSE THE NAIVE-SOUNDING LOFTINESS OF THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT. EMPATHY.. BUT HERE GOES: IN AN EFFORT TO BE ATTUNED AND GROUNDED HUMAN BEINGS. CONSTANTLY.2 EMPATHY IS YOUR NEW BEST FRIEND. IT’S ABOUT ACTION AND REACTION. STORIES ARE DRIVEN BY CERTAIN CORE MECHANISMS THAT CAUSE PERCEPTIBLE CHANGES. HULK KNOWS YOUR LIKELY COUNTER ALREADY: “Oh yeah. 7. WHICH CAUSES HIM TO JOIN THE FANTASTIC FOUR AND DEFEAT HIS FORMER MASTER! EMPATHY. THERE IS SOMETHING SO CRAZY IMPORTANT THAT YOU MUST ALWAYS KEEP IT IN THE BACK OF YOUR MIND: THERE IS NO SINGLE FORCE ON THIS PLANET MORE POWERFUL THAN THAT OF EMPATHY. EVEN THIS SILLY GALACTUS EXAMPLE ILLUSTRATES THAT PRETTY DAMN WELL (IT’S NO ACCIDENT THAT IT’S ONE OF THE GREAT COMIC BOOK SAGAS). Hulk? Well what about Galactus! Galactus is totally the most powerful!!!!” PSSSSH. VIVIDLY. BUT WAY MORE SERIOUSLY.. THEY GIVE WHOLENESS TO SEEMINGLY SEPARATED IDEAS. EMPATHY IS THE MOST SINGLE POWERFUL TOOL AT A WRITER'S DISPOSAL.. WHICH DIRECTLY AFFECT US. THE PROVERBIAL VIEWER. WE SOMETIMES DIG . THIS CAUSES THAT AND THAT CAUSES THIS AND SO ON AND SO FORTH. WHEN YOU START CRAFTING A STORY AND CHARACTERS. WHOA. IT’S ABOUT SET-UPS AND PAY-OFFS. THAT STATEMENT MAY REEK OF HYPERBOLE. PERPETUALLY.. BUT THE SINGLE UNIVERSAL TRUTH OF HUMANITY'S SURVIVAL. BITCHES. STORIES ARE BUILT ON THAT SIMPLEST OF MECHANISMS. BUT GIVE HULK A CHANCE TO EXPLAIN HERE. CAUSE AND EFFECT ARE THE LINKING OF YOUR CHAIN. CAUSE AND EFFECT LEND MEANING TO EVENTS. STORIES ARE DEFINED BY CAUSE AND EFFECT. THAT IS CINEMATIC FUNCTION AND NO SINGLE CONCEPT IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT. THEY MAKE A STORY A STORY. IT’S ABOUT INFORMATION FOLLOWED BY DRAMATIC CONSEQUENCE. AND PART OF THAT GROUPING IS WHAT HULK WOULD LIKE TO SUGGEST IS THE OBVIOUS YET CRITICAL TRUTH THAT EMPATHY IS WHAT ALLOWS HUMAN BEINGS TO BIND TOGETHER IN ANY MEANINGFUL WAY. IT'S WHAT ALLOWS US TO LOVE OUR PARTNERS. BUT NOW THAT WE KNOW EMPATHY IS IMPORTANT. AND WAR. THAT IT IS DOWNRIGHT REMARKABLE WE HAVEN’T BLOWN OURSELVES UP IN NUCLEAR WAR? IT CAN’T JUST BE SOME SIMPLE MATTER OF LOGIC. FAMILIES. SERIOUSLY. MOVIES ARE UNIQUE IN THAT THEY ALLOW A PERSON TO ACTUALLY PARTICIPATE IN THE OLD CLICHÉ OF WALKING A MILE IN ANOTHER MAN'S SHOES. IT HOOKS INTO THEIR BONES ON A VISCERAL LEVEL. EVEN IN A WORLD CONTAINING CRIME. IT IS EMPATHY THAT ALLOWS US TO SOMETIMES REFRAIN FROM THOSE VERY THINGS. AND UNLESS WE'RE DIPPING INTO SOME SCHADENFREUDE OR SOMETHING." . KINDERGARTEN-LEVEL TRUTHS THAT STARE US RIGHT IN THE FACE. IRRIGATE AS A GROUP. THE QUESTION THEN BECOMES: HOW THE HECK DO WE USE IT? FOR THAT. NOT JUST WITH STRANGERS. BUT ISN'T THAT KIND OF AMAZING? A GREAT FILMMAKER USES EMPATHY AS THEIR FUEL.SO DEEPLY INTO THE MINUTIAE AND RELATIVITY OF THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE THAT WE SOMETIMES MISS OR FORGET THE SIMPLE. THEY USE IT TO ENGAGE THE AUDIENCE. IT IS OUR EMPATHY THAT ALLOWED OUR SOCIETY TO BEST SURVIVE AND DECLARING ANYTHING ELSE IS A COMPLETE OBFUSCATION OF TRUTH. AND YET IT'S STUNNING HOW OFTEN THIS REALIZATION PASSES US BY. BUT WITH THE IMPORTANT PEOPLE IN OUR LIVES. IT’S OUR TRUE NATURE. SO IT SHOULD BE NO SURPRISE THAT WHEN IT COMES TO OUR MOVIES. DO YOU EVER THINK ABOUT THE FACT THAT WITH ALL THE MADNESS IN THE WORLD. HULK IS GOING TO TURN YOUR ATTENTION TO AN OLD ADAGE THAT YOU CAN MAKE AN AUDIENCE CARE JUST BY THREATENING TO "KILL THE KITTEN. AND FRIENDS. EMPATHY IS ALSO THE VERY THING THAT INVOLVES AN AUDIENCE AND KEEPS THEIR ATTENTION. LOFTY. AND BUILD GREAT BIG THINGS AS A GROUP. DEPRAVITY. AND HULK TRULY LOVES THAT THE THING THAT ENABLES HUMANITY TO FUNCTION IS THE SAME EXACT THING THAT ENABLES MOVIES TO WORK! NOTHING COULD BE MORE APPROPRIATE FOR HULK'S FAVORITE MEDIUM. FARM AS A GROUP. IT IS EVEN WHAT GIVES US OUR CAPACITY FOR JOY AND LAUGHTER. AS IS THE FACT THAT WE REALIZED IT WAS EASIER TO KILL A MAMMOTH AS GROUP. IT GIVES THE AUDIENCE ROOTING INTEREST AND PERSPECTIVE. EMPATHY IS THE FOUNDATION OF CULTURE AND IT IS WHOLLY EMBODIED BY THE NOTION OF STORYTELLING ITSELF. MEANING EMPATHY ISN'T JUST A NICE THING TO HAVE IN LIFE. BUT A WHOLLY NECESSARY FUNCTION. IT IS THE INTRINSIC REALITY OF EMPATHY. IT IS THE REASON A MOVIE IS EXPERIENCED INSTEAD OF WATCHED. WE TAKE IT FOR GRANTED. TO PARAPHRASE DAVID FOSTER WALLACE: THE BASIC EXISTENCE OF EMPATHY IS WHY MOST OF US DON'T SPEND EVERY SECOND OF THE DAY CLUBBING EACH OTHER OVER THE HEAD AND STEALING EACH OTHER'S GROCERIES. WHICH MEANS IT'S WHY WE SURVIVE AS A SPECIES. TO HULK. THE ISSUE IS THAT IT ACTUALLY BUTCHERED WHAT THE “KILL THE KITTEN” ADAGE WAS ACTUALLY ABOUT. WHICH ISN’T TO SAY THERE AREN’T USEFUL IDEAS TO BE GLEANED.NOTE: THIS IS JUST A SAYING. AT THIS POINT. YOU DON’T WANT THEM TO BE FLAWLESS. EVEN-HANDED REDUCTION OF STORY THAT HULK… HULK JUST CAN’T EVEN. THE FUNNY THING IS THIS OLD SAYING WAS TURNED INTO A POPULAR SCREENWRITING BOOK CALLED SAVE THE CAT IN WHICH THE AUTHOR CREATED A PHILOSOPHY OF “SAVING THE CAT” FOLLOWED BY CREATING A STORY AROUND 15 CENTRAL BEATS AMIDST ABOUT 40 SMALLER BEATS. BASICALLY. WHICH IS DONE THROUGH ANY OF THESE RATHER HUMAN. OR HAVING PARENTS THAT "JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND!" OR. AND EMPATHY CAN ACTUALLY BE ESTABLISHED THROUGH STRUGGLE MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE. BUT THE AUTHOR USED THE DANGER CREATED BY THE PHILOSOPHY AND TRANSLATED IT INTO A WAY TO INTRODUCE THE MAIN CHARACTER. YOU WANT THEM TO HAVE THIS VERY RELATABLE TEXTURE OR CONTEXT WHICH LETS THE AUDIENCE SAY "I totally recognize and sympathize with that inclination!” NOTICE HULK SAID INCLINATION AND NOT "SITUATION. THAT’S IT. NOT THE SPECIFICS OF THE PREDICAMENT. NOT BECAUSE WE ALL GREW UP AS MOISTURE FARMERS ON TATOOINE (FEEL FREE TO USE THIS EXAMPLE ANY TIME SOMEONE TELLS YOU THEY CAN’T GET INTO A MOVIE . TRYING TO RAISE BRATTY KIDS. THIS IS WRONG-HEADED. THE FOIL OF THAT ISSUE. HULK SHOULD ADMIT THAT HULK CLEARLY DOESN’T THINK A WHOLE LOT OF THE BOOK. IT’S SUCH A MASSIVE. IT IS NOT ABOUT SYMPATHY OR LIKEABILITY. YOU WANT TO ENGAGE ON AN EMOTIONAL. EITHER. YOU DON'T ACTUALLY NEED TO THREATEN TO KILL A KITTEN IN THE FILM (UNLESS YOU WROTE THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO OR SOMETHING). BUT AS AN ACROSS-THE-BOARD APPROACH IT MISUNDERSTANDS SOME CORE CONCEPTS OF NARRATIVE AND DRAMATIC FUNCTION AND THEN IS HOPELESSLY REDUCTIVE WITH OTHERS. OFT-EXPERIENCED SORTS OF THINGS: LIKE SPILLING COFFEE ON YOURSELF." BECAUSE PEOPLE MAKE THAT MISTAKE TOO. ALL IT MEANT WAS THAT YOU TAKE SOME OBVIOUS THING FOR YOUR AUDIENCE TO EMPATHIZE WITH (CUTE KITTEN!) AND YOU PUT IT IN SOME KIND OF HORRIBLE DANGER AND INSTANTLY THE AUDIENCE IS INVOLVED IN YOUR MOVIE. THE BOOK GOES ON TO IMPLY ALL MOVIES WORK ON THIS SAME STRUCTURAL LEVEL. IT’S A MOMENTARY DRAMATIC TACTIC. WORSE. YOU DON’T NECESSARILY WANT TO PUT A CHARACTER ON A PEDESTAL. EMPATHY IS ABOUT THE TRANSLATION OF FEELING. MEANING YOU HAVE THE MAIN CHARACTER “SAVE THE CAT” - SIMPLY DO SOMETHING NICE - AND INSTANTLY THE AUDIENCE IS ON THEIR SIDE. SO LET’S START THIS DISCUSSION OFF ON THE RIGHT FOOT: EMPATHY IS NOT ABOUT HAVING YOUR CHARACTERS DO NICE THINGS. IT'S THE EMOTIONS WE IDENTIFY WITH. WE IDENTIFY WITH LUKE SKYWALKER BECAUSE HE DREAMS OF SOMETHING BIGGER AND HIS GUARDIANS WON’T LET HIM DO WHAT HE WANTS TO DO. INSTEAD. YOU DON’T WANT THEM TO BE UNFLINCHINGLY COOL. CONFLICT-BASED LEVEL. Manipulation becomes a problem when it becomes too obvious. when the fingers pulling your strings become too insistent. EMPATHY IS ABOUT RELATION AND UNDERSTANDING." THIS MISTAKE IS CERTAINLY UNDERSTANDABLE (EVEN SAVE THE CAT ENDORSES THIS KIND OF THINKING). THE MAIN TAKEAWAY FOR YOU.OR TELEVISION SHOW BECAUSE THE CHARACTERS COME FROM AN ECONOMIC OR REGIONAL SITUATION THAT IS DIFFERENT THAN THEIRS. HULK WILL GET INTO IT MORE SPECIFICALLY IN THE SECTIONS TO COME. AND THUS SOME PEOPLE WILL RESENT IT WHEN A MOVIE DOES THAT. Everyone has a different threshold for this. IT CAN BE INSINCERE. YOU WILL END UP CREATING SOME REAL SHITTY DRAMA. SHOULD BE TO FIND THE RIGHT BALANCE OF HOW TO USE IT. BUT BASICALLY YOU SHOULD TRY TO CREATE CONFLICTS AND DIRE SITUATIONS THAT DIRECTLY IMPACT OR COMMENT ON THE CHARACTER AND STORY AT HAND AND ARE NOT CONFLICTS SHOVED IN CHEAPLY THERE JUST TO GET THE AUDIENCE ON THE HERO’S SIDE. BUT PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT THE TWO IDEAS ARE NOT THE SAME THING IN THE SLIGHTEST.” WHICH DOESN’T HAVE TO BE AS READY-MADE AND SIMPLE AS IT WOULD SEEM. DEVIN FARACI WROTE: Manipulation is the essential center of cinematic art. BUT A LOT OF AUDIENCES WILL FEEL LIKE THE NARRATIVE IS BOXING THEM IN. THE DEVICE MAY STILL WORK. Every good filmmaker is aware of what they are trying to express through the manipulations of editing or score or performance. some recoil at the slightest hint of overt manipulation. AND HULK FEELS LIKE THE BIGGEST KEY IN DOING THAT IS TO BE SURE THAT THERE ARE REAL CHARACTER MOTIVATIONS BEHIND THE MANIPULATIVE DEVICES. IN HIS REVIEW OF STEVEN SPIELBERG’S WARHORSE. BUT THIS EMPATHETIC CONNECTION IS THE HEART OF CRAFTING CHARACTERS THAT WE CALL THE “AUDIENCE SURROGATE. IN FACT. AND THAT’S BECAUSE A DEVICE AS EXTREME AS KILLING A KITTEN CAN COME OFF AS TOTALLY MANIPULATIVE TO AN AUDIENCE. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN. It’s a wide spectrum. THERE WILL BE OBSTACLES IN TRYING TO DO SO. while others openly get emotional about Volkswagon commercials featuring children. EXACTLY? WELL. AND MEANWHILE THEY THINK LIKEABILITY AMOUNTS TO NOT HAVING YOUR CHARACTERS DO BAD THINGS. TELLING THEM HOW TO FEEL AND THINK. Every choice made in a good film - from story to casting to music to editing - is based on eliciting some sort of reaction or feeling from the audience. THIS GRAVE MISUNDERSTANDING ABOUT EMPATHY AND LIKEABILITY IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE LEGIONS OF DOORMAT MAIN CHARACTERS THAT MOVIE AUDIENCES ARE . AND GIVEN THAT OUR COLLECTIVE AUDIENCE HAS A HUGE RANGE OF RESPONSES TO MANIPULATION. IT CAN BE CLOYING. NOTICE THAT NONE OF THESE PREDICAMENTS ARE QUITE AS EXTREME AS “KILLING A KITTEN” EVEN IF THE SENTIMENT AND INTENTION IS THE EXACT SAME. SADLY. ESPECIALLY BECAUSE FINDING EMOTIONAL BONDS FROM DIFFERING CULTURAL SITUATIONS IS THE PURPOSE OF STORYTELLING AND SHIT). THE WRITER. THIS ASSUMPTION IS COUNTERPRODUCTIVE BECAUSE WITHOUT HAVING A CHARACTER EVER DO A WRONG OR FALLIBLE THING. THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE IN THE FILMMAKING INDUSTRY WHO CONFUSE "EMPATHY" WITH THE AFOREMENTIONED "LIKEABILITY. LOOK TO INDY FOR INSPIRATION! THE OTHER MAIN OBSTACLE YOU MAY FIND IS THAT THERE IS A PECULIAR MODERN TENDENCY TO GO THE OTHER WAY WITH EMPATHY AND TEST THE AUDIENCE BY SEEING HOW MUCH OF A DICK A CHARACTER CAN BE. . WE DON'T LOVE INDIANA JONES BECAUSE HE'S PERFECT OR AN UNSTOPPABLE HEROIC BADASS. AND IT’S THAT ACHINGLY HUMAN FALLIBILITY THAT MAKES HIM THE PERFECT ACTION HERO. BUT THERE'S A WHOLE ART AND NUANCE TO IT. DON’T BELIEVE HULK? WELL. DO IT BECAUSE YOU’RE TRYING TO EXPOSE SOMETHING REAL WITH IT. WE LOVE HIM BECAUSE HE'S CONSTANTLY FUCKING UP AND BARELY MAKING HIS WAY OUT OF A CRISIS. AND THIS POINT CAN BE BLACK-AS-NIGHT FUNNY AND DARKLY POETIC (THINK THE COEN BROTHERS). THESE SORT OF JERK-ASS ANTIHEROES LITTER THE SCREEN NOWADAYS (PARTICULARLY ON TV). A TRUTH THE CHARACTER MAY LEARN. FOR COMEDY AND DARK COMEDY PURPOSES THESE CHARACTERS CAN INDEED WORK PRETTY WELL. ADMITTEDLY. GO BACK TO THAT INSPIRATION OF WHAT COMPELS YOU. A GOOD DEAL OF WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO IS MAKE IT ENGAGING BY EXPLORING THE HUMAN CONDITION. THEN LET’S TALK ABOUT INDIANA JONES. THE REBELLIOUS INCLINATION IS FINE IF IT’S WHAT DRIVES YOU. SERIOUSLY! FALLIBILITY IS EMPATHETIC. HULK WILL SAY IT NOW AND SAY IT FOREVER. LIKE THE FACT THAT THE RUDENESS IS ACTUALLY MEANT TO DISTANCE THE AUDIENCE FROM THE CHARACTER IN ORDER TO ILLUMINATE SOME KIND OF LARGER POINT OR TRUTH ABOUT HUMAN BEHAVIOR. BUT THE KEY IS JUST TO HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING OF THAT APPROACH AND WHAT IT IS ACCOMPLISHING IN TERMS OF NARRATIVE AND THEMATIC INTENT. HOW DOES THIS EDGE AND REBELLIOUSNESS FIT IN? WHAT IS THE POINT TO IT? HOW DOES IT WORK AS A DRAMATIC MECHANISM? ASKING THESE QUESTIONS WILL POINT YOU IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. WHETHER YOU GO EMPATHETIC IN THE TRADITIONAL WAY OR TAKE THE JERK-ASS DISTANCING ROUTE. BUT HULK URGES YOU TO BE SURE THERE IS A POINT TO IT. WE EMPATHIZE WITH INDIANA JONES. HULK BELIEVES YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THE “WHY” OF YOUR APPROACH BECAUSE THERE IS A REAL CONTRARIAN TENDENCY THESE DAYS TO GO THE AFOREMENTIONED JERK-ASS DIRECTION JUST BECAUSE IT SEEMS DIFFERENT OR REBELLIOUS. OR THEY MAY NOT.TREATED TO TIME AND TIME AGAIN. WE DON’T JUST WATCH INDIANA JONES. INDIANA JONES IS ONE OF HULK’S FAVORITE TOPICS OF DISCUSSION BECAUSE BOTH THE CHARACTER AND THE MOVIES HIGHLIGHT SO MANY GREAT THINGS THAT MODERN FILMS FORGET TO DO. OR IT CAN BE GRATING AS ALL HELL (THE SOMETIMES UNSUCCESSFUL WORK OF NEIL LABUTE). HE'S AFRAID OF THINGS! HE HAS FALSE CONFIDENCE! HE FREQUENTLY SHOWS FEAR! AS A RESULT. DON'T JUST MAKE THE JERK-ASS MAIN CHARACTER A SHORTCUT TO BEING FUNNY OR EDGY WITHOUT ANY SORT OF REAL THEMATIC EXPLORATION. HULK HAS SAT HERE AND WAXED PHILOSOPHICAL ABOUT EMPATHY FOR QUITE SOME TIME. HULK TRULY BELIEVES THAT EMPATHY IS THE MOST POWERFUL WEAPON AT YOUR DISPOSAL AND HOW YOU USE IT IS UP TO YOU. THEY WORK LONG. BUT THAT'S BECAUSE THERE IS NO BASIC. AND THERE IS REAL VALUE TO PROVIDING THAT FOR PEOPLE. SITUATIONS. JUST DON’T LET IT BE BECAUSE IT’S EASY. AND DRAMATIC IDEAS THAT WILL BREED THE EMPATHY OR DISSONANCE YOU SEEK.. LET'S GET SPECIFIC WITH AN EXAMPLE! ASK YOURSELF: WHY DO WE LIKE TONY SOPRANO? WHY DO WE NOT LIKE TONY SOPRANO? WHAT DETAILS ABOUT THIS CHARACTER'S LIFE MAKE HIM SO INTERESTING? AND DOING THIS WILL SET YOU UP TO UNDERSTAND THE KINDS OF DILEMMAS.. YOU HAVE TO BE CAUTIOUS AND . WHICH REPRESENTS THE VALUES OF GIVING PEOPLE THE IDEAS THEY NEED OR CONFRONTING THEM WITH INALIENABLE TRUTHS. CONFLICTS. SOMETIMES THE EMPATHETIC EFFECT IS SO TRANSPORTIVE THAT IT EFFECTIVELY ALLOWS US TO ESCAPE. BUT HULK IS TALKING ABOUT THE GREAT SPECTRUM OF MEDIA EXPERIENCE. WHICH REPRESENTS THE INDIVIDUAL’S INDULGENCE OF STRICTLY BASE NEEDS. IN FACT. ON ONE END THERE IS PURE ART. BETTER YET. HULK IS POSITIVE THAT IF YOU ASK MOST PEOPLE WHY THEY LIKE ANY FORM OF ENTERTAINMENT IT’S BECAUSE OF THAT ESCAPE. ON THE OTHER END IS PORNOGRAPHY. OR YOU CAN BITE YOUR THUMB AT THE VERY CONCEPT OF EMPATHY ALL TOGETHER. REGARDLESS OF IMPORT. ONE OF THE BIGGEST MISTAKES IN ALL OF WRITING IS TO GIVE INTO THE MOST INDULGENT ASPECTS OF STORYTELLING THROUGH THE VICARIOUS POWER OF CINEMA. HULK WANTS YOU TO ASK YOURSELF ONE SIMPLE QUESTION: “Am I making art? Or am I making pornography?” THIS MAY SOUND EXTREME. WHILE THE IDEA IS TO ALWAYS STRIKE SOME KIND OF BALANCE. HARD HOURS AND THEY NEED SOMETHING THAT MAKES THEM HAPPY OR ELATED OR SCARED OR THRILLED. THERE IS A WIDE SPECTRUM OF APPROACH AND ALL HULK WANTS YOU TO DO IS HAVE A REAL CONCRETE REASON FOR WHY YOU ARE GOING IN EITHER DIRECTION. 8. TRUTHFUL SHORTCUT HULK CAN SAY TO MAKE YOU UNDERSTAND THE NUANCES OF THE CONCEPT. BEWARE THE LURE OF INDULGENCE FROM THE ONSET OF CREATING YOUR STORY. NOW. YOU CAN THREATEN TO KILL THE KITTEN AND BE QUITE SUCCESSFUL AT IT. SINCE EMPATHY IS WHAT CONNECTS US AND STORIES ARE THE MOST POWERFUL WAY OF ACHIEVING THAT. GROUND YOURSELF IN IT. WHATEVER YOU DO.ASK YOURSELF BOLD QUESTIONS: WHAT IS IT THAT MAKES THIS CHARACTER GOOD? WHAT IS IT THAT MAKES THEM TROUBLED? WAIT. AND WITH THAT. THINK ABOUT IT. BUT AS A CREATOR. IF YOU’RE BEING INDULGENT THEN YOU HAVE TO CONTEXTUALIZE IT. EVERY MOMENT IS ABOUT LIVING VICARIOUSLY THROUGH PEOPLE. AS IT IS NOT THE INTENTION. WHICH IS NOT ONLY A LAZY APPROACH TO INDULGENCE. AS AN AUDIENCE. OTHERWISE YOU END UP WRITING LIFESTYLE-PORN LIKE ENTOURAGE. . THEY THINK THAT AS LONG AS IT MAKES PEOPLE HAPPY. YOU HAVE TO DISPLAY SOME ELEMENTS THAT GO BEYOND THAT AND CONFIRM THE ARTISTIC PURPOSE AND HUMAN CONDITION. ENTERTAINMENT’S PURPOSE HAS BEEN SERVED. BUT SUPPORTED THROUGH A LAZY APPROACH TO STORYTELLING AND CONFLICT. OR WHY WE TELL STORIES IN THE FIRST PLACE. BUT WHEN YOU ARE ENGAGING THE INDULGENT ASPECTS OF STORYTELLING. OR THE HUMAN CONDITION. IT IS A SHOW THAT ACTIVELY REWARDS AND ENFORCES INDULGENCE AND EGO-MASSAGING AT EVERY STEP. EVEN IF THEY DON’T CARE IF THE MEDIA IS DOING THEM ANY FAVORS. IF STORYTELLING IS REALLY THE BEST WAY TO PASS ON TRUTHS THAT HELP PEOPLE. AND THE SHOW IS PERHAPS THE MOST INDULGENT YET WELL-MADE PIECE OF ENTERTAINMENT THAT HULK HAS EVER SEEN. IF YOU LIKE THE SHOW. IT’S ONE OF YOUR CHIEF RESPONSIBILITIES AS A STORYTELLER. THE DRAMAS ARE NON-DRAMAS AND THEY READILY RESOLVE PLOTS WITH PURPOSELESS DEUS EX MACHINA INSTEAD OF ACTIVE DECISIONS. THE KIND OF STUFF THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH LARGER TRUTHS. AND AT THAT POINT. SOME PEOPLE DON’T GET WHY THAT’S SUCH A BIG DEAL. BUT THIS IS THE SORT OF INDULGENCE THAT CAN LEAD TO SOME REALLY UNSAVORY STUFF TOO. YOU CAN EASILY GET AN AUDIENCE MEMBER TO THINK "I’m a hero saving the world!” OR “Yay! I get the girl!" AND THAT’S WONDERFUL AND ELATIVE. THEN HULK IS SORRY IF HULK IS COMING OFF AS MEAN OR SOMETHING. IT’S ABOUT PLACATING AND NOT COMMUNICATING. LET’S TALK ABOUT ENTOURAGE IN DETAIL BECAUSE IT SORT OF HIGHLIGHTS THESE PROBLEMS PERFECTLY. AND LET IT FEEL GOOD… HENCE: LIFESTYLE PORN. IT'S JUST ABOUT MASSAGING THE ID. IT’S ABOUT REINFORCING STEREOTYPES AND FEELINGS THAT ARE UNDERSERVED. IN FACT. ACTUALLY. IT IS ABOUT BLINDLY REWARDING.THOUGHTFUL WITH THAT POWER. AND THAT’S BECAUSE THERE IS A SERIOUS MASTURBATORY ELEMENT TO THAT ESCAPISM. THEN WHAT DOES IT SAY IF WE’RE PASSING ON UNHELPFUL. LIE BACK. THAT’S NOT THE PROBLEM. EGO-MASSAGING GARBAGE? THIS IS NOT TO OVERLY CRITICIZE THE DESIRE TO ENTERTAIN. THE PROBLEMS WITH THE SERIES ARE ABOUT THE DEEPTISSUE PURPOSE (WHICH HAPPENS TO BE THE SUBJECT AT HAND). YOUR “STORYTELLING” IS BASICALLY THE FACILITATION OF MENTAL MASTURBATION. OR MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING. IT IS ALSO IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IS REALLY HAPPENING WITH THE AUDIENCE AND TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY OF YOUR MESSAGE. EITHER. HULK READILY ADMITS THAT IT CAN BE REALLY FUNNY AT TIMES AND HAS A FEW GOOD PERFORMANCES AND ALL THAT STUFF THAT MAKES FOR GOOD TV SHOWS. THEN IT'S ALL WELL AND GOOD. THE PROBLEM IS THAT IT MIGHT NOT BE DOING HUMANITY ANY FAVORS. WE EMPATHETICALLY PLACE OURSELVES INTO ENTOURAGE. NOT TO GET TOO SPECIFIC TOO SOON. YOU JUST HAVE TO BEWARE HOW IT CAN BE INDULGENT. AWARENESS OF WHAT EMPATHY ACTUALLY IS AND HOW IT WORKS WILL BE THE KEY TO MAKING ALL OF YOUR CREATIVE DECISIONS. AND WILL INFORM EVERYTHING ABOUT HOW YOU WANT TO TELL YOUR STORY. IT'S JUST A LENS. HULK UNDERSTANDS. BUT IT’S IMPORTANT FOR HULK TO BE HONEST ABOUT ALL THE WAYS THAT EMPATHY CAN MANIFEST ONSCREEN. THIS IS ALL GETTING A BIT COMPLICATED. BUT THAT LEAVES A RATHER OBVIOUS QUESTION: WITH THE LITANY OF STORY OPTIONS AVAILABLE. WHAT MAKES A STORY CHOICE A GOOD ONE OR A BAD ONE FOR YOUR PARTICULAR NARRATIVE? HULK WOULD ARGUE THAT THE BEST WAY TO DECIDE IF THOSE STORY CHOICES ARE WORTH IT IS TO FIRST START WITH ANOTHER OBVIOUS QUESTION: "WOULD THE . IT AIDS IN THE INDULGENCE. WE UNDERSTAND WHAT SALINGER THINKS ABOUT EVERYTHING THAT HOLDEN IS SAYING AND DOING. YOU HAVE TO THINK OF THE PRESENTATION LIKE TAKING ON THE VIEW OF THE OMNISCIENT OBSERVER. EVEN IF SALINGER TECHNICALLY WROTE IN HOLDEN CAULFIELD'S VOICE. HULK JUST BELIEVES THAT GOOD ENTERTAINMENT TAKES INDULGENCE AND APPROPRIATES IT INTO SOME LARGER PURPOSE. IT IS THE FUNDAMENTAL BUILDING BLOCK OF STORYTELLING. SOME REALLY GOOD FILMS JUST GO BALLS OUT AND MAKE THE MOST OBVIOUSLY INDULGENT DECISIONS. LOOK. IT ENABLES CINEMATIC SATIRE AND IRONY. BUT SOME MOVIES EMBRACE WHOLLY UNREAL NARRATIVES (THINK OF SOMETHING LIKE CRANK). VALUE THE CONSISTENCY OF CHARACTER MOTIVE THE ONE THING HULK HOPES TO IMPRESS ON YOU OVER THE COURSE OF THIS BOOK IS THAT. AND HULK’S PROBLEM IS THAT THE LENS OF SOMETHING LIKE ENTOURAGE IS NOT TRYING TO PROVIDE ANY DISTANCE. ISN’T IT?” AND WITH THAT DISTANCE. 9. IN FACT. IT’S LOOKING TO THE AUDIENCE AND SAYING “THIS IS RIDICULOUS. THE AUDIENCE CAN IMPLICITLY UNDERSTAND THAT THE AUTHORS ARE CRITICIZING OR LAUGHING AT IT. BUT THE WAY THESE HYPER-STORIES WORK IS THAT THE ABSURDITY AND UN-REALITY OF THE PRESENTATION ACTUALLY CREATES A SENSE OF DISTANCE. YOU ACTUALLY HAVE A GREAT DEAL OF FLEXIBILITY DEPENDING ON THE KIND OF FILM YOU ARE MAKING. BECAUSE ULTIMATELY. CONTRARY TO A GREAT DEAL OF SCREENWRITING BOOKS THAT GIVE YOU SET FORMULAS. SO ASK YOURSELF A MORE SPECIFIC QUESTION: “IS THIS SCENE ACCOMPLISHING AN ARTISTIC PURPOSE? OR A PORNOGRAPHIC PURPOSE?” AND JUST BE SURE THE ANSWER IS WHEREVER YOU WANT IT TO BE ON THE SPECTRUM OF MEDIA EXPERIENCE. IT ADVOCATES THE MENTAL MASTURBATION. HULK IS NOT IMPLYING THAT ALL MOVIES HAVE TO HAVE SOME HALLMARK MESSAGE TIED INTO THEM BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE SUPER LAME. IN FACT. HE ALWAYS BROUGHT THAT QUESTION OF THE CHARACTER’S MORALITY BEING SKEWED TO THE FOREFRONT. BUT WE UNDERSTAND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT FITS WITHIN TONY'S PSYCHOLOGY AND WE ACCEPT IT. SPECIFICALLY THE INCONSISTENCY OF CHARACTER MOTIVE. CONTRARY TO POPULAR BELIEF. IT’S A GOOD THING HULK BROUGHT UP TONY SOPRANO BECAUSE IT ALSO HIGHLIGHTS HOW THESE DECISIONS ARE NOT SO CUT AND DRIED. AND THAT WOULD MAKE US ANGRY WITH THE STORYTELLING. IT WAS JUST INCREDIBLE. WHILE BOTH KILLINGS ARE MORALLY WRONG TO US. HE ALWAYS LOOKED FOR MEANING TO ERUPT FROM TONY'S CHOICES. AND GENERIC NICE-GUYNESS. IT HAS TO BE THE POINT! AND AS THE POINT IT HAS TO BE BUILT TO AND DEALT WITH EXTENSIVELY. THEN HE WAS CAUGHT CHEATING WITH MULTITUDES OF WOMEN AND THE . DAVID CHASE. HULK IS TALKING ABOUT WHAT THE CHARACTER WOULD AND WOULDN'T DO. THE SHOW’S CREATOR. BUT THE REASON IT WORKED WAS BECAUSE HE WAS ALWAYS WILLING TO DEAL WITH THE CONSEQUENCES OF DOING SO. BUT THE FACT THAT EVERYTHING ABOUT HIS CHARACTERS HAD WEIGHT AND MEANING. WHAT’S KIND OF FUNNY (AND RATHER TELLING) IS HOW THIS QUESTION OF "CHARACTER INCONSISTENCY" EVEN APPLIES TO HOW WE REGARD OUR REAL-LIFE FIGURES AS WELL. HULK ACTUALLY FEELS THAT CHASE WAS ONE OF THE MOST THEMATICALLY RESPONSIBLE STORYTELLERS TO GRACE OUR TELEVISIONS. ONLY ONE OF THEM IS INCONSISTENT IN TERMS OF WHAT THE CHARACTER WOULD DO. THE AUDIENCE. SUCCESS. THAT’S THE ONLY THING THAT MATTERS. THINK ABOUT IT LIKE THIS: WE WOULD "FOLLOW" TONY SOPRANO AS HE KILLED ONE OF HIS RIVAL MOBSTERS IN A GRUESOME FASHION. IT MAY NOT BE SOMETHING WE WOULD DO OURSELVES. IT BECOMES THE ACTION THAT MOST ALIENATES THE AUDIENCE. WAS A MASTER OF PLAYING WITH THIS MORAL LINE AND HAD ALL THESE AMAZING WAYS OF BRINGING TONY TO THE EDGE OF THAT ACCEPTANCE OF WHAT HE WOULD DO. FOR EXAMPLE. NOW. BUT THEN WE WOULD DEFINITELY NOT BE HAPPY WITH TONY IF HE KILLED SOME RANDOM TEENAGER IN A GRUESOME FASHION. BUT THE LESSON FOR YOU SHOULD BE THE SAME (HULK IS GOING TO UNDERLINE FOR EFFECT): IF YOU’RE HAVING A CHARACTER COMMIT AN INCONSISTENCY.CHARACTER ACTUALLY DO THAT?" THIS QUESTION MATTERS SO DAMN MUCH BECAUSE WHEN A CHARACTER ONSCREEN DOES SOMETHING THEY TOTALLY WOULDN'T DO. YOU SHOULD BE BRINGING THAT INCONSISTENCY TO THE FOREFRONT OF THE CONFLICT. THE INCONSISTENCY CAN’T BE A MINOR OCCURRENCE. TIGER WOODS WAS SOMEONE WHO WAS POPULARLY THOUGHT OF AS THE PARAGON OF HARD WORK. THEY MAKE A SUBCONSCIOUS DECISION TO SAY “I’m no longer with you buddy! I’m just watching you do the wrong thing!” NOTICE HULK DIDN’T SAY “WHAT THE AUDIENCE WOULD DO” BECAUSE HULK IS NOT TALKING ABOUT LITERAL RIGHT OR WRONG HERE OR PERSONAL DISPOSITION. THAT RESPONSIBILITY NEVER HAD ANYTHING TO DO WITH SIMPLE MORALIZING. IT HAS TO ADD FUEL TO YOUR DRAMA AND MAKE YOUR CHARACTER MOTIVES CLEAR. BUT AS A COUNTERPOINT. WHO ONLY GETS TO LEARN ABOUT THE CHARACTER THROUGH THE VERY DIFFERENT LENS OF EXPERIENCING THE FILM. WHEN CHARLES BARKLEY WAS CAUGHT DOING THE SAME EXACT THING (AND SUPER-DRUNK DRIVING TO BOOT!) WE JUST SHOOK IT OFF AND SAID "THAT'S JUST CHARLES BEING CHARLES!" THE TAKEAWAY CAN’T BE CLEARER: WE BASICALLY ACCEPT PEOPLE AS LONG AS THEY ARE WHO WE THINK THEY ARE. WE SAW HIM AS A SHAM AND IT MADE US FURIOUS. THEY ONLY SEE WHAT COMES OUT FROM THE STORY.PUBLIC WAS COLLECTIVELY APPALLED. WHEN WRITING IT’S IMPORTANT TO GROUND YOURSELF IN THE CAPACITIES OF WHAT THE AUDIENCE WILL PERCEIVE. HULK KNOWS A FEW OF YOU MIGHT FIND THAT IDEA TO BE SILLY. IT COULD BE THE KIND OF PLOT-BASED REASONS THAT WOULD AWAKE SOMETHING ALREADY IN THE CHARACTER'S SOUL. YOU INSTINCTIVELY THINK "OF COURSE THE CHARACTER WOULD DO THAT! THAT’S WHAT I’M MAKING THEM DO AND I WANT TO DO IT! I HAVE IT ALL IN MY HEAD!” BUT TO THE AUDIENCE. WE WILL LOOK AT THE STORYTELLER LIKE THEY JUST WANTED THE CHARACTER TO FIT SOME POINT OF THE STORY THEY WANTED TO TELL. BUT YOU WON’T KNOW IF YOU CAN ACTUALLY COMMUNICATE UNTIL A BUNCH OF NATIVE FRENCH SPEAKERS CAN UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU ARE SAYING. IT DOESN'T WORK LIKE THAT. IT IS OFTEN HARD TO SEPARATE ONESELF FROM THE POWER AND CONTROL OVER WHAT YOU ARE WRITING. CHARACTER CONSISTENCY MATTERS SO MUCH TO OUR CULTURE AND THUS IT HAS TO MATTER TO OUR STORYTELLING TOO. BUT IT’S OBVIOUSLY PRETTY TRICKY. REMIND YOURSELF OF THEM CONSTANTLY. WE WANT THESE CHARACTERS TO EXPAND. . AND THE AUDIENCE WILL THINK OF THEM JUST LIKE THEY THINK OF TIGER WOODS. NOT JUST BECAUSE IT IS DIFFICULT TO BALANCE ALL THE CONFLICTING ELEMENTS. PARTICULARLY FOR A WRITER TO SEE IN HIS OR HER OWN WORK. YOU CAN TEACH YOURSELF FRENCH AND THINK YOU HAVE A MASTERY. YOU ARE LYING. IT HAS TO MAKE SENSE.. CINEMA IS AN EFFORT TO COMMUNICATE. AS SUCH. AND IF YOU DON'T GIVE THE CHARACTERS GOOD REASONS TO CHANGE. AND WHEN THEY ARE SUDDENLY PUSHING THEIR BOUNDARIES (BECAUSE ALL MAIN CHARACTERS SHOULD PUSH THEIR BOUNDARIES) IT HAS TO FEEL LIKE THAT GROWTH IS EARNED. THEY ARE ACTUALLY MUCH BETTER AT READING WHO THE CHARACTERS ARE AND THEIR CAPACITIES FOR GOOD AND BAD. AS THE CREATOR.. CHANGE. AS SUCH. THE NARRATIVE WE GIVE LIFE IS NOT FAR AWAY FROM THE NARRATIVE WE GIVE STORIES. AND HAVE ARCS. THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT IS INSIDE YOUR HEAD. BUT THINK ABOUT IT THROUGH THE ANALOGY OF LANGUAGE. HULK KNOWS THAT HULK IS MAKING THIS SINCERE CHARACTER THING SOUND LIKE IT'S AN EASY THING TO DO. AND THE AUDIENCE CAN SMELL THAT MANIPULATION FROM A MILE AWAY. THEN YOU ARE ESSENTIALLY MAKING YOUR CHARACTERS APPEAR INSINCERE. BECAUSE THEY ARE THE ONES WHO HAVE THE OBJECTIVE INFORMATION. SO WHEN A CHARACTER DOES SOMETHING IN YOUR STORY. AND JUST BECAUSE THE PERFECT IDEA OF THE MOVIE AND ITS INTENTIONS EXIST IN YOUR HEAD DOES NOT MEAN THAT IS WHAT COMES THROUGH ON THE PAGE OR SCREEN. THE MANIPULATION WILL SHOW. BUT BECAUSE. BUT THE STORY NEEDS TO GIVE THEM WHOLLY VALID REASONS TO DO SO. . THE FEET ARE ESSENTIALLY ALL WHOLLY PALPABLE DETAILS TO DRAW ON. HOW DO YOU EVEN DECIDE WHO YOUR CHARACTERS REALLY ARE? 10. YOU STILL HAVE TO DO WHAT MAKES SENSE FOR YOUR CHARACTER. BUT IT HAS TO BE SINCERE. NOT WHERE THE OBLIQUELY RELATED GRAND STORY WANTS THEM TO GO. GO WHERE THE CHARACTERS HAVE TO GO. BUT WHEN YOU DO THAT YOU HAVE TO DO IT RESPONSIBLY. HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHAT YOUR CHARACTERS WILL DO? BETTER YET. THE VALUE OF PRE-THOUGHT OUT CHARACTER DETAILS CAN DO SO MUCH FOR YOU.." TO WIT: A) FEET – WHAT DOES THE PERSON LOOK LIKE? WHAT ARE THE FACTS OF THEIR FAMILY HISTORY? WHERE HAVE THEY LIVED? WHERE DID THEY GO TO SCHOOL? WERE THEY POOR? DO THEY HAVE TATTOOS? WHO IS THEIR BEST FRIEND? WHAT IS THEIR OCCUPATION? THERE ARE A MILLION PERTINENT QUESTIONS. LIKE PHYSICAL DETAILS AND FACTS. CHARACTER TREES! Sweet! Actual methods of implementation! It only took Hulk 10. THEY REALLY CAN BE AN INVALUABLE TOOL FOR HELPING YOU CREATE FULLY-REALIZED CHARACTERS. B) GROIN – WHAT DOES THE PERSON WANT? HOW DOES THEIR SEXUALITY MANIFEST ITSELF? WHAT ABOUT THEM IS BASE AND PUERILE? GREED? APPROVAL? ESTEEM? GLUTTONY? YOU CAN BASICALLY RUN TOWARD THEIR APPROACH TO THE SEVEN . TANGIBLE REASONS TO DO THEM. YOU HAVE TO ACCOUNT FOR CHANGES WITH REAL. ESPECIALLY IN TELEVISION AND NOVELS WHERE THE DEPTHS AND HISTORIES OF YOUR CHARACTERS CAN BE EXPLORED IN A COHERENT WAY. ASK HOW IS THE AUDIENCE SEEING THIS MOMENT? WHAT DO THEY KNOW BY THIS POINT? ASK WHAT WOULD THE CHARACTERS REALLY DO? WHAT ARE THEIR MOTIVATIONS? WHAT DO THEY WANT? WHAT DO THEY NEED? ARE THEY SMART ENOUGH TO DO THAT? ARE THEY KIND ENOUGH TO DO THAT? ARE THEY MEAN ENOUGH TO DO THAT? YOU MAY LIKE THE EFFECT OF A DECISION. BUT TO DO THAT. IN THE END. WE WANT TO SURPRISE THE AUDIENCE AND BE UNCONVENTIONAL. HULK UNDERSTANDS THAT WE ALL WANT TO EXPLORE STORYTELLING IN AS ADVENTUROUS A WAY AS POSSIBLE. THUS BUILDING “A COMPLETE PERSON.REMOVE YOURSELF. YOU START AT THE BOTTOM OF THE FEET AND GO ALL THE WAY UP TO THE MIND. BUT EVEN FOR TRUNCATED SCREENPLAYS. HULK WAS ONCE INTRODUCED TO A SMART WAY OF KEEPING TRACK OF CHARACTER TREES BY USING HUMAN BODY PARTS.000 words to get there! Hurray! CHARACTER TREES ARE BASICALLY A HANDY WAY TO ORGANIZE THE DETAILS OF YOUR CHARACTERS AND GIVE YOU THE RIGHT IDEAS ON HOW TO MAKE THEM DYNAMIC. IT’S ALSO WHERE YOU CAN START TO PIECE TOGETHER WHAT REALLY MATTERS ABOUT THIS CHARACTER TO YOUR STORY. AND THEN AMALGAMATE THOSE DETAILS INTO AN ACTUAL CHARACTER PSYCHOLOGY. AND AFFECTATION. THE LEFT CHEEK IS THEIR METHODOLOGY. AND SO WHEN IT COMES TO YOUR DRAMATIC STRUCTURE. G) CROWN – NOW. C) HEART - WHAT DOES THE PERSON NEED? WHAT WILL MAKE THEM A MORE FUNCTIONAL PERSON? DO THEY NEED TO FIND SELF-CONFIDENCE? DO THEY NEED TO PROVIDE FOR THEIR FAMILY? DO THEY NEED TO FIND THEIR HUMILITY? THE HEART IS ESSENTIALLY ALL THE THINGS THEY SECRETLY NEED IN THEIR LIFE TO MAKE THEM A BETTER PERSON. THIS ONE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT BECAUSE THIS IS WHERE WE LOOK AT ALL THE BODY PARTS LISTED AND PIECE THEM TOGETHER TO SEE HOW THEY WORK AS AN ACTUAL PSYCHOLOGY. WHAT ARE THEIR DEFINING MEMORIES? WHAT IS THEIR PATHOLOGY? THE CROWN ESSENTIALLY ALLOWS YOU TO ANSWER THE QUESTION: WHO IS THIS CHARACTER? TA-DA! THAT’S IT! THAT’S HOW YOU DO A CHARACTER TREE. NOTICE HOW OFTEN THE GROIN WITH ITS WANTS AND IMPULSES LEADS TO CONFLICT WHEREAS THE HEART LEADS TO RESOLUTION. IT IS .DEADLY SINS HERE. ATTEMPT AT PRESENTATION. E) LEFT CHEEK – WHAT IS THEIR INTELLIGENCE? HOW DOES IT MANIFEST ITSELF? WHAT IS THEIR PRACTICALITY? HOW DO THEY SOLVE PROBLEMS? BASICALLY. F) RIGHT CHEEK - WHAT IS THEIR IDEALISTIC / ARTISTIC CAPACITY? WHAT IS THEIR CONSCIENCE AND MORALITY? WHAT IS THEIR UN-PRACTICALITY? WHAT IS THEIR SPIRITUALITY? THE RIGHT CHEEK IS THEIR ETHICS AND SOUL AND EXPOSES THEIR "RIGHT-BRAINED" ABILITIES. SO WHEN DEVELOPING THE HEART OF YOUR CHARACTER YOU SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT YOU ARE LIKELY DEVELOPING IT AROUND YOUR ENDING CATHARSIS (OR TRAGEDY OR LACK OF CATHARSIS. YOU START FACTUAL. IT’S SO SIMPLE AND TO THE POINT. DEPENDING ON THE STORY YOU’RE TELLING). AND THAT’S WHEN YOU KNOW YOU’RE CREATING A COMPLEX PERSON WITH A CONSCIOUS MIND AND A SUBCONSCIOUS ID. YOUR HEART AND GROIN WILL REALLY HELP WITH YOUR PLOTTING AND CHARACTER OBJECTIVES! D) THROAT – HOW DOES THE PERSON SOUND? NOT JUST THE LITERAL VOICE. SIMPLY PUT: SINCE CHARACTER MOTIVATION IS SO IMPORTANT. EXPOSING THE "LEFT-BRAINED" ABILITIES. NOTE: NOTICE THAT THE HEART IS EXTREMELY DIFFERENT FROM THE GROIN AND WHAT THE CHARACTER WANTS. WHICH ARE OFTEN MISGUIDED. THEN GET EMOTIONAL. THE GROIN COVERS ALL THE THINGS ABOUT THE CHARACTER THAT ARE BORN OUT OF IMPULSE AND DESIRE. THEN IDEOLOGICAL. BUT HOW DOES THE PERSON PROJECT THEMSELVES? HOW DO THEY TRY TO COME OFF TO OTHER PEOPLE? HOW DO THEY ACTUALLY COME OFF TO OTHER PEOPLE? WHAT IS THEIR "SURFACE VIBE" AS THEY SAY? THE THROAT IS BASICALLY THEIR POSTURE. SOUL.A GREAT WAY TO BUILD FULLY TEXTURED PEOPLE WITH WHOLE LIVES UNTO THEMSELVES. IS THAT A WRITER WILL FEEL LIKE THEY NEED TO CRAM IN ALL THE DETAILS OF THE TREE IN ORDER TO MAKE THE CHARACTER SEEM FULLY-REALIZED. THAT IS ALSO NOT TRUE! INSTEAD CHARACTERIZATION IS MORE ABOUT THE TEXTURE OF HOW CHARACTERS BEHAVE IN DRAMATIC CONTEXT. EVERY BENEFIT OF A METHOD WILL HAVE A DOWNSIDE. SO DON'T GO OVERBOARD WITH YOUR TREES! YOU WILL NOTICE A RUNNING THEME IN THIS BOOK IS THAT OF ACHIEVING BALANCE WITH ALL THESE DEVICES AND HELPFUL GUIDES. THEY REALLY ARE A GREAT TECHNIQUE FOR DEVELOPING YOUR CHARACTERS AND THE WORLDS THEY INHABIT. TRY TO WORK IT OUT ON YOUR OWN! ALL THAT BEING SAID. IT MAKES THE ASSUMPTION THAT THE DETAILS THEMSELVES DO THE HEAVY LIFTING OF CHARACTERIZATION. BUT COMPLETELY IGNORING CHARACTER BACKGROUNDS WILL MAKE YOUR STORY SEEM PAPER THIN. HULK IS GOING TO GIVE AN HONEST WARNING: BEWARE THE DANGERS OF CHARACTER TREES TOO! AND THAT IS BECAUSE CREATING SUCH AN ABUNDANCE OF INFORMATION BEFORE YOU’VE ACTUALLY FIGURED OUT YOUR STORY CAN ALSO LEAD TO A LOT OF EXTRANEOUS BULLSHIT. SO EVEN IF THE SANCTITY OF CHARACTER TREES ARE NOT THE BE-ALL-END-ALL OF YOUR WRITING PROCESS. AND THEY MAKE A GREAT CONTINUAL RESOURCE TO FALL BACK ON DURING YOUR WRITING PROCESS! 11. KNOW THAT YOU CAN ALWAYS CHANGE IT TO ENHANCE THE PSYCHOLOGY OR FIND SOMETHING MORE APPROPRIATE TO YOUR STORY! A MORE COMMON PROBLEM. IT EXAMINED ALL THE WAYS HIS WANTS. LIKE ALL THINGS. POSTURE. AND GETTING LOCKED INTO ANY ONE FORM OF CHARACTER METHODOLOGY WILL MAKE YOU LOSE THE ORGANIC QUALITIES A SCRIPT NEEDS TO FEEL NATURAL. WHEREAS OTHER FORCES (THAT HULK WILL SOON GET INTO) SHOULD BE DRIVING YOUR STORY! FOR TWO. THE WRITER CAN FEEL LIKE THEY ARE “LOCKED IN” TO THOSE DETAILS AFTER CREATING THE FULLY-TEXTURED TREES. CHARACTER TREES WORK SO WELL IN MAKING ALL YOUR CHARACTERS TRULY DIFFERENT FROM ONE ANOTHER. METHODOLOGY. ONE GREAT POSSIBLE HOMEWORK EXERCISE FOR THE MORE STUDIOUS AMONG YOU IS TO TAKE A RICHLY TEXTURED CHARACTER IN EXISTING MEDIA AND TRY RETROACTIVELY FILLING OUT THE CHARACTER TREE FOR THEM. FOR EXAMPLE. HULK WILL BRING YOU BACK TO TONY SOPRANO BECAUSE IT’S SUCH A GREAT EXAMPLE OF HOW A POPULAR CHARACTER’S PSYCHOLOGY WAS BROUGHT TO THE FOREFRONT OF THE SHOW’S STORYTELLING. IT IS MORE THERE FOR YOU AS A COMFORT AND SUPPORT FEATURE. BETTER YET. HOWEVER. NEEDS. DON'T BASE YOUR CHARACTERS ON ONE PERSON. COMBINE THEM! POINTS 11 THROUGH 15 CONCERN THE EFFECT OF REAL-LIFE INSPIRATION ON OUR . AND HISTORY WERE SHOWN THROUGH BOTH HIS CONSCIOUS AND SUBCONSCIOUS EXISTENCE. FOR INSTANCE. THIS IS ALSO NOT THE CASE! FOR ONE. IT IS ABOUT BALANCE. YOU HAVE THAT ONE FRIEND WHO IS REALLY INTERESTING? AND THAT OTHER FRIEND . IN FACT. THERE'S NO REAL WAY NOT TO INCORPORATE THEM INTO OUR WRITING IN SOME FORM OR OTHER. BECAUSE LET'S FACE IT. AN AUDIENCE CANNOT IMPLICITLY SENSE WHAT YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS REAL PERSON. THE BETTER OFF YOU WILL BE. KNOW THIS: JUST BECAUSE A CHARACTER IS REAL DOESN'T MAKE THEM FEEL REAL. AND IF YOU'VE EVER BEEN IN OR TAUGHT CREATIVE WRITING STUDENTS.WRITING PROCESS. AND UNLESS THAT INFORMATION ACTUALLY CONVEYS SOMETHING WITH MEANING. HULK DID IT BACK IN THE DAY TOO. THEY CAN ONLY SENSE THE INFORMATION AND CHARACTERIZATION THAT IS GIVEN. OUR FRIENDS AND LOVED ONES ARE A HUGE INFLUENCE ON OUR THOUGHTS AND EXPERIENCES. IF ANYTHING IT’S SOMETHING WE ALL NEED TO GET OVER. YOU WILL ABSOLUTELY ENCOUNTER THE SAME PROBLEM EVERY SINGLE SEMESTER: HULK: "LISTEN JIMMY. HULK’S NOT SURE THE CHARACTER CHOICE THERE REALLY WORKS FOR WHAT YOU’RE TRYING TO SET UP LATER-" JIMMY: "But this is a real person!" HULK: “OKAY. SO WHAT TO DO WHEN REAL-LIFE PEOPLE ARE INSPIRING YOU ANYWAY? WHAT TO DO IF YOU RECOGNIZE A TRUTH IN THIS REAL-LIFE PERSON THAT YOU WANT TO EXPLORE IT? HOW DO YOU APPROXIMATE THE INFLUENCE OF REAL PEOPLE INTO YOUR SCRIPT IN A MORE ORGANIC FASHION? HOW DO YOU MAKE THEM INTO SOMETHING FAR MORE ORGANIC AND UNIQUE? HULK HAS A SUREFIRE TRICK TO MAKING YOUR CHARACTERS MORE INTERESTING: COMBINE THEM. BUT-” JIMMY: “But this really happened!” IT’S A VERY EASY THING DO AS A YOUNG WRITER. LIKE DID YOU KNOW THAT IT’S SURPRISINGLY EASY TO TELL WHEN A YOUNG WRITER IS BASING A CHARACTER ON SOMEONE THEY KNOW? HULK SEES THIS ALL THE TIME IN SCRIPTS AND THE REASON IT SUCKS IS THAT THE WRITER MAKES THE ASSUMPTION THAT THE CHARACTER'S "REALITY" WILL DO ALL THE HEAVY LIFTING AND PROVIDE THE NEEDED TEXTURE. IT IS HENCE MEANINGLESS. BUT YOU HAVE TO BE CAREFUL WITH IT. BEING EXTREMELY SINGULAR WITH YOUR INFLUENCES CAN BE DEEPLY PROBLEMATIC FOR… WELL… A VARIETY OF REASONS. AND WHAT ACTUALLY MATTERS IS WHETHER OR NOT THE ACTION MAKES SENSE FOR THE CHARACTER AS PRESENTED. BECAUSE THE SOONER YOU CAN COME TO THE REALIZATION THAT THE PERSON’S REALITY DOESN'T MATTER FOR YOUR NARRATIVE. COMBINE THREE CHARACTERS IF IT MAKES SENSE! PART OF THE REASON THIS SEEMS SO COUNTERINTUITIVE IS THAT WE LIKE TO THINK THAT WE SEE THE PEOPLE IN OUR LIVES AS COMPLEX. SUDDENLY YOU’RE NOT SEARCHING FOR “WHAT’S THERE. AND THE GREGARIOUS PARTY-GOING BEHAVIOR BECAME AN INTERESTING WAY FOR THE INDIAN CHARACTER TO MANIFEST HIS ASSIMILATION INTO AMERICAN SOCIAL CULTURE. IT ALSO MADE THE PROBLEMS WITH HIS TRADITIONAL INDIAN PARENTS FEEL MUCH MORE TEXTURED INSTEAD OF OBLIGATORY. BUT JUST GO "OH THAT'S JUST SO AND SO!" AND SO OFTEN WE CAN’T HELP BUT DEFINE THEM IN TERMS OF HOW THEY AFFECT US. AND VICE-VERSA - THE PARTY-GUY SUDDENLY FELT SO MUCH MORE INTERESTING AND ATYPICAL OF THE ALPHA-MALE FIGURE OF AMERICANA. BETTER YET. SO WHAT HULK LOVES ABOUT THIS METHOD IS THAT IT FORCES YOU TO REMOVE THE SINGULAR WAY IN WHICH YOU THINK ABOUT THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU. BUT IT BECOMES SO MUCH FUN TRYING TO FIND THE NEAT COMBINATIONS OF PEOPLE THAT ACTUALLY FIT TOGETHER. FUNNY KID WHO LOVED PARTYING AND WAS WASTING AWAY HIS PARENTS’ COLLEGE MONEY. AND THEY VERY MUCH ARE.WHO IS REALLY INTERESTING. IT BECAME A FASCINATING OVER-COMPENSATION. (NOTE: THIS MOVIE WAS NOT VAN WILDER.) AND THEN IT JUST DAWNED ON HULK: COMBINE THEM! WOULDN'T YOU KNOW IT? BUT SUDDENLY THE CHARACTER WAS LEAPING OFF THE PAGE.” AND OF COURSE. HULK WAS ONCE WORKING ON A SCRIPT IN FILM SCHOOL IN WHICH TWO OF THE SIDE-CHARACTERS HULK KIND OF BASED ON REAL LIFE FOLKS WERE COMING OFF FLAT AND ONE-DIMENSIONAL. IT CREATES NEW MEANING TO ALL THOSE DETAILS. IT REMOVED THE STEREOTYPE OF BOTH CHARACTERS. TOO? IF YOU TRY TO WRITE THEM INDIVIDUALLY THEY ALWAYS HAVE A TENDENCY TO COME OFF AS FLAT AND WOODEN. YOU FORCE THEM TO BE FILTERED THROUGH A PRISM OF OTHER CHARACTERISTICS AND SUDDENLY IT REMOVES THEIR SINGULARITY. THE FIRST WAS A GREGARIOUS. SO HULK STARTED TO DO THIS WITH PRETTY MUCH EVERY SINGLE REAL LIFE INSPIRATION. COMBINING THEM COMPLETELY REVOLUTIONIZED THIS CHARACTER'S STORY. IT GETS YOU TO MAKE CHOICES. THIS DEVICE IS NOT SOME ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL THING YOU CAN DO WITH ANY TWO CHARACTERS. HIS "INDIAN-NESS" NO LONGER DEFINED HIM.” BUT INSTEAD “WHAT MAKES SENSE. SUDDENLY THE CHARACTER HAS A BRAND NEW PSYCHOLOGY! SERIOUSLY. YOU'D BE SHOCKED HOW QUICKLY THE CHARACTER IS BRIMMING WITH DEPTH AND POSSIBILITIES. BUT IF YOU COMBINE THE TWO OF THEM? AND YOU CREATE A SHARED WEALTH OF HISTORY AND WANTS AND NEEDS AND BACKGROUNDS TO DRAW ON? WELL. AND IT WORKED LIKE GANGBUSTERS. WE LOOK AT THEM AND RARELY THINK OF THEIR TOTALITY. THE OTHER WAS AN INDIAN STUDENT WITH AN INTERESTING FAMILY STORY WHO WAS TRYING TO APPROXIMATE SOME KIND OF FUN EXPERIENCE IN COLLEGE. IT MAKES YOU THINK ABOUT WHAT IS APPROPRIATE. A LONG. LONG TIME AGO HULK STUMBLED INTO THIS DYNAMIC (WHICH HULK ASSURES YOU IS NOT NEW). AND HECK. BUT BELIEVE IT OR NOT WE HAVE A TENDENCY TO STILL REDUCE THEM IN OUR MINDS TO THEIR OWN KIND OF STEREOTYPES OF INDIVIDUALITY. AND IT ABSOLUTELY . HOW TO FILTER YOUR REAL LIFE INTO STORYTELLING STORY INSPIRATION DOESN'T JUST COME FROM THE CHARACTERS WE CREATE. IN FACT. THUS WE MUST TAKE THESE INSPIRATIONS AND EVENTS AND FILTER THEM INTO REAL STORYTELLING MODELS AND BEATS THAT MAKE SENSE FOR DRAMATIC PURPOSES (WE'LL EXPLORE THIS IN GREATER DETAIL LATER IN THE STRUCTURE SECTION). IT MAY SEEM COMPLETELY COUNTERINTUITIVE. AND IF YOU’RE TRYING TO TELL A STORY WHERE YOU’RE INTERESTED IN OUR MOST AMAZING FEATS THEN BY ALL MEANS HAVE AT IT. AND STORIES WHETHER THEY BE HILARIOUS. BUT A LOT OF YOU AREN’T. A LOT OF YOU ARE TRYING TO TELL HUMAN STORIES ABOUT PEOPLE WHO HAVE FAULTS AND FAIL. LIKE THE MUNDANE HEROISM OF GETTING UP AND GOING TO WORK EVERY DAY. HORRIFYING. MOVIES CAN OFTEN EXPERIENCE SOMETHING HULK CALLS “THE TRUE STORY COMPLEX. RARELY DO YOU SEE NORMALCIES CONTAINED WITHIN THEM. AND THEY CAN OFTEN FAIL TO RESONATE WITH AUDIENCES. OR DOING WHAT YOU NEED TO DO IN ORDER TO FEED YOUR FAMILY. DOESN'T MAKE IT FEEL REAL TO AN AUDIENCE. MEANWHILE. BUT THE SAME IDEA APPLIES: YOU CAN’T BE LAZY AND ASSUME THE READER KNOWS THE EVENT IN QUESTION IS TRUE JUST BECAUSE THE AUTHOR DOES. THE SAME LESSON AS POINT 11 APPLIES: JUST BECAUSE IT HAPPENED. AND AS AN UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCE. AND THE GREAT THING ABOUT THIS METHODOLOGY IS THAT IT IS NOT JUST TRUE OF CHARACTERS… 12. OUR NONFICTION IS OFTEN IMMENSE AND TOWERING BECAUSE WE ARE NATURALLY ATTRACTED TO OUR EXTREMES AND GRANDEST POSSIBILITIES.” YOU EVER NOTICE HOW REAL LIFE CAN HAVE THIS STRANGE WAY OF FEELING DISTINCTLY "UNREAL"? AFTER ALL. ANYWAY? WHY DO WE TRY TO COLOR OUR FICTION WITH THE . NONFICTION STORIES ARE USUALLY FILLED WITH THE GRANDEST ELEMENTS AND EXTREMES OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR. BUT AGAIN. A LOT OF “TRUE” ELEMENTS HAVE A FUNNY WAY OBSCURING THE THEMATIC POINTS YOU MAY WANT TO MAKE. BUT DRAWING ON REAL LIFE REALLY DOESN'T MAKE YOUR WRITING RING TRUE. OR MUNDANE. FICTION IS BUILT FOR WHAT FEELS TRUE. NO. EXPERIENCES. BUT WHY DO WE DO IT. THINK ABOUT THIS MOST SIMPLE FACT: THE VERY REASON WE DESIGNATE THE ENTIRE GENRE AS NONFICTION IS BECAUSE WE ARE DOING SOMETHING SO “UNTRUE” THAT WE HAVE TO BACK IT UP WITH TRUESTORY-ISM SO THE AUDIENCE HAS TO BELIEVE IT. IT COMES FROM OUR OWN LIVES.BREEDS THREE-DIMENSIONAL CHARACTERIZATION. THE PROBLEM IS THAT IT’S SO NATURAL TO BELIEVE THAT A PERSONAL STORY IS INHERENTLY UNIVERSAL. THAT THEY HAVE THE KINDS OF FAULTS THAT AREN’T REALLY FAULTS (“SO AND SO NEVER HAD ANY TIME FOR LOVE!”). YOU ARE NOT SUPPLEMENTING A UNIVERSAL EXPERIENCE FOR OTHERS. AND YOU ARE LIKELY CREATING AN INSINCERE CATHARSIS FOR ONLY YOURSELF. IT DIRECTLY TIES INTO HULK’S PREVIOUS WARNINGS ABOUT INDULGENCE. HULK URGES YOU TO REMEMBER WHAT HULK IS ABOUT TO SAY. TO ILLUSTRATE. YOU ARE EXCLUDING THEM. WE’RE EXACTING REVENGE ON OUR EXPERIENCES INSTEAD OF TRYING TO SHOW HOW THEY HELPED US GROW. WE’RE NOT LETTING THE THINGS THAT HAPPEN TO US CHANGE US. THE FACT THAT PROTAGONISTS ARE ALWAYS DUDES. BUT IT’S MORE HELPFUL TO LOOK AT THE KINDS OF TROPES THAT ARE CREATED BY THIS “WISH” DYNAMIC: THE INFALLIBLE PROTAGONISTS. AS PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON ONCE PUT IT "YOU'RE JUST WORKING OUT YOUR PSYCHOSIS AT EVERYONE ELSE'S $8. HULK WILL NOW TURN TO ANOTHER OLD ADAGE ABOUT STORYTELLING. IN FACT. ON THE MOST BASIC LEVEL. DO YOU SEE THE DIFFERENCE? WHEN WE IMPART A DESIRE TO CORRECT THE TRAUMATIC THINGS THAT HAPPEN TO US. AND QUITE OFTEN THEY TEACH US LESSONS AND HELP US GROW. HULK COULD SINGLE OUT A HOST OF ROMANTIC COMEDIES AND INDEPENDENT MOVIES THAT ARE MOST GUILTY OF THIS BEHAVIOR. IT REALLY JUST LEADS TO A LOT OF PURE MASTURBATORY WRITING. THEY CHANGE OUR DISPOSITION. WRITERS TURNING THE . DO NOT JUST WRITE THE STORY OF YOUR LIFE WITH THE LINES YOU WISH YOU SAID! NOT ONLY DOES IT REEK OF AMATEUR HOUR.50" (THAT SHOULD CLEARLY BE UPDATED TO 15 BUCKS). THE MAGIC GIRLFRIEND CHARACTERS WHO CAN DO NO WRONG. THINK ABOUT IT. BUT WE HAVE TO BE SURE WE ARE NOT THE ONES TRYING TO TEACH OUR STORIES A LESSON. THE REASON WE DO IT IS SUBCONSCIOUS. WE’RE STILL TRYING TO CHANGE THEM… AND REALLY WE’RE JUST BEING PETTY. AND REALLY.OVERT SPECIFIC DETAILS OF OUR LIVES? IT’S NOT A TERRIBLE INCLINATION IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT. EVEN IF YOUR EYES ARE GLAZING OVER AND YOU HAVE SKIMMED THROUGH EVERY SINGLE OTHER THING IN THIS BOOK. BUT WHY DO WE RALLY AROUND THE SPECIFICITY SO MUCH? WHAT EXPERIENCES CAUSE US TO WRITE CERTAIN NON-FUNCTIONAL DETAILS IN OUR ART? A LOT OF TIMES. WE HAVE TO DRAW ON EXPERIENCES TO HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY ABOUT LIFE. HULK ASKED IN THE INSPIRATION SECTION “WHAT COMPELS YOU” AND SO OFTEN THE EXPERIENCES THAT HURT US ARE THE ONES THAT STICK WITH US. IT SEEMS REASONABLE AND NECESSARY. AND THERE’S A SINCERE DANGER IN DOING SO. THE NOT-SO MAGIC GIRLFRIENDS WHO ARE JUST EVIL FOR NO REASON AND ARE THERE TO WRECK THE PROTAGONIST’S HEART. WE NEED A HUMAN EXPERIENCE TO CREATE A HUMAN EXPERIENCE. JUST TAKE AWAY ONE SIMPLE GUIDELINE: 13. BECAUSE YOU THINK YOU ARE INHERENTLY LIKEABLE. GO BACK AND . IT JUST NATURALLY SKEWS TOWARD ALL THE INDULGENT. HULK ARGUES THAT PICKING A MAIN CHARACTER THAT FEELS DISTANCE TO YOU IN TERMS OF EXPERIENCE OR ETHOS CAN ACTUALLY BE A GREAT LEARNING TOOL. IT TAKES A SPECIAL KIND OF SELFDISSONANCE AND THE DESIRE AND WILL TO EVISCERATE YOURSELF IN DRAMATIC FUNCTION. THUS YOU WILL RELATE TO THEM THE WAY THE AUDIENCE DOES. BUT ACHIEVING BALANCE IS ALWAYS THE RIGHT INSTINCT.ISSUES OF THE FILM AND STORY INTO THEIR OWN PERSONAL SOAPBOX. IT’S ALL A WEIRD FORM OF INSINCERE. AND THIS TIME IT IS THE UNDERSTANDING THAT BOTH REALITY AND SELF-STORY DO NOT AUTOMATICALLY MAKE FOR GOOD FICTION. IT’S HUMAN NATURE. VIDEO GAME DESIGNERS AUTOMATICALLY PROGRAMMING THEIR LIKENESSES AS THE HEROES. HECK. IT’S NOT TO SAY YOU CAN'T MAKE THE STORY OF YOUR LIFE WORK. YOU WILL BE ASSUMPTIVE. EITHER. LIKE WITH THE BEST FILMS IN THE OEUVRE OF WOODY ALLEN. SELF-AGGRANDIZING STORY PURPOSED THROUGH THE JUSTIFICATION OF “SINCERE EXPERIENCE. ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU NEED TO LEARN HOW TO WRITE OTHER PEOPLE FIRST. DO NOT WRITE “YOURSELF” AS THE MAIN CHARACTER WE ALWAYS WANT TO DO IT. ALL OF THIS IS HINTING AT A PRETTY DAMN GOOD RULE THAT WE CAN JUST USE AS EXTENSION: 14. HULK COULD GO ON AND ON. BUT LIKE EVERY “RULE” HULK PRESENTS IN THIS BOOK. YOU WILL NATURALLY BE PREDISPOSED TO CHEAT EMPATHY AND EMBRACE POSTURE. HULK KEEPS SAYING IT (BECAUSE IT’S TRUE). IT WILL PLACE YOU IN THE MIND OF THE AUDIENCE WHO DOESN’T KNOW THIS PERSON. MASTURBATORY STUFF HULK ALLUDED TO ABOVE. NOR IS WRITING A VERSION OF YOURSELF AS THE MAIN CHARACTER IMPOSSIBLE TO DO WELL… IT’S JUST THAT IT’S EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO DO SO.” ACTUALLY. YOU’LL ASSUME YOUR PROTAGONIST IS LIKEABLE. AT TIMES HE OUTRIGHT EXPLAINS HOW INSIGNIFICANT IT IS AND HOW IT ONLY HELPS THE ARTIST (THIS IS THE ENTIRE THEME OF DECONSTRUCTING HARRY). YOU WILL SHADE EXPERIENCES THAT MAKE THEM SEEM BAD TO COME OUT BETTER. YOU WILL BE ESCHEWING INDULGENCE. IT’S JUST THAT IT’S A TERRIBLE LEARNING TOOL. TRUST HULK ON THIS ONE. YOU WILL BE BEST SERVING THE PURPOSE OF STORYTELLING. IT’S ABOUT UNDERSTANDING THE MECHANISM AND REASON WE DO SOMETHING. BUT HULK SWEARS TO YOU IF YOU’RE A YOUNG WRITER IT WON’T BE A HELPFUL TOOL. AND YOU WON’T BE LIVING VICARIOUSLY THROUGH THEM IN YOUR MADE-UP UNIVERSE. EVEN THE MOST LAUDED MASTURBATORY WORKS CALL DIRECT ATTENTION TO THE CALLOUSNESS OF WRITING A MASTURBATORY WORK. HE WEAVES THE PROBLEMS AND HANG-UPS OF HIS OWN MASTURBATORY WRITING DIRECTLY INTO THE NARRATIVE. THERE ALWAYS HAS TO BE A PURPOSE AND REASON FOR THE INCLUSION. IT WILL TEACH YOU HOW TO USE EMPATHY. IT’S NOT THAT THE STORYTELLING CAN’T BE DONE WELL THIS WAY. ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU START SELLING YOUR STORY AS “REAL”… 15. INSTEAD. . BELIEVE IT OR NOT. THE BIOPIC / REALITY COMPLICATION IF WHAT HULK JUST SAID IS TRUE FOR YOUR FICTIONAL STORIES. SO THAT THE TRADITIONAL STORYTELLING ELEMENTS DO NOT FEEL HALFASSED. SURE. BECAUSE GETTING TOO CLOSE TO REAL LIFE IS PRETTY COMPLICATED. IT GOES DOUBLE FOR BIOPICS AND “TRUE STORY” INSPIRED FILMS. BRIDGE GAPS. SO AS A WRITER / FILMMAKER. BUT HULK IMPLORES YOU TO CONSIDER THE REASONS YOU ARE DOING SO. YOU HAVE TWO REAL OPTIONS. THE FIRST IS TO HEAVILY LAYER ON THE CONVENTIONS OF NARRATIVE OVER THE STORY. THE WRITERS WILL RECOUNT ALL THE "GREATEST HITS" IN A PERSON'S LIFE. SO THEY DO NOT FEEL INCONSISTENT WITH THE OVERALL TONE OF THE PIECE. THEN. BUT IT DOESN'T EVER END UP FEELING LIKE ONE. AND SURE WRITERS DO THEIR BEST TO TRY AND MAKE IT A STORY.WATCH KAUFMAN AND JONZE'S ADAPTATION. AS THEY TEND TO HAVE A REALLY HIGH DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY AND THAT ALWAYS LEADS TO SEVERAL REOCCURRING PROBLEMS WITH THE FORM. YOU CAN TELL THE STORY OF YOUR LIFE AND PRESENT YOURSELF AS THE MAIN CHARACTER. WHY IS THE FORM SO DIFFICULT? BECAUSE RECOUNTING A LIFE STORY TENDS TO HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH HOW NARRATIVES ACTUALLY WORK. YOU JUST HAVE TO BE SUPER CONFIDENT THAT THOSE NARRATIVE CONVENTIONS ACTUALLY FIT THE TRUTH OF THE PERSON TOO (OTHERWISE YOU MIGHT JUST BE MAKING PROPAGANDA). AND OFTEN ATTEMPTS TO CRAM CLEAR NARRATIVE DEVICES OR SCENE PURPOSE OR RECURRING THEMES INTO THE STORY FEEL COMPLETELY DISINGENUOUS. IT’S ACTUALLY A HELLUVA PROBLEM. SO LET’S JUST BE UPFRONT: HULK HAS A GREAT DEAL OF RESERVATIONS WHEN IT COMES TO THE BIOPIC AS A FILM FORM. TELL A STORY. EVERY HUMAN HAS EVENTS THAT CHANGE THEM AND NATURAL ACT BREAKS. AND TO FURTHER CONSIDER THE IMPORT OF WHAT YOU ARE GIVING AN AUDIENCE. DOES IT? OFTEN IT JUST FEELS LIKE STUFF HAPPENING. GIVE US THE TOOLS TO HELP WORK OUT OUR OWN. AND MUST ULTIMATELY EMBRACE STORYTELLING CONVENTIONS TO MAKE THOSE IDEAS RESONATE (EVEN IF ONE DOES SO SOMEWHAT CHEAPLY). SO SURE. AND INCONSISTENT WITH THE OTHERWISE “REALISTIC” TONE OF THE FILM. BE SURE IT’S NOT JUST FOR YOU TO WORK OUT YOUR DRAMA. YOU MAKE IT FEEL JUST AS TIGHT AS ANY FICTIONAL PIECE. GIVE US AN EXPERIENCE OF EMPATHY. SHOEHORNED. IT'S ALL ABOUT HOW ONE CANNOT SIMPLY RELY ON THE FACETS OF TRUTH AND MUST SEARCH FOR BEAUTY AND TRUTH AND THEMES. AND THAT FILM EXPLAINS IT BETTER THAN HULK EVER COULD. WHICH IS 100% ABOUT THIS ENTIRE CONCEPT. HULK CALLS THIS THE JOURNO-CINEMATIC ROUTE. ALL ADDING UP TO A MUCH LARGER STORY. THE CHARACTER’S DRIVE HELP'S FUEL THE FILM'S DRIVE. THE SECOND OPTION IS TO PRETTY MUCH DISMISS THE CONCEPT OF NARRATIVE ALL TOGETHER AND COMMIT SOLELY TO THE CONCEPT OF ACCURACY. BUT EACH OF THEM FEELS LIKE ITS OWN SPECIFIC LITTLE MOVIE. IT FEELS TRUE. WHETHER FICTION OR NONFICTION. THEN HIS JAIL DAYS. THERE ARE STILL A LOT OF PEOPLE . HE EXPRESSES MALCOLM'S LIFE THROUGH TRIED AND TRUE STORY TROPES. TO FIND OSAMA BIN LADEN. THEIR UNBENDING FIXATION IS THERE TO SERVE THE PROPULSION OF THE NARRATIVE. TO UNLOCK NIXON'S WATERGATE. YOU BE LIKE ZODIAC. THEY ARE FILLED WITH CHARACTERS THAT PUSH THROUGH DISCOVERING THE NARRATIVE ITSELF. THIS WORKS LESS WELL WITH A PERSON'S LIFE. EVEN THOUGH THESE KINDS OF FILMS ARE SOME OF HULK'S FAVORITES (AND MAYBE YOURS AS WELL). THEN HIS RISING UP INTO POWER DAYS. BUT THE FILM SHOULD BE FOCUSING ON NARRATIVE PROPULSION. LEE FULLY EMBRACED THE PRINCIPALS OF NARRATIVE AT EVERY TURN SO THAT THE SUPPOSEDLY RESTRICTING "FACTS" BECAME INCREDIBLY COMPELLING. YOU BE LIKE THE FRENCH CONNECTION. HE APPROACHES EACH OF MALCOLM’S LIFE EVENTS LIKE LITTLE MINI-MOVIES. THIS MEANS YOU TELL THE STORY THROUGH THE EVOLUTION OF RELEVANT DETAILS. AND ULTIMATELY. AND IN DOING SO HE CREATES A BIOPIC THAT ISN'T JUST TRUE. BUT THIS DETAIL IS REVELATORY. IN ALL THESE FILMS YOU ESCHEW OR DOWNPLAY THE PRINCIPALS OF NARRATIVE AND CHARACTER ARCS TO TELL THE STORY OF "AN EVENT" THROUGH THE FIXATION OF DETAIL. YOU BE LIKE CONTAGION. THEN HIS PERIOD OF LEARNING (EDUCATION MONTAGE!). TO FIND CHARNIER. TO UNDERSTAND AND CURE THE DISEASE. HE AMPLIFIES THE FACTS CINEMATICALLY. AND MUCH BETTER WITH A SPECIFIC EVENT OR TIMEFRAME. YOU BE LIKE ZERO DARK THIRTY. SO WHERE IS THE ARC? WHERE IS THE CHARACTER CHANGE WE TRULY NEED IN MOVIES? THE EVENT BECOMES THE CHARACTER. TOO. THERE ARE WAY MORE SECTIONS THAN THESE. THERE'S SO MUCH PROPULSION AND ECONOMY TO EACH MINI-STORY. HE DOESN'T CHANGE THE FACTS. USUALLY THROUGH THE CHARACTER’S FIXATION ON THE EVENT ITSELF! THE FIRST TIME HULK REALIZED THAT LITTLE NUGGET SUDDENLY THE ENTIRE PLOTBASED FILM CONCEPT MADE SO MUCH SENSE. THE ACTUAL HUMAN CHARACTERS COME IN AND OUT AND SHOULD BE ENTERTAINING AND FULLY-REALIZED. IT ABSOLUTELY BLEW HULK'S MIND WHEN HULK FIRST HEARD THIS IDEA. IN ALL THESE REAL EVENT FILMS HULK LISTS ABOVE. EVEN WITH MADE-UP STORIES THAT STILL WANT TO CAPTURE THE TEXTURE OF REALITY YOU CAN DO THIS. TO FIND THE ZODIAC KILLER. AT FIRST THERE WAS MALCOLM’S HUSTLING DAYS. THE STORIES IN THE FILM ALL HAVE VERY SPECIFIC NARRATIVE CONVENTIONS. HIS MEDITATIVE FINAL DAYS. IT SEEMS TO FLY IN THE FACE OF ALL THE CHARACTER-CENTRIC STUFF HULK SAID EARLIER. THE BEST EXAMPLE OF HEAVY NARRATIVE LAYERING DONE RIGHT IS SPIKE LEE'S INCREDIBLE MALCOLM X. HE MAKES THE FILM EPISODIC. YOU BE LIKE ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN. . EVERYONE WAS LIKE "The Wire is totally. PARTICULARLY GREEK DRAMA STRUCTURES. IT IS HARDER FOR THE AUDIENCE TO EMPATHIZE. THE PROBLEM IS THAT OPTION IS SO DIFFICULT TO DO THAT HULK HAS ONLY REALLY SEEN ONE NARRATIVE PERFECTLY CAPTURE IT IN THE ENTIRETY OF TV AND FILM (NOVELS ARE MUCH BETTER AT IT. there’s gotta be!!” FINE. EVEN WITH ALL THE SHOW'S FIXATION ON DETAIL. BUT YOU JUST ALWAYS HAVE TO HOPE THEY STAY ENGAGED. Hulk? WHATEVER. real man. BECAUSE THE SHOW ALSO STICKS SO BEAUTIFULLY TO THE ELEMENTS OF NARRATIVE. AND THAT IS YOU HAVE TO PERFECTLY CAPTURE THE SANCTITY OF REALISTIC DETAIL AND COMBINE IT WITH THE ETHOS OF CHARACTERDRIVEN STORY IN COMPLETE AND TOTAL HARMONY. AND IF YOU'RE GOING TO TRY TO REPLICATE IT. THEMATICALLY LOADED TELEVISION SHOW THAT HAS EVER EXISTED. ALWAYS HOPE THEY COULD SEE IT LIKE HULK DOES AND SEE THE EVENT AS THE CHARACTER.. THEY STILL USED PERFECT STORY ECONOMY.. THERE'S ONE OPTION. BUT THEY HAVE THE SPACE AND CLARITY OF INTENTION). AND IN TERMS OF THEME IT MAY BE THE SINGLE MOST SOCIALLYCONSCIOUS.IN THE TRADITIONAL AUDIENCE THAT CAN'T RELATE TO THEM. Hulk. WHO DREW ON THEIR REAL LIVES AND EXPERIENCES. NEUTRAL UNIVERSE)." . IT'S THE WIRE. THEY MIGHT BE MISSING OUT. THEY WERE JUST SO DAMN GOOD AT GROUNDING THOSE NARRATIVES IN THE JOURNALISTIC INFLUENCES AND BLENDING ALL OF IT WITH A KIND OF MUTED UN-CINEMATIC TEXTURE. PEOPLE OFTEN MISTAKE THE WIRE FOR ONLY HAVING THE JOURNO-CINEMATIC ROUTE AND THAT'S NOT ACCURATE. THERE’S OFTEN NO CENTRAL CHARACTER JOURNEY. BUT THAT'S ONLY HALF THE STORY. BUT HULK UNDERSTANDS WHY IT’S HARD. “Hyperbole much. NOW. OTHER THAN LITTLE SUBTLE STUFF." POINT BEING IT WAS AN UNSTYLIZED. IF YOU’RE GOING TO TRY AND SPLIT THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE INFLUENCE OF REAL. JUST UNDERSTAND HOW HARD IT IS .. YES. THAT NARRATIVE IS THE WIRE. SURE. AND THEY USED THOSE DETAILS IN SUCH A RESPONSIBLE WAY THAT IT JUST SEEMED LIKE THE JOURNALISTIC ELEMENT WAS DOMINANT. BUT THE FILMMAKER JUST HAS TO RECONCILE THE FACT THAT KIND OF PLOT-DRIVEN REALITY STORY IS NOT FOR EVERYONE. THEY ONLY USED THE LEVEL OF JOURNALISTIC DETAIL THEY NEEDED AND THE REST IS TRADITIONAL CHARACTER ARC AND CATHARSIS. like. TRUE STORY-ISM AND CHARACTER-CENTRIC INTENTION. THE SHOW WAS WRITTEN BY FORMER JOURNALISTS. YOU MAY SAY TO ALL THIS: “B-but Hulk! That can’t be right! Just two options?!? With nothing in the middle?!? There’s gotta be a way to split the difference. IT RESISTED ALL FORMS OF STYLIZATION (THERE'S A GREAT ANECDOTE WHERE DAVID SIMON TALKS ABOUT A CHOICE NOT TO HAVE THE CAMERA PAN DOWN TO SHOW AN IMPORTANT DETAIL BECAUSE "THE CAMERA WOULDN'T KNOW TO DO THAT. BUT WRITING A COMPELLING NARRATIVE OFTEN DOESN’T HAVE THAT MUCH TO DO WITH SCIENTIFIC ACCURACY AND PLOT HOLES. BUT THANKFULLY OUR RESEARCH DEPARTMENTS HAVE GOTTEN PRETTY DAMN GOOD AT THIS. BUT EVEN THEN. WE MAY NEVER SEE ANYTHING LIKE THIS SHOW AGAIN. RESEARCH! HULK COULD GIVE YOU A SIMPLE NOTE HERE OF “DO YOUR RESEARCH!” AND BE DONE WITH THAT. THE PROBLEM WITH TALKING ABOUT MOVIES IS THAT SO OFTEN PEOPLE ARE COMING FROM DIFFERENT PLACES WHEN IT COMES TO NOT JUST THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOUR FILM BUT THE “ACCURACY” OF IT TOO. AND IT GOT PEOPLE EXCITED ABOUT THOSE CONCEPTS. BUT THAT WOULD IGNORE WHAT HULK SEES AS A RATHER COMPLEX ISSUE. FOR INSTANCE WITH LOST (WHICH WAS AN AMAZING SHOW ALL THINGS CONSIDERED). WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? WELL. THEN A LOT OF WRITERS IN THIS INDUSTRY ARE GUILTY OF BEING LAZY. LIKE HOW OFTEN HAS IT SEEMED THAT THE WRITERS HAVE NEVER USED A COMPUTER AND DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT THE TERM "HACKING" ACTUALLY MEANS? THE ‘90S ARE AN UTTER GRAVEYARD OF TECHNOBABBLE. BUT FAR MORE TO DO WITH THE IDEAS HULK HAS ALREADY MENTIONED REGARDING CHARACTER CONSISTENCY AND THEMATIC RESONANCE.. LIKE THIS ONE: 16. WHAT HULK WOULD ACTUALLY ARGUE IS A FAR MORE VALID TOPIC WHEN IT COMES TO YOUR RESEARCH IS UPHOLDING THE SPIRIT OF ACCURACY. . YOU SHOULD BE FULLY RESEARCHED ON THE TOPIC SO THAT YOU ARE A MINI-EXPERT AND WILL BE READY TO REPRESENT IT AS TRUTHFULLY AS POSSIBLE IN YOUR STORY.. PERHAPS THERE ARE SOME LESSONS TO TAKE AWAY FROM IT. AND IF HULK IS BEING HONEST. THERE IS JUST SUCH A WIDE RANGE TO HOW THE AUDIENCE TREATS VERISIMILITUDE. AND HULK WILL GO INTO THE FOLLOWING IDEA AT GREAT LENGTH LATER IN THE STRUCTURE SECTION. THAT WOULD JUST BE LAZY. BUT JUST BECAUSE THOSE THINGS ARE MORE IMPORTANT TO MAKING A GOOD NARRATIVE DOESN'T MEAN THAT WE SHOULDN'T BOTHER PUTTING THE EFFORT IN TO MAKE OUR FILMS AS ACCURATE AS POSSIBLE (WITHIN REASON). HOLLYWOOD MOVIES AND GLITZY TELEVISIONS SHOWS ARE FILLED WITH ALL SORTS OF NONSENSE. GIVEN #1: WHATEVER THE SUBJECT YOU ARE WRITING ABOUT. IT HAD A SCIENTIFIC ELEMENT THAT WAS OFTEN LAUDED BY CASUAL VIEWERS.TO DO CINEMATICALLY. GIVEN #2: DON’T EVER LET ANYONE TELL YOU THAT YOU DON’T HAVE A LITTLE FLEXIBILITY. IT’S AN INAUTHENTIC NARRATIVE ABOUT HOW THOSE SCIENCES ARE ACTUALLY USED IN THE FIELD. YOU JUST HAVE TO PUT THE WORK IN. LAWYER AND DOCTOR SHOWS WE SEE ON TV. THEY CREATED A KIND OF DETAIL-ORIENTED TRUTH THAT HELPED STRIKE A CHORD WITH THOSE OF US LOOKING IN ON THE SITUATION. THE PROBLEM IS THAT SOME OF THEM HAVE TAKEN TO LYING RIGHT THROUGH THEIR FREAKING TEETH WHEN IT COMES TO “THE SPIRIT” OF THE WORK. AND HULK WOULD ARGUE THAT IT ACTUALLY DID A VERY GOOD JOB UPHOLDING THE INTEREST AND VALUE OF SCIENCE. MOST IMPORTANTLY. BUT IN TRUTH. AND HULK THINKS THAT THIS DISHONEST APPROACH TO PORTRAYING REAL-WORLD PROFESSIONALISM HAS REALLY BAD SOCIETAL CONSEQUENCES. HULK HAS A BUNCH OF NON-ARMCHAIR. THERE IS QUITE SIMPLY A RIFT IN AUDIENCE NEEDS WITH THESE THINGS. GENERATION KILL IS COMPELLING BECAUSE ALL THEY TRIED TO DO WITH THE NARRATIVE WAS CREATE THE MOST ACCURATE DEPICTION OF LIFE AS A SOLDIER IN IRAQ IMAGINABLE - AND THAT WAS IT. TALENTED PEOPLE DO THEIR PROFESSIONAL THING. THE USE OF SPECIFIC. AND AS SUCH IT CREATES A SERIOUSLY DAMAGING PORTRAIT OF HOW POLICING ACTUALLY WORKS. AND THEY DID SO IN A WAY THAT WAS ONLY MEANT TO MAKE THOSE SOLDIERS AGREE. AND IT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR MOST OF THE GOOD COP. BUT TO THE HARDCORE. SERIOUSLY HARDCORE SCIENCE FRIENDS AND IT WAS REALLY. THE KINDS OF RESOURCES POLICE ACTUALLY HAVE. HULK DOESN’T THINK THIS GOT IN THE WAY OF MAKING LOST A GREAT SHOW. IT’S WHAT ALLOWED US TO ACCESS THEM. THEY COULDN’T ABIDE. A LOT OF HOLLYWOOD PRODUCERS FEAR HAVING THEIR CHARACTERS TALK OVER THE HEADS OF THE AUDIENCE. AND IT MAY SOUND CRAZY. BUT BY PLEASING THOSE SOLDIERS. PERHAPS THE REAL BOON OF TRUE RESEARCH IS HOW IT CAN GO ON TO INFORM SO MANY GREAT IDEAS AND REALLY FLESH OUT YOUR STORY. THE SCIENCE MAY BE SOUND AND IT MAY HAVE A TEAM OF EXPERTS TO SHOW OFF REAL TECHNIQUES.SUDDENLY FANS OF THE SHOW WERE READING ABOUT ELECTROMAGNETISM AND MINKOWSKI SPACE AND HOW THOSE CONCEPTS FIT INTO THE LARGER THEMES… THE PROBLEM WAS THAT WHEN YOU EXAMINED THE SCIENCE UP CLOSE. LOOK AT CSI. SIMPLY PUT: AUDIENCES LIKE TO WATCH SMART. HOW THOSE PEOPLE REALLY DO THEIR JOBS. GOING BACK TO DAVID SIMON. ESOTERIC DETAILS CAN ACTUALLY GIVE THE AIR OF VERACITY. BUT HULK HONESTLY THINKS THAT AUDIENCES SUBCONSCIOUSLY RESPOND TO CHARACTERS WHEN THEY REALLY KNOW WHAT TO CALL THINGS. IT IS EVEN UTTERLY DISHONEST ABOUT THE SUCCESS RATE OF THE TECHNIQUES AND. . MOSTLY BECAUSE THEY WOULD REFERENCE THESE COOL ADVANCED CONCEPTS AND THEN NOT ACTUALLY UNDERSTAND THEIR FUNCTION. AND SOMETIMES GREAT TRUTHS ARE ARRIVED AT WHEN YOU WORK BACKWARD FROM THAT VERACITY. BUT THE SHOW IS THE MOST DISHONEST LOOK AT SOLVING CRIME IMAGINABLE. REALLY HARD FOR THEM TO WATCH THE SHOW. IT WAS PRETTY MUCH GIBBERISH. SO UNDERSTAND THAT ANYTHING LESS THAN EXPERTISE WILL BE VIEWED AS SUCH BY CERTAIN PEOPLE. AGAIN. THERE IS SOME WIGGLE ROOM HERE). BUT HULK HAS PREPARED YOU VERY LITTLE FOR THE REALITIES OF DRAMA. HULK HAS PREPARED YOU FOR A LOT OF STORY CONCEPTS IN NARRATIVE. HOW DO YOU KNOW WHEN IS WHEN? IT’S AN INSANELY TOUGH QUESTION. SILLY TELEVISION WITH BIG REVEALS (THEY’VE PATENTED THE ACT 4 TO ACT 5 DOUBLE TWIST) AND A HYPER-STYLIZED FLARE. THEY ARE LYING ABOUT THE MOST IMPORTANT THING POSSIBLE. STORY THE FOLLOWING WOULD LIKELY MAKE MORE SENSE AFTER HULK HAS FINISHED THE STRUCTURE SECTION. IT BRINGS UP A REALLY DIFFICULT ARGUMENT ABOUT THE PURSUIT OF NARRATIVE VS. HULK IS ARGUING THAT ACCURACY DOESN’T MATTER FOR YOUR STORY. DRAMA VS. NARRATIVELY SPEAKING. LIKE HOW CHARACTERS SHOULD HAVE MOTIVATIONS AND PSYCHOLOGIES. HULK’S NOT KIDDING. IN TRUTH. AN INFINITESIMALLY SMALL PORTION OF CASES GET A WHIFF OF THAT KIND OF SCIENCE APTITUDE AND WE’VE TURNED IT INTO BMOVIE PULP. BUT HULK THINKS YOU CAN OFTEN PUSH THOSE CREATIVE LIBERTIES INTO THE REALM OF CREATIVE DISHONESTY. SO WHAT TO DO? ON ONE HAND. THE SHOW LIES SO BADLY WHEN IT COMES TO THE REALITY OF POLICE PROCEDURAL ABILITIES THAT POTENTIAL JURORS EXPECT EVERY SINGLE CASE TO HAVE THE KIND OF RESOURCES THEY NEED FOR HIGH-TECH ON-SITE FORENSIC EVIDENCE. ON THE OTHER HAND HULK IS ARGUING THAT ACCURACY CAN MATTER MORE THAN ANYTHING.. BUT THE REAL PROBLEM IS THAT THEY ARE DOING SO UNDER THE GUISE OF REALISM AND SCIENTIFIC ACCURACY. CSI EXPERTS ARE THREE SCIENTISTS IN A LITTLE LAB NOWHERE NEAR THE ACTION AND THERE IS USUALLY A SIX-MONTH WAITING LIST FOR ONLY THE MOST HIGH PROFILE CASES. . 17. LIKE HOW THERE SHOULD BE THEMATIC BACKBONES AND MEANING TO WHAT YOU UNVEIL. BUT IT’S ACTUALLY ONE YOU HAVE TO ANSWER FOR YOURSELF. WHAT KIND OF STORY ARE YOU TELLING? DOES THE ACCURACY MATTER TO YOUR STORY? WOULD IT BE DISHONEST TO REPRESENT IT AS ANYTHING BUT ACCURATE? IS IT OKAY TO BE PULPY AND USE PSEUDO-SCIENCE HERE? YOUR ULTIMATE TAKEAWAY SHOULD BE TO UTILIZE A MANNER OF STORYTELLING THAT ACCURATELY REFLECTS THE INTENTION OF YOUR STORYTELLING. THEY ARE LYING ABOUT THE PURPOSE. CSI IS FUN.. AND YES STORY AND DRAMA ARE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS WHEN IT COMES TO OUR OWN PARTICULAR WORKING DEFINITION. THUS FAR. THE PURSUIT OF REAL-LIFE LOGIC (AND AGAIN. AND SURE. DON'T BELIEVE HULK? A LOT OF COURTS HAVE STOPPED TAKING JURORS IF THEY ARE CSI FANS. BUT IT’S JUST SO IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND BEFORE GOING INTO THE WRITING PROCESS THAT IT NEEDS TO BE MENTIONED NOW. THE PROBLEM IS THAT JUST BECAUSE A STORY MAY MAKE SENSE. YOU WOULDN'T KNOW IF YOU WANTED TO TRUST THIS PERSON. AND YOU DO THAT BY UNDERSTANDING THE STAKES. DOESN’T MEAN IT’S NECESSARILY ENGAGING OR THE BEST WAY TO EXPERIENCE IT. HULK SWEARS TO YOU THAT REVEALS OF NEW INFORMATION JUST DON'T HAVE THE SAME DRAMATIC EFFECT AS A PREVIOUSLY-ESTABLISHED LEVEL OF INVESTMENT. THIS IS TOTALLY REAL LIFE AND YOU ARE ON YOUR WAY TO WORK OR SOMETHING. IT’S LIKE THREATENING TO KILL THE KITTEN. WE HAVE TO CONNECT TO IT AND HAVE EMPATHY. DURING. OR AFTER. THE ONLY THING THAT WOULD DRAW YOU IN TO DOING THIS IS A SENSE OF MYSTERY. AND SO THE IDEA OF DRAMA IS TO ENGAGE THE MOST ACTIVE PART OF THE AUDIENCE’S BRAIN AND TURN UP THE URGENCY AND VISCERA. AS AN EXAMPLE. I'M YOUR LONG-LOST BROTHER... THAT’S IT.” EACH OPTION WOULD BE JUST AS LOGICAL. MEANING THE PERSON YOU ARE. AND THEN WE FRET AND WORRY ABOUT THE STATE AND WELL-BEING OF THOSE CARES. QUICK. THAT’S DRAMA. YOU TAKE A COMPELLING CHARACTER AND SUDDENLY THEY’RE HANGING ON A ROOFTOP. THUS IT IS DRAMA THAT IS ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE. BUT IT’S NOT. WE LIKE TO THINK THE SUDDEN REVEAL OF INFORMATION AND “LET’S GO OFF AND DEAL WITH IT!” IS THE MOST EXCITING AND INTEREST-DRAWING APPROACH IN THE UNIVERSE. YOU. AND IN TERMS OF “STORY SENSE. AND THE THING IS THAT WE CAN FIND OUT WHAT THEIR MOTIVATIONS WERE EITHER BEFORE THEY COMMIT THE MURDER. RIGHT? AND HULK IMAGINES IT WOULD BE A RUSHED AND CRAZY SCENARIO! WOULD IT BE EXCITING? SURE! WOULD IT BE THE CRAZIEST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU THAT MORNING? PROBABLY! BUT AS FAR AS YOU GO. FOLKS? THAT'S EXACTLY HOW AUDIENCES REACT TO NEW INFORMATION TOO. LET'S GO WITH A HYPOTHETICAL: PRETEND YOU ARE. WELL.. MOSTLY YOU WOULD BE CONFUSED AS ALL HELL. YOU WOULD WANT TO KNOW THE TRUTH. THERE'S SOMEONE AFTER ME! HELP!" . YOU MIGHT GO ON INSTINCT IN EITHER DIRECTION. IT’S JUST CHAOS AND CURIOSITY.THINK OF “STORY” AS THE LOGICAL SIDE OF YOUR NARRATIVE. AND WHERE YOU PUT INFORMATION REVEALS VERY MUCH AFFECTS THE EXPERIENCE. BUT IT’S NOT JUST DANGER.. PRETEND ONE CHARACTER GOES AND MURDERS ANOTHER.. COMPLETE WITH YOUR OWN MOTIVATIONS AND INTERESTS. AND . WHAT WOULD YOUR REACTION BE? ANSWER HONESTLY. RIGHT? FINDING OUT WOULDN’T AFFECT THE CHARACTER’S PSYCHOLOGY OR LOGIC FOR ANYTHING. LET’S SAY THEY HAVE A REASON FOR DOING IT. AND THIS IS HOW TRADITIONAL DRAMA WORKS: A CHARACTER EXPLAINS WHY THEY CARE ABOUT SOMETHING. THIS IS NOT A MOVIE. NOW PRETEND SOMEONE SUDDENLY SHOWED UP AND SAID "HI. WOULDN'T YOU MOSTLY JUST BE LIKE "WHAT THE FUCK!?!?!?" WELL GUESS WHAT. WE PUT THOSE CARES INTO JEOPARDY. IT HAS TO BE ACTIVE DANGER FELT BY THE AUDIENCE.. THIS IS REAL LIFE. LAST YEAR. WHEN YOU KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON. THEN WE'RE NOT SO WILLING TO GO OFF ON A CRAZY JOURNEY WITH THEM. IMAGINE IF YOU HAD A LONG-STANDING. IT IS AMAZING HOW MUCH YOU CAN ACCOMPLISH IN ENGAGING YOUR AUDIENCE. HULK THINKS IT IS THE NUMBER ONE BAD HABIT OF OUR GOOD WRITERS. THEN YOU'D HAVE MOTIVATION TO HELP. SERIOUSLY. YOU'D EVEN HAVE UNDERSTANDING AND CLARITY ABOUT YOUR MOTIVES. WHICH. DRAMATIC IRONY IS WHEN THE AUDIENCE IS PRIVY TO SOME PIECE OF INFORMATION THAT THE CHARACTERS ONSCREEN ARE NOT PRIVY TO YET. AND IT’S TRUE OF ALL DRAMA. AND YET. EVERY BIT OF STORYTELLING IN THE FILM IS LOGICAL. BUT IF WE'RE NOT EMPATHIZING WITH SOMEONE. AND THUS. HULK LOOKS AROUND AT THE LANDSCAPE OF NARRATIVE STORYTELLING THESE DAYS AND SEES A COMPLETE LACK OF UNDERSTANDING WHEN IT COMES TO DRAMA. A CHARACTER WALKING INTO A TRAP. IT BUILDS TENSION AND EFFECT. JOHN CARTER WAS RELEASED AND IT WAS CONCOCTED BY A HANDFUL OF CERTIFIED STORYTELLING GENIUSES (STANTON. BUT WHY WAS THE MOVIE INERT? WHY DID IT FAIL TO CAPTURE OUR COLLECTIVE INTEREST? HULK KNOWS IT HAS ITS FANS. YOU MAY HAVE HEARD THE PHRASE “DRAMATIC IRONY” BEFORE AND ITS MEANING IS SIMPLE. AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN HE SHOWED UP AND SAID SOMEONE WAS TRYING TO KILL HIM. A CHARACTER NOT KNOWING SOMEONE IS ABOUT TO TURN ON THEM. EVERY BIT OF PLOTTING EVENTUALLY MAKES SENSE. BOTH TRADITIONAL AND IRONIC. WHEN YOU KNOW WHAT IS AT STAKE. BUT THE IMPORTANT THING TO NOTE IS THAT DRAMATIC IRONY IS DERIVED FROM THE AUDIENCE KNOWING THE INFORMATION. YOU'D WANT TO HELP HIM AND YOU’D CARE WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM. UNSUSPECTING. YOU CAN ACHIEVE IT ALMOST ANY WAY YOU SEE FIT FOR VARIOUS MODELS OF TENSION AND RELEASE. IT’S LIKE THE ENTIRETY OF HOLLYWOOD NEEDS TO TAKE A PLAYWRITING CLASS. BECAUSE YOUR RESPONSE IS BASED ON SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN BUILT AND EARNED. WE MAY EVEN SEE THE KILLER START STALKING THEM. BUT ON THE POPULAR LEVEL IT DIDN’T . WE NEED THE INFORMATION AND DEFINED RELATIONSHIPS AND THEN WE NEED THE STAKES. WELL GUESS WHAT? THAT'S EXACTLY HOW AUDIENCES REACT WHEN THEY HAVE BUILT A RELATIONSHIP WITH A CHARACTER IN WHOM THEY ARE INVESTED. TO BACK UP WHAT HULK IS SAYING HERE.HOW COULD THEY? WE MAY LIKE SOMEONE AND BE INTRIGUED. GREAT RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR HYPOTHETICAL BROTHER. GUESS WHAT. ALL THE ACTORS WERE COMPELLING AND FILLED WITH PERSONALITY. AGAIN. IS EXACTLY WHAT WE DO WHEN WE WATCH MOVIES WITH TRADITIONAL NARRATIVES. ANDREWS. WHAT WOULD YOUR REACTION BE THEN? WHEN IT WAS SOMEONE WITH WHOM YOU HAD A WHOLE HISTORY WITH AND HAD BUILT TRUST AND GENUINELY LOVED? WHY. WE FRET! BUT THIS IS THE CLEAREST EXAMPLE OF DRAMATIC IRONY. AND THUS IT CREATES TENSION IN THE AUDIENCE. THE MOST OBVIOUS EXAMPLE IS LIKE SOMETHING OUT OF A HORROR MOVIE WHEN WE KNOW THE KILLER IS STANDING IN A ROOM AND THE LEAD CHARACTER WALKS IN. AND CHABON). THE MOVIE KILLED THE CAT). WE. WHAT’S RATHER IRONIC ABOUT THIS POINT IS THAT NOTHING MAKES THE CASE MORE THAN ONE OF STANTON’S PREVIOUS FILMS. HE WANTED TO PUT THE OPENING SCENE TWO-THIRDS OF THE WAY INTO THE MOVIE SO THAT IT WAS A REVEAL. THEY FOLLOW THE ACTOR’S BODY LANGUAGE AND FEELINGS. AND EVEN IF WE DON’T AGREE WITH HIS BEHAVIOR. BUT THE REAL IMPORT OF THE SCENE IS THAT WE THEN UNDERSTAND WHY MARLON SPENDS THE NEXT TWO HOURS OF THE FILM BEING OVERPROTECTIVE. AND WE WILL FOLLOW HIM THROUGH THE DEPTHS OF HELL TO GET NEMO BACK. IT’S A DEEPLY COMPELLING SCENE. IT’S LATE INFORMATION FOR NO FUNCTIONAL REASON. AND STANTON DIDN’T WANT TO DO IT. WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY CARE ABOUT. PEOPLE WOULD MUCH RATHER WATCH FILMS ACTIVELY. PLAIN AND SIMPLE. THE AUDIENCE. LONG AFTER WE REALLY NEEDED TO CARE. MEANING THE ENTIRE MOVIE WAS ESSENTIALLY THE BROTHER APPEARING OUT OF NOWHERE AND THEN EXPLAINING TO US THE ‘”HOW” HOURS LATER. WE NEED STORIES THAT GIVE US REASONS TO CARE AND THEN JUST STEP BACK AND LET US CARE. BUT SUDDENLY THERE IS A HORRIFIC BARRACUDA ATTACK - MARLON’S WIFE IS KILLED AND THEIR EGGS ARE EATEN. SAVE ONE (WHO WILL BECOME OUR TITULAR NEMO). ONE THAT ENGAGES THE AUDIENCE AND MAKES MARLON EXTREMELY EMPATHETIC (NOTICE HE’S NOT JUST DOING A NICE THING - INSTEAD. HE WAS SO HAUNTED BY THAT EXPERIENCE THAT HIS OVERPARENTING IS KICKING IN. NON-RELATABLE ASSHOLE. AND THE PIXAR STORY TEAM KNEW THIS AND ADAMANTLY INSISTED STANTON PUT THE SCENE AT THE . ARE DECIDING WHAT TO NAME THEIR BIG BATCH OF CHILDREN WHO REST BELOW THEM IN EGG FORM. WE CAN EMPATHIZE. EMPATHY IS BASED ON CLARITY. IT IS JUST SUCH A COMPLETE MISUNDERSTANDING OF HOW DRAMA WORKS. WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND. THEY MAY BE CURIOUS. THE MOVIE WORKS A THOUSAND TIMES BETTER PLAYING THE INFORMATION STRAIGHT AHEAD AT THE VERY BEGINNING. OFTEN GIVEN RIGHT AS THE DRAMATIC ACTION WAS ACTUALLY HAPPENING. WE NEED TO SEE THE WORLD THROUGH THEM.QUITE ENGAGE THE AUDIENCE AT LARGE. SO THAT WE WOULD UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING IN THIS LATE MOMENT AND GO “Aha! There was a reason! The filmmaker knew what he was doing all along!” BUT THE FILMMAKER ALSO DID NOT REALIZE THIS “AHA” MOMENT MIGHT NOT BE WORTH SITTING THROUGH AN HOUR AND A HALF OF YOUR MAIN CHARACTER BEING AN OVER-PARENTING. COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND WHY HE’S DOING IT. WITH SUBCONSCIOUS UNDERSTANDING. MARLON AND HIS WIFE. PEOPLE JUST DON’T WATCH MOVIES WITH RAPT DRAMATIC INTEREST WHEN CLARITY IS DELAYED. BUT CURIOSITY IS NOT A LONG-TERM PLAN. IT’S ALL A GENIUS BIT OF DRAMATIC STORYTELLING. FINDING NEMO. NOT AT THEM. THUS WE NEED DRAMA. WHY? IT’S BECAUSE ALMOST EVERY BIT OF STORY INFORMATION AND CHARACTER MOTIVATION WAS SAVED FOR LATER REVEALS. THAT FILM OPENS WITH A SHORT SCENE IN WHICH TWO FISH. too? Can’t curiosity work? Can’t a reveal be an awesome thing? SURE THING… YOU JUST GOTTA UNDERSTAND THE MECHANISMS. HE KNOWS THAT A WELL-BUILT . URGENCY! JJ ABRAMS HAS BUILT A CAREER OFF THE POWER OF MYSTERY. BUT AS ONE OF HULK’S FAVORITE OLD ADAGES OF THIS BUSINESS GOES: “DON’T IMPRESS ME. HULK DOES NOT MEAN TO SINGLE OUT STANTON BY ANY MEANS. HULK FEELS PRETTY COMFORTABLE SAYING THAT.BEGINNING. BUT HULK GUESSES THAT STANTON WANTED TO PROVE HE WAS RIGHT ALL THESE YEARS LATER AND SO JOHN CARTER USES THE SAME EXACT DEVICE OF A DEAD FAMILY. OFTEN THE STORYTELLER WANTS IT TO BE… DIFFERENT. IT’S ALL LOGICAL STORY INFORMATION WITH NO REAL DRAMATIC EXPERIENCE. THERE’S NO STAKES OR MOTIVATION. NONE OF WHICH ARE CHARACTER-BASED OR REVEAL MOTIVATION (LIKE A CERTAIN DEAD FAMILY ONE WOULD ALLOW FOR). THE FILM HAS THREE PROLOGUES OF NOTHING BUT INFORMATION. THE DAMAGE IS ALREADY DONE. AND THIS POOR DECISION IS SYMPTOMATIC OF EVERYTHING IN THE FILM. 18. HULK THINKS THIS TENDS TO BE A SHOW-OFFY WAY OF DISPLAYING AN UNDERSTANDING OF NARRATIVE. HONESTLY. MAYBE? THE METHOD OF TRADITIONAL DRAMA AND HOW IT JUST LAYS OUT ALL THE INFORMATION MIGHT JUST BE SEEN AS TOO STRAIGHTFORWARD. CONVINCE ME. THEY WERE RIGHT. BUT INSTEAD ARE JUST MOVING BITS OF PLOT THAT WILL ONLY MAKE SENSE BY THE END. ONLY STANTON REVEALS THIS TWO-THIRDS OF THE WAY INTO THE MOVIE IN THE MIDDLE OF A BIG FIGHT. “But Hulk… isn’t there a place for mystery.” AND DRAMA CONVINCES THE AUDIENCE EVERY TIME. INSTEAD. WHY DOES THIS HAPPEN? HULK’S NOT TOO SURE. AS SO MANY WRITERS AND DIRECTORS DO IT TOO THESE DAYS. LIKE PERFORMING A CINEMATIC MAGIC TRICK OR SOMETHING. THE SCENE ITSELF IS ROUSING AND PRETTY AND… COMPLETELY INEFFECTUAL WHEN IT COMES TO THE FILM’S OVERALL DRAMA. BUT THEY WON’T BE COMPELLING. THERE ARE NO STAKES. THE FRUSTRATING THING IS HE IS SO DAMN TALENTED WITH ALMOST EVERYTHING ELSE THAT IT’S FRUSTRATING HE CAN’T GET THIS BASIC CONCEPT OF STORY EXPERIENCE. A WAY OF SAYING “Look how smart my writing is!” LIKE THEY WANT TO SHOW THAT THEY UNDERSTOOD THIS CONFUSING THING ALL ALONG AND YOU SHOULD HAVE TRUSTED THEM. THERE IS NO UNDERSTANDING. THE JJ ABRAMS QUESTION - MYSTERY? VS. WORSE. THEY WANT THE ALLURE OF MYSTERY AND DELIGHTING IN THE REVEAL. AND HE IS FAR FROM ALONE IN THIS TENDENCY. WE JUST SPENT MOST OF THE FILM TRYING TO BE EMPATHETIC TO OUR MAIN CHARACTER WHO JUST SEEMED TO BE A WITHDRAWN JERK TO EVERYONE HE MET. SOMETIMES THEY JUST NEED TO BE CLEAR.MYSTERY CAN ENGAGE AN AUDIENCE. IT WORKS JUST AS WELL FOR TWO CHARACTERS TALKING ABOUT SOMETHING THAT IS IMPORTANT TO EACH OF THEM. MYSTERY MAKES AN AUDIENCE MEMBER GO "OOOH. SURE. WHICH INFORMS AND GUIDES THEIR DEPTH. BUT FAR MORE IMPORTANTLY. THINK BACK TO HOW MANY CONVERSATIONS ON LOST HAD TWO PEOPLE WAXING PHILOSOPHICAL ABOUT SOMETHING WE NEVER ACTUALLY UNDERSTOOD THE SPECIFICS OF. BUT IT CAN ALSO HANG OVER A SCENE TO AN INCREDIBLY MUTING EFFECT TOO. THAT MAY SOUND LIKE HULK IS ADVOCATING BEING A PHILISTINE. EVEN HIS FREQUENT COWRITER AND COLLABORATOR DAMON LINDELOF OFTEN TALKS ABOUT HIS WRITING STRATEGY WHERE EVERY CHARACTER HE WRITES HAS A SECRET. AND THE MOVING SHELL GAME OF “MYSTERY!” BECAME MORE AND MORE TIRESOME WITH EVERY PASSING SEASON. AND HULK THINKS URGENCY IS GEARED TO HOW BEST USE FILMMAKING'S NATURAL POWER. WHEN USED CORRECTLY MYSTERY CAN HANG OVER A SCENE TO WONDERFUL EFFECT. CREATE A BEAUTIFUL ATMOSPHERE. BUT BOTH THESE GUYS TEND TO USE THE POWER OF MYSTERY AND SECRECY TO A FAULT. LIKE FIRST AND FOREMOST. ALLOWS THE AUDIENCE TO SKIP THE USE OF THEIR BRAIN AND JUST EXPERIENCE THE FILM IN THE MOST PRIMAL AND EXCITING WAY. AND DON'T THINK THAT URGENCY ONLY APPLIES TO ACTION AND WORLD-ENDING CIRCUMSTANCES. AND URGENCY." IT WAS THAT WE WANTED CLEAR STAKES AND . THESE TACTICS HAVE GREAT VALUE. WITH ALL ITS DULL SIMPLICITY.. BUT WE WERE NOT NECESSARILY ENGAGED ON A CHARACTER OR STORY LEVEL. LIKE THE HEART OF DRAMA. IT IS WHOLLY FUNCTIONAL. BUT NOT IT ALL. DIFFERENT SCENES AND FILMS JUST CALL FOR DIFFERENT THINGS. IT WASN'T THAT WE WANTED "ANSWERS. WE HAVE TO STOP THAT THING OR THE BOMB GOES OFF AND WE BOTH DIE! THE THING HULK REALLY LIKES ABOUT THIS KIND OF STORYTELLING IS THAT IT IS A VISCERAL ENGAGEMENT. MAKE NO MISTAKE. THIS IS ADMITTEDLY A VITAL ENGAGEMENT THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN OFTEN ENOUGH IN CINEMA. WE WONDERED WHAT THE HECK THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT AS THEY TIP-TOED AROUND VAGUE CONCEPTS.. YES. URGENCY IS BORN FROM CLARITY. HE OUTLINES THE WHOLE THEORY IN HIS NOW-FAMOUS (INFAMOUS?) TED SPEECH ABOUT HOW MYSTERY CAN COMMAND A STORY ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE STORY-TELLING AND ESPECIALLY THE MARKETING PRESENCE. ALL OF HIS PROJECTS ABSOLUTELY COMMIT TO THE POWER OF MYSTERY. WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON HERE?" AND BRINGS PEOPLE INTO THEIR MINDS TO PONDER. URGENCY IS SIMPLE. HULK HAS EVEN USED THE “SECRET” TIP A NUMBER OF TIMES TOO. PROPEL FURTHER DISCUSSION. SOMETIMES THEY NEED TO HAVE URGENCY. WHAT OBVIOUSLY HELPS IS THAT HIS WORK HAS TREMENDOUS ENERGY. SOMETIMES SCENES JUST NEED TO BE FUNCTIONAL. BUT IT IS OFTEN JUST A CEREBRAL ENGAGEMENT. AND LOCK INTO YOUR SENSE OF CURIOSITY. HOW SOMETIMES “MYSTERY” IS JUST NOT THE REQUIRED TONE OR CHOICE FOR NARRATIVE PROPULSION AND YET THEY USE IT ANYWAY. . AND THEN WHEN THE MOVIE CALLS FOR CATHARSIS. ULTIMATELY. AND PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THIS IS COMING FROM A HULK THAT REALLY. AGAIN. BUT SO OFTEN THIS WISHY-WASHY MYSTERIOUSNESS OVERPOWERED THE MECHANICS OF BASIC CONVENTIONAL NARRATIVE. MYSTERY IS GREAT. WE ARE GIVEN THE INFORMATION THAT THE ANNOYING TRAVEL COMPANION’S WIFE RECENTLY DIED AND ALL THIS BEHAVIOR IS SYMPTOMATIC OF THE FACT THAT HE IS LONELY. IT’S JUST A GOOD EXAMPLE BECAUSE SO MANY PEOPLE ARE FAMILIAR WITH IT. AND IT WORKS. STEVE MARTIN) AS WE TAG ALONG WITH HIM ON HIS JOURNEY. REALLY. WHAT'S FUNNY IS THAT THE FIRST SEASON REALLY DID UNDERSTAND HOW TO BALANCE (THERE’S THAT WORD AGAIN) THAT MYSTERY WITH THE POWER OF CLEAR STAKES AND PERCEPTIBLE CHARACTER MOTIVATION.. IF YOU TRY TO SUSTAIN IT FOR TOO LONG. REALLY LOVED THE SHOW. THERE ARE CLEAR REASONS TO USE BOTH MYSTERY AND URGENCY. BELIEVE IT OR NOT. AND AUTOMOBILES. DO WE THEN LOSE THE POWER OF TWO CHARACTERS ARGUING WITH ALL THEIR INFORMATION OUT IN THE OPEN? WHEN THERE ARE STAKES WE UNDERSTAND? HULK UNDERSTANDS THAT LOST WAS OFTEN INTERESTED ON A THEMATIC LEVEL IN SUBVERTING THE VERY IDEA OF WHAT ONE CAN ACTUALLY KNOW (FOCUSING ON THE NEED TO PLACE ONE’S ENERGY INTO FAITH).. THE BEST EXAMPLE HULK CAN THINK OF WHEN IT COMES TO LATE CHARACTER REVEALS IS PLANES. THE FILM’S CENTRAL CONFLICT IS DRIVEN BY THE FACT THAT THIS CRAZY GUY (JOHN CANDY) SEEMS ONE-DIMENSIONAL AND ANNOYING. THE MORE THEY LOST SIGHT OF THAT BALANCE. BUT FOR YOUR OWN WORK: YOU HAVE TO GAUGE THE VALIDITY OF THE CONFLICTS THAT ARE GIVEN TO THE AUDIENCE FROM CHARACTERS NOT KNOWING THAT INFORMATION AND YOU COMPARE THEM TO THE KINDS OF CONFLICTS THAT ARE CREATED BY THE AUDIENCE KNOWING THAT INFORMATION. IF WE KNEW HIS WIFE WAS DEAD AT THE BEGINNING IT WOULD BE HARD FOR US TO LAUGH AT HIM WHILE EMPATHIZING WITH OUR MAIN CHARACTER’S SITUATION. WHAT WOULD MAKE THIS SCENE WORK BETTER? NOT UNDERSTANDING THE URGENCY AND ENGAGING THE AUDIENCE ON A CEREBRAL LEVEL. HOW TO USE THEM AND WHY. SO MUCH SO THAT IT EVEN RUINED SOME OF THE POWER OF THE CENTRAL MYSTERY. OR TOTALLY UNDERSTANDING IT AND ENGAGING THE AUDIENCE VISCERALLY? THAT IS THE CENTRAL QUESTION. YOU KNOW. THE FOLLOWING WILL SOUND CONFUSING. YOU SEE. SO IF LINDELOF NEEDS TO GIVE EVERY CHARACTER A SECRET.SOMETHING THAT FELT LIKE IT MATTERED. AND THIS PROVIDES COMEDIC CONFLICT FOR THE MAIN CHARACTER (OUR AUDIENCE SURROGATE. IT’S THE MECHANISMS. SO ASK YOURSELF. AND WHEN IT’S TIME FOR THAT CONFLICT TO BE RESOLVED? THE INFORMATION IS REVEALED. DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? AND HULK WHOLLY ARGUES THAT IF WE KNEW FROM THE BEGINNING THAT JOHN CARTER’S WIFE HAD DIED. WHY DOES THIS LATE REVEAL PAY OFF HERE AND NOT IN JOHN CARTER? BECAUSE THE CONFLICT WE GET FROM NOT KNOWING IS WHAT DRIVES THE MOVIE. YOU'RE SUNK. FELT AWFUL FOR HIM. TRAINS. BUT THE DEEPER DOWN THE WELL THEY WENT. BUT IT TRULY HAS A SHORT-TERM LIFESPAN. BUT HULK JUST WANTS YOU TO BE AWARE OF. WE WOULD HAVE UNDERSTOOD WHY HE WAS PUSHING OTHERS AWAY FROM HIM. . well there’s this main character and his parents die. BUT SOMETIMES A SITUATION SPEAKS DIRECTLY TO A GREAT POINT AND THUS IT IS NECESSARY. This is all good and neat. WE SAT DOWN AND THE WRITER STARTING PITCHING THEIR VERSION OF THE PROJECT AND THEY IMMEDIATELY STARTED TALKING ABOUT THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WORLD THEY WERE CREATING. THEY WENT ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON UNTIL SOMEONE HULK WILL JUST CALL “ONE OF THE SMARTEST PEOPLE IN HOLLYWOOD” STOPPED HIM DEAD IN HIS TRACKS AND SAID: “Look. BUT LIKE THE BACKGROUND INFORMATION IN CHARACTER TREES. THE FILM’S NARRATIVE DIDN’T REQUIRE MYSTERY. WE’VE BECOME FASCINATED WITH BUILDING WORLDS. HAVING A FULLY REALIZED WORLD IS MERELY A GREAT THING TO FALL BACK ON WITH WHICH TO TEXTURE YOUR WORLD. IT WAS GOING TO BE FOR THIS GIANT POPULAR THING. THE ANECDOTE IS SYMPTOMATIC OF THE FACT THAT WE NOW LIVE IN THE AGE OF MYTHOLOGY. and. But what’s the story?” WRITER: “Oh yeah. BUT THAT . IT WASN’T JUST THE REVOLUTIONARY EFFECTS. AND ULTIMATELY WOULD HAVE RELISHED IN THE DEPTHS OF CONFLICT THE MOMENT HE WAS PUT IN HARM’S WAY. BUT WE FELL IN LOVE WITH IT BECAUSE THE ORIGINAL FILM WAS A GOOD STORY. TOO. BUT NEVER FORGET THAT NARRATIVE AND CHARACTER ARE THE DRIVING FORCES OF YOUR FILM. DON’T OVER-MYTHOLOGIZE HULK IS ALWAYS DEEPLY RELUCTANT TO GIVE VAGUE PERSONAL ANECDOTES. AND TAKES YOU ON ONE HELL OF A COMPELLING RIDE. 19. THE FIRST STEEPS EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER AND EVEN THE FILM'S CENTRAL NAMELESS MACGUFFIN IN THE TOTAL SHROUD OF SECRECY. SO… HULK ONCE SAT IN ON A BIG DEVELOPMENT MEETING. PERHAPS NOTHING HIGHLIGHTS THE DIFFERENCES OF THE TWO APPROACHES LIKE THE STARK DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ABRAM’S MISSION IMPOSSIBLE III AND BRAD BIRD’S MISSION IMPOSSIBLE IV: GHOST PROTOCOL. GIVES YOU ALL THE TANGIBLE STAKES. HULK KNOWS WE’VE ALL COME TO LOVE THE STAR WARS UNIVERSE AND MYTHOLOGY.” THEN THEY WENT ON TO TELL A VERY FORMULAIC. NOT STORIES.AND FOLLOWED HIM HAPPILY ON HIS JOURNEY TO MARS WHERE HE WOULD FIND A NEW LEASE ON LIFE. UNINSPIRED STORY ABOUT THEIR CHARACTERS THAT THEY DIDN’T PUT HALF AS MUCH THOUGHT INTO AS THEY DID THE WORLD IN WHICH THEY WERE SETTING THOSE CHARACTERS. AND GOING BACK TO ABRAMS... IT REQUIRED EMPATHY. AND YES MYTHOLOGIES CAN BE VERY COOL THINGS. WELL TOLD. THE SECOND EXAMPLE ESCHEWS MYSTERY ALTOGETHER AND EXPLAINS ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING INVOLVED. BUT LET’S GET THIS OUT OF THE WAY IMMEDIATELY: PLEASE DO NOT ASSUME THIS MEANS THAT CHARACTERS ARE AUTOMATICALLY A STAND-IN FOR THE AUTHOR'S BELIEFS OR SOME SILLY NOTION LIKE THAT. THROUGH THE REASONING. -LIFE OF PI PRESENTS A STORY THAT ISN’T REAL AS EXAMPLE OF THE POWER OF RELIGIOUS FAITH. THROUGH THE SUBTEXT.THE FILM’S NARRATIVE HAD A REVOLUTIONARY SENSE OF PROPULSION FOR ITS TIME (SEE THE ANECDOTE IN BISKIND’S EASY RIDERS. EQUALLY VIEW LIFE. RAGING BULLS ABOUT MARCIA LUCAS MAKING THE CALL TO EDIT FOR PACE AND NOT THE ACTOR’S RHYTHMS). THIS IS AN INESCAPABLE FACT OF AUTHORSHIP AND THE ANCHOR BEHIND THE ENTIRE FIELD OF SEMIOTICS. AND ULTIMATELY WITHIN OUR ABILITY TO PROCESS IT. THE . AND CONFLICT. AND THE WAY THE NARRATIVE REGARDS THOSE CHARACTERS CAN’T HELP BUT SHOW HOW YOU. AND DID SO ONLY IN AN ATTEMPT TO BE ENTERTAINING. OTHER PEOPLE. AND FOR ANECDOTAL EVIDENCE OF SUCH. EVERYTHING YOU WRITE IS INHERENTLY SAYING SOMETHING THE FOLLOWING ARE VALID ARGUMENTS BASED ON THE TEXT OF EACH MOVIE: -TRANSFORMERS 3 ARGUES FOR NOT TRUSTING OUR GOVERNMENT AND ADVOCATES MILITARY AUTONOMY. THAT BIG POPULAR THING WAS NEVER MADE. 20. EVERYTHING YOUR CHARACTERS DO AND SAY AUTOMATICALLY IMPLIES SOMETHING ABOUT THE WAY THOSE CHARACTERS VIEW LIFE. AND EVEN IF THAT MAY SEEM LIKE AN OBFUSCATION OF INTENT. THE TOTALITY OF EVERYTHING IN A NARRATIVE HAS CONSEQUENCES AND SUPPLIES CONTEXT. ALL THESE EXAMPLES ARE SILLY EXTREMES. -TOP GUN ARGUES… WELL… ACTUALLY. BUT PROOF POSITIVE THAT WHETHER OR NOT WE MEAN TO PUT MESSAGES IN OUR FILMS AND MEDIA. THUS ARGUING RELIGION IS FALSE. EVEN IF YOU WROTE THOSE CHARACTERS SUBCONSCIOUSLY AS PART OF A PURE AUTOMATED ATTEMPT TO EXECUTE YOUR NARRATIVE. OFTEN IT IS QUITE THE OPPOSITE. IT IS STILL TRUE: YOUR WRITING IS INHERENTLY ARGUING FOR SOMETHING. YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO REMEMBER THAT STORIES AND DRAMA ARE WHAT BRING US INTO A UNIVERSE. FROM THERE. OTHER PEOPLE. THE PROVERBIAL AUTHOR. QUENTIN TARANTINO ARGUED THAT ONE BEST. THEY ARE STILL THERE. NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND. THROUGH THE TONE. IT’S ABOUT THE WAY THE ENTIRE PORTRAYAL OF EACH ENTITY ADDS UP TOGETHER THROUGH THE ACTION THEMSELVES. -SHREK ARGUES YOU CAN ONLY DATE WITHIN YOUR RACE. AND CONFLICT. THE ART OF NARRATIVE IS INSTEAD DEPENDENT ON CONTEXTUALIZATION. HOWEVER. KNOWS HOW TO HARNESS THOSE MESSAGES. BUT HULK SAYS IT ALL THE DAMN TIME: AWARENESS MATTERS. HULK WILL SAY IT AGAIN: THE MERE ACT OF HAVING A VIEWPOINT AND THEME IN YOUR HEAD WHILE WRITING WILL DO HALF THE JOB FOR YOU. THEY USE THE STORY'S CONTEXT TO CREATE THEIR OWN MEANING. BUT THE ONE CORE THING THAT YOU. AND IN A LESS PREACHY WAY. YOUR PURPOSE. HOPE. THEY ARE UNIVERSAL SOUL-CONNECTORS. IT CAN BE A SIMPLE JUSTIFICATION OF HEROISM AND KINDNESS. IT CAN BE SOME GRAND ONTHE-NOSE POLITICAL STATEMENT. LOSS. AND HEARTBREAK. HULK KNOWS THAT SOUNDS LIKE AN OVER-SIMPLIFICATION. THE PROVERBIAL WRITER. SO HARNESS AWAY! THIS IS ACTUALLY WHERE WE GET INTO THE "SOUL" CONCEPT OF THAT POPULAR “MIND. HE FINDS IT INTERESTING THAT ACTION FILMS OFTEN FEATURE THESE CRAZY ETHNIC BAD GUYS WHO OPERATE DRUG CARTELS AND MURDER AND STUFF. SO HARNESS! AND EVEN IF YOU JUST WANT YOUR MOVIE TO BE FUN AND NOT . SURE. BUT YOUR WORK IS SAYING SOMETHING. THEME ALLOWS THE AUTHOR TO SAY SOMETHING IMPORTANT. WHEN LOOKING THROUGH THE LENS OF OUR MOST DUTIFUL SENSIBILITY. BUT WHOSE EXPLOITS ARE ALMOST NOTHING COMPARED TO THE PERVASIVE SHAME OF WHITE-COLLAR CRIME (WHICH OFTEN FUNDS THEM). OFTEN DOES HALF THE JOB OF SORTING THAT CONTEXT FOR YOU. THE FILM MAKES FUN OF OVER-THE-TOP CAR CHASES AND CLICHÉD SUPER-POLICE OFFICERS. BUT A DAMN OPPORTUNITY. AND THAT MEANS THAT THEMATIC MESSAGES ARE NOT A BURDEN OR A RESPONSIBILITY. SURE. IT DOESN'T NEED TO BE OPPRESSIVE AND DOMINATE THE STORY OR SENSE OF FUN IN YOUR FILM. BUT IT IS ALSO SERIOUS CRITICISM ABOUT THE SIMPLISTIC WAY ACTION FILMS PAINT GOOD AND BAD.MESSAGES OF A FILM ERUPT OUTWARD NO MATTER WHAT. YOUR THEME. EVERYTHING YOU WRITE IN YOUR SCREENPLAY MEANS SOMETHING. AND THE SHEER AWARENESS OF WHATEVER THAT IDEA IS. YOU DON’T NEED TO UNDERSTAND EVERY PART OF IT. IT’S REALLY JUST SAYING SOMETHING ABOUT HUMAN NATURE. BUT DON’T FORGET YOU ARE INHERENTLY ARGUING SOMETHING ABOUT THOSE IDEAS. BUT HULK ARGUES THE INTENT WAS TO PROVIDE THEMES THAT CAN BE USED TO COMPEL BOTH YOUR CHARACTERS AND THEN THE AUDIENCE. THE NUANCES OF SEMIOTICS ARE BEST LEFT FOR THE REALM OF CRITICISM. MEANING IT IS THE INTENT OF WHAT YOU’RE ARGUING WHICH IS YOUR BEST CHANCE TO CONNECT TO A PERSON'S SOUL. BODY. SOUL” APPROACH TO MOVIES HULK MENTIONED IN THE INSPIRATION SECTION. MCKAY FINDS A WAY TO COMMENT ON THE THINGS HE FINDS IMPORTANT AND HE MAKES THEM WORK WITH THE CONTEXT OF A SEND-UP OF ACTION MOVIES. EVEN IN THE MOST SILLY OF COMEDIES LIKE THE OTHER GUYS. NEED TO HAVE IS A SIMPLE AWARENESS OF WHAT YOUR WORK IS SAYING. FOR INSTANCE. IT CAN BE A SPECIFIC THOUGHT ABOUT A CHARACTER'S BEHAVIOR. A GOOD STORYTELLER. SO MANY OF OUR FILMS ARE ABOUT LOVE. BUT THERE HAS TO BE AN ANCHOR. WHETHER YOU MEAN TO OR NOT. OR VICE VERSA. DON'T WRITE WOMEN JUST IN THE CONTEXT OF MEN OKAY. ISN'T THE SCRIPT JUST AN OPPORTUNITY TO HARNESS THAT MESSAGE IN A COHERENT WAY? REWARD BEHAVIOR YOU THINK SHOULD BE REWARDED. THERE'S THE OBVIOUS. THEN IT’S JUST A MATTER OF TACT. BECAUSE ANYTHING THAT DIPS INTO THE ARENA OF SEXISM BECOMES SUCH A DIFFICULT TOPIC TO DISCUSS ON A LARGER CANVAS. OR HECK. SHOW WHAT YOU THINK. BAD WAY RIGHT NOW. AND THEN THERE IS THE CASUAL SEXISM OF "LET'S ONLY DEFINE WOMEN THROUGH THE GAZE AND CONTEXT OF THE MALE CHARACTERS!" OR EVEN THE SUBCONSCIOUS SEXISM OF "THE GIRL IN THIS MOVIE IS THE WAY MORE INTERESTING. IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH POLITICS OR ANY “-ISM. BUT GUYS ARE DEFAULT MAIN CHARACTERS!" OF COURSE. THEY JUST DO." AND AVOID WHAT YOU THINK IS TRITE OR DIDACTIC.” IT HAS TO DO WITH GOOD STORYTELLING. YOU CAN POST-MODERNLY THUMB YOUR NOSE AT THE IDEA OF "SAYING SOMETHING. NOTICE HULK DIDN'T SAY HULK WANTS YOU TO "WRITE STRONG ROLE . GETTING INTO THE HOW OR WHY THESE TROPES DEVELOP WOULD BE THE SUBJECT OF THEIR OWN BOOK. ACTIVE SEXISM OF A MALE AUDIENCE THAT DOESN’T CARE AND JUST ARGUES THAT WOMEN ONLY NEED TO BE IN A MOVIE SO MEN HAVE SOMETHING TO LOOK AT (THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENS. THERE ARE A LOT OF LEVELS TO IT. A LOT). EXPOSE THE SHAME OF HOW BEHAVIOR THAT SHOULD BE PUNISHED IS IN FACT REWARDED. DRIVING FORCE OF THE NARRATIVE AND THEME. SO HULK WANTS TO CUT THROUGH ALL THAT AND JUST SAY THAT ALL WRITERS HAVE TO DO A BETTER JOB WITH HOW THEY PORTRAY WOMEN. HULK IS NOT GOING TO GET BIG INTO THIS. NOT A BURDEN. BUT SUFFICE TO SAY THEY ARE A PROBLEM. AND HERE’S THE REASON IT MATTERS MOST OF ALL: IT IS IMPORTANT TO CREATE INTERESTING. THEME IS ALWAYS AN OPPORTUNITY. SPEAKING OF OPPORTUNITIES… 21.. SO MUCH OF IT IS A FAILURE TO ADMIT A PROBLEM. YOU WANT YOUR CHARACTERS TO BE TEXTURED AND SEEM HUMAN AND HAVE PURPOSE. VIVID WOMEN FOR THE SAKE OF YOUR NARRATIVE ALTOGETHER. PUNISH BEHAVIOR YOU THINK SHOULD BE PUNISHED.OVERWHELM YOUR AUDIENCE WITH MESSAGES. WE SHOULD ALL AT LEAST BE ABLE TO ADMIT THAT THE CULTURE OF WOMEN IN FILM IS IN A BAD. YOU WANT ALL YOUR CHARACTERS TO HAVE THEIR OWN STUFF GOING ON. BUT ISN’T THAT JUST THE FORMALIZATION OF YOUR OWN MESSAGE? HULK MEANS. AND SO MUCH OF IT IS JUST LACK OF AWARENESS. IF THAT'S WHAT YOU ACTUALLY THINK.. instead. So what the effing eff is going on here? I rarely see this from the more experienced. just reactive to whatever the male characters are doing. It’s a woman sitting around wondering what to do about some man in her life. talking to her friends about some man. If it’s a lesbian play. HULK JUST WANTS US TO GET THE BASIC IDEA OF NOT ALWAYS WRITING WOMEN AS VACANT OR DAMSELS OR PASSIVE CHARACTERS. RELATIONSHIPS. just change that male character to a female character. interacting with some man about his decisions or actions. Here’s the weird part: I ALMOST NEVER SEE PLAYS LIKE THIS FROM MEN. just told from the woman’s point of view. AND ANY ATTEMPTS TO FIX THE PROBLEM ARE OFTEN MET WITH A PHRASE HULK HEARS ALL THE TIME FROM SCREENWRITING STUDENTS (AND EVEN PROFESSIONAL WRITERS): "But I don’t know how to write women!" ON THE MOST BASIC LEVEL THAT'S JUST BULLPOOP BECAUSE IT IS A SIMPLE MISUNDERSTANDING OF CHARACTERIZATION THAT ASSUMES A WOMAN HAS TO BE DEFINED BY “BEING FEMALE” AND NOT SIMPLY BEING A FEMALE WHO HAS HER OWN CHARACTER WORTH. almost always drives the narrative and has an active arc.MODELS!" BECAUSE THAT’S NOT THE SAME THING AS WRITING VIVID CHARACTERS. BUT YOU REALLY DON’T HAVE TO FEEL LIKE WRITING “AN INTERESTING WOMAN” AUTOMATICALLY IMPLIES TACKLING GENDER POLITICS. However. ACTUALLY. AND THE BIGGEST PROBLEM IS HOW OFTEN FEMALE CHARACTERS ARE MISSING BASIC HUMAN TRAITS. that female character isn’t driving the narrative– she is. YES THERE ARE A BUNCH OF WAYS TO TALK ABOUT GENDER ISSUES WITH YOUR WRITING. TO SUGGEST ANYTHING OTHER THAN THAT IS RIDICULOUS AND LAZY. 99% OF THE PLOTTING YOU CAN DO HAS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH GENDER ITSELF. male or female. WE HAVE TO START ON THE MOST BASIC LEVEL OF IMPROVEMENT AND THAT MEANS HULK JUST WANTS YOU TO GIVE FEMALE CHARACTERS STUFF TO DO! STUFF THAT DOESN’T HAVE TO DO WITH MEN OR PASSIVE SEXUALITY! IF YOU CAN WRITE A MAN. just in the plural. HERE SHE ADDRESSED THE STRANGE AND PROBLEMATIC SIMILARITY OF NARRATIVE APPROACH FROM YOUNG WOMEN PLAYWRIGHTS: “I’m seeing a significant amount of plays by women with female characters structurally positioned as the central character. The structurally central female character is just as reactive. accomplished women playwrights. OR EVEN SAVING THE WORLD. Ensemble pieces don’t change anything– they work the same way. It’s still a story with a central male character. EITHER: A LOT OF ROMANTIC COMEDIES STARRING WOMEN ARE PARTICULARLY GUILTY OF THIS. EXTERNAL CONFLICTS.” . THE BEST THING HULK SAW ON THE TOPIC WAS FROM THE POPULAR BLOGGER BITTER GERTRUDE WHO IS THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF IMPACT THEATER IN BERKELEY. AND IT’S NOT LIKE THIS IS SOME CONVERSATION RESERVED JUST FOR “MACHO” MALE-AIMED FILMS. YOU CAN WRITE A WOMAN. the central character. IT’S ABOUT PEOPLE. When I get a play by a man. but it’s shockingly common from early career women writers. HULK LIKES HER USE OF CAPS! BUT THE PIECE RECEIVED A GOOD AMOUNT OF FALLOUT WHEREIN A LOT OF WOMEN ARGUED THAT IT WAS REPRESENTATIVE OF WHAT A LOT OF WOMEN’S LIVES ARE LIKE, BUT WITHIN THE PIECE ITSELF SHE NAILS WHY THAT THINKING IS PROBLEMATIC: “Being empathetic and reactive aren’t necessarily bad things, but these received narratives of how to ‘correctly’ perform our genders are having an impact on the way some playwrights are writing, and that impact is working against some women playwrights’ ability to tell their stories.” IT’S NOT THAT PASSIVITY CAN’T BE PART OF THE CHARACTER’S OPERATIONAL METHOD, BUT GOOD STORYTELLING REQUIRES THAT THE AUTHOR BE CONSCIOUS THAT PASSIVITY IS THE SUBJECT, EITHER BY TRANSCENDING THAT PASSIVITY WITH CHARACTER GROWTH (ONE OF HULK’S FAVORITE MOVIES EVER, JULIET OF THE SPIRITS, IS ABOUT TRAVERSING PASSIVENESS AND THE SAME GOES FOR IBSEN’S A DOLL’S HOUSE) OR SUCCUMBING TO THE TRAGEDY OF PASSIVITY. EITHER VERSION DISPLAYS AN AUTHORIAL INTENT TO SAY SOMETHING ABOUT THE REALITY. IT’S JUST LIKE HULK ARGUED IN THE CONTEXT SECTION: WHAT HAPPENS IN YOUR NARRATIVE PROVIDES A VIEWPOINT. AND THE PROBLEM HULK SEES IS THAT THE PLAYS IN QUESTION, AS WELL AS A WHOLE HOST OF ROMANTIC COMEDIES AND TV SITCOMS ABOUT MARRIAGE, ARE OFTEN REWARDING THAT PASSIVITY. AND WHILE THAT CONTRIBUTES HORRIBLY TO THE OVERALL DOUBLE STANDARD AND CONDITIONS OF PATRIARCHY AND ALL THAT AWFUL STUFF, HULK’S PROBLEM FOR YOU IS A BIT DIFFERENT: IT MAKES FOR BAD DRAMA. FOR YOU, THE WRITER, IT REALLY IS THAT SIMPLE. HULK JUST EXPLAINED TO YOU WHY GOOD DRAMA IS ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE AND UNDERSTANDING OF STAKES AND MOTIVATION. BUT HOW CAN YOU DO THAT WHEN YOU SKIMP ON THE CHARACTERIZATION AND PARTICIPATION OF 50% OF THE PEOPLE ON THIS PLANET? IT IS INSTINCTUALLY FELT. GOOD DRAMA IS BUILT ON THE FOUNDATION OF CHARACTER GROWTH. IT IS ABOUT CHARACTERS MAKING DECISIONS AND BEING COMPELLING AND HAVING ACTIVE INTEREST IN THEIR OWN LIVES. AND WHEN THEY DON’T, THE AUDIENCE NEEDS TO UNDERSTAND WHY THAT IS LIMITING THEM. CONTEXT HAS TO RULE. IN ESSENCE, THE STRIVING FOR GOOD DRAMA BACKS UP THE PURPOSE OF STORYTELLING, WHETHER THROUGH THE GAINING OF KNOWLEDGE, WHICH IS OFTEN RIFE WITH SORROW, OR BY HOW IT FEELS FOR HUMANITY, OR MAYBE EVEN SPEAKS TO INTEGRITY. AND THE GREAT THING ABOUT DRAMA IS IT CAN DO THOSE THINGS EVEN WHEN PEOPLE ARE BEING THE OPPOSITE OF THOSE THINGS. AND WE ARE SIMPLY DROPPING THE BALL WHEN IT COMES TO DOING ANY OF THIS WITH OUR FEMALE CHARACTERS. YOU MAY THINK THIS ISSUE IS NOT ALL THAT IMPORTANT TO THE STORY YOU ARE TELLING, BUT EVERY FILM ON THE PLANET CAN BE MADE BETTER BY MAKING THE FEMALE CHARACTERS THREE-DIMENSIONAL. SERIOUSLY. IT’S NOT A REVOLUTIONARY CONCEPT. EVERY FILM CAN BENEFIT. THINK OF ALL THE RARE FILMS THAT ACTUALLY MANAGE TO DO IT. THINK ABOUT HOW EVEN THE MOST BASIC EXAMPLE OF A NOTEMBARRASSING CHARACTER LIKE PRINCESS LEIA HAS GONE ON TO HAVE SUCH CULTURAL RESONANCE. THINK THAT’S AN ACCIDENT? SHE’S A SMART, CAPABLE LEADER WITH HER OWN OPINIONS, HER OWN STUFF GOING ON, DISPLAYS A WHOLE RANGE OF KINDNESS AND ANGER AND LUST AND FRUSTRATION AND NUANCE. AND WOULDN'T YOU KNOW IT, BUT IT JUST SO HAPPENS EVERY AUDIENCE MEMBER COMES TO LOVE HER. EVEN THE MOST SEXIST DUDES ON EARTH, WHO INSIST THEY DON'T "NEED" INTERESTING PORTRAYALS OF WOMEN IN THEIR FILMS, ALL ADORE LEIA. IT’S NOT AN ACCIDENT. WE CAN'T HELP BUT ENJOY WHEN FULLY-RANGED AND INTERESTING PEOPLE ARE ONSCREEN, NO MATTER WHAT GENDER THEY ARE. IT’S NOT MAGIC, FOLKS. WE ARE SIMPLY MOVED BY INTERESTING, HUMAN CHARACTERS. * * * NOTE: WE ARE FINALLY WINDING DOWN THE CONCEPTUAL SECTION (HURRAY), SO THE LAST TWO POINTS WILL COVER THE IDEAS BEHIND BEGINNINGS AND ENDINGS. 22. THE VALUE OF PREEXISTING CONFLICT "Everything was just fine! And then it wasn't!" WHILE THIS DESCRIPTION SUITS A NUMBER OF WONDERFUL MOVIES, HULK IS HERE TO TELL YOU THAT IT IS ALSO THE FIRST ACT OF A WHOLE SHIT LOAD OF BAD MOVIES. WE GET A LOOK AT SOME WORLD THAT IS BUILT UP WITH NON-VITAL, NON-COMPELLING CHARACTER WORK AND THEN AT A CERTAIN POINT, IT'S LIKE THE MOVIE ACTUALLY DECIDES TO START. AND WHILE THERE IS TOTALLY A WAY TO BUILD UP NORMALCY AND THEN TAKE A SPECTACULAR RIGHT TURN WITH YOUR NARRATIVE, THAT SORT OF WRITING TAKES A LOT OF DEFT UNDERSTANDING OF RHYTHMS AND SOME SERIOUS CRAFT. SO INSTEAD, HULK IS ADDRESSING THE PROBLEMS OF A LOT OF OUR MORE TRADITIONAL HOLLYWOOD NARRATIVES, LIKE ACTION FILMS AND ROMANTIC COMEDIES. SO MANY OF THOSE FILMS DON’T USE THAT TIME FOR ANYTHING IMPORTANT OR CRITICAL TO THE STORY. THIS HAS BECOME OUR MODUS OPERANDI. EVEN WITH SCRIPTS THAT TRY TO START OFF WITH SOME BIG ACTION SCENE OR ATTENTIONGRABBING DEVICE, IT IS OFTEN AN EMPTY GESTURE. IT IS OFTEN ENERGY WITHOUT PURPOSE. IT IS OFTEN NOT EVEN PART OF THE REAL STORY. THEY ASSUME JUST BECAUSE WE’RE WATCHING OUR CHARACTERS THAT WE’RE BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS WITH THEM AND IT TAKES SO MUCH MORE THAN THAT TO INGRAIN STORY PURPOSE. AND THUS SO MANY MOVIES PASS UP ON THE OPPORTUNITY TO INGRAIN THEIR FILMS FROM THE VERY ONSET WITH A SENSE OF WEIGHT. ALL THEY HAVE TO DO IS START PEOPLE IN THE MIDST OF A WORLD ALREADY IN CONFLICT. DOING THIS GIVES YOUR STORY IMMEDIACY, IMPORTANCE, STAKES, MEANING. THINK ABOUT HOW MANY GREAT MOVIES START RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF A LARGER CONFLICT. THERE'S BIG, BOLD EXAMPLES LIKE STAR WARS, WHICH FAMOUSLY STARTS IN THE MIDDLE OF A SPACE BATTLE (WITH THAT EPIC SHOT TOO) AND THERE ARE HUGELY UNDERRATED MOVIES LIKE MANN’S MIAMI VICE (IT’S A SUPER PLOTTY, LESSACCESSIBLE MOVIE THAT WAS USING DIGITAL TOO EARLY, BUT IT’S STILL GREAT). IT DOESN'T EVEN NEED TO BE SOME GRAND SCALE THING. WE CAN START IN THE MIDDLE OF INTIMATE HUMAN PROBLEMS TOO. A PARENT'S DEATH. A RELATIONSHIP AT ODDS. A PAST PSYCHOLOGICAL TRAUMA. STARTING OFF WITH THESE PROBLEMS GIVES YOUR SCRIPT IMMEDIACY. THIS ISN’T SOME RULE THAT INHERENTLY WORKS BETTER, IT’S JUST THAT HULK THINKS PEOPLE TREAT THE OPPOSITE AS THE RULE. SO DON’T BE AFRAID TO JUMP RIGHT INTO IT. IT’S NO ACCIDENT THAT THE GREATEST WRITER OF ALL TIME, WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, LOVED DROPPING US RIGHT DOWN IN THE MIDDLE OF A LARGER CONFLICT. THAT WAY ONE ENTERS A WORLD THAT ALREADY FEELS LIVED-IN AND RIFE WITH HISTORY. IT CREATES A WORLD THAT WE ALREADY KNOW HAS CONSEQUENCES AND IMPORTANCE. THIS ISN'T TO SAY PREEXISTING CONFLICT SHOULD BE REQUIRED FOR EVERY MOVIE, NOT FOR A SECOND! JUST THAT SO MANY STORIES SEEM TO MISS OUT ON AN OPPORTUNITY TO USE IT. AND THAT'S A SHAME. SO KEEP IT IN MIND! 23. THE ENDING IS THE CONCEIT IF ALL THE IDEAS IN OUR FILMS MEAN SOMETHING, THEN YOUR ENDING SHOULD SAY EVERYTHING. WE OFTEN LOOK AT ENDINGS AS THOSE THINGS THAT JUST WRAP UP THE STORY AND MAKE US FEEL BETTER AFTER THE CONFLICT IS OVER, BUT A BETTER WAY TO THINK OF AN ENDING IS FOR IT TO HAMMER IN EVERYTHING YOU EVER MEANT. ALL THE STORY, ALL THOSE THEMES, ALL THOSE IDEAS, ALL THAT WORK, IT SHOULD RESONATE AS THE AUDIENCE LEAVES THE THEATER. IT SHOULD NOT BE EXTINGUISHED IN A MERCIFUL, PLACATING WHIMPER. SOMETIMES IT DOESN’T EVEN NEED NOT BE A BIG THING, BUT A SMALL HUMAN MOMENT. FOR INSTANCE, HULK ADORES THE ENDINGS OF PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON, WHICH ALWAYS SEEM TO END ON A SLIGHT GESTURE OF SORTS. SPOILERS IF YOU NEVER SEEN THESE FILMS, BUT WITH SYDNEY (HARD EIGHT) OUR TITULAR CHARACTERS COVERS THE BLOOD ON HIS CUFF, AS HE IS A MAN WHO HAS ALWAYS KEPT HIS VIOLENCE UNDER A SURFACE OF SHINE AND PROPRIETY. WITH BOOGIE NIGHTS WE HAVE EDDIE ADAMS FROM TORRANCE STARING AT A MIRROR WITH HIS JUNK OUT, BUT HE HAS COMPLETELY LOST HIMSELF: HE’S DELIVERING A MONOLOGUE NOT EVEN AS DIRK DIGGLER, BUT HIS CHARACTER’S CHARACTER BROCK LANDERS, FINALLY PUMPING HIS EGO / ID / WEINER UP WITH “YOU’RE A STAR! YOU’RE A STAR!” OR WITH MAGNOLIA, WHERE THE SADDEST, MOST TRAGIC CHARACTER FINALLY EARNS THE ABILITY TO SMILE. OR WITH THERE WILL BE BLOOD, WHEREIN PLAINVIEW’S MEGALOMANIA IS FINALLY SATED WHEN HE HAS COMPLETELY RUINED AND ULTIMATELY KILLED AN INSIGNIFICANT, YET ETHICALLY BOTHERSOME FIGURE FROM HIS PAST, CITING “I’M FINISHED.” AND MOST RECENTLY WITH THE MASTER, IN WHICH OUR SINCERELY DAMAGED AND PSYCHOLOGICALLY-PLAYED-WITH PROTAGONIST OF FREDDIE QUELL HAS FINALLY MADE A TANGIBLE (IF PUERILE) CONNECTION WITH A LADY IN THE BAR, THE FIGURATIVE SAND CASTLE FIGURE MADE REAL. ALL THESE MOVIES END WITH TRULY STRIKING MOMENTS THAT DON’T FIT IN A LOT OF CONVENTIONAL “RESOLUTION” MODELS, BUT THEY CONNECT WITH US BECAUSE THEY HAMMER HOME THE ENTIRE THEME OF THEIR RESPECTIVE MOVIES WITH GREAT CHARACTER MOMENTS. ONE FILM HULK LOVES TO USE AS AN EXAMPLE OF THE ENDING BEING THE CONCEIT IS JAMES GUNN'S EXCELLENT SUPER, WHEREIN HE DIDN'T JUST USE THE ENDING TO RAM HOME ALL HIS IDEAS, BUT USED IT TO REVEAL WHAT THE THEMATIC IDEA OF WHAT THE FILM WAS REALLY ABOUT THE WHOLE TIME. AND IT WASN'T SOME CHEAP PLOT TRICK OR A TWIST OR ANYTHING AS TRITE AS THAT. THE FILM JUST TOOK ON A BIGGER, MORE HUMAN AND EMOTIONAL SCOPE. THE FILM, OFTEN HARD-EDGED AND SATIRICAL, WAS TRANSFORMED BY A REAL EMOTIONAL SENSITIVITY TO WHAT HAD TRANSPIRED AND THEN WAS DRIVEN HOME BY THE THEMATIC HAMMER. IT WAS DOWNRIGHT RESONANT AND RE-SHAPED THE ENTIRE FILM YOU SAW. AND THE MOVIE COULD HAVE SO EASILY PLACATED US AND ALLEVIATED OUR WORRIES AFTER THE CLIMAX, BUT GUNN REALLY UNDERSTOOD HOW MUCH YOU COULD SAY WITH AN ENDING. ENDINGS ALWAYS MATTER AND THEY MATTER THEMATICALLY, DAMMIT. WHY ELSE WOULD SHAKESPEARE (THE AFOREMENTIONED GREATEST WRITER OF ALL TIME) ALWAYS END HIS PLAYS WITH SOME HAUNTING OR BEAUTIFUL MONOLOGUE? ONE WHICH WAS DELIVERED BY AN ACTOR RIGHT TO THE AUDIENCE? ONE IN WHICH THEY WOULD RUMINATE ON THE EVENTS THAT HAVE TRANSPIRED, WHAT IT MEANT, AND HOW THEY SHOULD RESONATE GOING FORWARD?... HULK MEAN... HE IS BASICALLY SAYING THE CONCEIT RIGHT AT THE END!!! LIKE HULK KEEPS SAYING WITH MOST OF THESE POINTS, DO NOT LOOK AT THE ENDING OF YOUR PIECE AS A BURDEN, BUT AS AN OPPORTUNITY. AN OPPORTUNITY TO SAY EVERYTHING YOU WANT TO SAY IN YOUR MOVIE. IT IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE POETIC, RESONANT, AND INTERESTING. IT IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE SOULFUL AND UNDERLINE THE PURPOSE OF STORYTELLING. AND IF YOU SKIRT ON THAT OPPORTUNITY? AND JUST WRAP A FEW THINGS UP WITHOUT LIVING UP TO THE REST OF YOUR FILM? THEN THAT MIGHT BE A BIT OF A PROBLEM BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT THE AUDIENCE LEAVES WITH. HULK SWEARS THIS IS WHY SO MANY PEOPLE FORGET MOVIES SO QUICKLY. THEY MAY HAVE A SMILE ON THEIR FACE AS THE CREDITS ROLL, BUT THEY NEED SOMETHING TO STAY WITH THEM. SO GIVE THEM A REASON TO REMEMBER IT ALL ON THEIR WAY OUT OF THE THEATER. THE ENDING IS THE CONCEIT. SO HAMMER HOME YOUR POINTS. END STRONG. SAY SOMETHING. NOW LET'S QUIT THIS CONCEPTUAL SHIT AND GET INTO PART FIVE AND HOW TO USE STRUCTURE! PART FIVE - - HOW TO TELL THE STORY – STRUCTURALLY NOTE: THE CORRESPONDING PICTURE OF SCREENPLAY MANAGEMENT, SHOWN ABOVE, CAN DIE IN A FIRE. MOST SCREENPLAY BOOKS ARE OBSESSED WITH TELLING YOU EXACTLY HOW TO STRUCTURE YOUR SCREENPLAY. THEY GIVE YOU CHARTS AND GRAPHS AND TELL YOU ALL STORIES WORK IN THE SAME WAY AND GIVE YOU PAINT-BY-NUMBERS GUIDES TO DOING THE SAME. HULK REJECTS THAT CRAP. BECAUSE THE SAD TRUTH IS, THAT APPROACH DOESN’T ACTUALLY TEACH YOU HOW A STORY WORKS AT ALL. IT JUST TELLS YOU WHAT A STORY SOMETIMES LOOKS LIKE AND HOW TO COPY IT. AND THAT WON’T HELP YOU UNDERSTAND HOW TO WRITE ONE BIT. IT’S LIKE USING A SINGLE RECIPE WITHOUT ACTUALLY UNDERSTANDING HOW TO COOK. SO HULK IS GOING TO DIVE HEADLONG INTO STRUCTURE TOO (BECAUSE, YEAH, IT’S SUPER IMPORTANT), BUT IT’S GOING TO BE FOCUSED ON UNDERSTANDING HOW IT WORKS! THIS IS GOING TO BE ABOUT GIVING YOU THE MECHANISMS YOU NEED TO CRAFT AND TELL THE STORIES YOU WANT TO TELL AND SAY WHAT YOU WANT TO SAY. UNDERSTAND THE “WHY” OF HOW ALL THESE TACTICS WORK AND SUDDENLY YOU WILL BE ABLE TO COOK, SO TO SPEAK. AND HULK ASSURES YOU THAT HULK’S APPROACH IS NOT GOING TO FEEL RESTRICTIVE. IT’S HOPEFULLY GOING TO FREE YOU. * * * SO THE PARSING OUT OF A SCREENPLAY’S STRUCTURE (AKA DECIDING HOW TO TELL YOUR STORY) IS COMMONLY REFERRED TO AS "BREAKING A STORY." HULK LIKES THAT PHRASE BETTER THAN "CONSTRUCTING A STORY" BECAUSE THAT WORD REMINDS HULK OF THE IDEA OF LOGISTICAL ASSEMBLAGE, WHEREAS BREAKING A STORY IS ABOUT TAKING THE IDEA ITSELF, ALMOST AS IF IT WAS A RAW CHUNK OF MARBLE, AND CARVING IT DOWN TO YOUR IMMACULATE SCULPTURE. IT’S LIKE YOU ARE TAKING YOUR INCLINATION AND THE STORY ALREADY LOCKED IN YOUR MIND, AND BREAKING IT DOWN SO YOU UNDERSTAND IT ON A STRUCTURAL LEVEL. IT'S LIKE YOU ARE MANIPULATING WHAT YOU ALREADY KNOW ON AN INSTINCTUAL LEVEL. HECK, MAYBE IT’S LIKE WORKING WITH PLAY-DOH OR SOMETHING. WHATEVER YOUR METAPHOR, HULK LIKES THIS KIND OF THINKING MUCH, MUCH BETTER THAN THE NOTION OF “CONSTRUCTION.” ANYCRAP, LET'S LOOK AT THE BEST WAYS TO BREAK A STORY! 24. ECONOMY IS YOUR NEW SECOND BEST FRIEND A FRIEND OF HULK'S SAID SOMETHING FASCINATING RECENTLY. HE MADE THE COMMENT THAT THERE'S NOT A SINGLE SUMMER TENT-POLE RELEASED IN THE LAST TEN YEARS THAT COULDN'T STAND TO LOSE AT LEAST 15-20 MINUTES. THIS IS A TRUTH. IT IS STUNNING HOW MANY MOVIES TODAY TELL THEIR STORIES WITH A TON OF FAT. AND NO, HULK NOT TALKING ABOUT MERE "PACING" WHICH IS BUILT IN THE EDIT AND DIRECTION (AND SOMETHING THAT IS ACTUALLY EXECUTED FASTER THAN EVER THESE DAYS). HULK IS TALKING ABOUT SCRIPT-LEVEL FAT. HULK IS TALKING ABOUT WHOLE SCENES THAT HAVE NO PURPOSE OTHER THAN TO BE FUNNY OR COOL. HULK WILL GET INTO THE INCLINATIONS THAT CREATE THIS STORY FAT IN THE NEXT FEW CHAPTERS, BUT THE POINT IS THAT YOU REALLY, REALLY NEED TO EMBRACE THE CONCEPT OF ECONOMY. IT SHOULD BE THE HUGE THOUGHT IN THE BACK OF YOUR HEAD. REPEAT IT AGAIN AND AGAIN: TELL ONLY AS MUCH STORY AS YOU NEED... AND IF YOU'RE TELLING MORE THAN YOU NEED, IF YOU’RE DELVING INTO CHEWING ON THE PROVERBIAL FAT, WELL, THEN THERE BETTER BE A DAMN GOOD REASON FOR IT. LOOK, HULK ALREADY KNOWS THAT YOU MIGHT BE SUSPICIONS OF WRITING WITHOUT THAT KIND OF LOOSE FREEDOM, AS THERE ARE EXCEPTIONS TO EVERY RULE. SOME MOVIES EXCEL IN HOW THEY ARE ABLE TO REVEL IN THE FAT. QUENTIN TARANTINO AND THE COENS HAVE LONG-RUNNING TANGENTS AND JOKES, BUT HULK WANTS YOU TO KEEP ONE VERY IMPORTANT FACT IN MIND: THEY ARE SOME OF THE BEST WRITERS ON THE PLANET AND CAN DO WHAT HULK IS ARGUING FOR HERE IN THEIR SLEEP. AND BY COMPARISON, HULK READS FOUR SCRIPTS A WEEK OF PEOPLE INDULGING THE FAT FOR NO OTHER PURPOSE THAN 1) PADDING STUFF OUT OR 2) BECAUSE THEY DON’T KNOW HOW TO GET WHATEVER IS FUNNY OR INTERESTING ABOUT THAT FAT INTO MORE PURPOSEFUL METHODS OF STORYTELLING. YOU ALWAYS WANT TO ENTER EACH SCENE WITH A NEW SENSE OF PURPOSE AND INTEREST. AND THEN YOU WANT TO DO IT OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN. IF YOU DO MANAGE TO WRITE A CRACKLING. ECONOMICAL NARRATIVE. TRUST WHEN HULK SAYS IT IS FAR MORE DIFFICULT TO TAKE A LUMBERING STORY. Hulk! I should write a propulsive story. HULK IS HERE TO HELP YOU DO THAT. BETTER YET. But what’s the best way of doing that?!?” WELL… IN ORDER TO DO THAT YOU ARE FIRST GOING TO HAVE TO UNLEARN TWO OF THE MOST POPULAR STORYTELLING MODELS IN SCREENWRITING. MORE FOCUSED. BY FOCUSING ON ECONOMY AS A DEVELOPING WRITER. “Okay. YOU WANT THE FILM TO FEEL LIKE IT SHOULD NEVER END. EVEN THE MOST CASUAL CHARACTER PIECES. EXCITING SCRIPT. HOW TO LINK A “FUN” SCENE DIRECTLY INTO THE PLOT. AND HULK GUARANTEES YOU THAT BY VALUING ECONOMY FROM THE ONSET. WHY? BECAUSE THEY ARE JUST TOTALLY BOGUS. THEN HULK IS HERE TO TELL YOU THAT IT WILL BE FAR EASIER TO INTEGRATE CHARACTERIZATION. FULL OF THOROUGH CHARACTERIZATION AND THEMATIC EXPLORATION. HUMAN STORIES. EVEN FILMS WITH A LEISURELY EDITING PACE. AND THEN SOMEHOW PARSE IT DOWN INTO A TIGHT STORY. YOU STILL WANT THE CHARACTER'S EVOLUTION TO SECRETLY BE PROPULSIVE. EVEN WITH THE MOST INTIMATE. . SO WHY NOT GO THE OTHER DIRECTION? IN EVERY KIND OF STORY. 25.BUT THE REAL VALUE OF KEEPING ECONOMY IN MIND AS YOU WRITE IS THAT IT’S A PERFECT LEARNING TOOL. TEXTURE AND THEME THAN IT WOULD BE TO GO IN THE OTHER DIRECTION. THE MYTH OF THE 3 ACT STRUCTURE HULK HEARS IT ALL THE TIME WHEN PEOPLE COMPLAIN ABOUT MOVIES: “IT’S THE PROBLEMS IN THE FILM’S SECOND ACT!” ALL… THE FUCKING… TIME. LUCKILY. YOU WILL FORCE YOURSELF INTO MOMENTS WHERE YOU LEARN HOW TO COMBINE THEMATIC IDEAS WITH CHARACTER. IT WILL HELP YOU CREATE A TIGHTER. A MYTH. HULK GETS HOW THE COMMENT IS INTENDED. IT’S ONE USED BY MANY GREAT SCREENWRITERS. ESSENTIALLY. SO HULK’S GOT ANOTHER OF HULK’S FAMOUS WORKING DEFINITIONS FOR YOU. DOES IT? NO.” AND WELL… THAT DOESN’T ACTUALLY MEAN ANYTHING. OR LOSING TRACK OF CHARACTERS. IT IS USUALLY USED TO IMPLY WHEN A FILM IS TREADING WATER. NO. SOMETIMES THEY’LL FALL OVER THEIR WORDS. ISN’T THAT A LITTLE FUCKING WEIRD? ANY TIME HULK HEARS PEOPLE COMPLAINING ABOUT PROBLEMS IN A FILM’S ACT STRUCTURE OR TALKING ABOUT THEIR OWN. AND IT’S NOT OUT OF HULK’S BUTT HERE. THAT EVEN THOUGH THE PHRASE IS USED TO NEAR UBIQUITY. SOMETIMES THEY’LL BE HIT BY A BOLT OF SPEECHLESSNESS. IT DOESN’T. * * * QUESTION: WHAT IS AN ACT? PEOPLE USE THE WORD ALL THE TIME WITHOUT REALLY BOTHERING TO THINK ABOUT WHAT IT ACTUALLY MEANS. THUS: THE END OF AN ACT IS A POINT IN THE STORY WHERE A CHARACTER(S) MAKES A CHOICE AND CAN NO LONGER “GO BACK. ALL . FILM JOURNALISTS. HULK WILL JUST ASK THEM THAT SAME QUESTION: WHAT IS AN ACT? HULK WILL ASK YOUNG STUDENTS. THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENT KINDS OF STORIES. WHICH HULK PERSONALLY FINDS TO BE THE MOST ABOMINABLE WAY TO BOTH EXPLAIN AND INSTRUCT STORYTELLING. HULK UNDERSTANDS WHAT THE COMPLAINERS MEAN BY THE STATEMENT. MIDDLE. SO WHAT CREATES SUCH WISHY-WASHY STORYTELLING? AND THE EVEN WISHYWASHIER WAY OF EXPLAINING IT? IT IS BECAUSE OF THE EVER-POPULAR NOTION OF THE 3 ACT STRUCTURE. OR CRAMMING STUFF IN. OR WHATEVER STORY-FAULT YOU CAN THINK OF. BUT THE PROBLEM WITH THIS GENERIC “SECOND ACT” DESIGNATION IS THAT IT CAN IMPLY A PROBLEM WITH VIRTUALLY ANYTHING IN THE MIDDLE PART OF STORYTELLING. EVEN WORKING WRITERS AND MOST DON’T HAVE AN ANSWER. OR RUNNING OUT OF STEAM. MEANING IT IS A BEYOND VAGUE WAY TO TALK ABOUT STORY STRUCTURE. SO FALSE IN WHAT IT ACHIEVES. AND END. OH.NOW. BUT THEIR ANSWERS BASICALLY AMOUNT TO AN ACT BEING A TERM THAT’S A GENERAL PLACEHOLDER FOR CHUNKS OF STORY THAT USUALLY SEPARATE “BEGINNING. AND THE BEST WAY TO PUT IT IS TO DEFINE AN ACT BY ITS POINT OF SEPARATION FROM THE NEXT. AFTER ALL.” THE FIRST THING TO UNDERSTAND IS THAT THE USE OF THE WORD “POINT” IS PURPOSELY VAGUE. PROFESSORS. AND OTHER WAY-SMART PEOPLE. AND EVEN THOUGH THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF WRITERS USING THE 3 ACT MODEL AS THEIR GUIDE AT THIS VERY MOMENT… HULK ARGUES IT IS STILL. SO FALSE IN WHAT IT DESCRIBES. PLUS. HULK SERIOUSLY CANNOT ADVISE YOU ENOUGH TO GO BACK AND WATCH THIS AND SORT OUT ALL THE ACT BREAKS. BETTER YET. LOOK. IT’S NOT JUST KILLING THE CAT. WRITE DOWN THE CHOICES BEING MADE AND HOW IT HELPS THE CHARACTER GROW AND GO ON THEIR JOURNEY. TWO PREVIOUSLY UN-MET CHARACTERS BECOMING FRIENDS. IT’S GIVING THE AUDIENCE THE STAKES AND MEANING.” IT IS STORYTELLING WITH PURPOSE. IF HANDLED CORRECTLY. BUT A MOVIE LIKE MALCOLM X HAS ABOUT 9 DISTINGUISHABLE ACTS IN HULK’S ESTIMATION. THE ACT BREAK CAN BE A NEW AND INTERESTING PLOT DEVELOPMENT. IT WILL BE SUCH A USEFUL LEARNING TOOL IN UNDERSTANDING THE MECHANISM OF ACTS AND ACT BREAKS. ONE THAT CAUSES THEM TO MOVE FORWARD IN THIS NEW REALITY WITH UNDERSTANDING. IT’S NOT JUST “STUFF HAPPENING. THE BETTER YOUR SCREENPLAY WILL BE AT PROPELLING THE NARRATIVE IN MEANINGFUL WAYS. AND AT THE END OF EACH OF THOSE ACTS HE MAKES A CHOICE AND GOES FORTH INTO A VASTLY DIFFERENT SITUATION. WHICH BRINGS THEM INTO THE STORY. MORE IMPORTANTLY. WITH THIS WORKING DEFINITION. SOME MOVIES HAVE UPWARDS OF 20 ACTS. SOMETHING AS INSIPID AS “NO! THE BAD GUYS ARE HERE! RUN!” … AN ACT BREAK CAN BE ANYTHING AS LONG AS IT HAS A SIGNIFICANT CHANGING EFFECT ON THE NARRATIVE RESULTING IN THE CHARACTER CHOOSING AN ACTION DEFINED BY THAT CHANGE. IT’S NOT LIKE THE ACTION MOVIE STAPLE OF “OH NO. IT IS A TRULY EPIC FILM THAT TAKES THE STANDARD BIOPIC AND SEPARATES THOSE EVENTS INTO VERY OBVIOUS “SECTIONS” OF CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT. A PERSONALITY REVEAL. IT’S BRINGING THE AUDIENCE INTO A CHARACTER. IT‘S ALL A QUESTION OF WHAT STORY YOU WANT TO TELL AND THE BETTER YOU UNDERSTAND THIS DEFINITION OF PROPULSIVE. OR EVEN. IT’S THE BAD GUYS! RUN!” CAN’T WORK IN TERMS OF CHANGING THE SITUATION AND MAKING THINGS . AN ACT BREAK CREATES PROPULSION. THE MORE WE INVOLVE THE AUDIENCE. IT MEANS A FILM CAN HAVE ANY NUMBER OF ACTS DEPENDING ON WHAT IT’S TRYING TO SAY AND DO. HULK TALKED ABOUT IT BEFORE. IT’S JUST AN AMAZING FILM! HECK. EACH FOCUSING ON A TIME IN HIS LIFE WHERE MALCOLM COULD GO THROUGH PERIODS OF FOCUS AND COME TO A NEW KIND OF ENLIGHTENMENT OR CHARACTER REALITY. WHAT HAS HULK SAID ABOUT CHARACTER AND EMPATHY AND ALL THIS GOOD AMAZING STUFF SO FAR? HOW MUCH HAS HULK TALKED ABOUT CHARACTERS BEING OUR GATEWAYS INTO EXPERIENCE? THE MORE WE GROUND THE STORY CHANGES INTO THOSE REASONS FOR CONNECTING. “But Hulk! Couldn’t that point really be anything? Like a character just leaving his house and grabbing coffee or something?!?!” OKAY IT HAS TO BE SLIGHTLY MORE VALID THAN A SIMPLE CHANGE IN ACTION OR THE ENVIRONMENT. AND THAT MEANS IT CAN SORT OF BE ANY KIND OF MOMENT. CHARACTER DECISION-CENTRIC ACT BREAKS. A POIGNANT CHARACTER REALIZATION.WITH MANY DIFFERENT KINDS GOALS. FULL OF CHANGE AND NEW CONFLICTS. LIKE. THE RECENT DEBACLE WITH THE GREEN LANTERN WAS ENTIRELY DUE TO THE FACT THAT THE FILM HAS ONE REAL. DESTINYORWHATEVER. BUT THE CHASE IS ALWAYS HIS FOCUS AND IT WILL ALWAYS BECOME BORING WITHOUT ACTUAL CHARACTER PROPULSION. IN PROMOTING TRANSFORMERS 2 HE TOUTED THE EPICNESS OF THE 45 MINUTE END BATTLE. HE’LL SOMETIMES BE ABLE TO MASK THIS MACGUFFIN / SET-PIECE-JUMPING WITH DISTRACTING VISUALS (OR ATTEMPTS AT QUASI-RACIST COMEDY). HE’S LITERALLY TALKING ABOUT A QUICK STORY INVERSION THAT GIVES ENERGY WHEN YOU’VE GOT NOTHING ELSE GOING ON. AFTER ALL.” BUT THAT STATEMENT WAS PURPOSEFULLY A LITTLE BIT FLIP. NO OTHER FILM QUITE HIGHLIGHTS THE FAILURE TO CREATE PURPOSEFUL STORY CHANGES QUITE LIKE THIS ONE. OH SURE. RAYMOND CHANDLER HAD THE FUNNIEST QUOTE EVER WHEN HE SAID: “IN WRITING A NOVEL. YOU NEED MORE INTERESTING THINGS TO BE GOING ON THAN SURFACELEVEL CONFLICTS AND EXTERNAL THREATS. GENUINE ACT BREAK. THE MAIN CHARACTER MAKES ONE DECISION IN THE ENTIRE FILM. BUT IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN ONE OF THE MOST BORING THINGS HULK HAS EVER SEEN BECAUSE IT SO LACKED IN PURPOSE AND CHARACTER DECISION. THIS WAY OF FINALLY IGNORING 3 ACT STRUCTURE IN FAVOR OF CONSTANT CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT. BUT LET HULK REITERATE THE FILM’S PLOT FOR YOU IN AN EFFORT TO MAKE IT CLEAR: HAL JORDAN STARTS AS A PISSY-ASS FIGHTER PILOT WHO IS THEN GIVEN A LANTERN RING BY A DYING ALIEN CAUSE. IN FACT. PUNCTUATION MARKS IN THE LONGER RHYTHMS OF STORY AND CHARACTER. ONE. BUT HE’S ONLY INTERESTED IN THE CHASE. IT WAS ANYTHING BUT “THE CHASE. BORING. WHEN IN DOUBT. THIS TINY RETHINKING OF A POPULAR CONVENTION. HE FILLS THEM WITH ALL THIS HOOPLAH AND MAYHEM. AND NO OTHER FILM QUITE HIGHLIGHTS HOW OUR TRADITIONAL. DAMN. BUT IN TERMS OF MAIN CHARACTER PROPULSION AND DECISION-MAKING? NOPE. THERE’S LOTS OF STUFF THAT HAPPENS. IT WAS CHAOS. COULD SAVE HUNDREDS OF MOVIES. SO. LOOK HOW THE MOMENTS OF THE BATTLE WERE GIVEN PAUSES AND CONSIDERATION. PURPOSELESS UNDERSTANDING OF THREE ACT STRUCTURE RESULTS IN A STORY THAT IS. THIS IS PROBABLY THE CHIEF REASON MICHAEL BAY MOVIES DON’T ACTUALLY WORK.” IT’S STRANGE WHEN YOU LOOK AT CERTAIN NOT-SO-GOOD MOVIES WITH THIS DEFINITION OF AN ACT AND YOU REALIZE HOW MANY OF OUR BIG SUMMER TENTPOLES JUST DO NOTHING LIKE THAT. AND IS THEN . THAT’S WHY CHARACTER IS THE FUNDAMENTAL AND IDEAL DRIVING FORCE OF ACT BREAKS. MEANWHILE GO BACK AND LOOK AT THE HOURLONG BATTLE OF HELMS DEEP IN THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS AND COUNT HOW MANY CHOICES WERE CHARACTER-CENTRIC. AND HULK HONESTLY FEELS LIKE THIS TINY BIT OF ADVICE. HULK REALLY DOES. BY THE WAY. SURE. FOR EXAMPLE.INTERESTING FOR A MOMENT. AND THE REAL REASON YOU HAVE TO BE CAREFUL WITH THAT STUFF IS THAT IT BECOMES SO DULL AND REPETITIVE THAT WE GET TIRED OF THE CHASE AFTER ONLY TWO INSTANCES OR SO. REPEAT. HAVE TWO GUYS COME THROUGH THE DOOR WITH GUNS. AND END. WE HAVE ENDORSED THAT WHICH MAKES FOR TERRIBLE MOVIES. A FEW TIMES. AND SHOULDN’T THAT BE THE MOST IMPORTANT PART? THINK ABOUT IT. AND THAT’S WHY THE FILMMAKERS LET THEIR MAIN CHARACTER SPEND LITERALLY THE ENTIRE MIDDLE OF THE MOVIE GOING BACK ON THAT ACTION. THEY DON’T REALIZE THAT CHARACTERS HAVE TO MAKE DECISIONS. THEY JUST FIGURED A CHANGE IN ENVIRONMENT AND SOME OBLIGATORY HERO JOURNEY NONSENSE WOULD DO ALL THE STORY WORK. EVEN THOUGH IT’S THE SHIFT THAT COMES ONE-THIRD OF THE WAY INTO THE MOVIE AND THUS FEELS LIKE AN ACT BREAK. THEN HE JUST FIGHTS A GIANT FACE-CLOUD IN THE ENTIRE THIRD ACT. AND IT IS NOT UNTIL 90 DIFFERENT SCENES OF RELATIVE MOPING. AND IT’S NOT JUST THE FACT THAT THEY CAN’T DEFINE WHAT ACT BREAKS MEAN WHATSOEVER. THERE’S NO REAL POINT TO IT. THERE IS NO CLEAR CHARACTER MOTIVATION AT PLAY IN ANY ONE OTHER CHARACTER. AND HULK BLAMES THIS STRINGENT. THEY NEVER UNDERSTOOD WHAT THE ACT TRANSITION MEANT IN THE FIRST PLACE. IT’S THIS WHOLE DULL FOCUS ON BEGINNING. THE . BUT IT GIVES ZERO INDICATION OF HOW TO ACTUALLY WRITE THAT STORY. NOR CHARACTER URGENCY OF CHANGE.ZAPPED TO PLANET OA (NEITHER OF WHICH IS HIS DECISION). BUT THERE ISN’T. BY INDOCTRINATING WHAT MIGHT SEEM LOGICAL. ALONG WITH HUNDREDS OF OTHER MOVIES LIKE IT. IT’S ACTUALLY THE ENTIRE ARRAY OF LANGUAGE WE USE IN TALKING ABOUT STORY STRUCTURE. HULK REALLY DOES. HULK CAN’T REMEMBER THE LAST TIME A FILM HAD ONE REAL ACT BREAK. AND FUCKING REJECTING BLAKE LIVELY’S ADVANCES THAT HE FINALLY EMBRACES BEING A LANTERN OR WHATEVER AND MAKES AN ACTUAL FUCKING DECISION TO CHANGE THINGS AND GO BACK TO OA. OUTSIDE OF HECTOR HAMMOND (WHO WAS LUCKY ENOUGH TO GET AN ACTUAL MINI-STORY ARC). DO NOT TELL HULK THAT HAL JORDAN GETTING THE RING IS EQUAL TO AN ACT BREAK. UBIQUITOUS HOLLYWOOD BELIEF IN THE EXISTENCE OF THE 3 ACT STRUCTURE FOR CRAP LIKE THIS. WHICH MAKES SOME BASIC SENSE IN TERMS OF “SUMMARIZING” A PLOT. NOW… HULK BROUGHT THIS “ONE ACT BREAK” THING UP TO EVERYONE IN A GROUP AFTER WE SAW THE MOVIE AND THEY SAID “No. MIDDLE. MEANING THE FILM. THERE DEFINITELY SHOULD BE IN THAT MOMENT. AND THAT’S BECAUSE THE FILMMAKERS DEFINED AN ACT BREAK AS LAZILY AS THIS GROUP THAT WAS EVALUATING IT. REPETITIVELY. THINK ABOUT HULK’S EXAMPLE FROM THE BEGINNING. the second act starts when he gets the ring and goes to Oa!” … BUT AFTER EVERYTHING HULK HAS JUST TOLD YOU. HE THEN TRAINS FOR ALL OF TWO SECONDS ONLY TO THEN QUIT AND NOT EMBRACE HIS NEW SITUATION (WITH NO DISCERNIBLE CONSEQUENCES AND GETS TO KEEP HIS RING) WHEREIN HE GOES BACK TO BEING A PISSY-ASS FIGHTER PILOT WHO DOESN’T EVEN FLY PLANES ANYMORE AND INSTEAD NEEDS ABOUT 10 PEP TALKS IN HIS APARTMENT. SIMPLY DOES NOT REALIZE WHAT AN ACT ACTUALLY REQUIRES. IS JUST STUFF HAPPENING. FUTZING AROUND IN HIS SUIT. EVERYTHING ELSE. UM. IT IS NOT INSTRUCTING YOU HOW TO ACTUALLY WRITE. WHICH MEANS YOUR CHARACTERS ARE NOT MOVING . STORY STRUCTURE IS INHERENTLY DEPENDENT ON UNDERSTANDING PURPOSE AND ALL THAT GOOD NARRATIVE STUFF LISTED ABOVE. STUFF LIKE CHARACTER ARCS. FUNCTIONAL. THEN THE FIRST ACT IS ALL INTRODUCTION AND SET UP AND THE THIRD ACT IS THE CLIMAX. IT PROVIDES NONE OF THE GOOD STUFF THAT IS CRITICAL TO UNDERSTANDING NARRATIVE. THESE TERMS ARE BOTH VAGUE BUT STILL SELF-EXPLANATORY. 90% OF 3 ACT MODELS LACK THAT SPECIFICITY. TURNS. HULK CAN ALWAYS TELL WHEN HULK IS READING A SYD FIELD DEVOTEE SCREENPLAY AND THEY ALL FAIL IN THE EXACT SAME WAYS. REVEALS. RISE IT!” WHATEVER IT MEANS. AND EVERY SINGLE OTHER HIGHLYDETAILED 3 ACT MODEL AUTOMATICALLY CREATES SO MUCH DEAD AIR AND PURPOSELESS SPACE-FILLING THAT IT MAKES FOR TERRIBLE PROPULSION. PERSONAL MOTIVATION. THAT’S REALLY ABOUT ALL IT DOES. AND FOR THAT YOU NEED REAL SPECIFICITY WHEN IT COMES TO UNDERSTANDING THE PURPOSE. WHAT THE FUCK DOES “RISE” EVEN MEAN ON AN INSTRUCTIONAL LEVEL? “YOU KNOW… THE CONFLICT! JUST. IF WE WERE USING THE TRADITIONAL MODEL OF 3 ACT STRUCTURE. CONFLICTS.COMPLAINT ABOUT SECOND ACTS BEING PURPOSELESS. AND DRAMATIC WAY POSSIBLE. GOOD STRUCTURE IS ABOUT TAKING THOSE QUALITIES AND APPLYING THEM IN THE MOST ECONOMICAL. IT’S CERTAINLY NOT GOOD STORYTELLING. BUT IN TERMS OF THE ACTUAL MECHANISM IT IS STILL INCREDIBLY VAGUE ON THE BROADEST OF LEVELS. NONE OF IT IS IN THERE! “But. THOSE MODELS FOCUS ON PAGE COUNTS AND TRICKS AND THINGS THAT ARE SUPPOSEDLY UNIVERSAL APPLICATIONS OF “WHAT SHOULD BE HAPPENING TO A CHARACTER” THAT MAY HAVE ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH HOW TO MAKE A MOVIE. IT CAN BE AN ACCURATE SUMMARY OF WHAT’S HAPPENING ONSCREEN (OR AT LEAST HOW IT FEELS). AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT THAT PESKY SECOND ACT. SURE. Hulk doesn’t that exist separately from structure? Can’t you just do all that stuff within the 3 act guide?” NO! YOU CAN’T! BECAUSE THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT STRUCTURE SECRETLY IS. WORSE. WHICH IS OFTEN JUST DEFINED AS “RISING ACTION” OR “A RISE IN CONFLICT. AND PROPULSION.” YOU BEGIN TO SEE WHY SO MUCH “MIDDLE” STORYTELLING HAS A LACK OF REAL PURPOSE… SERIOUSLY. RELATIONSHIPS. AND THAT’S BECAUSE A 3 ACT STRUCTURE LEADS WRITERS TO JUST TRY TO MAKE CONNECTING POINTS BETWEEN THE BEGINNING AND ENDING OF THEIR STORY. ” IT’S A WRITING MODEL ATTEMPTING TO HELP YOU GET AT ONE. AND WHILE HULK ARGUES THAT THE SIMPLE TRUTHS ARE OFT TIMES THE MOST IMPORTANT ONES. AS A RESULT. SO LET’S GET SERIOUS. THEY’RE JUST WAITING AROUND FOR THE 80 MINUTE MARK SO THAT THEY CAN BEGIN THAT WHOLE ENDING THINGY. AND IN DOING THAT. AND THE 3 ACT STRUCTURE IS NOT EVEN “A TRUTH. WE HEAR IT ALL THE TIME: “The problems in the film’s second act. SURE. SO HULK THINKS THAT HOLLYWOOD COULD MAYBE STAND TO DO A LITTLE BETTER THAN A THIRD GRADE GRASP OF STORY. 2) WE DEFINE ACTS AS SOMETHING WHERE THE CHARACTERS CAN’T GO BACK. WE IDENTIFIED ALL THE BRILLIANT WAYS THAT SHAKESPEARE (AGAIN. AND 3) A FILM CAN HAVE ANY NUMBER OF ACTS IT WANTS - HOW DO WE ACTUALLY APPROACH STRUCTURE? WELL. AND WHEN HIS WORKS WERE LATER PRESERVED THEY WERE ALL BROKEN UP INTO 5 ACTS AND STUDIED EXTENSIVELY AS TO THE PURPOSE OF HOW HIS STORIES WORKED. IT MAKES SENSE AND IS A SIMPLE WAY TO SEE STORIES FROM AFAR. HE DID TALK A GREAT DEAL ABOUT HIS VIEW OF ESSENTIAL STORYTELLING. BUT IT’S ALSO SO SIMPLE THAT IT’S TAUGHT TO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL KIDS WHEN THEY’RE FIRST GRASPING THE CONCEPT OF NARRATIVE. IT’S JUST SUCH A PERSONAL ISSUE. FACT: WHILE SHAKESPEARE’S PLAYS WERE NOT OFFICIALLY WRITTEN WITH ACT DESIGNATIONS. IF 1) THE 3 ACT MODEL SUCKS. FOR SAKE OF EXPLANATION. HULK’S GONNA TELL YOU FOR THE WHOLE REST OF PART FIVE! BUT THE FIRST STEP IN DOING SO IS COMPARING THE TRADITIONAL 3 ACT MODEL WITH THE STORYTELLING MODEL THAT ERUPTED OUT OF THE LEGACY OF THE GREATEST STORYTELLING GENIUS OF ALL TIME… WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE. IT IS HIS BEST KNOWN PLAY SO IT HELPS VASTLY WHEN TRYING TO EXPLAIN SOMETHING.FORWARD IN ANY DISCERNIBLE WAY. THE GREATEST STORYTELLING GENIUS OF ALL TIME) USED STRUCTURE TO MAKE IT WORK. IT’S A SNEAKY GOOD PLAY THAT’S WAY MORE SATIRICAL THAN PEOPLE REALIZE! AND FAR MORE IMPORTANTLY. . ROMEO AND JULIET AS AN EXAMPLE “audible grooooooooan!” HEY. HULK HAS NEVER SEEN SOMETHING SO UNHELPFUL BECOME SO WIDELY ACCEPTED. IT DESCENDS INTO A SHELL GAME OF UNMOTIVATED EVENTS AND IT’S ALL BECAUSE THE DEFINITION OF THE 3 ACT STRUCTURE IS COMPLETE ASS.” SORRY IF HULK HAS BEEN COMING OFF AS TOO SMASHY HERE. THE EXPRESSION OF THOSE TRUTHS SHOULD BE FAR MORE COMPLICATED. HULK WILL USE MOST SHAKESPEARE’S MOST POPULAR PLAY. AND IT’S A BIG SURPRISE TO HULK HOW OFTEN THIS PRACTICE IS IGNORED IN BLOCKBUSTER FILMMAKING. WAY MORE SPECIFIC. SHAKESPEARE DIDN’T HAVE CINEMA’S NEAT TRICKS OF LANDSCAPE SHOTS AND VOICEOVER PROLOGUES. A REVEAL. IF DONE RIGHT. AND HECK. A FIGHT. THEN THE 3RD ACT COMPRISES A TURNING POINT. TWO FAMILIES ARE AT ODDS. BEFORE THEY EXPECT IT. OR A SURPRISE (I.E. HULK TALKED ABOUT IT BEFORE. MERCUTIO GETTING KILLED BY TYBALT THEN ROMEO KILLING TYBALT). NOW. BUT YOU KNOW. JULIET IS A NAIVE AND LOVELORN GIRL). IT SHOULD BE DONE IN WHICHEVER WAY WOULD BENEFIT THE STORY MOST. SO SHAKESPEARE’S 1ST ACTS WERE ALWAYS COMPRISED OF INTRODUCTIONS AND THE ESTABLISHING OF A PREEXISTING CENTRAL MAIN CONFLICT (I. EVEN IF IT IS SOME INTRICATE HUMAN DRAMA OR SOMETHING. ROMEO IS A LOVESICK PUP OVER ROSALINE. WHICH IS A HUGE PROBLEM GIVEN THE NATURE OF THE PREEXISTING CONFLICT OF THEIR FAMILIES’ FEUD). AND IT’S NOT MERE “GOTCHA” TACTICS. OFTEN THESE MOMENTS ARE SURPRISING. MOSTLY BECAUSE IT GIVES YOU A GREAT SITUATION TO SPUR THE MAIN CONFLICT INTO EFFECT! AND THAT’S BECAUSE THE 2ND ACT IS USUALLY COMPRISED OF SOME KIND OF CENTRAL EVENT THAT CHALLENGES OR DEEPLY WORSENS THE MAIN CONFLICT. IT’S USUALLY IN THE FORM OF RELATIONSHIP DEVELOPMENT. HISTORY. BUT DRAMATICALLY ALTER THE ACTUAL DIRECTION OF IT. THE CONFLICT BEING CREATED IN THE 2ND ACT COULD EASILY DESCRIBE THE MAIN CONFLICT OF THE ENTIRE FILM. AND BELIEVABILITY. I. NOW. STAR-CROSSED TEENAGERS ROMEO AND JULIET MEET AND GO GA-GA OVER ONE ANOTHER.” AND HOWEVER THIS CONFLICT IS REVEALED. BUT THIS PREEXISTING CONFLICT IN THE BACKGROUND IS SO IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT CREATES A CONDITIONAL WORLD FOR THE AUDIENCE WHO IS ENTERING IT. BUT MORE OF A SPURRING INCIDENT OR ACTION THAT MAKES THE CONFLICT INFINITELY MORE COMPLICATED (I. MEANING IF YOU HAD TO EXPLAIN WHAT THE MOVIE WAS ABOUT. YOU CAN CREATE THE KIND OF EMOTION TO CARRY YOU RIGHT THROUGH TO THE END. BASICALLY THIS ACT FEATURES THE MAIN SURFACE PLOT OF THE STORY COMING INTO EFFECT. THEY DEEPLY AFFECT NOT ONLY THE LEVEL OF SERIOUSNESS OF MAIN CONFLICT. HULK REMINDS YOU THAT THIS NEED NOT BE A “TWIST” PER SE.E. THIS IS THE SORT OF THING ALLUDED TO IN THE “RISE IN CONFLICT” STATEMENT. SHAKESPEARE’S 3RD ACTS WERE OFTEN FILLED THEM WITH SUCH MOMENTS OF STORYTELLING BEAUTY: GREAT INVERSIONS OF FORTUNE. BEST INTENTIONS GONE . “TWO STAR CROSSED LOVERS FALL IN LOVE WHILE THEIR FAMILIES ARE AT WAR WITH EACH OTHER.E. IT REQUIRES THAT YOU THINK INTENSELY ABOUT THE NATURE OF YOUR CONFLICT: WHY DOES IT EXIST? WHAT IS PERPETRATING IT? WHAT WOULD MAKE IT WORSE? AND HAVE THE STORY RESPOND ACCORDINGLY. AND THE SHAKESPEAREAN 3RD ACT IS SUCH A GREAT OPPORTUNITY IN STORYTELLING BECAUSE: IT’S A WAY TO HIT THE AUDIENCE WITH CLIMAX-LIKE DRAMA BEFORE THEY’RE READY FOR IT.E. SO HE STARTED US IMMEDIATELY IN THE STORY AND IT WAS AN AMAZING WAY OF CREATING A SENSE OF SPACE. A PREEXISTING CONFLICT COULD DO SO MUCH. POORLY CONCEIVED. BUT IT CAN’T JUST BE ALL REFLECTION AND PAUSING (COUGH COUGH GREEN LANTERN). ROMEO AND JULIET DECIDE GO ON THE LAM. OFTEN SAVING WHAT COULD HAPPEN NOW FOR SOME INEVITABLE 3RD ACT OBLIGATORY CONCLUSION. THESE DECISIONS ARE RAPID. AS HULK SAID EARLIER. ETC). THE SHAKESPEAREAN 4TH ACT ALSO PROVIDES A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR A QUIET MOMENT OF REFLECTION BEFORE THE FINALE. (I. THE PACE SHOULD QUICKEN. IT MAKES FOR A “TURNING POINT” THAT IS BOTH DEEPLY AFFECTING AND PROVIDES CHANGE TO THE ARC OF THE ENTIRE STORY. (MEANWHILE. AND LEAVE THEIR FAMILIES TO BE HEARTBROKEN AND DECLARE PEACE).E. HATCH A PLAN TO FAKE THEIR DEATHS. AND HUGELY DRAMATIC. WHAT DOES HOLLYWOOD TEND TO DO IN THEIR BIG ADVENTURES? THEY HAVE “2ND ACT PROBLEMS. KILL THEMSELVES. AGAIN. SPEAKING OF WHICH… THE 4TH ACT OF SHAKESPEARE’S MODEL WAS KNOWN AS “THE SPIRAL” AND IT IS ACTUALLY FULL OF CHARACTER DECISIONS THAT CAUSE CHARACTERS TO SINK TOWARD THE REAL CLIMAX (I. IT SHOULD REALLY FEEL FULL OF DECISIONS. THEY SAY “HEY. OTHERWISE IT WILL FEEL LIKE THINGS ARE FLYING OFF THE RAILS INSTEAD OF SIMPLY GETTING MORE INTENSE. BUT IS THE ENCAPSULATION OF THE STORY AND SHOULD EXHIBIT ALL THE POINTS ONE IS TRYING MAKE IN YOUR MOVIE. THINGS SHOULD FEEL LIKE THEY ARE FALLING OUT OF CONTROL FOR OUR CHARACTER. ROMEO AND JULIET HAVE A FATAL MISCOMMUNICATION. THIS IS THE POINT WHERE YOU ARE REALLY ARRANGING AND SETTING UP THE CLIMAX. FAST-PACED. MEANWHILE THE SHAKESPEAREAN 3RD ACT IS PERFECT. THE SHAKESPEAREAN 3RD ACT TURNING POINT CAN SOMETIMES ALLOW FOR A MAIN CHARACTER ACTING OUT OF CHARACTER. INTENSE CLIMATE IS THE BEST PLACE TO EXPOSE THE DEEP CHARACTER FLAWS THAT WILL EITHER BRING DOWN OUR HEROES OR ALLOW THEM TO SUCCEED. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO REMEMBER IS THAT THIS LAST ACT IS NOT JUST WRAPPING THINGS UP.E. LET’S PUT AN ACTION SCENE HERE!” OR SPIN THEIR WHEELS AND LOSE ALL SENSE OF PURPOSE. THEY ARE OFTEN THE MOST RESONANT MOMENTS AND THEY ARE STILL CLIMAX-WORTHY IN SCALE. THEY FUCK UP THE MIDDLE OF THEIR STORYTELLING.AWRY. AND IT SHOULD FEEL LIKE IT’S ALL HAPPENING IN A VERY SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME BEFORE WE GET TO… THE 5TH ACT IS WHERE THE AUDIENCE GETS THE CLIMAX / RESOLUTIONS / WEDDINGS / TRAGEDY / FALLOUT/ ETC. IT’S A NEAT LITTLE DISTINCTION TO KEEP IN MIND WHEN YOU ARE TRYING TO DECIDE WHAT A CHARACTER WOULD DO IN A SITUATION VERSUS WHAT THEY DIDN’T DO). AND THIS FEVERISH. THE ENDING IS THE CONCEIT SO THE CLIMAX AND . BUT IN THAT GOAL IT IS EQUALLY IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THAT YOU HAVE TO STAY TRUE TO THE CHARACTER ARCS AND FLAWS. AND IT IS SOMETHING FAR MORE IMPORTANT THAN WHAT 3-ACT-STRUCTURE ARGUES IS JUST PUTTING THINGS IN PLACE FOR CLIMAX.” AFTER ALL.” THAT’S WHAT THEY DO. DEATHS! LOSS! CONFUSION! SUDDEN CHAOS! EVEN THOUGH THESE 3RD ACTS DON’T FINISH THE ARC OF THE WHOLE STORY. IN TRUTH. IT IS “THE SPIRAL. BEFORE THEY MAKE THE KINDS OF GRAVE DECISIONS THAT SEAL THEIR FATE. YOU MAY NOTICE THE WAY THE SECOND ACT DESCRIBED IN THE 3 ACT STRUCTURE IS THE EXACT SAME WAY ACT 4 IS DEFINED IN SHAKESPEARE’S MODEL. AND THE CLIMAX (WHICH HAMMERS HOME THE CONCEIT). MOST OF THEM COULD DO WITH A FAIR BIT OF DIRECT MORALIZING. SHAKESPEARE’S “SPIRAL” WITH ITS INCREASING OF INTENSITY AND POSITIONING OF DETAILS BEFORE THE CLIMAX IS REALLY SIMILAR TO THE 2ND ACT’S RISE IN CONFLICT. NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN ENDS WITH THE SHAKESPEAREAN SOLILOQUY TO THE AUDIENCE. YOU CAN HONESTLY DO WHATEVER YOU THINK BEST IN TERMS OF NUMBER OF ACT BREAKS. LIKE THE USE OF 9 ACTS IN MALCOLM X. WELL. IT SHOULD NOT BE A FREAKIN’ AFTERTHOUGHT. BUT WHILE HULK CLEARLY ADORES THE WAY THAT SHAKESPEARE’S 5 ACT STRUCTURE CAN HELP YOU UNLEARN 3 ACT STRUCTURE. BUT HEY. YOUR ENDING SHOULD BE THE SUMMATION OF EVERYTHING YOU HAVE WRITTEN SO FAR.RESOLUTION ARE THE VERY GOAL OF YOUR MOVIE. BUT SCREW IT. NO MATTER WHAT THE STORY - TRAGEDY. HE WAS. AND HULK KNOWS IT MAY SEEM LAME BRING UP SUCH AN OBVIOUS CHOICE AS “BEST WRITER EVER” BUT. YOU MAY NOTICE SOMETHING VERY IMPORTANT WHEN COMPARING IT TO SHAKESPEARE’S MODEL. MINUS THE WHOLE IMPORTANT “DECISIONS” PART. SO NOW THEN. OR IF YOU ARE A STUDENT LOOKING TO GET BETTER AND LEARN HOW TO WRITE WITH PURPOSE AND INTENT… WELL… ONE COULD DO A LOT WORSE THAN THAT SHAKESPEARE GUY. OR HISTORY - SHAKESPEARE’S PLAYS WERE IMBUED WITH THIS SPECIFIC 5 ACT STRUCTURE EVERY TIME. IT’S WHATEVER WORKS FOR YOUR STORY. IT IS IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THAT THIS SHAKESPEAREAN 5 ACT MODEL IS JUST ANOTHER POSSIBLE EXAMPLE AND NOT THE RULE. AFTER REVIEWING ALL THIS. HECK. NO MATTER WHAT. HULK GETS WHY THAT SAME METHODOLOGY MIGHT NOT FLY IN SCREENPLAY FORM. THE ESTABLISHING OF THE CONCEIT. MODERN WRITERS ARE SO DREADFULLY AFRAID TO BE DIDACTIC THAT THEY FORGET TO INCORPORATE THEIR PURPOSE AND INTENT IN THEIR ENDINGS. SHORT MOMENT THAT SHAKESPEARE USED FOR ESCALATING THE FINAL STAKES AND POSITIONING THE ENDGAME IS THE SAME EXACT WAY HOLLYWOOD . CHIEFLY IN HOW IT GIVES IMPORT AND MEANING TO “THE MIDDLE” OF STORYTELLING. SURE. THE INTRO. HULK WANTS YOU TO GO BACK TO THE TRADITIONAL 3 ACT STRUCTURE MODEL FOR A SECOND. BUT HULK WANTS TO MAKE IT CLEAR TO YOU THAT HE WAS JUST SO FUCKING BRILLIANT AT STORY STRUCTURE TO BOOT… IT’S SORT OF UNFAIR. THE SPIRAL. THEY OPT FOR ALLEVIATION OR OBFUSCATION. SOME JUSTIFIABLY CREDIT HIM AS THE FATHER OF PSYCHOLOGY. IT MEANS THAT THIS LITTLE. COMEDY. SO YOU SHOULD BE LESS AFRAID OF IT TOO. THE TURN. HULK ARGUES THAT THIS IS SO TELLING THAT IT’S NOT EVEN FUNNY. IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR A TOOL TO HELP BETTER STRUCTURE YOUR STORY. HE GETS HEAPED WITH PRAISE OVER HIS MASTERY OF LANGUAGE AND THE DEEP RESONANCE OF THEMES. WHILE SHAKESPEARE WOULD HAVE A CHARACTER TALK DIRECTLY TO THE AUDIENCE AND SUM UP THE LESSONS THEY SHOULD TAKE AWAY FROM THE STORY. BUT HULK SWEARS TO YOU IT FITS AND IS WORTH TALKING ABOUT. YOU MAY ASK: “Hulk! How does this 5 act thing work with popular movie-going? Big budget movies aren’t exactly Shakespeare!” FIRST OFF. LET’S LOOK AT HULK’S OLD BUDDY / GREAT MOVIE: IRON MAN. SO IMAGINE A WHOLE HOLLYWOOD FULL OF WRITERS TRYING TO EXPAND THAT SAME TINY AMOUNT OF STORY AND PURPOSE INTO THE 30-60 SUM ODD PAGES THAT MAKE UP ENTIRE SECOND ACTS… HOW TERRIBLE IS THAT? IT MEANS THAT CHARACTERS CAN’T HELP BUT JUST WAIT AROUND. IT MAY NOT HAVE BEEN WRITTEN WITH THIS FIVE ACT SHAKESPEAREAN INTENT. IT’S NO ACCIDENT THAT’S SHAKESPEARE’S 4TH ACTS ARE ALWAYS THE SHORTEST. CONFLICTS THAT DON’T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE POINT OR TRULY AFFECT OR ALTER THE ARC OF THE STORY. WHILE THERE ARE A HOST OF GREAT EXAMPLES. MORE TELLING. THE STORYTELLING WAS THE ACTION. THE LESSONS OF SHAKESPEARE CAN TRANSLATE TO ANYTHING. IN HULK’S HUMBLE ESTIMATION? YUP. BUT HULK CAN TELL YOU THE MAJOR EVENT OF EVERY ACT 3 IN EVERY SINGLE ONE OF HIS PLAYS. EVERYONE LAUDED THE FUN SENSE OF ADVENTURE THAT CAME FROM OUT OF THE CONFLICTS OF HIS TRYING TO BUILD THE SUIT. THE ONE THING EVERYONE SEEMED TO LOVE ABOUT THAT FILM IS THAT IT SPENT SO LONG BEFORE TONY ACTUALLY BECAME IRON MAN. NAME A MEMORABLE MOMENT FROM ANY OF THEM! HULK’S SURE THERE’S SOMETHING. AFTER ALL. AND THUS THE AUDIENCE GOT TO EXPERIENCE ALL THE GREAT CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT ALONG THE WAY. IT NEVER RUSHED GETTING TO “THE ACTION” THAT SO MANY BIG BUDGET MOVIES REQUIRE. NO WONDER SO MANY ARE AIMLESS AND BORING. IT AVOIDED SO MANY MODERN PRATFALLS. IT MEANS THE WRITERS ARE SIMPLY TRYING COME UP WITH DISTRACTIONS AND B. SHAKESPEARE WOULD TOTALLY WRITE THE BEST SUMMER BLOCKBUSTERS EVER AND THAT’S ACTUALLY SORT OF WHAT HE WAS DOING FOR HIS TIME AND AGE! SECOND OFF. AND LEAST COMPELLING PART OF EVERY SINGLE ONE OF HIS PLAYS. IT MEANS THAT WRITERS END UP CRAMMING TOO MUCH GOOD STUFF IN THE FIRST ACT TO TRY AND ESTABLISH ALL NEEDED DETAILS WHEN REALLY THEY ARE MISSING GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR DEVELOPING A STORY AT AN ORGANIC PACE.S. . HE KEPT THIS 4TH ACT STUFF SHORT FOR A REASON. ACT ONE – INTRO + STATE OF PREEXISTING CONFLICT – WE GET TO KNOW TONY AS A PLAYBOY AND EVEN SEE HIM DEAL WITH THE EXTERNAL MORAL CONFLICT OF SUPPLYING WEAPONS AND BRUSH OFF THE CONCERNS OF THE FACT THAT HIS WEAPONS ARE FALLING INTO THE WRONG HANDS. FIVE. BECAUSE THE FILM INSTINCTIVELY KNEW THAT IT COULD TAKE A MOVIE ABOUT THE PROCESS OF INVENTION AND MAKE IT WORK GREAT. LEAST INTERESTING.SCREENWRITERS HANDLE THE ENTIRE CENTRAL SECTION OF THEIR GODDAMN MOVIES. WHICH HAS AN EXCEPTIONAL STORY STRUCTURE. AFTER ALL. AND GUESS HOW MANY ACTS THE MOVIE HAS. TONY GOES LIVE WITH HIS SUIT AND HELPS OTHERS. IT ALL COMES TOGETHER TO MAKE THE STORY FEEL PROPULSIVE + ORGANIC. IT MEANT THAT THE ACTION WAS THE LEAST INTERESTING PART OF A BIG SUMMER BLOCKBUSTER FOR ONCE. THE MOVIE HELD OUT BEAUTIFULLY BEFORE TIPPING ITS HAND. ACT FOUR – THE SPIRAL/ESCALATION OF CONFLICT – TONY CONTINUES TO USE THE SUIT OUT IN REAL WAR CONFLICT. BOTH ARE ABSOLUTELY TRUE. NOTICE THAT THESE DEVELOPMENTS FEEL MORE OF THE ACTION-Y WHEEL-SPINNING ACTIVITIES THAT REEK OF STANDARD ACT 2 DEVELOPMENTS THAT ONE SEES IN TYPICAL 3 ACT STRUCTURE. AND HE MAKES A MORAL DECISION. BEFORE MOVING TO THE INEVITABLE FINALE… ACT FIVE - CLIMAX/CONCLUSION/RESOLUTION – TONY’S CONFLICT WITH OBADIAH COMES TO A CONCLUSION BOTH PERSONALLY AND AS BIG-ASS IRON MEN FIGHTING IN DEATH SUITS. HE DECIDES TO BUILD THE PROTOTYPE SUIT AND ESCAPE. AND CHANGES THE DIRECTION OF HIS LIFE. AND THAT’S A SERIOUS ACHIEVEMENT. ADMITS THE TRUTH TO RHODES. ACT TWO – THE CONCEIT AND BEING AT ODDS WITH THE PREEXISTING CONFLICT – TONY IS CAPTURED AND PUT TO WORK IN THE TERRORIST CAMP. EVERY SCENE SHOULD HAVE A REAL GOAL AND OBJECTIVE TO IT. AFTER ALL. SOME OF YOU MAY CONTEND THAT THE FILM WAS NOT WRITTEN WITH FIVE ACTS IN MIND. BUT TONY’S ARC WITH PEPPER HAS ITS OWN ACT BREAKS. LABELING ALL THAT GREAT CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT AND . GETS SIDELINED BY OBADIAH. AND NOW FACES A GRIM CIRCUMSTANCE. CONCEIT ESTABLISHED! ACT THREE – THE TURNING POINT – TONY IS NOW BACK AT HOME. SCORE ONE FOR CHARISMA AND CHARACTERIZATION! BUT HULK UNDERSTANDS THAT SOME OF YOU MAY ARGUE THERE LOTS OTHER POSSIBLE ACT BREAKS IN IRON MAN. HE DISCOVERS THE REALITY ABOUT HIS WEAPONS GOING TO THE BAD GUYS AND HE IS ALREADY AT HIS LOWEST POINT AND ON THE BRINK OF SURVIVAL. TO BE HONEST. HULK ACTUALLY FINDS THAT DETAIL TO BE NEAT. HE BECOMES IRON MAN. AND GOING BACK TO THE POINT AT HAND. BUT IN THIS MOVIE? BECAUSE IT ALL COMES AFTER THE AWESOME SUITBUILDING TRANSFORMATION OF ACT 3? IT FEELS SO FRESH AND EXCITING TO THE VIEWER WHO HAS HAD TO WAIT. WRITING IS FILLED WITH “MICRO-ACTS” WHICH HELP PROPEL EVERY SCENE FORWARD AND HAVE DIFFERENT ACTS FOR ALL THE DIFFERENT STORIES AND CHARACTERS (WE’LL GET INTO THIS LATER). TONY DECIDES TO CONTINUE ON THIS PATH AND STARTS BUILDING A NEW SUIT (WHICH HAS A HILARIOUS SET OF TRIALS). AND IT ALL GOES ON FOR A PERFECTLY SHORTER LENGTH OF TIME. NOT JUST HIMSELF. THE IMPORTANT PART OF THIS ACT IS HOW ALL THE PLOTS COME TOGETHER (EVEN THOUGH THE ACTION FELT A LITTLE UNDERWHELMING). OBADIAH IS REVEALED AS THE BAD GUY BEHIND TONY’S KIDNAPPING. SHUTS DOWN WEAPONS OPS. TONY’S RELATIONSHIP WITH OBADIAH HAS ITS OWN BREAKS. FOR ONE. SHAKESPEARE .. IT’S DONE FOR COMMERCIAL BREAKS. WITH EACH CHARACTER MAKING ACTIVE DECISIONS. BY HAVING ALL THESE VARYING STRUCTURES. PERHAPS YOU THINK HULK IS SIMPLIFYING IT IN AN EFFORT TO TEAR IT DOWN. REMEMBER TO HAVE BOTH ACT STRUCTURE FOR THE MAIN PLOT AND ACT STRUCTURE FOR EACH OF YOUR CHARACTERS’ PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENTS. BUT HULK WOULD ARGUE THAT THE HEAVY ADVOCATES OF 3 ACT STRUCTURE DO A GOOD ENOUGH JOB OF THAT ON THEIR OWN. WHICH ARE ALL DISTINCTLY SEPARATED WITH TITLE CARDS. IT’S JUST ABOUT WHAT SEEMS THE MOST REASONABLE AND MAKES THE MOST SENSE. LIKE ANYTHING. A STORY IS A MULTIFACETED THING. IN RESEARCHING THIS TOPIC HULK CAME ACROSS SO MANY WEBSITES THAT… HULK JUST CAN’T EVEN QUOTE THEM. ENTIRE CHARTS WHERE THEY SAY “NO. IT’S A TRIED AND TRUE SYSTEM THAT HELPS MAKE THOSE TV SHOWS PROPULSIVE INSTEAD OF LANGUISHING. YOU ARE MORE THAN ALLOWED TO BREAK AWAY FROM THIS MODEL AND MAKE GOOD TELEVISION.. EVER NOTICE THAT ALL ONE HOUR TV DRAMAS ARE ALL SEGMENTED INTO 5 ACTS? YES. IT’S JUST FULL OF BLIND REDUCTIONS AND OVER-SIMPLIFICATIONS AND GROSS AMOUNTS OF LYING. BUT YOU’D BE SURPRISED HOW MANY NON-TRADITIONAL NARRATIVES UTILIZE 5-6 ACTS TOO. BOTH KILL BILLS? EACH ONE HAS 5 ACTS SEPARATED WITH TITLE CARDS. FOR TWO. DJANGO UNCHAINED? 5 ACTS WITH SUPER-IMPOSED SIGNIFIERS. EACH WITH THEIR OWN BEATS.DECISION-MAKING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE MOVIE AS JUST THE RISE IN CONFLICT IS JUST DOWNRIGHT ASININE. BUT PERHAPS YOU THINK HULK IS BEING TOO HARD ON THE 3 ACT STRUCTURE. BUT YOU CAN DECIDE THE ACT BREAKS ARE WHEREVER YOU WANT AND YOU’D BE RIGHT. OH. FOLKS. HULK KEEPS SAYING IT. BUT GUESS WHAT EVERYONE? THAT MOVIE HAS EXACTLY 5 ACTS. IT IS ABOUT WHAT MAKES THE MOST SENSE FOR GIVING YOUR ACT BREAKS PURPOSE AND MEANING. BUT THAT MAGIC NUMBER IS NO ACCIDENT. IT CREATES A CONSTANT SENSE OF MOVING FORWARD FOR YOUR MOVIE. THAT’S FINE. AND IT’S NOT JUST SHAKESPEARE AND IRON MAN. YOU SENSE A THEME HERE? HULK JUST CANNOT EMPHASIZE THIS ENOUGH. AND CALL IT A NATURALLY OCCURRING NUMBER.” AS IT IS THE KEY TO BRINGING YOUR AUDIENCE ALONG FOR THE JOURNEY. PEOPLE LOOOOOOOOVE TO TALK ABOUT QUENTIN TARANTINO’S NON-LINEAR STORYTELLING AS A COUNTER EXAMPLE TO TRADITIONAL “ACT-BASED” STORYTELLING. THAT’S WHY THEY CALL IT “DEVELOPMENT. AND RESERVOIR DOGS? 5 ACTS SEPARATED WITH TITLE CARDS. PARTICULARLY WITH PULP FICTION. IT’S TOO SOUL-CRUSHING. INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS? 5 ACTS SEPARATED WITH TITLE CARDS. BETTER YET. IF YOU WANT TO STRUCTURE YOUR STORY. AGAIN. BUT HULK SEES MOVIES WITH THE 5 ACT STRUCTURE TURN UP IN GOOD STORIES AGAIN AND AGAIN. WAS TOTALLY WRITING IN THE 3 ACT STRUCTURE!” AND THEN THEY REDUCE ACT 2-4 OF HIS PLAYS AND JUST SLAP THE “ACT 2″ DESIGNATION ON IT. BUT DEEPLY UNINFORMATIVE. SAY WHAT YOU NEED TO. AND END. MIDDLE. YOU INSUFFERABLE TURD!” THEN THROW A DRINK IN THEIR FACE AND RUN AWAY… OKAY. INSIST THAT IT IS A MYTH PROPAGATED BY A NEED FOR SIMPLICITY. THEY’LL LOOK AT ENTIRE ACTS THAT LAST HALF THE RUNNING TIME AND SAY “WELL. IT WILL NOT HELP YOU. STOP CITING IT IN ARTICLES. SO IF YOU ARE WRITING A SCREENPLAY. DOES THE FOLLOWING IMAGE MAKE YOU FEEL CONFIDENT ABOUT YOUR WRITING? HULK SEES MODELS LIKE THIS SHOWN TO YOUNG WRITERS ALL THE TIME. MAYBE HULK IS GETTING CARRIED AWAY HERE. SAY “OF COURSE STORIES HAVE A BEGINNING. HULK GUESS. THE 3 ACT STRUCTURE IS GARBAGE. THE WHOLE THING IS BASICALLY LAUGHABLE. STOP TALKING ABOUT IT WITH FRIENDS. BECAUSE THEY THINK IT IS ONLY THERE TO ACCOUNT FOR SET CHANGES. NOT THE FIRST. THEN ALL THIS ADVICE MAY BE USELESS. THEY’LL TOSS OUT ENTIRE ACT STRUCTURES OF 4 ACT MODERN DRAMAS. IT CAN ONLY HURT YOU. SERIOUSLY. START THE DIALOGUE. BUT STICK TO A MORE PROPULSIVE METHOD OF NARRATIVE IN YOUR OWN WORK. TELL ‘EM IT’S 3. WHICH IS NOT ONLY HILARIOUS IN ITS OVER-SIMPLIFICATION BUT IT ACTUALLY IGNORES 3 ACT STRUCTURE RULES BECAUSE HE INTRODUCED HIS MAIN CONCEITS IN THE SECOND ACT. BUT HULK SERIOUSLY WORRIES THAT UNLESS WE REALLY. TRULY CHANGE THE CULTURE OF HOW WE TALK ABOUT THE 3 ACT STRUCTURE AND ACT BREAKS. YOU PROBABLY SHOULDN’T DO THAT. CHANCES ARE YOU WILL FIND YOURSELF IN A HOLLYWOOD MEETING SOMEDAY. BUT . AND THEY’LL START TALKING ABOUT 3 ACTS AND TO TRY AND ARGUE WITH THEM WOULD BE FRUITLESS.” IT’S UPHOLDING A MODEL THAT IS NOT ONLY WRONG. HULK IS TELLING YOU. ONE CAN ALWAYS COME UP WITH GREAT IDEAS THAT MOTIVATE AND EXCITE THEM. THERE’S NOTHING MORE IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO UNLEARN IN YOUR QUEST TO BECOME A BETTER WRITER… . NO MATTER WHO YOU ARE.REALLY MAKE IT 5. THE ENDINGS OF THESE FILMS ARE SO BARELY ESTABLISHED AND UNIFORMLY TEND BE TERRIBLE. BUT THAT’S THE IDEAL. SUBSTANTIAL CHANGE. DO EVERYTHING YOU CAN. TO SUMMARIZE THIS RANT OF UNLEARNING: THE AMOUNT OF ACTS IN A MOVIE SHOULD BE DEPENDENT ON THE STORY YOU WANT TO TELL. AND THEN. SO. AND IF YOU’RE STARTING OUT. EACH ACT SHOULD REACH THIS MOVING FORWARD POINT IN AN ORGANIC. IT’S A LOT TO HANDLE. STORYTELLING IS LARGELY ABOUT PROBLEM SOLVING. AND THUS. BUT THE OTHER HALF OF THAT EQUATION IS FIGURING OUT HOW TO MAKE IT TRANSLATE TO A FULLY-FORMED REALITY ON THE PAGE. ALWAYS UPHOLD YOUR PURPOSE. AND TAKE HULK’S ADVICE: THE 3 ACT STRUCTURE WON’T HELP YOU SOLVE A PROBLEM. HULK WOULD ADORE IF IT GOT STUDIOS TO START THINKING OUTSIDE OF THE 3 ACT BOX. BECAUSE IN THIS HULK’S OPINION THE STRICT ADHERENCE TO 3 ACT STRUCTURE IS KILLING HOLLYWOOD. TRY SHAKESPEARE’S 5 ACT ON FOR SIZE. THEY SHOULD ALL TIE TOGETHER IN A COHERENT WAY. AND THE VERY WORST THING IS THAT THIS SAME HOLLYWOOD OFTEN FAILS AT THE 3 ACT STRUCTURE THEY’RE TRYING TO UPHOLD. SO IF YOU WANT BE A WRITER. IT WILL CREATE MORE PROBLEMS. ALWAYS KNOW YOUR ENDING. HULK THINKS IT’S A WONDERFUL LEARNING STRUCTURE. IF ANYTHING. HOW DO WE MAKE THIS SCENE ENTERTAINING AND YET PROPULSIVE? HOW DO WE MAKE A MOVIE THAT IS TRUE TO OUR CONCEIT? ONE THAT WORKS ON EVERY CHARACTER LEVEL? YOU NEED TO CONSTANTLY ASK YOURSELF THESE QUESTIONS. AFTER ALL. IT REALLY IS INCONCEIVABLE TO HULK THAT FOLKS CAN START MAKING A MOVIE WITHOUT TRULY KNOWING THE ENDING. SO YOU BASICALLY HAVE MOVIES BEING MADE THAT HAVE ONLY FIGURED OUT THE CONCEIT SO FAR. IT SHOULD ULTIMATELY BE DONE WITH THE BEST POSSIBLE ECONOMY WITHOUT LOSING ANYTHING CRITICAL OR AFFECTING THE ORGANIC QUALITY OF THE TELLING. SO MANY SCRIPTS SEEM TO START WITH A STRAIGHT LINE FROM THEIR STARTING POINT AND PURSUE THE FALLOUT UNTIL THEY JUST RUN OUT OF STEAM. IT’S CERTAINLY SOMETHING HULK HAS TRIED TO SHARE EVERY PLACE HULK HAS WORKED… BUT WHO KNOWS IF GETTING THE MESSAGE ACROSS IS POSSIBLE GIVEN ITS LEVEL OF ACCEPTANCE. HECK. AND THE TOTAL NUMBER OF ACTS YOU USE IS DEPENDENT ON HOW MUCH YOU ARE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH WITH THE STORY. EARNED WAY. WHICH MEANS THAT WRITING IS PROBLEM-SOLVING. IF THIS BOOK WERE TO HAVE ANY SORT OF REAL-LIFE. AND THAT’S BECAUSE SO MANY MOVIES ARE GREEN-LIT ON JUST A PITCH AND POSSIBLY HAVING STARS ATTACHED. MORE IMPORTANTLY. MEANING THEY ONLY KNOW THE FIRST ACT OR SO… AND THAT’S FUCKING IT. TO BE HONEST. HULK’S NOT EVEN REALLY SURE HOW MANY PEOPLE WHO REGULARLY CITE THE HERO’S JOURNEY AS A STORY MODEL HAVE ACTUALLY READ THE DAMN BOOK PAST A FEW CHAPTERS… OR READ IT AT ALL…. SIMPLY PUT. AND NOW IT’S A TOTAL FUCKING CRUTCH. FOR MANY. BUT THE STRUCTURE ON DISPLAY IS ANYTHING BUT THAT. AND TEXTURED. RICH. YOU’LL NOTICE THAT ONE OF THE MAIN REFERENCED MYTHS IN THE BOOK. FOR INSTANCE. THE TRUTH ABOUT CAMPBELL’S MUCH-LAUDED BOOK IS IT DOESN’T ACTUALLY HAVE A LOT TO DO WITH ALL THOSE NEAT LITTLE DIAGRAMS YOU SEE AT THE BEGINNING. IT IS A FASCINATING ACADEMIC PURSUIT. INSTEAD. BUT INSTEAD HOW WE MISREAD ITS INTENTION AND FALSELY USE THE INFORMATION IT PROVIDES. CHIEFLY. IT EVEN EXPLAINS HOW OUR STORYTELLING ROOTS ARE DIRECTLY BORN FROM THAT SHARED HISTORY. HERE ARE THE REASONS WHY: FOR STARTERS. THE HERO’S JOURNEY IS JUST UNIVERSAL STORYTELLING MADE EASY. MAINLY IN HOW THEY ARE NOT SIMPLE WHATSOEVER. … EXCEPT MAYBE THIS NEXT THING: 26. WHY WE HAVE TO QUIT IT WITH THE HERO JOURNEY SHIT AHHH. THE HERO’S JOURNEY IS VITAL TO OUR HUMANITY. A JOURNEY INTO OUR CULTURAL HISTORY. ALL CRUCIAL TO OUR UNDERSTANDING OF WHY WE TELL STORIES IN THE FIRST PLACE. THE PROBLEM WITH JOSEPH CAMPBELL’S THE HERO WITH A THOUSAND FACES IS NOT ITS LACK OF ACCURACY IN A DESCRIPTIVE SENSE. . THE UNIVERSAL BREAKDOWN OF THEM MAY RENDER THEM AS SEEMINGLY SIMPLE. THERE IS A FUNDAMENTAL ERROR MADE IN HOW WE INTERPRET THE APPARENT “SIMPLICITY” OF THESE MYTHS. ALL BOUND BY THE HUMAN CONDITION. BUT SINCE THOSE DIAGRAMS ARE ALL WE SEEM TO REMEMBER. THIS REALITY IS ACTUALLY QUITE OBVIOUS BECAUSE THE BOOK’S INTENDED VALUE IS DEEPLY. A THOUSAND VERSIONS OF A HERO’S JOURNEY. THE EPIC OF GILGAMESH. A LOT LIKE HULK’S DISMISSAL OF 3 ACT STRUCTURE. AND THAT REALITY IS HURTING MORE THAN IT’S HELPING. IT’S FAR MORE INTERESTED IN CULTURAL DEDUCTIONS ABOUT ANTHROPOLOGICAL COMMONALITIES THAT YOU CAN MAKE BASED ON THOSE CONCEPTS. IS ANYTHING BUT A PAINT-BY-NUMBERS STORY. IT IS THUS ALL WE SEEM TO TAKE FROM IT. TO THE TIES OF COMMUNICATION THAT BONDED OUR EARLY CIVILIZATIONS. AND THE LESSONS AT THE CORE OF THE MONOMYTH ARE MANIFOLD. EVEN MADDENINGLY ACADEMIC (AT TIMES IT IS DOWNRIGHT ANTHROPOLOGICAL). THE FACT THAT OUR SOCIETY HAS WHOLLY ADOPTED THE BOOK’S BREAKDOWN OF THE HERO JOURNEY AS SOME KIND OF READY-MADE APP FOR PAINT-BY-NUMBERS STORYTELLING. THE MONOMYTH. IN FACT. THEY MAY HAVE A POINT WITH THAT ONE). GILGAMESH ONLY SEEMS TO SURVIVE IN OUR CULTURAL CONSCIOUSNESS BECAUSE OF THE CAMPBELLIAN HERO DIAGRAM AND OUR DESIRE TO TALK ABOUT IT IN THOSE VERY SPECIFIC AND UNIVERSAL TERMS: THE CALL! THE REFUSAL! THE TRIALS! THE RETURN! YAY! YAY! NOW. THE CALL/RETURN. THERE’S ALSO THE QUEST FOR IMMORTALITY (L’MORTE D’ARTHUR ALERT!). PROSTITUTION. IS MOST OF THAT STUFF ABOVE IN GILGAMESH? ABSOLUTELY. WHICH IS BORN OUT OF STOPPING GILGAMESH FROM ENGAGING IN HIS MORE. WHAT DRIVES THE NARRATIVE AND THE PLOT ARE THE BASIC METHODS OF CAUSE AND EFFECT STORYTELLING (WHICH WE WILL TALK ABOUT SOON) AS WELL AS ITS FOCUS ON THE DYNAMIC THEMES IN PLACE. DREAM STATES. IS THAT WHAT MAKES IT A STORY WORTH TELLING? EH. THE 12 TABLET EPIC OF GILGAMESH IS ACTUALLY PRETTY FUCKING COMPLEX FROM A STRUCTURAL STANDPOINT. AND IT IS THOSE THINGS THAT MAKE THE MYTH A COMPELLING AND INTERESTING CLASSIC. YOU NAME IT. LIKE WITH THE IN-FLUX RELATIONSHIP WITH ENKINDU. NOT THE MERE FACT THAT IT MOSTLY FITS WITHIN THE CONFINES OF MONOMYTH CLASSIFICATION. ETC). UM. SURE. SOME OTHER STUFF ABOUT RELIGION. HULK HAS EVEN READ MORE ANALYSISSESSS OF GILGAMESH AND ENKINDU AS HIDDEN LOVERS THAN YOU WOULD IMAGINE IS POSSIBLE (OH. THE POINT IS THERE’S A SHIT TON GOING ON WITH HOW THE STORY IS FUNCTIONING ON A MOMENT-TO-MOMENT LEVEL THAT GOES BEYOND ITS FUN LITTLE ABILITY TO BE VAGUELY OUTLINED IN TERMS OF THE HERO’S JOURNEY. SORDID ACTIVITIES (RAPE MOSTLY). EVEN THOUGH IT’S SOMEHOW CONSIDERED THE ROSETTA STONE FOR THE HERO JOURNEY. BUT THESE AMOUNT TO NOTHING BUT LOOSE PLOT POINTS OR ACTIONS AND ARE BY NO MEANS THE ENGINE OF THE NARRATIVE. . NO. MAYBE WHEN IT COMES TO THEMATIC PURPOSE. IT CONTAINS THE FAMILIAR BIG PICTURE REFERENCE POINTS (THE PASSING INTO THE STRANGE WORLD. COLLEGE PAPERS!… ACTUALLY. AND YET. JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN BREAK A STORY DOWN EASILY INTO A BEGINNING. YOU ARE THEREFORE BOILING DOWN STORYTELLING TO ITS MOST BASIC ELEMENTS! HULK MEAN… GAAAHHH. WHAT’S SO INTERESTING ABOUT THE HERO’S JOURNEY IS THE WAY THESE THEMES AND DYNAMICS SEEPED NATURALLY OUT OF THESE DIFFERENT STORIES. SIMILARLY. CHIEFLY. AND END DOES NOT MEAN THAT IT IS THE BEST WAY TO APPROACH STRUCTURING A STORY. HULK SMASHY! IT WAS ALL PRIMAL AND CONSTRUCTED FROM A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT SENSE. NOW HE HAS TO REFUSE THE CALL AND THEN BY TABLET 2 THE NEXT BEAT SHOULD…” GAAAAH. FOR EXAMPLE. REDUCTIVE ELEMENTS AND WORK BACKWARDS. YOU CAN’T SIT DOWN AND STRUCTURE YOUR NEW NOVEL SAYING “I’M GOING TO BASE IT ALL OFF BEING POST-MODERN AND EVERYTHING WILL FALL INTO PLACE!” THAT’S NOT HOW YOU BUILD THE THING. YOU DON’T WANT TO START FROM THOSE BROAD. BUT MANY ASSUME IT DOES. OKAY. THEY WEREN’T SITTING DOWN SAYING “OKAY. SPECIFICALLY CONCERNING THE FORMATIVE NATURE OF CULTURE AND WHY WE VALUE AND TELL THESE STORIES. THE HERO’S JOURNEY SECRETLY HAS NOTHING TO DO WHATSOEVER WITH GOOD STORY STRUCTURE! JUST THEMATIC CONTENT AND ICONOGRAPHY! IF THERE IS ANYTHING THAT HULK SO DESPERATELY WANTS TO CONVEY TO ALL OF YOU IN THIS SCREENWRITING BOOK IT IS THAT THERE IS A STARK DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE LANGUAGE WE SHOULD USE IN THE BROAD STROKES OF DESCRIPTION AND ANALYSIS VERSUS THE LANGUAGE WE SHOULD USE IN TERMS OF CREATION AND PRACTICAL APPLICATION. WELL-STRUCTURED STORY? FUCK NO.IS THAT WHAT MAKES IT A GOOD STORY? NO. YOU CAN’T SIT THERE AND GO “I’M GOING TO MAKE COOL ACTION SCENES” WHEN YOU DON’T KNOW THE . THAT WHEN YOU BOIL DOWN STORYTELLING TO ITS MOST BASIC ELEMENTS. AND THIS MISUNDERSTANDING SPEAKS DIRECTLY TO WHAT HULK BELIEVES IS THE GREAT FUNDAMENTAL ERROR OF HOW WE INTERPRET ACADEMIA. TO REITERATE: THERE IS GREAT VALUE TO THE CAMPBELLIAN HERO BREAKDOWN. MIDDLE. BUT IT IS ACTUALLY THE FURTHEST THING AWAY FROM A HOW-TO GUIDE FOR STORY STRUCTURE. IS THAT WHAT MAKES IT A WELL-TOLD. NOT THAT EVERYONE FELT OBLIGATED TO UPHOLD THE MODEL OR WERE PURPOSELY TRYING TO DO IT. IT’S LIKE THE MYTH OF THE 3 ACT STRUCTURE. BUT IT’S A COMPLICATED METHODOLOGY THAT IS MEANT TO ACCOUNT FOR ALL THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF PRACTICAL APPLICATION. BY THE WAY. BUT A KEY TO MAKING YOUR STORY AS SIMILAR AS POSSIBLE TO EVERYTHING ELSE OUT THERE. THAT’S WHAT YOU ARE ACTUALLY DOING! THE INTENTION OF THIS BREAKDOWN IS TO FIND SIMILARITIES AND MAKE DEDUCTIONS ABOUT OUR CULTURAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL INCLINATIONS! WHICH MEANS THIS BREAKDOWN IS NOT THE KEY TO UNLOCKING UNIVERSAL STORYTELLING. WHOEVER ARE THE FOLKS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ORAL TRADITIONS BEHIND STUFF LIKE BEOWULF AND GILGAMESH. WE WILL GET TO HULK’S PREFERRED METHOD OF STRUCTURE CALLED “MULTI-ACT FLOW STRUCTURE” SOON. Meaning. NOT OBLIGATORY SERVITUDE. AND YET EVERY YEAR WE SEE MOVIES THAT DESPERATELY CLING TO THE HERO JOURNEY MODEL. Let Hulk put this argument of categorization vs. HYDE). WE HAVE TO REVISE OUR LANGUAGE. EVER-PRESENT BEATS. SERIOUSLY. not just know that they exist and where they should more or less go. You can’t look at blueprints and just copy them to make the house feel like the real thing. AND SLICK IMAGERY. NOT THE LAME OBLIGATION TO HITTING TIRED. THE WAY WE BREAK THINGS DOWN AND DESCRIBE THEM IS NOT NECESSARILY HELPFUL TO UNDERSTANDING HOW TO BEST CONSTRUCT THEM OR WHAT WE CONSTRUCT THEM FOR. THINK OF HOW MANY BEATS IN THE “HERO JOURNEY” WOULD NOT BE CALLED FOR WITH THAT CHARACTER. the hero stories that worked structurally worked for completely different reasons than you think. WHICH HAVE BECOME UNIVERSAL IN THEIR CONSTRUCTION (EXCEPT FOR HULK’S ORIGIN! HULK’S IS TRULY UNIQUE! … IN THAT IT’S A BLATANT USAGE OF DR. THERE IS RARELY A SUPER HERO ORIGIN THESE DAYS THAT FEELS INTERESTING OR DIFFERENT. STORYTELLING SHOULD BE GEARED AROUND THE CONSTRUCTION AND EVOLUTION OF DRAMA AND CHARACTER. THEIR SOLUTION? THEY JUST DON’T USE THEM! INSTEAD. WE SEE IT ALL THE TIME).MECHANISMS AND FUNCTION OF HOW TO DO THAT. WE HAVE TO GEAR OUR MOMENTS AROUND FUNCTION AND PURPOSE. JEKLL & MR. practical application into a metaphor: knowing that a house is made from wood with plastered walls and a roof does not allow one to simply build a house. WHICH LOOKS ALLURING BUT DOES NOT ACTUALLY WORK DRAMATICALLY. THERE ARE ALSO THE NOW UBIQUITOUS COMIC BOOK ORIGIN STORIES. AS HULK HAS ALLUDED TO. HOW MANY MOVIES HAVE WE SEEN THAT ARE BEAT-FOR-BEAT THE SAME STORY AS STAR WARS? IT DOESN’T HELP THAT THERE ARE A MULTITUDE OF WRITERS WHO SIMPLY EQUATE STAR WARS WITH THE ONLY EXISTING MODEL OF THE HERO’S JOURNEY (HINT: IT’S NOT AT ALL) AND THEN JUST REGURGITATE IT AS IF THEY WERE PHOTOCOPYING THE SCRIPT AND CHANGING THE NAMES (ERAGON TAKES THE PROVERBIAL CAKE ON THAT ONE. BUT BECAUSE WE THINK THEY’RE “COOL” WE JUST BUILD OUR ACTION AROUND POSTURE. THOUGH TO BE FAIR. You have to understand how to literally build it and shape those things. THE ONE EXCEPTION? HULK GOES BACK TO IRON MAN! THE REASON THAT MOVIE WORKS SO WELL IS THAT IT KNOWS WHEN TO COMPLETELY AVOID THE BEATS OF THE HERO JOURNEY THAT DON’T MATTER TO THE STORY IT WANTS TO TELL. CHARACTER-BASED MICRO-STEP. YET WE CONSTANTLY MISTAKE THESE MODELS OF DESCRIPTION FOR “HOW-TO’S” AND THUS WE KEEP RUNNING INTO THE SAME BASIC STORYTELLING PROBLEMS AGAIN AND AGAIN. EACH STEP OF TONY’S JOURNEY TO BECOMING SHELLHEAD IS AN ARTICULATED. ALL OF THESE PROBLEMS ARE ABOUT THE CONFUSION OF LANGUAGE. STAR WARS TAKES A STUNNING AMOUNT OF ITS DYNAMICS FROM DUNE. A SINGULAR DECISION THAT DEALS WITH THE . DISCONNECT. BUT SINCE IT IS SO SEEPED INTO OUR CONSCIOUSNESS. WE HAVE TO REFORM AND BROADEN OUR MODELS. ACTION SCENES WORK BEST WHEN THEY CONSTRUCT A-TO-B CAUSE AND EFFECT VISUAL STORIES. AS IF IT IS THE ONLY THING THAT MATTERS. FOR A LONG TIME. BUT THAT THEY ARE ALL SO SIMILAR IN THE MOST ROTE. AND THAT DIFFERENCE IS EVERYTHING. THERE IS NOTHING THAT SHOWCASES BACKWARD THINKING QUITE LIKE THE OBLIVIOUS WRITING OF THE VIDEO GAME INDUSTRY TAKEN ON THE WHOLE. ROCKSTAR. FORGIVE THE FOLLOWING NON-MOVIE DIGRESSION. HULK ISN’T TRYING TO ACCUSE THE WRITER OF PERPETUALLY BEING LIKE THAT. DOES THIS SOUND HARSH? HULK IS SORRY. LET’S JUST BE HONEST. USING A LEVEL OF SMUGNESS ONE CAN ONLY GET FROM FAUX-INTELLECTUALISM. IT WAS IN A RATHER PISSY WAY. LASTLY. BETHESDA. IMMERSIVE. BUT HULK WANTS TO TALK ABOUT THE STORY OF ONE GAME COMPANY IN PARTICULARLY.MOMENT AND IS DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE SITUATION AT HAND. IT WOULDN’T EVEN BE FIT FOR EVEN THE WORST HOLLYWOOD MOVIES. THE SITUATION CAME TO LIGHT FOR MOST PEOPLE WHEN A POPULAR MEME SHOWED UP IN THE FORM OF A “BIOWARE GAME CHART” THAT IDENTIFIED JUST HOW SIMILAR ALL THE STORYTELLING AND CHARACTERIZATION WAS. THEY ARE CHALLENGING. WHICH MAKES IT REAL FUCKING WRITING AND NOT PAINT-BY-NUMBERS. IT’S NOT A MATTER OF THINGS MERELY BEING SIMILAR. PEOPLE LIKE TO MAKE FUN OF HOLLYWOOD’S POOR UNDERSTANDING OF STORYTELLING. HERE IS EXACTLY HOW THE BIOWARE WRITER RESPONDED [VIA MESSAGE BOARD. BUT HONESTLY. THEY THOUGHT SIMILARITY WAS THE POINT. SOUL-CRUSHING WAY POSSIBLE. BUT IT ALSO TOOK THEM AGES TO ESCAPE THE CLUTCHES OF THE HERO’S JOURNEY. THERE’S HULK’S FAVORITE EXAMPLE OF THE FORMULAIC VERSION OF THE HERO’S JOURNEY… VIDEO GAMES. ASSEMBLED WITHOUT ACTUALLY UNDERSTANDING NARRATIVE CRAFT ON ANY LEVEL. VIDEO GAMES CAN WORK JUST FINE WITHOUT THOSE THINGS AS LONG AS IT HAS COMPELLING GAMEPLAY. EVERY SINGLE GAME THEY RELEASED HAD THE SAME STORIES. WITH THE SAME EXACT CHARACTERS (JUST WITH SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT PROPER NOUNS). THE MEDIUM IS REALLY BURGEONING NOW AND THERE ARE A LOT OF COMPANIES LIKE VALVE. AND THAT LED TO VERY FUNNY SITUATION WHERE ONE OF THE WRITERS AT BIOWARE WHO WAS IN PART RESPONSIBLE FOR THESE HERO-JOURNEY REGURGITATIONS CAME OUT TO DEFEND THEMSELVES IN… WELL. ETC. THAT ARE PRODUCING INCREDIBLE. FOR IT IS WHOLLY RESONANT TO OUR DISCUSSION. MEANWHILE. THE PROBLEM OF WHY IT GOT SO BAD WAS THAT THEY THOUGHT THIS WAS THE CORRECT WAY TO DO THINGS. BUT THIS IS REALLY A WHOLE DIFFERENT LEVEL OF BAD. JUST THAT IN THIS INSTANCE THAT’S HOW IT CAME OFF. THOUGHTFUL WORK. THE COMPANY OF BIOWARE HAS BEEN LAUDED FOR A LONG TIME. THEY NAKEDLY THOUGHT THE MONOMYTH CAMPBELL MODEL WAS THEIR HOW-TO GUIDE. AGAIN. AND THAT’S BECAUSE MOST VIDEO GAME WRITING IS WHOLLY IMITATIVE. AND A TON OF FUN. BUT IT’S IMPORTANT. AND THAT’S BECAUSE MOVIES DON’T ACTUALLY WORK IF THE CHARACTERIZATION OR PLOT ISN’T COMPELLING IN SOME WAY. BUT THIS BROAD CHARACTERIZATION HAS MERIT. AT THAT]: “So I’m supposed to believe someone is smart enough to do a big Excel spreadsheet with color . HULK LOVES VIDEO GAMES. 3. “EASY” IS A NEVER A GOOD REASON TO DO ANYTHING. DEPENDING ON THE CONTEXT AND EXECUTION. as areas can be culled if they’re not ready in time for launch with minimal impact on the final product. four planets. and you go to crazy weird places! Aaaaaand so yeah.” AND HERE ARE THE SAME WRITER’S OTHER COMMENTS.’ he concluded. then having a complication that splits them up.” IF HULK WERE TO BE A BIG FAT JERK ABOUT ALL THIS.’ ‘It’s a structure. Secondly. LET ALONE BUILD A CHALLENGING GAME. WHICH FOLLOWED THE DUSTUP AND WERE SUMMARIZED IN AN ARTICLE IN EUROGAMER: “[The writer] said the ‘intro. and then things change and you have to go out and do stuff. HULK HAS THUS FAR ARTICULATED . They do it because their audience understands and responds on an emotional level to that structure. ASSUMING IT’S EASY TO “UNDERSTAND” AND WOULD FRUSTRATE YOUR SIMPLETON AUDIENCE IS NOT THE WAY TO RELATE TO THEM. then gradually building trust. and then in the end they get together and are happy. Thirdly. ‘People who create fiction in any form use a structure appropriate to that form. a middle that allows you the freedom to go to several places and have adventures. and then a tightly focused ending is like riffing on how romance novels generally start out with two people being attracted to each other but having emotional issues. GAMERS ADORE A LOT MORE OBJECTIVES. THAT’S BECAUSE WE ALL READ IT IN.’ he wrote. HULK TOO IS FAMILIAR WITH THIS BOOK YOU SPEAK OF. 9TH GRADE.” WHEN HULK FIRST RESPONDED TO THESE COMMENTS A LONG TIME AGO HULK GOT ANGRY. LIKE. guys. BECAUSE THERE IS ACTUALLY A WAY THAT HIS COMMENTS MAKE PERFECT SENSE AND SEEM REASONABLE. PLUS THAT’S AN OUTRIGHT FALSEHOOD. BUT HULK HAS SINCE CALMED DOWN. totally the same story.’ Weekes explained that four is a golden number of objectives for an area that may confuse. finale’ structure familiar to BioWare games is picked for a number of good reasons. ‘There’s nothing wrong with it. BUT THANKS FOR CALLING EVERYONE AN IDIOT FOR NOT BLINDLY ACCEPTING ITS UNIVERSAL APPLICATION AND DISMISSING THE CONCERNS OF SOMEONE WHO WAS ACTUALLY MAKING A GREAT POINT. ‘Players understand it. overwhelm and frustrate once exceeded. HULK SMASHED THINGS.coding and stuff but not smart enough to know about Campbellian archetypes? Yeah. BUT THERE IS A REALLY RELEVANT POINT THAT HULK WANTS YOU TO UNDERSTAND: 1. 2. That’s asinine. like any other. AND THAT’S REALLY NOT WHAT THE BOOK IS SAYING. Firstly. things are kind of normal. HULK WOULD SIMPLY REPLY: “YES. every BioWare game has the same plot! See. PARTICULARLY FUN WAS THE POINT WHEN YOU START ARGUING FOR THE SAMENESS OF CAMPBELLIAN ARCHETYPES AND THEN PROCEED TO SARCASTICALLY ARGUE THE CRITICS ARE OVER-TYPIFYING SAID SAMENESS. it’s ‘easy’ in the sense of QA. ‘Humorously snarking that our games have a beginning part that is streamlined and introduces you to the game. AND IN THE TIME SINCE. AND THEN WITH MASS EFFECT 3 THEY WENT EVEN FURTHER AND CRAFTED A GAME WITH SUCH A STUNNING THEMATIC NARRATIVE DEVICE FOR THE ENDING THAT HULK THOUGHT THEY FINALLY BROUGHT MAINSTREAM TRIPLE A GAMING INTO THE REALM OF ART… THE PROBLEM IS HULK ISN’T SURE HOW WELL THAT PART TRANSLATED OR HOW MUCH PEOPLE WERE EVEN READY FOR IT. THERE WAS NO TACT. THEY WERE GROUNDING THE MECHANICS OF THE STORY IN THOSE BASIC FUNCTIONS.” INSTEAD. ESPECIALLY GIVEN THE FACT YOU HAVE 30-80 HOURS’ WORTH OF STORY TO TELL AND YOU’RE USING A MODEL BUILT FOR SHORT MYTHS OR 2 HOUR MOVIES. WELL. HULK BROUGHT ALL THIS BIOWARE/VIDEO GAME STUFF IN BECAUSE IT WAS JUST THE BEST POSSIBLE EXAMPLE OF THE HERO’S JOURNEY GONE HORRIBLY. THEY FREED THEMSELVES UP TO DO SO MUCH MORE.THAT THERE IS PLENTY WRONG WITH IT (AND MORE TO COME). THAT HULK IS SEEING TOO MANY PROBLEMS WITH MOVIES STRIVING FOR SIMILARITY. AND AS A RESULT OF ALL THIS HARD WORK AND MODEL-BREAKING? MASS EFFECT 2 WAS WIDELY HAILED AS ONE OF THE BEST GAMES OF ALL TIME. THEY EXPANDED THE SCOPE FAR BEYOND THE “4 WORLD” DYNAMIC AND CRAFTED LONG-FORM STORYLINES FOR THE CHARACTERS THAT WERE SERIOUSLY MORE IN LINE WITH WELL-CRAFTED TV DRAMAS AND GROUP DYNAMICS INSTEAD OF ROTE CAMPEBLLIAN TYPICALITY. BUT THE BEST DAMN GAMES AROUND SAYS EVERYTHING. WONDERFULLY RIGHT. STORIES THAT SEEMED TO DIRECTLY COMMENT ON HUMAN ETHICS AND GET TO THE HEART OF NUANCED POLITICS. BUT THE FACT THAT THEY LARGELY ABANDONED THAT HERO’S MODEL AND SUDDENLY STARTED CRAFTING NOT JUST GOOD GAMES. HULK ARGUES MOST MOVIES FALL VICTIM . THEY WERE CLINGING TO THE SIMILARITY AS IF THE SIMILARITY WAS THE IMPORTANT PART. NO OTHER PURPOSE. SOMETHING ELSE HAS HAPPENED WITH BIOWARE GAMES THAT MAKES HULK’S ARGUMENT FOR HULK… BIOWARE’S MASS EFFECT 2 HUGELY ABANDONED THE HERO’S MODEL AND TOOK A MUCH MORE BROAD APPROACH TO STORYTELLING. THEY CRAFTED NEW PERSONALITIES OUTSIDE THE ARCHETYPES. THE PROBLEM IS NOT THAT THEIR STORIES WERE DOING ALL THE GENERAL STUFF MOST COMMON STORIES WERE DOING… IT’S THAT IT WAS ALL THEY WERE DOING. IT’S WHAT HE SAYS AFTER THAT COMPLETELY MISSES THE POINT. BUT MAYBE YOU THINK HULK IS BEING TOO HARD ON THE HERO’S JOURNEY. HORRIBLY WRONG AND THEN HOW THE ABANDONING OF IT ALLOWED THINGS TO GO WONDERFULLY. AND WHAT WAS STOPPING THEM WAS THE MERE BELIEF THAT THE RIGOROUS. THEY BROUGHT A TON MORE OBJECTIVES BEYOND THE GOLDEN NUMBER AND PLAYERS ATE IT UP. BUT EVEN ALL THAT ISN’T THAT BIG A POINT OF CONTENTION. LIMITED MODEL THEY WERE USING BEFORE WAS “CORRECT. LUKE WAS STILL A STRONG. HE JUST SEEMS VANILLA BECAUSE HE’S OFTEN STANDING NEXT TO ONE OF THE GREATEST SCOUNDRELS OF ALL TIME IN HAN SOLO. BUT AS A RESULT WE ARE CREATING MAIN CHARACTERS WHO ARE JUST VACUOUS. BUT REMEMBER CORRELATION DOES NOT MEAN CAUSE. DO YOU REMEMBER THE END OF RATATOUILLE WHERE THE CRITIC CHARACTER ANTON EGO SURMISES THAT HE WAS MISTAKEN ABOUT SOMETHING OF GRAVE IMPORTANCE: IT’S NOT THAT ANYONE CAN COOK BUT THAT A GREAT COOK CAN TRULY COME FROM ANYWHERE? IT DIRECTLY SPEAKS TO THIS ISSUE. HE SOON CAME TO KNOW TRAGEDY AND TRAUMA. WE KNOW ONE OF THE GREAT THINGS ABOUT HEROISM IS THAT A HERO COULD LITERALLY BE ANYONE. WE ARE TREATED TO HERO AFTER HERO YOU COULD BASICALLY RENAME MILQUETOAST MCBLANDERSON. WHAT MAKES SOMEONE WORTHY OF BEING A HERO? THERE SEEMS TO BE SOME CONFUSION OVER THE MATTER.” IT’S THE FALSEHOOD OF WHAT AN EVERYMAN MEANS. WE DO THIS APPARENTLY TO ENSURE THAT THE MAIN CHARACTER IS A CONDUIT THAT THE AUDIENCE DESIRES. TO WIT. AND A DESIRE TO GO FAR BEYOND HIMSELF. REMY THE RAT WAS SOMEONE WITH AN INNATE ABILITY (SMELL). THE OBLIGATORY NATURE OF HAVING TO HIT THESE BEATS AND TROPES REARS ITS UGLY HEAD. A SPARK. A SENSE OF MORALITY. FRUSTRATED. . BUT THAT A HERO CAN COME FROM ANYWHERE. SOOOOOO MANY MOVIES.” AGAIN. AND FLAWED. HE NEVER HAD A SENSE OF BELONGING. EVEN YOU! IT’S A NICE THOUGHT AND HAS SIGNIFICANT NARRATIVE AND THEMATIC VALUE.TO THE SAME EXACT THINKING THAT BIOWARE DID. IT’S NOT THAT ANYONE CAN BE A HERO. AN INTEREST (APPRECIATION OF THE TASTE OF FOOD). SOMETIMES IT’S FAR LAZIER THAN THAT AND THESE CHARACTERS ARE PICKED TO BE HEROES FOR NO OTHER REASON THAN “WELL. THE POINT IS THAT REMY WAS TRULY DYNAMIC. THAT’S WHAT HAS TO HAPPEN IN ORDER TO TELL A HERO STORY. FORCEFUL PERSONALITY WITH THE SAME HUMAN YEARNING FOR ADVENTURE BEYOND HIS FARM. MEANWHILE. LET HULK FOCUS ON POPULAR MOVIE TROPES AND EXPLAIN THE SEVEN FUN WAYS PEOPLE USE THE HERO’S JOURNEY TO RUIN STORIES: I) – DON’T MAKE PEOPLE HEROES SIMPLY BECAUSE THEY ARE THE MAIN CHARACTERS AND THEY ARE GETTING CALLED TO AN ADVENTURE! OR SOMETHING. HE WAS ALSO HUMAN. AND YET WE CONSTANTLY MISAPPLY THIS “ANYONE CAN BE A HERO” TROPE TO MEAN THAT ANYONE WITH A VACUOUS PERSONALITY CAN BECOME A HERO/MAIN CHARACTER SIMPLY BECAUSE SOME OLD MAN SHOWS UP AND HANDS THEM A MAGIC THINGAMAJIG. AS A RESULT. BUT THE PROBLEM IS THAT WE MISTAKE THE NATURE OF THIS ASSESSMENT AND SAY THEREFORE THAT ANY OLD HUMAN QUALITIES WILL DO FOR OUR HEROIC CHARACTER… EVEN “NONE. A YEARNING. EVERYONE LIKES TO POINT TO LUKE SKYWALKER AS WHY THE VANILLA HERO IS WHAT WORKS “BEST” BECAUSE OF THE SUCCESS OF STAR WARS. BUT THE KEY IS THAT THEY HAVE TO HAVE SOMETHING INSIDE THEM. BLANK SLATES. SMART. AND DON’T FORGET! WHEN WRITING HEROIC CHARACTERS ALWAYS REMEMBER: EXASPERATED = GOOD! BUT WHINING = BAD! SO TOE THE LINE! II) – DON’T HAVE THE CHARACTERS REFUSE THE CALL FOR THE ENTIRE DURATION OF THE MOVIE COUGH GREEN LANTERN COUGH. but who cares! We need the character to have the illusion of growth!” OTHER GUY: “Oh okay. CUE IMAGINARY GREEN LANTERN DISCUSSION: GUY: “We need a new lantern! C’mon ring. TROUBLESOME. IN AN EFFORT TO SLAVISHLY STICK TO THE HERO’S JOURNEY MODEL. DO YOU SEE THE CRUCIAL DIFFERENCE? IF THE PROJECTION OF OUR DESIRE TO BE IN THE SAME SITUATION AS THE HERO IS OUR ONLY MEANS OF IDENTIFICATION WITH THEM.SO NOW HULK IS GOING TO DO ONE OF HULK’S FAVORITE THINGS AND BRING IT BACK TO INDIANA FUCKING JONES! THE GREAT THING ABOUT INDY IS THAT HE’S A HERO AND YET THE DUDE’S A FUCKING CHARACTER. YES. THEN THE CHARACTER IS A COMPLETE FAILURE. AND OOH. NOT HUMAN FOR. THEREFORE. SO HOW MANY MOVIES. THROW IN AN OBLIGATORY AND WHOLLY UNNECESSARY SCENE(S) WHERE THE CHARACTER DENIES ANSWERING THE CALL FOR NO GOOD REASON WHATSOEVER? IT IS THIS HULK’S OPINION THAT THERE IS NO MORE A HOLLOW EXERCISE IN WRITING. YOU WANT YOUR MAIN CHARACTER TO WORK AS A CONDUIT. because… um. AND AWESOME. but does this seriously have to be the plot of the entire movie?” GUY: “Yes!” AUDIENCE: “… SHIT. THERE HAS TO BE A REASON WE WANT TO BE LIKE THEM OR EMPATHIZE WITH THEM OTHER THAN CONTEXT. FUNNY. WHEN REALLY THEY ARE GIVING US NO SET UP FOR THIS BEHAVIOR WHATSOEVER. GOOFY. pick the most fearless guy on this planet!” OTHER GUY: “But this guy is secretly afraid of everything and kind of moany and shit!” GUY: “Right.” . DON’T USE YOUR MAIN CHARACTER AS SOMEONE WHO IS ONLY FUNCTIONAL IN TERMS OF PLOTTING. FLAWED. some reason… that… doesn’t… make sense. OOH. THEY SHOULD HAVE A DAMN PERSONALITY. BUT THAT DOESN’T MEAN THEY HAVE TO BE AN EMPTY SHELL - IT MEANS THEY ARE A FLESH AND BLOOD PERSON WHO WE CAN BE HUMAN WITH. we can’t just have him kick ass immediately because he has to fit in the hero model and deny the call! So have him deny what he can obviously do. OR (B) BECAUSE THE WRITER THINKS IT WILL MANUFACTURE DRAMA. SO WHY DOES THIS HAPPEN SO MUCH? EITHER BECAUSE (A) THEY ARE FOLLOWING THE HERO’S JOURNEY AND THINK THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO. SO DON’T BE AFRAID TO THROW IN SOME DRAMA INTO THAT CONDUIT! DON’T WASTE YOUR PERSONALITY ON SECONDARY CHARACTERS JUST BECAUSE YOU THINK YOU SHOULD (THOUGH THEY SHOULD OBVIOUSLY HAVE GOOD STUFF GOING ON TOO). YOU KNOW. LUKE SKYWALKER REFUSES THE CALL FOR APPROXIMATELY 38 SECONDS OF TOTAL SCREEN TIME. easy. HINT: IT’S NOT WEIRD. IT’S CRAZY! THIS IS WEIRD!” OR SOMETHING. FOLKS. THAT ACTUALLY BRINGS UP A GOOD LITTLE TANGENT: HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU SAID TO YOURSELF “I’LL FORGIVE THIS BLATANT APING OF [INSERT POPULAR MOVIE] BECAUSE AT LEAST IT IS SELF-AWARE BLATANT APING!” … HULK’S GONNA WAGER NOT A LOT. OR RELATIONSHIP BOUND INSTEAD! THERE SHOULD BE SO MUCH MORE GOING ON THAN JUST THE WILLINGNESS TO BE A HERO! III) – DON’T OVER-RELY ON THE WISE OLD CRONE OBI-WAN KENOBI AND YODA. IT’S LIKE. C STORYTELLING. B. It’s your destiny. AND NOW EVERY MOVIE HAS THEIR NOT-NEARLY-AS-GOOD VERSION OF THEM. HE SAYS NO TO BEN KENOBI. WHETHER PERSONAL. AND SO MANY PEOPLE TRY TO DEVELOP THEIR MAIN CHARACTER WITH ONE SINGULAR REFUSAL TOO. Yoda!” … SERIOUSLY. YOUR AUDIENCE WILL ALREADY KNOW THAT THIS IS EXACTLY WHERE IT IS GOING SO EMBRACE ECONOMY AND GET IT ON WITH IT REMEMBER. GRATING DUTY IN MOVIES: THEY’VE BASICALLY BECOME EXPOSITION MACHINES. BECAUSE USUALLY THE REASONS EXPRESSED ARE: “I CAN’T GO WITH YOU. OKAY. AS IF ANSWERING THE CALL IS THE SOLUTION TO ALL THEIR PROBLEMS. IN FACT. MORAL. A MOVIE CAN HANDLE THE REFUSAL IN AN OKAY WAY AND GIVE LEGITIMATE REASONS WHY THE MAIN CHARACTER WOULDN’T WANT TO JUST ABANDON THEIR LIFE AND GO TO THIS CRAZY ADVENTURE. 38 SECONDS OF LOGICAL A. OF COURSE ANYTIME THIS IS TOO PAINFULLY OBVIOUS. SO HE RUNS HOME AND SEES THEIR CHARRED CORPSES AND SAYS.” AND HE MAKES THE DECISION TO GO WITH BEN TO ALDERAAN TO BECOME A JEDI LIKE HIS FATHER. AND THEN IN THEIR NEXT SCENE HE IMMEDIATELY REALIZES HIS AUNT AND UNCLE ARE IN DANGER. THIS ISN’T HOW IT WORKS FOR EVERY MOVIE. AND IT DOES WONDERS. SO WHY ARE WE TURNING THAT LITTLE BIT OF NEEDED DOUBT AND TINY CONFLICT INTO ENTIRE “ACT TWOS” WHEREIN NOTHING HAPPENS BUT A CHARACTER’S INACTION? IT IS SO MISGUIDED. DEVELOP THEIR CHARACTER EVOLUTION INCREMENTALLY AND BASED ON OTHER ISSUES. SERIOUSLY. WE DO THE EQUALLY OBVIOUS THING AND TRY TO BRUSH OFF THIS LAZY WRITING WITH A DUMB JOKE: “Do this thing. BEING A MOVIE’S “YODA” HAS ACTUALLY BECOME SHORTHAND FOR AUDIENCES. BUT THOSE OCCASIONS ARE FAR RARER THAN YOU’D THINK.” / “Hey. WONDERFUL CHARACTERS.OKAY. “There is nothing for me here now. OCCASIONALLY. WATCH THE FUCKING MOVIE. THINK OF EMPEROR ZERG’S “I AM YOUR FATHER” MOMENT FROM TOY STORY 2 OR THE POINT BREAK SCREAM-ANDFIRE-YOUR-GUN-INTO-THE-AIR REFERENCE IN HOT FUZZ. THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE FILMS THAT DIRECTLY USE THESE TOUCHSTONES TO INVERT THE MEANINGS FOR COMEDY PURPOSES AND YET STILL INFORM THEIR OWN STORIES. OF COURSE. ONE OF THE DELIGHTFUL THINGS THAT NO ONE SEEMS TO REALIZE IS THAT IN STAR WARS. DONE WITH ECONOMY. WORSE. THOSE HAVE A GREAT DEAL . THAT WAS AN ACTUAL INTERACTION FROM SPAWN. THE THINGS THEY ARE REALLY GOOD AT HAVE NOW BECOME THEIR SOLE. BUT INTEGRATE THEM TOGETHER. HULK DOESN’T MEAN TO IMPLY THAT USING A CRONE FIGURE IN YOUR STORY ISN’T SUPER-USEFUL. DON’T BE META. EITHER. GO FAR BEYOND EXPOSITION AND AN OCCASIONAL JOKE. THIS IS NOT TO IMPLY THAT THE TRIALS CANNOT CONTAIN A SERIES OF FIGHTS. “HOW CAN I MAKE THIS CRONE UNIQUE?” OR EVEN FURTHER. SO REALLY EACH TRIAL SHOULD BE TREATED AS ITS OWN MINI-STORY ADDRESSING THE CHARACTER COMPONENTS OF THE LARGER JOURNEY… AND YES YOU CAN USE ACTION TO DO THAT.OF GROUNDING AND PURPOSE. YOUR USE OF THESE DEVICES AND FIGURES NEED EITHER TACT OR INVISIBILITY. BUT WHAT EACH FIGHT SHOULD DO IS HAVE SOME SORT OF THEMATIC RESONANCE AND REFLECT ON A PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT OF THE MAIN CHARACTER. ONE FIGHT COULD ADDRESS HIS LUST (IN GENERAL. THE POINT IS THAT THE TRIALS CANNOT BE EMPTY EXERCISES IN NEAT-O ACTION. REMEMBER HOW FUCKING PSYCHOLOGICAL LUKE’S TRIALS WERE DURING HIS TIME ON DAGOBAH? THERE’S. ONE COULD ADDRESS HIS ACCEPTANCE OF DEFEAT. THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS WORK WELL FOR THESE PERSONALITY-MADE-PHYSICAL BRAND OF OBSTACLES). TRY TO UNDERSTAND THE FUNCTION OF THAT ACTION AND WHAT IT DID FOR THE CHARACTERS. IT FEELS LIKE A CHEAP SHORTCUT. MORE COMPLETE PERSON. ONE FIGHT COULD ADDRESS HIS PRIDE. “HOW CAN I MAKE THEM NOT FEEL LIKE A CRONE AT ALL?” IV) – DON’T MISTAKE THE NOTION OF “THE TRIALS” FOR “THE HERO FIGHTING A BUNCH OF THINGS” HULK HOPES THIS ONE IS PRETTY SELF-EVIDENT. CINEMATICALLY SPEAKING. THIS IS A STORY AND STORIES DEVELOP. SO IN YOUR OWN STORIES GIVE THEM INTERESTING AND UNIQUE STUFF TO DO. IT’S CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT MADE LITERAL AND IT’S ALL SO INCREDIBLY FANTASTIC. HULK CAN USUALLY TELL THE EXACT MOMENT EACH ONE THESE CRONE MENTORS WILL BE KILLED OFF TO SEND THE MAIN HERO ON HIS WAY ALONE (JUST BECAUSE THEY’RE SUPPOSED TO AND THAT’S WHAT STAR WARS DID). THOSE CHARACTERS IN STAR WARS WEREN’T SOLELY EXPOSITION MACHINES. ASK YOURSELF. GIVE THEM A ROLE IN THE STORY’S FUNCTION BESIDES BEING THE CRONE. BUT SO OFTEN. HUMILITY. AND THAT’S WHEN IT HITS YOU: HE’S BATTLING HIS PERSONALITY AND HIS MIND. . GOING BACK TO STAR WARS. TRY TO HIDE WHAT YOU’RE DOING. FOR EXAMPLE. A SERIES OF FIGHTS IS USUALLY A PRETTY SWEET THING. TEACH HIM/HER LOSS. DO NOT JUST USE A YODA FOR YODA’S SAKE. IN CASE HULK HAS TO KEEP REMINDING YOU. AND THE EVOLUTION TO OUR UNDERSTANDING WORKED BEAUTIFULLY. BUT FOR PETE’S SAKE. EITHER. HE’S TRYING TO MOVE ROCKS AND GAIN SELFCONTROL. BUT HERE GOES: THE TRIALS ARE JUST NOT A SERIES OF FIGHTS. OR WHATEVER THEY MAY NEED TO GO FORWARD AS A BETTER. BUT GUILE AND INTENTION ARE KEY. NO ACTUAL FIGHTING. LIKE. IN FACT. REMEMBER THAT YODA WAS FIRST INTRODUCED TO US NOT AS YODA BUT AS A BATSHIT INSANE LITTLE ANIMAL. LOOK. THERE ARE WAYS TO DO EVERYTHING. THE OTHER TRUTH IS THAT THERE HAVE BEEN INTERESTING. WHAT? NO ONE READS THAT FAR? OH. WELL…OKAY. ARCHAIC VIEW OF GENDER AND IT’S ALL ABOUT WHAT “WOMEN CAN DO TO MEN” AND NOT “WHAT WOMEN CAN DO. THAT’S THE SUM TOTAL OF FEMALE APPROXIMATION WHEN LOOKING AT THE CHART (CAMPBELL’S BOOK ACTUALLY HAS A LOT OF GOOD MATERNAL AND SACRED FEMININE STUFF IN THE BACK ONCE YOU GET PAST THE MODEL THING. WHEN IT COMES TO OUR WOMEN FIGURES WE CAN JUST WRITE THEM AS THE GODDESS/TEMPTRESS! (READ: MADONNA/WHORE).V) – DON’T JUST FALL BACK ON MEETING THE GODDESS / WOMAN AS TEMPTRESS FOR YOUR FEMALE ROLES Hulk. AND PLEASE KNOW HULK IS NOT DERIDING THIS BAD HABIT OUT OF SOME MODERN. HULK WOULD GO SO FAR TO SAY THAT LEIA STANDS AS A DIRECT ATTACK ON THE VALUES OF THE HERO’S JOURNEY AND IS SYMBOLIC OF SO MANY ATTRIBUTES THAT THE WOMEN’S MOVEMENT VALUED IN THE SEVENTIES. HONESTLY. IT’S ALWAYS BEEN A MALE-CENTRIC. THESE TROPES ARE AS OLD AS THE DAWN OF TIME BECAUSE A LOT OF MEN HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO GET OVER THIS DYNAMIC SINCE THE DAWN OF TIME. AS HULK SAID IN POINT #20. SHE’S A FULLY-FORMED AND INTERESTING CHARACTER WHO HAS HER OWN STUFF GOING ON AND A WHOLE RANGE OF PERSONALITY. AGAIN. BUT HULK’S . MATERNAL. GOING BACK TO STAR WARS. THE TRUTH IS THAT WRITING DYNAMIC WOMEN JUST MAKES FOR BETTER PLOTS AND BETTER MOVIES. AND BEST OF ALL. BUT COMPARED TO WHAT THE CAMPBELL MODEL DICTATES. you got your feminism in my hero’s journey chapter! DARN TOOTIN’ HULK DID. SHE WASN’T INTERESTED IN BEING EITHER GODDESS OR TEMPTRESS.C. YES. DEAL WITH IT CAUSE IT’S IMPORTANT. A LOT OF TIMES IT’S BECAUSE THE MALE WRITER CAN’T HELP BUT VIEW WOMEN WITH THIS INHUMAN DYNAMIC. ALSO SEMIRAMIS. HULK ARGUES THAT THE GODDESS/TEMPTRESS MODEL HAS ALWAYS BEEN OUTDATED. HUMAN DEPICTIONS OF WOMEN SINCE JUST ABOUT FOREVER. SHE’S NOT PERFECT. JUST STOP IT ALREADY.) UGH. TOO (PROOF? ATALANTA FOR ONE. AND DESPITE LEIA’S NEAR UNANIMOUS POPULARITY. REVISIONIST P. WHILE WRITING THEIR STORIES SO MANY PEOPLE LOOK AT THE HERO JOURNEY MODEL AND GO: “WELL. A HUMAN BEING.” SO IF YOU’RE STILL WRITING WOMEN WITH ONLY THESE BASIC MADONNA / WHORE ARCHETYPES IN MIND. SWEET! THANKS MONOMYTH!” SERIOUSLY. THERE’S ONLY LEIA AND IT’S NOT LIKE SHE’S THE PERFECT EXAMPLE OF FEMINISM. NOT A MISSPELLED CITY BUT THAT FIGURE OF GREEK MYTH. PLUS. AGAIN. YOU KNOW. THAT MOVIE ACTUALLY DID A FINE JOB OF AVOIDING THAT SHIT. OKAY. BUT SHE STILL HAD THE INNATE CAPACITY TO BE STRONG. WHICH MADE HER. AND SHE JUST SO HAPPENED TO TRANSCEND THE ENTIRE AWFUL DYNAMIC. INCLINATION. AND SEXUAL. AND AS FAR AS ACTUAL GODDESS CONDUITS GO HATHOR WAS PRETTY COOL). BUT AS HULK TALKED ABOUT BEFORE SHE’S AT LEAST PRETTY DAMN GOOD. BECAUSE THAT’S HOW WE’VE BEEN DOING IT FOREVER. THE MADONNA/WHORE DYNAMIC IS STILL EVERYWHERE THESE DAYS. IT WON’T MAKE YOUR WRITING BETTER. WE’RE NOT COPYING ITS SENSE OF ECONOMY. THE ONE THAT WHOLLY POPULARIZED IT. ALMOST EVERY OTHER KIND OF PLOTTING IS A BETTER WAY TO SOLVE STORY PROBLEMS. THAT IS BECAUSE CHANCES ARE YOU WILL DO IT IN MEDIOCRE FASHION AND WILL THUS FAIL. VI) – DON’T BLATANTLY USE THE ELIXIR REMEDY / DEUS EX MACHINA THIS ONE SORT OF DEALS WITH THE “RETURN WITH ELIXIR” COMPONENT. 50% BETTER. WELL. LET HULK PUT IT LIKE THIS: ANYTIME YOUR BIG HERO STORY SOLVES PROBLEMS THE WAY ENTOURAGE DOES. YOU SHOULD PROBABLY JUST STOP DOING THAT. LIKE. BUT THE PERSON WHO CLAIMS TO HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO WRITE WOMEN WILL THEN INSTANTLY GET IT EVERY TIME. GUESS WHAT FOLKS? THE SEEKER: THE DARK IS RISING FITS THE HERO’S JOURNEY EVEN BETTER THAN STAR WARS DOES. WE’RE LITERALLY MISSING THE BEST STUFF ABOUT STAR WARS BECAUSE WE’RE TOO BUSY LOOKING AT HOW IT FITS THE HERO’S JOURNEY ALONG WITH EVERYTHING ELSE WE DIGEST. BUT IS THERE A WAY TO DO DEUS EX MACHINA? OF COURSE! BUT YOU HAVE TO EITHER . WHAT MAKES THE ORIGINAL STAR WARS TRILOGY SO AWESOME AFTER ALL THESE YEARS IS NOT HOW IT’S THE SAME AS EVERY CLASSIC HERO STORY. DEUS EX MACHINA IS FUCKING HARD. DO SOMETHING ELSE.HUGE PROBLEM IS THAT MOST OF THE TIME IT’S UNINTENTIONAL! WHY DOES THAT HAPPEN? BECAUSE EITHER THAT’S WHAT THE HERO’S JOURNEY SAYS TO DO OR BECAUSE WRITERS JUST HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO DO ANYTHING ELSE. BUT WE’RE NOT COPYING THE MECHANISMS AND ENGINES THAT REALLY DROVE ITS SUCCESS. BUT HOW IT’S STILL TRULY DIFFERENT. JUST WRITE HER LIKE LEIA. WHICH MEANS NO ONE IS INTERESTED IN COPYING THAT. THE POWER OF ITS CHARACTERIZATION. BUT THAT’S OKAY. STRUCTURALLY.” IT SOUND SO STUPID AND SIMPLE. THIS TRICK ISN’T SOME MAGIC CURE-ALL OR ANYTHING. BUT BASICALLY HULK JUST WANTS TO POINT OUT THAT WAY TOO MANY STORYLINES RESOLVE WITH DEUS EX MACHINA. SO WHENEVER HULK READS THIS UNINTENTIONAL MADONNA / WHORE STUFF. NO TWO BONES ABOUT IT. THE HUMOR OF ITS CRONES. WE’RE LOOKING AT THE MOST BASIC CONTENT AND MOTIFS AND COPYING THOSE ELEMENTS. BUT YOU’D BE SHOCKED HOW MUCH IT INSTANTLY MAKES A LOT OF YOUNG MEN’S FEMALE CHARACTERS. HULK RECOMMENDS THAT EVEN MOST INTERMEDIATE WRITERS SHOULD STAY AWAY (HULK INCLUDES HULK-SELF IN THIS). LOOK. AND YET WE CAN’T EVEN SEEM TO IMITATE IT PROPERLY. BUT DOES THAT FILM’S STRUCTURE AND SENSE OF DRAMA AND EXCITEMENT RESONATE WITH US? NO. YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED THAT HULK KEEPS BRINGING UP STAR WARS AND HULK IS DOING SO FOR A REASON. LEIA IS THAT MUCH A CENTRAL AND POSITIVE FIGURE IN OUR ERA. ITS UNDERSTANDING OF DRAMA. AND ITS STRONG FEMALE LEAD. BECAUSE THE FILM IS NOT VERY GOOD AT ALL. IT’S OUR MAIN CULTURAL TOUCHSTONE FOR THE HERO’S JOURNEY. THE PSYCHOLOGY AT PLAY IN THE TRIALS. HULK ALWAYS GIVES PEOPLE THE SAME ADVICE: “FUCK IT. AS HE SHUFFLES AWAY WITH ALL HIS MONEY GRUMBLING TO A RELUCTANT CHEWY “I KNOW WHAT I’M DOING. NOT SOMETHING AS ETHEREAL OR RANDOM AS “FATE” OR “INTERFERENCE OF THE GODS. CONVENTIONAL PLOTTING IS DEPENDENT ON SET-UP AND DELIVERY. BUT IF YOU SET IT UP? AND NOT JUST WITH SOME MAGICAL DOHICKEY. AND YET WE SEE MOVIES THAT LITERALIZE THAT RETURNING TO “HOME” AND THINK THAT INHERENTLY IMPLIES SOME KIND OF MEANING. AND AS A RESULT IT WORKS SO DAMN WELL FOR THE AUDIENCE… IT’S AMAZING HOW MUCH LUCAS TOOK THAT DEUS EX MACHINA MOMENT AND MADE IT SOMETHING SO DIFFERENT AND MORE FUNCTIONAL. THE LAST MOMENT OF LUKE ASKING FOR HELP SETS IT UP SO PERFECTLY.” IT’S HUMAN. AND UNLESS YOU GIVE THE RETURN SOME THEMATIC RESONANCE. IN THAT MOMENT IT IS A SUDDEN SURPRISE. BUT REALLY IT’S THE RESULT OF A CAREFULLY CONSTRUCTED CHARACTER ARC. OH WELL. CAN FEEL SO DAMN CHEAP TO EVEN THE MOST UNAWARE OF AUDIENCES. WHEN USED POORLY. THEY ALWAYS GIVE YOU A REASON TO LOVE THEM. STARLIGHT-BEHIND-FALCON. BUT THERE IS A DEFINITE LACK OF UNDERSTANDING FOR WHAT “THE RETURN” ACTUALLY MEANS AND IT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR DOZENS OF HYPER-POINTLESS ENDINGS.” THEN THE FILM THEN SPENDS THE EXACT RIGHT AMOUNT OF TIME AWAY FROM HAN SO YOU COMPLETELY FORGET ABOUT HIM. VII) – DON’T THINK “THE RETURN” ONLY MEANS THAT CHARACTERS SHOULD COME HOME AT THE END PERHAPS WE CAN BLAME THE ODYSSEY FOR THIS ONE. AND NOTHING MAKES THE AUDIENCE MORE AWARE OF A LACK OF SETUP THEN THE SUDDEN SAVING OF A CHARACTER FROM SOME MEANS THAT SEEM FOREIGN TO THEM. GORGEOUS MOMENT. WRITERS GET IT STUCK IN THEIR HEAD THAT WE SOMEHOW HAVE TO RETURN HOME AND THIS MAGICALLY BRINGS THINGS FULL CIRCLE… YEAH. THE BIGGEST PROBLEM OF WHICH IS THAT THERE IS NO DEVICE IN POPULAR STORYTELLING THAT. BUT IT WORKS BECAUSE OF ALL THE GREAT CHARACTER SET-UP.DIRECTLY ENGAGE THE THEME (WHICH HULK WILL ILLUSTRATE LATER) OR YOU HAVE TO DISGUISE THE DEVICE IN A WAY THAT TOTALLY MAKES SENSE: GROUNDING IT IN CHARACTER PURPOSE AND DRAMA. HULK KEEPS WRITING ABOUT STAR WARS AND KINDA FALLING IN LOVE WITH IT AGAIN… THIS AFTER HULK WAS GOING TO SWEAR IT OFF. IT WORKS BECAUSE THEY SPEND THE ENTIRE MOVIE SHOWING THAT HAN DOESN’T DO STUFF LIKE THAT AND HAVE THE CHARACTERS TUG AT HIS HEART STRINGS TRYING TO GET HIM TO DO STUFF LIKE THAT. GOSH. IT WORKS AS A MOMENT THAT IS DEUS EX MACHINA ONLY… BUT IT’S NOT DEUS EX MACHINA AT ALL. DOES IT WORK. THE RETURN ACTUALLY IMPLIES A THEMATIC OR PSYCHOLOGICAL RETURN. UNTIL THE VERY SECOND HE STREAMS IN. . BUT IN TERMS OF CHARACTER CATHARSIS? WHEN YOU GEAR IT AROUND DRAMATIC FUNCTION? HOOO BOY. LET’S GO BACK TO THAT SAME MOVIE YET AGAIN: REMEMBER THE HAN SOLO “YEEE HAW KID! NOW LET’S BLOW THIS JOINT!” MOMENT FROM STAR WARS? OF COURSE YOU DO. AND SAVES LUKE! IT’S A BEAUTIFUL. THAT’S WHAT HAPPENS WITH GOOD THINGS. NOT A LITERAL ONE. DOWNRIGHT BIZARRE. BUT SINCE THIS IS A SCREENWRITING BOOK HULK FEELS IT IS OKAY TO TALK ABOUT DIFFERENT STORY OPTIONS AND WHAT THEY COULD HAVE DONE BETTER IN THE PREQUELS. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING IS DIFFERENT ABOUT THEIR SITUATION WITH THE TRADE FEDERATION. WHEN THEY RETURNED IT COULD HAVE ALL COME TOGETHER IN A WAY THAT ACTUALLY MADE SENSE. THE LAST THING HULK WANTS TO DO IS TURN THIS INTO A FAN-FIC SESSION. OBI-WAN IS PISSED THERE’S A NEW PADAWAN AND EVERYONE WOULD HAVE REAL MOTIVATIONS AND EMOTIONS.. ANAKIN ENTERS AS THE DARK STRANGER WHO INSTANTLY LOVES PADME. AND GO HOME TO REALLY START DEALING WITH THE ISSUE AT HAND. MEANWHILE. HULK IS TALKING ABOUT THE PREQUELS. QUI-GON WOULD HAVE BEEN THE ONLY ONE TO GO BACK TO THE SENATE AND GET STRANDED ALONG THE WAY ON TATOOINE. ALSO HULK WOULD HAVE GOTTEN RID OF JAR JAR. THEIR JOURNEY TO CORUSCANT YIELDS ABSOLUTELY ZERO RESULTS THAT AFFECT THE PLOT. WHY THE HELL IS HULK EVEN DOING THIS? YOU CAN’T POLISH A TURD. WAIT. THE SENATE IS BASICALLY LIKE “WHAT!? NO! OF COURSE NOT. SHRUG THEIR SHOULDERS. EVEN WHEN PADME SHOWED UP IN THE SENATE AND PLEADS HER CASE. THAT IS BECAUSE. SERIOUSLY.UNLESS YOU HAVE BUILT UP THE MEANING OF THAT RETURN AND HAVE TRULY CHANGED THE CHARACTER. BETTER PADAWAN IN YOUNG ANAKIN. THE OBI-WAN CRUSH EVAPORATES.. USELESS GROUP WHERE EVERYONE STANDS AROUND WHILE OTHER PEOPLE GET TO HAVE ACTUAL STORIES. THEN IT MEANS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. BUT THEY IGNORE THAT CONTEXT TOO. THEY’RE JUST IN A DIFFERENT GEOGRAPHIC PLACE. THEY RETURN BECAUSE THEY HAVE NOTHING LEFT TO FAIL AT. ASIDE FROM PICKING UP A LITTLE ANAKIN SKYWALKER. BUT HERE’S THE REAL KEY. THERE HE FINDS A NEW. THOSE MOVIES ARE ALL TERRIBLE FOR HUNDREDS OF REASONS. HULK’S PERSONAL FAVORITE EXAMPLE OF THE NONSENSICAL LITERAL RETURN OCCURS IN A SERIES OF FILMS WHICH ARE THE COMPLETE OPPOSITE OF THE ORIGINAL STAR WARS TRILOGY. BUT IN THIS SPECIFIC CASE: THE LITERAL RETURN TO NABOO IN THE PHANTOM MENACE IS DOWNRIGHT BIZARRE. OR CHARACTER. ASSUMING THERE IS A SINGULAR FIX TO THE . BUT HERE’S ONE SMALL CHANGE THAT COULD HAVE IMPROVED SO MUCH: PADME SHOULD HAVE STAYED ON NABOO AND DEALT WITH THE FACT HER PLANET WAS UNDER FUCKING ATTACK. AGAIN. ALSO THEY SHOULD HAVE… DONE A MILLION OTHER THINGS. SERIOUS CONSEQUENCE. QUI-GON SHOULD HAVE LEFT OBI-WAN THERE TO PROTECT HER AND THUS PADME AND OBI-WAN COULD HAVE DEVELOPED A FRIENDSHIP AND SHE COULD HAVE HAD A SCHOOLGIRL CRUSH. OR THEIR PERSONAL SITUATIONS OR THEIR CHARACTER GROWTH. THIS “RETURN” WOULD HAVE REAL. YOU CAME ALL THE WAY HERE TO ASK THAT? WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?” WHICH ODDLY ENOUGH IS SOMETHING THAT COULD BE MADE INTO AN INTERESTING POLITICAL STATEMENT ABOUT DEMOCRACY. HE COULD HAVE FREED HIM THE SAME WAY AND THEIR STUPID MISSION TO CORUSCANT STILL COULD HAVE FAILED. SITUATION. THERE ARE A MILLION THINGS THEY COULD HAVE DONE TO FIX IT. BUT INSTEAD THEY ALL GOT TO TRAVEL TOGETHER IN A BIG. YOU INHERENTLY REMOVE BOTH PERSONAL MOTIVATIONS AND CONTEXTUAL CONFLICT. HULK JUST WANTED TO SHOW A WAY THAT THERE COULD HAVE BEEN AN ACTUAL POINT AND CONSEQUENCE TO THE RETURN. TO HAVE A CHARACTER STUCK IN TWO WORLDS SO TO SPEAK. WE’VE ADOPTED IT INTO A SHIT LOAD OF MYTHOSES. BUT WE NOW LIVE IN A TRANSIENT. VIII) – DON’T USE “CUZ DESTINY!” THIS ONE ISN’T NECESSARILY SOMETHING CAMPBELL TALKED ABOUT A LOT. JUST HAMMER HOME YOUR DAMN THEMES.” BUT MOST CERTAINLY IN TERMS OF DRAMA. SO THAT MEANS THE THEMATIC POINT OF THE RETURN. AND WHOLLY INTERCONNECTED SOCIETY SO HULK ARGUES THAT THE EFFECT OF SPATIAL SEPARATION IS LESS RESONANT (EVEN THOUGH IT STILL WORKS DAMN WELL CINEMATICALLY). IT’S JUST THAT AS A CHOICE IT TENDS TO BREED A LOT OF LAZY DRAMA.PROBLEMS OF THE PREQUELS IS LIKE SWATTING A MOSQUITO AND ASSUMING THEY ARE EXTINCT. IT’S NOT THAT A STORYLINE ABOUT DESTINY CANNOT BE WELL-EXECUTED. IT DOESN’T MATTER WHERE THE CHARACTERS ARE ACTUALLY LOCATED. BUT STORYTELLING IN GENERAL. WHICH IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE WE SEE THE EMPTY. BUT IT MAKES WAY MORE SENSE IN CLASSIC MYTH OR AN INTERGALACTIC COMMUNITY OR SOMETHING. SO IN THE MEANTIME. IN FACT. AND INTRODUCING THE CONCEPT OF "DESTINY" INSTANTLY REMOVES THE NOTION (OR ILLUSION) OF CHOICE FROM THE CHARACTER ALTOGETHER. WHERE GOING ON ANY KIND OF JOURNEY IS SOME GIANT UNDERTAKING. DESTINY HAS GOTTEN ALL UP IN. COMING HOME SHOULD MEAN COMING TO CATHARSIS. NOT TO GET TOO LITERAL. JUST BE SURE ALL YOUR CHARACTERS HAVE HIT THE BEATS THEY NEED TO HIT FOR THEIR STORIES TO WORK. AND BE SURE THAT HAS BEEN EXECUTED IN THE NAME OF DRAMA. AND THAT’S GIVING YOURSELF A HUGE DRAMATIC OBSTACLE. IS ACTUALLY OUR MODERN CONSTANT. AND DRAMA IS ALL ABOUT HOW THE NARRATIVE THREATENS US VISCERALLY SO THAT WE FORGET THAT THE HERO WILL SUCCEED OR . EVEN FOR SOME BIG EPICS. ECONOMY AND FOCUS. FOLKS. NOMADIC. HMMMM. NOT JUST OUR HERO STORIES. IT’S ALL SORT OF CONFLICTING AND WE DON’T EXACTLY KNOW WHAT IT MEANS. THE RETURN IS A THEMATIC ONE. LITERAL RETURN ALL THE TIME. BUT MODERN SOCIETY IS INTERCONNECTED ALL THE TIME. WHEN IT COMES TO YOUR ENDING. THE FIRST PROBLEM IS THAT BY TAKING THE REASON THINGS HAPPEN IN A NARRATIVE AND CHALKING THEM UP TO DESTINY. IT EFFECTIVELY GIVES AWAY THE END TO THE AUDIENCE. HOW TO EXPLAIN IT… YOU REMEMBER WHEN HULK TALKED ABOUT ACT BREAKS BEING GEARED AROUND A CHARACTER’S CHOICE? WELL WE CAN THEN ASSUME THAT CHARACTER ARCS ARE GEARED AROUND A CHARACTER’S ENTIRE SERIES OF CHOICES. SO AT THIS POINT HULK URGES YOU TO NOT EVEN BOTHER WITH IT. AND HULK DOES NOT LIKE IT ONE BIT. IT DOESN’T FIT WITH MOST STORIES ANYWAY. NOT IN TERMS OF THE STORY OF THE LOGICAL “HOW. BUT WE HAVE ABSOLUTELY ADOPTED IT INTO THE HERO MYTHOS. GILGAMESH. ALL PRESENT. DAMN THE FATES THEY SAY.” BUT IT RUINS THE FUNCTION OF DRAMA. WHICH IF WE ARE GOING TO BE HONEST ABOUT OUR CULTURE IS PROBABLY THEMATICALLY UNDERSTANDABLE ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. THE REAL PROBLEM. BUT BACK IN THE DAY? ACHILLES. MURDER. WHEREIN THE NOTION OF TRYING TO CHEAT DEATH WAS ACTUALLY PERCEIVED AS A CHARACTER FLAW. AND TURNED IT INTO THIS CHEAP VEHICLE FOR READY-MADE PLOTTING AND OBJECTIVE-SATISFYING. WE RALLY AROUND CHARACTERS THAT EMBRACE INVINCIBILITY. WHY DID THEY USE IT THAT WAY? WELL. THUS THE IDEA THAT FATE.EVEN BECOME A HERO IN THE FIRST PLACE (AGAIN. WOMEN USUALLY DIDN’T SURVIVE CHILDBIRTH. LIKE. WHICH HULK GUESSES JUST PROVES THE THESIS OF MACBETH RIGHT IN A WAY? UGH. NOW. THERE’S NO FABLE. WE ARE TAUGHT TO VALUE IT AS A VIRTUE. OUR HERO TALES USED TO BE CAUTIONARY. WAR. IS THAT WE TOOK THIS VERY SPECIFIC PLOTTING DEVICE. IT’S AN OUTRIGHT PERVERSION OF THE INTENTION OF DESTINY. FAMINE. PERSEUS. NARRATIVELY SPEAKING. DEATH WAS A CONSTANT (IT STILL IS NOW. THOSE FLAWS ARE UPHELD AS SACRED VIRTUES. THE IRONY OF ALL THIS IS THAT ALMOST ALL OF OUR ANCIENT DRAMAS WERE COMPLETELY GEARED AROUND THE CONCEPT OF DESTINY. ALBEIT THE KEY DIFFERENCE BEING THAT THEIR USE OF THE DEVICE WAS USED MOSTLY IN TRAGEDIES. TO GET EVERYTHING IN LIFE BESIDES DEATH. OLD-SCHOOL LIFE USED TO BE FUCKING HARD. TO BE HEROES. AND THUS EVERY MYTH WAS DIRECTLY TRYING TO ENGAGE THAT CENTRAL REALITY OF LIFE. AND USING DESTINY AS A DEVICE PREVENTS US FROM EVER FORGETTING. FREE OF CONSEQUENCE. REGARDLESS OF OUR OWN GOODNESS OR IMPORT. ACTUALLY). INDIANA JONES WORKS SO BECAUSE HE’S CONSTANTLY REMINDING YOU OF HIS ABILITY TO FAIL). THE WORST PART IS SO MANY WRITERS DON’T THINK ABOUT THE PURPOSE OF . SO MUCH SO THAT IT BECAME THE BACKBONE OF GREEK DRAMA: CHALLENGING THE FATES. PROBABLY BECAUSE NOW WE ACTIVELY REWARD A CHARACTER WHO IS TRYING TO CHEAT DEATH. WAS A MUCH MORE PERSISTENT REALITY. BUT NOW WE WHOLLY FORGET THAT PART OF THE EQUATION. SPECIFICALLY IN REGARDS TO THE INEVITABILITY OF DEATH. IT WAS A COMMENTARY ON THE NATURE OF CHOICE. BELIEVING YOU ARE INVINCIBLE IS A FORM OF HEROISM. DIED. NOW WE USE THE WITCHES FROM MACBETH TO TELL OUR HEROES ALL THE AWESOME THINGS THEY’RE GOING TO BE AND THEN JUST SIT BACK AND WATCH THEM AS THEY SUPPOSEDLY OVERCOME THEIR MINOR BULLSHIT AND FINALLY DO IT. LIFE WAS INFINITELY MORE RANDOM THAN IT IS NOW. IT MAY MAKE “STORY SENSE. FOLKS. MOST OF THE TIME YOU JUST. BUT HEY. AKA DEATH. OUR STORIES JUST HAVE THE STARS IN THEIR EYES. NOW WE USE DESTINY TO MAKE US THINK WE’RE BORN TO BE STARS. A GOOD COLD WOULD KILL YOU. WAS GOING TO HAPPEN IN OUR LIVES. HECK. PERHAPS IT’S JUST A SIGN OF OUR PROSPEROUS AGE. MEANING TO USE IT AS WE DO NOW IS A COMPLETE MISUNDERSTANDING OF THE MECHANISM AND PURPOSE OF THAT DEVICE. THERE’S NO LESSON. WHICH WAS USUALLY USED FOR THE ONE INEVITABLE CONSTANT IN LIFE (DEATH). WE JUST HAVE TO LOOSEN UP THE WAY WE DEAL WITH THESE STRUCTURAL MATTERS BECAUSE THIS WEIRD SENSE OF FORMALISM IS CRIPPLING OUR ABILITY TO FOCUS ON MORE PRODUCTIVE MECHANISMS OF STORYTELLING. THIS PART WAS GREAT: “We Will See The Origins of the Millenium Falcon.. REMOVE "DESTINY" FROM YOUR PLOTTING OF ANYTHING YOU EVER DO. STILL. No. IT’S BECAUSE YOU’RE USING IT FOR TRADITIONAL DRAMATIC STORYTELLING WITHOUT REALIZING YOU’RE USING THE DRAMATIC EQUIVALENT OF: “WHY?” / “BECAUSE!” SO JUST AVOID THE TRAP UNTIL YOU CAN LEARN TO NAVIGATE THE OTHER ARENAS OF STORY. AND THIS KIND OF DESTINY THINKING? IT’S A HOLLOW IMITATION OF STORYTELLING AND IT’S BECOME SUCH A CRUTCH.” YUP.. EVER. HAN HAD TO MAKE A CHOICE TO COME BACK TO RESCUE LUKE. NO. like Han and Lando are playing cards in Jabba's dungeon or something).. We will actually see the Falcon being built. SO HERE’S SOME ADVICE TO EVERY SCREENWRITER OUT THERE. THERE’S NO PROPULSION AND NO CHARACTER CHOICES. PEOPLE JUST DO IT BECAUSE THEY HAVE NO IDEA WHAT DRAMA IS AND THEY INJECT THESE TROPES INTO STORYTELLING BECAUSE “THAT’S WHAT MOVIES DO. KEEPING WITH HULK’S THEME OF BALANCE: ADOPTING LESS RIGID MODELS . unexpected way. HULK REALLY WANTED YOU TO UNLEARN THE STORY MODEL. not just the thrilling card game where Han won the ship from Lando (although that will be in the movie and will be included in some wacky. IT’S A NOTHING.THESE MECHANISMS.. IX) - WRAPPING IT ALL UP YOU KNOW… PERHAPS A BETTER TITLE FOR THIS CHAPTER WOULD HAVE BEEN “A BETTER WAY OF APPROACHING THE HERO’S JOURNEY” BUT AGAIN. NOT BECAUSE IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO DO WELL.. THAT’S THE ETHOS OF OUR WHOLE APPROACH TO STORYTELLING RIGHT THERE.” AGAIN. IT’S OBLIGATORY. HECK THE WIRE TURNED THE NOTION OF CHALLENGING THE FATES (READ: MODERN INSTITUTIONS) INTO THE BEST TELEVISION EVER OFFERED TO US. IT’S MISTAKING THE NOTION OF SET-UP AND DELIVERY FOR HAVING OBLIGATORY DESTINATIONS. IT’S MAKING CONNECTIONS BETWEEN POINTS OF A TIMELINE WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING ALL THE CONCEPTS WE’VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT IN THIS ENTIRE BOOK. IT’S: “HERE’S THE THING YOU WERE MEANT TO DO! GO DO IT BY THE END OF THE MOVIE AND IT WILL SEEM LIKE A JOURNEY!” BUT IT’S NOT A JOURNEY. ALMOST AS IF IT'S HIS DESTINY. A young Han - four or five years old - will be transfixed by the ship under construction. THERE WAS A RECENT ANNOUNCEMENT OF A “YOUNG HAN SOLO” MOVIE (OOF) AND BADASS DIGEST’S OWN DEVIN FARACI WROTE A GREAT LITTLE SATIRICAL PIECE ON WHY A) THIS WAS LIKELY A TERRIBLE IDEA AND B) THE WAY THESE TERRIBLE TROPES WE SEE MORE AND MORE IN MOVIES OVERTLY EXPLAIN INTERCONNECTIONS WITHOUT MAKING THEM DRAMATIC. THE BOOK HAS ONLY BEEN AROUND FOR 60 YEARS AND WE WERE TELLING AMAZING HERO STORIES WITHOUT IT JUST FINE BEFOREHAND. BUT ARE INSTEAD THERE TO HELP US CRAFT TIGHT AND DRAMATIC STORIES THAT FIT WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO DO.” IT’S LIKE CLIMBING STAIRS: EACH SCENE SHOULD LEAD TO THE NEXT AND SO ON IN A WAY THAT ADVANCES THE PLOT. WHICH USED THE HERO’S JOURNEY AS AN INFLUENCE. WHICH MEANS IT’S NO ACCIDENT THAT SO MANY OF THESE MODERN POST-STAR WARS FILMS WHO BASE THEIR STORIES ON IT COME OFF LIKE SEGMENTED NONSENSE. IT IS IMPORTANT AS A CULTURE TO CONSTANTLY EVALUATE OUR TRIED AND TRUE SYSTEMS. WHICH AGAIN. WE WERE DOING IT A LOT BETTER BECAUSE WE WEREN’T TRYING TO REDUCE IT DOWN TO THE HERO’S FORMULA. LUCAS’S STORY. I’M IN. BEYOND THAT. DID NOT SEE IT AS STRUCTURAL MODEL. BUT NOW OUR OVERRELIANCE ON IT FOR PRAGMATIC STORYTELLING HAS REACHED A KIND OF CRITICAL MASS. THIS IS WHAT HULK MEANS BY “FLOW. CHARACTER.DOES NOT GIVE US CARTE BLANCHE TO DEVOLVE OUR MOVIES INTO A STORY-LESS. CHRISTOPHER NOLAN’S THE DARK KNIGHT IS 1) ABOUT A SUPERHERO 2) ONE OF THE MOST RESPECTED AND SUCCESSFUL SUPERHERO FILMS EVER AND 3) AND IT DOESN’T EVEN REALLY TOUCH THE CAMPBELL MODEL IN ANY STRONG WAY. AND THEN IT SHOULD UNIFY INTO A SINGLE STORY WITH TIGHT. INSTEAD. BUT WE HAVE TO BE MORE PERCEPTIVE TO WHAT ACTUALLY HELPS US DO THINGS. REMEMBER.” AND EVERYONE WAS TOTALLY COOL WITH THAT. IT’S BUILT AROUND MOMENT-TO-MOMENT PROPULSION OF STORY. IT GROUNDS ITS CHARACTERIZATION IN THEME AND KEEPS THINGS GOING IN A FAR MORE INVOLVING . DIDN’T YOU EVER FIND IT CURIOUS THAT THE HERO’S JOURNEY TELLS YOU THE SPECIFIC BEATS IN A GENERAL ORDER BUT IT GIVES YOU NO IDEA HOW TO LINK THEM??? WOULDN’T THAT BE AN IMPORTANT PART OF ANY STORYTELLING MODEL? THAT’S BECAUSE THE HERO’S JOURNEY IS NOT A STORYTELLING MODEL. BAY-ESQUE MALAISE OF ACTION. EVEN THE GREAT STAR WARS. ECONOMICAL WRITING THAT IS GOOD FOR YOUR IDEAS. MEANWHILE. THIS IS NOT AN INVITATION TO DISAPPEAR UP OUR OWN ASSHOLES WITH REFLEXIVE ACADEMIC TALK. RATHER THAN AUGMENTING YOUR STORY TO FIT SOMETHING THAT IS THE EQUIVALENT OF A TWO-THOUSAND-YEAR-OLD CLIFF’S NOTES ANALYSIS. ACTUALLY. HE’S SIMPLY LIKE “THE ARK OF THE COVENANT? FUCK YEAH. AND THE POPULARIZATION OF THE HERO’S JOURNEY IS SIGNIFICANT TO OUR CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING. BUT INSTEAD A WAY TO BUILD SOMETHING THEMATICALLY RESONANT. WAS INSTEAD BUILT BY DRAMA AND PROPULSION. OR THEME. WAS REALLY SOMETHING THAT WAS MADE TO INVESTIGATE WHY WE CREATED MYTH AND NOT INTENDED AS HOW-TO INSTRUCTION. EVERY PLACE SHOULD MAKE SENSE. LINKING THINGS TOGETHER IS THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR IN CRAFTING A WELL-TOLD STORY. THERE’S NO “REFUSING THE CALL” IN INDIANA JONES AND HE’S STILL A DAMN HERO. WITH CHARACTERS HITTING OBVIOUS AND REPEATED BEATS WITH NO FLOW FOR NO OTHER REASON THAN DESTINY AND COSMIC INTERFERENCE. BEGINNING TO ENDING. ESPECIALLY. YOU ARE ACTUALLY BUTCHERING THE PURPOSE AND INTENT OF JOSEPH CAMPBELL’S INCREDIBLE ACADEMIC WORK. YEAH. THE SEQUENTIAL APPROACH THE SEQUENTIAL APPROACH IS MORE DETAILED THAN WHAT FOLLOWS.. CHANCES ARE IT WILL CREATE A RUN-ON. SO LET'S LOOK AT THEM. CAUSE AND EFFECT. IDEAS WILL BE LOST AND THE STORY WILL SIMPLY MEANDER TO PLACES WHERE IT DOESN’T BELONG. BUT YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO UNLEARN THESE TWO POPULAR STORYTELLING MODELS AND DOING SO TAKES A LOT OF WORK AND ANALYSIS.AND MODERN WAY. THIS IS A HORRIBLE WAY TO WRITE SCREENPLAYS. IF BY COMPARISON. AND IT MAY ULTIMATELY FIT TOGETHER IN A LOGICAL WAY. THIS HAPPENS SO THIS HAPPENS. HULK SEES SCRIPTS THAT WERE CLEARLY WRITTEN THIS WAY TIME AND TIME AGAIN. ETC. AND THEY'LL EACH WORK LIKE THEIR OWN LITTLE PLAYS. YOU ARE TAKING WHATEVER IDEAS YOU HAVE AND JUST PLUGGING THEM INTO THE HERO’S JOURNEY THEN HULK WOULD ARGUE YOU ARE MOST DEFINITELY DOING IT WRONG. IF YOU'VE NEVER WRITTEN ONE BEFORE. AND YET YOU SEE SO MANY INTERMEDIATE WRITERS GET CAUGHT UP IN THE GAME OF BEATS AND STRUCTURE AND CHARACTER POINTS AND ARRANGING ALL THEIR LITTLE CHUNKS THAT THEY'LL END UP WRITING THESE DISCONNECTED SCENES. AT THIS POINT HULK WOULD LIKE TO APOLOGIZE FOR THE LENGTH OF POINTS #25-#26. THE STORY IS JUST THIS SCENE AND THEN IT'S THAT SCENE. IN A WAY. PURPOSELESS STORY. SHALL WE? 27. WHERE THE STORY JUST PLAIN RUNS OUT OF STEAM WITH NO REAL SENSE OF HOW TO RESOLVE IT." . THE PROBLEM IS THAT IT WORKS IN TERMS OF MAKING YOUR OUTLINE LOOK GOOD . THE SEQUENTIAL APPROACH CAN RE-INTRODUCE THE MOST BASIC FORM OF LOGICAL WRITING: CAUSE AND EFFECT STORYTELLING. THE REWARD? YOU NOW HAVE ACCESS TO THE VAST NUMBER OF OTHER STORYTELLING MODELS THAT WILL BE FAR MORE HELPFUL IN HELPING YOU WRITE.. IT WILL SHOW A LACK OF FORETHOUGHT.. ONCE YOU'VE ALREADY HAD A GOOD DEAL OF EXPERIENCE WITH STRUCTURE AND HEAVY OUTLINING. BUT IT CAN BE PROBLEMATIC. THERE’S NOTHING MORE PROPULSIVE TO A STORY IN THE WORLD. BUT IT BASICALLY AMOUNTS TO "SIT DOWN AND START WRITING THE STORY LOGICALLY FROM POINT A TO POINT B. BUT THE VALUE OF THE SEQUENTIAL APPROACH BECOMES STARTLINGLY APPARENT LATER ON IN YOUR DEVELOPMENT.. SO. GO BACK AND FORTH. YOU STILL KEEP GOING BACK WORKING IT INTO YOUR BEATS. BUT OVER-RELYING ON THOSE METHODS ALSO HURTS THE OVERALL FLOW. AND IF YOU CAN TIE THOSE TRANSITIONS IN WITH THE EVOLUTION OF YOUR CHARACTER? THE SKY IS THE LIMIT. THEY UNEXPECTEDLY SHOWED UP IN AN NYU SCREENWRITING CLASS AND DROPPED SOME KNOWLEDGE BOMBS. BUT NEVER FORGET THAT TRANSITIONAL STORYTELLING WITH CLEAR BEATS IS THE HEART OF STRUCTURAL PROPULSION. THE AUDIENCE WILL BE RAPT WITH ATTENTION. SO HOW DO YOU COMBINE THE SEQUENTIAL APPROACH WITH A MORE RIGID FORM OF OUTLINING? THE SEQUENTIAL APPROACH IS BEST USED AS A KIND OF INTERMITTENT TOOL. THERE WAS A . C STORYTELLING AND IT WORKS. B. STILL. THE LOGICAL PROCESS OF WRITING SEQUENTIALLY CAN BE SO HELPFUL WHEN YOU FINISH A SCENE AND SAY "Well now I go here of course!" IT’S ALL ABOUT DRAMATIC TRANSITIONS. THEN JUST ALWAYS TAKE PIT STOPS TO REFOCUS. AND IN COMPARISON. TREY PARKER + MATT STONE’S "THEREFORE / BUTS" NOT "ANDS" TREY PARKER AND MATT STONE ARE PERHAPS BEST KNOWN AS THE SOUTH PARK GUYS. BUT IT’S NOT THE LETTER OF THE LAW. A FEW YEARS AGO. BUT DON'T BE AFRAID TO MOMENTARILY LOSE YOURSELF IN THE FLOW OF THE WRITING (PARTICULARLY IF IT’S THE FIRST DRAFT). NEGOTIATE WITH YOURSELF. THE AUDIENCE’S BRAIN WILL HAVE TO “RESET” FOR A MOMENT. BUT THE REALLY IMPORTANT THING IS TO REALIZE THAT STORY FLOW AND TRANSITIONS ARE ALWAYS CRITICAL TO CREATING AN ORGANIC SENSE OF PROPULSION. BECAUSE NO MATTER WHAT. YOU CAN MAKE A 3 HOUR MOVIE FEEL LIKE IT PASSES BY IN MINUTES. BUT A GOOD QUESTION REMAINS: HOW DO YOU KNOW WHICH TRANSITIONS AND BEATS ACTUALLY MAKE SENSE FOR THAT FLOW? 28. SOMETIMES YOU NEED TO INTERRUPT TO BRING UP IMPORTANT INFORMATION OR A VIABLE TANGENT. EVERY TIME YOU HAVE TO ENTER A NEW SCENE WHERE YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT’S GOING ON. Y’ALL! THAT’S WHAT CREATES PROPULSION IN A SCRIPT. AND ONCE YOU'RE DONE. IT’S A. THEY JUST DO. ACHIEVING THIS BALANCE WILL MAKE MUCH MORE SENSE). START WITH HEAVILY PLANNED ARCS. BUT NEVER BE AFRAID TO GIVE INTO WHAT THE SCENE ITSELF DICTATES MIGHT HAPPEN NEXT. SOMETIMES IT’S IMPOSSIBLE. AND WITH IT. BE SURE THAT WHERE YOU'RE GOING FITS IN WITH THE SPIRIT OF THE OUTLINE. MOST OVERTLY STRUCTURAL OUTLINES CREATE FLOW PROBLEMS. SEE WHAT REALLY WORKS. THE WHOLE PROCESS OF WRITING IS A DIFFICULT BALANCING ACT (AND ONCE HULK EXPLAINS THE NEXT FEW BEATS. AND SO WHEN YOU GIVE INFORMATION IN ONE SCENE ABOUT WHERE IT’S GOING NEXT AND THEN A TRANSITION MAKES IT CLEAR THAT IT’S HAPPENING AND THEN YOU LET THE DRAMA PLAY OUT.AND WELL-REALIZED. THE GUYS ARE ON TO SOMETHING THERE. HULK HAS NOT ONLY SPREAD THE GOSPEL OF ITS MESSAGE. And that’s a story.’ … And sometimes we will literally write it out to make sure we’re doing it. IF THE ONLY WAY TO LINE UP THE BEATS IS WITH "AND THEN" THEN YOU'RE IN TROUBLE. LOOK AT EVERY SCENE.” right? So what I’m saying is that you come up with an idea and it’s like ‘okay. We’ll have our beats and we’ll say okay ‘this happens’ but ‘then this happens’ and that affects this and that does to that and that’s why you get a show that feels okay … and there’s so many scripts we read from new writers and things that we see-” MATT: “FUCK that. BUT THIS IS EFFECTIVELY ONE OF THE MOST SUCCINCT AND HELPFUL THINGS THAT HULK HAS EVER COME ACROSS IN EXPLAINING THE PROCESS OF STRUCTURAL WRITING. what was the point of that scene?’ So we found out this rule that maybe you guys have all heard before. BODY.” OKAY… IT COMES ACROSS MUCH MORE CLEARLY IN VIDEO FORM. but it took us a long time to learn it. IT'S NO ACCIDENT THAT THE SOUTH PARK GUYS HAVE BECOME BETTER WRITERS WITH EVERY PASSING SEASON OF THE SHOW. But we can take these beats. AND SOUL. BUT USED THE CONCEPT TIME AND TIME AGAIN IN HULK’S OWN WRITING. SIMPLY PUT: "THEREFORES" AND "BUTS" CREATE THE SENSE OF PROPULSION. It should be ‘this happens’ and THEREFORE ‘this happens. Each individual scene has to work as a funny sketch. THEY HAVE ALWAYS BEEN FUNNY AND SMART.’ BUT ‘this happens’ THEREFORE ‘this happens.’ No no no. Therefore/buts give you the causation. which are basically the beats of your outline. What should happen between every beat that you’ve written down is either the word “therefore” or “but. SO FIND YOUR . THE "AND THENS" STOP THE NARRATIVE COLD. BUT AFTER A DECADE AND A HALF THEY HAVE FINALLY LEARNED TO SHAPE THEIR STORYTELLING. You don’t want to have one scene and go ‘well. BUT HERE’S THE BEST SECTION: TREY: “… [WE SAY] well this would be a funny scene if we had this. SO LOOK AT YOUR OWN STORIES. And if the words ‘and then’ belong between those beats… you’re fucked. MEANING THE SHOW HAS GONE FROM BEING FLIPPANT AND FUNNY. TO BECOMING SOMETHING DOWNRIGHT RESONANT. we see movies that do it! It’s just like ‘this happened and then this happened’ and that’s when you’re ‘the fuck I’m watching this movie for???’ That’s not a movie. IT WAS SOMETHING HULK INSTINCTUALLY UNDERSTOOD FOR A LONG TIME. IT EVEN ADDRESSES THE SINGLE MOST RELEVANT PROBLEM IN TODAY'S WRITING AND THAT IS A LACK OF NARRATIVE PURPOSE TO THE ACTION ONE IS SEEING ONSCREEN.LITTLE TWO MINUTE VIDEO OF THE HIGHLIGHTS. IT DOESN’T SEEM TO BE AN ACCIDENT THAT THE BOOK OF MORMON HAS GONE ON TO WIN EVERY AWARD IMAGINABLE AND IT IS WITHOUT A DOUBT THEIR BEST PURE STORY WORK TO DATE. IT’S A SHOW FROM A PUNK-ROCK MENTALITY THAT CAN NOW TELL STORIES FOR THE MIND. this happens’ and then ‘THIS happens. You got something pretty boring. AND THAT’S REALLY SOMETHING. BUT THIS NEWFOUND CLARITY JUST GAVE IT SUCH BETTER FOCUS. Basically. SINCE FINDING IT. AND HULK REALLY DOESN’T EVEN NEED TO EXPAND ON IT BECAUSE IT IS JUST SO FREAKING CLEAR. BUT . THEY ENTER AN UNFAMILIAR SITUATION 4. BUT INSTEAD IT IS WONDERFUL. PAY A HEAVY PRICE FOR IT 7. HE MADE IT HIS OWN. DAN HARMON'S CIRCLES THERE ARE. BUT IT DOES SOME TRULY NEAT THINGS THAT CAN BE APPLIED TO MANY OTHER FORMS OF STORYTELLING. HE TOOK WHAT HE LIKED ABOUT THE HERO JOURNEY AND AUGMENTED AND APPLIED IT TO A DIFFERENT SITUATION THAT WAS NOT ONLY BETTER FOR THE KINDS OF STORIES HE WAS TELLING. FAR MORE COMPLEX MODELS TO CREATE A SENSE OF PROPULSION. HARMON. NOT JUST THE ICONOGRAPHY AND TROPES. ADAPT TO IT 5. BUT THEY WANT SOMETHING 3. GET WHAT THEY WANT 6. WHICH IS SOMETHING THAT YOU MAY THINK SETS OFF ALARM BELLS GIVEN WHAT HULK SAID ABOUT IT EARLIER. DELVED INTO HIS STRUCTURAL APPROACH FOR WRITING THE SHOW. IT DOESN’T HAVE TO ONLY BE CAUSALITY. A CHARACTER IS IN A ZONE OF COMFORT 2. THEN RETURN TO THEIR FAMILIAR SITUATION 8. NOT ONLY GETS INTO GREAT DYNAMICS OF HUMAN NATURE. HARMON IS ACTUALLY GIVING YOU A PERFECT MODEL FOR HOW TO ACHIEVE CATHARSIS. THE SHORT VERSION OF HIS CHARACTER-CONFLICT-CIRCLES LOOK LIKE THIS: 1. HAVING CHANGED IT IS A WONDERFUL WAY TO LOOK AT STORYTELLING BECAUSE IT IS A DIRECT MODEL FOR SHOWING HOW A CHARACTER CHANGES AND LEARNS."THEREFORES" AND "BUTS” AND START RESHAPING YOUR PURPOSE! 29. OF COURSE. ISN’T THAT REALLY COOL? THE OTHER GREAT THING ABOUT THIS MODEL IS IT NOT ONLY FOSTERS GOOD CHARACTERIZATION. THAT’S RIGHT! WE’RE GOING BACK TO HULK’S CHARACTER TREES. THE FUNNY THING IS THAT HIS STRUCTURAL MODEL IS ACTUALLY VERY MUCH INSPIRED BY THE HERO’S JOURNEY. AND THAT’S EXACTLY HOW IT SHOULD WORK! NOW THIS MODEL HAS A VERY SPECIFIC PURPOSE TO THE EPISODIC-YET-SOMEWHATSERIALIZED NATURE OF TV SITCOMS. AND THAT’S BECAUSE IT INSPIRED HIS OWN METHODOLOGY. EARLIER HULK TALKED ABOUT THE VALUE OF HAVING YOUR CHARACTERS EVOLVE AND GROW. WHEREIN WE BUILT PSYCHOLOGY AND CATHARSIS. BUT INCORPORATED THE TRIGGERS OF PLOTTING AND CONFLICT. CREATOR OF COMMUNITY.” THERE WAS A RECENT WIRED ARTICLE WHERE THE INCREDIBLE MR. AND NOWHERE IS THAT MORE CLEAR THAN WITH DAN HARMON’S “CIRCLES. BASED ON THEIR WANTS AND NEEDS. SO BY APPROACHING STORY STRUCTURE FROM THIS CHARACTER-CENTRIC ANGLE. IF YOU'RE REALLY GOOD. BUT OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THIS SHOULD BE WELL-VERSED AT THIS POINT. YOU CAN GET THOSE 8 BEATS OUT IN A SINGLE BRIEF INTERACTION (TARANTINO AND THE COENS ARE THE MASTERS OF GOING THROUGH THIS FULL CYCLE IN A SINGLE SERIES OF EXCHANGES). WHICH IS PROBABLY GOOD FOR YOUR WRITING OVERALL. SO YOU CAN TAKE DAN’S CIRCLES AND FIND A WAY TO APPLY THEM TO OTHER STRUCTURAL MODELS. AN EPISODE OF TELEVISION. BUT HULK ASSURES YOU THAT YOU WILL RUN INTO PLENTY OF TIMES WHERE IT’S HARD TO ENGINEER THESE CHARACTER BEATS INTO THE PLOT THAT YOU’RE TRYING TO EXECUTE. WHEREIN CHARACTERS HAVE TO CHANGE AND YET ESTABLISH RECONCILIATION TIME AND TIME AGAIN FOR AN EPISODIC FORMAT. THE COMPLEXITY OF HARMON’S SYSTEM IS THAT IT REQUIRES A LOT OF PLOTTING BUILT OUTWARD FROM CHARACTER INSTEAD OF EVER ALLOWING FOR VICE-VERSA. PARTICULARLY REGARDING CHARACTER CATHARSIS. Y’ALL! SO VLADIMIR PROPP IS PROBABLY HULK’S FAVORITE STORY ANALYST. 8 LITTLE MOMENTS. DAN HARMON TOOK THE HERO’S JOURNEY AND FOUND A WAY TO APPLY IT TO HIS SITCOM WRITING. BUT WHEN IT DOES WORK? IT’S RESPONSIBLE FOR SOME OF THE BEST EPISODES OF TELEVISION EVER PRODUCED (IN THIS HULK’S HUMBLE OPINION). SEE. THIS IS WHERE FLEXIBILITY COMES IN. IT MAY JUST HELP YOU SOLVE A WHOLE BUNCH OF PROBLEMS IN YOUR SCRIPTS. WHICHEVER STRUCTURAL METHODS YOU END UP INCORPORATING. 8 SCENES OUTSIDE OF THAT CONTEXT. INSTEAD OF JUST ALL THE POSSIBLE ANGLES FOR THEMATIC ANALYSIS. BUT HE ALSO TOOK A LOOK AT RUSSIAN FOLK TALES AND LABELED 31 POSSIBLE FUNCTIONS. AND HOW HARD HE WORKS AT GETTING HIS STORIES TO BREAK TO THEM. . NOW. YOU SHOULD BE WORKING JUST AS HARD. BUT PERHAPS THE REAL LESSON TO TAKE FROM DAN HARMON'S CIRCLES IS HOW MUCH WORK AND THOUGHT HE PUTS INTO HIS CHARACTER ARCS.ALSO HELPS PRODUCE TRADITIONAL NARRATIVE PROPULSION AND PURPOSE TO EACH SCENE. NOTICE HOW ALL THOSE 8 BEATS CAN BE LINKED WITH “THEREFORES” AND “BUTS”? ISN’T THAT ALSO COOL? MEANING YOU NOW HAVE 8 LITTLE CHARACTERS BEATS THAT CAN BE MANIFESTED OVER A WHOLE MOVIE. ASSUMING THIS WAS A FREAKING HOW-TO FOR STORY STRUCTURE. VLADIMIR PROPPISMS! LET’S TALK ABOUT FAIRY TALES. OR EVEN. HE WAS A RUSSIAN GUY WHO DID A LOT OF RUSSIAN THINGS. HARMON TALKS A LOT ABOUT HOW DIFFICULT IT IS TO ALWAYS MAKE THE CIRCLES WORK OR COME OFF ORGANICALLY. WHICH MAY NEED TO BE A CERTAIN WAY FOR A HOST OF OTHER REASONS. MOVING ON! 30. 8 SCENES IN A NOVEL. IT SHOULD BE MENTIONED THAT ONCE AGAIN EVERYONE TOOK PROPP’S FUNCTIONS AND APPLIED THEM IN THE WRONG WAY. STILL. unwittingly helping the enemy. although not necessarily confronting the hero. tries to win confidence of victim). or intended victim questions the villain). getting the hero to give the villain something or persuading them that the villain is actually a friend and thereby gaining collaboration. TRICKERY: the villain attempts to deceive the victim to take possession of victim or victim's belongings (trickery. 3. PROPP ALWAYS SAID HE WAS TRYING TO GET TO THEIR “IRREDUCIBLE ELEMENTS. for example searching for something valuable or trying to actively capture someone. DELIVERY : the villain gains information about the victim. 5. The hero may also be introduced here. Other information can be gained. This may be the hero or some other member of the family that the hero will later need to rescue. BUT STILL. 'don't do this'). 6. BUT FOR GIVING YOU 31 IDEAS ON THE KINDS OF CONFLICTS YOU CAN CREATE! SO MUCH MORE PLOT-DYNAMIC SPECIFIC THAN THE HERO’S JOURNEY. RECONNAISSANCE: the villain makes an attempt at reconnaissance (either villain tries to find the children/jewels etc. This generally proves to be a bad move and the villain enters the story. INTERDICTION: an interdiction is addressed to the hero ('don't go there'. 2.CASE IN POINT: MODES OF DEDUCTION ARE NOT THE SAME AS MODES OF CONSTRUCTION. often being shown as an ordinary person. ABSENTATION: a member of a family leaves the security of the home environment. for example about a map or treasure location. IN FACT. villain disguised. 7. This may range from providing the villain with something (perhaps a map or magical weapon) to actively working against good people (perhaps the villain has persuaded the hero that these other people are actually bad).” WHICH IS A GREAT WAY OF PUTTING IT BECAUSE WHEN CRAFTING YOUR STORY YOU WANT IT TO BE THE OPPOSITE OF IRREDUCIBLE. COMPLICITY: victim taken in by deception. The villain now presses further. perhaps appearing in disguise. Perhaps they are just a lurking presence or perhaps they attack the family whilst the hero is away. often using the information gained in seeking to deceive the hero or victim in some way. They may also seek to meet the hero. perhaps knowing already the hero is special in some way. This division of the cohesive family injects initial tension into the storyline. 4. The hero is warned against some action (given an 'interdiction'). The villain's seeking now pays off and he or she now acquires some form of information. They may speak with a member of the family who innocently divulges information. THIS CAN BE UBER-HELPFUL NOT IN TERMS OF CREATING CUT AND PASTE DYNAMICS. “1. This may include capture of the victim. often about the hero or victim. VIOLATION OF INTERDICTION: the interdiction is violated (villain enters the tale). YOU WANT IT BE THICK AND SUMPTUOUS AND COMPLICATED AND ORGANIC. The trickery of the villain now works and the hero or victim naively acts in a way that helps the villain. . The villain (often in disguise) makes an active attempt at seeking information.. perhaps finding their family or community devastated or caught up in a state of anguish and woe. theft of magical agent. provides nightly torments).. reconciles disputants. killed while asleep. purchased. attacked etc. HERO’S REACTION: hero reacts to actions of future donor (withstands/fails the test. help offered by other characters). delivered or led to whereabouts of an object of the search. undermine the hero). for example finding a needed magical item. 13. either or both of which may appear in the story. RECEIPT OF MAGICAL AGENT: hero acquires use of a magical agent (directly transferred. expels someone. uses adversary's powers against him). 16. 14. The hero now discovers the act of villainy or lack. interrogated. 11. defeated in contest. DEPARTURE: hero leaves home. spoiling crops. captive freed). casts spell on someone. hears call for help etc. spell broken./ alternative is that victimized hero is sent away. 21. 9. This is a defining moment for the hero as this is the decision that sets the course of future actions and by which a previously ordinary person takes on the mantle of heroism. 15. causes a disappearance. eaten/drunk. for example in the hero's family or within a community. plunders in other forms. BRANDING: hero is branded (wounded/marked. STRUGGLE: hero and villain join in direct combat.8. VILLAINY OR LACK: villain causes harm/injury to family member (by abduction. . (hero is dispatched. alternatively. MEDITATION: misfortune or lack is made known. There are two options for this function. PURSUIT: hero is pursued (pursuer tries to kill. or decides upon counter-action. FIRST FUNCTION OF THE DONOR: hero is tested. for example a magical object that will save people in some way. rescuing those who are captured or otherwise defeating the villain. LIQUIDATION: initial misfortune or lack is resolved (object of search distributed. RETURN: hero returns. 19. a member of family lacks something or desires something (magical potion etc. 12. whereby something is identified as lost or something becomes desirable for some reason. substitutes child etc.. 18. eat.). receives ring or scarf). threatens forced marriage. commits murder. frees captive. located. 10. In the second option. VICTORY: villain is defeated (killed in combat. for example carrying away a victim or the desired magical object (which must be then be retrieved). GUIDANCE: hero is transferred. imprisons/detains someone. prepared. preparing the way for his/her receiving magical agent or helper (donor). slain person revived. freed from imprisonment). spontaneously appears. BEGINNING ACTION SEEKER: seeker agrees to. a sense of lack is identified. banished). 17. In the first option. 20. The hero now decides to act in a way that will resolve the lack. performs service. the villain causes some kind of harm. NOW. REMEMBER WHEN HULK TALKED ABOUT THEM WAY BACK IN 7. UNRECOGNIZED ARRIVAL: hero unrecognized. HERE REPRESENTED IN THEIR “IRREDUCIBLE ELEMENTS.). hero saved from attempt on his/her life). riddles. brand. TRANSFIGURATION: hero is given a new appearance (is made whole. LOOK AT HOW MANY OF THOSE PROPPISMS HOLD UP THE BASIC VALUE OF FABLES. THE TRUTH IS THAT WE’RE REALLY TALKING ABOUT IS AN EVEN SIMPLER VERSION OF STORYTELLING THAN THAT: FABLES. SOLUTION: task is resolved. MEANING WHAT HULK WANTS YOU TO ACTUALLY UNDERSTAND IS THE MECHANISM OF THESE STORY DEVICES. AND THUS THE EXPRESSION OF THE NOTIONS THEMSELVES. new garments etc. 31. 23. a function is negated twice. WHEN WE THINK “FAIRY TALE” WE THINK OF SOMETHING LIKE CINDERELLA. RECOGNITION: hero is recognized (by mark. EXPOSURE: false hero or villain is exposed. some of these functions are inverted. DIFFICULT TASK: difficult task proposed to the hero (trial by ordeal. WITH HANDSOME PRINCES AND DREAMS COMING TRUE. the function of a donor occurring early. 27. test of strength/endurance. UNFOUNDED CLAIMS: false hero presents unfounded claims. 28. hero hides or is hidden. handsome.1? FABLES ARE SO IMPORTANT. or thing given to him/her). 24. . RESCUE: hero is rescued from pursuit (obstacles delay pursuer. 26. Occasionally.” TO RESTATE: THIS LIST IS NOT A HOW-TO ON STORY STRUCTURE. YOU DO NOT NEED TO HAVE THESE BEATS IN YOUR STORY WHATSOEVER. PUNISHMENT: villain is punished. 29. More often. 22. as when the hero receives something whilst still at home. FOR THE VALUE OF THESE DEVICES LIES IN THE FACT THAT THEY CREATE CERTAIN DRAMATIC REACTIONS IN THE AUDIENCE AND CREATE CERTAIN MEANINGS TOWARD THE THEMES. arrives home or in another country. WEDDING: hero marries and ascends the throne (is rewarded/promoted). hero transforms unrecognizably. so that it must be repeated three times in western cultures. 25. WHAT HULK SIMPLY WANTS YOU TO DO IS LOOK AT THE KINDS OF CAUSE AND EFFECT THAT THESE ACTIONS HAVE ON THE STORY. other tasks). YOU MAY BE CURIOUS: WHY FAIRY AND FOLK TALES? WHY ARE THEY SO IMPORTANT? AFTER ALL.” ARE MEANT FOR SOMETHING ELSE ENTIRELY. 30. NOT JUST THE SURFACE DESCRIPTION. NOT IN THEIR MERE PRESENCE. IN FACT. THUS. major disasters. ADDRESS TOPICAL CONCERNS. THE TERMINOLOGY COMES FROM THE IDEA THAT SNOWFLAKE STARTS DENSE IN THE CENTER OF CONDENSATION AND CONTINUES TO CRYSTALLIZE OUTWARD FORMING NEW. BUT THAT'S DOESN'T SOLVE A LOT OF LONG-FORM STRUCTURE PROBLEMS.LOOK AT HOW MANY OF THESE STORY FUNCTIONS LINK TOGETHER OFF CAUSE AND EFFECT. LOOK AT HOW MANY FUNCTION IN TERMS OF THEREFORE / BUTS. THAT'S WHEN HULK FINDS THE SNOWFLAKE METHOD HELPFUL. OR WAS VLADIMIR PROPP THE MAIN INSPIRATION BEHIND THE SCOOBY DOO CARTOONS? … SORRY. BE PURPOSEFUL. PEOPLE WILL HAVE TROUBLE FINDING WAYS TO ENRICH THE STORY WITH DETAIL WHILE STILL REMAINING RELEVANT TO THE INITIAL OR CENTRAL CONCEIT. SO WHY CAN’T YOU DO THE SAME WITH THE 31 PROPPISMS? BE BOLD. PARTICULARLY WHEN APPROACHING LONGER STORIES LIKE SEASONLONG TV ARCS OR NOVELS. WE HAVE POINT #10'S CHARACTER TREES TO HELP US FLESH THINGS OUT. AND ENDED UP REVOLUTIONIZING THE WAY THOSE CONSTRUCTS FELT. ISN’T IT AMAZING? SO IF YOU WANT TO UPHOLD THAT SAME PURPOSE YOU SHOULD TAKE THOSE 31 MECHANISMS FROM MR. APPLY IT TO A SITUATION OUTSIDE OF GOOD AND EVIL. THE SNOWFLAKE METHOD A LOT OF TIMES. THE STORY IS DEVELOPED THE SAME WAY. SURE. 31. MAKE THEM NUANCED. OR COMPLICITY. INVERT THE GENDERS. ETC) AS THE CONFLICT METHODOLOGY OF HIS UBERMODERN TELEVISION SHOW THE WIRE. ALSO LOOKING OVER THAT LIST… IS HULK CRAZY. USE YOUR INGENUITY TO MAKE THEM APPLY TO SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. DAVID SIMON USED GREEK DRAMA (CHALLENGING THE FATES. and ending of the novel… Step 3) The above gives you a high-level view of your novel. LET’S MOVE ON. Now you need something similar for . MAKE THEM FEEL MODERN. PROPP AND USE THEM TO SUIT YOUR OWN PURPOSES.COM THAT HULK HAS TRUNCATED TO MAKE MORE PALATABLE FOR THIS BOOK: “Step 1) Take an hour and write a one-sentence summary of your novel… Step 2) Take another hour and expand that sentence to a full paragraph describing the story setup. EVERY STORY NEEDS MEDIATION. MORE DETAILED SHAPES. HERE’S AN EXCERPT FROM ADVANCEDFICTIONWRITING. you will again be expanding each paragraph from step (4) into a full page… Step 7) Take another week and expand your character descriptions into full-fledged character charts detailing everything there is to know about each character. you'll know it here and you should either add conflict or scrub the scene… Step 10) At this point.) Switch back to your word processor and begin writing a narrative description of the story. Step 8) You may or may not take a hiatus here. The final paragraph should tell how the book ends… Step 5) Take a day or two and write up a one-page description of each major character and a halfpage description of the other important characters. . take an hour and write a one-page summary sheet that tells: The character's name A one-sentence summary of the character's storyline The character's motivation (what does he/she want abstractly?) The character's goal (what does he/she want concretely?) The character's conflict (what prevents him/her from reaching this goal?) The character's epiphany (what will he/she learn. you know it now. Basically. you may have spent as much as a week. Well. At some point. If the story is broken. you should have a good idea of the large-scale structure of your novel.. how will he/she change? A one-paragraph summary of the character's storyline… Step 4) By this stage. Step 9) (Optional. and the time you invest in designing them up front will pay off ten-fold when you start writing. I don't do this step anymore. waiting for the book to sell. and you have only spent a day or two. how will this character change by the end of the novel?. The first thing to do is to take that four-page synopsis and make a list of all the scenes that you'll need to turn the story into a novel. Most importantly. These "character synopses" should tell the story from the point of view of each character. and sketch out the essential conflict of that scene. And the easiest way to make that list is . All but the last paragraph should end in a disaster. etc. but it doesn't matter. truthfully. Characters are the most important part of any novel. one for each character. For each of your major characters. If there's no conflict. just sit down and start pounding out the real first draft of the novel…” NOW IF THIS RIGOROUS METHODOLOGY SEEMS LIKE YOUR SORT OF THING THEN HULK . you have a solid story and several story-threads. with a spreadsheet…. history. you've got to actually write the novel. .. feel free to cycle back to the earlier steps and make revisions as you learn cool stuff about your characters… Step 6) By now. Take several hours and expand each sentence of your summary paragraph into a full paragraph.the storylines of each of your characters. there are a couple of things you can do to make that traumatic first draft easier. The standard stuff such as birthdate. Now take a week and expand the one-page plot synopsis of the novel to a four-page synopsis. Before you do that. So now just keep growing the story. Take each line of the spreadsheet and expand it to a multiparagraph description of the scene. rather than after investing 500 hours in a rambling first draft. goal. As always. Put in any cool lines of dialogue you think of. description. motivation. RECOMMENDS YOU DO MORE RESEARCH ON THE SNOWFLAKE METHOD. YOU BASICALLY ASK YOURSELF: "What are the scenarios in which my core idea would best manifest itself?" IT’S ALL COMING BACK TO YOU. OF COURSE. CONSTANTLY TAKING IN DEAD BODIES. HULK HAS NO IDEA IF BALL IS A SNOWFLAKE-METHOD GUY OR WHAT. THE IDEA THAT COMPELS YOU. ISN’T IT? THE CORE IDEA. B. AT THIS JUNCTURE. WHICH IS PERFECT BECAUSE WRITING IS LARGELY ABOUT PROBLEM SOLVING. THE SOURCE OF INSPIRATION. THEN WE TURNED TO THE SEQUENTIAL APPROACH TO HELP US UNDERSTAND LOGICAL A. WE THEN TURNED TO DAN HARMON TO . BECAUSE THEY TEND TO LEAD TO MORE BAD HABITS THAN GOOD WRITING. CHARACTER. WE’RE LOOKING AT THE MOST DETAILED STRUCTURAL MODEL TO DATE AND IT BRINGS US RIGHT BACK TO THE BEGINNING OF THE BOOK. FATHER DYING. IT REALLY CAN BE A FASCINATING EXERCISE IN TAKING YOUR CORE IDEA (THE ONE SENTENCE OF WHAT YOUR NOVEL IS ABOUT) AND EXTRAPOLATING IT INTO THE SINGULAR DETAILS THAT MAKE UP THE STORY. FOLKS! 32. BUT WHEN HULK LOOKS AT HIS WORK IT SURE SEEMS LIKE IT. PRACTICAL USE OF THE SNOWFLAKE METHOD. THEN WE LEARNED HOW TO UNDERSTAND THE WAY TO CONNECT THOSE A’S B’S AND C’S BY TURNING TO TREY PARKER AND MATT STONE FOR THE “THEREFORES AND BUTS” THEY USE IN TRANSITIONAL PLOTTING. THE IDEA AT THE CENTER OF THE SNOWFLAKE METHOD IS GOLD. EVEN IF YOU DON’T USE THE METHODOLOGY. ALL OF HIS CENTRAL THEMES ARE DIRECTLY EXTRAPOLATED INTO PLOTTING. DEALING WITH GRIEVING LOVED ONES. IT BRINGS US TO WHY WE WANTED TO TELL THE STORY IN THE FIRST PLACE! LET'S ALSO GO BACK TO OUR AWESOME SIX FEET UNDER EXAMPLE. AND SINGULAR DETAILS. INDIVIDUALITY AND HULK’S “MULTI-ACT FLOW STRUCTURE” OKAY… TIME TO GET SERIOUS. THE WHOLE POINT OF DOING SO IS TO HAVE AS MANY DIFFERENT WAYS OF ATTACKING DIFFERENT KINDS OF STORY PROBLEMS. THEN WE BUILT OUR OWN DEFINITION OF WHAT CONSTITUTES AN ACT. YOU MAY HAVE REALIZED THAT HULK HAS BROUGHT UP A WHOLE BUNCH OF DIFFERENT POSSIBLE STRUCTURAL TAKES. EVEN HAVING IMAGINARY CONVERSATIONS WITH THE DEAD. THE THING HULK LIKES ABOUT THIS APPROACH IS THAT IT REALLY HELPS YOU FLESH OUT THE IDEAS IN THROUGH-LINES FOR EVERY SINGLE FACET OF THE STORY CONSTRUCTION. FIRST WE UNLEARNED 3 ACT STRUCTURE AND THE HERO’S JOURNEY. ALL THIS TIME LATER. C STORYTELLING. AS IT REALLY SEEMS TO HAMMER HOME THE COOL. WE ESTABLISHED THAT ALAN BALL ASKED HIMSELF: IN WHAT SCENARIOS WOULD CONFRONTING MORTALITY BEST MANIFEST ITSELF? AND HE FOUND ANSWERS: WORKING IN A FUNERAL HOME. WE DEFINED THE END OF A TRUE ACT AS BEING A MOMENT WHERE CHARACTERS CAN NO LONGER “GO BACK. AT ITS CORE: MULTI-ACT FLOW STRUCTURE IS PREDICATED ON THE IDEA THAT EACH SCENE WORKS BEST AS SORT OF ITS OWN MINI-ACT. THE ORIGINAL NUGGET OF INSPIRATION.F. WHEN YOU’VE REALLY WORKED OUT A LOT OF THIS STUFF AND USED THE METHODOLOGY MANY TIMES OVER (AND YOU REALLY HAVE TO HAVE DONE THIS: NO CHEATING).S. AFTER ALL. THE IDEA IS THAT EACH SCENE SHOULD REALLY ACCOMPLISH SOMETHING THAT CHANGES THE NARRATIVE.S. WHILE STILL KEEPING THEM GROUNDED IN THE CONCEIT OF STORY. AND YOU TRY AND FIGURE IT OUT.A. BUT THE MORE CENTRAL IT IS TO YOUR OPERATION THE MORE PROPULSIVE AND MEANINGFUL A FILM YOU WILL CREATE. WE TURN TO HULK'S FAVORITE METHOD OF STORY-BREAKING BECAUSE… WELL. PLOT. WE THEN TURNED TO VLADIMIR PROPP TO BEST UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF STORY MECHANISMS THAT BEST EXPRESS THOSE CONFLICTS.. CHARACTER. IT DOESN’T ALWAYS HAVE TO BE A MAJOR THING. THEN YOU HIT A SNAG.” AND THIS IS A SLIGHTLY MORE LENIENT VERSION OF THAT. EITHER ON A CHARACTER. HULK KIND OF INVENTED IT. EARLIER.F. THEN YOU NEED TO EVOLVE INTO SOMETHING DIFFERENT. DOESN’T IT? WE COULD ALSO JUST GO WITH “HULK MADE IT UP!” ANYCRAP. YOU JUST WRITE. 33.UNDERSTAND HOW PLOTTING SHOULD CENTER AROUND CHARACTER MOTIVE AND CATHARSIS. BUT EACH SCENE SHOULD FEEL LIKE THE WORLD OF YOUR FILM IS NOW SOMEWHAT DIFFERENT. IT JUST SPRINGS FORTH FROM YOUR BRAIN AND EVERYTHING SEEMS GREAT. DOES IT HAVE TO BE 100% TRUE FOR EVERY SCENE? OF COURSE NOT. THE TERM “INVENTING IT” SOUNDS REALLY OFFICIAL.. M. AND THEME. WE THEN TURNED TO THE SEQUENTIAL APPROACH TO FULLY FLESH OUT OUR DETAILS. SO WHAT KIND OF METHOD BEST ACCOUNTS FOR THAT PROCESS? WHAT KIND OF METHOD BEST ACCOUNTS FOR ALL THE STRUCTURAL MODELS WE’VE SEEN SO FAR? FOR THAT.A. IT MAKES SENSE. OR THEMATIC LEVEL. BUT THEY ALL SEEM SO DIFFERENT DON’T THEY? HOW WOULD YOU EVER CONDENSE ALL THAT? ONCE YOU HIT A CERTAIN LEVEL OF EXPERTISE. COMPLETE WITH A MINI-ACT BREAK. PART 1 - BREAKING INTO CONCURRENT ARCS . THE PROCESS OF ACTUALLY WRITING IS RATHER DIFFERENT. FOR SHORT) AND HULK FINDS IT TO BE THE BEST WAY TO KEEP THINGS PROPULSIVE WHILE STILL TRYING TO JUGGLE ALL THE RESPECTIVE ARCS OF PLOT. IT’S PROBLEM SOLVING. OFTEN TIMES. IT’S CALLED “MULTI ACT FLOW STRUCTURE” (HULK WILL USE M. AS TO HOW TO EXECUTE IT? IT'S REALLY A TWO PART PROCESS. THIS IS THE VALUE OF THE ORGANIC PROCESS: UM. IT MAKES UP THE WORLD OF MELODRAMA AND SUCH. HULK SWEARS THIS IS WHAT HULK IS DOING AND IT PROBABLY ISN’T GOING TO BE VERY GOOD. HULK’S REALLY INTERESTED IN THE STATE OF HEALTH AND POLITICS IN AFRICA.. SO HULK BEGINS TO WORK WITH THESE IDEAS. YOU KNOW THIS KINDA STORY. SO. WHERE THE MAIN CHARACTER IS PRO-PRACTICALITY WITH SAFE SEX AND THE BOSS IS RELIGIOUS WITH THE OLD STANCE OF ABSTINENCE. WHEREAS THE MAIN CHARACTER SEES THAT AS LACKING COMPASSION.. PLUS. NOW… HULK COULD COME UP WITH A FUN ANALYSIS OF A MOVIE THAT WE ALL KNOW AND COULD WORK WITH. TO REBUILD HIS LIFE AFTER A PAINFUL DIVORCE. HULK EVEN SWEARS HULK WON'T REFINE THE IDEA SO YOU CAN SEE THE SPARK OF STORY GENERATION AS IT HAPPENS IN REAL-TIME. OKAY. COOL. SO THE MAIN CHARACTER AND THE BOSS WILL HAVE A DISAGREEMENT OVER THE PROPER TREATMENT OF AIDS. BUT BECAUSE HULK KEEPS TALKING ABOUT THE PROBLEMS OF REVERSE ENGINEERING. A DOCTOR HAS JOURNEYED TO A SMALL AIDS HOSPITAL IN AFRICA. AND THERE IS ALSO ANOTHER MAIN CHARACTER AND SHE IS A CO-WORKER AT THE HOSPITAL AND LOVE INTEREST TO HELP HIM REBUILD HIS LIFE.. SO NOW WE HAVE SOME THEMES HULK FINDS COMPELLING. BUT HULK DOESN'T WANT IT TO BE THIS SIMPLE GOOD / BAD DYNAMIC. NOW.. THAT SOUNDS LIKE THREE GOOD PLACES TO START. BELIEVING IT WILL ONLY GET OTHERS SICK. BUT ALSO.. LET'S REVERSE IT THEN.. PRACTICALITY IN A BUREAUCRACY. HULK WILL NOW COME UP WITH A MADE-UP STORY RIGHT HERE ON THE SPOT. AND THEY BOTH HAVE THEIR SENSE OF PRACTICALITY.. HULK REALLY WANTS TO EXPLORE THE REAL-LIFE CONCEPTS OF COMPASSION VS. LIKE. THERE'S A BOSS WHO RUNS THE HOSPITAL IN A VERY COUNTERINTUITIVE WAY THAT IS DIFFERENT FROM THE DOCTOR'S OWN EXPERIENCE. AND THIS IS NOT JUST IN TERMS OF MEDICAL LOGISTICS. HULK’S NOT JUST INTERESTED IN SOMETHING AS SIMPLE AS THOSE CHARACTER ARCHETYPES. THE BOSS WILL ALSO HAVE A VERY PRACTICAL APPROACH TO NOT HELPING FOLKS WHO CAN'T BE HELPED. THE DOCTOR HAS TO FACE HIS OWN PAST AND PAIN AND YADDA YADDA YADDA. YOU GET IT. THE BOSS WON'T TAKE CERTAIN RISKS AND WILL ONLY DO WHAT THEY CAN DO TO KEEP THE SYSTEM IN BALANCE.. BUT AT A CERTAIN POINT IN THE BRAINSTORMING PROCESS HULK WOULD SIT DOWN TO MAP OUT THE THREE CONCURRENT ARCS: -RELATIONSHIP WITH BOSS -RELATIONSHIP WITH CO-WORKER -RELATIONSHIP WITH HIMSELF / HIS PAST . SO IN THIS STORY. THEY BOTH HAVE THEIR IDEALS. ONE OF THE BEST PLACES TO START REALLY ORGANIZING YOUR STRUCTURE IS TO LOOK AT ALL THE ARCS IN YOUR STORY AND LAY THEM OUT AS INDIVIDUAL STORIES. LET'S GO IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION INSTEAD. BUT REGARD FOR HUMAN LIFE AND WHAT IS BEST FOR EVERYONE. THIS WOULD ALLOW HULK TO BE SURE THAT EACH BEAT REALLY ACCOMPLISHED SOMETHING. AS IT WOULD JUST BE A WASTE OF YOUR READING TIME. WHICH WOULD COMPRISE EACH BEAT OF THE STORY. HULK WON'T DO IT FOR ALL OF THEM.AND FOR EACH OF THESE ARCS HULK WOULD PLAN OUT A STORY THAT MAKES SENSE ON ITS OWN. THEY WOULD NOT SIMPLY BE "ELEMENTS" OF A LARGER STORY. INDEPENDENT OF ANYTHING ELSE. HULK WOULD LIST OUT EACH SCENE. BUT THEIR OWN COMPLETE STORIES. RELATIONSHIP WITH BOSS: . HULK WOULD NOT WASTE ANYTHING. BUT HERE'S A QUICK + DIRTY TREATMENT (THAT AGAIN IS UNEDITED) OF WHAT THE STORY BEATS WOULD LOOK LIKE FOR ONE OF THOSE CONCURRENT ARCS. ALSO. WHICH MEANS THE ARCS NEED TO BE INGRAINED INTO A SINGULAR STORY. NEXT.S. WE DON'T NEED ANY MORE THAN THAT.. THIS IS A MOVIE. WE HAVE WHAT WE NEED. THE STORY. BUT THE BEATS COULD FEEL NATURAL AS ANYTHING TOO. AND AS SUCH IT IS ONE THING. M. ARE THEY? NOT AT ALL. -THE DOCTOR THEN SEES THE BOSS'S PRAGMATIC UNCOMPASSIONATE STYLE IN ACTION AND IT GIVES HIM ETHICAL CONCERN -SO THEY COME INTO A CONFLICT OVER IT. SINCE THEY ARE ALL FAMILIAR STORY BEATS YOU IMPLICITLY "GET" THE BARE BONES OF THE STORY AND THE MECHANISMS. SO THE NEXT TIME THE DOCTOR DOES THIS SAME THING. AND IN FACT IT IS THE KIND OF HOSPITAL PLOT LINE WE'VE SEEN A MILLION TIMES BEFORE. PART 2 - MERGE INTO CONFLICTING ARCS . IT IS LESS SUCCESSFUL. BUT THESE ARE NOT THREE SEPARATE STORIES. -THE DOCTOR STICKS TO HIS GUNS ON A DIFFERENT CASE AND SAVES A PATIENT WHO IS A DANGER TO OTHERS. THE FIRST STEP WOULD BE THAT THESE BEATS NEED TO BE FLESHED OUT IN AN ORGANIC AND ACCURATE MANNER. -THE MAIN DOCTOR FEELS EMBOLDENED BY THIS SUCCESS.F. LIKE ANY STORY. EITHER WAY.A. THIS IS WHERE YOU DO THE SECOND PART OF THE BREAKING PROCESS: 34. -IT IS A SUCCESS AND EVERYONE ELSE IS FINE. NOTICE HULK DOES NOT DOUBLE UP ON CONFLICTS WHICH SAY THE SAME THING. THERE IS AN INCIDENT THAT SHOWS A GOOD REACTION. AND INCIDENT THAT SHOWS A BAD REACTION. -THE NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES SPIRAL. OR A TV SHOW. HULK WOULD DO THIS FOR THE OTHER ARC WITH THE COWORKER RELATIONSHIP AND THE ARC WITH HIS PAST / SELF. -HIS EMBOLDENED ATTITUDE WAS MISPLACED SO HE THEN SEES NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES OF THIS DECISION. BUT THAT’S JUST MAKES IT PERFECT FOR OUR PURPOSES. OR WHATEVER.. MUCH TO THE DISMAY OF THE BOSS. THOSE TWO CASES ALONE WILL PROPEL THE STORY WHERE IT NEEDS TO GO. WE DON'T NEED ANY MORE SCENES THAN WHAT IS CONVEYED IN THAT DESCRIPTION OF THE ARC. OR A NOVEL. AND WE CAN NOW TALK ABOUT WHERE IT CAN PROPERLY GO. -THE DECISION CAUSES OTHERS TO GET SICK. THE PROBLEMS ARE RIGHTED BY THE TWO APPRECIATING ONE OTHER AND COMING TO WORK TOGETHER. -THE DOCTOR FEELS ALIENATED. . AGAIN. -THE DOCTOR MEETS BOSS AND NOTICES THEIR DIFFERENT LIFE APPROACHES. NOW THIS EXAMPLE ISN'T THAT GOOD OR FOCUSED. SO WE HAVE ECONOMY. COMPLETE STORY. THE DOCTOR SEES HOW HIS EMBOLDENED ATTITUDE HAS UNDERMINED THE BOSS’S ABILITY TO RUN THE HOSPITAL. WE DO THIS TO BE SURE EACH ELEMENT IS A SINGULAR. COULD EASILY FEEL FORCED. AND THEN GUIDING OVER ALL OF THEM. WHICH IN TURN IMBUES HER WITH FAR TOO MUCH DESIRE TO PLEASE HIM. PARTICULARLY SHIFU'S FRUSTRATIONS. IT REALLY ALLOWS EACH CHARACTER TO COME TO A REAL CATHARSIS ABOUT THE UNDERSTANDING OF THEMSELVES AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO ONE ANOTHER. ESPECIALLY BECAUSE THE DRAGON SCROLL WAS MEANT FOR TIGRESS. THE VILLAINOUS FORMER PUPIL WHO WANTS TO UNLOCK THE POWER OF THE DRAGON SCROLL FOR HIMSELF. THE ONE WHO WAS IN LINE TO BE THE DRAGON WARRIOR AND IS NOW DEEPLY DISAPPOINTED AT NOT BEING CHOSEN. BUT BEST OF ALL THEY ARE ALL "INTERESTED PARTIES" IN THE MAIN PLOT OF OBTAINING THE DRAGON SCROLL. BUT HULK ACTUALLY WANTS TO USE A REAL-MOVIE EXAMPLE TO SHOW WHAT “CONFLICTING ARCS” ACTUALLY MEANS. WHETHER IT’S PO'S EMBRACING OF HIS OWN ZEN-LIKE ABILITIES. THERE IS TIGRESS. THEY ALL HAVE MOTIVES TO RELATE TO EACH OTHER. WHAT’S FUNNY IS THAT HULK USES THE FOLLOWING MOVIE ALL THE TIME WHEN TALKING ABOUT SCREENWRITING. THERE IS PO. SO RIGHT. HULK JUST HAS TO SAY IT: ON THE SURFACE. TIGRESS. THEY ARE ALL REAL CHARACTERS WITH THEIR OWN WANTS AND NEEDS. AND EVEN IN THE CASE OF REVEALING TAI LUNG'S OWN PRIDE AND VANITY AS HIS CORE WEAKNESS. THE MOVIE IS KUNG FU PANDA.HULK COULD JUST LAUNCH RIGHT INTO THE EXAMPLE WE JUST USED. 5 DIFFERENT SETS OF RELATIONSHIPS. KUNG FU PANDA IS A SOMEWHAT FUNNY MOVIE WITH SOME REALLY GOOD KUNG FU ANIMATION… BUT IN TERMS OF THE BASIC . THEY ARE NOT CHARACTERS SIMPLY MADE TO BE FOILS FOR EACH OTHER. AND ALL THREE ARE LINKED TO MASTER SHIFU WHO FAILED IN TRAINING TAI LUNG BECAUSE HE LOVED HIM TOO MUCH AND GAVE INTO ALL OF TAI LUNG'S INDULGENT BEHAVIORS. THE DIMWITTED PANDA CHOSEN TO BE THE DRAGON WARRIOR BY MASTER OOGWAY AND MEANT TO UNLOCK THE POWER OF THE DRAGON SCROLL. MEANING THEY ALL HAVE REAL STAKES IN THE STORY AND ACTION. THE FILM DOES NOT WASTE ANY OF THESE GREAT DYNAMICS EITHER. THERE IS TAI LUNG. FROM WHOM HE IS DETACHED. THE MOVIE COMES TOGETHER FOR EVERY CHARACTER ARC AND EVERY RELATIONSHIP. SHIFU'S REALIZATION OF HIS BLINDING PREJUDGMENT OF PO. SHIFU WAS THEN FAR TOO HARD ON HIS NEXT PUPIL. A TASK HE DOES NOT WANT OR UNDERSTAND. THE THING HULK LOVES ABOUT THE FILM IS HOW IT BALANCES THE RELATIONSHIPS AND PLOT MECHANICS TO KEEP THEM ALL VERY UNIFIED. TIGRESS'S WILL TO ACCEPT PO AS DRAGON WARRIOR. 5 MAIN CHARACTERS. TO CORRECT HIS MISTAKES. ALL IN A SINGULAR NARRATIVE MOMENT. AND THEN SHIFU IS FACED WITH TRAINING THE IDIOTIC BUT WELL-MEANING PO. THE ONE WHO CHOSE PO AS DRAGON WARRIOR AND GUIDES ALL FIVE OF THESE CHARACTERS WITH A QUIET SENSE OF ZEN AND DESTINY. IN A SINGULAR MOMENT OF CONVERGING PLOT. WHEN THE DRAGON SCROLL IS UNLOCKED. REALLY? YES. IS MASTER OOGWAY. AND BOY IT GETS THEM SO. NOT BECAUSE IT'S A STUNNING EXAMPLE OF INNOVATION AND LYRICAL PROSE. BUT BECAUSE IT ONLY TRIES TO DO THE MOST BASIC THINGS RIGHT…. THEY ALL HAVE REASONS TO DISLIKE EACH OTHER AND PROVIDE CONFLICT. IT’S A SPECTACULAR LEARNING TOOL! SO NOW THAT WE’VE ESTABLISHED A GREAT EXAMPLE OF WHAT “MERGING INTO CONFLICTING ARCS” ACTUALLY MEANS LET’S RETURN TO HULK'S SILLY AFRICAN DOCTOR MOVIE THAT WE JUST MADE UP AND IS NOWHERE NEAR AS GOOD. SO GO AND WATCH IT AGAIN WITH ALL THOSE THINGS MIND! CONSTANTLY BE AWARE OF THE RELATIONSHIPS AND HOW THE WANTS AND NEEDS OF EACH CHARACTER ADJUST WITH EVERY TURN OF PLOT. WE NEED STAKES AND DIFFERENT WANTS ALL CENTERING AROUND THE CENTRAL SETTING AND NARRATIVE.. IT'S JUST TOO DAMN MANIPULATIVE." EVEN THOUGH IT PROBABLY WON'T BE A TANGIBLE OBJECT AND INSTEAD SOME CONCEPT OR THEME THAT IS FAR MORE ETHEREAL. IT WOULD PROVIDE THE AUDIENCE WITH EMPATHY FOR THE OTHER MAIN CHARACTERS AND HATE FOR THIS JERK-FACE. THAT'S RIGHT. THAT WOULD BE HALF-ASSED AND ULTIMATELY MAKE THINGS STILL FEEL DISCONNECTED. INHUMANE IDEA OF HOW THE HOSPITAL SHOULD BE RUN. THE INCLUSION OF THIS CHARACTER WOULD BE PRODUCTIVE. WE WANT IT TO CONVERGE. WE DON'T WANT IT FEEL LIKE THREE SEPARATE MOVIES. THEY WERE A ROUGH DRAFT TO HELP US BE SURE WE DIDN'T SKIRT ANYONE'S RELATIONSHIPS. WE DON'T JUST AUGMENT WHAT IS ALREADY THERE TO MAKE IT WORK. THEY COULD BE ANOTHER CO-WORKER IN THE HOSPITAL. NOW IS THE TIME TO COMPLETELY ASSIMILATE THEM TOGETHER BY STARTING OVER. . HULK KNOWS THIS MELODRAMATIC . IT WOULD BASICALLY SET UP THE DEFAULT ROOTING SCENARIOS WE WANT IN THE FILM. WE NEED INTERESTED PARTIES. WE WANT TO GO ALL KUNG FU PANDA ON THIS SHIT.MECHANICS OF HOW THIS FILM INTEGRATES PLOTTING AND CHARACTER… IT’S FUCKING PERFECT. ONE THAT WOULD SURELY SINK THE HOSPITAL’S DIRECTION. WE NEED TO START OVER. FOR INSTANCE. OFTEN AT ONCE. THEY COULD CREATE A LOVE TRIANGLE AND HAVE A RADICALLY DIFFERENT. THE TAI LUNG EXAMPLE ABOVE MADE HULK THINK ABOUT ADDING ANOTHER CHARACTER TO THE MIX WHO WOULD COMPLICATE THE WHOLE THING AND ADD ANOTHER LAYER OF CONFLICT. NOTICE THE WAY EVERYTHING IS IN CONFLICT WITH EACH OTHER. WHICH MEANS ALL THOSE ARCS WE JUST MADE IN POINT #33? THEY DON'T MATTER. IT WOULD BE TOTALLY EFFECTIVE AND WORTHWHILE. YOU HEAR THAT? PERFECT. WE NEED TO MAKE IT ONE STORY. SO WE ESSENTIALLY "START OVER" WITH THE MULTIPLE ARCS. WE NEED TO FIND OUR UNIFYING CONCEPT OF A "DRAGON SCROLL. WE NEED TO CONVERGE THE RELATIONSHIPS. FOR ONE.. IT WOULD MAKE FOR A CLEAR FOIL IN THE SCENARIO. IT IS ALSO NOT THE KIND OF HUMAN STORY HULK’S INTERESTED IN TELLING. IT IS THE MERGING OF CONFLICTING ARCS. BUT HERE’S WHERE IT . THE PLOT. IT WOULD HELP MAKE HER TEXTURED AND REAL. WITH ALL ITS CAPACITY FOR MELODRAMA AND BY TOTAL ADMISSION A SOMEWHAT GREY’S ANATOMY-LIKE PLOT. WE WOULD GET THE SAME CONFLICT THE VILLAIN WOULD HAVE PROVIDED. PRACTICALITY. BUT INSTEAD WE SHOULD GIVE HER A CONTENTION AND DIFFERING VIEW POINT ON WHAT DIRECTION THE HOSPITAL SHOULD GO IN. BUT IN THIS VERSION HER HUMANITY WOULD MAKE HER VIEW SEEM MORE HUMAN. REALLY MAKES MORE SENSE IF THE MAIN CHARACTER WAS FEMALE. PRACTICALITY. YOU MAY EVEN REALIZE THAT THIS STORY. IT WOULD MAKE HER RELEVANT TO THE STORY AND NOT JUST RELEVANT TO THE MAIN DOCTOR’S CATHARSIS. AND GIVE IT TO A NON-EVIL CHARACTER. BUT ALSO THE MAIN THEME OF IDEALISM VS. FOR INSTANCE. HAVE RESOURCES THAT COULD HELP. AND WELL-OBSERVED. DOING THIS WILL PROVIDE STAKES AND CONFLICT. HULK’S VERY INTERESTED IN THE POLITICS OF AFRICA AS WELL.. HULK IS STOPPING FOR A MOMENT TO ASK QUESTIONS OF THE STATE OF THE STORY. IT WOULD MAKE FOR A STORY IN WHICH ALL 3 MAIN CHARACTERS HAD SIGNIFICANT INTEREST IN THE DIRECTION OF THE HOSPITAL (I. DESPITE THEIR ATROCITIES. RIGHT? HULK TOTALLY AGREES. SADLY. AND IT IS HOW ONE WRITES ONE SINGULAR STORY. BOTH THE BOSS AND THE MAIN CHARACTER SHOULD WANT TO STICK TO THE HOSPITAL'S CRUCIAL INDEPENDENCE. WHICH HELPS US AUTOMATICALLY EMPATHIZE WITH EVERYONE WITHIN THE HOSPITAL'S TEAM.. IT WOULD THEN MAKE SENSE TO TAKE SOME OF THOSE SAME 3RD PARTY CLASHING MOTIVES. BUT AGAIN. AND THAT MEANS NO ABJECT VILLAINS. PLUS BY ADDING THIS ARMY/DESPOT CHARACTER WE WOULD THEN HAVE AN OUTSIDE FORCE. NONE OF THIS WOULD BE SO CUT AND DRIED BY THE END. BUT HULK'S PARTICULAR INCLINATION WOULD BE TO MAKE THIS SCRIPT MORE QUIET. SO MAYBE THE 3RD CHARACTER SHOULD WANT TO REACH OUT TO THE LOCAL ARMY OR DESPOT WHO." NEITHER OF THESE OPTIONS MAKES A GOOD FIRST INCLINATION. WHICH IS A DIRECT COMMENTARY ON U.STORY LIKELY CAN'T BE TURNED INTO HIGH ART OR ANYTHING. BUT GUESS WHAT? HULK'S AFRICAN DOCTOR MOVIE IS STILL NOT DONE TALKING ABOUT THE TREATMENT OF WOMEN IN FILM. BUT SINCE WE STILL WANT THE SENSE OF CONFLICT AND DRAMA THAT THE VILLAIN PROVIDES. IT WOULD GIVE ALL THREE CHARACTERS DIFFERENT RELATIONSHIPS WITH ONE ANOTHER.. LIKE… HOW ABOUT THE LOVE INTEREST COWORKER? THIS WOULD BE GOOD BECAUSE BEFORE THIS HULK HADN'T REALLY A STRONG IDEA OF THE CHARACTER'S FAULTS. THEY WOULD ALL COME TO UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER’S' VIEW OF IDEALISM VS. BUT WHAT COULD THIS THIRD DIRECTION FOR THE HOSPITAL ACTUALLY BE? WELL. SHE WAS JUST ONE OF THOSE FOILS WHO COULD MAKE THE DOCTOR REALIZE HE NEEDS LOVE OR SOMETHING STUPID LIKE THAT (THUS VIOLATING HULK’S RULE ABOUT NOT WRITING WOMEN IN THE CONTEXT OF MEN).S. NUANCED.E.. THAT'S EVEN A GOOD SELL FOR THIS MOVIE. INVOLVEMENT IN AFRICAN POLITICS). YOU'LL NOTICE HULK IMMEDIATELY WENT TO THE "DEFAULT MALE PROTAGONIST" AND ALSO THE DEFAULT "FEMALE SUPPORT FIGURE. THE EFFECTS AREN'T THAT BIG A DEAL. HULK WANTS YOU TO THINK ABOUT THESE KINDS OF INTERPRETATIVE MATTERS AND THEMATIC EFFECTS CONSTANTLY. IT WOULD BE A MALE DOCTOR IN TOUCH WITH HIS EMOTIONS AND A SIMPLE RELATABLE STORY. TRULY HAS THE ABILITY TO BE AUGMENTED. THEY WILL EITHER BE PLAYED BY AN ACTOR OR AN ACTRESS SO THE AUDIENCE WILL BE ABLE TO TELL WHAT SEX THEY ARE. . BUT IT OFTEN DOESN'T MATTER IN THE WAY YOU THINK IT DOES. IT DOESN’T SAY YOUR CHARACTER HAS TO BE LIKE THIS.GETS REFLEXIVE! BECAUSE THE TONE OF THE STORY COULD FEEL SO MUCH LIKE FODDER FOR A KIND OF EXPLOITATIVE FEMALE STORY (SOMETHING ALMOST LIFETIME-ESQUE). GENDER MATTERS. DOING SO WILL TOTALLY INFORM YOUR STORIES AND IMPLICATIONS IN THE BEST POSSIBLE WAY.” SO DON'T WORRY SO MUCH ABOUT WRITING THEM AS A TYPIFIED GENDER. IT’S NOT ABOUT HAVING YOUR CHARACTERS AVOID ANYTHING HAPHAZARD. HULK COULD ALSO TRY TO PUSH IT IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION AND EMBRACE AN ATRADITIONAL TONAL APPROACH. SO THAT THE FEMALE WAS THE PROTAGONIST. IT DOES NOT HOLD YOU TO RIGID IDEALS OF DOING CERTAIN THINGS BY CERTAIN PAGES. BUT EVEN AS HULK ESCHEWS GENDER LINES AND ESPOUSES ON THE PRINCIPALS OF MELODRAMA HERE. THE IMPORTANT THING HULK WANTS YOU TAKE FROM MULTI-ACT FLOW STRUCTURE IS THAT IT REALLY. STILL. THERE ARE WAYS THAT WHAT HAPPENS COULD PLAY AS POSITIVE AND WAYS IT COULD PLAY NEGATIVE. JUST LIKE HOW HULK WOULD EASILY BE OPEN TO SWITCHING BACK THE SEXES OF THE TWO COWORKERS. DO YOU KNOW WHY? BECAUSE THEY'RE PEOPLE. HULK WOULDN'T WORRY ABOUT DOING THAT IN THE SLIGHTEST. BUT ALL FOR A VERY SPECIFIC EFFECT OF THEMATIC GENDER COMMENTARY. NOT GENDERS. YOU DON'T HAVE TO WRITE IT TO TELL THEM. AGAIN. BECAUSE IN THE END. THIS IS WHAT HULK MEANS WHEN TALKING ABOUT THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE AUTHOR AND TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR WHAT YOUR FILMS SAY. IT COULD BE A CASE WHERE HULK WOULD GO THE OPPOSITE OF HIS INTUITION FOR THE MAIN CHARACTER'S GENDER. BECAUSE IT IS CONCERNED WITH FUNCTIONALITY AND CONFLICTING PURPOSE. HULK WOULDN'T WANT IT TO BE AIMED AT AN AUDIENCE BUT SOMETHING AIMED AT EVERYONE. HULK REALLY HAS TO THINK CAREFULLY ABOUT WHAT HULK WANTS TO SAY ABOUT GENDER IN THIS SCENARIO AND IT’S ALTERING HULK’S ENTIRE SENSE OF PLOT AND CHARACTER. AND WITH THAT AWARENESS YOU HAVE ROOM TO MAKE A MILLION DECISIONS. AND WRITING THEM AS PEOPLE MAKES FOR BETTER CHARACTERIZATION. YOU CAN SWITCH GENDERS IN SCRIPTS ALL THE TIME AND UNLESS YOU'RE MAKING PENIS AND VAGINA JOKES OR SOMETHING (WHICH IS SOMETHING HULK WOULD TOTALLY DO). IT’S ABOUT AWARENESS. OR THEY HAVE TO DO THAT. IT’S NOT ABOUT UPHOLDING THE PARAGON OF GENDER IDENTITIES. IT DOESN’T MATTER WHEN IT COMES TO WHO SHOULD BE DOING WHAT OR WHO WOULD REACH OUT TO THE DICTATOR OR HOW “MEN ARE LIKE THIS AND WOMEN ARE LIKE THAT. TO BE FAIR. AND WHEN YOU UNDERSTAND THE MECHANISMS? WHEN YOU UNDERSTAND HOW MYSTERY WORKS? THEN YOU CAN USE IT ANY WAY YOU SEE FIT. EVERY ONE OF THEM WORKS WITH A CERTAIN SET OF EXPECTATIONS AND CATHARSIS. BUT DOES THAT MAKE YOU A GREAT COOK? DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS? WOULD YOU UNDERSTAND THAT COOKING IS ESSENTIALLY DEHYDRATION? OR WHY THE SEARING OF MEAT IS IMPORTANT TO TASTE? WOULD YOU BE ABLE TO APPLY THOSE BASIC CONCEPTS TO OTHER DISHES? WOULD YOU BE ABLE TO MAKE SUBSTITUTIONS TO THE DISH IF YOU NEEDED TO? NOPE! AND THAT’S EXACTLY WHY UNDERSTANDING WHAT’S REALLY PROPELLING THINGS IS THE KEY TO INNOVATION. AND PART OF BEING ABLE TO WRITE ANY KIND OF STORY MEANS YOU SHOULD KNOW HOW TO WRITE EVERY KIND OF STORY. THINK OF IT LIKE COOKING. IT’S TRUE OF EVERY . NOT SO THEY CAN APE ALL THE “CORRECT” BEATS. CONFLICT. CHARACTER. THERE IS SOME MISGUIDED BELIEF THAT DOING THIS WILL CREATE REGURGITATED STORIES. ALL HULK WANTS IS FOR THEM TO PICK UP ANY DAMN BOOK ON THE SUBJECT AND LEARN THE CONVENTIONS OF NOIR OR MYSTERY OR DETECTIVE WORK OR WHATEVER THE HECK THEY'RE WRITING. IT’S TRUE OF EVERY SCIENTIFIC ARENA. HULK COULD GIVE YOU A REALLY TRICKY RECIPE AND YOU COULD PRACTICE IT 50 TIMES UNTIL YOU GOT IT PERFECT AND IT WOULD TOTALLY SEEM LIKE YOU ARE A GREAT COOK. PROPULSION. DRAMA. EVERY KIND OF STORY IS DIFFERENT. AND AUDIENCE INVESTMENT. LEARN YOUR GENRE CONVENTIONS! DO YOU REALIZE HOW MANY MYSTERIES AND PROCEDURALS HULK READS WHERE IT IS COMPLETELY CLEAR THAT THE AUTHOR HAS NEVER ACTUALLY STUDIED MYSTERIES? AS IN THEY DON’T SEEM TO UNDERSTAND WHAT PROPELS A MYSTERY AND MAKES IT WORK? AND ARE POSSIBLY / TOTALLY JUST COPYING WHAT THEY SEE ON TV? IT IS HONESTLY ABOUT HALF THE TIME. AND GIVES YOU THE FLEXIBILITY TO CHANGE ON THE FLY DEPENDING ON YOUR PURPOSE AND INTENT. JUST TO HAVE A LITTLE MORE FUNCTIONALITY. BUT IF YOU KEEP YOUR HEAD ON YOUR SHOULDERS THIS SOOOOOOOO WILL NOT BE TRUE. AND FORGIVE THE ROUGH TRANSITION HERE. MULTI-ACT FLOW STRUCTURE GIVES YOU THE TOOLS YOU NEED TO DO WHAT YOU WANT TO DO. THAT’S EXACTLY HOW WE GOT IN THE HERO JOURNEY MESS. WHAT STUDYING THE GENRE WILL ALLOW YOU TO DO IS UNDERSTAND THE MECHANISMS THAT PROPEL MYSTERY OR INTRIGUE OR WHATEVER KIND OF MOOD EACH GENRE IS INTENDING TO CREATE. AND THEME AND MAKES YOU BREAK A STORY IN A WAY THAT VALUES ECONOMY. BUT THAT'S WHY YOU REALLY SHOULD: 35.IT TAKES A LOOK AT THE WHOLE OF STORYTELLING AND FOCUSES ON THE MAIN FIVE TENETS: PURPOSE. HULK DOESN’T MEAN TO TAKE A CHEAP SHOT AT COWBOYS AND ALIENS. IT ALWAYS INFORMS A CHARACTER’S DECISIONS OR A CHANGE IN THE PLOT. BUT UNLESS IT UNDERSTANDS THE PURPOSE IT GOES NOWHERE. AN ARTIST LIKE DAVID LYNCH IS ABLE TO CREATE THE MOST INTERESTING. YOU INSTINCTUALLY UNDERSTAND IT. WHERE HE TAKES ALL THESE CINEMATIC WORLDS AND USES THEM TO CONSTRUCT SOMETHING VIBRANT AND ORIGINAL. BUT USING THE PURPOSE. QUENTIN TARANTINO IS THE CLEAR MASTER OF THIS. BUT MECHANISMS. THEN IT TOOK THOSE TROPES AND ASSEMBLED THEM IN A WAY THAT DIDN’T UNDERSTAND HOW THEY WOULD RELATE TOGETHER ON THE PLOTTING LEVEL. YOU ALREADY HAVE A LIFETIME’S WORTH OF MOVIES YOU’VE WATCHED. BUT INSTEAD OF UNDERSTANDING THE FUNCTION OF THE GENRE CONVENTIONS.ART. WHICH MIGHT SEEM ODD. MEANWHILE. BUT INSTEAD OF COPYING THE ICONOGRAPHY. THAT’S THE EXACT REASON THERE ARE SO MANY BAD PROCEDURALS OUT THERE IN SCRIPT LAND. GIVEN THAT IT WAS MADE BY A BUNCH OF SMART PEOPLE WHO APPARENTLY WATCHED A LOT OF WESTERNS AS RESEARCH (AND YOU CAN SEE ALL THE REFERENCES ON THE SCREEN). THEY INSTEAD JUST APED TROPES AND ICONOGRAPHY. WITH CINEMA. HECK. NOTICE HULK DIDN’T SAY “STYLE” EITHER. VIVID. YOU REALLY SHOULD ASK YOURSELF A DIFFERENT SET OF QUESTIONS: HOW IS THIS AFFECTING ME? WHY IS IT WORKING? WHAT IS THIS PLOT SAYING? WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR ME? WHAT AM I GETTING OUT OF THIS? IF YOU WRITING A WESTERN. THERE’S A WAY THE PLOTTING JUST WORKS. BUT WHAT ARE ALL THE PROCEDURAL CONVENTIONS? WHAT ARE ALL THE CONVENTIONS OF MYSTERY? THE TRUTH IS THAT TO EVEN BEGIN TRYING TO DISCUSS ALL THE RULES OF GENRE CONVENTIONS WOULD ENTAIL WRITING A GIANT BOOK ABOUT EACH GENRE SEPARATELY. WHICH DOESN’T MEAN THAT IT’S AN INSURMOUNTABLE AMOUNT OF KNOWLEDGE FOR YOU TO ACQUIRE. NOR THE EFFECT ON THE AUDIENCE! FOR INSTANCE. HULK CAN SPOT A GENRE XEROX INSTANTLY. BUT IT’S ALSO THE REASON THAT GOOD PROCEDURALS ARE SO MUCH FUN. IT’S ALWAYS ABOUT THE EFFECT ON THE VIEWER. DANIEL CRAIG’S CHARACTER IS CLEARLY INFLUENCED BY “THE MAN . IT MAY SOUND LIKE THE GENRE AT HAND. AND ORIGINAL MOVIES ON THE PLANET BECAUSE HE UNDERSTANDS GENRE AND CAN APPLY GENRE MECHANISMS AT A MOMENT’S NOTICE TO GET AN IMMEDIATE VISCERAL EFFECT ON THE VIEWER. LOOK AT THE FILMS OF EDGAR WRIGHT. DAMMIT. UNDERSTANDING GENRES ALLOWS YOU PLAY WITH THEM IN A WAY THAT WILL HELP YOU CREATE NEW MEANINGS AND WORLDS. BUT IT REALLY DIDN'T SEEM LIKE IT KNEW THE FIRST THING ABOUT HOW THE GENRE ACTUALLY WORKED ON A DRAMATIC LEVEL. IT SHOULD SEEM LIKE YOU UNDERSTAND THE EFFECT OF WESTERNS. WHICH ARE OFTEN LAUDED FOR THE WAY THEY WILL SUDDENLY BECOME “DIFFERENT MOVIES” AT A MOMENT’S NOTICE AND YOU’LL SEE THAT HE’S NOT JUST USING THE STYLE OF THOSE GENRES. IT MAY LOOK LIKE THE GENRE AT HAND. EACH SCENE TRANSITIONS POORLY. THEN HE’S TREATED TO A SCOUNDREL’S EVOLUTION AND IS SUDDENLY JUST A DECENT GUY FOR REASONS THAT DON’T EXPRESSLY WORK. THE CONVENTION ALLOWED THE MAN WITH NO NAME TO ROLL INTO TOWN AS A DISCONNECTED ENTITY AND THEN THE PLOT WOULD CONNECT HIM. THERE’S NO EMPATHY. WORSE. HIS HISTORY DIDN’T MATTER. EVEN WITH EVERY OTHER CHARACTER IN THE FILM. USUALLY BASED ON MORALITY AND ETHOS. AND BY GROUNDING THE FILM IN THAT CHARACTER THEY WROTE ONE OF THE LEAST EFFECTIVE STORYLINES EVER WRITTEN. THE ENTIRE MOVIE IS ONE BIG “AND THEN!” THE ENTIRE MOVIE IS HELL-BENT ON USING REVEALS AND NOT DRAMA. THEY INADVERTENTLY CREATED ONE OF THE MOST DETACHED CHARACTERS EVER WRITTEN.WITH NO NAME” ARCHETYPE THAT MADE CLINT EASTWOOD FAMOUS. MOSTLY BECAUSE THE WAY FORD EVENTUALLY CAME AROUND WAS NOT FIT FOR WHO THE CHARACTER WAS IN THE BEGINNING. THEN WHEN THE ALIENS SHOW UP HE JUST INSTANTLY STARTS ACTING LIKE AN ANTI-HERO. IT HAD NO IDEA HOW TO ACTUALLY DO THAT. BY COMBINING THE MAN WITH NO NAME WITH THE MAN WITH NO MEMORY AND THEN ALSO CHARACTERIZING HIM AS A SILENT. UNSTOPPABLE BADASS WITH NO AGENCY AND WHOSE CORE DETAILS (THAT WOULD MAKE YOU EMPATHIZE WITH HIM) DON’T COME AROUND UNTIL TWO-THIRDS OF THE WAY THROUGH THE MOVIE. REMEMBER EARLIER WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT HAN SOLO’S GREAT REDEEMING MOMENT AT THE END OF STAR WARS? IT WAS ABOUT THE WAY THAT MOMENT WAS SET UP AND USED FOR PERFECT DRAMATIC PURPOSE… AND THIS FILM DIDN’T KNOW THE PURPOSE. BUT THEY MASH THEM TOGETHER INEFFECTIVELY AND WITHOUT THE NEEDED TRANSITIONS. AND THERE WEREN’T SIGNIFICANT ENOUGH EVENTS TO MAKE HIM CHANGE. SADLY. IT KNEW HOW TO MERGE ALL THOSE ARCS INTO A CONFLICTING SINGULARITY. BUT COWBOYS AND ALIENS TOOK DANIEL CRAIG’S CHARACTER HISTORY AND TURNED IT INTO THE BIG DRIVING MYSTERY AT THE CENTER OF THE PLOT. THEY KNOW ALL THE TROPES HE’S SUPPOSED TO BE. EVERYONE STARTED CALLING IT CRAIG’S WORST PERFORMANCE. THAT CHARACTER HAD NO PAST AND WAS A TOTAL MYSTERY. THERE’S NOTHING TO FOLLOW. THE ENTIRE FILM EVEN MISUNDERSTANDS THE PURPOSE OF STORYTELLING. IN COWBOYS AND ALIENS? EVERY PLOT IS EFFECTIVELY ITS OWN . WE DON’T UNDERSTAND ANYTHING UNTIL LATER. IT WAS LIKE KUNG FU PANDA. IT KNEW IT WANTED TO USE THE STAGECOACH MODEL OF GIVING SECONDARY CHARACTERS A LOT OF BACKGROUND AND SCREEN-TIME… BUT THE THING ABOUT STAGECOACH IS ALL THE ACTION WAS CENTRALIZED TOGETHER INTO THE SAME ONGOING PLOT OF THEIR JOURNEY. WE’RE JUST WATCHING. BUT HE HAS NO ACTUAL MEMORY… WHICH MEANS HE’S JUST WANDERING AROUND DOING STUFF AS MORE STUFF HAPPENS. HE’S ESSENTIALLY AN INVESTIGATOR. AT FIRST. BUT HERE’S THE THING… THAT’S NOT WHAT THE FILMS WERE ABOUT.TAKE HARRISON FORD’S CHARACTER. HE’S THE NASTY VILLAIN. BUT OF COURSE IT WAS HIS WORST PERFORMANCE! HE HAD ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO AND WAS GIVEN NO PERSONALITY! ALL THE LESSONS WE’VE TALKED ABOUT APPLY: THE FILM HAS NO AGENCY. WELL. WHERE EVERYONE’S ACTION OR INACTION WAS CONTRIBUTING TO THE MAIN PLOT. ALL GENRES AND FILMS USE SIMILAR CAUSE + EFFECT MODELS TO ACHIEVE SOME FORM OF ANTICIPATION AND RELEASE. IT’S JUST SUCH A GREAT LEARNING EXAMPLE OF A FILM THAT DID ALL ITS RESEARCH. THERE’S A REASON A LOT OF HORROR FILMMAKERS ARE SUSPICIOUS WHEN AN “OUTSIDER” FILMMAKER TRIES THEIR HAND AT THE GENRE AND SO OFTEN IT’S BECAUSE THEY DON’T DO IT ALL THAT WELL. THE FILM'S SUCCESS IS IN TRICKING THE AUDIENCE'S BRAIN. BUT BECAUSE THEY EACH HAVE A PSYCHOLOGY TO HOW THEY WORK. MOST OF THE TIME IT IS ABOUT THE PSYCHOLOGY OF RELEASE. HAD SMART PEOPLE AND GOOD ACTORS BEHIND IT. THE OUTSIDER MAY LIKE THE EFFECT OF HORROR. OR IF YOU LOOK AT ACTION FILMS YOU WILL NOTICE THAT CAUSE AND EFFECT NEEDS TO MANIFEST ITSELF BY CREATING TENSION FOLLOWED BY A MOMENT OF ELATION AND IMPACT (ARE THEY GOING TO DO IT?!?! YES!! THEY DID IT!!!) EVEN THOUGH YOU KNOW THAT IN MOST ACTION FILMS. HULK’S LOOKIN' AT YOU. DOES THE AUDIENCE WANT THIS PARTICULAR CHARACTER TO DIE? OR NOT WANT THIS PARTICULAR CHARACTER TO DIE? AND GO FROM THERE. WHILE HULK ISN’T A DIEHARD FAN OF THE GENRE OR ANYTHING. THE TWO PSYCHOLOGIES COMPLETELY INFORM HOW ONE SHOULD WRITE AND STAGE THE ACTION OF THE HORROR IN ANY GIVEN MOMENT. DEPENDING ON THE TONE AND RHYTHM. THEY UNDERSTAND HOW TO UNNERVE AND BUILD DISTRUST. THEY PLAY RIGHT INTO YOUR VISCERAL EXPERIENCE AND THEY DO SO WITH AN IMPECCABLE SENSE OF CRAFT. WHEN YOU ARE EXCITED FOR THE KILL. FOR EXAMPLE. . NONE OF IT EVER SEEMS TO AFFECT ANYTHING ELSE AND BARELY EVEN INTERSECTS! SORRY. KNEW ITS ICONOGRAPHY. BUT THERE'S AN ENTIRE RHYTHM TO HORROR FILMS AND YOU'D BE SHOCKED HOW OFTEN THE OUTSIDERS MISUSE AND ABUSE IT… OR DON’T EVEN UNDERSTAND IT. YOU HAVE TO ASK THE QUESTION. THAT’S MECHANICS. AND THAT’S EVERYTHING. THAT DOESN'T ACTUALLY MATTER. THEY WOULD RATHER BE ESOTERIC AND MOODY. EACH GENRE THEN LINES UP WITH A DIFFERENT EMOTION: HORROR FILMS USE THIS TWO WAYS. THEY UNDERSTAND THE MECHANICS OF A SCARE AND HOW TO LAY THE MECHANICS ON THICK OR LIGHT. ONE OF THE REASONS HULK REALLY APPRECIATES HORROR FILMS IS THAT MOST OF THE FILMMAKERS REALLY DO UNDERSTAND THE CONVENTIONS AND PURPOSE OF THE GENRE.MOVIE. THE OTHER WAY IS FRIGHT. WHICH THEN MAKES IT "OKAY" TO WATCH THE FILM AGAIN. THE HEROES WILL SUCCEED. HULK WILL STOP TALKING ABOUT THAT MOVIE. BUT SO CLEARLY DIDN’T UNDERSTAND THE MECHANISMS OR THE PURPOSE BEHIND THE KINDS OF STORIES IT WAS TRYING TO USE. WICKER MAN REMAKE! BUT THE REAL REASON YOU NEED TO KNOW YOUR GENRE CONVENTIONS ISN'T JUST FOR THESE TONAL REASONS. IT UTILIZES ANTICIPATION AND THEN USES A MOMENT OF SHOCK TO SEND YOU INTO ELATION. BUT THEY OFTEN DON’T UNDERSTAND THE MECHANICS AND THE CRAFT. WHICH WANTS TO YOU FEAR THE KILL SO IT TRIES TO ESTABLISH TENSION FOLLOWED BY A MOMENT OF RELEASING THE AUDIENCE FROM TENSION. IT EVEN APPLIES TO THEMATIC MOTIFS. CREATIVE. IT'S ALMOST BIZARRE... IT GOES BACK TO URGENCY AND DRAMA. 36.5 PAGES.. HE SAID THAT IF YOU LOOK THROUGH MOST GOOD SCREENPLAYS. AND YES. BUT ABOUT ALL THE WAYS THE HERO IS IN DANGER. IT'S . FOR SOME REASON THE MOVIE'S MAIN PLOT OR ACTION KICKS INTO PLACE ON EXACTLY PAGE 17.THROUGH WHOLLY VISCERAL FILMMAKING TECHNIQUES. AND TAKE A LOOK AT A FEW. IT'S ALWAYS. ALWAYS. AND SINCE THEN.. SMALL STRUCTURAL PROBLEMS AND ODD DEVICES THAT SHOW UP IN WRITING. JUST FOR A SPLIT SECOND. UNDERSTANDING THE PSYCHOLOGY OF HOW A GENRE WORKS WILL GIVE YOU PRECISELY WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE YOUR OWN INDIVIDUAL. AND ORIGINAL FILM WORK. ALL OUR LESSONS APPLY.. BUT IF YOUR READ A TON OF SCRIPTS THEN "PAGE 17" OF THESE 90-120+ PAGE SCREENPLAYS SEEMS TO BE THIS NATURALLY OCCURRING POINT IN THE MAIN PLOT WHERE THE STORY REALLY GETS GOING. *** SO GUESS WHAT. "PAGE 17" THE TERM "PAGE 17" IS A STRANGE PHENOMENON REVEALED TO HULK BY AN OLD MENTOR.. IT SHOULDN’T BE ABOUT THE HERO BEING AN UNSTOPPABLE BADASS. HE SPENT A CAREER LOOKING INTO IT. LIKE UNDERSTANDING HOW GOOD WESTERNS ARE OFTEN ABOUT THE END OF THINGS. TECHNICALLY A GENRE FILM.. TO FEEL THAT. EVEN SOMETHING AS NONTRADITIONAL AS THE FIRST CHAPTER OF INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS IS 17. HE'S PRETTY MUCH RIGHT.. ALWAYS. IN SOME WAY. FOLKS? WE'VE COVERED THE "BREAKING STORIES” SECTION OF THIS BOOK! HURRAY! BUT NOW IT’S TIME TO ADDRESS A LITTLE TROUBLESHOOTING. OR THAT ROMANTIC COMEDIES DEPEND ON THE AUDIENCES FALLING IN LOVE WITH THE CHARACTERS BEFORE THE CHARACTERS DO WITH EACH OTHER. AND TO UNDERSTAND THEM IS PARAMOUNT TO YOUR ABILITY TO WRITE. IT DOESN'T PLAY INTO THE BASIC SENSE OF HOW THE CAUSE + EFFECT WORKS (KNOCKED UP NOTWITHSTANDING BECAUSE THAT MOVIE ACTUALLY GOES FOR OTHER AVENUES OF NARRATIVE RESONANCE AND SUCCEEDS BRILLIANTLY).. THESE CAUSE + EFFECT MODELS ARE PART OF EVERY KIND OF GENRE.. THE ACTION HERO MAYBE WON'T SURVIVE BECAUSE “THAT FALL IS TOO HIGH!” OR “THAT GUN IS POINTED RIGHT AT THEM!” AGAIN. THERE IS A REASON THAT ACTION FILMS WORK WELL WITH CLEAR STAKES AND COMPLETELY OBVIOUS PLOTTING. THERE'S A REASON THAT SO MANY ROMANTIC COMEDIES FAIL WHEN THE CHARACTERS SLEEP WITH EACH OTHER AND NOW THEY HAVE TO FIGURE IT OUT. EVEN MELODRAMA.. HULK BELIEVES THAT EVERY FILM IS. ABOUT THE VISCERAL EFFECT ON THE AUDIENCE. HULK CHECKED INTO IT TOO. THAT'S ALL. PERHAPS THIS IS APROPOS OF NOTHING.. THEN PERHAPS YOU SHOULD PROBABLY HAVE A REALLY GOOD REASON TO DO SO. THEY CLEARLY DO IT TO MAKE HIM SEEM ALL HUMAN AND CARING AND STUFF. BUT THEN. ALL WE CAN GO OFF OF IS THE FINISHED RESULT). IF YOU USE CHARACTERS.. IT’S LIKE IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN SECOND ACT WHERE THE MAIN CONFLICT KICKS INTO GEAR. BLATANTLY MANIPULATIVE. HULK KNOWS HULK KEEPS PICKING ON THE MOVIE (PERHAPS FAIRLY SO). IT’S THIS NATURALLY OCCURRING PAGE NUMBER WHERE IT FEELS RIGHT TO REALLY START EMBARKING DOWN THE MAIN NARRATIVE PATH. BUT IN TERMS OF CHARACTER CONSISTENCY TOO. MAYBE SOMETHING ENDED UP IN THE CUTTING ROOM FLOOR AND IT WAS CUT BY THE STUDIO AND HULK IS JUST BEING MEAN. BUT IN GREEN LANTERN WE ARE INTRODUCED TO HAL JORDAN'S FAMILY IN AN OPENING SCENE.. BUT HULK SEES IT AS YET ANOTHER TOOL AT YOUR DISPOSAL.. WHATEVER. HE CAN SPEND THAT TIME MOPING. BUT HULK WOULD LIKE TO SUGGEST IF YOU'RE GOING MUCH EARLIER OR MUCH LATER THAN THAT PAGE NUMBER. BUT SO OFTEN WE ARE INTRODUCED TO CERTAIN CHARACTERS IN A STORY WHO ACHIEVE SOME TEMPORARY GOAL IN A SCENE. ALL BECAUSE YOU'RE STILL "SETTING THINGS UP. MOSTLY BECAUSE IT FAILS TO MEET OUR INHERENT STANDARDS FOR SET-UP / DELIVERY AND CAUSE + EFFECT. BUT IT WAS ONE OF THE MOST LAUGHABLE THINGS HULK'S EVER SEEN IN A GIANT FILM. IT’S SIMPLY A QUESTION YOU CAN ASK YOURSELF IN TRYING TO DECIDE WHAT IT IS YOU WANT TO DO. HULK GUESSES THERE'S FAR MORE BORING THINGS TO DO WHEN YOUR FAMILY IS IN TROUBLE. COMIC RELIEF. STILL. IT FEELS SO IMMEDIATELY. THEY SUBCONSCIOUSLY SENSE WHEN THINGS DON'T FEEL IMPORTANT . THESE ARE GUIDELINES. AND OFTEN THEY WILL THEN DISAPPEAR.. THE AUDIENCE CAN INHERENTLY SENSE MESSY AND SCATTERED STORYTELLING. SORRY. IT'S NOT AS IF YOU ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO GET YOUR MAIN STORY COOKING BY PAGE 17. NOT ONLY DOES ABANDONING THE FAMILY FEEL LIKE WE LOSE A BOND WE MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN. THEY SHOULD LIKELY BE REUSED AGAIN. EVEN THEN. HAVE YOU STARTED YOUR MAIN PLOT TOO FAST? HAVE YOU DELAYED IT FOR TOO LONG? IF IT'S PAGE 33 AND THE MAIN PLOT OF YOUR STORY HASN'T GOTTEN GOING YET." THEN CHANCES ARE THAT IT IS A BAD THING. YOU FIGURE HE'D CARE ABOUT HIS FAMILY WHEN ALL OF A SUDDEN SHIT STARTED GOING DOWN WITH THE CITY GETTING EATEN BY PARALLAX.LIKE THE SCREENWRITING PI OR SOMETHING. BUT HEY WHATEVER. 37. BUT THE REAL REASON IT SUCKS IS THAT IT FEELS LIKE WASTED NARRATIVE TIME. NOT JUST FOR IN-MOVIE LOGIC TERMS. WE PROMPTLY NEVER HEAR FROM THE FAMILY EVER AGAIN. BUT HEY.. EXPOSITION. SPURRING FORTH A NEW PLOT. IT'S JUST ONE OFFENSE FROM A TERRIBLE SCRIPT (WHO KNOWS THOUGH. IT DOESN'T WORK THAT WELL FOR YOUR STORY ARCS. BUT ALSO SOME OLD-SCHOOL RACIST OVERTONES!." THE STORIES WE WEAVE ALWAYS HAVE CONNECTIONS. THINK ABOUT THE WAY CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM PLOTS ARE CONSTRUCTED WHERE EVERYTHING ALWAYS SEEMS TO COME BACK AND BE RELEVANT.. FIND WAYS TO DO THAT..OR NECESSARY. BUT THERE IS SURELY AN ORGANIC WAY TO NOT WASTE CHARACTERS. BUT LATER RETURNS TO THEM TO MAKE A VERY DIFFERENT IMPRESSION (COMPLETE WITH CRITICISM OF WHITE-ASSUMPTION. THE POINT IS YOU SHOULD ALWAYS TRY TO LOOK FOR OPPORTUNITIES TO MAKE ALL THE CHARACTERS HAVE AS MUCH RELEVANCY TO THE STORY AS POSSIBLE. THERE ARE SO MANY STORIES WHERE AT THE LAST SECOND THE HAND OF "GOD" OR FATE OR WHATEVER COMES IN AND SAVES THE CHARACTERS FROM CERTAIN DOOM. WHETHER COMEDY. AS A GREAT EXAMPLE. THE LAST MINUTE “SAVING THROW” WORKS BEST WHEN IT IS GROUNDED IN CHARACTER AND PLOTTING. BECAUSE THE MORE CHARACTERS FEEL LIKE TANGENTS. THESE MOMENTS ARE SO OUT OF NOWHERE AND OFTEN UNDESERVED THAT EVEN THE MOST UNAWARE AUDIENCE MEMBER WILL BE TEMPTED TO YELL "BULLSHIT!" THERE ARE THE RITUAL WORST OFFENDERS OF THIS DEVICE (LIKE HULK MENTIONED WITH LAZY OLD ENTOURAGE). LIKE IN HULK'S EXAMPLE WITH HOW THE CHARACTERS IN KUNG FU PANDA CONVERGE AND HAVE STAKES IN EACH OTHER BECAUSE IT MAKES FOR A RELEVANT STORY. DEUS EX MACHINA WORKS BEST IF IT IS THE POINT OF THE . BUT HULK CAN’T TALK ABOUT THAT MOVIE WITHOUT BRINGING UP THAT MEAN-AS-HELL LINE). IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE SO PERFECT AND HAVE LITTLE NEAT BOWS ON IT. SORRY FOR THE TANGENT. DIDN’T HULK ALREADY TALK ABOUT THIS??? YOU BETCHA. BUT THERE IS OF COURSE AN EFFECTIVE WAY TO USE IT. SIMPLY PUT. OKAY. 38. THE MORE THEY'LL FEEL LIKE TANGENTS. AND THAT MEANS FINDING FUN AND INTERESTING WAYS TO BRING THEM BACK. SHORT OR LONG-FORM NARRATIVE. MEANWHILE. DRAMA. WAIT. BUT IT’S THAT IMPORTANT. THEY SHOULD SERVE PURPOSES BEYOND "I LIKE WHAT THEY DO FOR THE HERO IN THIS ONE PARTICULAR SCENE. ANYCRAP. THE REST OF THE MOVIE IS STILL PRETTY AMAZING. BUT IT'S FUCKING AWFUL. AS HULK ILLUSTRATED EARLIER WITH THE HAN SOLO SAVING LUKE MOMENT. THERE SHOULD BE REASONS CHARACTERS ARE PART OF THE STORY. DOESN'T JUST BRING IN OTIS DAY AND THE KNIGHTS FOR A GOOD TIMES SEQUENCE. HOW TO ACTUALLY USE DEUS EX MACHINA! DEUS EX MACHINA WORKS WHEN IT IS THE POINT. REALLY IT'S THE "PRIMITIVE CULTURES" JOKE THAT IS TRULY DATED. BUT HULK WANTED TO TAKE AN EXTRA MOMENT AND TALK ABOUT A WAY TO MAKE DEUS EX MACHINA WORK BY ENGAGING THE THEME DIRECTLY. AS HULK SAID ABOVE. EVEN SOMETHING AS SILLY AS ANIMAL HOUSE. IT IS NOT A BIG GESTURE THAT MAKES IT CLEAR THE HEAVENS ARE INTERFERING… IT IS THE SIMPLE DEVICE OF A LIGHT TURNING ON. ONE THAT SPEAKS SO DEEPLY TO THE NARRATIVE AND THEMES AT PLAY. THE BEST EXAMPLE OF WHICH WAS IN A SEASON ONE EPISODE APPROPRIATELY TITLED "DEUS EX MACHINA. LOST WAS A SHOW THAT HAD AMAZING CHARACTERIZATION AND DEEP-TISSUE THEMATIC RESONANCE. IT IS PERFECT WRITING. OR THAT HE TRUSTS HE WILL BE SAVED. 39. FOR EXAMPLE. EVER SO QUIETLY. THEY WERE ALSO QUITE GOOD IN HOW THEY HANDLED THIS PARTICULAR DEVICE. THINK ABOUT THE NATURE OF THE DEVICE AND WHAT IT ACTUALLY MEANS ON A THEMATIC LEVEL. ONCE AGAIN BEGINS TO QUESTION IT. HIS ANGER GROWS. A MAN WHO HAS RECENTLY FOUND HIS FAITH THROUGH EXTRAORDINARY MEANS... ONE HE DESPERATELY HAS TRIED TO OPEN IN ORDER TO UNLOCK THE MYSTERIES WITHIN. IT IS AN EPISODE ABOUT THE VERY PURPOSE OF DEUS EX MACHINA ITSELF. HE SCREAMS AND YELLS TO WHATEVER IS WITHIN. A LIGHT COMES ON WITHIN THE HATCH. THE DEVICE COMING INTO EVENTUAL PLAY IS THE FOCUS OF THE ENTIRE EPISODE. AND THINK OF THE HAN SOLO MOMENT. BEWARE THE OPENING FLASH-FORWARD . BUT SOMETHING THAT SWELLS WITH MEANING AND RESONANCE. THINK OF THIS ONE STUNNING EXAMPLE. A CHARACTER ESPOUSES SOME BELIEF THAT THE UNIVERSE IS TRYING TO GUIDE HIM.. MORE IMPORTANTLY.. AND FOR THAT REASON THEY TURN THE DEVICE NOT JUST INTO SOMETHING THAT "WORKS" WITHIN THE NARRATIVE CONTEXT OF THE SHOW.STORY. OVER A GREAT DEAL OF TIME HE FINDS NO SUCCESS IN TRYING TO OPEN IT. WHICH WE CAN READ AS WE WANT. AND THEN. SO WHEN YOU CONSIDER USING DEUS EX MACHINA IN YOUR OWN WORK. IT SHINES ON JOHN'S FACE AND UP INTO THE NIGHT SKY... AND THAT IS BECAUSE IT FINDS SUCH MEANING IN THIS TINIEST OF GESTURES.. DEUS EX MACHINA WORKS WHEN IT IS THE POINT. ASK YOURSELF: WHY AM I USING THIS DEVICE? IS IT JUST AN EASY SOLUTION? IS THIS THE ONLY WAY I CAN SOLVE THE PROBLEM? DOES IT SAY ANYTHING ABOUT MY CHARACTERS OR CHANGE THEM? HAVE I QUESTIONED THE VERY NATURE OF THE CHARACTER’S BELIEFS OR THE NATURE OF FAITH? IS THERE ANY REASON I AM USING THIS? AND IF SO. AND IT'S ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL MOMENTS HULK HAS EVER SEEN ON TELEVISION. USUALLY THIS REQUIRES SOME SORT OF ENGAGEMENT OF THE IDEA OF FAITH.. THE EPISODE ENDS. FOR EXAMPLE.. AND ONE NIGHT HE STARES DOWN INTO THE HATCH AND SLAMS HIS FISTS AGAINST THE WINDOW. HE THEN YELLS OUT TO THE UNIVERSE: WHY HAD THEY CURSED HIM WITH THE VISION? WHAT DID THE WORLD WANT FROM HIM? WHY WAS HE SUPPOSED TO OPEN THIS HATCH? WHY WOULD THE UNIVERSE BE SO CRUEL AS TO TAUNT HIM WITH THIS IMPOSSIBLE TASK? HE SCREAMS AND CRIES INTO THE HATCH AS THE MUSIC SWELLS. BUT IN THAT EPISODE THE CHARACTER OF JOHN LOCKE.. A VISION HAD BROUGHT HIM TO A MYSTERIOUS HATCH ON THE ISLAND." SPOILERS AND SUCH.. HE IS AT HIS WITS END WITH HIS VERY SENSE OF FAITH SHATTERED. AND THE FEW TIMES BREAKING BAD DID GIVE AWAY ACTUAL CONTEXT . "OH.. HULK UNDERSTANDS THE DESIRE TO LET AN AUDIENCE KNOW WHAT KIND OF CRAZINESS IS IN STORE SO IT DOESN'T TAKE THEM OFF GUARD.. THAT'S PROBABLY WHY THEY BOUGHT A TICKET. OF COURSE THE AUDIENCE KNOWS THAT THE MOVIE WILL GET EXCITING AND CLIMAXY BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT MOVIES DO. SHOWING OFF THE ANSWER TO EVERYTHING AND THEN ASKING "HOW ARE THESE CHARACTERS GOING TO END UP IN THIS CRAZY SITUATION?" THE WAY SO MANY BAD SCRIPTS DO. AND SINCE THERE IS LITERALLY NO COMPREHENSION. AS THERE ARE SOME WAYS IT CAN WORK. YOU KNOW. HULK HAS A SIMPLE QUESTION: WHY IS THIS HAPPENING? POSSIBLE (BAD) ANSWER: BECAUSE IT LETS THE AUDIENCE KNOW THAT STUFF IS GOING TO GO DOWN IN THIS MOVIE! THAT IT WILL GET ALL SERIOUS! THAT THE PROTAGONIST WILL END UP IN SOME CRAZY SITUATION! THAT'S. THE KIND OF OPENING FLASH-FORWARD HULK’S TALKING HERE IS THE KIND YOU SEE ALL THE TIME IN MOVIES." ETC. IT’S LIKE THIS BIG TEASE. BUT SO OFTEN THAT SORT OF FLASH-FORWARD IS UNNECESSARY. BUT ALSO POORLY DONE. AND THEN THE MOVIE JUST STARTS AS NORMAL. AND AFTER IT'S OVER. IT WORKS LIKE A MYSTERY TO BE PIECED TOGETHER LATER. THE NARRATIVE WILL JUST JUMP BACK TO THE REAL BEGINNING OF THE STORY. SO THIS ISN'T MORE LOST ANALYSIS BECAUSE THE FLASHBACK AND FLASH-FORWARD SYSTEM THEY USED WAS ACTUALLY PRETTY DAMN PURPOSEFUL ON THE WHOLE! NO. FULL OF DRAMA AND STUFF! IT SHOWS CONFLICT AND IS EXCITING! HULK NOT-SO-POLITELY ASKS IN RETURN: SO THE FUCK WHAT? WHAT IS THE REAL POINT OF DOING THAT? HOW MUCH ARE YOU ACTUALLY ACCOMPLISHING? HULK MEANS. IT’S A QUICK-SEEMING AND CHEAP SOLUTION TO IMBUING A FILM WITH THE ILLUSION OF CONFLICT. THAT'S THAT OBJECT FROM. THE FLASH-FORWARDS WERE USED AS CLUES. WHEN EVENTS ARE ALL HEIGHTENED AND DRAMATIC. THEY WILL BUILD A COMPLETE SENSE OF MYSTERY AS TO WHAT WE'RE EVEN SEEING. IT’S WHEN A MOVIE WILL START OFF WITH SOME MOMENT FROM THE CLIMAX OR A LATER SCENE. THEY'D START WITH A FEW SCATTERED IMAGES WE BARELY UNDERSTAND. HULK EVEN MENTIONED IT BRIEFLY BEFORE IN THE PREEXISTING CONFLICT CHAPTER. SHOWCASING HOW UNIMPORTANT IT REALLY WAS. IT'S NOT JUST JUMPING AHEAD. HULK SEES THE DEVICE USED SO DAMN MUCH THESE DAYS AND IT’S NOT ONLY EVERYWHERE. IT WAS A COMMON DEVICE ON THE FIRST FEW SEASONS OF BREAKING BAD AND SOMETIMES IT WORKED SPECTACULARLY. FOR INSTANCE. 9 TIMES OUT OF 10. AREN'T THERE SO MANY BETTER WAYS OF DOING THAT? TO INTRODUCE REAL AND ACTUAL CONFLICT? LIKE WITH THE WHOLE "PREEXISTING CONFLICT" THING HULK MENTIONED? NOW THIS ISN'T TO MAKE IT SEEM LIKE THE DEVICE IS COMPLETELY UNUSABLE. NOR ROBBING YOUR CLIMAX OF IMPORTANT URGENCY. BUT HULK DOESN’T SEE IT THAT WAY AT ALL. DEFINE “COOL. IT WAS OFTEN TOTAL MISDIRECTION. WE THINK OF IT AS BEING SYNONYMOUS WITH GOOD. EVEN BREAKING BAD. THEN PERHAPS IT’S WORTH THINKING ABOUT. A LOT OF TIME HULK FEELS LIKE WRITERS USE THE OPENING FLASHFOWARD BECAUSE “THAT'S WHAT MOVIES DO.” YOU HAVE TO BE SURE YOU ARE NOT WASTING THE AUDIENCE’S TIME. IF YOUR MOVIE BEGINS WITH A LOT OF NORMALCY (AND HULK MEANS A LOT). A LOT OF PEOPLE DON’T UNDERSTAND WHY HULK MAKES SUCH A BIG FUSS ABOUT IT.. YOU HAVE TO BE SURE THERE’S A REASON. ". ASK: “WHAT IS THIS REALLY ACCOMPLISHING?” 40. OR STYLE THAT ARE DEVOID OF TACT AND UNDERSTANDING? HOW OFTEN CAN HULK ARGUE IN THIS BOOK THAT THE BIGGEST PROBLEM IS THE COMMON MISAPPLICATION OF A STORY MECHANISM AND NOT THE MECHANISM ITSELF? UNDERSTAND THE THING YOU ARE DOING. IT CAN BECOME A STRANGELY HOLLOW EXERCISE.. IS IT? THE THINGS WE THINK ARE “COOL” USUALLY RELATE TO OUR UNDERSTANDING OF EARLY SOCIAL DYNAMICS. BECAUSE SOMETIMES THE UNINTENDED EFFECT OF THE FLASH-FORWARD IS THAT YOU'RE SUBCONSCIOUSLY MAKING THE AUDIENCE FEEL LIKE THEY'RE JUST SITTING THERE WAITING TO GET TO THE CLIMAX AGAIN. HONESTLY. DON'T DO IT." HOW MANY TIMES CAN WE TALK ABOUT MOVIES THAT USE DEVICES.AND INFORMATION IN THE FLASH-FORWARD SCENE. BUT IT SHOULD ALSO BE THERE TO EXPRESS SOME IDEA OF THE THEMES AT PLAY OR POSSIBLY TO CREATE A SENSE OF DRAMATIC IRONY. IT’S JUST A WORD THAT IS SYNONYMOUS WITH “GOOD” TO THEM. BUT THAT’S NOT REALLY THE CASE. THE WORD “COOL” IS SO TROUBLESOME AND HULK FINDS IT REALLY PROBLEMATIC IN STORYTELLING. LIKE EVERYTHING. OR IMAGERY. IT CAN’T JUST BE AN “AND THEN. YOU HAVE TO BE SURE THERE’S A REASON FOR IT. COOL PEOPLE AND COOL THINGS ARE . ENDED UP PHASING IT OUT. SO LET’S TRY A LITTLE EXPERIMENT. WHO USED THE DEVICE WELL FOR TWO WHOLE YEARS. UNDERSTAND THE MECHANISM AND WHAT IT’S ACCOMPLISHING. SO BE WARY. DON’T TRY TO BE “COOL” THE FOLLOWING IS HULK'S GENERAL PIECE OF ADVICE ABOUT LIFE: IF YOU START ANY SENTENCE WITH "WOULDN'T IT BE COOL IF. DON’T ASSUME. ASK YOURSELF THE RIGHT QUESTIONS.” AGAIN. IT CAN BE A REAL PREVENTATIVE BURDEN. JUST DON'T DO IT. YOU’RE JUST TRYING TO BE COOL. TRYING TO BE COOL IS HOW WE GOT PRETTY MUCH ALL OF THE EARLY ‘90S WITH CARTOON CHARACTERS IN SUNGLASSES. BUT TO ADOPT THEIR TASTES AS THEIR OWN AND TO STAY RELEVANT.OFTEN DETACHED. TRYING TO BE COOL RESULTS IN TAKING BENEVOLENT. WHEN YOU ARE STILL WRITING AND CONSTRUCTING THE IDEA. THINK ABOUT THOSE WORDS: FLIPPANT AND DETACHED. WE THINK IT’S ALLURING. HECK. ZEN LEADER OPTIMUS PRIME AND TURNING HIM INTO A GOVERNMENT-HATING BADASS HELL-BENT ON EXECUTING MOTHERFUCKERS. ISN’T THAT SUCH AN IMPORTANT THING TO REALIZE? THAT COOLNESS IS SO TRANSITIVE THAT IT CHANGES CONSTANTLY AND CAN’T EVER BE CONSTANT? AND SOON AFTER IT IS EFFECTIVE IT WILL BE CONSIDERED PASSÉ? AND IF WE CAN’T DEFINE SUCH A NEBULOUS CONCEPT. THE IDEA DOESN’T EXIST YET. IT’S THAT IT ISN’T EMOTIONAL. IT ISN’T DRAMATIC. THE OTHER PROBLEM WITH “COOL” IS THAT IT’S OFTEN AN EVALUATIVE CONCEPT. IT’S THE GUY AT THE PARTY STILL WEARING THE SCORPION JACKET FROM DRIVE. IT SEEMS DESPERATE AND . GOOD-GUY. WHICH BRINGS HULK TO ANOTHER IMPORTANT POINT. AND REBELLIOUS. THEY’RE ALOOF BITS OF SLICK CINEMA. FLIPPANT. WE DON’T WANT TO BE VULNERABLE. AND WHILE THOSE TRAITS ARE CERTAINLY ALLURING. THEN WE CAN ONLY RELY ON HOW WE KNOW IT WHEN WE SEE IT. WHICH ALSO MAKES FOR BAD CINEMA. COMPLETELY DISTANT AND UNEMOTIONAL. NOT A VISCERAL ONE. IS THAT HOW YOU WANT YOUR MOVIE TO COME ACROSS? IS THAT WHAT YOU’RE INTERESTED IN MAKING? SOMETIMES PEOPLE ARE INTERESTED IN MAKING MOVIES LIKE THAT AND THEY’RE OFTEN TERRIBLE. IT’S SO DAMN EPHEMERAL AND THAT MAKES IT IMPOSSIBLE TO CONSTRUCT! IT’S LIKE TRYING TO BOTTLE LIGHTNING. AND THAT’S WHY WE PROJECT COOLNESS. THAT’S WHY WE WANT TO SEEM LIKE WE DON’T GIVE A FUCK. TRYING TO BE COOL. THE PROBLEM IS THAT IT’S NOT ALL THAT EMOTIONAL OR EMPATHETIC. MEANING: IT ISN’T GOOD CINEMA. AND IT ISN’T EMPATHETIC. AND HEY. IT IS THE POOCHIE-FICATION OF CINEMA. DO YOU WANT YOUR MOVIE TO BE LIKE THAT GUY? IT’S THE PARENTS WHO TRY TO KEEP UP WITH THEIR KIDS’ MUSIC. IT JUST ALWAYS REEKS OF BLATANT AND FALSE INTENTION. NOT IN AN EFFORT TO CONNECT WITH THEIR CHILDREN. THE REASON WE TRY TO BE LIKE THAT IS THAT EMOTIONAL CONNECTIONS SCARE US. BUT HULK’S PROBLEM IS NOT THAT BEING COOL IS ALLURING. AND THE ONLY WAY THEY TEND TO BE SUCCESSFUL IS BY INDULGING THE AUDIENCE AND MAKING THEM WANT TO BE LIKE THOSE COOL THINGS THROUGH WISH-FULFILLMENT. WE DON’T WANT TO GET HURT. AND ALTOGETHER SHITTY. SOMETIMES IT IS. AND YOU EVER SEE A GUY TRYING TOO HARD TO BE COOL? OOF. WE JUST SIT THERE WITH OUR BRAINS AND WE DECIDE “OH THAT’S COOL” AND EVEN THEN IT’S NOT ALL THAT HELPFUL BECAUSE WE REGULARLY DISAGREE ON WHAT IS COOL OR WHAT MAKES THINGS COOL. HE OBSESSES IN THE OBSCURE AND THE UNCOOL. IT'S TRUE. HIS CHARACTERS ARE GROUNDED IN A KIND OF REGULARITY AND FOCUS ON THE MUNDANE. BUT THIS WHOLE PREDICAMENT BRINGS US TO OUR NEXT BIG “DON’T”… 41. EVEN IF IT’S THE MOST UN-SPIELBERG-IAN MATERIAL ON THE PLANET. MORE IMPORTANTLY.UNEARNED. HE UNDERSTANDS THAT NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU DRESS STUFF UP IN AWESOMENESS… CINEMA IS SECRETLY ABOUT BEING DORKY AND EARNEST. SO WHEN IT COMES TO CONSTRUCTING YOUR NARRATIVE. QUENTIN WANTS HIS FILMS TO BE COOL. BUT THAT’S NOT HOW HE ACTUALLY CONSTRUCTS THEM! SERIOUSLY! OFTENTIMES. PROGRESSIVE PERSON. MORE THAN THAT. EVEN IF THE STORY IS ABOUT A LACK OF EARNESTNESS. THE STORYTELLING ITSELF. HE’S A GUY WHO KNOWS HIS CRAFT AND KNOWS THE PURPOSE OF EVERY SINGLE CINEMATIC MECHANISM HE’S EMPLOYING. IT WILL FEEL CALCULATED AND COLD. EVEN IF YOU REALLY ARE A COOL. FAVORS FLIGHTS OF DIALOGUE FANCY OVER ACTION. HE’S REFERENCING THE MOST OBSCURE NERDY THINGS. PEOPLE THINK THAT TARANTINO IS ALWAYS TRYING TO BE COOL OR THAT HE MAKES “COOL” FILMS. IT WILL BE DISINGENUOUS. LOOK NO FURTHER THAN THE RECENT DEBACLE WITH THE ENDING OF THE DEVIL . AND THAT IS WHAT MAKES HIS FILMS SO DAMN COOL. IT WILL BE LIKE A MARKETING EXECUTIVE TRYING TO IDENTIFY WHAT THE HIP KIDS ARE INTO. YOU’RE IN TROUBLE. HE MUCH PREFERS CAREFUL CHARACTERIZATION AND INTELLIGENCE OVER POSTURE. HE CONSTRUCTS HIS FILMS IN TERMS OF FUNCTION: HIS LONG-FORM DIALOGUES ARE JUST AS MUCH ABOUT CLASSIC INNOVATIONS OF DRAMA AND BUILD UP AND TENSION. AND THE AUDIENCE DOES NOT LIKE TO BE FUCKED WITH. DON'T FUCK WITH THE AUDIENCE JUST TO FUCK WITH THE AUDIENCE STORIES SHOULD BE EARNEST. YES. EVEN IF THE MATERIAL IS FRIVOLOUS OR SUPERFICIAL. IT NEVER HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH BEING A VALID OPTION FOR THE STORY. IT SHOULD COME FROM A PLACE OF GENUINE CONNECTION AND EMPATHY TO THE EXPERIENCE OF YOUR AUDIENCE. THE REAL TRUTH IS THAT TARANTINO IS ACTUALLY SUPER DORKY. THERE IS A HUGE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WANTING TO BE INVENTIVE AND JUST TRYING TO BE DIFFERENT FOR DIFFERENT'S SAKE… DO THAT AND IT WILL JUST END UP SEEMING LIKE YOU'RE FUCKING WITH THE AUDIENCE. FORWARD-THINKING. SO HULK SWEARS TO YOU: THE SECOND YOU ARE TRYING TO BE COOL. IN WHATEVER PATH YOU CHOOSE TO GO. SHOULD BE EARNEST. BUT IF YOU ASK HULK THIS IS A SPECTACULAR MISDIAGNOSIS. " … … …WHAT!??!?!?!? LIKE… SERIOUSLY?!?!!??!?!?!?! OKAY PLEASE UNDERSTAND SOMETHING RIGHT NOW. PEOPLE REACTED AS IF THE FILM HAD JUST LEAPT OFF THE SCREEN AND KILLED ALL THEIR MOTHERS. HERE'S THE FILMMAKERS’ EXPLANATION OF WHAT HAPPENED (VIA BLOODY DISGUSTING): "Stories always have a very Hollywood ending. THE FILM WAS CALLING ATTENTION THE FACT THEY WERE CRAFTING AN INCOMPLETE NARRATIVE. HULK’S WORKED IN MARKETING. LOOK.. IT’S A SUPER-VALID BUSINESS. HULK WANTS TO RUN OUT INTO THE STREETS AND START SMASHING CARS AND PUNCHING CHITAURI… BUT INSTEAD OF HULK SMASHING THINGS. THEY WERE DOING THE MOST RIDICULOUS THING POSSIBLE.R. NOT STORYTELLING. HULK WILL DO THE MORE CIVILIZED THING AND ANALYZE WHY THAT COMMENT MIGHT BE THE WORST THING EVER SAID BY A FILMMAKER. THAT TITLE CARD MADE IT SEEM LIKE THEY WERE EFFECTIVELY CHEATING THE AUDIENCE OUT OF SEEING THE END OF THE FILM AND MAKING THEM CATCH UP LATER THROUGH ANOTHER FORM OF “PAYMENT.” BUT THE POINT HULK REALLY WANTS TO HAMMER HOME IS THAT BY SHIFTING TO U. THEY WERE STILL IMPLYING THERE WAS A MORE IMPORTANT NARRATIVE TO BE HELD ELSEWHERE. THEY DID NOT REALIZE THAT. THE FILMMAKERS / STUDIO SAID THEY WANTED TO DO SOMETHING "DIFFERENT" AND. THEY MADE IT SEEM LIKE THE NARRATIVE WAS PURPOSEFULLY INCOMPLETE. “IT GETS PEOPLE TALKING” IS THE CHIEF PHRASE PEOPLE USE IN MARKETING.L. EVEN IF UNINTENTIONAL. NARRATIVELY SPEAKING. WHICH IS FINE. AND IF THAT’S YOUR APPROACH TO STORYTELLING YOU CAN JUST GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE AND WORK IN MARKETING. I know some people love it and some people f*cking hate it but it gets people talking.. BUT IN THE FILMMAKERS’ DESIRE TO BE DIFFERENT.INSIDE. THEY DID SOMETHING THEY THOUGHT MIGHT BE COOL: YOU SEE. We're just trying to make it realistic. And we're doing the antithesis of that. EVEN IF THE STORY WAS COMPLETE (AND IT WASN’T). BY THE WAY. THE DECISION WAS ESSENTIALLY JUST A MISGUIDED ATTEMPT AT TRANS-MEDIA LAMENESS. THE FILM ENDS ABRUPTLY WITH A CAR CRASH AND A CUT TO BLACK WITH A STORY CARD THAT TELLS THE AUDIENCE THAT THEY CAN CONTINUE THE STORY… ON A WEBSITE. BUT IT WORKS IN . THE FIRST PROBLEM IS THAT HE’S MAKING IT CLEAR HE'S JUST FUCKING WITH THE AUDIENCE TO GET A REACTION. Not every situation ends perfectly or the way you want it to end. THEY DID SOMETHING WORSE THAN JUST HAVING AN UNRESOLVED ENDING. IN CASE YOU ARE UNFAMILIAR. SECOND. IN MOMENT OF COMPLETE STUPIDITY. THUS IMPLYING WE'RE JUST A BUNCH OF HAPLESS DUMB-FARTS WHO NEED TO BE PLACATED. “ARTISTIC” (GO BACK TO HULK’S COMMENTS ON ART TO SEE HOW UNTRUE THAT ONE IS). IN FACT. IF "THE ENDING IS THE CONCEIT" THEN THIS FILM’S CONCEIT WAS TOTAL INEPTITUDE. HE’S MISUNDERSTANDING WHAT “NOT EVERY SITUATION ENDS PERFECTLY OR THE WAY YOU WANT IT TO END" ACTUALLY MEANS IN HOW IT SHOULD AFFECT YOUR NARRATIVE. SO IF YOU ARE GOING TO THROW AN AUDIENCE OFF-KILTER OR IF YOU ARE GOING TO DO SOMETHING REBELLIOUS… YOU HAVE TO DO IT FOR A GOOD REASON. STORYTELLING IS AN ART THAT IS DEPENDENT ON YOUR SENSE OF CRAFT AND AUDIENCE RESPONSE. AND YOU HAVE TO KNOW HOW TO PULL IT OFF. REMEMBER WHAT HULK SAID EARLIER ABOUT HOW THE ENDING IS A CHANCE TO RAM HOME THEMES? WELL MOST FOUND FOOTAGE FILMS TEND TO END ABRUPTLY. BUT THE BIGGER PROBLEM WITH ALL THESE STATEMENTS IS THAT THERE IS CLEARLY NO UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT “NARRATIVE” EVEN MEANS. THIS ONE JUST ENDS ON ANOTHER ACTION BEAT INDISTINGUISHABLE FROM OTHER ACTION BEATS BEFORE. HE SEEMS TO THINK THAT BY DOING SO. OR WHY IT MATTERS. LIKE. ALL YOU DID WAS GET PEOPLE TO TALK ABOUT HOW AWFUL THAT STORY DECISION WAS. IT IS JUST CONTRARIANISM IN SERVICE OF NOTHING. HE IS BEING ATTRACTIVE OR COOL OR BADASS OR WORSE. THAT'S WHAT. DO SOMETHING. HIS WORDS IMPLY THAT WE'RE JUST MAD AT THE ENDING BECAUSE THE FILM DIDN'T END HOW WE WANTED IT TO. BOTH THE FILM AND HIS ENSUING COMMENTS ARE ENOUGH EVIDENCE TO SHOWCASE THAT THIS PERSON COULD NOT POSSIBLY UNDERSTAND LESS OF WHAT A STORY IS. IT'S ASININE. HIS "HOLLYWOOD ENDING" COMMENT SHOWS THAT HE ACTUALLY PERCEIVES NOTHING ABOUT HOW ENDINGS WORK. HULK HAS A QUESTION FOR YOU: WHEN ALFRED HITCHCOCK MADE PSYCHO. BUT AT LEAST MOST OF THEM HAVE AN ENDING GESTURE LIKE THAT MANAGES TO. HULK WANTS YOU TO KNOW THAT STORYTELLING IS NOT SOME GAME WHERE YOU MESS WITH THE AUDIENCE. WHAT THE HELL DOES GETTING PEOPLE TALKING AND CUTTING A STORY SHORT SO THEY CAN GO TO A WEBSITE HAVE TO DO WITH REALISM? NOTHING. HOW IT WORKS.A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT WAY FROM STORYTELLING. NONE. IT SHOWCASES EXACTLY WHAT HULK IS TALKING ABOUT WITH THE FALSE PURSUITS OF FUCKING WITH YOUR AUDIENCE AND DOING THE OPPOSITE FOR OPPOSITE’S SAKE. LET’S START WITH THE FACT HE'S OBVIOUSLY NOT TRYING TO TELL A STORY BUT JUST DO "THE OPPOSITE" OF STORYTELLING AS IF THAT BOTH MADE SENSE AND WAS SOMEHOW ENOUGH. HE SEEMS TO THINK THAT ANYTHING WITH RESOLUTION IS AKIN TO HAVING THE CHARACTERS RIDE OFF INTO THE SUNSET HAND-IN-HAND. THIRD. GAHHHHHHH… THERE’S SO MUCH TO SAY HERE. WAS HE . SO TO ALL OF YOU WRITERS OUT THERE. AND IN THE END. FOURTH. YOU HAVE TO SHOW THE AUDIENCE THAT YOU MADE THIS UNCONVENTIONAL CHOICE FOR A REASON. BUT YOU DO SO WITH A GUIDING HAND. AND THEN THE FILM DELIVERS A PURE A SHAKESPEAREAN THIRD ACT TURN THAT IS WORTHY OF CLIMAX. YOU START WITH THE FAMILIAR TROPES AND YOU CAREFULLY BRING THE AUDIENCE ON A JOURNEY. OR REALITY. DROPPING NARRATIVE ECONOMY AND PROPULSION? BETTER MAKE PERFECT SENSE FOR YOUR THEME OR AN IMPORTANT CHARACTER POINT. CHARACTER. THEY PLAYED WITH EXPECTATION AND THEN LOOKED AT WHAT THAT PLAYING-WITH-EXPECTATION ACTUALLY MEANT.JUST FUCKING WITH THE AUDIENCE? IT’S AN IMPORTANT QUESTION. BUT YOU CAN'T DO IT IN ANTAGONISTIC WAY. THE ONLY THING THAT STOPS US IN OUR TRACKS IS THAT. HIS DIALOGUE IS FULL OF ITS OWN NARRATIVES AND STORIES AND DISPOSITIONS AND ALL THAT GOOD CINEMATIC STUFF. BUT THE WAY THE MOMENT “WORKS” DOES NOT STOP WITH THE DEED ITSELF. QUENTIN TARANTINO GETS AWAY WITH SCENES OF LONG-RUNNING DIALOGUE BECAUSE HE WRITES SOME OF THE BEST DIALOGUE ON THE PLANET. YOU HAVE TO PROVE THAT YOU AREN’T JUST FUCKING WITH THEM. AND YOU CAN’T JUST DO THAT IN EVERY SCENE. . YOU DO IT SMART. ANYTIME YOU BRANCH AWAY YOU HAVE TO HAVE A REASON. IT SPREADS OUT FAR BEYOND WHAT WE SEE. HUMAN CENTIPEDE 2 "WORKS" FOR ITS FILMMAKER). BUT THAT GREAT. THEY CONSTRUCTED AN ENTIRE FILM AROUND THEIR INVENTIVE. AND IF YOU DO? YOU BETTER BE DAMN SURE THAT AUDIENCE'S ANGERED REACTION IS THE EXACT RESULT YOU WANT (WHICH IS WHY IN ITS MOST BASIC SENSE. DROPPING THEME? IT BETTER MAKE PERFECT SENSE FOR THE TEXTURE. AND THEN HE UNDERSTANDS INSTINCTIVELY WHEN TO DIP RIGHT BACK INTO PURE VISCERAL CINEMA. AND MORE IMPORTANTLY. MARION WAS THE MAIN CHARACTER. THE FILM GIVES US EVERY REASON TO BELIEVE IT CAN HAPPEN. OFTEN TO PLACES THAT ARE UNCOMFORTABLE. UNCONVENTIONAL DECISION. AND THEN YOU HAVE TO FOLLOW IT THROUGH TO THE END. ESSENTIALLY. HITCHCOCK AND HIS TEAM DIDN’T FUCK WITH THE AUDIENCE JUST TO FUCK WITH THE AUDIENCE. YOU HAVE TO KNOW WHAT YOUR EFFECT WILL BE. THE ABSENCE OF ONE ELEMENT OF GOOD NARRATIVE MEANS YOU SHOULD FULLY EMBRACE ONE OF THE OTHER ELEMENTS FROM OUR WORKING DEFINITION LISTED IN PART ONE. HIS CONVERSATIONS TAKE YOU ON A NARRATIVE JOURNEY. YOU HAVE TO KNOW WHEN YOU’RE PUSHING IT. WELL. THE LESSON IS SIMPLE: IF YOU WANT TO GO IN BOLD NARRATIVE DIRECTIONS. THE FILMMAKERS MAY HAVE HAD A DESIRE TO SHAKE THINGS UP. YOU HAVE TO NEGOTIATE. THE EVENT HAS A TREMENDOUS FALL-OUT AND CONSEQUENCES TO THE NEW CHARACTERS. YOU CAN ALWAYS BRING AN AUDIENCE TO AN ANTAGONISTIC PLACE. WE GET A TOTAL CREEPY-AS-SHIT BUILD UP. YOU HAVE TO SHOW THE CONSEQUENCES. THAT YOUR DECISION HAD MEANING AND THEME AND IMPORT. REBELLIOUS MOMENT IN PSYCHO WORKS BECAUSE THE ENTIRE FILM IS CONSTRUCTED AROUND IT. WHAT COULD HAVE JUST BEEN A TIGHT. IT’S PALPABLE. AND IT DOESN’T DO THIS WILLY-NILLY. WELLREALIZED ACTION FILM. AND THEIR ART IS NOT BASED ON GETTING A MERE REACTION. BUT ON THE FLIP-SIDE HE WAS ESSENTIALLY BEING THE MOST THEMATICALLY RESPONSIBLE FILMMAKER OF ALL TIME. AND CONTAINS WHAT IS QUITE PROBABLY THE BESTFILMED ACTION THAT HULK HAS EVER SEEN.” AND AS A RESULT. THE ENTIRE OPENING SECRETLY SETS US UP FOR ENDING. TIGHT. THEY DO SO TO CREATE NEW VIVID MEANINGS AND MAKE TRULY INTERESTING STATEMENTS. EVERY BIT OF ODDLY STAGED PRODUCTION DESIGN HAD A SEMIOTICAL CONSTRUCT. VISCERAL. THEY ARE MAKING ART. HECK. IT SUBVERTS ITS GENRE NEEDS AND EXPECTATIONS AND ACHIEVES THIS STUNNING THEMATIC RESONANCE. BUT CRAFTING STATEMENTS. OR LOOK TO THE GREATEST AMERICAN FILMMAKER EVER IN STANLEY KUBRICK. BUT THEY DO SO ONLY TO ENGAGE DEEPER QUESTIONS IN LIFE. IT GETS RIGHT TO THE HEART OF “WHAT THE FILM MEANS. THE ENTIRE MOVIE WAS SECRETLY FULL OF THIS SAME KIND OF COMMENTARY. AND IT'S BECAUSE IT ESCHEWED THE MOST BASIC EXPECTATIONS OF NARRATIVE. YOU MAY THINK HE WAS THUMBING HIS NOSE AT CONVENTIONAL STORYTELLING AND EMOTION. AND THEY DID A GOOD ENOUGH JOB OF IT TO MAKE ONE OF THE BEST-ACCLAIMED MOVIES OF ALL TIME. BUT THE COENS UNDERSTAND AND EXPECT THE LIMITATIONS OF THEIR CHOICES. EVEN THEIR MOST BIZARRE COMEDIC MOMENTS IN FILMS LIKE THE BIG LEBOWSKI ARE LACED WITH TOPICALITY AND SUBTEXT. . THE ONLY REAL PROBLEM IS THAT THE CONNECTIONS IT WAS MAKING AND THE PLACE THEY WERE GOING WORKS BETTER FOR PEOPLE WHO EMBRACE SUBTLETY AND THEMATIC STORYTELLING. EVERY INVERTING GESTURE HAD A MEANING. BUT DID SO IN THE NAME OF PURE ART. THE FILM IS FREE TO EXPLORE SOMETHING MORE ABSTRACT. BY REMOVING THE SHACKLES OF NARRATIVE RESTRICTION. INSTEAD BECOMES ON ONE OF THE BEST FILMS OF ALL TIME. WHO ESCHEWED EVERY CONVENTION EVER. WHERE THE DEVIL INSIDE IS ANYTHING BUT SUBTLE AND JUST RUBS IT IN OUR FACE). THE FILM BEFORE THE ENDING QUALIFIES AS A REMARKABLY SUSPENSEFUL REVENGE FILM. THE ENDING OF NO COUNTRY REALLY RUBBED THEM THE WRONG WAY. IT DOESN’T JUST DECIDE TO BECOME ARTISTIC FOR ARTISTIC’S SAKE. THE POINT HULK WANTS YOU TO TAKE AWAY IS SIMPLE: THE COEN BROTHERS MAY DEFY EXPECTATIONS OF STORYTELLING CONVENTIONS CONSTANTLY. THEY ALSO UNDERSTAND THEIR RESPONSIBILITY TO DEFTLY WEAVE IN AND OUT NARRATIVE IN ORDER TO CREATE NEW THEMATIC MEANINGS. EVERY WAY HIS CHARACTERS SHIED AWAY FROM EMPATHY AND CONNECTION WAS A PURPOSEFUL WAY OF GETTING YOU TO DISCONNECT SO YOU COULD ENGAGE IN AN IDEA. BUT SOMETIMES THAT’S THE PRICE YOU PAY FOR WORKING IN SUBTLETY (NOTICE THE STARK DIFFERENCE THOUGH.ONE OF THE BEST MOVIES TO TALK ABOUT IN TERMS OF INNOVATION AND EMBRACING OF UNCONVENTIONAL STORY IS THE ENDING OF NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN. BUT WITH THE ENDING IT BECOMES SOMETHING SO MUCH MORE. EVEN DOWNRIGHT POETIC. AND FOR ALL THE PEOPLE WHO EITHER WEREN'T PERCEPTIVE TO THEMATIC STUFF OR JUST WERE NOT THAT INTO IT. “UNLESS NOT SAYING SOMETHING IS YOUR POINT. INSPIRATION COMES FROM HAVING SOMETHING TO SAY. WHY YOU WANT TO BE CAREFUL WITH IT. HULK DIDN’T WANT TO SEEM AUTHORITARIAN OR LIKE A MORALIST. HULK ISN’T HERE TO TELL YOU WHAT “COMPELS YOU. WHICH ALL JUST MEANS THAT GOOD NARRATIVES HAVE PURPOSE. DRAMATIC FUNCTION. AFTER ALL. SAY NOTHING OF AMBIGUITY. THE ENDING BEING THE CONCEIT.” IF THAT KIND OF STATEMENT COMPELS YOU. CHARACTER PSYCHOLOGIES ARE BASED ON WANTS AND NEEDS AND PROJECTION. WHEREIN THERE IS AN EMPHASIS ON NOT BEING DIDACTIC. AND TO THAT PURPOSE HULK UNDERSTANDS WHY THEY TELL THEIR STORIES IN SUCH A WAY. IT’S INSTEAD COMING FROM THAT PLACE OF NOT TRYING TO SAY ANYTHING. AND THE PROBLEM OF SO MANY MOVIES WITH THE TRADITIONAL POST-MODERN BENT IS THAT IN TRYING TO UPHOLD THE REFLEXIVE VALUE OF ALL ACTIONS THEY ARE THEREBY ROBBING THOSE DRAMATIC FUNCTIONS OF THEIR IMPORTANCE. AND WHATEVER YOU THINK OF THE TACTICS OF THE COEN BROTHERS OR STANLEY KUBRICK. HULK CAN ASSURE YOU THEY DIDN’T SIT AROUND AND GO "WOULDN'T IT BE COOL IF?" 42. AND ALL THE WHILE HULK HAS KEPT ADDING THE CAVEAT. REGARDLESS OF TACT. THE FIRST REASON IS SIMPLE: LOOK AT EVERYTHING WE’VE TALKED ABOUT IN THIS BOOK. GOOD NARRATIVES HAVE PURPOSE TO EVERY MOMENT IN THEM. AND THAT’S BECAUSE IT SEEMS REDUCTIVE TO THE GREAT UNIVERSAL TRUTH THAT NOTHING IS REALLY TRUE. SAY NOTHING OF TRYING TO SAY A NUANCED THING. AT LEAST. TRYING TO BE DIDACTIC IS THE WORST THING YOU CAN DO. AND THINKING THAT OTHERS . A LOT OF TIMES PEOPLE DON’T WANT TO ATTACK AN AUDIENCE WITH SOME AFTER-SCHOOL SPECIAL TACTICS OR ARCHAIC LESSONS OR MAKE A BIG ARTISTIC STATEMENT OR DO ANYTHING LIKE THAT. THEN BY ALL MEANS YOU MUST FOLLOW YOUR HEARTS AND MINDS. IT’S JUST… LOOK. MOST OF THE FILMS THAT COUNTER THESE CONVENTIONAL VALUES OF NARRATIVE ARE INDEPENDENT AND / OR VALID ART FILMS AND TRYING TO REFLECT A CERTAIN UNDERSTANDING OF POST-MODERNISM. ACT BREAKS ARE CHARACTER CHOICES. PURPOSEFULLY MAKING A FILM SEEM LIKE IT DOESN’T HAVE A POINT AT THE END JUST MAKES FOR BAD NARRATIVE. DRAMATIC ACTION. BUT HULK’S GOING TO TAKE A FEW SECONDS TO TRY AND EXPLAIN WHY HULK ISN’T CRAZY ABOUT THE IDEA OR. SOMETIMES IT FEELS LIKE THERE IS THIS UNSPOKEN VALUE AMONG ARTISTS THAT. THE MODERN DIFFICULTY OF RELATIVISM SO FOR AN ENTIRE BOOK HULK HAS TALKED A LOT ABOUT HAVING A PURPOSE WITH YOUR WRITING AND THE IMPORTANCE OF SAYING SOMETHING WITH EACH GESTURE. BUT IT REALLY GOES BEYOND THAT. THERE’S A REASON FOLKS ARE AVERSE TO DOING SO THIS DAY AND AGE. IN OTHER WORDS.” OR SOMETHING TO THAT EFFECT. “……… WHAT?” OKAY HOW TO PUT IT. HULK THINKS BEING DIDACTIC IS ONE OF THE CORE TENETS OF STORYTELLING GOING BACK TO FABLES. HERE’S A NUTS AND BOLTS VERSION: POST-MODERNISM IS LARGELY GROUNDED IN THE DISSOLUTION OF TRUTH. ONLY THE “WHAT” OF THAT LESSON IS EXTRAORDINARILY COMPLEX. ONCE AGAIN. BUT BECAUSE SOME PEOPLE CAN SAY REALLY BROAD. IT’S PROBABLY THE BEST WEAPON HUMANITY HAS AGAINST TOTALITARIANISM AND EXTREMISM. MEANING HULK’S VIEW CAN’T BE TRUE AND YOUR VIEW CAN’T BE TRUE.SHOULDN’T SAY ANYTHING EITHER IS. SO ONCE AGAIN WE HAVE A CRISIS OF LANGUAGE. ON ONE HAND. LIKE. MAYBE THEY THINK THEY ARE REFLECTING TRUTHFULNESS? MAYBE THEY FIND ANYTHING ELSE TO BE PLACATING? WHATEVER THEIR INTENTIONS HULK JUST THINKS THAT THEY DON’T REALIZE HOW MUCH THEY ARE NARROWING THEIR OWN NARRATIVE EFFECT. STUPID THINGS WITH THAT DIDACTICISM. THERE IS ONLY WHAT WE BELIEVE. CONCEPTUALLY. HULK READS SCRIPTS ALL THE TIME WHERE PEOPLE ARE JUST SO DAMN AFRAID OF HAVING SOMETHING STRONG TO SAY. EVERY SINGLE SCENE IN THAT SHOW IS 100% TRYING TO SAY SOMETHING AND CONVEY A VERY SPECIFIC LESSON ABOUT SOCIOLOGY.. BUT IT’S ANYTHING BUT AMBIVALENT. THE TRUTH IS THAT MOST PEOPLE CRITICIZING THINGS AS BEING DIDACTIC NOT BECAUSE THE STORY HAS THE WILL TO CONVEY MEANING AND IDEAS. IT’S HYPER-SPECIFIC ABOUT EVERYTHING IT WANTS TO SAY. WE POINTED AT THINGS. IT’S OFTEN NUANCED AND HUMANE. NOT JUST DRAMATICALLY. REALLY INACCESSIBLE. DELIBERATE POINTLESSNESS MAKES A STORY REALLY. BUT THE IMPORTANT THING IS THAT WE USE POST-MODERNISM TO DISSOLVE THE CERTAINTY OF ABSOLUTIST THOUGHT. THAT’S A PRETTY CRUDE WAY OF PUTTING IT. BUT HULK FINDS RELATIVISM TO BE REALLY BORING. AT THE DAWN OF CULTURE WE DIDN’T HAVE LANGUAGE. IT’S TRIVIALIZING. BUT. WE INSTINCTIVELY KNEW HOW TO . IT’S KIND OF PERSONAL AND FEEL FREE TO DISAGREE. SO THEREFORE NOTHING IS TRUE. WE ATE THINGS.. AND YET WE’VE BRED A GENERATION WHO IS AFRAID TO DO IT BECAUSE THEY CONFUSE THE WILL TO SAY SOMETHING WITH AFTER-SCHOOL-SPECIALISM. AND AS A RESULT. BUT THERE IS A CAVEAT TO THAT AND HULK HOPES THE FOLLOWING MAKES SENSE: THE PROBLEM WITH POST-MODERN RELATIVISM IS THAT IT WAS ALSO HUMANITY’S FIRST PROBLEM. THE PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF POST-MODERN THINKING IS PRETTY FUCKING IMPORTANT. AND IT BOUNCES OFF DOZENS OF OTHER MESSAGES AND CREATES AN ACCURATE PICTURE OF A SOCIETY IN CONFLICT. WE GRUNTED. LET’S GO BACK TO THE WIRE AS A GREAT EXAMPLE WITH THE PROBLEMS OF THIS THINKING. IN FACT. AND THE OTHER REASON HULK ISN’T A FAN OF THIS KIND OF RELATIVISM IS BECAUSE … WELL. WELL. WE ARE ESSENTIALLY TALKING ABOUT RELATIVISM. AND AS MUCH AS POST-MODERN RELATIVISM IS HERE TO SAVE US FROM THE CRUSHING CERTAINTY OF ABSOLUTISM. BUT WE LIVE IN THE DARK. WE WOULD POINT AT THOSE BIG FOOD THINGS AND WE CALLED THEM “MAMMOTHS” AND HUNTED THEM WITH OUR SPEAR HEADS. WE POINT AT THOSE UNKNOWABLE CONCEPTS LIKE LOVE. TO DO SO WOULD BE TO ABANDON THE VALUE OF LANGUAGE. BECAUSE WE LOOKED AT A MAMMOTH AND SIMPLY AGREED TO CALL IT A MAMMOTH SO THAT WE COULD UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER AND COME TOGETHER. AND AGREED THAT THEY SHOULD BE CALLED “ROCKS. OR AN ATTEMPT TO TELL A TRUTH. ANGER. IT IS THE GOAL TO PURSUE AS MUCH TRUTH AS WE CAN POSSIBLY KNOW. AN AGREEMENT ON LANGUAGE AND STORIES WAS HOW WE SURVIVED. AND THEN OUR LITTLE PROTO-VERSIONS OF US CREATED LANGUAGE. AND THUS. AKA THOSE THINGS WE ALL SAW EVERY DAY. IT IS THE PURSUIT OF KNOWLEDGE AND THE FOUNDATION OF SCIENCE. THIS REALITY IS CRUSHING.” THOSE STORIES BECAME CHANNELS TO OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE STARS AND UNIVERSE. IT IS THE CONSTANT BATTLE WE WAGE EVERY SINGLE DAY OF OUR LIVES. OR AN ATTEMPT TO BARE YOUR SOUL AND SAY SOMETHING IS NOT AN INSTINCTUAL ATTEMPT TO UNDERMINE RELATIVISM. WE POINTED AT ROCKS. BECAUSE WE COULD DEFINE THINGS. WE TELL STORIES SO THAT WE CAN KNOW THESE CONCEPTS AND GROW AND PASS ON AN UNDERSTANDING. A CALENDAR OF CELESTIAL BODIES STIRRING ABOVE US.” AND FROM THOSE ROCKS WE MADE SPEAR HEADS. WE AS HUMAN BEINGS MUST ALSO BE HERE TO SAVE EACH OTHER FROM ABANDONING DEFINITION ALL TOGETHER. WE USED OUR LANGUAGES AND DEFINITIONS TO START PLANTING THINGS LIKE CORN. AN ATTEMPT TO DEFINE THINGS. WE DON’T LIKE TO THINK ABOUT IT. EVERYTHING WAS RELATIVE. IT WAS HOW WE CAME OUT OF THE DARK. IT’S A SURVIVAL MECHANISM. AND LUST AND GIVE THEM NAMES. BUT HOW DID WE SURVIVE? WE WERE IN THE FIGURATIVE TOWER OF BABEL AND WE COULDN’T COMMUNICATE. WE DON’T THROW UP OUR ARMS AND SAY “IT’S ALL RELATIVE! SO WHATEVER!” WHAT WOULD HAPPEN TO THE SCIENTIFIC PROCESS IF WE EVER GAVE UP ON FINDING THE BETTER ANSWER? WE TELL STORIES SO THEY MIGHT BE OF SOME FUCKING USE. AND THE FACT THAT WE HAD NO OBJECTIVE TRUTHS TO AGREE ON WAS A THREAT TO OUR VERY SURVIVAL. OF COURSE WE CAN’T UNDERMINE IT. … BUT MAYBE THAT’S JUST THE WORKING DEFINITION. THERE ISN’T A SINGLE PERSON ON THIS PLANET WHO CAN KNOW WHAT HAPPENS TO US AFTER WE DIE. HAPPINESS. JUST AS WE POINTED AT THE MAMMOTH SO WE COULD GIVE A WORD TO IT AS FOOD.DO THINGS. OKAY LET’S BRING THIS BACK TO A LITTLE LESS GRANDIOSE PLACE: HULK . TO BEST RELAY THESE IDEAS WE CREATED A SEQUENCE OF MEANINGS. OKAY. AND THUS HULK WOULD LIKE TO SUBMIT THE IDEA THAT TRYING TO DEFINE THINGS IS NOT INHERENTLY A LIE. WE GREW AND SURVIVED BECAUSE WE COULD COMMUNICATE. WHICH ARE EFFECTIVELY JUST “STORIES. JEALOUSY. FROM A PHILOSOPHY THAT OFTEN SEEMS LIKE IT’S TRYING TO DIG US RIGHT BACK DOWN INTO THE DARK. OR IF WE HAVE SOULS. CARTOONS. HULK HAS SEEN 50 TIMES THE AMOUNT OF JUVENILE B. FIND THE GREAT CINEMATIC REFLECTION OF RELATIVISM OR FLIPPANTLY POINTLESSNESS. SO WE’LL JUST LEAVE THAT ONE ALONE. FOR MANY YEARS. THE CORE IDEA AT PLAY IN ADAPTATION IS SOMETHING YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND. CHANCES ARE YOU’LL FIND YOURSELF DEALING WITH THE ART OF ADAPTATION. 43.” IT STARTED WITH OLD TV SHOWS AND THEN SWITCHED TO COMICS. WHICH IS PRETTY DAMN MEANINGLESS IN TERMS OF MAKING A GOOD MOVIE. FOR EVERY TRULY GREAT FILM HULK HAS SEEN IN WHICH POST-MODERN THOUGHT LED ITS HERO TO SHYING AWAY FROM ABSOLUTISM OF POLITICS OR SOMETHING EQUALLY DANGEROUS. REFLEXIVISM. FOR EVERY BRILLIANT DALLIANCE OF POST-MODERN REFLEXIVISM. AND EVEN THEME PARK RIDES. FROM SOMEONE WHO IS JUST AFRAID TO SAY SOMETHING. OR THAT IT EMBRACES THE NEW MYTH.KNOWS THAT A LOT OF POST-MODERNISM IS GEARED AROUND A LESS STRINGENT VERSION OF THE RELATIVISM HULK TALKED ABOUT EARLIER. THE PRACTICE HAD ITS OWN PECULIARITIES (FULL-ON NOVEL-ADAPTATION SCREENWRITING CLASSES WOULD BE TAUGHT AND EVERYTHING). IT WASN’T ABOUT KNOWN STORIES. DO WHAT COMPELS YOU. INDEPENDENT. IT’S ALL ABOUT ADAPTING “PROPERTIES. INSTINCTIVELY TEND TO AGREE WITH HULK ON THIS ONE. IT WAS ALL ABOUT “KNOWN ICONOGRAPHIES. THE MAIN FOCUS WAS THE ADAPTING OF POPULAR BOOKS. ADAPTATION SO IF YOU EVER FIND YOURSELF IN THE POSITION OF WRITING IN HOLLYWOOD. FAMOUS CHARACTERS. . THIS IS JUST A HULK BEING HONEST ABOUT WHAT HULK DOESN’T FIND COMPELLING… THE THING HULK WANTS YOU TO KEEP IN MIND IS THAT MOST AUDIENCES. WHETHER MAINSTREAM. HULK CAN COUNT BY THE BARRELFUL THE NUMBER OF STUDENT FILMS THAT HULK HAS SEEN IN WHICH RELATIVISM. IF YOU LOOK AT THIS AND THINK HULK IS SUPER-DUPER WRONG. OR ARTISTIC. PROVE HULK WRONG. BUT HULK CAN COUNT ON HULK’S FINGERS AND TOES THE NUMBER OF FILMS HULK’S SEEN THAT ARE INTERESTED IN CREATING THE NEW MYTH. MEANWHILE.S. NOW. IT’S ALL ABOUT MARKETING A KNOWN VALUE SO YOU CAN GET YOUR AWARENESS NUMBERS UP AND THAT SOMEHOW BECOMES YOUR JUSTIFICATION FOR GREEN-LIGHTING A MOVIE. THE IMPORTANT THING TO REALIZE IS THAT EVEN WHILE THE PARTICULAR TALENTS FOR ADAPTING A NOVEL ARE SLOWLY BECOMING LESS RELEVANT.” THE REASON WHY THIS HAPPENED ISN’T SOME BIG MYSTERY. DO WITH THIS SENTIMENT WHAT YOU MAY. TWITTER ACCOUNTS. THEN BY ALL MEANS GO FOR IT. BUT THEN THE INDUSTRY REALLY STARTED SHYING AWAY FROM THAT FOCUS. AND THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF SINGLE PERSPECTIVE HAVE BEEN HURLED ONSCREEN WITH THE SAME KIND OF INEFFECTUAL SHRUG BEFITTING ITS LACK OF FORETHOUGHT. PEOPLE ALWAYS TALK ABOUT HOW A GOOD ADAPTATION “CAPTURES THE SPIRIT” OF THE PROPERTY. AS FOR THE PLOTTING? IT’S A NEGOTIATION. THE FIRST PART OF THE DICHOTOMY IS THAT YOU HAVE TO ACCEPT THAT THERE ARE PEOPLE IN THE THEATER WHO WANT A STAGED. REALLY. TAKING . IT MEANS WHAT HULK BEEN SAYING SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THIS WHOLE DAMN BOOK: CHARACTER IS KING. AND EVEN IF MOST PEOPLE ARE SOME LESSENED VERSION OF EACH SIDE. BUT FOR TRUE ADAPTATION YOU REALLY JUST NEED TO DECIDE ON THE CENTRAL PLOT-POINTS (MEANING MECHANISMS) THAT ALLOW THE FUNCTIONING OF THE PLOT IN THE ORIGINAL PROPERTY AND INCORPORATE THEM INTO THE CENTRAL STRUCTURE OF YOURS. BECAUSE NEITHER GIVES YOU A SIZABLE ENOUGH AUDIENCE TO BE SUCCESSFUL. YOU WANT THE PEOPLE OF THE PROPERTY TO BE THE SAME PEOPLE IN THE FILM. THEN GETTING THE CHARACTERS RIGHT IS YOUR PRIMARY CONCERN. THE SECOND PART OF THE DICHOTOMY IS TO ACCEPT THERE ARE PEOPLE THERE WHO HAVE NEVER READ THE BOOK AND COULD CARE LESS ABOUT FAITHFULNESS. YOU STILL HAVE TO TRY AND PLEASE EVERYONE. THAT JUST MEANS YOU HAVE TO WRITE A GOOD MOVIE. BUT WHAT DOES THAT ACTUALLY MEAN? IT’S KIND OF VAGUE. THE KEY TO DOING THAT IN ADAPTATION IS UNDERSTANDING WHAT YOU HAVE TO KEEP AND WHAT YOU DON’T HAVE TO KEEP. DON’T PLEASE THE SIMPLE MOVIE-GOERS? YOU WON’T HAVE A SUCCESSFUL FILM ON ANY LEVEL THEN. THAT’S EVERYTHING. BUT INSTEAD THERE IS A VERY SPECIFIC SET OF CONDITIONS BEST EXPRESSED BY A SIMPLE DICHOTOMY. IF THE ORIGINAL PROPERTY WAS ABLE TO RESONATE THEN THAT’S A PRETTY DAMN GOOD INDICATOR THAT CAPTURING THE SAME THINGS WILL CAUSE YOUR ADAPTATION TO RESONATE TOO! SO REMEMBER: CAPTURING THE SPIRIT = NAILING THE CHARACTERS. AND IF EMPATHY TRULY IS EVERYTHING FOR GETTING YOUR AUDIENCE TO INVEST. LINE BY LINE RE-CREATION OF THE SOURCE MATERIAL AND DON’T ACTUALLY CARE ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE OTHER THAN THAT. DON’T PLEASE THE HARDCORE FANS? THEY DON’T HELP YOU MARKET THE LONG PLAY TO THE MASSES. BASICALLY. JUST REMEMBER. SOMETIMES YOU’RE FINE IF YOU GO JUST MAKE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE.THERE ARE NO SET RULES IN ADAPTATION. AUDIENCES JUST WANT TO RECOGNIZE THE CHARACTERS THEY HAVE COME TO LOVE OR BE FASCINATED BY. AND HEY. THEREFORE / BUTS. IT’S NOT THE “WHAT” OF THE PLOT POINT BUT “THE WHY. WHICH MEANS THE ART OF ADAPTATION JUST FALLS TO OUR RELIABLE OLD CONCEPT OF “BALANCE” TO SAVE US.” THINK ABOUT THE PURPOSE AND EVERYTHING WE’VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT. RIGHT? REALLY. WHAT ARE THE CHARACTER DECISIONS? WHAT ARE THE THEMES? HOW DO THE PLOT MECHANISMS ACCELERATE AT A CERTAIN POINT? AND FROM THERE: STREAMLINE! DO EVERYTHING WE’VE TALKED ABOUT WITH ECONOMY. MOST OF THE TIME WHEN YOU’RE FIRST TRYING TO GET AN AGENT OR MANAGER YOU WILL BE WRITING ORIGINAL SCRIPTS AND THEY WILL BE READ BY THESE PEOPLE “ON SPEC. LOOK AT THE CHOICES THEY MAKE IN CONDENSING INFORMATION. IT’S ALL TRANSITIONAL FILMMAKING. A KNOCK ON THE DOOR. .” BUT THERE IS A CURIOUS OVERLAP IN TERMINOLOGY THAT SPECIFICALLY APPLIES TO TELEVISION. IT’S WRITING ALL THE SAME.” AND MERGING INTO CONFLICTING ARCS. NOT BECAUSE OF ANY TONAL CHOICES (THE FILM IS REMARKABLY SUBTLE AND QUIET). BUT REALLY YOU WANT TO SHOW THAT YOU CAN LOOK AT ANOTHER PERSON’S SHOW AND UNDERSTAND THE CHARACTERS AND GET THE TONE RIGHT.” MEANING ANYTHING THAT IS UNSOLICITED MATERIAL. BUT A PRODUCTION COMPANY IS STILL READING TO CHECK OUT A WRITER. SPEC SCRIPTIN’! OKAY. AND BEFORE YOU KNOW IT THEY’VE TAKEN A BOOK THAT WAS A 5 HOUR MINISERIES ADAPTATION AND TURNED INTO A 2 HOUR FILM WITHOUT MISSING A BEAT. THE ONLY DIFFERENCE BEING THAT YOUR ABILITY TO ANALYZE AND BREAKDOWN WHY A STORY WORKS IN ITS ORIGINAL FORM WILL ABSOLUTELY ALLOW YOU TO BUILD A BETTER ADAPTATION. THEN HULK HEARTILY RECOMMENDS FIRST READING JOHN LE CARRE’S TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY AND THEN SEEING THE RECENT TOMAS ALFREDSON FILM ADAPTATION WITH GARY OLDMAN. SO YOU WRITE A FAKE EPISODE OF MAD MEN AND THE IDEA IS TO ESTABLISH THAT YOU COULD TOTALLY WRITE AN EPISODE OF THAT SHOW TO PROVE YOUR METTLE. THE IDEA IS TO BOTH IMPRESS THE HELL OUT OF EVERYONE AND SIGNIFY THAT YOU CAN PLAY WITH SOMEONE ELSE’S TOYS. WHICH HULK READILY ADMITS CAN BE DIFFICULT. 44. THE INDUSTRY ALSO USES THE SAME PHRASE OF “SPEC SCRIPTS” TO MEAN UNCOMMISSIONED TV SCRIPTS FOR SHOWS THAT ALREADY EXIST. SO TECHNICALLY A SPEC SCRIPT IS ANYTHING THAT IS WRITTEN “ON SPEC. ALL THE SAME LESSONS APPLY. AN EXTENDED GAZE. EACH ACTION FORWARDS THE STORY. YOU ARE PROVING THAT YOU CAN TAKE THAT WORLD AND CRAFT YOUR OWN UNIQUE AND INTERESTING STORY WITHIN IT. A SMILE. SAY YOU WANT TO BE A TV WRITER. DRAMATIC TV SHOW. SAY YOU WANT TO WRITE ON A SMART. IF YOU NEED A GOOD WORKING EXAMPLE OF THE TACTICS YOU CAN USE IN YOUR APPROACH. BECAUSE TELEVISION SO READILY INVOLVES HIRING WRITERS FOR AN EXISTING SHOW (90% OF WRITERS ARE WORKING ON A SHOW THAT ISN’T “THEIRS”). EACH ACTION REVEALS CHARACTER. PEOPLE WORRY ABOUT CRAMMING EVERYTHING INTO AN ADAPTATION. A MASTER CLASS. AND THAT’S BECAUSE THE FILM IS A MASTER CLASS IN ADAPTATION. STILL. BUT BECAUSE OF THE EXPRESSIONS OF PLOT THROUGH PURE CINEMA. ENTIRE MONOLOGUES IN THE BOOK ARE CUT OFF AND FEED WHAT WE ASSUME THEY MUST HAVE TALKED ABOUT BASED ON THE NEXT SCENE. A FILE DROPPED ON A DESK.“WRITTEN INFO” AND MAKING IT “SHOWING INFO. YOU WOULD IMAGINE IT WAS THE MOST LOGICAL THING IN THE UNIVERSE. THEY ARE GUARDED WITH IT. LOOK FOR OVERLAPS! LOOK FOR THE KINDS OF SHOWS THAT THOSE PEOPLE LIKE! BE SMART ABOUT IT! BUT AT THE SAME TIME… III) DON’T PICK A SHOW THAT YOU DO NOT KNOW WELL. WHEN FRIENDS WAS FIRST ON THE AIR THE WRITERS WOULD ALWAYS GET SPEC SCRIPTS WHERE IT WAS CLEAR THE WRITER JUST WANTED TO MAKE TWO OF THEIR FAVORITE CHARACTERS HOOK UP… DON’T DO THAT. A LOT OF TIMES SPEC SCRIPT WRITERS INCLUDE SOME MAJOR EVENT THAT DRAMATICALLY CHANGES A CHARACTER OR THE PLOT. BECAUSE YOU WANT TO WRITE A BIG. DON’T GO NUTS WITH YOUR FAN-FIC-ING INCLINATION FOR THE SHOW. QUITE BLUNTLY. YOU WANT TO PROVE YOU CAN UPHOLD THE STATUS QUO… NOT CHANGE IT. BUT IT USED A NARRATIVE DEVICE (CENTRALIZING AROUND A PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN CHARACTER) THAT MANY FELT WAS TOO RADICAL A DEPARTURE FOR THAT SHOW… PERHAPS HULK WAS JUST TOO INSPIRED BY “THE ZEPPO. V) ALSO. II) SO THAT MEANS YOU PICK A SHOW THAT’S LIKE THE SHOW YOU WOULD WANT TO WORK FOR. IT HAPPENS MORE THAN YOU WOULD THINK AND IT’S SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN’T FAKE. PUT IT THIS WAY. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? WELL. WITH THE CAVEAT OF A FEW PIECES OF ADVICE HULK WILL GIVE YOU NOW ON HOW TO THREAD THE NEEDLE OF WHAT PEOPLE WILL BE LOOKING FOR… I) OFTEN TIMES IT’S NOT GOOD TO WRITE A SPEC SCRIPT FOR THE EXACT SHOW YOU’RE TRYING TO GET A JOB ON. UNLESS YOU’RE ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT OR SOMETHING WHERE CALLBACKS ARE WOVEN INTO THE FABRIC OF THE SHOW. IT CAN EVEN BE A LITTLE THING. SO TRY TO AVOID NEW HOOK-UPS BETWEEN THE CHARACTERS. THEY KNOW THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE SO WELL THAT THEY WILL TAKE IT PERSONALLY. BUT THE PEOPLE APPROVING YOU AND HIRING YOU ARE OFTEN TOO CLOSE TO THE SHOW TO TRULY BE ABLE TO SEPARATE THEMSELVES FROM WHAT YOU ARE WRITING. IT’S AN UNDERSTANDABLE INCLINATION. IT’S SORT OF A WEIRD CIRCUMSTANCE. DRAMATIC SCRIPT… BUT REALLY YOUR JOB IS TO SHOW THAT YOU CAN UPHOLD THE RULES AND NORMS OF THE UNIVERSE YOU ARE TRYING TO WRITE FOR. IT’S AMATEUR HOUR BECAUSE YOU’RE INSTANTLY PROVING YOU’RE A MASTURBATORY AND INDULGENT WRITER. WHICH MEANS JUST DOING ALL THE GOOD WRITING STUFF WE’VE TALKED ABOUT HERE. DON’T GO NUTS! HECK… EVEN THEN.” (THAT’S A REFERENCE!) . IMPRESSIVE. AND IN THOSE CIRCUMSTANCES IT’S JUST SO EASY TO GO OFF THE RESERVATION FROM THEIR SPECIFIC WAY OF WRITING THE SHOW. IT JUST ALWAYS. EITHER YOU KNOW THE HISTORY AND TONE OF A SHOW AND THAT’S CLEAR OR YOU DON’T. AT THE SAME TIME… IV) DON’T GO NUTS TRYING TO SHOW OFF HOW MUCH YOU KNOW! A LOT OF SPEC SCRIPTS WILL TRY AND CRAM IN EVERY HISTORY OR REFERENCE EVER. ALWAYS PLAYS BAD. SOME YEARS AGO HULK WROTE A SPEC THAT HULK THOUGHT WAS SHARP AND UPHELD THE UNIVERSE. VI) OR LESS OFFENSIVELY. WRITING IS ABOUT MAKING DIFFICULT CHOICES. SO THAT’S A LOT OF THINGS TO TRY AND BALANCE. THEY JUST BECOME THINGS WE TALK ABOUT IN TRYING TO EXPLAIN THEM. BUT WOULD YOU EXPECT ANYTHING ELSE IN THE MAJOR LEAGUES OF WRITING? LIKE EVERYTHING HULK HAS TOLD YOU SO FAR. OBVIOUS WAY (THIS IS HULK'S PERSONAL DEFINITION): A PLOT HOLE IS A CRUCIAL GAP OR INCONSISTENCY IN A STORYLINE (AS PRESENTED) THAT PREVENTS THE PROPER FUNCTIONING OF THE PLOT OR CENTRAL CHARACTERIZATION (AS PRESENTED). BUT ENOUGH TANGENTIAL THOUGHTS… IT’S TIME TO ADDRESS ONE OF THE TRICKIEST. BECAUSE THOSE WORDS PREVENT US FROM DIVING INTO A WHOLE BUNCH OF EXTRANEOUS QUESTIONS AND THEY ALLOWS US TO ACCEPT THE RULES OF THE WORLD ON A CONDITIONAL BASIS. MOVIES DEFINITELY NEED TO HAVE A CERTAIN LEVEL OF LOGIC TO WORK BECAUSE WE ARE. HOW TO APPROACH PLOT HOLES AND MOVIE LOGIC WHENEVER PEOPLE TALK ABOUT HOW STUPID MOVIES ARE THEY LIKE TO TALK ABOUT PLOT HOLES AS IF THEY ARE THE REASON THE MOVIE WAS BAD. WHICH IS ODDLY ENOUGH THE SAME THING THAT MAKES COMPELLING CHARACTERS. IT WOULD BE LIKE WALKING OUT ON TO A MAJOR LEAGUE FIELD AND TRYING TO NO-HIT AN OPPOSING LINE-UP. HALF THE STUFF THAT GETS CALLED A PLOT HOLE THESE DAYS ISN’T EVEN CLOSE. ONE THING YOU SHOULD KEEP IN MIND IS THAT MATTHEW WEINER IS ONE OF THE BEST WRITERS ON THE PLANET. BUT WHAT HULK WOULD LIKE TO PROVE TO YOU IN THE FOLLOWING CHAPTER IS THAT PLOT HOLES (AT LEAST IN THE WAY PEOPLE USE THE TERM) ACTUALLY HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH WHETHER OR NOT STORIES ARE GOOD OR BAD. MOST PROBLEMATIC CONCERNS IN WRITING… 45. THE PROBLEM WITH TALKING ABOUT PLOT HOLES IN THE FIRST PLACE IS THERE SEEMS TO BE A LOT OF CONFUSION ABOUT WHAT THEY EVEN ARE. AFTER ALL. VII) LASTLY. NEGOTIATE WHAT YOU MOST VALUE AND ACCOUNT FOR ALL THE POSSIBLE RESULTS. REMEMBER THE DIFFICULTY OF AIMING TOO HIGH. LOGICAL BEINGS WHO NEED TO MAKE SENSE OF WHAT IS HAPPENING AROUND US. RIGHT? OF COURSE IT IS. . YOU KNOW HOW HULK MENTIONED MAD MEN AS A POSSIBLE OPTION? WELL. HULK UNDERSTANDS THIS INCLINATION. THE WORDS “CRUCIAL” AND “PREVENT” ARE BOTH KEY FOR REASONS THAT HULK WILL EXPLAIN IN A BIT. BUT A TRUE PLOT HOLE IS ACTUALLY A VERY NUANCED THING THAT HULK BELIEVES CAN STILL BE DEFINED IN A CLEAR. HULK ISN’T TELLING YOU TO AIM LOW… HULK’S JUST SAYING TO BE AWARE OF WHAT YOU’RE ATTEMPTING… BECAUSE YOU’D BE SURPRISED HOW MANY ARE NOT. ACHIEVE BALANCE IN YOUR WRITING. BUT FOR NOW NOTE THAT THE TWO WORDS "AS PRESENTED" ARE ALSO RATHER IMPORTANT. SO IN THAT SPIRIT. A SCI-FI FILM MAY EXPLAIN IN THE BEGINNING WHY THIS PARTICULAR WORLD IS DIFFERENT AND HOW THAT SOCIETY OPERATES.” WHICH YOU WILL THEN USE TO SOLVE THE PROOF STEP BY STEP. LIKE MELODRAMAS AND COMEDIES. BECAUSE AS MOVIES GO ON. THE IDEA OF ESTABLISHED GIVENS SHOULD WORK EVEN FOR MORE EMOTIONAL REALMS OF A MOVIE WORLD. AND THIS CREATES MORE AND MORE UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD. THESE RULES ARE ACCEPTED AS TRUE AND CALLED “GIVENS. AND IN A WAY. WHEN WE START A FILM WE ARE ESSENTIALLY ACCEPTING THE RULES OF THE WORLD AS A KIND OF "GIVEN. CHARACTER. . THE BETTER WE FEEL ABOUT IT. IT CAN BE THAT “THIS CHARACTER CAN TALK TO THE CAMERA” OR “PEOPLE BEHAVE ABSURDIST” IN THIS WORLD. BUT THIS HAS TO BE EXPLAINED FOR US TO ACCEPT IT. LIKE "DAD HATES MOM" OR "OUR MAIN CHARACTER IS UNPOPULAR." THESE BEHAVIORS AND DYNAMICS ARE GIVENS FOR THE WORLD WE ARE ENTERING. MEANING THE PLOT HOLES THAT DERAIL THE IN-MOMENT EXPERIENCE AND ACTIVELY PREVENT YOU FROM ENJOYING THE FILM RIGHT THERE AS YOU ARE IN THE THEATER. A MORE CONCRETE (AND FAMOUS) EXAMPLE OF SCI-FI “GIVENS” WOULD BE ASIMOV'S THREE LAWS OF ROBOTICS (AND IF YOU'LL NOTICE. FOR INSTANCE. LET'S BE CLEAR - A PLOT HOLE IS NOT ANY OF THE FOLLOWING: I) A BLATANT MOVIE-STOPPER II) SOMETHING THAT ONLY SEEMS CONFUSING IN RETROSPECT III) AN EVENT THAT SIMPLY OCCURS OFF-SCREEN IV) A LOOSE END (THOUGH IT CAN BE) V) A REAL-LIFE INACCURACY SO LET'S TALK ABOUT EACH IN ORDER… I) IT IS NOT A BLATANT MOVIE STOPPER. BUT THE THING TO UNDERSTAND HERE IS THAT THE KINDS OF PLOT HOLES THAT ACTUALLY MATTER ARE THE PLOT HOLES THAT HURT THE FUNCTIONING OF THE MOVIE. SOMETIMES THOSE RULES CAN BE ABOUT CHARACTER CONSISTENCY AND ESTABLISHED FEELINGS. BUT A PLOT HOLE OCCURS WHEN THE NEW INFORMATION GIVEN IS FUNDAMENTALLY COUNTERING THE OLD INFORMATION WITH NO EVENTUAL ACCOUNTING FOR WHY. BUT THIS DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THE CASE FOR THESE UNIQUE SCI-FI WORLDS. AND THE MORE THE SWITCH MAKES SENSE BASED ON OTHER INFORMATION PRESENTED BEFORE OR AFTER. AND THEN WE OPERATE WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE MOVIE FROM THERE. WE GET MORE AND MORE INFORMATION (WHETHER FOR PLOTTING." FOR INSTANCE. YOU ALWAYS START WITH A SERIES OF RULES AND INFORMATION.THINK OF IT LIKE THIS: IN MATHEMATICAL PROOFS. THE SUBSEQUENT BREAKDOWN OF THOSE THREE RULES IS WHAT CREATES THE CHIEF CONFLICT IN HIS STORIES). OR THEME). DO YOU SEE THE DISTINCTION? A LOT OF TIMES WE CAN HAVE A CHARACTER SUDDENLY SWITCH MOTIVATIONS. WE HAVE TO SEE THEIR WANTS AND DESIRES BECOME ENTANGLED IN A SITUATION WHERE THEY HAVE TO MAKE A BAD CHOICE. IN FACT. HULK WOULD ARGUE THERE'S A PRETTY DAMN GOOD REASON FOR THE FUTURE MOB’S USE OF LOOPER HITMEN BECAUSE MOB KILLINGS ARE ALL ABOUT "KILL CONFIRMATION. BUT ANOTHER MISUNDERSTANDING OF THE VERY PURPOSE OF CONFLICT.. FOR INSTANCE. LAUGHTER. IT IS THE FAILURE TO REALIZE THAT EVERY . WHEN HE WAS PRESENTED WITH THIS LOGICAL COUNTERPOINT. WE SEE THE HITMEN “FUCK UP” A LOT. TEARS. AND WE WATCH MOVIES TO EXPERIENCE DRAMA. AND THEN THIS INCITING INCIDENT HAPPENED SO IT WASN'T ANYMORE!" FAR MORE IMPORTANTLY. GLIBNESS ASIDE. WE ACTUALLY SEE THE LOOPER HITMAN SYSTEM AS A WHOLLY FUNCTIONAL ENTERPRISE AND THE ONLY TWO UNSUCCESSFUL INCIDENTS ARE ACTUALLY THE SOLE DRIVING FORCE OF THE CONFLICT IN THE MOVIE. WHICH IS NOT ONLY INACCURATE. DIZZYING HIGHS. WE HAVE TO WATCH PEOPLE FUCK UP. IN FACT. BUT NONE OF THEM HAVE TO DO WITH ACTUAL STORYTELLING. YOU CAN STOP VIRTUALLY ANY SINGLE MOVIE ON THE PLANET (INVENTED SCI-FI WORLD OR NOT) WITH A SIMPLE SOLUTION THAT NULLIFIES THE CORE CONFLICT. IT REALLY IS THE ONLY ANSWER THAT MATTERS.. AND SYMPATHY. WE CALL THESE SORTS OF SITUATIONS "CONFLICT" AND THEY HAPPEN TO BE THE ENTIRE BASIS OF GOOD STORYTELLING AND DRAMA. WE GO BECAUSE WE WANT TO WATCH A DAMN MOVIE. AND THE OCEAN SOLUTION IGNORES THIS RATHER LOGICAL POLICY OF THE MOB. AND IN ORDER TO EXPERIENCE THESE THINGS WE MUST HAVE SITUATIONS IN WHICH THE SIMPLEST AND MOST LOGICAL SOLUTION ISN'T PRESENT. THE OCEAN SOLUTION HAS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH MAKING IT A "BETTER” MOVIE. JUST LOGIC ITSELF. WE HAVE TO WATCH PEOPLE DO THE WRONG THING.” HAVING SOMEONE RESPONSIBLE WHO CAN ATTEST TO THE RELATIVE SUCCESS OF THE HIT AND BE RESPONSIBLE IF IT FAILS (IT'S ACTUALLY THE SAME REASON PEOPLE LAUGH AT BOND VILLAINS WHO LEAVE OUR HERO IN AN EASILY ESCAPABLE SITUATION AND JUST PRESUME HE'LL DIE WITH NO ONE WATCHING. IT WOULD CREATE A NON-STORY. IT WOULD IN FACT MAKE THE MOVIE INFINITELY WORSE. THERE’S NO KILL CONFIRMATION). AGAIN WHAT IS BEING MISSED HERE IS THAT THE DISTURBANCE OF NATURAL. IT’S ALL "EVERYTHING WAS OKAY. ON TOP OF THAT THE FREQUENT PROBLEM WITH GOING DOWN THE LOGIC RABBIT HOLE IS THAT HULK HAS A MILLION GOOD REASONS THE OCEAN SOLUTION ISN'T EVEN A LOGICAL FIX TO BEGIN WITH.A FRIENDLY AND KIND ACQUAINTANCE OF HULK'S WAS ONCE DISCUSSING THE PROBLEMS HE SAW IN LOOPER AND HE ASKED THE LOGICAL QUESTION: "Why doesn't the future mob just drop their targets in the middle of the ocean?" THE SIMPLEST ANSWER? BECAUSE THEN THERE WOULD BE NO MOVIE. SAID ACQUAINTANCE THEN CITED THAT THE OCEAN SOLUTION WAS STILL PREFERABLE BECAUSE WITH THE LOOPER SYSTEM. SADNESS. BUT WE DON’T GO TO THEATERS TO WATCH PEOPLE COME UP WITH THE BEST SOLUTIONS. LOGICAL ORDER TO THINGS IS ACTUALLY THE FUNDAMENTAL APPROACH TO CREATING CONFLICT IN MOVIES. OF COURSE... LEST WE FORGET. BUT THE REAL ANSWER TO "WHY DIDN'T THEY JUST DO _____" IN A HORROR MOVIE IS ALWAYS TO MAKE THE MOST EFFECTIVE. WHY? BECAUSE NOLAN ISN'T THAT INTERESTED IN HAVING IT ALL MAKE SENSE. AND YET WE STILL KEEP REVERTING TO THE PLACE WHERE WE ASK THOSE LOGICAL QUESTIONS. STILL. THE PLOTTING MECHANISM AT PLAY WAS FAIRLY OBVIOUS: NOLAN WAS JUST BUILDING A CAT AND MOUSE GAME OF INCREASING ESCALATION WHERE WE FOLLOW NEW PIECES OF INFORMATION FROM . THESE OVERT LOGIC QUESTIONS THAT ARE "MOVIE-STOPPERS" OR “SCARE STOPPERS” OR “DRAMA STOPPERS” ARE REALLY NOT EVEN WORTH GETTING INTO THAT MUCH. IS THE ENTIRE REASON WE ARE IN THE THEATER. FOR INSTANCE. THE JOKER'S PLAN FOR MUCH OF THE MOVIE IS RIDICULOUSLY IMPLAUSIBLE AND DEPENDENT ON INCREDIBLE AMOUNTS OF CONVENIENCE AND LUCK. BUT THAT TRULY DOESN'T MATTER. YES. THERE ARE A MILLION OTHER THINGS THAT HAVE TO DO WITH MAKING AN EFFECTIVE SCARE OR AN EMOTIONALLY EFFECTIVE SCENE. WHILE KEEPING EVERYTHING THEMATICALLY INTERESTING. IT REALLY DOESN'T END UP MATTERING. BECAUSE THEY UNDERMINE THE EXPERIENCE WE ARE THERE FOR AND FUNDAMENTALLY MISUNDERSTAND THE GOAL OF A DRAMATIC. II) IT IS NOT SOMETHING THAT ONLY SEEMS CONFUSING IN RETROSPECT. THAT SENTIMENT SHOULD BE BLINDINGLY OBVIOUS TO ALL OF US. BUT HULK ASSURES YOU THEY OFTEN DON'T HAVE ALL THAT MUCH TO DO WITH PLOT LOGIC EITHER. THIS ONE IS ACTUALLY THE MOST COMPLICATED. AND THE BEST WAY TO ADDRESS THIS PART IS TO HAVE A LITTLE TALK ABOUT CHRISTOPHER NOLAN. DRAMATIC SCARE. A NUMBER OF PEOPLE HAVE SPENT THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS LAUGHING ABOUT HOW THE DARK KNIGHT DOESN'T MAKE A LICK OF LOGICAL SENSE WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE PLOT AS A WHOLE.SINGLE CONFLICT SCENARIO YOU HAVE EVER SEEN ONSCREEN PROBABLY HAD A MORE LOGICAL SOLUTION THAN THE ONE THAT PLAYS OUT IN THE NARRATIVE. THIS IS LARGELY BECAUSE WE PLACE OURSELVES IN THE STALKEE'S SHOES A GREAT DEAL IN THOSE KINDS OF MOVIES AND ACTIVELY LOOK FOR SOLUTIONS ON OUR OWN. COMPELLING EXPERIENCE. ESPECIALLY WITH HORROR MOVIES. CHRISTOPHER NOLAN IS PRETTY DAMN WELL RESPECTED FOR THE MOST PART. RIGHT? WE CAN AT LEAST AGREE WITH THAT. WHICH. BUT HERE'S THE THING ABOUT ALL OF THAT. MOST PEOPLE THINK HE MAKES PROFICIENT AND REASONABLY EFFECTIVE MOVIES. SO IN HULK'S MIND. AND HE DID A PRETTY DARN GOOD JOB OF IT IF YOU ASK HULK (AND THE LEGIONS OF PEOPLE WHO FIRST WALKED OUT OF THE THEATERS PROCLAIMING IT A MASTERPIECE). BUT IT IS ALSO IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT GETS AT THE HEART OF THE MOVIE “FUNCTION" PART OF HULK’S DEFINITION. HE'S INTERESTED IN ENTERTAINING US IN AS DRAMATIC A WAY AS POSSIBLE. AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT IT IN A RIGID PLOT-BASED WAY. NOW. THAT IS VERY TRUE. HE IS OFTEN THE SUBJECT OF A LOT OF PLOT HOLE TALK. IF A STORY DIDN'T NEED THE LOGIC TO FUNCTION LIKE THAT THE FIRST TIME. IN FACT. WITH PLOT HOLE HUNTERS. THEN IT REALLY DOESN’T NEED IT AT ALL. THAT'S WHAT BRINGS YOU SATISFACTION. THAT'S WHAT PULLS YOU IN.SCENE TO SCENE IN AN ULTRA-ENTHRALLING AND PROPULSIVE FASHION. BUT IT WORKED. THIS MOVIE MAKES LESS SENSE THE NINTH TIME WE WATCHED IT!” DRAMA IS SIMPLY THE GATEWAY TO EVERYTHING WE NEED FROM A MOVIE. HARVEY DENT AND THE REST OF GOTHAM ARE SO ABSOLUTELY CLEAR (AND TERRIFYING) THAT WE CAN COMPLETELY HANG OUR "ATTENTION AND INTEREST” ON THEM FOR EVERY SECOND. NOT ONLY IS THAT A SHAME. BECAUSE SO OFTEN THE ESCHEWING OF LOGIC IS DONE IN THE NAME OF GIVING YOU A DRAMATIC AND THEMATICALLY RESONANT EXPERIENCE (THAT PROBABLY MADE YOU FALL IN LOVE WITH THE MOVIE IN THE FIRST PLACE). BUT IT IS SO. BUT YOU’LL NOTICE THAT HULK TALKED ABOUT A SITUATION BEING ONLY "CONFUSING IN RETROSPECT.. AND PLEASE TAKE SPECIAL CARE TO NOTE THAT ALMOST ALL OF THE JOKER'S GAMES ARE BUILT AROUND ETHICAL CHOICES THAT DIRECTLY ENGAGE BOTH THE CHARACTERS AND THE AUDIENCE TOO. BUT HIS CRYSTALLINE APPROACH TO THE IDEAS BEHIND THAT CHAOS. WHAT ARE THOSE OTHER LEVELS? HULK ARGUES THAT WHAT SAVES THE DARK KNIGHT FROM HAVING A THREAD OF ILL-CONCEIVED LOGIC UNDO EVERYTHING IS THE FACT THAT THE IDEOLOGY AND THEME ARE SO DAMN LOGICAL. THE MOVIE'S OVERALL LOGIC DOESN'T QUITE WORK. HELL. IT’S BECAUSE OF THE MOMENT-TO-MOMENT ENERGY AND THE CLARITY OF A MENTAL CONNECTION THAT THE DARK NIGHT GETS HAILED AS A MASTERPIECE. THE JOKER'S PLAN IS CHAOTIC. RESONANT. SCENES MOVE ALONG WITH NOT JUST FANTASTIC PACING." EVERYONE WHO TENDED TO COMPLAIN ABOUT THE LOGICAL PROBLEMS OF THE DARK KNIGHT ONLY SEEMED TO DO SO LONG AFTER THE FIRST TIME THEY SAW IT (AND GENERALLY LOVED IT). DRAMA IS BY FAR THE MOST EFFECTIVE TOOL IN CONNECTING WITH PEOPLE. SO WHY DO WE JUDGE THE LOGIC OF A MOVIE DIFFERENTLY IN RETROSPECT? WHY DO WE SAY “SHIT. THE PURE ANARCHY AND HIS GOALS OF BREAKING DOWN BATMAN. IT'S THAT FIRST WATCH THAT COUNTS FOR EVERYTHING IN . OR HUMOROUS PURPOSES. SURE. WE'RE DOWNRIGHT FASCINATED BY IT. AND THAT'S EVERYTHING. THE MOVIE PRACTICALLY FEELS LIKE A TIGHTROPE WALK FOR OUR MORAL SOULS. IT DIDN’T REALLY POP UP A LOT UNTIL MOST PEOPLE HAD EXPERIENCED MULTIPLE RE-WATCHES AT HOME OR ON HBO. THERE IS A SENSE OF INTRIGUE AND CHARACTER MOTIVE THAT SHOWCASES WHAT A MASTER FILMMAKER CAN DO. AND THAT'S WHEN (BECAUSE THEY THINK MOVIES HAVE TO BE DEFINED BY LOGIC) THEY BEGIN TO THINK THAT GREAT MOVIE THEY LOVED WAS PERHAPS NOT SO GREAT. THIS IS VERY COMMON. SO MISSING THE POINT OF WHAT A MOVIE IS SUPPOSED TO DO. IT MEANS THEY'VE HAD TIME TO PROCESS THE LOGIC AND NOW THEY CAN SUDDENLY SEE THE SEAMS. BUT FANTASTIC PURPOSE. SO. TO FULFILL THE PURPOSE OF STORYTELLING AND TRANSLATE LIFE'S NARRATIVE. DETAIL-ORIENTED. BUT IT STILL FLOWS BEAUTIFULLY AND ENGAGES US ON OTHER LEVELS WHICH ARE FAR MORE IMPORTANT. BOY HOWDY DID IT WORK. AND EVEN THOUGH THERE IS A PLETHORA OF FILMS THAT REWARD MULTIPLE WATCHES FOR EITHER CEREBRAL. YES.. AND FOCUSED THAT THEY UTTERLY CARRY US THROUGH THE MOVIE IN TERMS OF OUR UNDERSTANDING AND COMPREHENSION. AND QUITE HONESTLY. BUT SIMPLY FEEL THEM. SOMETHING THAT HAPPENS OFF-SCREEN AND IS LATER ALLUDED TO IS NOT A PLOT HOLE. IV) IT IS NOT A LOOSE END (THOUGH IT CAN BE). FOR INSTANCE. BUT INSTEAD WITH FUNCTION (ARE YOU SENSING A THEME HERE?) WHAT DOES HULK MEAN BY WANT? WELL. HULK JUST HAD TO ACKNOWLEDGE THIS AND MOVE ON. HULK COULD JUST SIT BACK AND ARGUE THAT IT'S ALL A "CASE BY CASE" BASIS. III) IT IS NOT AN EVENT THAT SIMPLY OCCURS OFF-SCREEN. YOU MAY HAVE WANTED A LIKABLE COMIC RELIEF CHARACTER TO GET A PROPER SEND-OFF. ESPECIALLY IF THEIR RESOLUTION WOULD BE TONALLY DISPARATE. BUT BECAUSE AS AN AUDIENCE WE LIKE EVERYTHING TO HAVE A REASON. MOVIES BRING US INTO FULLY REALIZED WORLDS WITH THEIR OWN HISTORIES. PLOTBASED PURPOSE IS ACTUALLY A SUREFIRE SIGN OF GOOD STORYTELLING. AND THE THING ABOUT THESE HISTORIES AND MYTHOLOGIES IS THAT WE DON'T NECESSARILY NEED TO KNOW THEM. BUT YOU WOULD NOT BELIEVE THE NUMBER OF TIMES HULK HAS BEEN ASKED ABOUT A “PLOT HOLE” THAT INVOLVED SOMETHING THAT WAS EXPLAINED BUT NOT SHOWN… YEAH THOSE ARE NOT PLOT HOLES. BUT THERE ARE INDEED LOOSE ENDS THAT CAN BE PLOT HOLES. HECK. OR PERHAPS YOU MAY HAVE WANTED TWO CHARACTERS TO HOOK UP. SO LET'S QUALIFY IT LIKE THIS: THE MERE EXISTENCE OF A LOOSE END IS NOT NECESSARILY A PLOT HOLE. SO THE FOLLOWING IS HULK’S PUNY ATTEMPT TO ARGUE THAT THE KINDS OF LOOSE ENDS THAT ACTUALLY QUALIFY AS PLOT HOLES HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH WANT. WHICH IS CERTAINLY TRUE. BUT IF THEY SERVE THEIR FUNCTION EARLIER THEN THEY MAY NOT BE NECESSARY FOR THE FILM’S ENDING. ALL OF THIS SHOULD BE OBVIOUS.TERMS OF WHETHER OR NOT THE DRAMATIC FUNCTION WORKS. AND THE THING ABOUT LOOSE ENDS IS THAT THEY TEND TO BOTHER US NOT BECAUSE WE WANT WHAT WE WANT. INTENTIONAL GAPS OF INFORMATION THAT ARE OMITTED BECAUSE THE VIEWER DOESN'T NEED TO SEE THEM. BUT INSTEAD THE FILM IS INTERESTED IN TELLING A DIFFERENT KIND OF STORY AND LEFT THAT LOVE UNEXPLORED ON PURPOSE (OR HAS THEM COMMITTING TO OTHER LIFE NEEDS). TO REITERATE: MOVIES ARE THINGS THAT ARE EDITED. BECAUSE OF THIS GRAY NATURE.. OR AN UNRESOLVED PLOT-LINE OR CHARACTER ARC AT THE END OF THE FILM. BUT THAT'S NOT REALLY ALL THAT HELPFUL. THEREFORE MOVIES CREATE INHERENT. THE PROBLEM IS THAT THERE'S A HUGE RANGE OF WHAT QUALIFIES AS A LOOSE END. HULK EVEN ARGUES THAT EVERYTHING HAVING A GRAND. SOMEWHAT CONFUSING MATTERS IS THE SUBJECT OF A LOOSE END.. WE'RE KIND OF RIGHT TO WANT EVERYTHING TO HAVE A REASON. BUT THE TRUTH IS THAT YOU SIMPLY CANNOT WRAP EVERYTHING UP IN A FILM WITHOUT . HULK HAS TALKED ABOUT THE END OF NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN AD NAUSEUM. A LOT OF AUDIENCES HATE AMBIGUITY (SPECIFICALLY REGARDING ENDINGS) ALMOST ON PRINCIPLE. AND THE MOVIE IS REALLY ABOUT MAKING PEACE WITH AMBIGUITY AND ALL THE LOOSE ENDS OF LIFE IN A TRULY MEANINGFUL WAY. IT WAS OFTEN BURIED INTO THE THEMES AND CHARACTERIZATION IN A WAY THAT FELT LARGELY NATURAL AND COMPELLING (INCLUDING THE FEW RARE CASES OF GREAT USE OF DEUS EX MACHINA). LOOK. BUT THE AMBIGUITY THING BECAME SLIGHTLY PROBLEMATIC WHEN THEY WENT IN A PURPOSEFULLY DIDACTIC DIRECTION IN THE FINALE. POWER - MEN WILL PURSUE THEM TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH. BUT THEY DIDN’T . EFFECTIVE ART TO FIND A BALANCE. AS A WRITER YOU WILL STRUGGLE WITH THIS CONSTANTLY. BUT THAT'S JUST A STELLAR EXAMPLE OF ITS USE. HAVE YOUR CHARACTER MAKE DECISIONS. HULK WON'T GET INTO ALL THAT (PHEW). HULK UNDERSTANDS THIS WASN’T THE INTENTION. THE CREATORS THINK THAT AMBIGUITY ITSELF WORKS BECAUSE IT GETS TO THAT INHERENT POSTMODERN TRUTH OR RELATIVITY. AND QUITE HONESTLY. ROWLING COULD HAVE ATTEMPTED TO DETAIL WHAT HAPPENED TO EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER IN THE HARRY POTTER UNIVERSE. IT BECOMES A QUESTION OF FUNCTION AND BALANCE. EITHER. JUSTICE. AND ON ONE HAND. BUT YOU CAN'T DO THAT WITHOUT REALLY UNDERMINING THE EMOTIONAL END FOR HARRY. IN FACT." CALL 'EM WHAT YOU WILL: MONEY. WHICH MEANS THE QUESTION OF "WHAT GETS RESOLVED" (PARTICULARLY IN A BIG SAGA) IS LARGELY A QUESTION OF NEGOTIATION. AND IN THE END THE AUTHOR IS CHOOSING WHAT GETS WRAPPED UP AND WHAT DOESN'T AND WE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THAT. BUT WHILE THEY WERE TRYING TO CLEARLY ADHERE TO THEIR CENTRAL THEME. J. HULK KIND OF ADORED MOST OF LOST'S USE OF AMBIGUITY FOR MUCH OF THE SERIES' RUN. IT MAKES THEM DOWNRIGHT ANGRY. YOU'RE A BIG BOY.K. HULK GETS IT. NATURALLY. ULTIMATELY. HULK FINDS A LOT OF AMBIGUITY TO BE KIND OF SOPHOMORIC (AS ONE VERY. BUT THAT MOVIE MADE SO MANY BEAUTIFUL STATEMENTS ABOUT HOW THINGS CAN'T ALWAYS END THE WAY WE WANT. THIS ALL BECOMES AN EVEN MORE NUANCED SUBJECT OF LOOSE ENDS WHEN WE GET INTO THE TOPIC OF PURPOSEFUL AMBIGUITY. AND IT SHOWS THE DAMAGE WE WILL DO IF WE CHASE THOSE "ENDS. AND HONESTLY. WHAT IS WORTH WRAPPING UP? WHAT IS NOT? HULK ADVISES YOU TO LOOK TO EXISTING. HULK TALKS ABOUT THE PURPOSE OF STORYTELLING AND HULK HAS SEEN A LOT OF AMBIGUOUS ENDINGS THAT HAVE NO OTHER BIGGER IDEA BEHIND THEM THAN "IT'S AMBIGUOUS!" OR "YOU GUESS WHAT HAPPENED!" OFTENTIMES. THEIR DIDACTIC EXPLANATION OF IT CAME OFF RATHER CURT AND CRUELLY WITHHOLDING.LETTING ALL THE AIR OUT OF YOUR EMOTIONAL CONLUSION AND POIGNANCY. THE THINGS WE WANT TO HAPPEN MUST OFTEN BE LEFT ASIDE FOR WHAT THE STORY NEEDS TO HAPPEN (AND NOTE THAT ROWLING EXPLAINED MOST OF HER EXTENDED EPILOGUE OUTSIDE OF BOOK FORM TO GIVE THAT ADDED RESOLUTION FOR THE MINOR CHARACTERS LATER).") BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN AMBIGUITY CAN'T BE COMPLETELY PROFOUND. VERY SMART PERSON ONCE SAID TO HULK REGARDING A TERRIBLE AMBIGUOUS ENDING HULK WROTE: "C’MON. HE WANTED US TO FUCKING CARE. V) IT IS NOT A REAL-LIFE INACCURACY. SO ASK YOURSELF: "WHY WAS IT NOT ADDRESSED? WAS IT REALLY ALL THAT IMPORTANT? WHAT ARE THEY SAYING BY THAT?" AND THESE QUESTIONS MAY GIVE YOU THE ANSWERS AND POSSIBLY THE DRAMATIC CATHARSIS YOU NEED. HE WANTED US TO BE BETTER VIEWERS. HE WANTED US TO EXPLORE NEW BOUNDARIES OF STORYTELLING. IF YOU ARE OPEN TO THEM. RATHER UNBALANCED AND MORALLY ASKEW. HE WANTED US TO EMBRACE THE IDEAS BEHIND TONY SOPRANO AND WHY WE WERE EVEN WATCHING IN THE FIRST PLACE. HE INSTEAD WENT OUTWARD. . AND YET. LIKE SO MUCH OF THE PSYCHOLOGY THAT HAD BECOME FUNDAMENTAL TO THE SHOW'S TEXT. DAVID CHASE WASN'T INTERESTED IN JUST GIVING A DRAMATICALLY SATISFACTORY ENDING. HE WAS ALWAYS QUESTIONING OUR MORALS AND GETTING TO THE HEART OF LIFE'S NARRATIVE. AND OH YEAH. THERE WERE SOME PEOPLE PISSED OFF WITH THE ENDING OF THE SOPRANOS 'CAUSE THEY NEVER CAME BACK TO THE RANDOM CRAZY RUSSIAN GUY WHO WAS RUNNING AROUND IN THE WOODS SOMEWHERE. FOLKS. THAT WHOLE CUT TO BLACK THING DROVE MOST OF AMERICA CRAZY. WHEN YOU ARE DEALING WITH THESE LOOSE END QUESTIONS IN YOUR OWN WRITING. NO SHOW WAS EVER MORE CONTENT WITH PUSHING THE LIMITS OF AUDIENCE INDULGENCE AND WITHHOLDING WANT MORE THAN THAT PARTICULAR SHOW. DAVID CHASE WASN'T BEING A DICK ABOUT IT EITHER. HE WANTED TO PUSH US INTO AN AREA WE WEREN'T COMFORTABLE WITH. BUT TO HULK'S POINT. PEOPLE WANT MORE DRAMA? YOU GET THE ENTIRE SLOW BURN OF SEASON 4. HE WENT WITH THE MOST OPEN-ENDED. AND TRUTH BE TOLD. AND WHEN IT ALL CAME TO AN END AND EVERYONE WAS EXPECTING ALL THE STORIES TO GET WRAPPED UP." AND THE ENDING OF THAT SHOW FULLY EXPRESSED WHAT IT WAS REALLY ABOUT: BRINGING YOU INTO THE MIND OF A MAN WHO IS EMOTIONALLY CONNECTED. HE WANTED US TO GET OUTSIDE OURSELVES. HE WAS POINTING AT US AND TRYING TO GET US TO LOOK INWARD. HULK SAYS IT ALL THE TIME.REALIZE THAT AMBIGUITY IS SOMETHING BEST EXPERIENCED AND NOT TOLD. BUT PERHAPS THE BEST EXAMPLE ON THE SUBJECT OF LOOSE ENDS IS THE SOPRANOS. THE SOPRANOS WAS CEREBRALLY BRILLIANT AND OFTEN VERY INVOLVING EMOTIONALLY.. BRILLIANT CINEMATIC EXPERIENCE THAT BROUGHT US RIGHT INTO THE HEAD OF TONY SOPRANO. HE WAS ASKING WHY WE INDULGED IN THE KILLINGS AND THE NUDITY AND WHAT WE GOT OUT OF IT.. HE DIDN'T TRY OUR PATIENCE WITH SLOWER EPISODES TO BE A JERK. BUT INSTEAD TO GET US TO EXPLORE BIGGER FORMS OF STORYTELLING AND THE AMAZING NUANCES OF ALL THE CHARACTERS AT PLAY. "THE ENDING IS THE CONCEIT. BUT HULK GETS WHY SOME FOUND IT DRAMATICALLY UNSATISFACTORY. HULK GETS IT. HE COULD HAVE DONE THAT IN HIS SLEEP. HE GOT ESOTERIC. PEOPLE LIKE VIOLENCE? YOU GET AN EPISODE LIKE "UNIVERSITY" WHERE IT BECOMES SO CRUEL AND UGLY THAT YOU CANNOT ABIDE IT. THAT WAS A REALLY PROVOKING MOVE (ESPECIALLY WITHOUT THE TITLE CARD). SYMBOLICALLY DRIVEN. HULK WANTS YOU TO REALLY DIG IN AND ASK "WHY DID THE FILMMAKER DO THIS?" THESE THINGS ARE RARELY UNINTENTIONAL. BUT IT DOES MEAN SOMETIMES ACCEPTING IT IF THEY FUDGE DETAILS IN THE NAME OF EFFECTIVE DRAMA. AND THAT MEANS YOU HAVE TO BE WILLING TO GIVE A LITTLE LEEWAY. MAYBE YOU LIKE MUSCLE CARS. YES. IT’S A GREAT FILM THAT VERY MUCH CAPTURES SOME REALISTIC ASPECTS OF SCIENCE (THE LACK OF SOUND IN SPACE. MAYBE YOU ARE A MOLECULAR BIOLOGIST. YOU SITTING THERE READING THIS BOOK. LIKE HARDER THAN ANYTHING YOU CAN EVER IMAGINE. AND SOME PEOPLE ARE VERY MUCH GOING TO KNOW THAT WHAT YOU’RE PUTTING ON SCREEN IS WRONG. SO AT A CERTAIN POINT YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE TO MAKE A CHOICE: DO THE DRAMATIC THING OR DO THE LOGICAL. MAYBE YOU'VE SEEN EVERY BERGMAN FILM. BECAUSE SOME PEOPLE AREN’T GOING TO KNOW WHAT YOU’RE PUTTING ON SCREEN IS WRONG. BUT OFTEN IT WILL NOT. GUESS WHAT? YOU ARE PROBABLY AN EXPERT IN SOMETHING. AND CHANCES ARE THAT WRITER OR DIRECTOR HAS THROWN THEMSELVES INTO WHOLE WORLDS AND DONE COUNTLESS AMOUNTS OF RESEARCH (AGAIN. BUT IN THE COMMUNITY PROCESS OF FILMMAKING THINGS CAN GET MISSED. YOU PROBABLY KNOW MORE ABOUT SOMETHING THAN MOST OTHER PEOPLE. THE DANGERS OF SPACE DEBRIS) BUT FUDGES ON OTHERS (THE RELATIVE DISTANCES BETWEEN SPACES STATIONS AREN’T MANAGEABLE DISTANCES TO TRAVEL IN THE WAY THEY ARE SHOWN). WE HAVE THE ENTIRE AFOREMENTIONED DEPARTMENTS DEVOTED TO GETTING THINGS RIGHT. THIS DOES NOT MEAN ACCEPTING IT IF THEY SPIT IN THE ENTIRE FACE OF WHAT THE SUBJECT MEANS. AND IN AN IDEAL SCENARIO ALL THAT IS FACTUALLY ACCURATE WILL FEED ITSELF INTO THE CORRECT DRAMATIC CHOICE. WHY DID HE FOLLOW SOME LOGICAL RULES AND NOT . WHATEVER IT IS. SO WHILE HULK TOLD YOU TO RESEARCH YOUR HEART OUT. FACTUAL THING. TAKE ALFONSO CUARON’S GRAVITY. REALLY FUCKING HARD. THEN THERE HAS TO BE A SENSE OF UNDERSTANDING WITH ALL OF IT. CINEMA IS THE LENS OF EXPLORING EVERYTHING ABOUT THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE) AND BEYOND THE INDIVIDUAL EFFORT. REMEMBER. LOOK TO AN EXAMPLE. MAYBE YOU ARE AN ELECTRICAL ENGINEER. WHY ARE YOU IN THE THEATER? CHANCES ARE IT'S NOT TO WATCH SEAMLESS HISTORICAL OR FACTUAL INTEGRATION. BECAUSE WRITING AND MAKING MOVIES WELL IS REALLY. AND AS A WRITER YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE PROBLEMS WITH THIS DILEMMA. REALLY. YOU. MAYBE YOU KNOW THE INS AND OUTS OF EVERY EPISODE OF AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER. SO WHEN YOU'RE DEALING WITH SOMEONE WHO IS NOT AN EXPERT LIKE YOU. OR THINGS CAN BE IGNORED IN THE FACE OF SOME OTHER ARTISTIC CHOICE. YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THAT THE PERSON MAY NOT BE AN EXPERT IN THE SAME WAY YOU ARE. AND WHEN YOU SEE SOMEONE TALKING ABOUT THAT SUBJECT OR DRAMATIZING IT IN SOME WAY. WHO IS JUST TRYING TO MAKE THE BEST CHOICE FOR THE EXPERIENCE OF THE MOVIE. ESPECIALLY IN HOW YOU WATCH MOVIES. AND IT’S HARD TO PLEASE THEM BOTH. MAYBE YOU KNOW EVERY WORD TO THE REPLACEMENTS' OEUVRE. BUT TRANSFORMERS ROTF(L) SUCKS BECAUSE IT IS A TERRIBLY TOLD STORY WITH ENDLESS BLOAT. TO BE WELL-RESEARCHED. WE LOOK FOR LOGIC. A WEIRD-AS-HELL TONE. PAPER THIN CHARACTERIZATION. BUT TO ARTICULATE ALL THAT TO SOMEONE. AS A WRITER. BUT THE KIND OF TRUTH THAT WILL ALWAYS NEED TO RESONATE MORE IS AN EMOTIONAL AND VISCERAL ONE. ISN’T IT? WE WALK OUT OF A MOVIE LIKE TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN WITH THIS FEELING OF RELATIVE HORROR IN OUR GUTS OVER THE NONSENSICAL THING THAT WE HAVE JUST WITNESSED. AND THAT’S WHY WE DON’T CARE IF IT DOESN’T MAKE SENSE IN RETROSPECT. WE USE OUR LOGICAL BRAINS TO FIND THE APPARENT FAULTS. HE HAD TO MAKE A CHOICE. NO CHARACTER CONSISTENCY. ALL THOSE THINGS ARE VALID OBSERVATIONS AND SOME ARE TRUE BLUE PLOT HOLES. WE WALK OUT THE DARK KNIGHT ANDWE PROCLAIM IT TO BE A MASTERPIECE. POORLY ARTICULATED CONFLICTS. THAT MOVIE DOESN’T MAKE A WHOLE LOT OF SENSE. AND WHEN IT’S TIME TO EXPLAIN WHY WE HAVE THAT FEELING.OTHERS? BECAUSE HE TOOK THE THINGS THAT MATTERED IN TERMS OF CONVEYING A REALISTIC. FUNNY. FOR ALL . CAREFULLY BUILDING TO ALL ITS POINTS AND MOMENTS OF DRAMATIC EMPHASIS. IT IS WRITTEN WITH AN ASSURED HAND. JUST KNOW THAT MOVIES DON’T SUCK BECAUSE OF SOME LOGICAL HICCUP. NOT A FACTUAL ONE. YOU NEED TO BE PRETTY WELL-VERSED IN THE LANGUAGE OF DRAMA AND CHARACTER AND ALL THE OTHER STUFF HULK TALKS ABOUT IN THIS BOOK. TO BE FACTUAL. IF YOU ARE MAKING A FILM LIKE PRIMER (WHICH IS LARGELY ABOUT THE CEREBRAL COMPONENT OF THE STORY AND MAKES THE SCIENCE FRONT AND CENTER). WE TALK ABOUT NONSENSICAL GEOGRAPHY. “WHY IS MY AUDIENCE IN THE THEATER? WHAT AM I TRYING TO CONVEY?” * * * PERHAPS THE MOST IMPORTANT ARGUMENT FOR WHY YOU SHOULD NOT OVERLY FOCUS ON PLOT HOLES IS THAT WE ONLY SEEM TO BE ENRAGED OVER THEM WHEN A MOVIE IS BAD. AND TO RESOLVE IT HE ASKED HIMSELF. NO ACTUAL RELATIONSHIPS. WE TALK ABOUT THE FACT THERE’S NO WAY A TRANSFORMER COULD TAKE A REAL-LIFE LADY FORM AND HOW THAT’S NEVER ADDRESSED. WE TALK ABOUT CHARACTERS BEING IN PLACES THEY SHOULDN’T. YOU WILL BE BRANDISHING A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD. THEN THESE ELEMENTS WILL MATTER MORE THAN USUAL. THE LOGIC AND GOAL WILL MORE OR LESS MAKES SENSE FROM MOMENT TO MOMENT. SURE. AND UNLIKE ROTF(L). BUT THAT DOESN’T MATTER BECAUSE THE MOVIE IS 100% GROUNDED IN CHARACTER PURPOSE AND THEME. AND HEY. YOU WILL WANT YOUR STORY TO MAKE SENSE. TERRIFYING EXPERIENCE AND HE IGNORED THE ONES THAT WOULD GREATLY IMPAIR HIS ABILITY TO TELL A DRAMATIC STORY. THE DYNAMIC BETWEEN THESE TWO MOVIES ILLUSTRATES EVERYTHING HULK IS TRYING TO CONVEY TO YOU IN THIS CHAPTER. NO MOMENTUM. ZERO SENSE OF DRAMA. WE ADORE IT. AND A WHOLE LOT OF SEXISM AND RACISM TO BOOT. AND BECAUSE OUR BRAINS ARE LOGICAL. MEANWHILE. WE GO TO BE ENTHRALLED. WANT. WORRY ABOUT PACING HOLES. DON’T CARE EVEN IF IT’S GOBBLEDYGOOK. GET IT ALL UP ON THE PAGE BECAUSE NO ONE EVER HAS TO SEE IT. WILL THEY? SO WHAT IS THE POINT OF BEING PARALYZED? SO HERE’S HULK’S ADVICE FOR BOTH FORMS OF PARALYSIS: JUST WRITE THE FIRST DRAFT NO MATTER WHAT. THERE ARE TWO FORMS. DON’T CARE IF IT EVEN WORKS. SOME CHOICES FIX ONE PROBLEM AND INADVERTENTLY HURT ANOTHER AIM YOU MAY HAVE. WORRY ABOUT MOTIVATION HOLES. BUT IT’S NOT THE CASE. THE WILL TO CONTROL. FEAR. SO IT’S ALL ABOUT MAKING THAT CHOICE OF WHAT YOU WANT TO ACCOMPLISH. HOW DO YOU KNOW WHEN TO DO WHICH AND HOW? THERE IS NO GREAT ANSWER. BUT THEY WON’T EVER BE PERFECT. IT ALL WORKS TOWARD THE PURPOSE OF STORYTELLING. DON’T CARE IF IT’S GOOD. WRITING IS RE-WRITING ONE OF THE BIG PROBLEMS PEOPLE HAVE IN WRITING IS PARALYSIS. GIVEN EVERYTHING HULK HAS LEARNED ABOUT MOVIES. THE OTHER PARALYSIS COMES FROM THE WORDS ACTUALLY BEING ON THE PAGE AND HAVING NO IDEA WHAT TO DO WITH THEM. AND WORRY LESS ABOUT PLOT HOLES. JUST GET IT DONE. WE DON’T GO TO THE MOVIES TO WATCH A LOGICAL EXERCISE PLAY OUT IN FRONT OF US. WORRY ABOUT THEME HOLES. IT DOESN’T MATTER. TO SEE SOMETHING SPEAK TO OUR SOULS AND EMOTIONS. WHY. HERE’S HULK’S ADVICE ON WHICH WAY YOU SHOULD BE LEANING: WORRY MORE ABOUT CHARACTER HOLES. 7 REWRITES. AT LEAST. STILL. MOST SCREENWRITING BOOKS WILL TELL YOU “DO THIS!” OR “DO THAT!” AS IF THERE WAS ONE MAGIC ANSWER. . AND THEN? DO. WORRY ABOUT DRAMA HOLES. SO YOU CAN SEE WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE AND HOW IT NEEDS TO BE CHANGED. BUT AS A WRITER. WORRY ABOUT INSPIRATION HOLES. 46. WORRY ABOUT EMOTIONAL HOLES. IN BOTH CASES. WORRY ABOUT MOMENTUM HOLES..OF THE MUCH DESERVED CREDIT FOR ACCURATE SCIENCE. LIKE. ALL HULK CAN SAY IS THAT WRITING IS ABOUT MAKING CHOICES. THERE’S JUST SOMETHING SO DAUNTING ABOUT THE PROSPECT OF THEIR BEING UNFINISHED OR UNFORMED. REMOVE THE PARALYSIS. THE PARALYSIS THAT COMES FROM A BLANK WHITE SHEET OF PAPER WHERE A SCENE SHOULD BE. PRIMER IS A GREAT MOVIE BECAUSE IT ARTICULATES DESIRE.. WE WANT THEM TO CONVEY EXACTLY WHAT WE INTEND. GET IN A PLACE SO YOU CAN SEE IT ALL BEFORE YOU. AND HOW YOU THINK IT HELPS YOUR STORY. OUR BRAINS WANT THE WORDS TO BE PERFECT. AND THE COMPLETE LOSS OF THAT CONTROL. COUNTERINTUITIVE GESTURES. SO THE WAY HULK ALWAYS LIKES TO WRITE IS TO JUST GET A FIRST DRAFT OVER AND DONE WITH SO THAT HULK CAN THEN BE ON HULK'S WAY WITH ALL THE FUN EDITING PROCESS. WE’LL GET TO THAT. YOU CAN STILL MAKE GREAT CHANGES WITH ZERO NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES (UNLIKE WHEN YOU START FILMING). REALLY. BUT YOU KEEP GOING OVER IT AGAIN AND AGAIN UNTIL IT'S SMOOTH. THEY WERE THE RESULTS OF ARTISTS WHO DIDN’T REALLY UNDERSTAND THE CONVENTIONS AND STORY DEVICES THEY WERE UTILIZING. EACH PASS STRAIGHTENS THE SHIRT. TO PARAPHRASE. “So yeahyeahyeah. SOMETIMES THEY WERE EXAMPLES OF GUIDELINE EXCEPTIONS THAT WORKED AND SOMETIMES THEY WERE EXAMPLES WHERE IT DIDN'T WORK. SO EVERYTHING YOU WRITE SHOULD CATER TO MAKING THOSE THINGS RESONATE. HULK KEPT BRINGING UP EXCEPTIONS TO RULES. YOU KNOW. FIRST WE HAVE TO TALK ABOUT: 47. HULK LOVES EDITING SCRIPTS. THE THING THAT COMPELS YOU. AND EDITING IS FUN. AND THE BEST PART ABOUT REFINING YOUR SCRIPT IS. BUT PROOF YOU HAVE WRITTEN A CERTAIN NUMBER OF PAGES. YOUR IDEA. PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON TALKED ABOUT WRITING ONCE AND SAID. AND HULK MEANT IT. THESE ARE WHAT MATTER. ACCOMPLISHING ITS JOB UNTIL YOU HAVE EXACTLY WHAT YOU NEED. IT IS! THERE IS THE OLD ADAGE THAT "WRITING IS RE-WRITING. But how do you know when you’re done?” WELL. WHEN & HOW TO DISREGARD THESE GUIDELINES IN THE BEGINNING OF THIS BOOK." HULK FEELS IT IS TRUE BECAUSE THAT IS WHEN YOU GET TO SHAPE THE ACTUAL STORY. UNCONSCIOUS REACTIONS OR FLIPPANT. IT'S WHEN THE STORY ACTUALLY FEELS ALIVE. YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED THAT THROUGHOUT ALL THESE GUIDELINES. HULK SAID THESE CHAPTERS WERE ALL GUIDELINES. IT IS NOT PROOF YOU HAVE WRITTEN A STORY. BUT ALL THE EXCEPTIONS THAT WORKED DID BECAUSE THEY KNEW HOW TO NEGOTIATE WHAT THEY WERE . NOT RULES. THAT WRITING IS LIKE IRONING. edit a lot. HULK HAS NEVER REALLY READ A GOOD FIRST DRAFT OF ANYTHING. BECAUSE THE SIMPLEST TRUTH IS THAT A FIRST DRAFT IS NOTHING. WHEN IT'S A BAD SCRIPT (AND THEY ARE ALL BAD AT FIRST) YOU CAN RESHAPE IT THROUGH SHEER COMMITMENT TO MAKING IT A GOOD SCRIPT. Got it. YOU HAVE THIS RUMPLED MESS THAT'S STILL A SHIRT AND EVERYTHING. YOUR STORY. Hulk. THE ONES THAT DIDN'T WORK WERE USUALLY THE RESULT OF HAPHAZARD. ANIMAL HOUSE ESSENTIALLY STOPS THE MOVIE’S FORWARD MOTION IN ANY CONVENTIONAL SENSE IN ORDER TO HAVE A FULL-ON DANCE NUMBER TO "SHOUT. FOLLOWED BY AN EQUALLY CLIMACTIC DISCUSSION OVER DINNER. WHETHER IT IS PLOT. CHARACTER. TEXTURE. . HE COULDN'T TOP IT ACTION-WISE. IT POKES INWARD AT EACH OF THE CHARACTERS.TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH. BUT IN DOING SO HE CREATED A MOVIE THAT USED OUR OWN EXPECTATIONS AND MOVIE-WATCHING PREJUDICES AGAINST US. BE WILLING TO SAY "FUCK BIG. SO DO WHAT MAKES SENSE FOR YOUR STORY.. UNDERSTAND THE MECHANISMS AT PLAY AND YOU CAN ACCOMPLISH ANYTHING WITH THEM. CONTEXT. ALL IN THE NAME OF DELIVERING A BEAUTIFUL STATEMENT ABOUT THE NATURE OF LIFE AND HAPPINESS. THE ENDING OF NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN TOSSES ASIDE ALL NARRATIVE PROPULSION TO WAX PHILOSOPHICAL ON THE NATURE OF LIFE AND RESOLUTION ITSELF. SUMMING UP THE ENTIRE VIEWPOINT OF THE CHARACTER. EPIC BATTLES IN THE LAST ACT! THEY TEND TO LET ME DOWN!" IF THAT'S WHAT YOUR STORY CALLS FOR. BUT YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THEM AND KNOW HOW TO USE THEM FIRST. ETC.. THE GOOD EXCEPTIONS CAN ALWAYS NEGOTIATE AND APPROXIMATE IN THE NAME OF A MORE IMPRESSIVE DRAMATIC FUNCTION. MIKE LEIGH'S HAPPY GO LUCKY ESCHEWS EVERY RULE OF TRADITIONAL ROMANTIC COMEDIES TO SAY SOMETHING AND OPTS FOR A SYSTEM OF CHARACTER REVEALS INSTEAD OF DRAMATIC FUNCTION. SO HE HAD A BRILLIANT 5 MINUTE MONOLOGUE. CUTTING TO THE BONE OF THEIR ESSENCE. IT GETS AWAY WITH DOING THIS BECAUSE THE STORYTELLERS KNEW HOW TO TAKE THAT AUDIENCE DISAPPOINTMENT AND DIRECTLY ADDRESS IT. DO WHAT MAKES SENSE FOR YOUR STORY. BUT IT STILL SUCCEEDS ONLY BECAUSE THE SEQUENCE IS PURE JOY FROM START TO FINISH. THEY ABANDONED ONE ELEMENT OF OUR GOOD NARRATIVE DEFINITION TO DEEPLY EXPLORE ANOTHER ELEMENT OF OUR DEFINITION. EVEN IF IT LETS THE BIG CATHARTIC STORY GESTURES HAPPEN OFFSCREEN. HE DID WHAT MADE SENSE FOR HIS STORY. THEY KNEW THEY COULD MAKE US UNDERSTAND WITH A RESONANT FINAL MONOLOGUE ABOUT TWO DREAMS. THEME. AND IT WAS A HUNDRED TIMES MORE INTERESTING THAN ANY POSSIBLE BATTLE. SO DO WHAT MAKES SENSE FOR THE KIND OF STORY YOU WANT TO TELL. TARANTINO’S KILL BILL VOL." IT HALTS THE NARRATIVE. I KNEW THAT AFTER THE BATTLE AGAINST THE 88. AND FINALLY 5 SECONDS OF INTENSE FIGHTING. DO WHAT MAKES SENSE FOR YOUR STORY. THEY'RE JUST TRYING TO BE DIFFERENT. IT'S ALMOST AS IF THE STORY HAD TO GO TO THESE CREATIVE PLACES IN ORDER TO SEE THEIR CONCEITS THROUGH TO THE END. DO WHAT MAKES SENSE FOR YOUR STORY. BUT BACK IN THE GOLDEN AGE OF HOLLYWOOD EVERYONE PRETTY MUCH KNEW THE NARRATIVE RULES. WRITERS WERE ALL STABLED IN THE STUDIO SYSTEM AND THEY WOULD EVEN HAVE DIFFERENT ROLES. THE FILMMAKER PURSUED AN UNCOMMON VIEW THAT COMPELLED HIM AND THUS REVEALED A NEW VIEW THAT COMPELLED US.. IT SO CONCENTRATES ON THE CONCEPTS OF SCIENTIFIC VERACITY THAT IT CAPTURES ITS RESONANT THEMATIC TRUTHS THROUGH THE SUBJECT ITSELF (MUCH LIKE THE ZODIAC AND CONTAGION EXAMPLES). ONLY HIS SUBJECT IS ONE OF THE MOST COMPLEX THEORETICAL CONCEPTS ON THE PLANET. THEY THEREFORE CAN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT BREAKING THE RULE SAYS EITHER. EVERY SINGLE RULE OR GUIDELINE THAT IS BEING BROKEN IN THE EXAMPLES LISTED HAS DAMN GOOD REASONS FOR WHY. RIGHT? WHY DON'T WE KNOW THE RULES ANYMORE? WHAT HAPPENED? AND WHY DO WE JUST SLAM FORWARD WITH THIS FAUX-UNDERSTANDING OF FILMMAKING? IT ALL SPEAKS TO AN EVOLUTION OF CINEMA. DO WHAT MAKES SENSE FOR YOUR STORY. THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE WHO CAN’T EVEN WATCH IT. AND COMPLETELY ORIGINAL FILM. IF YOU FORGIVE HULK FOR INDULGING IN THIS BIT OF A HISTORY LESSON. CONCEPT. THERE ARE A LOT OF FILMMAKERS WHO REALLY DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT THE RULES ARE ANYMORE. AND COHERENCE.. BUT THE BIGGEST PROBLEM WITH HOW EVERYONE IS BREAKING THE RULES NOWADAYS IS NOT BECAUSE IT'S ROBBING US OF TRADITIONAL NARRATIVE POWER (THOUGH THAT SUCKS). THERE'S GOT TO BE A REASON FOR ALL OF THIS. HE MANAGES TO CREATE ONE OF THE MOST BRAZEN. IT'S BECAUSE NO ONE SEEMS TO EVEN UNDERSTAND WHY THE RULES ARE EVEN THERE. THIS COMPLETELY UNAPOLOGETIC TREATMENT OF SCIENTIFIC ACCURACY-VIA-PLOTTING RESULTS IN A STUNNING. IF THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT THE RULE SAYS AND HOW IT WORKS. THEY ALL EVENTUALLY HAD A LOGIC AND SENSE OF HOW TO MAKE IT WORK. BUT JUST KNOW THIS. THEY KNEW ALL THE BEATS. INTERESTING FILMS EVER MADE. IT'S NEVER "JUST BECAUSE IT WOULD BE NEAT. THERE WOULD BE A . DISTINCT. THESE EXAMPLES OF SUCCESSFUL EXCEPTIONS WORKED BECAUSE THE EXCEPTIONS MAKE COMPLETE SENSE FOR THOSE STORIES AND ARE HANDLED RESPONSIBLY. SHANE CARRUTH'S PRIMER GLEEFULLY BREAKS EVERY SINGLE RULE ABOUT NARRATIVE. BUT FOR SOME FOLKS. AS SUCH. HULK’S ALREADY EXPLAINED WHY THAT’S SO PROBLEMATIC BUT WORSE." THEY WEREN'T MAKING SOME TOTALLY PEDESTRIAN MOVIE AND THEN BROKE A RULE BECAUSE "IT'S MORE REAL!" EVEN IF GOING WITH THEIR GUT WAS THE THING THAT BROUGHT THEM TO THIS CREATIVE DECISION. MOVIES HAD A VERY SET CRAFT. OF COURSE. BUT THEY WERE ALSO IN LOVE WITH THE ‘60S AND ‘70S POETS OF THEIR DAY. THE SWEARS. YES. THE OUT-OFORDER STORYTELLING. IT'S ALL VERY ROMANTIC-SOUNDING. BUT A GOOD DEAL OF STORYTELLERS AND STUDIO FOLKS GOT LAZY WITHIN THOSE CONSTRUCTS. AND WHY NO ONE SEEMS TO GIVE A SHIT ABOUT THE RULES ANYMORE. THE INDEPENDENT MOVEMENT WAS HOMOGENIZED AGAIN AS CORPORATIONS ARE NOW RUNNING "INDIE STUDIOS" TOO. WHICH MEANS MOVIES IN GENERAL GOT LAZY TOO. AND SOUGHT TO EMULATE THEM. ESSENTIALLY. BUT ALAS. ALL DONE THROUGH THE HOMOGENIZED. THE IRONIC SENSE OF MUSIC AND BLOODY GUNFIGHTS. AND BESIDES. ON AN ASSEMBLY LINE. OR TO WORK OUTSIDE THE SYSTEM. THUS. THE DIRECTOR HAD A ROLE. NATURAL. THE PURPOSE OF ALL THIS HISTORY IS TO HIGHLIGHT THE FACT THERE HAVE BEEN EBBS AND FLOWS TO THE NATURE OF THE BUSINESS FOR. THE SYSTEM HAD BEEN "WORKING" SO WELL FOR SO LONG. IT IS AN IDOLIZATION OF PERPETUAL REBELLION. WALL STREET-CENTRIC 1980S. OUTDOORS. ALL THE BEST WRITERS / FILMMAKERS OF THAT ERA KNEW EXACTLY HOW TO SNEAK SUBVERSION INTO THEIR WORK. WE HAD ANOTHER REACTION TO "THE MAN" WITH THE ‘90S INDEPENDENT FILM BOOM. IDEAS ALL RESONATED IN A PERFECT WAY FOR THE TIME AND PLACE. SO THE MOVIES TURNED TO NEW FILMMAKERS. THE TEXTURES. WHEN THIS FACT WAS COUPLED WITH SERIOUS CHANGES IN THE COUNTERCULTURE. MOVIES AND STORYTELLING WERE. THERE IS ALWAYS A DICHOTOMY: TO WORK WITHIN THE SYSTEM. THE HUGE SUCCESS OF SOME OF THESE RAG-TAG BLOCKBUSTERS IN THE ‘70S SUDDENLY PUT DOLLAR SIGNS IN THE EYES OF BIG BUSINESS AND PAVED THE WAY FOR ANOTHER ROUND OF STUDIO DOMINANCE. BUT THE ‘60S AND ‘70S CHANGED THE PARADIGM. THIS PRODUCED A LOT OF FILMS THAT WERE SIMILAR.. THINGS CHANGED. THE STYLE OF MOVIES BROKE THE MOLD. BUT IT ALSO PRODUCED MOVIE AFTER MOVIE THAT JUST WORKED. BUT THE PROBLEM WITH THIS. THE 1990S’ INDEPENDENT FILMMAKERS REBELLED AGAINST THE HOMOGENIZED ‘80S MODEL. AGAIN THE FILMS WENT MESSY. NEW AUDIENCES WANTED AN ALTERNATIVE AND SOMETHING THAT FELT RESONANT TO THEM.STRUCTURE GUY. A DIALOGUE GUY. THINK ABOUT THE ‘90S BOOM. BUT STORYTELLERS ALWAYS SEEM TO HAVE AN IMPLICIT DESIRE TO SNUB THE DOMINANT CULTURE OR POPULAR MODELS AND EMBRACE THE MOST ARTISTIC CONSTRUCTS AND FORMS. STORIES. IT RESULTED IN THE AUDIENCE GENUINELY TIRING OF THE HOLLYWOOD SYSTEM. BUT AGAIN. TOO. PRETTY MUCH ALWAYS.. THEY DIDN'T HAVE RESOURCES SO THE CONSTRUCTION WAS MESSY.. BUT THE REASON NO ONE COMES CLOSE TO BEING AS GOOD AS HIM IS THEY ONLY TAKE THE TANGIBLE STUFF FROM HIS FILMS. DEPENDING ON THE DIRECTION OF THE TREND IT MAKES IT EASIER TO DO ONE OR THE OTHER. THE COOL SUITS.. IS THAT WE HAVE FALLEN IN LOVE WITH THE CADENCE OF THIS REBELLIOUS WORK. THEY . NATURAL. TARANTINO HAS HAD HUNDREDS OF EMULATORS. AND SHOWED OFF TOP-NOTCH QUALITY CRAFT. EVEN THEIR ARTISTIC INCLINATIONS COULD FLOURISH. OUTDOORS. DAMMIT. BUT STYLIZATION IS NOT NEARLY AS CRITICAL AS THE INTENTION AND HONESTY OF YOUR WELL-MEANING STORY... IT GETS ALL FOUR COMPONENTS OF HULK'S GOOD NARRATIVE DEFINITION. WHAT DOES THIS ACTION MEAN? WHAT AM I IMPLYING WITH THIS CHARACTER'S BEHAVIOR? KNOW WHEN YOU'RE FOLLOWING THE RULES AND KNOW WHEN YOU'RE BREAKING THEM. THIS HAS ALWAYS BEEN TRUE. SCORSESE. BUT NOT HOW THEY TALK. YOU CAN BE TELLING A TRADITIONAL STORY OR YOU CAN BE USING A WILDLY INVENTIVE META FORM. BUT IT'S NOT WHY HIS FILMS WORK. ETC. IT DOESN'T GET TWO CENTRAL COMPONENTS OF OUR GOOD NARRATIVE DEFINITION. REALLY. YES THE CADENCE/STYLE OF YOUR SCRIPT AND FILM ARE GREAT TOOLS FOR SPEAKING TO CERTAIN AUDIENCES. BUT THE REASON THOSE RIP-OFFS FEEL SO FALSE IS NOT BECAUSE THEY ARE DERIVATIVE. IS WHAT MAKES THE NARRATIVE WORK. JUST THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE SAYING. CADENCE IS OVERRATED. AND BECAUSE HULK HAS TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE EXCEPTION FOR JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING. SPIELBERG. STORY RULES. PEOPLE OBSESSES OVER HIS CADENCE. IT DOESN'T MATTER WHERE YOU COME FROM AND WHO YOU'RE WORKING FOR.GET THE IDEA THAT PEOPLE TALK. AND CLEAR STAKES. YOU CAN BE OPERATING SUBVERSIVELY WITHIN THE SYSTEM. AND ITS ABILITY TO RESONATE FOR THE AUDIENCE. PEOPLE RIP OFF ALTMAN. . BUT IT FAILS BECAUSE IT DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO MAKE THE MONSTER ELEMENTS CONNECT THEMATICALLY TO THE STORY (UNLIKE JAWS AND ET). LUCAS. APPROACH YOUR STORIES IN TERMS OF MIND. BE CONSCIOUS. HIS STORYTELLING ISN'T OUT OF ORDER FOR NO GOOD REASON. THEY MISS THE VERY SIMPLE ELEMENTS OF NARRATIVE PROPULSION. ASK YOURSELF QUESTIONS. KNOW WHO YOU ARE REACHING AND WHY. IT REALLY MAKES NO DIFFERENCE TO HULK. WHICH IS TOTALLY NEAT AND STUFF. PLUS IT HAS DEEP THEMATIC IDEAS. AND SOUL. BODY. THE MEANING OF THE STORY. ATTACK THE BLOCK SUCCEEDS BECAUSE IT TAKES THE INSPIRATION OF CARPENTER AND DANTE AND FILTERS THOSE MOTIFS AND APPROACH INTO ITS OWN PERSONAL STORY AND TEXTURE. BUT BECAUSE THEY FAIL TO RECOGNIZE THE MOST BASIC DYNAMICS OF GOOD NARRATIVE STORYTELLING. OBJECTIVES. LET'S LOOK AT SUPER-RECENT EXAMPLES OF BOTH: SUPER 8 USURPS ALL THE LANGUAGE AND CADENCE OF SPIELBERG'S FILMS. OR WHAT STRUCTURE YOU ARE USING. BUT INSTEAD TO REVEAL THE STORY IN A FASCINATING THEMATIC EVOLUTION. HULK DOESN'T CARE WHAT KIND OF CONCEPTUAL STORY YOU ARE TELLING. OR YOU CAN BE CHUCKING ROCKS FROM THE OUTSIDE WITH AN INDEPENDENT BENT. AND BE YOU… .BE SMART. BASICALLY. THERE’S MUCH LESS NUANCE. IF YOU CANNOT COMPOSE A SENTENCE ON THE FLY. WHEN YOU SELL A SCREENPLAY YOU ARE REALLY BEING HIRED FOR YOUR ABILITY TO WRITE. AS THEY CAN ACTUALLY HELP YOU WRITE THE MOST FUNCTIONAL. AND THE THINGS YOU ARE ABOUT TO LEARN IN THIS SECTION ARE REALLY SIMPLE AND EASILY APPLIED. SO MANY YOUNG WRITERS WILL SELL SOMETHING . YOU HAVE TO HAVE MASTERY OVER THE WRITTEN WORD. ESPECIALLY BECAUSE FROM THEN ON IN THERE WILL PROBABLY BE A LOT OF RE-WRITES DURING PREPRODUCTION. READABLE SCREENPLAY POSSIBLE. YOU WILL NOT BE HIRED. IT’S JUST THE SOLUTIONS TO ACHIEVING THIS ARE MUCH MORE CLEAR AND DIRECT. YOU CANNOT JUST BE A SCREENWRITER AND THINK CINEMATICALLY. THEN YOU WILL BE IN BIG TROUBLE AND PROBABLY LEFT IN THE DUST IMMEDIATELY SO THEY CAN BRING SOMEONE IN WHO CAN ACTUALLY DO THESE THINGS. HULK PROMISES YOU THAT THIS SECTION WILL HELP YOU THE MOST WHEN IT COMES TO ACTUALLY SELLING YOUR SCRIPTS! SO LET’S GET STARTED: 48. IT DOESN’T MATTER IF YOU UNDERSTAND A LOT ABOUT CINEMA. BUT PLEASE DO NOT TAKE THIS STATEMENT TO MEAN THAT HULK THINKS FORMATTING AND SCREENPLAY ETIQUETTE ARE UNIMPORTANT. BUT DO YOU REALIZE HOW MANY SCRIPTS HULK READS WHERE IT IS CLEAR THAT THE PERSON DOES NOT HAVE A LOT OF EXPERIENCE ACTUALLY WRITING AND COMPOSING SENTENCES? IF THAT’S THE CASE THEN IT DOESN’T MATTER HOW GOOD A STORY YOU TELL. BUT IT IS STILL INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT. AFTER ALL. BUT IT IS BECAUSE THE FUNDAMENTALS OF GOOD STORYTELLING ARE WAY. YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND GRAMMAR AND SENTENCE STRUCTURE THAT MAY SEEM OBVIOUS. BECAUSE WHILE MOST OF HULK’S PREVIOUS ADVICE WAS STUFF THAT HELPED YOU WRITE COMPELLING STORIES. THERE IS ALSO THE FORMAT OF THE SCREENPLAY ITSELF! HOLY HELL! CAN YOU BELIEVE WE’RE FINALLY HERE? HULK APOLOGIZES THAT HULK WAITED ALL THE WAY UNTIL PART SIX TO TALK ABOUT THIS. TRUST HULK ON THIS ONE. IF YOU CANNOT WORK QUICKLY. IT IS YOUR TRADE AND CHOSEN PROFESSION. SERIOUSLY. IT’S NOT JUST FOR THE SCRIPT ITSELF. SCREENWRITING IS WRITING. WAAAAAAAAY MORE IMPORTANT THAN WHAT BASICALLY AMOUNTS TO A MATTER OF PROPER FORMATTING. PART SIX - HOW TO WRITE A SCREENPLAY –SCRIPT-SPECIFIC INSTRUCTION OF COURSE. ETC. LOOK STUFF UP. DO THAT AND YOU WILL BE ABLE TO MAKE UP FUN WORDS AND DO ALL THAT INVENTIVE LINGUISTIC STUFF WE WANT TO DO FROM THE VERY BEGINNING. THEY WILL REINFORCE YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF LANGUAGE BETTER THAN ANYTHING ELSE. BUT JUST SO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING WITHOUT THAT SOFTWARE. SO PLEASE. HOW TO NUMBER SCENES. STRIVE FOR IT. SUCK IT UP AND BUY YOUR OWN COPY. KEEP YOUR GRAMMAR GUIDES AND USAGE DICTIONARIES RIGHT BESIDE YOUR COMPUTER. THIS IS PART OF THE SACRIFICE. POSITIVELY USE SCREENWRITING SOFTWARE. HULK’S DONE IT ABOUT 275 TIMES IN THE PROCESS OF WRITING THIS BOOK. AND SCREENWRITING SOFTWARE WILL DO ALL THE FORMATTING FOR YOU. THAT’S TOTALLY ALLOWED! BUT ALSO DON’T THINK OF THE ABILITY TO LOOK THINGS UP AS A CURE-ALL. ABSOLUTELY BUY THE SOFTWARE. SO GET OUT THERE. SCREENPLAY FORMAT BASICS! PLEASE NOTE: IF YOU ARE WRITING A SCRIPT AND HAVE ANY INTENTION OF DOING SOMETHING WITH IT YOU SHOULD ABSOLUTELY. TO START. SAVE UP AND BUY IT. BUT DO NOT KNOW HOW TO WRITE. THE LAST THING YOU WANT TO DO WHILE WRITING IS WASTE TIME ON FORMATTING. PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT YOU ARE NOT BEING HIRED FOR WHAT YOU HAVE ALREADY WRITTEN. HULK USES FINAL DRAFT AND HULK LOVES IT. YOU ARE BEING HIRED FOR YOUR ABILITY TO WRITE. LEARN HOW TO MASTER OUR LANGUAGE. LIKE ACTUAL BOOKS. HERE’S HULK’S NO-BULLSHIT QUICK GUIDE TO FORMATTING A SCREENPLAY. DON’T DOWNLOAD IT EITHER BECAUSE HULK SWEARS YOU CAN GET IN TROUBLE WITH THE W. THERE ARE OTHER BASIC THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW. USE IT REPEATEDLY OVER THE COURSE OF YOUR LIFE SO YOU GET BETTER. SOMETIMES IT IS GENUINE BAD LUCK. BUT YOU HAVE TO KNOW GRAMMAR AND SENTENCE STRUCTURE TO DO SO. IT’S COMPLICATED TO EXPLAIN. BUT JUST KNOW IT’S NOT WORTH IT. BUT MANY OTHER TIMES IT IS BECAUSE THE WRITERS HAVE A GOOD IDEA.AND NOT UNDERSTAND WHY THEY ARE IMMEDIATELY DISMISSED. IF YOU WANT TO BE A WRITER. PLEASE. LIKE WHAT SCENE HEADINGS ARE. READ BOOKS. THEN YOU CAN KNOW HOW TO BREAK RULES FOR EFFECT (OUR RUNNING THEME). IF YOU DON’T HAVE A LOT OF MONEY. TOO. OVER THAT. DON’T BE LAZY. SO LET’S GET TO THAT STUFF: 49. THE FOLLOWING ARE THE ONLY (NEEDED) LINE DESIGNATIONS: -HEADER -ACTION LINE -CHARACTER -DIALOGUE . AND LIKE EVERYTHING. AND BEYOND THE BASICS OF LANGUAGE. SOAK THEM UP. AND THAT MEANS YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND GRAMMAR AND USAGE.A.G. NO QUESTION. CONSULT USAGE. KEEP IT ORGANIZED AND SIMPLE. / EXT.) OR INTERIOR (INT. HULK LIKES CAPITALIZING THE NAME FOR THE ENTIRE DURATION.-CHARACTER PARENTHETICAL -DIALOGUE PARENTHETICAL -TRANSITION -OVER BLACK. HULK seems tired. BUT SOMETIMES IF THERE’S A LOT OF LOCATION HOPPING IN YOUR SCRIPTS. III) CHARACTER . II) ACTION LINE THE ACTION LINE IS A LINE OF DESCRIPTION UNDERNEATH THE HEADER THAT DESCRIBES IN MORE DETAIL WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE SCENE. I) HEADER IT’S AN ALL CAPS LINE (YAY!) AT THE TOP OF YOUR SCENE. THERE’S SOME DISAGREEMENT ABOUT HOW OFTEN YOU SHOULD CAPITALIZE: EITHER THE FIRST TIME A CHARACTER IS INTRODUCED OR FOR THE ENTIRE DURATION OF THE SCRIPT. HULK TRIES TO KEEP IT AS SIMPLE AS POSSIBLE (AS IT’S EASIER FOR SOMEONE TO READ).” THINGS TO CONSIDER: THIS ACTION LINE SHOULD BE STRICTLY VISUAL INFORMATION. IT LOOKS LIKE THIS: “INT. IT JUST SINGLES IT OUT SO THE READER CAN ALWAYS KNOW WHO THE CHARACTERS ARE IN THE SCENE AND WON’T LOSE TRACK OF THEM. IT LOOKS LIKE THIS: “INT. FOLLOWED BY A DASH AND THEN THE TIME OF DAY. ALSO THE CHARACTER’S NAME SHOULD BE IN ALL CAPS. WHATEVER YOU DO.) FOLLOWED BY THE LOCATION. HULK’S HOUSE – NIGHT” THINGS TO CONSIDER: WHEN A SCENE TRANSITIONS FROM INTERIOR TO EXTERIOR OR VICE VERSA WITHOUT A BREAK YOU CAN WRITE “INT. THE FIRST PART TELLS YOU WHETHER THE SCENE IS AN EXTERIOR (EXT. SO LET’S GO ONE BY ONE…. -SCENE NUMBERS THAT’S SERIOUSLY IT. AS CINEMA IS DEPENDENT ON WHAT WE CAN SEE.” ALSO. YOU SHOULD PUT THE CITY OF THE LOCATION FIRST TO HELP AND THEN A COMMA FOLLOWED BY THE DESTINATION. THERE’S NOTHING ELSE NECESSARY FOR WRITING A SCREENPLAY. SOME PEOPLE GET INTO DISCUSSIONS ABOUT HOW DETAILED YOU WANT TO BE WHEN TALKING ABOUT THE LOCATION. HULK’S HOUSE – NIGHT A big giant green monster by the name of HULK is sitting at his computer and writing a book about screenwriting. IT LOOKS LIKE THIS: “INT. HULK seems tired. HULK seems tired. HULK seems tired. IT LOOKS LIKE THIS.S. HULK Hulk wants to go to sleep and stop writing about screenplay formatting!” … IT’S ALL PRETTY SELF-EXPLANATORY. HULK’S HOUSE – NIGHT A big giant green monster by the name of HULK is sitting at his computer and writing a book about screenwriting.). BUT CHARACTER PARENTHETICALS YOU MAY HAVE NOT. HULK’S HOUSE – NIGHT A big giant green monster by the name of HULK is sitting at his computer and writing a book about screenwriting. BASICALLY THEY ARE PARENTHESES NEXT TO THE CHARACTER NAME THAT INDICATE IF THE CHARACTER TALKING IS DOING SOMETHING BESIDES THE STANDARD TALKING TO ANOTHER PERSON ONSCREEN. HULK’S HOUSE – NIGHT A big giant green monster by the name of HULK is sitting at his computer and writing a book about screenwriting. IV) DIALOGUE YOU CAN SEE IT BRIEFLY IN THE EXAMPLE ABOVE. BETTY walks in.) AND SPECIAL DESIGNATIONS LIKE TALKING ON THE PHONE (INTO PHONE). AND THEN ANOTHER PERSON TALKS. BETTY walks in. BUT A CHARACTER TALKS WITH A LITTLE CONDENSED BLURB. HULK Hulk wants to go to sleep and stop writing about screenplay formatting! BETTY Hulk! You know you have to get up early and go to Avengers HQ! The world can wait another day for your movie thoughts!” V) CHARACTER PARENTHETICAL EVERYTHING ELSE YOU’VE SEEN BEFORE. IT LOOKS LIKE THIS: “INT.O. OFF-SCREEN DIALOGUE (O. A CHARACTER DESIGNATION GOES BELOW AN ACTION SCENE AND LETS YOU KNOW WHO IS TALKING. . THERE IS VOICE-OVER (V. “INT. ) Come to bed when you’re done! HULK Okay! HULK puts the phone back to his ear. BUT IT’S JUST ONE OF THOSE THINGS NO ONE EVER THINKS ABOUT. Meanwhile…” HULK SHOULD MENTION ONE THING THAT DRIVES HULK NUTS IS PHONE RULE INCONSISTENCY. ITS PURPOSE IS TO ILLUSTRATE HOW THE PERSON IS TALKING OR WHAT THEIR TONE IS. IF YOU REALLY NEED TO DO BOTH FOR DRAMATIC PURPOSES. DO SO. HULK’S HOUSE – NIGHT . BUT OTHERWISE JUST TRY TO BE CONSISTENT. NARRATOR (V. HULK (INTO PHONE) Go on…. HULK (INTO PHONE) Yello? … What up. IT MAY NOT SEEM LIKE A BIG DEAL. BETTY (O. CAN WE HEAR THE PERSON ON THE OTHER END OF THE PHONE LINE OR CAN WE NOT HEAR THEM? YOU’D BE SHOCKED HOW MANY FILMS MIX AND MATCH. VI) DIALOGUE PARENTHETICAL SO THIS IS DIFFERENT FROM THE CHARACTER PARENTHETICAL AND IS PLACED INSTEAD RIGHT BEFORE THE DIALOGUE. HULK Hulk wants to go to sleep and stop writing about screenplay formatting! BETTY Hulk! You know you have to get up early and go to Avengers HQ! The world can wait another day for your movie thoughts! HULK’S phone rings. IT LOOKS LIKE THIS. Tony! BETTY rolls her eyes and exits the room. IN YOUR CINEMATIC UNIVERSE. AND HEY. IT CAN ALSO INDICATE WHEN ANOTHER LANGUAGE IS BEING USED.) And so Hulk sat there on the phone and listened to Tony Stark ramble on about science or something. “INT.O.S. ONLY USE DIALOGUE PARENTHETICALS WHEN THE CHARACTER’S TONE IS TRULY COUNTERINTUITIVE. BUT YOU’LL GET THERE. Hulk know. A big giant green monster by the name of HULK is sitting at his computer and writing a book about screenwriting. It’s okay. OTHERWISE YOU’RE JUST TRYING TO BE THE ACTING COACH AND THE ACTORS WILL RESENT WHAT YOU TRY TO TELL THEM ANYWAY. HULK ONCE READ A SCREENPLAY WHERE 50% OF THE DIALOGUE HAD DESCRIPTIONS OF HOW IT SHOULD SOUND AND HOW THE CHARACTERS WERE FEELING. IT WAS SHOWCASING A WRITER WHO DIDN’T HAVE CONFIDENCE IN THEIR WORDS… . HULK (angrily) Hulk wants to go to sleep and stop writing about screenplay formatting! BETTY (concerned) Hulk! You know you have to get up early and go to Avengers HQ! The world can wait another day for your movie thoughts! HULK (sheepishly) Hulk know. YOU MAY WANT TO. WHITE TIGER (subtitle) Hey you two! It’s me. ESPECIALLY FOR DESCRIBING THE EMOTIONAL STATE OF THE CHARACTER. WHEN YOU’RE STARTING OFF THAT CAN BE HARD. The White Tiger! The short-lived Puerto Rican superhero that Marvel created in the ‘70s! I’m sadly the only character you could think of who speaks Spanish!” THINGS TO CONSIDER: SO… UM… TRY NEVER TO USE DIALOGUE PARENTHETICALS. BUT YOUR ABILITY TO WRITE WILL DEPEND ON YOUR ABILITY NOT TO USE THEM. HAVE CONFIDENCE IN YOUR WORDS. YOU WANT TO HAVE THE ABILITY TO MAKE IT CLEAR EXACTLY WHAT YOU MEAN THROUGH THE DIALOGUE ITSELF. SERIOUSLY. BETTY walks over and puts her arms around him. Hulky. BETTY walks in. You right. THE WHITE TIGER suddenly bursts in and stars yelling in Spanish. He seems tired. BETTY (whispering) It’s okay. BETTY walks in. BUT ALSO AS EXAMPLE OF HOW TO USE A PRETTY STANDARD JOKE KNOWN AS “A CUTAWAY. BUT MORE JUST A WAY TO LET YOU KNOW THAT A SCENE IS OVER.THE REST OF THE SCRIPT BACKED THAT UP. FADE TO BLACK. AND OF COURSE YOU WILL BE “CUTTING TO” IT. STAR WIPE! ETC).” AWWW. SO REALLY THE . HULK seems tired. LOOK AT HULK. PRETENDING THOSE PEOPLE EXIST! ANYWAY. BUT YOU ALSO HAVE YOUR “SMASH CUT TO:” (ANY TIME YOU WANT A CUT TO LAND REALLY HARD AND NOT SEEM SEAMLESS) OR “MATCH CUT TO:” (IN WHICH THE ACTION ONSCREEN MATCHES THE ACTION STARTING AT THE NEXT CUT IN SOME VISUAL OR AUDIO WAY). VII) TRANSITIONS SO A TRANSITION COMES AT THE END OF THE SCENE AND GOES ALL THE WAY OVER TO THE RIGHT OF THE PAGE AND SAYS WHAT HAPPENS IN THE TRANSITION. “INT. NOW IT’S NOT SPECIFICALLY AN EDITING NOTE (FADE. whilst crying. refreshing the homepage for an update over and over.” REMEMBER. HULK Hulk wants to go to sleep and stop writing about screenplay formatting! BETTY Hulk! You know you have to get up early and go to Avengers HQ! The world can wait another day for your movie thoughts! HULK Hulk supposes you’re right. SERIOUSLY YOU CAN JUST START A NEW SCENE HEADING AND WE WILL KNOW. READER’S HOUSE – NIGHT A DEVOTED READER sits there. HULK HOPES YOU LOOK AT THIS TRANSITION NOT JUST FOR THE FORMAT. HULK’S HOUSE – NIGHT A big giant green monster by the name of HULK is sitting at his computer and writing a book about screenwriting. MEANING IT SHOULD MOSTLY BE A “CUT TO:” SURE YOU HAVE YOUR POSSIBLE “FADE TO BLACK” WHICH IS OBVIOUS. HERE’S WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE. CUT TO: INT. GIVE YOUR TRANSITIONS PURPOSE! LINK THEM IN A WAY THAT CREATES NEW MEANINGS! THINGS TO CONSIDER: MOST OF THE TIME YOU DON’T ACTUALLY NEED TO INCLUDE TRANSITIONS WHATSOEVER. DELIVERY ROOM – DAY . VIII) OVER BLACK. TITLE CARD: “Nine Months Later. BETTY walks in. HULK Oh yeah? HULK smiles.” The sound of screaming can be heard. IT LOOKS LIKE THIS: “INT. He seems tired.ONLY THINGS YOU MIGHT NEED ARE SMASH CUT OR MATCH DESIGNATIONS. Hulky. CHIEFLY BECAUSE THERE’S NO INTERIOR OR EXTERIOR OR LOCATION. BETTY Come to bed. HULK Hulk wants to go to sleep and stop writing about screenplay formatting! BETTY Hulk! You know you have to get up early and go to Avengers HQ! The world can wait another day for your movie thoughts! HULK Hulk supposes you’re right. HULK’S HOUSE – NIGHT A big giant green monster by the name of HULK is sitting at his computer and writing a book about screenwriting. TRY JUST INTRODUCING THE NEW SCENE WITH THE TRANSITION OF “INTERCUT WITH:” AND THAT WILL IMPLY FILMING THE SCENE IN BOTH LOCATIONS. CUT TO: OVER BLACK. NO PROBLEM. ALSO IF YOU’RE CUTTING BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN TWO LOCATIONS AND YOUR CHARACTERS ARE ON THE PHONE OR SOMETHING. YOU’D BE AMAZED HOW MANY PEOPLE DON’T KNOW WHAT TO CALL IT WHEN THE SCREEN IS BLACK AND YOU’RE DOING A TITLE CARD OR JUST AUDIO OR WHATEVER. SO ALL YOU DO IS WRITE “OVER BLACK. CUT TO: INT.” IN THE HEADER SCREEN. INT. AND ALL IT’S REALLY THERE FOR IS TO GIVE YOUR PRODUCTION A SENSE OF HOW MANY SCENES THEY’LL NEED TO SHOOT. THE LEADER I wonder what that big green asshole is plotting against me now?” AND THAT’S IT! THAT’S EVERYTHING YOU REALLY NEED TO KNOW ABOUT FORMATTING A SCREENPLAY! EASY PEASY LEMON SQUEEZY! BUT WHAT IS BOTH FAR MORE TRICKY AND FOR MORE NECESSARY TO DISCUSS ARE THE UNSPOKEN RULES OF SCREENPLAY FORMATTING THAT CAN GREATLY IMPROVE YOUR SCRIPT. 1. MOVING ON! VIII) SCENE NUMBERS AND THE ONLY OTHER THING YOU NEED TO KNOW IS SCENE NUMBERS. “INT. HULK’S HOUSE – NIGHT 1 A big giant green monster by the name of HULK is sitting at his computer and writing a book about screenwriting. HULK Hulk wants to go to sleep and stop writing about screenplay formatting! CUT TO: 2. ANYWAY. . IT WILL JUST CLUTTER THINGS OTHERWISE. WHICH IS MORE DIFFICULT. THE LEADER’S HOUSE – NIGHT 2 THE LEADER sits there deep in thought. BUT HULK RECOMMENDS YOU DON’T EVEN DO IT UNTIL THE END. DIFFICULT LEMON DIFFICULT. SCREENWRITING SOFTWARE ADDS THEM IN THE MARGINS ANY TIME YOU TELL IT TO.BETTY screams as a DOCTOR delivers her baby. DOCTOR It’s a girl! HULK lights a cigar with the rest of the Avengers.” … THE LESS SAID ABOUT THIS SCENE THE BETTER. IT LOOKS LIKE THIS. … BOY DOES HULK LOVE THAT MOVIE. STILL… IMPORTANT FACT: 95% OF SCRIPTS OUT THERE ARE SUBMISSION SCRIPTS. OVER-DESCRIPTIVE. OUR WORKING DEFINITION OF A “SUBMISSION SCRIPT” IS ANY SCRIPT THAT ISN’T NECEESSARILY GOING TO BE MADE. A SCRIPT THAT YOU WANT TO GET YOU A DIFFERENT JOB. ISN’T THIS A HUGE DEAL? YET HULK SEES THOUSANDS OF YOUNG WRITERS PRESS ON WITH THE SHOOTING SCRIPT MODE BECAUSE THEY CAN’T LET GO OF CONTROL OR . MEANING THAT’S WHAT 95% OF YOU ARE WRITING. SUBMISSION SCRIPTS VS. YOU WANT THEM TO BE COMPELLED. THIS CAN MEAN A LOT OF THINGS: IT IS EITHER A SCRIPT THAT YOU PLAN TO HAVE STUDIOS READ SO THEY WILL WANT TO MAKE IT. HULK SITS THERE AND READS THE MOST TECHNICAL. IMPORTANT QUESTION: SO WHY ARE MOST OF THAT 95% WRITING THEIR SUBMISSION SCRIPTS LIKE THEY ARE SHOOTING SCRIPTS? SERIOUSLY. A SCRIPT THAT YOU WANT TO LAND YOU AN AGENT / MANAGER. PRODUCTION DESIGN. A SCRIPT THAT YOU ARE SUBMITTING FOR A NEW ROUND OF STUDIO NOTES ON A MOVIE IN DEVELOPMENT.50. AND ALMOST NO ONE ON THE PLANET TALKS ABOUT IT. THE PRODUCTION DESIGNER. SO YOU CAN INCLUDE ANY INFORMATION YOU WANT LIKE CAMERA NOTATIONS. AND EVERYTHING BUT THE WRITER. OR EVEN A SCRIPT YOU ARE JUST GIVING TO A FRIEND FOR FEEDBACK. RATHER THAN MAKE A GOOD READ. SHOOTING SCRIPTS (AND HOW IT AFFECTS ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING) THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST HUGELY IMPORTANT FACTORS WHEN IT COMES TO HOW TO APPROACH WRITING A SCREENPLAY. UTTERLY PARALYZING SCRIPTS ALL THE TIME BECAUSE THE PERSON WRITING IT THINKS THEY HAVE TO CONTROL EVERY SINGLE THING HAPPENING ONSCREEN AND GO OVER THEM IN LABORIOUS DETAIL. THEY ARE SHOOTING THEMSELVES IN THE FOOT BECAUSE WHAT THEY ARE WRITING IS EFFECTIVELY BAD DRAMA FOR THE PERSON READING IT. YOU ARE RECITING THEM A GROCERY LIST INSTEAD OF TELLING YOUR STORY IN THE MOST COMPELLING AND INVOLVING WAY POSSIBLE. THEY’RE TRYING TO BE THE DIRECTOR. AND THE THINGS THAT ARE ACTUALLY GOING TO HELP YOU MAKE THE DAMN THING. SO SHOULDN’T THE IDEA BE TO MAKE “THE READ” OF YOUR SCRIPT AS COMPELLING AND DRAMATIC AS POSSIBLE? AND SHOULDN’T THAT BE OBVIOUS? MEANWHILE A SHOOTING SCRIPT IS SOMETHING ALREADY EFFECTIVELY “GREEN-LIT” AND YOU’VE FINISHED ALL THE DRAFTS THE STUDIO NEEDS. BORING. YOU WANT THEM TO THINK YOU’RE A GOOD WRITER. THE ACTING COACH. AND GUESS WHAT. IT’S A HUGE PROBLEM. THE IDEA BEHIND THIS SCRIPT IS ALWAYS THE SAME: YOU WANT THE PERSON TO ENJOY THEMSELVES. FOLKS? THE PERSON READING IS THE PERSON WHO IS TELLING YOU YES OR NO. AND THUS. IT SHOULD FEEL LIKE IT IS HAPPENING IN REAL TIME. AND IF A 21 YEAR OLD INTERN. ACTUALLY. WHEN SOMEONE ACTUALLY WANTS TO MAKE IT AND IT WILL HAVE GONE THROUGH HUNDREDS OF CHANGES ANYWAY. WHOLLY FORGETTING THERE'S A NEXT ONE ON THE PILE. SO HULK WANTS YOU TO THINK ABOUT THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO KINDS OF SCRIPTS VERY CAREFULLY. AND THE ONE UNIFYING CHARACTERISTIC IS THAT THEIR TIME IS EXTREMELY VALUABLE. MOST OF THE FOLLOWING CAN BE APPLIED TO A SHOOTING SCRIPT TOO. SAT DOWN TO READ YOUR SCRIPT YOU WOULD STILL WANT THEM TO THINK IT'S GREAT TOO. THAT WOULD BE NONSENSE. WHO READS A MILLION OF THEM AND WHOSE TIME IS SHORT. AND THEN IF A STUDIO EXEC SAT DOWN TO READ YOUR SCRIPT. SAT DOWN TO READ YOUR SCRIPT YOU WOULD WANT HIM TO THINK IT'S GREAT. LIKE. KNOW IT IS BEING READ BY EVERY KIND OF PERSON IF CHARLIE KAUFMAN. AN INCREDIBLE WRITER WHO KNOWS WHAT REALLY MAKES A GREAT SCRIPT. BUT WHEN YOU'RE STARTING IN THIS GAME AND DON’T HAVE A REPUTATION YET. THE WORST PART IS YOU CAN JUST ADD ALL THAT STUFF IN LATER. THEY ARE THE ONES TO LEARN HOW TO WRITE… HONESTLY THOUGH. ASK YOURSELF: “HOLY CRAP. NOW. SAT DOWN TO READ YOUR SCRIPT YOU WOULD WANT THEM TO THINK IT'S GREAT AND NOT BE ABLE TO PUT IT DOWN. YOU KNOW. LIKE THEY’RE READING A PLAY. YOU WOULD WANT THEM TO THINK IT'S GREAT TOO. THE REVERSE OF THAT. SORRY FOLKS. REALLY. THEY ARE THE ONES THAT SELL AND MAKE YOU A BETTER WRITER. BUT IT ALSO MEANS THEY ARE BUSY. WHO AM I ACTUALLY WRITING THIS FOR?” AND THEN YOU SHOULD TRY AND MAKE IT AS READABLE AS POSSIBLE. . HULK WILL BE GEARING IT AROUND SUBMISSION SCRIPTS. BECAUSE FOR EVERY BIT OF SCREENWRITING ADVICE THAT IS TO FOLLOW. THE SAME GOES FOR MOST OF THOSE PEOPLE. SO THINK ABOUT THAT. 51.JUST BECAUSE THEY THINK THAT’S THE APPROPRIATE THING TO DO… AND IT IS VERY MUCH NOT. IT'S ABSOLUTELY TRUE. BECAUSE THE 21 YEAR OLD INTERN IS ACTUALLY PRETTY SMART ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. EASILY DISTRACTED. THE SCRIPT SHOULD FEEL ALIVE AND VIBRANT. AND NOT ENTIRELY AWARE OF THE SUBTLETY OF NUANCE. RIGHT? THE SAME CAN BE SAID FOR IF YOUR FAVORITE ACTOR SAT DOWN TO READ YOUR SCRIPT. NOW… GUESS IN WHICH ORDER THE SCRIPT WILL BE READ? YUP. WHO REALLY DOESN'T HAVE THE BREADTH OF EXPERIENCE OR PATIENCE FOR THIS JOB. THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT YOU CAN'T USE BIG WORDS OR TELL A COMPLEX STORY. BECAUSE THEY ARE THE ONES THAT MATTER. AND IF A SCRIPT READER. IT SHOULD NOT FEEL LIKE A NOVEL. BESIDES. THIS GOES WITHOUT SAYING. AND THAT’S WHY YOU HAVE TO MAKE YOUR SCRIPTS ACCESSIBLE TO THE 21 YEAR OLD INTERN. YOU MAY THINK IT'S IMPORTANT. IT SLOWS THINGS DOWN. LESS IS ALWAYS MORE. IT'S CLEAR YOU'RE WORRYING TOO MUCH ABOUT SOMEONE NOT DOING EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANT.” TO DO THAT. THOSE ARE SOMETHING ELSE ENTIRELY. AND THAT'S NOT GOOD SCREENWRITING. AND IF THEY’RE REALLY INTO THE STORY THEY ARE NOT GOING TO WANT TO SLOW DOWN ANYWAY! THEY ARE NOT GOING TO WANT TO MISS A BEAT. HECK. HULK'S HEART JUST SINKS A LITTLE. OR INTERESTING. THAT’S HOW HULK WILL KNOW YOU’RE SMART. EVEN WITH THE MOST PROFESSIONAL. AS THE OLD ADAGE OF FILMMAKING GOES: “DON’T IMPRESS ME. THAT MEANS NO WALLS OF BLACK TEXT. WHICH MEANS YOU HAVE TO GET TO THE POINT AND NOT DILLY-DALLY IN THE DAMN DESCRIPTION. IT’S JUST HOW WE READ SCRIPTS. THE DIALOGUE AND QUICK SENTENCES PROPEL US. THESE ARE BUSY-AS-SHIT PEOPLE. BUT FOR NOW JUST ACCEPT THAT IT IS TRUE. WITH SCREENPLAY DETAILS. OR RELEVANT. HOW COULD HULK NOT? BUT THOSE ARE ESSAYS. HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A HULK ESSAY. SO THEY DRESS UP THEIR LANGUAGE IN WORDS THAT DON’T ACTUALLY MEAN ANYTHING. OR CAREFULLY CONSTRUCTED. THEY WILL START TO TUNE OUT WHEN IT GETS DENSE. DAVID FOSTER WALLACE ONCE TALKED APTLY ABOUT “THE FEAR” YOUNG WRITERS HAVE WHERE THEY WANT TO BE SEEN AS SMART. HULK IS ONE OF THE MOST PATIENT READERS ON THE PLANET. CONVINCE ME. THE SAME GOES FOR THE DESIRE TO BE LOQUACIOUS OR OSTENTATIOUS. YOU ARE MAKING IT CLEAR YOU ARE TRYING TO DIRECT FROM THE PAGE. AND WHEN YOU HAVE TO OVER-WRITE EVERYTHING YOU ARE MAKING IT CLEAR THAT YOU DON’T TRUST THE READERS OR POTENTIAL FILMMAKERS. ONLY IT APPLIES TO THE LITERAL TEXT OF THE SCRIPT. SO DON’T LET THEM GET LOST IN TEXT! . TELL A GOOD STORY. DILIGENT READERS. AND IT’S JUST SO UNNECESSARY IN A SCREENPLAY. IT HAS NO REAL FUNCTION IN A SCREENPLAY. HULK FUCKING LOVES TO READ DENSE AND INTRICATE TEXT. MOST OF THEM WILL SIMPLY GLANCE AT THE ACTION TO GET A SENSE OF WHAT'S HAPPENING AND THEN JUST GO BACK TO THE DIALOGUE. BY THE END OF PART SIX YOU'LL FULLY UNDERSTAND WHY THAT IS. AND THIS PERTINENT REALITY MEANS IT IS NEVER PRODUCTIVE FOR YOU TO OVER-WRITE THE ACTION HAPPENING ONSCREEN. AND HULK CAN READ FAST. THEY OVERCOMPENSATE WITH BRAVADO. REALLY. HULK MEAN. IT'S SECRETLY THE SAME THING AS HULK'S LESSON IN NARRATIVE ECONOMY. WHEN HULK SEES THAT BIG WALL OF BLACK TEXT IN A SCRIPT. IT IS AN ABSOLUTELY FIXTURE OF THE BUSINESS. BUT TO THE READER IT'S JUST NOT LIKE THAT. EVERY READER WILL TUNE OUT. IT’S UNDRAMATIC. TRUST HULK ON THIS ONE. THOSE ARE NOVELS. BE AS BRIEF AND CONCISE AS POSSIBLE. HULK PICKS UP INFINITE JEST EVERY YEAR TO REVISIT IT. INSTEAD WRITE ABOUT HOW SHE HAS PICTURES UP OF HER WITH HER FAMILY ON A FARM OR SOMETHING VISIBLE LIKE THAT. POSTURE. THAT’S WHY LEAN WRITING DOES NOT MEAN EMPTY WRITING. IT’S NOT LIKE A NOVEL. IF YOU NEED TO ESTABLISH THAT SOMEONE WORKED ON A FARM YEARS AGO? DON'T WRITE "SHE USED TO WORK ON A FARM. FILL YOUR LIMITED WORDS WITH PURPOSE AND IMPORT. AND ACTIONS. OKAY YOU GET IT AND OF COURSE YOU CAN'T HAVE NOTHING EITHER. YOU NEED DO THIS IN THE SCRIPT BECAUSE. BUT YOU'D BE AMAZED HOW MANY PEOPLE DON'T REALIZE THIS VERY SIMPLE FACET OF SCREENWRITING.BE BRIEF AND MOVE ON! OKAY. THE DETAILS LIKE: AGE. A VOICE-OVER CAN’T JUST START READING YOUR ACTION LINES AND DESCRIBING YOUR CHARACTERS.. IF YOU'RE WRITING A CHARACTER’S HISTORY IN YOUR ACTION LINES. SO THEY NEED TO CONVEY VISUAL INFORMATION! SORRY IF HULK SEEMS ANGRY AND SMASHY ABOUT THIS ONE. POSTURE. CLOTHING. CLOTHING. THIS IS ALSO AN IMPORTANT ONE. STUFF LIKE: "HE GREW UP IN A SMALL TOWN BACK.. . THINK ABOUT IT: THE ONLY INFORMATION THAT SHOULD BE CONVEYED IN ACTION LINES IS WHAT THE AUDIENCE COULD SEE IN THE THEATER. VOICE. IT MAY BE LAME." THEN YOU ARE TOTALLY DOING IT WRONG. ANY GOOD DIRECTOR WILL SIT DOWN AND LOOK AT A PARAGRAPH IN YOUR SCRIPT THAT HAS NOTHING BUT CHARACTER HISTORY AND SAY "HOW THE FUCK CAN I SHOW THAT ONSCREEN?" AND THEN PROMPTLY TOSS YOUR SCRIPT IN THE GARBAGE. USE THEM TO REALLY SAY SOMETHING ABOUT THE CHARACTER. DOESN’T THAT MAKE SO MUCH SENSE? FOR ONE. IT'S EXACTLY WHAT THE MOVIE NEEDS TO DO TOO. ETC. AND HEY. DON’T THINK OF THESE DETAILS AS BEING REDUCTIVE OR LIMITING. REALLY TRY TO SAY SOMETHING WITH THE CHARACTER’S AGE. BUT YOU ARE SECRETLY NOT HELPING YOUR MOVIE. IF THEY LIKE THE STORY UNDER IT. AND ACTIONS. BUT AN OPPORTUNITY TO CRAFT EVERYTHING VISUALLY. MORE IMPORTANTLY THAN INFORMING A DIRECTOR. BUT IT'S AT LEAST SOMETHING THAT CAN BE SHOWN. FUCKIN HELL. SO TRY TO REMEMBER THAT A GOOD SCRIPT CONVEYS ONLY THE INFORMATION THAT CAN BE SEEN. VOICE. A SCRIPT SHOULD BE INFORMING THE MOVIE HOW TO WORK." THERE'S NOTHING A FILMMAKER CAN DO WITH THAT. CONVEY ONLY THE MOST RELEVANT INFORMATION! AND HERE'S A GOOD WAY TO DO THAT: 52. IT MAY BE HELPFUL FOR THE FILMMAKERS IN TRYING TO DECIDE WHO TO CAST. THEN THEY'LL JUST IGNORE IT ANYWAY AND DO WHAT THEY WANT. THE GOLDEN RULE OF DESCRIPTION WRITE ONLY WHAT WE CAN SEE. THE MEANING IS CLEAR: SHE'S NEVER BEEN ON A PLANE BEFORE. TO DO THAT YOU SAY SOMETHING LIKE THIS: . BUT HERE'S THE THING: IF YOU ARE SUBMITTING A SCRIPT. THROAT. HERE'S HULK'S BEST EXAMPLE OF HOW TO IMPLY MOVEMENT WITH WORDS. BUT IT WON'T HELP THE AUDIENCE GET IT. OH BY THE WAY. BUT AT THE TIME. GOING BACK TO CHARACTER TREES (POINT #10) TRY TO FIT YOUR "FEET" DETAILS INTO THE STORY THROUGH OTHER APPROACHES: GROIN. AND GUESS WHO MATTERS THE MOST? THE GOLDEN RULE OF DESCRIPTION FIXES ALL: WRITE ONLY WHAT WE CAN SEE. YOU'RE PUTTING AN IDEA INTO THE FILMMAKER’S HEAD THAT WILL MAKE TOTAL SENSE FOR YOUR STORY. ESPECIALLY BECAUSE THIS RULE SEEMS TO GO MORE AND MORE BY THE WAYSIDE. SHE GOES TO GRAB HER WALLET TO PAY. THIS IS NOT IN RARE CASES EITHER - THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS IN MOST CASES. BUT IT IS A WRITING HABIT THAT WILL ACTIVELY MAKE THE MOVIE WORSE. THE DIRECTOR MIGHT EVEN BE PISSED OFF ENOUGH ABOUT IT TO DISREGARD YOUR ADVICE AND ACTIVELY DO THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT YOU WROTE (EVEN IF YOUR IDEA IS GOOD). BUT SINCE YOU CAN'T JUST GO INTO THE DESCRIPTION AND WRITE THE HISTORY OF THE CHARACTER. MERYL STREEP'S CHARACTER IS ON A PLANE AND SHE'S ABOUT TO BE HANDED FOOD. BUT WE REALLY HAVE TO RAM IT HOME. AND IT WILL HELP THEM GET IT AND INFORM THEIR EXPERIENCE WHILE READING. EMBRACE THESE OPPORTUNITIES TO FIT IT IN ELSEWHERE. ALSO. 53. THEN YOU ARE TOTALLY OVERSTEPPING YOUR BOUNDS. WHICH MEANS IF YOUR SCRIPT MENTIONS CAMERA MOVES OR ANYTHING THAT SHOULD BE IN THE SHOOTING SCRIPT ONLY. CHANCES ARE THE ONES YOU ARE SUBMITTING TO WILL WANT TO HIRE ANOTHER PERSON. PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS WAS LONG BEFORE THE AIRLINES WENT BROKE AND YOU HAD TO START PAYING FOR SHIT. INSTEAD. YOU USE A FEW TRICKS TO CONVEY WHAT SHOULD BE SHOWN AND HOW. IT’S NOT JUST A COMPLETELY WASTED OPPORTUNITY. IT IS NOT JUST MERE FAUX PAS. SAY YOU WANT TO SHOW SOMETHING UP CLOSE THEN HAVE THE CAMERA PULL OUT OR CUT FURTHER BACK TO SHOW THE WHOLE THING. THE ATTENTION TO DETAIL SPOKE VOLUMES ABOUT THE CHARACTER. CHANCES ARE YOU ARE NOT THE DIRECTOR. IF YOU WRITE SOMETHING WE CAN'T SEE. AND CROWN. LIKE. CONVEY WHAT SHOULD BE SEEN? THE ANSWER IS SIMPLE: YOU DON'T ACTIVELY TRY. YOU ARE NOT THE DIRECTOR HULK STATED THIS BEFORE.HULK'S OLD ACTION SCENE COLUMN PARTNER TOM TOWNEND (CINEMATOGRAPHER OF ATTACK THE BLOCK!) BROUGHT UP THE GREAT EXAMPLE OF HANDLING EXPOSITION WITH SILKWOOD. HULK'S SEEN IT HAPPEN. HOW DO YOU. SO AS A WRITER. BUT ATTENDANT INFORMS HER THEY'RE FREE. THE POETIC ART OF ACTION LINES SO THIS IS JUST AN OPINION. IT SHOWS SHE'S WORKING A CAR SHOW. SMALL BITS OF ECONOMY THAT MAKES IT WORK. THIS IS THE LEVEL OF THOUGHT AND EFFORT THAT YOU NEED TO PUT INTO YOUR BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS. JUST LIKE YOU WANT TO DO WITH ACTION LINES. HIS WRITING IS SO GOOD AND PURPOSEFUL THAT YOU DON'T REALLY MIND HIS RULE-BREAKING. Herbert the great.” NOW. YOU SHOW HER D. BUT GOING BACK TO POINT #52 JUST BEFORE THIS. She proceeds to wave to the crowd. BUT REALLY IT'S HIS ABILITY TO CONVEY INFORMATION IN LOVELY. BUT HULK THINKS PAUL ATTANASIO PROBABLY WRITES THE BEST SCREENPLAYS IN HOLLYWOOD. HULK PROBABLY SPENT 20 MINUTES ON THAT ONE LINE AND IT’S JUST AN EXAMPLE IN A BOOK AND NOT AN ACTUAL SCREENPLAY. LIKE TARANTINO. THAT IS NOT TO SAY HE WRITES THE BEST STORIES THAT WILL BECOME THE BEST MOVIES (THOUGH HE'S OBVIOUSLY DONE SOME AMAZING WORK). early 40s and overweight. Marine haircut and shabby suit. scourged by lowly . THIS IS TO SAY THAT HE WRITES BEST FOR THE MEDIUM OF SCREENPLAYS. A Job for his generation - - exiled to the Boroughs. WRITING THESE SORTS OF LINES. MEANING. CHECK THESE FUCKING OUT: "HERBIE STEMPEL. THE "BELONGS TO" BIT IS GREAT TRICK FOR IMPLYING WE SHOULD BE UP CLOSE AND THEN BACK OUT. THE "MIDWESTERN" TERM IMPLIES NOT ONLY A LOOK. SETTING."A delicate hand glides over a 1952 Chevy Bel Air. THE INFORMATION ALSO CONVEYS A GOOD DEAL ABOUT CHARACTER. APPROACH TO HER APPEARANCE AND CHEAP CLOTHING AND THIS IMPLIES SHE DOESN'T HAVE MUCH MONEY. BESIDES. AND CINEMA. INFORMATION. with a bad home-spun blonde dye job and a discount pink dress. YOU SHOW DON'T TELL. IT’S ALL PART OF THE GREAT “NEGOTIATION” HULK TALKS ABOUT IN REGARDS TO THE CHOICES YOU MAKE TO BREAK GUIDELINES. BUT HIS ACTION LINES ARE POETIC AND RESONANT.Y. flayed by grey-flannel insults. THEY ALLOW THE DIRECTORS TO MAKE THE BEST POSSIBLE MOVIES. EVEN WHEN HIS CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONS GET A LITTLE TOO MUCH IN THE WAY OF THINGS YOU CAN'T SEE. The hand belongs to Anita Jones (20’s). THEY ARE STILL THESE BEAUTIFUL CONCEPTS THAT CAN COME ACROSS IN THE PERFORMANCE OF THE CHARACTER. THIS IS ALL PART OF WHAT HULK LIKES TO CALL: 54. WITHOUT JUST SPELLING OUT WHAT HER PERSONALITY TYPE SHOULD BE. BUT WHAT DOES IT TELL YOU? IT CONVEYS A CAMERA MOTION WITHOUT AN ACTUAL NOTE OF CAMERA MOTION. WHICH INHERENTLY CONVEY CHARACTER. freshfaced Midwestern smile. HIS SCRIPTS NOT ONLY MOVE FAST WITH GREAT ECONOMY. IS EXCEPTIONALLY DIFFICULT AND TAKES A LOT OF TIME. BUT A PERSONALITY TYPE THAT GOES ALONG WITH IT. HULK JUST MADE THIS UP.I. BUT THE REAL REASON IT'S WONDERFUL. IT'S ALL THERE. ACTION AND REACTION. SURE. handsome. 30s. HILARIOUS DIALOGUE. self-deprecating. well-born. SO HAVE OBJECTIVES. the lithe build of a man who has never been made to run uphill. SURE. CONCISE. BECAUSE ACTION SCENES SHOULD NOT BE BIG. DRAMATIC. YOU WOULD TELL THE BIG MOMENTS. IS THAT IT SHOWS YOU HOW TO WRITE SCRIPTS. PARTICULARLY FOR THIS BOOK. ENTERTAIN YOUR AUDIENCE AND COMPEL THEM. THE BITS WHERE CONFLICTS TURN AND THEN ARE ULTIMATELY RESOLVED… DOESN’T THIS ALL SOUND A BIT FAMILIAR? YUP… YOU WOULD BE TELLING A STORY. BUT THAT’S NOT WHAT’S EXCITING. "CHARLES VAN DOREN. BUT IT GOES FOR DOUBLE HERE: READING ACTION SCENES IS THE MOST BORING THING IN THE UNIVERSE. GORGEOUS PROSE. An endearing blankness -- the boy availability of a man still in search of himself. THEN IT’S JUST SLOW-AS-HELL ON THE PAGE. POIGNANT THEMES. A TO B. THEY SHOULD FEEL DRAMATIC. THE ANSWER? CRAFT IT DRAMATICALLY! PRETEND YOU’RE TELLING A STORY OF SOME BIG FIGHT THAT HAPPENED AT A BAR. YOU WOULDN’T REGALE WITH EVERY PUNCH AND BLOW. BUT THE SECOND YOU STOP TO DESCRIBE THE MOTION OF PRETTY MUCH ANYTHING. THE TURNING POINTS. SO ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS JUST TAKE EVERY LESSON WE’VE LEARNED ABOUT WRITING AND REAPPLY IT TO THE ARENA OF ACTION! . AND THAT’S ALL THAT ACTION SCENES ARE: VISUAL STORYTELLING. CAUSE AND EFFECT. YOU’RE TRYING TO ENTERTAIN THE PEOPLE LISTENING. IF YOU WANT TO KNOW HOW TO WRITE BEAUTIFULLY IN THE SCREENPLAY FORMAT. 55. grudge-laden before God. CREATE STAKES. TO THE POINT. THE EMOTIONAL JOURNEY. MAKE THE PERSON READING YOUR SCRIPT FEEL LIKE THEY ARE IN DANGER JUST SITTING THERE. YOU WOULD TELL HOW YOU REACTED. THESE ARE BOTH FROM QUIZ SHOW.status. THEN GO OUT AND HUNT DOWN A COPY OF QUIZ SHOW AND KEEP IT FOREVER. ONE OF THE BEST SCRIPTS EVER WRITTEN. WHAT WE’RE SEEING IS RAPID ON THE SCREEN. debonair. THEY SHOULD NOT FEEL LIKE CHOREOGRAPHY DESCRIPTION. THREATEN TO KILL THE KITTEN. perfect. WRITING ACTION SCENES! THE FOLLOWING IS AN EXTENSION OF WHAT HULK HAS BEEN TALKING ABOUT WITH NOT WASTING A READER’S TIME. TONAL CHAOTIC NIGHTMARES. SHANE BLACK WAS THE FIRST MILLION DOLLAR SCREENWRITER. WHAT MAY SEEM LIKE A SMALL DETAIL IN THE SCRIPT IS ACTUALLY A DETAIL THAT CAN BE SUSSED OUT TO SEVERAL OTHER IMPLICATIONS. SO ALL HULK WANTS YOU TO DO IS EMBRACE THE KIND OF HIGH-DEGREE STORYTELLING EVIDENT IN THESE TINY DETAILS. HE DIRECTLY ENGAGED THE READER AND WOULD SAY . BUT WHEN HE STARTED OUT.. BIG WAY WITH KISS KISS. ALWAYS TRY TO SAY SOMETHING. BUT THE FACT THAT HE HAS THEM ALL LINED UP AND READY TO GO IN HIS OFFICE SAYS SOMETHING ELSE. EVERY DETAIL IN YOUR SCRIPT CAN MATTER IF YOU REALLY WANT IT TO.. THERE IS SHANE BLACK. HE THEN SORT OF WENT TO WRITER JAIL FOR THE LAST ACTION HERO AND THE LONG KISS GOODNIGHT. BANG BANG (IT'S A HILARIOUS.. HE WROTE THE LETHAL WEAPON MOVIES AND THE LAST BOY SCOUT. AND IF YOU WANT TO BE COLLOQUIAL. THAT GITTES IS "CHEAP" OR SOMETHING. DON'T WASTE OPPORTUNITIES TO SAY SOMETHING! 57. HIS WIFE IS CHEATING ON HIM. IT WAS A DIFFERENT ERA). EMBRACE THE HIGH STANDARD. BUT HE RETURNED IN A BIG. YES.. ONE OF THE THINGS HE BECAME FAMOUS FOR WAS BEING VERY COLLOQUIAL IN THE SCRIPTS. FOR INSTANCE. THERE IS THIS REALLY NEAT LITTLE DETAIL THAT EXEMPLIFIES SOMETHING THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN NEARLY ENOUGH IN SCREENWRITING TODAY: IN THE FILM. SO WHILE ATTANASIO AND TOWNE REPRESENT THE FORMAL END OF THE SPECTRUM OF SCREENWRITING. IT IMPLIES THAT JAKE KNOWS THE CLIENT WON'T KNOW THE DIFFERENCE. DON'T WASTE OPPORTUNITIES TO SAY SOMETHING IN ROBERT TOWNE'S INCREDIBLE SCRIPT FOR CHINATOWN (THOUGH HE ISN'T AFRAID TO GO ON FOR BIG WALLS OF TEXT.OKAY. IT'S A BRILLIANT LITTLE GESTURE OF WHICH TOWNE IS A MASTER. JAKE GITTES IS A PRIVATE DETECTIVE WHO HAS JUST INFORMED ONE OF HIS CLIENTS THAT. REALLY. ON THE OTHER SIDE THERE ARE MORE COLLOQUIAL WRITERS. EVEN TRY TO SAY MULTIPLE THINGS AT ONCE. TO CONSOLE THE POOR CHAP. LET’S START GOING ON A PATH THAT BRINGS THIS SUCKER HOME." THE IMPLICATION OF THIS MAY SEEM OBVIOUS. HULK’S READ A SHIT TON OF SCRIPTS AND THESE OPPORTUNITIES ARE RARELY EXPLORED. quickly selects a cheaper bottle of bourbon from several fifths of more expensive whiskeys. TOWNE WRITES THAT JAKE DOES THE FOLLOWING: "Gittes reaches into his desk and pulls out a shot glass. 56. GREAT FILM IF YOU'VE NEVER SEEN IT) AND SOON AGAIN WITH IRON MAN 3. WHICH MEANS THAT READER MIGHT THROW IT IN THE GARBAGE TOO... LET'S JUST TRY AND CHEER YOU UP!" IT BETTER BE GOOD. SERIOUSLY. BECAUSE IF YOU'RE NOT ACTIVELY MAKING THE READER LAUGH.. BUT ALL HULK HAS TO SAY ON THE MATTER IS THIS: IF YOU'RE GOING TO GO COLLOQUIAL. THAT'S ALL THERE IS TO IT. the audience will just whip out their dicks and start jerking off right there in the theater!" .. BE WARNED. BOTH ARE FAIR REACTIONS. THE PROBLEM WAS THAT ALL THE LOVE AND ALL THE HATE HAPPENED TO SPAWN A LOT OF COLLOQUIAL IMITATORS. YOU HAVE TO BE REALLY FUCKING FUNNY. WHICH ADMITTEDLY IS SOMETHING TO BE APPRECIATED IN THE LONG SLOG OF READING SCRIPTS. MUCH WORSE AND DID NOT UNDERSTAND WHEN AND HOW TO DO IT. AND A LOT OF THE OLD SCHOOL THOUGHT HE WAS PISSING ON THE CRAFT. THOSE ARE THE STAKES OF BEING COLLOQUIAL.. BUT WHATEVER YOU HAVE TO SAY ABOUT IT. THEN THERE'S NO POINT TO DOING IT. NONE. THEN IT IS JUST A GARBAGE LINE WASTING A READER’S TIME. AND BY BREAKING THE FOURTH WALL JUST SAY "I KNOW YOU'RE A PERSON / HULK WHO IS READING THIS. IT MADE AN IMPRESSION. WHO WERE MUCH.. BUT THE EXECUTIVE IN CHARGE OF READING THE SCRIPT ACTUALLY LIKES THAT THING? WAY MORE THAN YOU THINK.. VOICE-OVER. WHAT CAN HULK SAY? IT ALL JUST KEEPS COMING BACK TO PEOPLE FIXATING ON THE TANGIBLE DETAILS AND TONE INSTEAD OF THE ACTUAL FUNCTIONALITY OF THE MECHANISM. BECAUSE THE AUDIENCE SURE CAN'T SEE THE FUNNY ACTION LINES! IT ADDS NOTHING OF VALUE TO THE FILM. HULK THINKS THE SCRIPTS BEHIND BLACK’S COLLOQUIAL PROSE WERE USUALLY PRETTY GOOD AND THAT WAS THE IMPORTANT PART (EVEN IF THE SCENES USUALLY WEREN'T ACTUALLY GOOD ENOUGH THAT THE AUDIENCE WOULD START JERKING OFF).THINGS LIKE: "This is the scene that's so fucking good. IT CERTAINLY WON'T CONVEY TO THE DIRECTOR HOW TO MAKE THE MOVIE ANY FUNNIER. YOU'RE ALREADY PISSING ON THE CONCEPT OF ECONOMY. 58. ALL COMEDY HAS A VICTIM. IT CERTAINLY WON'T MAKE THE MOVIE ANY BETTER. AND IF THE READER OF THE SCRIPT IDENTIFIES MORE WITH THE VICTIM THEN YOU’RE FUCKED. THEN LET'S GET SOMETHING STRAIGHT. BUT THERE ISN'T ANYTHING ELSE THE READER CAN DO WITH IT OTHER THAN LAUGH. AND IF IT DOESN'T MAKE HULK LAUGH. THE ONLY THING IT CAN DO IS MAKE THE READER LAUGH. THIS SHIT IS TRICKY. DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY TIMES HULK HAS SEEN A SCRIPT WHERE THE WRITER HAS IDENTIFIED A BAND OR A SONG OR A TV SHOW THAT SHOULD BE MADE FUN OF. WHICH IS TO SAY A LOT OF PEOPLE LIKED IT AND FOUND IT FUNNY. TRY NOT USING IT . BUT ALSO REMEMBER THAT HUMOR IS SUBJECTIVE.. PERHAPS. HAS THIS . SO WHEN THE MOVIE SUDDENLY FUCKING DITCHES THE VOICE-OVER AND BECOMES A REGULAR MOVIE APROPOS OF NOTHING. ALL THE MALICK FILMS EMPLOY THE DEVICE TO STUNNING EFFECT. EXTREME PATH. YOU ARE ESSENTIALLY SAYING YOU HAVE MADE TWO DIFFERENT KINDS OF UNIVERSES IN YOUR FILM. WHICH DOES THE EXACT OPPOSITE. THEN THEY PROMPTLY DUMPED IT. IT'S DESTRUCTIVE TO THE INTENT OF YOUR STORYTELLING. THE DUDE IS BASICALLY WRITING POETRY. THESE SORTS OF USES ONLY CONFIRM THE LAZINESS. THOSE FILMS USED IT JUST WHEN THEY NEEDED IT TO SOLVE SOME WEIRD. ANOTHER EXAMPLE IS IN THE INFORMANT! WHERE THE SERIOUSNESS OF THE PLOT IS INTENTIONALLY UNDERCUT BY GOING INTO THE HEAD OF MATT DAMON'S RIDICULOUS MAIN CHARACTER. WHY IS THAT? BECAUSE VOICE-OVER ALWAYS TELLS. AND REALLY. IT IS USED TO EXPLAIN THINGS THAT DON'T NEED EXPLAINING AND WOULD BEST BE LEFT SHOWN THROUGH VISUAL CINEMA OR NATURAL DIALOGUE. WORSE. AND NEVER SHOWS. BUT HECK. WHERE HE'LL SUDDENLY START RUMINATING ON PANTIES IN JAPANESE VENDING MACHINES. MCDUNNOUGH. THERE IS NO INFORMATION OR EXPOSITION. THE REAL PROBLEM HERE. THIS DOESN'T MAKE IT NARRATIVE NONSENSE THOUGH AS IT SERVES TWO OBVIOUS FUNCTIONS: IT HELPS BALANCE THE COMEDIC TONE WITH THE SERIOUSNESS OF THE STORY. WHO ON THE SURFACE IS A COMPLETE HICK CRIMINAL. ISSUES THAT WOULD BE BEST LEFT EXPLORED BY DRAMATIC MEANS. THEN THE AUDIENCE CAN FEEL IT. WHICH GOES ALONG WITH THE BEAUTY OF HIS IMAGERY. AND THEN THERE'S THE VOICE-OVER IN THE COEN'S RAISING ARIZONA. WHAT PERHAPS SPEAKS TO THE DEVICE'S ASSURED LAZINESS IS HOW FUCKING INCONSISTENT IT IS TOO. THAT'S WHAT VOICE-OVER REALLY MEANS TO YOUR TONE. AND IT HAS A HUGE IMPACT ON HOW YOUR AUDIENCE SUBCONSCIOUSLY THINKS ABOUT THE FILM'S REALITY. VOICE-OVER IS ONE OF THE MOST OVERUSED DEVICES IN THE HISTORY OF CINEMA." YOU ARE SAYING THE STORY COMES FROM THIS PERSON'S PERSPECTIVE AND THEY ARE A KIND OF "GOD OF PERSPECTIVE" IN THIS MOVIE. THERE ARE OF COURSE. THEN THERE'S THAT HILARIOUS TIME THE VOICE-OVER SHOWED UP IN A COUPLE SCENES IN THE MIDDLE OF WE DON'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE AND THEN PROMPTLY DISAPPEARED FOR THE REST OF THE FILM. YOU ARE ALTERING THE RULES OF YOUR "MOVIE UNIVERSE. STUPID PROBLEM OF EXPOSITION. THEN YOU HAVE TO USE IT AT THE END (COUGH THE DESCENDANTS COUGH). OTHERWISE YOU'RE JUST CHEATING. H. AND THAT'S CHEATING. HE'S ONE OF A KIND. AND IT HELPS EXPLAIN JUST WHAT KIND OF BATSHIT GUY WOULD GO DOWN THIS SILLY. A TON OF EXAMPLES OF GREAT VOICE-OVER. BUT PURE CHARACTERIZATION AND HILARITY. EVEN THE MOST UNAWARE AUDIENCES FIND VOICE-OVER TO BE PRETTY UN-ENGAGING. AND WHAT EVERY SINGLE PERSON WHO USES IT TENDS NOT TO REALIZE. IF YOU'RE GOING TO USE NARRATION AT THE BEGINNING OF YOUR FILM.I. IS THAT WHEN VOICE-OVER GOES IN AND OUT HAPHAZARDLY. HULK THINKS IT'S GREAT. WE HAVE SOME NATURAL DISPOSITIONS. YOU SEE. AND YOU . BUT BE CAREFUL WITH HOW IT AFFECTS YOUR UNIVERSE. TRIAL AND ERROR. BUT AGAIN. WELL. WONDERFUL FAIRY TALE. HULK FINALLY GOT TO A REALLY GOOD PLACE. AND A LOT OF LESSON-LEARNING. TO EVEN GET TO A COMPETENT PLACE WITH DIALOGUE. HULK KNOWS THIS STRUGGLE. THEN THAT'S FOR THE ACTOR TO DECIDE. IF YOU WANT YOUR DIALOGUE TO BE ORGANIC AND SOUND LIKE HOW REAL PEOPLE TALK. CHARACTERIZATION.. JUST DON'T BE LAZY ABOUT IT. BUT REALLY..LOFTY.. VOICE-OVER CAN LEND A NICE FEELING OF ATMOSPHERE. SURE. AND EVENTUALLY. THIS WAY YOU GET THE INFORMATIVE EFFECT YOU WANT WITHOUT GETTING THE TONAL EFFECT YOU DON'T WANT. YOU'D BE SURPRISED HOW WELL PLAIN OLD NARRATIVE WORKS. IT TOOK TIME. IF YOU'RE TRYING TO GET AN ACTOR TO TIME THEIR UMS. IT JUST TAKES A MASSIVE AMOUNT OF WORK. PATIENCE. FOR MANY YEARS. BECAUSE THERE’S A HUGE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN NATURAL AND INANE. REALLY. WEIRD." THERE IS A HUGE INCLINATION AMONG YOUNG WRITERS TO DRESS UP DIALOGUE IN NATURAL SOUNDING CADENCE… THIS IS BAD. IT TAUGHT HULK TO FLATLY REJECT THE NOTION THAT NATURAL TALENT IS INHERENTLY LIMITING. LIKE HAVE ONE CHARACTER LITERALLY TELLING A STORY THAT CAN OVERLAP INTO THE NEXT SCENE AND EFFECTIVELY BE USED LIKE VOICE-OVER. 59. IF HULK CAN GET GOOD AT DIALOGUE. IF YOU REALLY NEED IT AND DON'T WANT TO FUCK WITH YOUR UNIVERSE. DIALOGUE WAS HULK'S BIGGEST OBSTACLE. THERE'S ALWAYS A WAY TO USE A DEVICE WELL. BUT WE CAN TRULY LEARN ANYTHING. BEAUTIFUL. HULK THOUGHT HULK JUST DIDN’T HAVE THE EAR FOR IT. SO HERE ARE THE FOLLOWING HARD-EARNED LESSONS ABOUT GETTING BETTER AT DIALOGUE THAT HULK LEARNED ALONG THE WAY: I) ELIMINATE THE FOLLOWING IN DIALOGUE: "UMS". CHARACTERIZATION. AFTER YEARS AND YEARS AND YEARS. ESPECIALLY WHILE WRITING THE FIRST FEW DRAFTS. SO BY GIVING IT THIS DEEP POETIC RESONANCE THE COENS TURN THEIR FILM INTO A LOFTY. BUT THAT’S GREAT NEWS. AND TONE. THERE IS NO ACCEPTING THAT THERE ARE JUST SOME THINGS YOU AREN’T GOOD AT. IT DOESN’T MATTER IF IT’S STRUCTURE. YOU HAVE TO BE CONSISTENT ABOUT IT. THEN TRY A FEW SIMPLE TRICKS TO USE IT MORE ORGANICALLY.. OR CINEMATOGRAPHY. THE PRACTICAL ART OF DIALOGUE SO HULK TALKED IN THE INTRODUCTION ABOUT KNOWING THE STRUGGLE OF WRITING. "LIKES". YOU CAN GET GOOD AT ANYTHING. ALWAYS TRY NOT USING IT FIRST. ELOQUENT NARRATION THAT ACTUALLY COUNTERS THE HILARITY OF THE WORLD OF THE FILM. AND "YOU KNOWS. LIKES. II) YOU WANT YOUR CHARACTER'S DIALOGUE TO BE MORE CLEAR AND ON POINT THAN YOU'D ASSUME. ACHIEVING THIS CAN BE REALLY DIFFICULT. IT’S THE SAME LESSON OF ECONOMY AS BEFORE." UGHHHHHHHH. NANCY MEYERS MOVIES TEND TO DO THAT HORRIBLY. BE TERSE AND TO THE POINT. IT SUCKS (FYI. SO JUST SAY WHAT YOU FREAKIN' MEAN. IF THIS IS A BIG PROBLEM FOR YOU. THEY'RE NOT NECESSARY ANYWAY AND WILL COMPLETELY STALL THE READER FROM JUST TRYING TO GET THE MEANING OF YOUR WORDS. FAKE NONSENSE EVER. IT WILL BE ORGANIC BECAUSE IT WON'T SOUND LIKE REAL LIFE. AND THE LAST 1/4 ARE NOT FUNNY WHATSOEVER). WHICH IS GOOD NEWS BECAUSE THEY ARE IN A MOVIE! AND THAT MEANS AUDIENCES WATCH THEM LIKE THEY ARE IN A MOVIE! AND THAT’S THE RELATIONSHIP THAT REALLY MATTERS. BUT IT'S TRUE. SO TAKE THEM OUT OF YOUR DIALOGUE. PUTTING STALLS MAKES FOR A HORRIBLE READ AND TERRIBLE DRAMA." IT COMES OFF LIKE HULK'S ASS. CHANCES ARE YOU ARE STILL LEARNING. THE NATURAL WAY WE WATCH MOVIE UNIVERSES FORGIVES A LOT OF BREVITY. AND 1/4 OF THE OTHERS HAVE THEIR CHARACTERS ALL TALK LIKE THE AUTHOR. FOR EXAMPLE. IT PREVENTS THE AUDIENCE FROM FOLLOWING ALONG AND ENGAGING AND RESPONDING BECAUSE THEY'RE MILES AHEAD OF THE CHARACTERS THEMSELVES. SO REALLY. SO CONCENTRATE ON HAVING YOUR CHARACTERS HAVE DIFFERENT VOICES. SO HULK ADVISES YOU NOT TO LAYER THE DIALOGUE IN A LOT OF QUALIFYING AND ANTICIPATION. YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO HEAR ONE PERSON IN A SCENE AND KNOW WHO THEY ARE JUST BY THE DIALOGUE. YOU CAN'T JUST RELY ON THE ACTORS TO DO IT FOR YOU. WITTYBUT-NOT-TOO-WITTY VOICE.. IT DOESN'T COME OFF LIKE "ORGANIC SPEECH. WHO CAN DO THIS SORT OF LONG VERBAL QUALIFICATION THING WELL. HAVE YOU EVER SEEN THE HOLIDAY? IT'S LIKE 2 HOURS OF CHARACTERS SPUTTERING OUT STUFF BEFORE THE CHARACTERS TALK AND HAVE OPINIONS. BUT IT WON'T.. ADDING THESE KIND OF QUALIFIERS JUST SLOWS DOWN THE ENTIRE RHYTHM AND IMPORT. I WAS GOING TO SAY. WHEN HULK READS COMEDIES. MAKE THEM GO BYE BYE.. ALL WITH UNIQUE . BUT THAT’S NOT YOU. THINK OF A BUNCH OF DIFFERENT. III) YOUR CHARACTERS CAN'T ALL TALK THE SAME WAY. AND LET YOU KNOW THAT. PRONOUNCED ACTORS IN YOUR HEAD. HULK HAS A FEW PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS FOR YOU. THERE’S NOTHING MORE BORING THAN WAITING FOR SOMEBODY TO SAY SOMETHING. SERIOUSLY. THEN YOU ARE GOING TO GET THE MOST HOLLOW-SOUNDING. THIS IS SORT OF THE DESIRE TO BE LIKE THE COENS AND TARANTINO. YOU MAY WORRY THAT DOING SO WILL MAKE YOUR CHARACTERS SOUND TERSE AND TO THE POINT. STUFF LIKE "WELL. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO MAKE THESE KIND OF NATURAL PAUSES SEEM UNFORCED. ONCE AGAIN." AND "I THINK I REALLY JUST NEED TO COME OUT.KNOWS TO YOUR EXACT SPECIFICATIONS AND CADENCE. IT WILL MAKE THEM SOUND LIKE THEY'RE IN A DAMN MOVIE. THE OTHER 1/4 OF COMEDY SCRIPTS ARE REALLY FUNNY. FOR INSTANCE. 1/4 OF THEM HAVE ALL THEIR CHARACTERS TALK IN THE GENERIC. THERE'S A REASON CHARACTERS TALK LIKE THAT IN FILMS AND IT'S BECAUSE THAT'S HOW THE AUDIENCE NEEDS THEM TO BE FOR THE MOST EFFECTIVE DRAMA AND STORY PURPOSE. . DO YOU REALIZE HOW MANY SCREENWRITERS NEVER READ THEIR SCRIPT OUT LOUD? IT’S AMAZING GIVEN THE FACT THAT THE SECOND YOU HEAR YOUR SCRIPT OUT LOUD AND YOU CAN INSTANTLY BE LIKE "OH THAT SOUNDS LIKE CRAP" OR "OH THAT'S A WEIRD THING TO SAY" OR "OH THAT TOTALLY WASN'T NECESSARY. IT'S JUST A WAY OF MAKING THEIR VOICES SEPARATE. THROW IN STEVE BUSCEMI. SO THIS IS YOUR CHANCE TO MAKE THE SCRIPT FEEL ALIVE LIKE CINEMA. THIS WILL SOLVE A LOT OF THE PROBLEMS MENTIONED NOT JUST IN THE LAST POINT ABOUT DIALOGUE. OR WHOEVER YOU LIKE! HULK KNOWS THIS SOUNDS STUPID. HULK WILL SPEAK TO THE POWER OF WHAT READING A SCREENPLAY OUT LOUD CAN DO FOR YOU. IT SHOULD SPEAK TO THE EXACT KIND OF MOVIE YOU WANT TO WRITE. SMART .CADENCES. CAROL KANE OR SOMETHING. IT SOLVES SO MANY PROBLEMS IMMEDIATELY.. JUST BY GETTING THE DAMN THING OUTSIDE YOUR HEAD AND INTO THE OPEN AIR. BUT ALL THE 59 POINTS MENTIONED SO FAR.. BUT MORE ABOUT IF THE SCENES FELT DRAMATIC AND THINGS MOVED FROM MOMENT TO MOMENT. HAVE A COUPLE FRIENDS READ IT WITH YOU AND TALK ABOUT IT. READING A SCREENPLAY OUT LOUD SHOULD INFORM YOU. TO THE ANECDOTE! AND NOW. THERE'S A SUREFIRE WAY OF FIXING MOST OF THESE DIALOGUE PROBLEMS. THEN THE PERSON READING YOUR SCRIPT WILL GET BORED READING THEM TOO." BUT IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT WHAT SOUNDS WRONG TO YOUR EAR. ASK THEM NOT JUST ABOUT WHAT THEY UNDERSTOOD (AGAIN LESS IMPORTANT). BUT IT WILL HONESTLY HELP YOU DIFFERENTIATE THEM IN YOUR HEAD.." LIKE WITH THE ACTION LINES THAT GO ON AND ON? GUESS WHAT? IF YOU GET BORED READING THEM. YOU'LL GET A SENSE OF HOW YOUR SCENES ARE PACED AND IF ANY OF THE SCENES DON'T MAKE SENSE NEAR EACH OTHER. HECK.. CHANCES ARE YOU LOVE MOVIES. IT HAS SUCH A WONDERFUL USE OF DIALOGUE. BUT HAVEN’T HAD YEARS AND YEARS TO BREATHE SCRIPTS YET LIKE SOME OF US. READ YOUR ENTIRE SCREENPLAY OUT LOUD.. YOU'LL KNOW EXACTLY WHAT TO DO WITH IT ONCE IT'S "REAL. THEY WILL BRING THE CHARACTER A MORE ORGANIC CENTER THAN THE EXTREMES YOU USED IN YOUR HEAD. RIGHT? ASIDE FROM SOME LEGITIMATE CONCERNS ABOUT DEPICTIONS OF FEMININITY. SO YOU'LL KNOW EXACTLY WHAT TO CUT. BUT HONESTLY. AND WHEN WHATEVER ACTOR COMES IN TO PLAY THEM. MANY TIMES.. LIKE. IT’S A MERE MEANS TO AN END. AND WHO CARES IF YOU’RE A BAD ACTOR? IT DOESN’T MATTER! HULK REALLY CAN'T TELL YOU ENOUGH HOW MUCH YOU NEED TO DO THIS.. IT’S SO MUCH MORE. UM. 60. YOU’LL GET A SENSE OF TRANSITIONS. DENNIS LEARY AND. WITH. WE CAN ALL AGREE THAT THE SOCIAL NETWORK WAS PRETTY MUCH GREAT. YOU DO. OKAY.” THAT’S INDEED WHAT IT FEELS LIKE.COMMENTARY. AND SENSE OF RHYTHM THAT BELONGED IN THE SCRIPT. . IT WON'T DO THAT BUT IT WILL MAKE YOUR SCRIPT WAY. IT’S LIKE “THEY TOOK YOUR BABY AND SMASHED ITS HEAD OVER A RADIATOR. YOU HAVE TO SPEND A LIFETIME GETTING OVER THE FACT THAT YOUR IDEAS ARE YOUR BABIES. . READ THE ENTIRE MOVIE OUT LOUD. DAVID FINCHER APPARENTLY HAD AARON SORKIN SIT DOWN FOR HIM. BREAKS NOT INCLUDED.. IT IS THE ONLY WAY YOU WILL LEARN AND GROW AND GET BETTER. SO AARON SAT THERE. AND ANYTIME SOMEONE BRASHLY REJECTS YOUR IDEA OR CALLS IT STUPID. HE SAID “Ideas are babies.. WAIT A MINUTE! ISN'T THAT JUST ALL THE THINGS HULK MENTIONED BACK IN PART ONE OF THIS BOOK!?!? WHEN HULK TALKED ABOUT ALL THE STUFF THAT MAKES A GOOD NARRATIVE??? HULK IS BRINGING IT FULL CIRCLE ON Y'ALL! SO ON TO THE ACTUAL ANECDOTE: DURING PREPRODUCTION ON THE FILM. THE FINAL RUNNING TIME OF THE FILM? 2 HOURS 1 MINUTE. AND IN ONE SITTING HE HAD SORKIN READ THE SCRIPT OUT LOUD.. AND A PROPULSIVE SENSE OF STORYTELLING.” AND HE MEANT THAT AS A WAY TO DESCRIBE HOW MUCH WE CHERISH AND PERSONALIZE AN IDEA OF OUR OWN. HE WANTED TO KNOW THE PACE. IT IS THE ONLY WAY YOU WILL BECOME A PROFESSIONAL. 61.. YOUR ART WILL NOT BE ABLE TO FUNCTION WITHOUT CRITICISM AND INPUT FROM OTHERS. THEY ARE SO PRECIOUS THAT THEY FIGURATIVELY BECOME OUR BABIES.. INFLECTION. THAT KIND OF VULNERABILITY IS SO IMPORTANT TO THE CREATIVE INSTINCT… BUT CAN ALSO BE REALLY PROBLEMATIC TO THE CREATIVE PROCESS. THE LESSON IS CLEAR FOLKS: READ YOUR SCRIPT OUT LOUD AND HULK WILL GUARANTEE YOU WILL WIN AN OSCAR FOR IT. FEEDBACK - GET A THICK SKIN AND EXPECT OTHERS TO HAVE NONE AN OLD ACTING PROFESSOR OF HULK’S HAD A GREAT SAYING. JUST AS HE HAD PICTURED IT. YOU HAVE TO BE WILLING TO TAKE YOUR LUMPS AND EVOLVE. INSIGHTFUL DETAILS. WAY BETTER IN EVERY SENSE. IT TOOK HIM 2 HOURS AND 1 MINUTE TO READ THE WHOLE THING.. RESONANT THEMES. HEY. YOU HAVE TO GET THE THICKEST POSSIBLE SKIN IMAGINABLE. THAT SOMETHING YOU THOUGHT WAS GENIUS IS ACTUALLY HACKNEYED AND TRITE. YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO EMBRACE THE FACT THAT YOUR IDEA MIGHT BE STUPID. HUMAN INCLINATION. REALLY. IT IS OUR NATURAL. THEY ARE PUTTING THEIR IDEAS OUT THERE SO YOU NEED TO EXTEND A KINDNESS AND UNDERSTANDING TO THEM. DON’T LET FAILURE BOTHER YOU. AND FOR THOSE WHO DO EXPERIENCE INSTANT SUCCESS. BUT YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO HANDLE THAT DEFTLY. DON’T GET RATTLED. IN FACT YOU SHOULD BE HONEST. BUT IT IS ONE OF THOSE ABSOLUTE TRUISMS OF HOLLYWOOD. JAMES GUNN SAID: “The key to show business is to give 110% while simultaneously not giving a shit. YOU NEED TO SHARE IT A LOT. BUT THERE’S A WAY TO CRAFT EVERY BIT OF HONESTY IN A CONSTRUCTIVE WAY. BE JOYFUL AND TAKE PRIDE WHEN THINGS GO WELL. SO PRESS ON FURTHER. IT IS OFTEN FOLLOWED BY A SPIRAL WHEN THEY CANNOT HANDLE THE LOW POINT THAT INEVITABLY FOLLOWS. CYNICAL. PHRASE THINGS IN HYPOTHETICALS. BUT IT’S OKAY. MAKE IT CLEAR YOU ARE THERE TO HELP THEM UNLOCK THAT WHICH THEY WANT TO DO. SO BE KIND TO THE PERSON YOU ARE WORKING WITH. USE IF / THEN STATEMENTS WITH THEIR STORY OPTIONS. AND THEN YOU NEED TO NUMB THE PAIN. THAT DOESN’T MEAN YOU HAVE TO LIE. BUT YOU WANT TO KNOW THE INTERESTING FLIP-SIDE? YOU CAN’T EXPECT OTHERS TO DO THE SAME. BUT MOST OF ALL. AND THAT JUST TAKES TIME. OR EVEN AN IMPOSSIBLE CATCH-22. HAVE EMPATHY FOR THEM. IT IS ALWAYS ABOUT LEARNING TO BE BETTER. GIVE 110% PERCENT BECAUSE YOU CAN’T ACCOMPLISH ANYTHING IN THIS BUSINESS WITHOUT ENTHUSIASM AND GENUINE INTENT. DO BETTER WORK NEXT TIME. YOU MAY HEAR 17 YESSES IN A ROW ON A PROJECT AND THEN SUDDENLY BE CUT OUT AT THE KNEES BY A NO FROM THE TOP OF THE PYRAMID. DESPITE GETTING A THICK SKIN YOU HAVE TO KEEP THE PASSION FOR YOUR OWN WORK. YOU HAVE TO BE THE NICEST PERSON.” THAT MAY SOUND ABSURD. AND THOSE ARE THE KIND OF WORKING RELATIONSHIPS YOU CAN BUILD A CAREER ON. EVERY SINGLE THING THAT YOU DO IN THIS BUSINESS WILL FAIL UNTIL THE ONE TIME IT DOESN’T. DO THAT WHILE BEING CONSTRUCTIVE AND INFORMATIVE. ISN’T THAT AMAZING? EVERYONE THINKS SUCCESS WILL BE INSTANT. HULK GUARANTEES YOU THIS WILL HAPPEN. REALLY. YOU NEED TO WRITE A LOT. IT IS ALWAYS ABOUT GROWTH. AND WHILE DOING THAT YOU HAVE TO ACT LIKE OTHER PEOPLE’S IDEAS ARE BABIES AND CRADLE THEM GENTLY. YOU NEED TO GET REJECTED A LOT. IT IS ALWAYS ABOUT THE PROCESS. AND WHEN YOU DO THAT? THEY WILL FOREVER BE IN YOUR GOOD GRACES. NOW YOU MAY NOT WANT TO TAKE THAT BABY HOME WITH YOU AND ADOPT IT. NOT PAINT YOUR THOUGHTS OVER THEIRS. THERE’S NO OTHER WAY. BUT IT IS ROOTED IN FAILURE FOLLOWED BY PERSISTENCE. YOU NEED TO HEAR TERRIBLE THINGS. BUT DON’T GIVE A SHIT IN THE SENSE THAT YOU HAVE TO TAKE REJECTION IN STRIDE. SO LET’S TALK ABOUT THE FINAL STEP… . OR TO TELL YOU WHAT IT REALLY NEEDS. BUT THERE’S A DUALITY THAT MAY HAVE MORE TO DO WITH YOUR PERSONALITY.62. NO SCRIPT EVER FEELS PERFECT. THERE IS ONLY THE TIME TO LET IT GO. BUT YOU MIGHT BE A LITTLE NAÏVE. WHEN IN A LOT OF WAYS IT IS SO VITAL. TRUSTED EYEBALLS. . SO HULK THINKS YOU SHOULD ONLY GET REAL ONE OR TWO ROUNDS OF TINKERING AND THEN IT SHOULD BE OUT OF YOUR HANDS AND WITH OTHER. SO ONCE AGAIN HULK BRINGS US TO THE PRECIPICE OF A DICHOTOMY: I) THERE IS THE SODERBERGH/DEL TORO ROUTE OF EMBRACING THE CHAOS AND HAVING A LOT OF IRONS IN THE FIRE. IT’S IMPOSSIBLE. THERE IS NO FINISH… THERE IS ONLY THE TIME TO LET IT GO. WHICH REALLY IT GETS TO THE HEART OF HOW WE RELATE TO OUR WORK AND WHAT WE WANT OUT OF IT. IF YOU’VE EVER FELT LIKE ONE WAS PERFECT THEN HULK HATES TO SAY IT. SURE. USUALLY BY THE TIME THE STUDIO SAYS “HEY. BECAUSE BOTH OPTIONS CAN HAVE REAL VALUE. BUT HULK’S FILMMAKER FRIEND SPOKE UP AND SAID: “Yeah. IT’S AMAZING HOW MUCH NO ONE EVER WRITES ABOUT THIS PART OF THE PROCESS. MIGHT BE WELL AND GOOD. MAKING SMALL INCREMENTAL CHANGES WHICH. IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT INDIVIDUAL SCRIPTS EITHER. NO SCRIPT EVER FEELS PERFECT. MANY OF WHICH WILL NOT COME TO FRUITION. WHEN YOU ARE JUST TINKERING WITH IT. BUT FOR SOMETHING YOU’RE DOING FOR SUBMISSION? IT’S TIME TO LET GO WHEN YOU FEEL LIKE YOU'RE JUST TREADING WATER. HULK JUST TALKED TO YOU ABOUT THE GIVING 110% AND SIMULTANEOUSLY NOT GIVING A SHIT PHILOSOPHY.” OR BY THE TIME THE SHOW GOES ON THE AIR OR WHATEVER ENTERPRISE YOU ARE IN. LETTING GO “I just gotta finish this script!” HULK’S HEARD THAT PHRASE A MILLION TIMES… BUT THERE’S NO SUCH THING. HULK WAS HAVING A CONVERSATION WITH A FILMMAKER FRIEND THE OTHER NIGHT AND HULK WAS TALKING ABOUT MOVING ON FROM A RECENT FAILED PROJECT TO GET SOMETHING NEW UP AND RUNNING. IT’S A GREAT POINT AND SOMETHING HULK OBVIOUSLY UNDERSTANDS. BUT IT CAN SOMETIMES BE TRICKY KNOWING WHEN TO DO WHAT PART OF THAT EQUATION. BUT WHEN DO YOU LET IT GO? WELL. BUT HOW LONG TO STICK WITH A SCRIPT YOU’VE WRITTEN IN TERMS OF TRYING TO SELL IT OR GET IT MADE. NO ONE EVER FINISHES SCRIPTS. I can’t tell you how often my crazy passion for making something a reality is what ended up saving it at the last moment. BUT THEY ARE PROVIDING NO DEEPER OVERHAUL OR UNDERSTANDING TO THE PIECE ITSELF. YOUR SCRIPT IS DUE. FOR INSTANCE. AND HULK WAS TAKING THIS ZEN APPROACH TO IT ALL.” OBVIOUSLY. but there’s a flipside to that. and actually making it a reality. TO EITHER BE APPROVED. BUT HULK WANTS YOU TO LOOK AT IT IN TERMS OF A NEGOTIATION. YOU’LL HAVE A NATURAL INCLINATION. YOU ARE LIVING AND DYING BY THE PROJECT. ONE THAT IS BUILT ON YOUR VALUES AND THE BELIEF OF WHAT YOU CAN JUSTIFY. WORK FAST. IT IS A DICHOTOMY. MOVE AND EVOLVE. AMERICAN AUTEUR. BUT IT MAY BE THAT VERY COMMITMENT THAT ULTIMATELY SAVES IT. BUT WHATEVER YOU DO.BUT ONE GOOD IDEA SURELY WILL. AND KNOW WHEN IT’S TIME TO LET GO…. . AND LIKE EVERYTHING IN THIS BOOK. WHO WORK ON A SINGULAR PROJECT AND LABOR OVER IT INTENSELY UNTIL IT BECOMES A REALITY. THE ROAD OF WHICH IS MATCHED WITH HIGHER HIGHS AND SICKENING LOWS. MAKE THEM AND DON’T BECOME PARALYZED BY FEAR OR GET TIED DOWN BY MEGALOMANIA. II) AND THEN THERE IS THE SINGULAR PATH OF MANY A GREAT. IN THE END. BE READY TO WORK HARDER THAN YOU EVER HAVE IN YOUR LIFE. . THANKS TO THIS BOOK YOU MAY NOW UNDERSTAND A GREAT MANY CONCEPTS. HULK ACTUALLY HAS SOME BAD NEWS TO TELL YOU… NONE OF THE THINGS HULK JUST TOLD YOU ACTUALLY MATTER.. THAT WHEN WE SIT DOWN TO ACTUALLY DO IT. AND MOST OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS BIG-ASS BOOK WILL FALL OUT OF YOUR BRAINS LIKE IT WAS ON TEFLON. IT’S THE PROCESS OF RENDERING THAT AWARENESS BACK INTO AN UNAWARE PROCESS. WHICH MEANS THAT. IN TRUTH. BUT THEY CANNOT BE FULLY APPLIED WITH SIMPLE AWARENESS. ONLY THEN WILL YOU STILL BE ABLE TO INCLUDE ALL OF THE CRITICAL ELEMENTS OF STORYTELLING AND STRUCTURE THAT HULK HAS BEEN FAWNING OVER FOR THIS ENTIRE BOOK BECAUSE THE SIMPLEST TRUTH IS THAT YOU REALLY NEED THAT SPEED OF COMPREHENSION AND APPLICATION. YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO HAMMER OUT A GOOD SCRIPT IN THE COURSE OF A YEAR. THERE IS A CERTAIN KIND OF ON-THE-FLY WRITING CHOPS THAT ARE DESPERATELY NEEDED IF ONE PLANS TO BE A WORKING WRITER IN FILM AND TELEVISION. THE MULTITUDE OF OPTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES RENDERS THE PROCESS DYSFUNCTIONAL. BUT FROM THERE. THESE ELEMENTS MUST BE SEARED INTO YOUR BRAIN SO THAT THEY ARE COMPLETELY AUTOMATIC. ONLY THEN CAN YOU WRITE SEQUENTIALLY AND WITH FLOW AND PURPOSE. DEVICES. AND ONLY THEN. LEARNING IS REALLY THE PROCESS OF TAKING WHAT YOU’VE ALREADY LEARNED ON SOME INSTINCTUAL LEVEL AND SUDDENLY BECOMING AWARE OF IT. BUT WHAT ABOUT WHEN YOU'RE HANDED A RE-WRITE JOB AND THE THING STARTS SHOOTING IN TWO WEEKS? WHAT ABOUT THE FACT THAT IT'S THE END OF THE SEASON AND YOU HAVE TO WRITE AN ENTIRE EPISODE IN TWO STRAIGHT ALL NIGHT .PART SEVEN - NOW HERE COMES THE HARD PART AND THUS WE COME TO THE SEVENTH AND FINAL PART OF OUR JOURNEY. . SURE. YOU HAVE TO TAKE THESE DEVICES AND CONCEPTS AND INGRAIN THEM INTO YOUR PROCESS. AND TO START THIS SECTION. SURE. YOU’LL BE TRYING TO THINK OF THAT ONE THING HULK SAID TO DO. YOU MAY EVEN BE REALLY EAGER TO START TRYING TO APPLY THEM. OR THAT ONE GOAL OF YOURS. FOR ONE. THEN. WILL THE WRITING PROCESS AND ITS RESULTS FEEL TRULY ORGANIC. THERE ARE SO MANY DETAILS ABOUT HOW AND WHY TO CREATE A STORY. THAT SOUND YOU HEARD IS EVERYONE'S HEARTS FALLING DOWN INTO THEIR BUTTS. AND THIS BOOK MAY HAVE ARTICULATED AN IDEA ON THE TIP OF YOUR TONGUE OR ILLUMINATED YOU TO SOME NEW CONCEPT YOU NEED TO ABSORB. AS A WRITER. OR GUIDELINES YOU NEVER THOUGHT OF BEFORE. THE REASON THEY DON'T MATTER IS THAT EVERYTHING HULK JUST TOLD YOU IS NOT SOMETHING THAT CAN BE EASILY PARSED OUT OVER A FEW PLANNING SESSIONS AND INCORPORATED IMMEDIATELY. guidelines. THEN YOUR STORY WON'T BE COME ACROSS AS ORGANIC EITHER. with meanings that adapt to the situation at hand 5.SESSIONS? THAT'S WHAT BEING A WRITER IN THIS BUSINESS IS ACTUALLY LIKE. accumulation of information) Some perception of actions in relation to goals Deliberate planning Formulates routines 4. tacit understanding’ Has "vision of what is possible" Uses "analytical approaches" in new situations or in case of problems” PRETTY SELF-EVIDENT. Proficient Holistic view of situation Prioritizes importance of aspects ‘perceives deviations from the normal pattern’ Employs maxims for guidance. Advanced beginner Limited ‘situational perception’ All aspects of work treated separately with equal importance 3. Proficiency is shown by individuals who develop intuition to guide their decisions and devise their own rules to formulate plans. YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO WORK ON THE FLY AND SHOWCASE THE REAL-DEAL CHOPS. WORKING PROFESSIONALS CAN JUST DO IT. AND EVEN IF YOU'RE A WRITER WHO SOMEHOW HAS ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD. CHANCES ARE THAT IF YOU CAN'T WRITE ORGANICALLY. “…competence is characterized by active decision making in choosing a course of action. Competent ‘coping with crowdedness’ (multiple activities. The progression is thus from rigid adherence to rules to an intuitive mode of reasoning based on tacit knowledge. Novice ‘rigid adherence to taught rules or plans’ No exercise of ‘discretionary judgment’ 2. RIGHT? SO HERE’S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN HULK AND PRETTY MUCH EVERY WORKING PROFESSIONAL HULK KNOWS SITS DOWN TO WRITE A SCREENPLAY: . HULK WILL NOW CITE THE DREYFUS MODEL OF SKILL ACQUISITION. YOU CAN’T FAKE IT. AND TO EXPLAIN THE PRECISE NATURE OF WHAT HULK IS TALKING ABOUT. TAKE A LOOK…. and maxims ‘intuitive grasp of situations based on deep. Expert Transcends reliance on rules. Michael Eraut summarized the five stages of increasing skill as follows: 1. OR WORSE. IT TAKES PRACTICE. AND THEN THEY LET IT GO. RIGHT? NOPE! IT IS HARD WORK + TIME.000 HOURS OF WRITING. THEY PIECE IT TOGETHER. THEY SEE A PROBLEM SO THEY GO BACK TO THEIR IMPLICIT KNOWLEDGE OF STRUCTURE OR GENRE CONVENTION. THEY RE-WRITE. BUT FOR THE MOST PART IT’S ALL ON THE FLY. WHICH IS JUST GARBAGE IF YOU ASK THIS HULK. REPETITION. SOMETIMES THEY OUTLINE CASUALLY UNTIL THEY’VE BROKEN THE STORY. SEEING NARRATIVE SHIFTS. BUT THERE ARE CERTAIN PROBLEMS YOU CAN’T SEE AT THE TREATMENT LEVEL THAT NEED TO BE CHANGED AT THE SCRIPT LEVEL AND IT BECOMES A WHOLE BIG PROCESS. AND TO GET TO THAT POINT TAKES 10. SOMETIMES IT’S A SEQUENCE. A LOT OF TIMES THEY’LL REQUIRE A TREATMENT. IDENTIFYING SCRIPT PROBLEMS. 10. HOW THE HELL DO YOU DO THAT. IF ONLY THE INDUSTRY ITSELF JUST HAD A LITTLE MORE RESPECT FOR THE PROCESS. HULK’S FAVORITE METHODOLOGY IS JUST PITCH STRAIGHT INTO FULL SCRIPT. THEN IT STARTS TO COME TOGETHER. BUT AGAIN. AND THE ART OF CINEMA.SOMETIMES THEY’VE SCRIBBLED A FEW BRAINSTORM NOTES. A WRITER MUST DO THE SAME. SOMETIMES IT’S A DESCRIPTION OF A SCENE. THEY START TO SEE THE SEAMS.000 HOURS OF SOLVING YOUR OWN SCRIPT PROBLEMS. FOCUS. THE SAME WAY A BASEBALL PLAYER PRACTICES HITTING A BALL OVER AND OVER AGAIN UNTIL EACH REACTION BECOMES SIMPLE MUSCLE MEMORY.000 HOURS TO BECOME TRULY GOOD AT ANYTHING. WE ARE HERE TO TALK ABOUT THE THINGS YOU CAN DO TO BECOME A BETTER WRITER. ANYWAY? HOW DO YOU MAKE ALL OF THESE THINGS BECOME INGRAINED? IT SEEMS LIKE IT IS EITHER MAGIC OR INNATE TALENT. SOME PRODUCTION COMPANIES REQUIRE “ACT BY ACT” SUBMISSION. THE SAD THING IS THAT THIS NATURAL PROCESS IS ACTUALLY RUINED BY OBTUSE STUDIO INVOLVEMENT. RECOGNIZING FALSE-SOUNDING DIALOGUE. THE THINGS YOU CAN DO TO TAKE THIS ENTIRE BOOK FULL OF CONCEPTS AND INGRAIN THEM INTO YOUR PROCESS LIKE A PROFESSIONAL WRITER. THE PROBLEM IS THAT USUALLY MEANS YOU HAVE TO NEGOTIATE FOR LESS MONEY. . SOMETIMES IT’S A SCENE. IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO WRITE A SCRIPT WHEN YOU CAN’T SEE THE WHOLE OF IT (AND IT UTTERLY DOESN’T HELP YOU CONFIRM THE TRUISM OF “THE ENDING IS THE CONCEIT”). WE’RE NOT HERE TO TALK ABOUT THE INDUSTRY. 10. THEY WRITE. THEY HAVE THE ABILITY TO TRAVERSE BETWEEN MICROSCOPIC ISSUES AND BIG PICTURE CONCERNS AT A MOMENT’S NOTICE. HULK HAS REGULARLY CITED MALCOLM GLADWELL'S THEORY FROM "OUTLIERS" THAT IT TAKES 10. STORY STRUCTURE. THESE ARE ALL THINGS THAT MUST BE INGRAINED AND EASILY RECOGNIZED THOUGH THE BUILDING OF THE SAME KIND OF MUSCLE MEMORY PUT ON DISPLAY BY A GREAT BASEBALL PLAYER. THEN THEY JUST START WRITING IT. AS FAR AS THE BUSINESS GOES.000 HOURS OF THINKING ABOUT THINGS LIKE CHARACTER MOTIVE. 000 HOURS USUALLY TAKES ABOUT. I think that seems daunting. AND SUDDENLY. . AND HULK CAN REALLY SPEAK TO THE TRUTH OF THAT 10. OR PERHAPS THE LIFESTYLE OR ACCLAIM YOU THINK IT WILL AFFORD YOU. Whatever Hulk. THEN 10. I really would like to be a writer. BUT NO MATTER WHAT YOUR SKILLS BECOME AND HOW THEY MANIFEST THEMSELVES... YOU'LL FIND YOUR OWN STRENGTHS OVER TIME. THEN YOU ARE A WRITER. THINGS TAKE HARD WORK.AND IF YOU WRITE ALMOST EVERY DAY FOR A FEW HOURS. BUT IF YOU REALLY WANT IT. AND SOME OF YOU ARE. YES. YOU HAVE TO BE READY TO PUT IN YOUR 10 YEARS. AND YOU HAVE TWO POSSIBLE REACTIONS: 1) Damn… I … I don’t think I have the time to do that. HULK CANNOT HELP IF THIS REALITY SCARES YOU. I mean.000 HOUR FIGURE. 10 YEARS. AND LIKE A BASEBALL PLAYER. EVEN IF EVERY SINGLE THING IN THIS BOOK IS SOMETHING HULK THINKS YOU SHOULD ADOPT WITH EVERY FIBER OF HULK’S BEING…THERE IS STILL NO QUICK FIX. BUT ALL THESE THINGS HULK "KNEW" HAD BECOME SOMETHING HULK ACTUALLY "UNDERSTOOD. AND IF YOU ANSWERED LIKE #2. YOU HAVE TO PRACTICE WITH THEM LIKE A BASEBALL PLAYER WOULD. 2) Okay. IT WILL TAKE UNBELIEVABLE AMOUNTS OF WORK. SO FOR ALL THESE PAGES AND PAGES OF GUIDELINES AND PRACTICAL ADVICE. YOU HAVE TO LEARN TO INCORPORATE THOSE IDEAS INTO YOUR DEEPEST ESSENCE AS A WRITER. OR PERHAPS YOU'VE BEEN TRAINING AS A GOOD LISTENER SO YOU HAVE AN EAR FOR DIALOGUE. A BIT BEHIND.. fine. but I don’t know about that. but that’s so much and I just usually don’t have the work ethic to see it through. IT FELT LIKE HULK WOKE UP ONE DAY AND IT ALL CLICKED. GULP. IT WASN'T UNTIL 10 YEARS IN THAT HULK'S WRITING BECAME GOOD ENOUGH FOR REAL-DEAL INTEREST. EVEN IF IT’S ADVICE THAT HULK TRULY BELIEVES IN. I want to. THIS IS SCARY. THEN YOU CANNOT LET THAT REALITY STOP YOU. YOU LIKE THE THINGS IT MAKES YOU FEEL. That’s not going to stop me. YOU'LL FIND YOU ALREADY HAVE A LOT OF THE SKILLS AND TRAINING YOU NEED TO BE GOOD AT STRUCTURE. DIDN’T HULK MENTION THAT IT TOOK THE SOUTH PARK GUYS ABOUT 10 YEARS TO REALLY UNDERSTAND STORYTELLING AND HOW TO APPROACH THEIR SHOW? THAT WASN'T AN ACCIDENT. SOME OF YOU ARE STILL YOUNG AND IN SCHOOL AND IN THE PERFECT PLACE TO START.. THINGS TAKE TIME. MAYBE YOU HAVE THE FOCUS TO BE ECONOMICAL. TEN YEARS OF IT. SO OFTEN HULK TALKS TO PEOPLE WHO HAVE DREAMS OF WRITING SCRIPTS AND SO OFTEN THEY ARE NOT EVEN CLOSE TO THAT FIGURE. THEN YOU LIKE THE IDEA OF WRITING." GOING BACK TO BEFORE. THE PROCESS ITSELF WAS ACTUALLY RATHER GRADUAL. IF YOU ANSWERED LIKE #1. BUT NEVER AN OVERPOWERING "STYLE" THAT DOMINATED HIS WORK. BUT HULK MEANS IT: YOU HAVE A HULK ON YOUR SIDE. YOU CAN ALWAYS COME BACK AND RE-DO THE IDEA ONCE YOU'RE BETTER AT WRITING. HIS STYLE ALWAYS SEEMED TO VARY. YOU HAVE TO BE SURE YOU CAN DELIVER THE GOODS. GO DO YOUR FIRST SCREENPLAY. HULK EVEN HATES THAT THIS OH-SONECESSARY 10. MEDIUM. HULK JUST WANTS TO FINISH THIS SUCKER WITH A LITTLE EXPLANATION OF ONE OF HULK'S HEROES. YOU HAVE FRIENDS. DON'T LOOK AT THEM AS YOUR BE ALL END ALL. AND ANOTHER. AND ONCE YOU FINISH IT. HE IS ONE OF THE GREATEST SCREENWRITERS OF ALL TIME. PUT IT IN A DRAWER. AND EVEN CRITICISM (HULK LIKES CRITICISM TOO IN CASE YOU HAVEN'T NOTICED).. NOVELS. TELEVISION. BUT WHEN THE LUCK AND OPPORTUNITY FINALLY COMES AROUND. FORM. SO FIND YOUR SUPPORT. AND EVEN LANGUAGE. FACT: HULK GOT AN EARLY START AND WAS SUPER DEVOTED TO THIS PROCESS AND HULK WROTE OVER 70 SCREENPLAYS BEFORE EVEN ONE WORKING PROFESSIONAL SAID "HEY THIS IS PRETTY GOOD!" AND FROM THERE? GETTING SOMETHING ACTUALLY MADE IS EVEN HARDER. IT WILL BE SCARY AS ALL HELL.000 HOUR MESSAGE IS DOMINATING THE LAST SECTION OF THIS BOOK. HULK'S DONE THAT ALL THE TIME. YOU COULD ALWAYS RECOGNIZE HIS FOCUS AND INTELLIGENCE.. HIS VOICE COULD MUTATE AT A MOMENT'S NOTICE. YOU HAVE THOUSANDS OF OTHER WRITERS WITH YOU. DO THINGS YOU ARE NOT GOOD AT. CHAYEFSKY'S SUCCESS WAS DUE IN LARGE PART TO THE FACT THAT HE WAS. HULK WANTS YOU TO WIN. JUST WRITE THE DAMN THING. THIS IS A TEAM MEDIUM. SO THERE IS THIS GUY NAMED PADDY CHAYEFSKY. TONE. HE COULD EXPLORE THE SIMPLEST STORIES ABOUT DECENT HUMAN BEINGS AND ETHOS (MARTY). SO IT IS TIME TO START WRITING. … AND YOU HAVE A HULK. THEN START ONE THAT’S WAY OUTSIDE YOUR COMFORT ZONE. A WRITER OF ALL FORMS. DO IT. YOU HAVE COLLABORATORS. THE GROWING STATE OF THE NYC SOCIAL SCENE LONG BEFORE CAPOTE EVEN THOUGHT OF BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S (THE BACHELOR . DRAMA. FIRST AND FOREMOST. IT'S GOING TO BE TERRIBLE. EVEN IF THE SCRIPT IS CRAP. THEN WRITE ANOTHER. PUT IT IN A DRAWER. AND YES. LEARN HOW TO CRAFT STORIES. THEN DO IT ALL AGAIN. JUST KEEP WRITING THEM. SIT DOWN. DON'T WORRY YOU'RE WASTING GOOD IDEAS BECAUSE THE VALUE OF THE IDEA AND THE INSPIRATION NEVER GOES AWAY. WRITE ANOTHER ONE. GET BETTER. HULK NEEDED TO WARN YOU OF THE DIFFICULTIES. SO IN THAT SPIRIT. HULK KNOWS THAT SOUNDS CHEESY AS ALL HELL. BUT THAT'S TOTALLY OKAY. DO IT BETTER. YOU HAVE TO BACK IT UP WITH REAL PROFESSIONAL KNOW-HOW. HE WROTE PLAYS. YES. COMEDY. AND AGAIN. BUT HULK WOULD MUCH RATHER INSPIRE YOU. BUT YOU ARE NOT ALONE. HE COULD TRANSCEND GENRE. BUT AS JUST ANOTHER STEP IN THE PROCESS. PADDY CHAYEFSKY APPROACHED HIS CRAFT WITH A REMARKABLE SENSE UNDERSTANDING. CHAYEFSKY FAMOUSLY HATED THE WAY HOLLYWOOD ENCROACHED ON STORYTELLING AND THE AUTHOR'S DUTY. HE MANAGED TO PENETRATE THE DEEPEST LAYERS OF SATIRE TO THE POINT WHERE HE BASICALLY FORETOLD THE FUTURE OF TELEVISION AND AMERICAN CULTURE AT LARGE (NETWORK). IF YOU NEED A COMPARISON. AND ON ONE LEVEL. AND IN HIS MAGNUM OPUS. THE AHEAD-OF-ITS-TIME VIEWS OF SEXUALITY AND BECOMING A FORERUNNER TO LATE ‘60S CINEMA (THE AMERICANIZATION OF EMILY). WHICH EARNED HIM THE MOST LONE SCREENWRITING OSCARS OF ANYONE IN HISTORY. UNDERSTANDING. “Yeah. THE HARDCORE SCI-FI AND HORROR CONCEPTS OF TRIPPY GENETICS (ALTERED STATES). HULK WANTED TO TRY AND MAKE IT A SINGULAR. A STORY OF WRITING ITSELF WITH A THROUGH-LINE THAT WOULD MAYBE SPEAK TO YOU. . TOTALITY. why would you write something like this. THE INCREDIBLE THEMATIC REALITIES OF BUREAUCRACY AND PERSONAL WILL (THE HOSPITAL). HE ALWAYS UNDERSTOOD THE PURPOSE OF WHAT HE WAS WRITING. AND THUS. HE ALWAYS UNDERSTANDS THE PURPOSE! AS ANY GENIUS WOULD.PARTY). AND HE IS A LARGE PART OF WHAT INSPIRED HULK TO WRITE THIS BOOK. THEN CHAYEFSKY WAS SORT OF A PORTO-CHARLIE KAUFMAN AND CERTAINLY EVERY BIT AS MUCH OF A GENIUS. BUT CHAYEFSKY DIDN'T JUST WORK ON THESE LAUDED PROJECTS. EVER LET THAT IMPACT THE QUALITY. BACK IN COLLEGE HULK HUNTED DOWN MOST OF HIS LESSER-SEEN STUFF AND THE ONE THING THAT ALWAYS BECOMES SO AMAZINGLY CLEAR ABOUT HIS WORK IS THAT EVEN WITH HIS THIS UTILITARIAN TV WORK. HE KNEW HOW TO WRITE BIG AND SMALL. THE RANGE. AND HE KNEW WHEN TO FOLLOW RULES AND WHEN TO ABSOLUTELY SHATTER THEM. AND HUMANITY OF PADDY CHAYEFSKY INSPIRES HULK EVERY SINGLE DAY. HULK LOOKS OVER WHAT IS WRITTEN AND STILLS SEES SO MUCH MORE THAT CAN BE SAID. WHICH MEANS THAT THE NEXT STEP FALLS TO YOU." BUT HE STILL NEVER. BUT ALAS. THIS BOOK FEELS COMPLETE. AND YET. HULK STILL FEELS LIKE IT’S BARELY SCRATCHING THE SURFACE. Hulk? As you would say. HE IS EVERYTHING WE SHOULD EVER WANT TO BE IN A SCREENWRITER. AS CRAZY AS IT SOUNDS. IT WAS TIME TO LET GO. what is the purpose? ON ONE LEVEL. HE SPENT HIS EARLY CAREER AS A "WORKING WRITER" DURING THE GOLDEN AGE OF TELEVISION (READ: MASS PRODUCED AND NOT NEARLY ON THE SAME LEVEL AS CINEMA). COMPLETE THOUGHT. HULK WAS EXCITED ABOUT THE IDEA OF TRYING TO CONVEY THE SUM TOTAL OF ALMOST ALL OF HULK'S KNOWLEDGE ABOUT STORYTELLING AND SCREENWRITING. BROAD AND NUANCED.. HE SO COMPLETELY UNDERSTOOD WHAT HE NEEDS TO DO WITH THE STORY AND DEVICES HE’S USING. NOR THE EFFORT THAT WENT INTO HIS WORK.. CALLING IT "democracy at its ugliest. FOR THE SYSTEM OR AGAINST IT. BUT NEVER MASTERED. BUT HULK WANTS TO TALK ABOUT ALL OF THOSE IDEAS WITH YOU.COM. HULK KNOWS THAT SOUNDS FREAKIN' INSANE. IT IS DIFFICULT. THIS MODERN WORLD IS SO FULL OF YELLING AND CONTENTION AND UGLINESS. AND IT IS OFTEN INFURIATING.. THE ONLY WAY IT’S GOING TO HAPPEN IS IF WE COMMIT TO THE IDEA AND HAVE NOTHING BUT MUTUAL RESPECT FOR ONE ANOTHER. But really. IT CAN GET A LITTLE BACKED UP AT TIMES AND SUBMITTING FULL SCRIPTS IS ACTUALLY RATHER TRICKY DEPENDING ON WHAT’S GOING ON WITH ALL HULK’S CONTRACTS AT THE MOMENT. AFTER ALL. THEN WE CAN ALL BE SOMETHING OF A SOUNDING BOARD FOR ONE ANOTHER. HULK WANTS US TO FLESH THEM OUT AND MAKE THEM FEEL REAL AND UNDERSTOOD. SO PLEASE BE PATIENT BECAUSE HULK FULLY RESPONDS TO EACH ONE. AND IF WE REALLY WANT TO MAKE IT HAPPEN. . HULK WANTS YOU TO DO WHAT MAKES SENSE FOR YOUR STORY. SO THAT HULK WANTS TO CREATE A PLACE WHERE WE CAN DO WAY BETTER THAN THAT. AND FEEL FREE TO DROP HULK A LINE ANY TIME AT FILMCRITHULK@GMAIL. SO MANY IDEAS WITHIN ARE PART OF THE GREAT NEGOTIATION. BECAUSE HULK KNOWS THE STRUGGLE OF WRITING ALL TOO WELL. SO WHO WOULD WANT TO GO THROUGH THAT ALONE? <3 HULK . HELP. BECAUSE SECRETLY WE ARE WAY BETTER THAN THAT. YOU MAY RECOGNIZE A WAY TO IMPLY SOMETHING NEW.. HULK WROTE THIS BOOK SO WE BOTH COULD BECOME BETTER WRITERS. BUT IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS THEN HULK ASSURES YOU THAT HE READS EVERY SINGLE THING HULK IS SENT AND WILL ALWAYS TRY TO GET TO EVERY SINGLE PERSON. DISAGREE WITH ONE OF HULK'S WORKING DEFINITIONS? NEED HELP BREAKING A STORY? CAN'T FIGURE OUT A CHARACTER'S PATH? WRITE. TO TEACH HULK THE MANY THINGS THAT HULK HAS YET TO UNDERSTAND ABOUT A SUBJECT THAT CAN ONLY BE TAMED. IT IS AN ENDLESS WAR WITH ONE'S ONE BRAIN. BUT IT'S TRUE. IT IS LONESOME. HULK SAYS THIS WITHOUT A HINT OF CYNICISM OR DISINTEREST. Hulk? THE SAME REASON HULK EXPLAINED AT THE BEGINNING. HULK HOPES THAT MAYBE YOU CAN HELP HULK EVEN REFINE THOSE IDEAS TOO. HULK GENUINELY WANTS TO CHANGE THE CULTURE OF SCREENWRITING. RIGHT NOW HULK’S ABOUT 500+ HULK-MAILS BEHIND (SOME GOING BACK AWHILE). ASK. why do all this.THIS BOOK IS ONLY BUT THE FIRST STEP IN A LONGER CONVERSATION. YOU MAY HAVE A DIFFERENT TAKE ON HOW SOMETHING MIGHT WORK. BUT FOR WHOM WITHOUT THEIR HELP AND SUPPORT NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE. TO THE BADASS DIGEST CREW WHO MAKE UP THE MOST AMAZING COWORKERS ON THE PLANET. TO HULK’S COLLEAGUES IN HOLLYWOOD. AND TO EVERYONE WHO THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE FUN TO SEE WHAT TALKING-HULK HAD TO SAY ABOUT MOVIES. AND HELPED MAKE HULK BETTER AT THIS THING. LUCKILY STUCK AROUND. TO THE MENTORS. AND SUPPORTIVE PERSON EVER. YOU HAVE NO IDEA BUT YOU. GOT WHAT HULK WAS DOING. TO PAPA-HULK FOR HIS INTELLIGENCE AND PATIENCE. LOVE. AND GLORIOUS TASTE IN CINEMA. HAVE QUITE LITERALLY CHANGED HULK’S LIFE. TO HULK’S COLLEAGUES IN CRITICISM. AND FOR THAT YOU HAVE HULK’S ENDLESS THANKS AND FRIENDSHIP. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS THERE ARE TOO MANY PEOPLE TO THANK. HULK THANKS YOU FOR YOUR DAILY INSPIRATION. FUN. AND JEOPARDY-RIVAL-WORTHINESS. <3 HULK . HULK THANKS YOU FOR YOUR DAILY INSPIRATION. TO MAMA-HULK FOR HER SACRIFICE. DEAR READER. TO ALL THE REMARKABLE FRIENDS WHO HAVE NOT ONLY BEEN GREAT FUN. TO “BETTY” FOR BEING THE MOST LOVING. AND EVEN BETTER FRIENDS… BUT PROBABLY EVEN BESTEST DRINKING BUDDIES? TO EVERYONE WHO EVER GAVE HULK AN OPPORTUNITY. TO BROTHER-HULK FOR HIS SENSE OF HUMOR. ENDNOTES & BIBLIOGRAPHY BOOKS! . Screenwriting 101 (Sentence Case Version) By Film Crit Hulk! Introduction by Edgar Wright Edited by Meredith Borders Copy Edited by Lindsay Maher Cover by Yannick Belzil Film Crit Hulk was created in a chaotic lab experiment involving gamma radiation, the ghost of Pauline Kael, and telepods for some reason. Now Hulk has a deep and abiding love of cinema wherein Hulk recognizes the inherent values of popular, narrative, or experimental styles! Through a unique journey, Hulk has ended up working in Hollywood for over a decade and now writes about cinema and storytelling in thoroughly Hulk-sized fashion. And now you hold in your hands / have on your screen / whatever in your whatever, the first ebook by Film Crit Hulk. The only thing it means to be is helpful. For Mama-Hulk Because she was the Giving Tree. Introduction. HULK MUSE. HULK PONDER. HULK BEAUTIFULLY ARTICULATE THE JOY OF CINEMA. You won't like him when he's angry, but you will love him when he's passionate. Film Crit Hulk makes all other cinematic commentary look very puny indeed. Marvel as he pounds the CAPS LOCK button to properly expound his love for cinema. Imagine Pauline Kael caught in a gamma bomb blast and you will realise that in the desert of cinematic connoisseurs, Film Crit Hulk is the strongest one there is! In 1962, there once was a puny scientist with no love of the movie or regard for critical theory of cinematic arts. Then one fateful day, this non-cineaste was hit with massive amounts of radiation and transformed into a lumbering beast with superhuman strength, great invulnerability, but also with a newfound appreciation for classic storytelling, spatial awareness and genres of all form. This writer of this book may only transform into the brutish green goliath in the dark of the movie theatre. His change into a passionate mass of movie loving can only be triggered by the release of adrenaline when intensely engaged or enraged by the images before him. The green goliath of the movie theatre possesses none of his human counterparts’ snobbiness, making him the ideal creature to appreciate the highs and lows of cinema. Hulk will feast on the studio popcorn and arthouse carrot cake with the same voracious appetite. Just do not talk during the feature presentation or dare check your iPhone at any point, for you may be swatted into the parking lot. Film Crit Hulk bats away other movie buffs with their endless lists they think constitute as articles, and brings the essay back to roaring life. Why would you want to read other literature about cinema with its simple use of uppercase and lowercase characters? Film Crit Hulk knows that a true love of cinema CAN ONLY BE FULLY EXPRESSED WHEN USING THE CAPS LOCK BUTTON. WHY READ SMALL-MINDED FILM CRITICISM WHEN YOU CAN STAND IN AWE OF HULK'S GARGANTUAN LOVE OF THE MOVIES. I give this book two Hulk Hands up. WAY UP. Edgar Wright, 2013 - PREFACE So you want to write a screenplay? Before you do, know this: it requires a great deal of effort and dedication. A lot of these screenwriting books like to fill your head with false promises and easy tricks. But it’s so damn far from the obvious truth: becoming a talented writer takes a long time and a lot of hard work. They also conveniently forget to mention that the odds are against you. There are over a million scripts already floating around Hollywood. Hulk has read, oh... a couple thousand of them. And nearly every single person Hulk meets in the film industry already has a script of some sort. Not only does the sheer volume of scripts make it difficult to distinguish oneself in this climate, but so does the fact that there are already a vast number of talented, professional writers in need of work. So given all these crippling odds, we should all just give up, right? Well, no. You’re not here reading this because that reality bothers you. And that’s the thing about the movies: they’re wonderful. They’re the imagination of storytelling made tangible. They’re our dreams made real. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of all that? But with cinema being so popular and with the omnipresence of talented writers, you would think Hollywood would be knee-deep in great scripts, right? Well, the obvious problem is they most definitely are not. Thus, Hulk will augment the phrasing of that problem and ask a different question of you: Why do most movies have major script problems? Quite frankly, the answer lies in a lot of industry bullshit. Now, Hulk isn’t here to parse out an understanding of the studio system, but just understand that there is a good deal of putting the cart before the horse so to speak. So many movies press on before they even really have a story, just hoping they’ll figure it out later... But like Hulk said, this book is not actually about sussing out industry problems. Nor is this book about writing screenplays that sell, or pop, or tell you how to pitch to a studio. Hulk would never falsely advertise to you in such a manner. While these elements are certainly important to being a “success” in Hollywood, they are not an important part of becoming a good writer, so they will only be a tangential part of what we shall discuss here. In fact, Hulk would argue that if you only possess the ability to sell, pop and pitch, then you can only have the kind of success that does not last. Meanwhile, knowing how to write lasts. So the following gargantuan seven-part book is Hulk's humble attempt to try and shed some light on how to become a better writer and storyteller. The first half of the book deals with important conceptual issues and takes a great deal of (needed) time to wax philosophical on the state of mind and purpose one needs to approach storytelling. There’s just too many concepts to both learn and unlearn before you are ready to really start. But the last half of the book is (thankfully) rather practical in terms of how to apply those concepts to create a methodology for yourself and hone the craft. Still, Hulk has tried to make the structure of this book as easily digestible and simple to navigate as possible. Most of the subjects are listed by chapter number, with either letter or Roman numeral subheadings. It may all seem like a lot. It may even seem to dive headlong into nuance at the cost of direct clarity, but that is very much the point: too many screenwriting books parse out over-simplicities that do nothing but make your work feel more restricted and more like everyone else’s. This book is about learning the ways to create any kind of story you want by using story mechanisms and conceptual understanding. And whatever shortcomings this approach has in terms of pontification, the book will certainly not have suffered from a lack of effort. And like most Hulk pieces, the book's Hulk-sized-ness is informed by the sheer mass of the subject itself; for the art of storytelling, whether we distill it in terms of the ideas, the know-how, or its effect on the audience, is an art that is as varied as our own lives, and as expansive as our own universe. But please know this book is not meant to be some authoritarian rant on Hulk's part. Hulk is not an ideologue and this is not about “how things should be done.” It is meant to be helpful to you. Nothing more. Nothing less. The motives for writing it are born from a genuine sense of camaraderie, from knowing the same struggle that all writers go through. And if you've been through that struggle, then you know that it is a sham for any writer to represent themselves as an authority. There is only the same lonesome struggle to execute one's ideas. It is true of all of us. And it is constant, pervasive, and ever-lasting. Hulk believes this struggle is tough on writers because it makes for a solitary life and trying battles with one’s own mind. It fosters a solipsistic sense of independence, which can also breed a sense of contempt. So as much as anything, Hulk writes a book like this in an attempt to connect. To share. To not feel like we are so alone in the pursuit. As such, this book is meant for writers for every single level: introductory, intermediate, and working pros who perhaps know most of these things already in either a conscious or unconscious manner, but could always benefit from seeing the ideas made plain. Even certified geniuses can sometimes overlook some missing element a script may need in order to fully elevate their story. And yes, this book is also meant for those who have no interest in screenwriting whatsoever, but are just curious about the writing process and how it affects what they see onscreen. Because ultimately this isn't about the path to success, or industry secrets, or some ethereal concept of import... This is about learning how to write screenplays that work. <3 Hulk - Table Of Contents Part One – What Is A Story? Part Two – Where To Find Inspiration Part Three – 6 Things Hulk Wishes Hulk Knew A Decade Ago 1 – Get Your Learn On! 2 – No, Seriously. Get Your Learn On… 3 – What Your Experience Means For The State Of Your Own Work 4 – The Script Matters 5 – Why You Still Need To Be Able To Tell An Original Story 6 – But Remember, It’s Still Not About “Getting Things Made” Part Four – How To Approach A Screenplay - Conceptually 7.1 – The Law Of Cause And Effect 7.2 – Empathy Is Your New Best Friend 8 – Beware The Lure Of Indulgence! 9 – Value The Consistency Of Character Motive 10 – Character Trees 11 – Don’t Base Your Characters On One Person; Combine Them 12 – How To Filter Your Real Life Into Storytelling 13 – Do Not Just Write The Story Of Your Life With The Lines You Wish You Said! 14 – Do Not Write “Yourself” As The Main Character 15 – The Biopic/Reality Complication 16 – Research! 17 – Drama vs. Story 18 – The JJ Abrams Question: Mystery? vs. Urgency! 19 – Don’t Over-Mythologize 20 – Everything You Write Is Inherently Saying Something 21 – Don’t Write Women Just In The Context Of Men 22 – The Value Of Preexisting Conflict 23 – The Ending Is The Conceit Part Five – How To Tell The Story - Structurally 24 – Economy Is Your Second New Best Friend 25 – The Myth Of The 3 Act Structure 26 – Why We Have To Quit It With The Hero Journey Shit X) Don’t Make People Heroes Simply Because They Are The Main Characters And They Are .A.S. Part 2 - Merge Into Conflicting Arcs 35 – Learn Your Genre Conventions! 36 – “Page 17” 37 – If You Use Characters. They Should Likely Be Reused 38 – How To Actually Use Deus Ex Machina 39 – Beware The Opening Flash-Forward 40 – Don’t Try To Be “Cool” 41 – Don’t Fuck With The Audience Just To Fuck With The Audience 42 – The Modern Difficulty Of Relativism 43 – Adaptation 44 – Spec Scriptin’! 45 – How To Approach Plot-Holes And Movie Logic A Plot-Hole Is Not.Getting Called To An Adventure! Or Something XI) Don’t Have The Characters Refuse The Call For The Entire Duration Of The Movie XII) Don’t Over-Rely On The Wise Old Crone XIII) Don’t Mistake The Notion Of Trials As The Hero Fighting A Bunch Of Things XIV) Don’t Just Fall Back On Meeting The Goddess / Woman As Temptress For Your Female Roles. Part 1 - Breaking Into Concurrent Arcs 34 – M.A.. XV) Don’t Blatantly Use The Elixir Remedy / Deus Ex Machina XVI) Don’t Think “The Return” Only Means That Characters Should Come Home At The End XVII) Don’t Use “Cuz Destiny!” XVIII) Wrapping It All Up 27 – The Sequential Approach 28 – Trey Parker + Matt Stone’s “Therefore / Buts” Not “Ands” 29 – Dan Harmon’s Circles 30 – Vladimir Proppisms! 31 – The Snowflake Method 32 – Individuality And Hulk’s “Multi-Act Flow Structure” 33 – M.S.F.F. I) A Blatant Movie-Stopper II) Something That Only Seems Confusing In Retrospect III) An Event That Simply Occurs Off-Screen IV) A Loose End (Though It Can Be) V) A Real-Life Inaccuracy 46 – Writing Is Re-Writing 47 – When & How To Disregard These Guidelines Part Six – How To Write A Screenplay (Script-Specific Instruction!) 48 – You Need To Understand Grammar And Sentence Structure 49 – Screenplay Format Basics! I) Header II) Action Line III) Character . IV) Dialogue V) Character Parenthetical VI) Dialogue Parenthetical VII) Transition VIII) Over Black IX) Scene Numbers 50 – Submission Scripts Vs. 61 – Feedback – Get A Thick Skin And Expect Others To Have None 62 – Letting Go Part Seven – Now Here Comes The Hard Part Acknowledgments Endnotes & Bibliography . You Are Not The Director 54 – The Poetic Art Of Action Lines 55 – Writing Action Scenes! 56 – Don’t Waste Opportunities To Say Something 57 – And If You Want To Be Colloquial… 58 – Voice-Over… Perhaps Try Not Using It… 59 – The Practical Art Of Dialogue I) Eliminate The Following In Dialogue: “Ums.” “Likes.” And “You Knows” II) You Want Characters’ Dialogue To Be More Clear And On Point Than You’d Assume III) Your Characters Can’t All Talk The Same Way 60 – Read Your Entire Screenplay Out Loud… Many Times. Shooting Scripts (And How It Affects Absolutely Everything) 51 – Know It Is Being Read By Every Kind Of Person 52 – The Golden Rule Of Description 53 – Oh By The Way. but the stunning importance of narrative has always remained. . 60% of the things we say and do. so how do we narrow it down? For the purposes of this book. And narratives are only something that humans have been creating since the freakin' dawn of culture.. and shapes of audiences have changed many times over the course of history. Yeah. it's harder than it seems. And defining “a story” is so hard because stories can have so many different purposes. but rarely do we try to actually define them in a singular.. is it? And that’s what matters. And the media. which first sprang up as part of the oral tradition. Painted. especially to the people we love. Hulk will mostly be narrowing our focus to the kind of storytelling we call narrative. We could just call a story "one of those things people tell" and be done with it. Hulk calls these kinds of definitions “working definitions” and they are a truly lovely thing. Again. Legends. And that means giving you a definition that helps you best apply the idea in a concrete. this was something that was necessary for us to operate. and it’s problematic when we try to simplify the sheer totality and range of most of these concepts. Hulk believes that sometimes definitions shouldn’t be only about accuracy or concision. Out of our need to use language to best communicate ideas. Think about how that outright clarity matters. They are born from the need to communicate the most rudimentary concepts of survival. The word itself is so unbelievably dexterous. From there we made symbols. You see. But Hulk wants to do a silly thing with you here and try to define the word story. "never having to say you're sorry?" A good deal of us should be apologizing for. we built language. We use those words every single day of our lives. built around campfires and communal experience. and lust (can't forget lust!). you couldn’t tell them “Love means never having to say you’re sorry. Rumors. but that's not very helpful. And come on. substantial way. These words contain multitudes." but instead considering everything that the concept truly means. we created narratives. concepts like love. formats. So imagine if aliens landed on the planet and the fate of the human race depended on your clear explanation of what a story is. but let's try an experiment: define “a story” in a single sentence. To embrace that range means not catering to a simple one-off line like "Love means never having to say you're sorry. Full-on narratives. Perhaps because these words tend to capture enormous emotions. feelings so big they can take over our entire bodies. If the aliens were asking for a definition of love. News articles. anger. They can be accounts of facts. . Wrote. happiness. The universal tropes and devices involved in these narratives have stayed intact and remain wholly relevant for good reason: narratives allow us to come to a sense of understanding about life and our function within it.Part One - What Is A Story? You instinctively know what Hulk means when Hulk says the word story. Life is full of these obvious words that we can define so easily.” because they’d be super confused and probably enslave us or whatever. jealousy. but instead about application (take note as this will be a running theme with half the terminology used in this book). like. clear way. Background information. Out of our need to tell and inform. It's all there. Think about it. we get it Hulk! Narratives are important! We know that! That’s why we are here reading!!!” Okay. From there. It should be your purpose. parents try to teach their children how to live. And if we can fundamentally agree that stories are both important and have a purpose… The real question becomes: what makes a good narrative? Is it something that involves you? Is it something that is well-realized? That feels honest and real? . abstract situation designed to impart lessons upon youth. just that we still need to be reminded why we actually do this storytelling stuff in the first place. As we get older it becomes easy to forget that. They make our humanity something tangible. The platforms may have changed. And that sucks because that’s not the purpose of stories. Like Plato describing the cave. They make it something felt.Why is this history important? Because it tells us why we still do it. Or how often our modern sensibilities thumb our noses at anything that tries to say something meaningful or earnest. Inaction. These are moments that shape our lives and conceptual understanding of the world around us. whatever it is that you want to communicate to both the people around you and future generations should not just be what exists in your story. does it? But by taking the same points and enveloping them within a story. the very first stories were fables: a hypothetical. After all. but the purpose has remained the same since the original fable: to demonstrate cause and effect in the form of abstraction in order to prove something true about our human experience. we use our considerate and thoughtful minds to pass the torch of universal truths and do our best to distinguish them from the shadows. From there. not just because they invoke a basic sense of morality. they spread to epics and novels and poems and plays and now we find ourselves rooted in the glory of cinema. Narratives mean so much to our culture. Purpose. Consequence. And this should be your purpose in storytelling. And Hulk honestly thinks it’s one of the most important things we can do. they can convey so much more than mere instruction. sorry! Hulk just had to make it clear in case it wasn't. The cycle is not only constant. Elders speak to youngin’s. And that’s not to say that it can’t ultimately be a lighthearted thing. they’ll speak to that power. But it is stunning how often we forget this. Every day. Teachers instruct their pupils. Ideally. but because they make our very humanity something understandable. it becomes our duty to instead pass on that meaning. Action. “Okay. They get to see the ongoing cycle of high school kids across the country discovering the same big ideas that you did in high school and they happen to feel just as revolutionary as they did for you. It doesn’t expressly need to be some long-winded tale. sorry. And while the joy of intellectual discovery tends to happen less and less frequently in adulthood. It should be the very point of your story. it’s more of a conditional way to convey meaning. Some folks just think a story is something to pass the time. We tend to lose sight of just how amazing the simple lessons in a story can feel. fables grew into myths and hero stories and fairy and folk tales. But if you ask a dozen English teachers about the purpose of stories. but critical to our function. And they could just be like "do this!" or "do that!" but that tends not to work very well. complex. Thanks Hulk for the big definition there. a good story does all of those things. and speaks to some thematic truth that you recognize in yourself or the world at large. or you. but Hulk thinks it's safe to say that every great film does capture all of these elements in some way. but please remember it is not meant to be exclusive or limiting or inflexible. Just sit down and look at that definition again. So let's just go for it! Here Hulk presents a working definition of ideal storytelling: a good narrative is compelling to the audience. Ask yourself. Hulk won’t inherently exclude anything for lacking a component. a well-told. There’s a negotiation to all of this. No matter how technically "untrue" a story may be. It’s instead an ideal model for how to tell the best possible stories. Hulk would like to suggest that you implicitly know stories. Ta-da! And all Hulk had to do was cheat with a long. gee. Yes. detail. It’s just that Hulk tends to recognize that all the best stories are multifaceted. The key is simply to become aware of what you already know. if your story is really concerned with the thematic meaning of a given scene it can indulge in some aspects that are not wholly crucial for story economy. Meaning the definition is meant to be both practical and an inspiration. You know them in your bones. regardless of our ability to actually live up to it. You. and resonant. some amount of wiggle room when it comes to how successful each of these elements needs to be in relation to each other. So why wouldn’t you want your own stories to do the same? Hulk is all about embracing the high standard. are you even thinking about what your story says on a larger thematic level at all? In total. are you trying to be cool instead of compelling? Are you trying to be disaffected and edgy instead of authentic? Are you being disingenuous to the world you've created in the name of a quick fix? Heck. but I don’t even know where to begin… I mean… what kind of stories do I even tell?” Well. economically told. no matter who you are. this definition sets a high standard for execution. are you at least trying to do all the things you need to fit our working definition of a good narrative? And the answers to these questions will tell you everything you need to know. You can't lose sight of all the things a good story needs. body (viscerally). “Okay." Why yes. proverbial reader who lives in Hulk’s book. the proverbial audience member. then look at your own stories. good friend. compelling one will still feel real. silly sentence that was just a list of the stuff Hulk said earlier. or texture. and soul (with resonance). You've seen / read / heard thousands of them. For instance. of course. And the best stories speak to your mind (thematically).That is crafted without extraneous excess? That gets you to learn something you never knew before? Or is it something that speaks to some basic truth that you now recognize in yourself? The correct answer is "yes. but when you do go out of bounds it has to be for a really good reason. not restrictive. . Sure that good reason mostly depends on what matters to you. the proverbial author. instinctively know what makes stories good and how they work. interesting. feels real either in terms of emotion. There is. What this personal information is meant to imply is that the relative "done-ness" or form of the property has absolutely nothing to do with the idea and concept itself. But. We give things meaning and value and import. you must find that same inspiration. Never forget that.” So the first thing we have to do is decipher why the moment of inspiration itself really matters. You can bemoan the rise of reality . Hulk wants to help you. but something that can work as a backbone for the entire process of writing. It's not just the starting point. For far too long. So Hulk’s going to do Hulk's best here and try to give you some productive ways of finding stories you want to tell. When you are in the slog of working out the logistics. find that inspiration takes practice. fully-written screenplays. pervasive. outlines. It certainly cannot be forced. Because the germ of your idea can be the thing that must constantly light the fire underneath you as you go forth. To do that. foolish as it may be. Hulk could give you the thoroughly bad (and rather popular) answer of saying "Stories are all around you! You just have to look for them!" but that doesn't really help now. But as Hulk alluded to in Part One. and a lot of hard work. Often we view a film trying to “say something” as an obstacle to entertainment. where to get that idea written on a napkin? The germ of the idea? The very first thing that you write down? The answers to those questions are so ethereal and vague that it is almost foolish to really try and answer it. Hulk disagrees with this idea. Stories and inspiration actually are everywhere. and even downright suffocating to the point where you won’t be able to keep up. But even then. teleplays. And in doing so it will become constant. novels. The moment of inspiration is both your motive and motivation. Consider the fact that Hulk has tons of ideas at the moment and they exist in various forms: brain storms. a challenging notion that prevents us from placating audiences with the dumb. half-written screenplays. Hulk will start with a question: why does it seem like so many movies aren’t trying to say anything these days? … Probably because a lot of movies aren’t trying to say anything these days. Even if the project radically changes. And to understand how you. mindless entertainment we think they crave. Anything in this universe can be a story worth telling. A finished film is as close to the inspiration that spawned it as that original scribbled note on a napkin. To the creator. short stories. But the real key is training your brain how to recognize this inspiration and apply it readily. It’s a bit of a forgotten element in all this. Even a litany of small ideas written on napkins and scraps of paper. Hulk thought the key to inspiration was having the ability to decipher a story that was worth telling versus one that isn't worth telling… but that was wrong. patience. as long as you know how to best tell it. The problem with Hulk trying to help you find inspiration is that inspiration sort of has to be… um… natural. they are conceptually the same thing. the hardest part of writing is finding inspiration. as an individual. does it? Even if the statement is weirdly true. So that means the real key is understanding how to take that inspiration and make it manifest as “story. the idea itself should be a through-line that saves your script throughout the process. Humanity creates narratives. by its nature.Part Two - Where To Find Inspiration For some people. Inspiration is largely a mysterious process that is. no matter how much they might have changed. Sure. organic and rather personal. Of course. anything is the very purpose of art. And in order to do that: . one that will help drive the creative voice of your work. why even do it? When a writer/ filmmaker genuinely cares. People talk of the motives of the Kardashians the same way we do the motives of the highest fiction. Meaning both low-fiction and high-fiction say something. And the one film of his he was excited about was Rush Hour.. however. Hulk thinks write what compels you is a much more functional way to discover your own ideas. but it is rather easy to forget that we’re effectively doing the same thing with both properties. It is something that is inspirational to you. or craft implementation. Hulk imagines there are those of you out there who think that a film trying to “say something” is annoying. So what do you want to say? What is it that you want to tell the world? That’s what inspiration is. come on. Or that you will retroactively create a narrative that only fits what you want to say. Both are narratives that serve the same purpose of informing life. you should freaking care about the story you are telling.. Going back to our definition of “what is a story?”. too (look at the career arc of Brett Ratner. So Hulk will now ask you a better question: what compels you? There are a lot of different avenues you can go down while trying to answer that question. but let’s try the most literal and concrete first. who feel it is didactic. whether it is the genre. Esoteric. issue-based level: are you concerned with problems facing our nation’s youth? The conditions of farm animals? Crooked politicians? The unsung plight of nurses and other people trying to do good in a bureaucracy? Corrupt practices of corporate business? Mundane heroisms? Gender inequality? Sexual politics? Really. what do I have a strong opinion about? The funny thing is that people use these topics in making documentaries all the time. is that the phrasing stinks because it tends to breed a lack of courageous thinking and research. First let us try to answer it on a macro. The audience really can tell. which actually connected with people in a valid popcorn way.” and there may be an intellectual chasm between the subtleties of that kind of show and the pinnacle of art. Pretentious. you are just asking yourself. Thus. Are you telling a scary story? You should delight in scaring your audience. we still assign socialization and narrative to reality TV all the same. The main reason this issue-centric approach works is that it tends to naturally imbue your film with the thematic backbone a strong narrative requires. Aesthetically everything is pleasing enough - or at least a carbon copy of what he intends to mimic. Plus it speaks to the old adage "write what you know. You should engage the audience. But the point of embracing these kinds of broad issues from the get-go is that they always seem to have some sort of personal relevance. Hulk also rejects this notion. Otherwise. for instance. And narrative is the best vehicle in the world for conveying meaning.TV and say that it’s not saying anything because it’s clearly full of false and manufactured storylines. And because. but as a culture who watches it. but the films are soulless. The Kardashian show may not be intentionally trying to “say anything. for saying something. it radiates off the page or screen. audience effect. all of which is likely true.) Most writers and filmmakers care for something within the film’s identity. you should treat the screen the same way you would if you were telling the story at the proverbial campfire. It’s so good it can do it incidentally. and thus it will feel like a mouthpiece and not an organic story. Of course." The one problem with that old adage. the prime worry of doing so is that you’ll just end up making a political essay in the form of a movie. It breeds the idea that we can only tell the uber-personal. but Hulk wants to convey to you that this is also a great way to find inspiration for fiction. And if you don't care? That comes across plain as day. it doesn't even have to be people-centric. but it is Hulk’s experience that people don’t really know how to do that. insisting that it does not "feel real. or saccharine. even if that something is ambivalent or esoteric. we need details to show us what characters want and need and what they will likely do. Everything needs a purpose. Hulk will explain in the upcoming sections on empathy. So often people think to start with the tiny nuggets and then figure out what you want to say later. Slaved over. But remember. you can just have a single line or image that you find compelling. so many films are voiceless. It's because they're often empty. … But they alone are not narratives. We get heavy grit apropos of nothing. interesting person. You have to have something to say. What this dynamic actually speaks to is the great lesson that singular details are not stand-ins for characterization. . And that means you have to craft organic characters.” Heck. in fact those quirky movies with real meat to them tend to work like gangbusters. A good narrative has to be created. issue-first approach is just one half of the deal. They make it all feel human. You have to go further than that. it is the reason Hulk put the two halves of inspiration in that order. interesting opinion on a subject. "I read this great article about so-and-so. which is 100% more important to the effectiveness of your message. She volunteers at a hospital and…". They are wonderful. This is the heart of drama (well… Hulk will use this phrase a lot.” Or heck. Extravagant character details are welcome if there’s purpose. It's that so often these oblique characteristics try to hide a lack of narrative or thematic purpose. So many films simply say "I want to write about this textured. We don’t need details to tell us who characters are and what they like. Even if you have a strong. the idea still has to be explored through the context of storytelling. And thus allow Hulk to argue that the whole popular hatred for quirky indie movies has nothing to do with their being quirky. That is so important to understand. Crafted. but so often we get character detail apropos of nothing. People latch onto hating the quirk. For instance: "My friend so-and-so is amazing. So you essentially need a second inspiration to go along with your issue. or maudlin." but in Hulk’s opinion that is a misdiagnosis. tiny little nuggets of inspiration that invite you and excite you to larger possibilities of storytelling. Worked through time and time again before it is something so much more. this large-scale. You can be like "I thought of this great scenario where…” or "Here’s this really neat sci-fi world where so-and-so is possible. For example. but it’s just how the best stories resonate with us. characters that are not mere props to larger ideas. So for the same question of making a human film… What compels you? This time let us answer it on a micro level and think of specific life details that reveal larger ideas.” and think that it will somehow magically produce a textured. so it’s one of them). or. In fact. Again. making the story reek of being hollow and manufactured. Everything is grounded in character. You can't just reverse engineer some characters that fit your ideal situation and have them act out what you want to say and do. These microlevel details are a much more common form of inspiration. interesting story. You need to craft a story that is achingly human as a partner to your themes. there have been a lot of recent movies that have gotten into trouble for assuming texture and character detail somehow is the same thing as character motive. Your characters and the story they inhabit should be in complete alignment with the intention of your themes. do you see the role that the germ of the idea plays in the story construction? We think about what compels us. the shape of each medium is rapidly changing into one . It would be easy for Hulk to sit here and talk about this on and on in the abstract. closeted gay adults. It wasn't just that it was "weird" or "different. Prim matriarchs. Because ultimately. Some make sense for video games. And when you think all the way back to that germ of an idea that compels you. either. That was the germ of the idea. That doesn't make a story. The first reason is to understand that a germ of an idea can carry you across five years and countless hours of story if you’ll let it. When Alan Ball created Six Feet Under. you must then zero in and figure out how that germ then becomes a story. But more importantly both story decisions helped reinforce the central theme of the show. so let’s get specific with an example." The moment of inspiration can be your guide. whether it's a detail." but that the characters engaged an interesting idea so plainly and tangibly. but on a deeply personal level too. or a theme. This is important to realize because Hulk reads things every day that would really best be suited as other media. which allowed him to color the show with different meanings and themes time and time again. the more capable you will become in finding inspiration. your proverbial North Star in the incredible journey of writing. textured characters that also compelled him.” etc. But again. So he then came up with two devices that helped propel everything. Every detail helped confront mortality in every possible way. "The End. right up until the series’ final episode. And it only has the ending effect of limiting the best possible articulation of your idea. but Hulk just wants you to understand that when we’re dealing with the moment of inspiration we have to also understand how that moment will translate into a good story from the get-go. And the more understanding of that process we have. And with this idea he figured out a way to immediately blend text and subtext. Some ides make the most sense for TV. their father dies in the opening moments of the show so that this show about “confronting mortality” didn’t just do so on the abstract or tangential level. Hulk will get balls-deep into why that is so true later. He filled it out with rich. He had so much further to go before it became a story filled with purpose. particularly one that largely avoids the topic of death altogether. And worse than that." and he used that as the through-line for the entire series. which means your narrative too because that’s what you are saying. And the second device was that every single episode would open with a different funeral client's death. he had a passing thought about a family who worked as undertakers and how that must be a weird life wherein they are confronting mortality every day of their lives. and in this case it was the image of a family and the idea of "confronting mortality. and disaffected teens. It’s symptomatic of the fact that people like to box themselves in as a “screenwriter. It is the sublime combination of text and subtext.” “TV writer. Some make sense for a comedy sketch. But that was just the conceit. And the second reason is that it is important to understand from the get-go that not every idea is a great fit for the medium of screenwriting. a person. helping to marry the text and subtext. First. a concept. a truly good narrative is born from the combining of the macro and micro into one singular. But more importantly to our subject at hand. 35 year old granola transients. dramatically and philosophically. They battle a concept that is so damn pertinent to our culture. coherent approach. Some make sense for a novel.And so with real life stories you have to also realize that sometimes the "facts" get in the way of good storytelling. Notice how Hulk brought up a TV show as the prime example? Hulk did that on purpose. And maybe you can find a small piece of that story that works as a movie. Ask yourself: What compels you? . Build your ability to look for inspiration and form a story around it.” So get ready to embrace all of it. “Hey! Stop by the office on Friday and pitch us a couple things!” Practice the process. But once you understand what the story is on its own merits. whatever. comic. The idea is to simply build the muscle. Don’t worry about shaping your inspiration into what you demand it to be. Hulk also realizes that all these pieces of advice may seem like we are getting ahead of ourselves. Or maybe you find a way to broaden that story into a running serialized TV show. Thus Hulk's advice is to not think of what you are doing at first as a movie. but the idea is to really zoom in on what makes the story work for its own purposes. For we are writers. You have no excuse either way.. Nor is there anyone naturally ungifted in doing so. the place to start is always the same. so we must practice the process of seeking inspiration the same way we would build any muscle. The important part is to just be aware that you are not cramming one into the other. Let your ideas go where they need to go. Okay it's actually pretty difficult to discern and usually takes a little bit of tinkering and trial & error to see the problems. Pretend some Hollywood bigwig said. it doesn’t matter if you use them.. identical form of “media consumption. as they apply more to the process of writing we will explore in later parts of the book. There are no people on this planet who are naturally gifted in doing so. Get better. It just takes dedication and going through the process time and time again. Like all crafts. So start now.singular. etc. just think of it as a story. Hulk assures you. Again. But what is most important to understand is that it takes both awareness and lots of practice to effectively find inspiration. Who cares if you use them. a TV show. The next week come up with three ideas. After all. You will have plenty more inspiration. Luckily. Little story. “But Hulk. Come up with two story ideas this week. our expertise is a function of time invested. how do I know what medium is best for my story?” . so having some idea of the later application is critical. Just flesh them out. inspiration is the most ethereal and least-explainable part of the process. Keep doing it. you can play with it to figure out how that story best works as a movie. It doesn’t matter if they are even good. but Hulk thinks they are vital little bits you need to understand from the onset of inspiration. no matter what the form. big story. it’s about adopting a constantly evolving process of learning. . But in that there is always a way that your specific story will work best. In fact. Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Get Your Learn On! Yes. you really have to understand how movies. And while there will always be errant cases of someone acting outside the barometer." so to speak. camera angle. moment. etc. More definitions and treading water before the actual advice?!?! Come on. Ignoring obvious barriers such as a slower pace and artistic abstraction. So you just need to watch as many as possible from here on in and then it is just about opening up your brain to best understand the process. Believe it or not. we must understand that well-told. we’re talking about “cinematic effect. you just know movies. Which means you can't do that thing that a lot of people love to do in this town and that’s just sling crap up onscreen and expect the lowest common denominator to love it. So why is this process so important to writing? Because if you intrinsically understand movies (even if you're totally unaware). And from there you can come to critically understand the ongoing process of cinematic effect. or sound cue will make an audience member have a very specific reaction. screenplays are just stories and all storytelling has a commonality. It all sounds nice. the general audience instinctively knows good stuff when they see it. And the evolution of those actions over the course of a film combines into the overall experience. On the simplest level. actually work. movies can still work viscerally for everyone in the theater. And not just in the sense that a story can make for a good movie or a good TV show. Hulk! Get to the good stuff!!! Hulk sorry. Truly understanding film is a perceptive art that takes years to get a good grasp on. And to understand how to best do that. but this is important. but the good news for you is that this know-how is something that is already locked inside your mind if you’ve seen enough of them.” which is the process of understanding how a specific action. And it’s not just about being able to articulate what you know in your bones. But as Hulk mentioned in the inspiration section. Instinctively. from big to small and high to low. the real problem with Hulk telling you this is that understanding how movies work is really a whole lifetime of columns and experiences. It’s about making the universal subconscious experience of watching a movie into a conscious one. and Bourne Supremacy and "got it. but obviously it’s not simple at all. Even the most general audiences walked out of the first Pirates film. then that means the audience intrinsically understands movies too. there is a way that form and intent really matters. Good movies resonate through time. 1. traditional narratives usually work very well on a general audience. You've been watching them your whole life. You have to understand how they affect your body and how your synapses respond while watching them.Part Three - 6 Things Hulk Wishes Hulk Knew Over A Decade Ago Ugh. Sit down for any conversation. You have to use that understanding to be effective. It is about writing screenplays that work. They know if they were compelled. don't torture Bumblebee!) actually earned the series a great deal of public goodwill going forward. you just have to understand how much work it takes. knowing how to write lasts. These are all elements of success. All of these filmmakers will not . Triple-plus. Hulk cannot impress this on you enough: Hulk really believes that people know good traditional movies by instinct (again. Quite simply: good stories can reach them. Remember this book’s mission statement? Hulk has a condensed version for you here: This book is not about screenplays that sell. you cannot confuse marketing and economic success with something being successful because it was "a good story. or if they laughed or screamed.. You need to get your learn on! 2. Seriously. Plus. No. Meanwhile. Why? Because otherwise you won't have anything to talk about. So this column is about becoming a better writer and storyteller. They know if they had fun. very smart. Get Your Learn On." Just because it gets butts in seats does not make it a good movie. And while Hulk will delve into a whole bunch of tools and suggestions on how to be effective. even if they cannot articulate it. just because a popcorn movie is light and fun doesn’t mean that it doesn’t take a heck of a lot of know-how and craft to make that fun movie work. or how to pitch. And that is so damn important because audiences instinctively know how they should work. or pop.Now you may point to the success of the Transformers series as evidence that shitty stuff succeeds too. but Hulk would argue that that is a rare and special case of an audience knowing the brainless fodder they are about to receive and going for it. or interested. for the most part) and that is because every person on the planet is implicitly affected by the functions of narrative. Your mind will be blown. Double-plus. So knowing how an audience will respond to what is onscreen is everything. Go ahead. Hulk would argue that the tiny bit of emotional connective tissue in the first film (no. So the question you have to ask when evaluating a film is simple: Did most people walk out of the film feeling like it “worked?” It really is a different question than “Is it good or bad?” It removes the opaque evaluation of worth and instead gets closer to “What was the film intending?” and “Did it work on its own merit?” which are questions that better get to the heart and purpose of storytelling. Do you realize how smart most writers and filmmakers really are? They are very. You need to watch a ton of movies. Same point only a different manifestation! This time Hulk means it in the sense that Hulk wants you to start becoming an armchair expert in stuff that has nothing to do with movies. They instinctively know if they felt connected.. Even the ones who make ‘dumb movies” will strike you as being incredibly aware and articulate. but Hulk argues it is the kind of success that doesn't last. based on a heap of preexisting factors. You have to understand cinema at every level. You need to read a ton of books and critics. Hulk has not only written a deluge of the screenplays. then be prepared to be a part of that world too. To politics. It goes without saying. Stanley Kubrick was famously interested in so many fields of study: Mathematics. It’s about the writing process itself. You may think that playing around with film conventions is neat. But again. but yes. But it doesn't stop there. Culture. To art. Look to other people. Because the world outside doesn't live in cinemas like we do. that’s not what this book is about. They will be able to talk about the entire landscape of film history. Yes. That's all. This is a falsehood. In the introduction. and unique sets of dispositions. but his story-craft and commitment to his own world-building are beyond solid. that there are a litany of vastly more accomplished screenwriters out there whom Hulk . 3. but it is a worthless pursuit unless you can convey something about the actual world. because the world around you is what is actually compelling to an audience. They will completely understand the audience psychology Hulk mentioned in point #1. editorial cadence.. studying film as a medium is important because you have to understand the filmmaking tools.only be able to talk at length about the themes and characterization of their own films. Literature. So at this point you may be wondering why Hulk feels like Hulk can even talk about this particular screenwriting subject with any kind of authority. and experiences. but it only works for a much smaller group of people. But what is it about screenwriting specifically that makes Hulk able to contribute? Know this: Hulk is more familiar with the craft of screenwriting than probably any other element of filmmaking. or the absolute intention of each scene. Hulk briefly discussed Hulk's humble feelings on the nature of advice and the needs to share in the struggle of writing. You should have something interesting to say about the world around you. Hulk has a solid foot in all the needed worlds that combine to five elements that make Hulk think that Hulk can help you. Work the layers! Double note: some people say Tarantino only makes movies about movies.. Embrace the high standard! Note: Hulk is not saying that you can't ever go meta with your story. So look to your life. Great storytellers tend to be marked by an insatiable curiosity about life itself. Be prepared to be an expert in something besides filmmaking. History. however. Just understand that the meta-ness needs to have a concurrent face-value narrative level if you still want to keep folks interested. has gone down the concrete path of selling them and knows how they manifest in this business and all that jazz. Sociology. But more than that. So if you want to be a writer or filmmaker. I) On the writing side. and writing process. but they will show that they are completely aware of their film's relative shortcomings and can evaluate why this or that occurred better than anyone else on the planet. He may have a host of references at any given moment. Engineering. Psychology. They will have seen most everything. They have their jobs. What Your Experience Means For The State Of Your Own Work Okay. writers and filmmakers are at their best when they are interested in the world outside of film. Specifically. They may have all the qualifications in the world and some deeply personal process of their own. but for real-deal professional purposes of development and production centering around a plethora of A-grade material Hulk can pretty much guarantee you’ve seen and probably liked. but hone into it and deep-tissue analyze and then communicate about it. So please understand that Hulk effectively views this book as a practical teaching platform. And that’s important because there are thousands of scripts out there that have no real understanding of storytelling. but merely using it to offer up some help based on what Hulk has known and experienced. Which is important because Hulk listens to so many truly great writers out there who try to explain their process and impart advice and… well… Hulk finds that so much of their advice comes off as esoteric. This is the joy of sharing. And that just may be of some use to you. Not the joy of telling. Hulk is not willing to give you overly pat Syd Field-esque “solutions.considers heroes. television material. at this point you probably noticed that Hulk is still talking about writing philosophy and background without a hint of practicality yet. you name it. After all. .” Writing is something so much more expansive than that. V) And that means you will find no blindly reductive how-tos in this book. you must understand that Hulk will never lie to you. of course. but it is also from some Hulk with an understanding of the methodology of teaching and the will and determination to try and tell you nothing but the truth. IV) Because the most important thing about any of this background is that Hulk believes Hulk can offer you something so much more and that is clarity of expression. It’s about Hulk’s ability to communicate what is vital to your learning. independent material. overseeing thousands of hours of top tier content. Hulk’s done this for years and years. and utterly unhelpful. And Hulk swears that this experience has given Hulk a unique window that many other screenwriters may not have. Sure. it’s from some Hulk with a really solid background. Meaning Hulk's ability to look at a screenplay and identify why it works and why it doesn't is quite literally Hulk’s trade. this would make more sense in an introduction? You’re right. And that matters more than anything. Not for Hulk’s own casual learning either. vague. But they have no idea how to teach. Hulk is not using any of this experience as an excuse to pose Hulk-self as some kind of authority (beyond simply qualifying Hulk-self). would you want to know what works for one person dealing with something in a very limited set of personal circumstances? Or would you want to know what works from someone ingrained with hundreds of experienced writers. big budget material. II) What Hulk thinks is far more important to helping you is that Hulk has read a metric fuck ton of scripts. but Hulk has done this for a reason… It may sound critical. And while this book will get rather specific and practical. but a book like this isn’t about Hulk’s abilities in professional life. And please know: III) The intention of this book is… well… pure. Heck. and doing so at a tremendously frequent rate? This is simply what Hulk can offer. And Hulk wasn’t just there to read and evaluate. but one of the best things you can do as a writer is come to an understanding about where you are currently falling in the grand scheme of things. dealing with every possible kind of storytelling. you may be curious as to why would Hulk go on and on about qualifications and background in the middle of the third part of this book? Surely. They may be great writers. Still. And sorry. Hulk totally includes Hulk-self in this one too. This isn't accusatory. And they are really good at it. But Hulk's obvious problem is with the lack of awareness. You have to respect the craft and the effort the same way the professionals do. And in complete honesty. Hulk couldn’t have been further from being right. The statement is meant to show you that you have to really work for it. Hulk simply did not realize the stunning gap between what Hulk could do at the time and what Hulk would be able to do all these years later. but that's not how it's meant. It is because there are thousands and thousands of people in Los Angeles who have claimed to have written a screenplay and are now trying to sell it. but Hulk respects those working professionals too much to not acknowledge the stunning gap in quality and (much more importantly) hard work and hours put into the work. They work at the craft of writing the same way one works at any truly demanding job. But they have not even put in close to 1/100th the work that so many working professionals in this industry actually have. There is this weird assumption that just because anyone can write a screenplay it means anyone can write a screenplay deserving of consideration. Hulk emerged on the sunny shores of Los Angeles certain that Hulk’s smarts and gumption would do most of the work.This isn’t about not having confidence in your ability. So youngins? You have to be prepared for that. Hence: delusion. Now. They may have good intentions. really wants you to be a better screenwriter. Really. Hulk really wishes younger-Hulk understood this. Despite having so many things go Hulk’s way and years of genuine film school experience. You really have no idea how hard most of their paths were in getting to where they are now. The blind assumption that somebody’s literal first attempt to write a screenplay could somehow be wholly worthy is downright strange (Note: it doesn't fully apply to writers of other narrative forms. So imagine if you suddenly hopped on a major league field and just went up to bat saying “I can do this too!” Hulk realizes that may sound like a ridiculous analogy. But knowing where you really stand. and how far you have to go. Only this happens all the time in Los Angeles and nobody thinks twice about it. . You have to be patient. but that’s really what this is like. Anyone with the right connection or the means to their own production can have a shot at being a screenwriter. They may have even done a decent job. So many people just have no awareness of where they stand. Hulk doesn’t want to sound like Hulk is stifling your ambition. Hulk knows this is not like other fields and is instead more of a democratic meritocracy and that is actually one of the great things about the industry. is actually a critical element to understanding how to proceed in your writing development. You have to work on your craft. Because the thing is that Hulk really. And it's a kind of delusion that suffocates the industry and makes it harder for folks who can actually write. Hulk totally sees how this entire section could reek of elitism. And the number one thing you can do to achieve that is to take the enterprise truly seriously and approach it the way you would any other technical field that takes a great deal of learning. They may have a good idea. but still might more than you'd think). Hulk wouldn’t write any of this if that weren’t true. The delusion helps foster a culture where it's more difficult for qualified people to have confidence to sell themselves because they don't want to be like the rest of the delusional. what they have written is more than likely not up-to-snuff. It’s just nothing compared to what a true-blue working professional with a genuine adult disposition can offer. Like many. uber-pressuring jerks who are unaware just how far away they really are. They may have a good sense of movies. Or at least disaster-proofing. Hulk does not mean to make this sound like a chastising accusation against all of studio-dom. very carefully on this one. Hulk can count on hundreds of hands the many times that Hulk has heard someone in that setting refer to a script as a "blueprint. you need to understand what you need in order to even have it in place. or even the editing room is an increasingly laughable idea. And thus Hulk would like to submit the idea that this is the single greatest fault of modern Hollywood filmmaking. The problem is systemic. we need to take it more seriously. Again. Or maybe even no script at all.. Because in the end… 4. Okay. Gaaaaaaaaaaaah. some studio folk will put the time in. The assumption that a film's story can be simply "fleshed out" in heavy pre-production. but often they are working toward something they don’t quite understand in the way of process. but oftentimes the phrase is used in this way to indicate the lack of need for being exacting. but Hulk feels quite strongly about this. And it is all built on the blind assumption that scripts aren't really that important and you can make due if you have the bare bones of the story in place.” It’s terrible. then you can just flesh it out during production. The Script Matters! And don’t let anyone ever tell you different. More important is the fact that 95% of good movies have good screenplays. And the “script is a blueprint” attitude tends to sweep up even the best of them.. Which may prove difficult because Hollywood has the pesky and unfortunately accurate reputation of being rather unkind to screenwriters. Almost every single bad movie can be traced back to a bad script. So if you ever call a script a blueprint chances are you are going to make a bad movie. as there are so many great people who really do know their stuff. a literal blueprint is exacting. Sorry. but unkind in the broader philosophical sense. .. Calling a script “a blueprint’ is total balls. And not just in the gossipy way where Studio Person A does something sordid to Writer Person B." and that phrase… it just…. Why. Sure. Do you know how many times productions get locked into a terrible scene. They’ll even hire and fire writers without thinking about the consequence this has on their production continuity. you should be able to take the screenplay as constructed and make a solid movie. Even in pre-production.. production. accomplishing that is a miracle. It . Listen to Hulk very. Even as an industry.. Sure.. And in reality. That is not an accident. Writing a good screenplay is effectively idiot-proofing. Do you have any idea how many summer tent-poles are green-lit and sent into heavy pre-production with an incomplete to non-existent script? Loads of them. Ideally. Meaning “this is just the general guide and we will make it good later. because they have already started building sets?! Hulk has seen so much money wasted in pre-production as a bunch of relative overt-tinkerers rearrange the story on the fly. but it is not a crutch for a missing story. for instance? Have you ever read those scripts? They're pretty freaking good. intention. and complement what is actually being filmed. And while exploring how to accomplish that. Improv truly is a great performance tool (and can even help train your mind for constructing better written stories).. It was all about the process of safe choices and minimizing risk and focusing on factors that had nothing to do with drama. the conflicts. You need the focus that real narrative brings. This isn’t a knee-jerk opinion about big business being bad or anything as silly as that. And while you are in production you need to understand what you're working on and how it fits with the context. then you can try to use improv to improve the surface level. Because guess what? All those heavily improvised Adam McKay movies.Concerning script value you may say: “But Hulk. It was a surefire way to get over bad storytelling. universal truths. Meaning having a completely set script that you know frontwards and backwards actually allows you to make more informed decisions on how to change it during production. But quite honestly the development process of screenwriting dramatically shifted the moment the corporations moved in. not an improvised narrative. And the only movies that manage to accomplish anything substantial with improv do so by getting some of the best comedic minds in a room together and going at it. yet she bases all of her writing on the work of golden age TV and The Simpsons. You're not even really re-constructing it. well… the way any corporate business would. the tone. Hulk thought so. You know who agrees with this philosophy? Tina Fey. You're refining. There hasn’t been a single good one because it proves you largely need the written constructs to execute cinematically. how often do you hear about improvised dramas? [cricket cricket] Yeah. the relative points. which is super-great for them and stuff . So the real function of improv is not to find the story or the world of the movie. The corporations approached the story the way. and property recognition they could still get butts in the seats for opening weekend. To reiterate: when you're actually filming a movie you can indeed change a script in the right ways to enhance. and logic of the rest of the story. So to all you budding improv-based writers. This fact should be obvious. it’s just to find the best possible jokes to punch it up. refine.. It became big business. where the bottom line is getting butts in seats at any cost. It comes when everything is already set in place and you have already made all your most critical decisions. improv is so hot right now and there’s a bunch of great actors who can make it happen!” First off. And she was wholly born from the Second City improv model. And they're a lot closer to the final product than you may have realized. The script has to be the soul of your project and something you'd be proud of. You can see the way certain actors are bringing the characters to life and call the necessary audibles. which automatically means the story is something that has to be carefully set and accounted for on a script level. tone appeal. you need to write a script you're proud of first. You cannot redefine your narrative. star power. Especially because it's how people made movies for nearly 80 years. the studios discovered that through marketing. The character arcs. This is about that “systemic problem” Hulk mentioned before: it was just a fundamental shift in the kinds of people who had oversight. It's all there. But Hulk’s “the script matters” philosophy is even true for all the popular improv comedies you see these days. But it's just a dialogue re-write. or the importance of stories. But really this is just the surface-level execution stuff that comes far along in the process. Raise an eyebrow or two. but still the really long play. Hulk is being harsh here. was your freaking business model. Jaws isn’t just a great movie that we can enjoy to this very day. it is the system and the set of pressures that are the problem. The biggest problem with this is that making a film that gets to the heart of drama would actually be the best way to make a film a financial success. Netflix. And it didn't have much to do with opening weekend box office. Look at the number one and two films of all time in Titanic and Avatar. . Heck. It’s based on the financial success of the packages you put together. but the marketing-based system they created was crippling to the import of story. To be fair. The business of movies was actually based on a long-play sell for weeks and weeks where word of mouth was what managed to get audiences in theaters over time as movies spread around the country. Writing a good story. On the studio side. But Hulk isn’t admonishing a system from the writer ’s perspective. With a lot of money too. The mega-hits last! Third. And a lot of those executives truly loved movies. it’s still financially rewarding the studio. Second. Not just in Blu/DVD sales. Hulk’s gotten to take a few peeks at the studio books from time to time and movies make a huge deal if not most of their money on ancillary incomes. Even with the good deal of executives who are stunningly brilliant. But look at the way his films resonate across the board.because most didn't understand how scripts worked in the first place. no. but TV airings. James Cameron gets a lot of flak for his storytelling simplicity and yet. Which is yet another idea that Hulk would like to suggest is short-sighted balls. Consider the following three arguments: First. this comes from Hulk’s perspective of being on the studio side. He is just doing the basics. if the most valuable thing a movie studio can get their hands on this day and age is a franchise. And when they have to justify their failures they have to back up their decisions with “I attached this star! And used this recent successful formula!” and when their backs are against the wall they can’t go to their bosses with “my script expressed the heart of drama!” They’re just trying to keep their jobs. he is someone who understands the value of story simplicity better than anyone. While the opening weekend is certainly a great starting point. to Hulk. Both had solid but not jaw-dropping openings and yet both eventually went on to have incredible long plays. in the golden age of Hollywood everyone used to understand that storytelling mattered financially to your film. keeping one’s job isn’t dependent on your capability to understand storytelling and its purpose. Anachronistic? Maybe. the real hits (aka good movies with good scripts) are the ones that have staying power in the weeks that follow. VOD windows. Now? It's a neat little bonus. that the real-deal financial gain of a film is not actually based on opening weekend. folks. rentals. In Hulk’s working adventures. the business model doesn’t just end with theatrical runs. He’s showing us the value of basics and traditional storytelling. And the great thing about these models is that they financially reward the very best stories we have to offer. well told. but it’s true. but those basics resonate so deeply with people. And that means you need. Not to get too smashy. Why You Still Need To Be Able To Tell An Original Story With all this "franchise" talk. No one wants to be fired for crap reasons. Hulk would like to suggest that this is the very pinnacle of "not getting it. How often do we hear " _____ was so good that I can't wait for ____2!" apropos of not having a single other detail? So isn't this simple idea of getting people to love the story the way you build the franchise model? Look. If the long play. you may have also noticed that original scripts and stories aren't being made by Hollywood all that much anymore. But alas. a remake. there is the common business knowledge that the box office of sequels has little to do with the quality of the actual sequel.S. The other aspect goes back to that insidious reason of how the system creates a condition where executives need to justify their failures and decision by saying “I picked something popular I swear! Economically it made sense!” And again. The thing about these three arguments is that Hulk understands the human element at play. We set release dates before we even have films on the page. but Hulk’s entire point is that the errors of development are not coming from a lack of effort. but lack of understanding of what is most important. Hulk can guarantee it’s nothing compared to the boon you get from locking down a great script. And doing so will likely extinguish the very thing you need for your film to succeed. 5. ancillary incomes. it seems like every single thing we produce is either a sequel. and franchising is the best way to make long-term money. but instead is a direct reaction to the last one. but seriously people. a good story. the human angle on that is understandable. It cannot be a checklist of marketing points. because we’re looking at all the wrong things. working with existing properties is the new reality of corporate filmmaking culture. But the complete system-wide misunderstanding of deciding what kinds of storytelling to embrace is not understandable. The main reason this happens is more industry B. or based on another thing. Hulk knows that everyone is really trying to make a good movie and all that.then doesn’t that mean your central interest should be getting your audience to come back a second time? What would be the key to doing such a thing? Oh yeah. Drew McWeeny even wrote a great piece about how we are now in the age of fan-fic. And because we don’t see it. As such. we have one of the guys running Disney telling the press that audiences don’t care about story and that "only set-pieces matter." And then he can't figure out why nobody really liked Tron. but actually get to work with those very properties that inspired us in the first place. And don’t let anyone tell you different. They do it for valid marketing reasons (meaning it spikes the awareness numbers because people are already familiar with the thing itself). And the problem is that whatever the advantage of a good release date is." The script matters. then a good story told well is secretly still the business model - we're just not seeing it. you make a good first movie. like. how is this not obvious? After all. . He delves into how we no longer have to look at our influences and appropriate them into our own original story. Storytelling needs room to embrace narrative. You still need to know how to tell an original story.And here's the thing about that.. television. It is your job to make the unoriginal seem original and fresh. Anarchism. Hulk wishes Hulk could promise you all the fruits of success. Or at least it can't hurt. After all. Now. And you learn how to do that by learning to write an original story first. novelization. it goes back to the inspiration angle all the same: what is it about the property that draws you? And from there you tell the story that interests you with the details and iconography of the known property. And in order to prove that you are a good writer you need to prove that you can write an original. what the hell do you do when you’re trying to write the damn thing? .. And if you can come to a place of expertise. the question then becomes: can you make it interesting? Can you make it engaging to an audience? Can you make the world come to life in a fully realized way? Can you make it come alive even for the people who don’t know the property? Can you make it universal? And you just don't appropriate story by way of point-by-point adaptation. Because if you want to be a working screenwriter this day and age. So believe it or not. And your success utterly depends on it. then that cool original script you wrote is not necessarily about trying to “get it made” (though that would obviously be awesome). Nolan didn't make Batman for adults because it was merely "gritty. and if you want to pursue screenwriting or some kind of career in film. So all Hulk can promise you is this: if you understand stories and screenplays. it's about proving that you are a good writer. And from the very start. it will be tremendously valuable to everyone around you. all the accolades your creative soul deserves." He made it for adults by making a Batman movie that was about interesting adult-minded concepts. . So those are 6 things Hulk wishes Hulk knew over a decade ago. Symbols.. You make it your own. then no matter what path you end up following the information contained within this piece will still be of value to you. too. He took the Batman iconography and married it to ideas and characterizations that interested him. It’s Still Not About "Getting Things Made" Hulk’s talked a lot about the industry in this section and that was largely to get it out of the way. compelling story. So this book is really just about what you can control. 6. But Remember. Even with the films that are based on other properties or characters.. You have to understand exactly how an original story works and how to integrate film structure into your work. but there are so many things that go into getting something made that have nothing to do with writing. It's a separate topic. It matters more than anything. City politics. And by doing that he transcended the property through the power and know-how of original storytelling. Hulk said that this book was about writing itself and trying to become a better writer. or media. instead with the nakedly precise way of how they are meant to be used. After part four. please understand there is very much a purpose to all of this.” because the word implies a certain purposeful function. Too many screenwriting books give you a “set way” on how to do things and say “all good scripts do this!” Hulk is going to give you more power than that. Meaning James Cameron essentially prints you a guide for making entirely functional movies. sometimes they are small devices.1 The Law Of Cause And Effect . they make up for in 100% functionality. Hulk will follow up with structural advice. It’s about understanding the function of each of these ideas so that you can best apply them to their full potential. they are anything but cynically made. And while they do not reach the highs of our best cinematic art. This is not about Hulk telling you how a story must be. and device. Sometimes they are large-scale ideas. A story can be so much more than a list of set plot points. So let’s get started! 7. and finally Hulk will give the key to putting it all together. it’s no surprise they are rousing successes. sometimes they are background work needed to get you in the right place. And what they lack in subtlety. And that means knowing it inside and out. Your instinct will either be to adhere to this functionality or to shake it off. And so while Hulk will discuss each of the following concepts in depth. But Hulk assures you the key to transcending mere functionality is understanding how to turn that simplicity into something far more nuanced. And better yet. But Hulk argues that you must understand it either way. So Hulk wants you to understand the mechanisms of writing so that you can best apply them in any way you wish. but Hulk can assure you that the relative success of both Titanic and Avatar is a testament to the power of conventional narrative. Hulk wants you think of these ideas as “mechanisms. The only thing that Hulk can impress upon you at this time is that while these are largely guidelines of narrative convention… they matter. Hulk just talked about James Cameron’s last two films and Hulk isn’t sure how you might feel about them. You have to transcend it. then screenplay formatting advice. You can’t just reject conventional narrative. This is about unlocking your own storytelling power. He blazes right past nuance and utilizes every single valid archetype. The man is a testament to functionality. trope. but not in a hollow way. But every time. Part Four - - How To Approach A Screenplay - Conceptually So let’s get away from the broadest possible ideology one needs to write and zero in on some more specific ideas / guidelines / rules / whatevers that will help you develop your story/screenplay. but almost none of them gives you any insight to how those things actually work or why. Stories are built on that simplest of mechanisms. but finds that to be a misguided approach. They think if it looks like the thing. and ends. In fact. Hulk would argue that a lot of our conceptual understanding of stories deals more with what they look like. Other screenwriting books will tell you where to put act breaks. or tell you how to wow a potential buyer. Believe it or not.When we think about a story it’s amazing how much we don’t think about how it functions. Hulk would argue that most problems in movies come from the fact that people mistake form for function. They are simply mistaking form for function. No one asks: how does an act break affect an audience? What is an act break anyway? What is the reader experiencing on a dramatic level? Why can some movies break established “rules” whereas others can’t? These questions are not concerned with texture. It’s why studios manufacture excitement in filmmaking style instead of manufacturing it from story. They link scenes together. middles. 7. Constantly. Cause and effect lend meaning to events. Nor are they about hitting familiar beats and doing certain things by certain page counts and filling in certain commonalities. It’s about set-ups and pay-offs. then it must be the thing… they are wrong. if it acts like the thing. Cause and effect are the linking of your chain. Because it’s time to take function back from form. Heck. it’s why we get so many movies that are nothing more than blind copycats of another. When you start crafting a story and characters. the kind of thinking akin to “Vampires are so hot right now!” when that’s so not the mechanism that is making any of those films work. It’s why we get plot turns that don’t fit the kind of movie the filmmakers want to make. They give wholeness to seemingly separated ideas. which directly affect us. Stories are driven by certain core mechanisms that cause perceptible changes. Perpetually.2 Empathy Is Your New Best Friend. And it’s why we get so many movies that try to put their value in the texture of the film without understanding the purpose or effect of any of it. stories don’t function in terms of beginnings. if it feels like the thing. They make a story a story. there is something so crazy important that you must always keep it in the back of your mind: there is no single force on this planet more powerful than . People assume these surface things are the reason these films work. This is critical. That is cinematic function and no single concept is more important than the following statement. middles and ends. Stories are defined by cause and effect. It’s about information followed by dramatic consequence. And it means they don’t actually understand storytelling. It’s about action and reaction. This causes that and that causes this and so on and so forth. they are concerned with how the mechanisms function. they simply have beginnings. or give you methods on writing endearing characters. Vividly. the proverbial viewer. . But way more seriously.. but with the important people in our lives. but the single universal truth of humanity's survival. And part of that grouping is what Hulk would like to suggest is the obvious yet critical truth that empathy is what allows human beings to bind together in any meaningful way. How does Galactus get defeated? It’s because Alicia Masters appeals to the Silver Surfer's sense of empathy. it is the intrinsic reality of empathy. and war.that of empathy. lofty. And yet it's stunning how often this realization passes us by.. empathy is also the very thing that involves an audience and keeps their attention. Seriously. depravity. It hooks into their bones on a visceral level. And unless we're dipping into some schadenfreude or something. Empathy is the foundation of culture and it is wholly embodied by the notion of storytelling itself. and build great big things as a group. And that is because the far-reaching value of human empathy is what Hulk considers not just a great universal truth. You’ll have to excuse the naive-sounding loftiness of the following statement. Meaning empathy isn't just a nice thing to have in life. Whoa. Hulk knows your likely counter already: “Oh yeah. but give Hulk a chance to explain here. bitches. irrigate as a group. and friends. It is the reason a movie is experienced instead of watched. It’s our true nature. empathy is the most single powerful tool at a writer's disposal. Not just with strangers. families. It gives the audience rooting interest and perspective. but here goes: In an effort to be attuned and grounded human beings. but a wholly necessary function. It is our empathy that allowed our society to best survive and declaring anything else is a complete obfuscation of truth. as is the fact that we realized it was easier to kill a mammoth as group. kindergarten-level truths that stare us right in the face. Empathy. it is even what gives us our capacity for joy and laughter. Hulk? Well what about Galactus! Galactus is totally the most powerful!!!!” Pssssh. To Hulk. farm as a group. Which means it's why we survive as a species. Even in a world containing crime. So it should be no surprise that when it comes to our movies. To paraphrase David Foster Wallace: The basic existence of empathy is why most of us don't spend every second of the day clubbing each other over the head and stealing each other's groceries.. which causes him to join the Fantastic Four and defeat his former master! Empathy. that it is downright remarkable we haven’t blown ourselves up in nuclear war? It can’t just be some simple matter of logic. Even this silly Galactus example illustrates that pretty damn well (it’s no accident that it’s one of the great comic book sagas). Movies are unique in that they allow a person to actually participate in the old cliché of . It's what allows us to love our partners. . it is empathy that allows us to sometimes refrain from those very things. do you ever think about the fact that with all the madness in the world. we sometimes dig so deeply into the minutiae and relativity of the human experience that we sometimes miss or forget the simple. That statement may reek of hyperbole. the foil of that issue. Especially because finding emotional . or having parents that "just don't understand!" or. Which isn’t to say there aren’t useful ideas to be gleaned. It's the emotions we identify with. The funny thing is this old saying was turned into a popular screenwriting book called Save the Cat in which the author created a philosophy of “saving the cat” followed by creating a story around 15 central beats amidst about 40 smaller beats. Hulk is going to turn your attention to an old adage that you can make an audience care just by threatening to "kill the kitten. And empathy can actually be established through struggle more than anything else. It is not about sympathy or likeability. conflict-based level. not the specifics of the predicament. It’s such a massive. even-handed reduction of story that Hulk… Hulk just can’t even. They use it to engage the audience. You don't actually need to threaten to kill a kitten in the film (unless you wrote The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo or something). trying to raise bratty kids. not because we all grew up as moisture farmers on Tatooine (feel free to use this example any time someone tells you they can’t get into a movie or television show because the characters come from an economic or regional situation that is different than theirs. You don’t necessarily want to put a character on a pedestal. Hulk should admit that Hulk clearly doesn’t think a whole lot of the book. Meaning you have the main character “save the cat” - simply do something nice - and instantly the audience is on their side.walking a mile in another man's shoes. but isn't that kind of amazing? A great filmmaker uses empathy as their fuel. You don’t want them to be flawless. That’s it. But now that we know empathy is important." Note: this is just a saying. oft-experienced sorts of things: like spilling coffee on yourself. but as an across-the-board approach it misunderstands some core concepts of narrative and dramatic function and then is hopelessly reductive with others. But the author used the danger created by the philosophy and translated it into a way to introduce the main character. This is wrong-headed. you want to engage on an emotional. And Hulk truly loves that the thing that enables humanity to function is the same exact thing that enables movies to work! Nothing could be more appropriate for Hulk's favorite medium. Instead. the book goes on to imply all movies work on this same structural level. Which is done through any of these rather human. either. you want them to have this very relatable texture or context which lets the audience say "I totally recognize and sympathize with that inclination!” Notice Hulk said inclination and not "situation. Empathy is about the translation of feeling." because people make that mistake too. the question then becomes: how the heck do we use it? For that. It’s a momentary dramatic tactic. So let’s start this discussion off on the right foot: empathy is not about having your characters do nice things. You don’t want them to be unflinchingly cool. All it meant was that you take some obvious thing for your audience to empathize with (cute kitten!) and you put it in some kind of horrible danger and instantly the audience is involved in your movie. Basically. We identify with Luke Skywalker because he dreams of something bigger and his guardians won’t let him do what he wants to do. The issue is that it actually butchered what the “kill the kitten” adage was actually about. Worse. At this point. We take it for granted. Manipulation becomes a problem when it becomes too obvious. should be to find the right balance of how to use it. then let’s talk about Indiana Jones. Hulk will get into it more specifically in the sections to come. Notice that none of these predicaments are quite as extreme as “killing a kitten” even if the sentiment and intention is the exact same. And meanwhile they think likeability amounts to not having your characters do bad things. Devin Faraci wrote: “Manipulation is the essential center of cinematic art. In his review of Steven Spielberg’s Warhorse. It’s a wide spectrum. you will end up creating some real shitty drama. we love him because he's constantly fucking up and barely making his way out of a crisis. but please understand that the two ideas are not the same thing in the slightest. the writer.” which doesn’t have to be as ready-made and simple as it would seem. There will be obstacles in trying to do so. It can be cloying. but a lot of audiences will feel like the narrative is boxing them in.bonds from differing cultural situations is the purpose of storytelling and shit). And that’s because a device as extreme as killing a kitten can come off as totally manipulative to an audience. there are a lot of people in the filmmaking industry who confuse "empathy" with the aforementioned "likeability. What does that mean. We don't love Indiana Jones because he's perfect or an unstoppable heroic badass. Everyone has a different threshold for this. Don’t believe Hulk? Well. the main takeaway for you. It can be insincere. but basically you should try to create conflicts and dire situations that directly impact or comment on the character and story at hand and are not conflicts shoved in cheaply there just to get the audience on the hero’s side. Indiana Jones is one of Hulk’s favorite topics of discussion because both the character and the movies highlight so many great things that modern films forget to do. some recoil at the slightest hint of overt manipulation.” And given that our collective audience has a huge range of responses to manipulation. Sadly. telling them how to feel and think. The device may still work." This mistake is certainly understandable (even Save The Cat endorses this kind of thinking). Every choice made in a good film - from story to casting to music to editing - is based on eliciting some sort of reaction or feeling from the audience. when the fingers pulling your strings become too insistent. exactly? Well. this grave misunderstanding about empathy and likeability is responsible for the legions of doormat main characters that movie audiences are treated to time and time again. And thus some people will resent it when a movie does that. But this empathetic connection is the heart of crafting characters that we call the “audience surrogate. He's afraid of things! He has false confidence! He frequently . Every good filmmaker is aware of what they are trying to express through the manipulations of editing or score or performance. This assumption is counterproductive because without having a character ever do a wrong or fallible thing. And Hulk feels like the biggest key in doing that is to be sure that there are real character motivations behind the manipulative devices. Empathy is about relation and understanding. Seriously! Fallibility is sympathetic. while others openly get emotional about Volkswagon commercials featuring children. In fact. Hulk believes you have to understand the “why” of your approach because there is a real contrarian tendency these days to go the aforementioned jerk-ass direction just because it seems different or rebellious. for comedy and dark comedy purposes these characters can indeed work pretty well. Don't just make the jerk-ass main character a shortcut to being funny or edgy without any sort of real thematic exploration. Like the fact that the rudeness is actually meant to distance the audience from the character in order to illuminate some kind of larger point or truth about human behavior. or they may not. Whatever you do. There is a wide spectrum of approach and all Hulk wants you to do is have a real concrete reason for why you are going in either direction. and dramatic ideas that will breed the empathy or dissonance you seek. just don’t let it be because it’s easy. And this point can be black-as-night funny and darkly poetic (think the Coen Brothers). Admittedly. Think about it. Hulk has sat here and waxed philosophical about empathy for quite some time. A truth the character may learn. The rebellious inclination is fine if it’s what drives you. And it’s that achingly human fallibility that makes him the perfect action hero. we empathize with Indiana Jones. And with that. Do it because you’re trying to expose something real with it. Hulk will say it now and say it forever. Go back to that inspiration of what compels you. Ground yourself in it.. Ask yourself bold questions: What is it that makes this character good? What is it that makes them troubled? Wait. But the key is just to have an understanding of that approach and what it is accomplishing in terms of narrative and thematic intent. Hulk truly believes that empathy is the most powerful weapon at your disposal and how you use it is up to you. How does this edge and rebelliousness fit in? What is the point to it? How does it work as a dramatic mechanism? Asking these questions will point you in the right direction. but Hulk urges you to be sure there is a point to it. Now. situations. Beware The Lure Of Indulgence . look to Indy for inspiration! The other main obstacle you may find is that there is a peculiar modern tendency to go the other way with empathy and test the audience by seeing how much of a dick a character can be. better yet. a good deal of what you have to do is make it engaging by exploring the human condition..shows fear! As a result. You can threaten to kill the kitten and be quite successful at it. These sort of jerk-ass antiheroes litter the screen nowadays (particularly on TV). Whether you go empathetic in the traditional way or take the jerk-ass distancing route. conflicts. or you can bite your thumb at the very concept of empathy all together. 8. we don’t just watch Indiana Jones. let's get specific with an example! Ask yourself: why do we like Tony Soprano? Why do we not like Tony Soprano? What details about this character's life make him so interesting? And doing this will set you up to understand the kinds of dilemmas. But there's a whole art and nuance to it. or it can be grating as all hell (the sometimes unsuccessful work of Neil LaBute). but that's because there is no basic. truthful shortcut Hulk can say to make you understand the nuances of the concept. but this is the sort of indulgence that can lead to some really unsavory stuff too. On the other end is pornography. If you’re being indulgent then you have to contextualize it. or why we tell stories in the first place. or mutual understanding. And the show is perhaps the most indulgent yet well-made piece of entertainment that Hulk has ever seen. That’s not the problem. hard hours and they need something that makes them happy or elated or scared or thrilled. the problem is that it might not be doing humanity any favors. They work long. which represents the values of giving people the ideas they need or confronting them with inalienable truths. Every moment is . If storytelling is really the best way to pass on truths that help people. either. In fact. as it is not the intention. sometimes the empathetic effect is so transportive that it effectively allows us to escape. It’s about reinforcing stereotypes and feelings that are underserved. It is about blindly rewarding. Hulk readily admits that it can be really funny at times and has a few good performances and all that stuff that makes for good TV shows. then Hulk is sorry if Hulk is coming off as mean or something. And that’s because there is a serious masturbatory element to that escapism. then it's all well and good. Since empathy is what connects us and stories are the most powerful way of achieving that. Actually. But when you are engaging the indulgent aspects of storytelling. On one end there is pure art. Even if they don’t care if the media is doing them any favors. In fact. Some people don’t get why that’s such a big deal. And at that point. If you like the show. The problems with the series are about the deep-tissue purpose (which happens to be the subject at hand). You can easily get an audience member to think "I’m a hero saving the world!” Or “Yay! I get the girl!" and that’s wonderful and elative. While the idea is to always strike some kind of balance. but Hulk is talking about the great spectrum of media experience. It’s about placating and not communicating. You have to display some elements that go beyond that and confirm the artistic purpose and human condition. regardless of import. From the onset of creating your story. Otherwise you end up writing lifestyle-porn like Entourage. it is also important to understand what is really happening with the audience and to take responsibility of your message. then what does it say if we’re passing on unhelpful. Hulk is positive that if you ask most people why they like any form of entertainment it’s because of that escape. Entertainment’s purpose has been served. And there is real value to providing that for people. your “storytelling” is basically the facilitation of mental masturbation. It's just about massaging the id. or the human condition. Hulk wants you to ask yourself one simple question: “Am I making art? Or am I making pornography?” This may sound extreme. They think that as long as it makes people happy. it’s one of your chief responsibilities as a storyteller. which represents the individual’s indulgence of strictly base needs. The kind of stuff that has nothing to do with larger truths. let’s talk about Entourage in detail because it sort of highlights these problems perfectly. But as a creator. you have to be cautious and thoughtful with that power. ego-massaging garbage? This is not to overly criticize the desire to entertain. one of the biggest mistakes in all of writing is to give into the most indulgent aspects of storytelling through the vicarious power of cinema. As an audience. lie back. some really good films just go balls out and make the most obviously indulgent decisions. the audience can implicitly understand that the authors are criticizing or laughing at it. Hulk understands. In fact. You just have to beware how it can be indulgent. and let it feel good… hence: lifestyle porn. we understand what Salinger thinks about everything that Holden is saying and doing. Look. 9. It enables cinematic satire and irony. Not to get too specific too soon. Value The Consistency Of Character Motive The one thing Hulk hopes to impress on you over the course of this book is that. So ask yourself a more specific question: “Is this scene accomplishing an artistic purpose? Or a pornographic purpose?” And just be sure the answer is wherever you want it to be on the spectrum of media experience. And Hulk’s problem is that the lens of something like Entourage is not trying to provide any distance. In fact. you actually have a great deal of flexibility depending on the kind of film you are making. The dramas are non-dramas and they readily resolve plots with purposeless deus ex machina instead of active decisions. Which is not only a lazy approach to indulgence. It’s looking to the audience and saying “This is ridiculous. isn’t it?” And with that distance. but it’s important for Hulk to be honest about all the ways that empathy can manifest onscreen. it aids in the indulgence. It's just a lens. It is the fundamental building block of storytelling. but the way these hyper-stories work is that the absurdity and un-reality of the presentation actually creates a sense of distance. Because ultimately. contrary to a great deal of screenwriting books that give you set formulas. we empathetically place ourselves into Entourage.about living vicariously through people. Even if Salinger technically wrote in Holden Caulfield’s voice. But that leaves a rather obvious question: With the litany of story options available. Hulk is not implying that all movies have to have some Hallmark message tied into them because that would be super lame. but supported through a lazy approach to storytelling and conflict. You have to think of the presentation like taking on the view of the omniscient observer. what makes a story choice a good one or a bad one for your particular narrative? Hulk would argue that the best way to decide if those story choices are worth it is to first start with another obvious question: "Would the character actually do that?" This question matters so damn much because when a character onscreen does something they totally . awareness of what empathy actually is and how it works will be the key to making all of your creative decisions. It advocates the mental masturbation. but some movies embrace wholly unreal narratives (think of something like Crank). It is a show that actively rewards and enforces indulgence and ego-massaging at every step. This is all getting a bit complicated. Hulk just believes that good entertainment takes indulgence and appropriates it into some larger purpose. and will inform everything about how you want to tell your story. They make a subconscious decision to say “I’m no longer with you buddy! I’m just watching you do the wrong thing!” Notice Hulk didn’t say “what the audience would do” because Hulk is not talking about literal right or wrong here or personal disposition. it’s a good thing Hulk brought up Tony Soprano because it also highlights how these decisions are not so cut and dried. Now. it has to make sense. But then we would definitely not be happy with Tony if he killed some random teenager in a gruesome fashion. And when they are suddenly pushing their boundaries (because all main characters should push their boundaries) it has to feel like that growth is earned. but we understand this is something that fits within Tony's psychology and we accept it. But the lesson for you should be the same (Hulk is going to underline for effect): If you’re having a character commit an inconsistency. specifically the inconsistency of character motive. You are lying. Hulk actually feels that Chase was one of the most thematically responsible storytellers to grace our televisions. was a master of playing with this moral line and had all these amazing ways of bringing Tony to the edge of that acceptance of what he would do. then you are essentially making your characters appear insincere. Tiger Woods was someone who was popularly thought of as the paragon of hard work. you should be bringing that inconsistency to the forefront of the conflict. He always looked for meaning to erupt from Tony's choices. and have arcs. We want these characters to expand. The narrative we give life is not far away from the narrative we give stories. but the fact that everything about his characters had weight and meaning. Think about it like this: we would "follow" Tony Soprano as he killed one of his rival mobsters in a gruesome fashion. What’s kind of funny (and rather telling) is how this question of "character inconsistency" even applies to how we regard our real-life figures as well. It may not be something we would do ourselves. Hulk is talking about what the character would and wouldn't do. Then he was caught cheating with multitudes of women and the public was collectively appalled. For example. And that would make us angry with the storytelling. Character consistency matters so much to our culture and thus it has to matter to our storytelling too. That responsibility never had anything to do with simple moralizing. but the story needs to give them wholly valid reasons to do so. The inconsistency can’t be a minor occurrence. Contrary to popular belief. The manipulation will show. it becomes the action that most alienates the audience. The show’s creator. So when a character does something in your story. when Charles Barkley was caught doing the same exact thing (and super-drunk driving to boot!) we just shook it off and said "That's just Charles being Charles!" The takeaway can’t be clearer: we basically accept people as long as they are who we think they are. It was just incredible. While both killings are morally wrong to us. David Chase. And the audience will think of them the same way they think of Tiger Woods. and generic nice-guy-ness. It has to add fuel to your drama and make your character motives clear. We .wouldn't do. it has to be the point! And as the point it has to be built to and dealt with extensively. only one of them is inconsistent in terms of what the character would do. But the reason it worked was because he was always willing to deal with the consequences of doing so. We saw him as a sham and it made us furious. It could be the kind of plot-based reasons that would awake something already in the character's soul. that’s the only thing that matters. the audience. And if you don't give the characters good reasons to change. He always brought that question of the character ’s morality being skewed to the forefront. change. success. But as a counterpoint. Remind yourself of them constantly.000 words to get there! Hurray! Character trees are basically a handy way to organize the details of your characters and give you the right ideas on how to make them dynamic. But when you do that you have to do it responsibly. But even for truncated screenplays. As such. but because. And just because the perfect idea of the movie and its intentions exist in your head does not mean that is what comes through on the page or screen. but it’s obviously pretty tricky.. Go where the characters have to go. as the creator. tangible reasons to do them. They don't know what is inside your head. Cinema is an effort to communicate. You can teach yourself French and think you have a mastery. . but it has to be sincere. who only gets to learn about the character through the very different lens of experiencing the film. You still have to do what makes sense for your character. Hulk understands that we all want to explore storytelling in as adventurous a way as possible. because they are the ones who have the objective information. You have to account for changes with real. They really can be an invaluable tool for helping you create fully-realized characters.will look at the storyteller like they just wanted the character to fit some point of the story they wanted to tell. Ask how is the audience seeing this moment? What do they know by this point? Ask what would the characters really do? What are their motivations? What do they want? What do they need? Are they smart enough to do that? Are they kind enough to do that? Are they mean enough to do that? You may like the effect of a decision. it is often hard to separate oneself from the power and control over what you are writing.. they are actually much better at reading who the characters are and their capacities for good and bad. Hulk knows that Hulk is making this sincere character thing sound like it's an easy thing to do. Not just because it is difficult to balance all the conflicting elements. but you won’t know if you can actually communicate until a bunch of native French speakers can understand what you are saying. not where the obliquely related grand story wants them to go. As such. In the end. But to do that.. when writing it’s important to ground yourself in the capacities of what the audience will perceive. it doesn't work like that. Remove yourself. We want to surprise the audience and be unconventional. but think about it through the analogy of language. Hulk knows a few of you might find that idea to be silly. How do you decide what your characters will do? Better yet. Character Trees! Sweet! Actual methods of implementation! It only took Hulk 10. the value of pre-thought out character details can do so much for you.. You instinctively think "Of course the character would do that! That’s what I’m making them do and I want to do it! I have it all in my head!” But to the audience. They only see what comes out from the story. especially in television and novels where the depths and histories of your characters can be explored in a coherent way. how do you even decide who your characters really are? 10. And the audience can smell that manipulation from a mile away. Particularly for a writer to see in his or her own work. this one is the most important because this is where we look at all the body parts listed and piece them together to see how they work as an actual psychology. your heart and groin will really help with your plotting and character objectives! D) Throat – How does the person sound? Not just the literal voice. What are their defining memories? What is their pathology? The crown essentially allows you to answer the question: . thus building a complete person. The groin covers all the things about the character that are born out of impulse and desire. attempt at presentation. And so when it comes to your dramatic structure. notice how often the groin with its wants and impulses leads to conflict whereas the heart leads to resolution. like physical details and facts. E) Left cheek – What is their intelligence? How does it manifest itself? What is their practicality? How do they solve problems? Basically. And that’s when you know you’re creating a complex person with a conscious mind and a subconscious id. exposing the "leftbrained" abilities. G) Crown – Now. You start at the bottom of the feet and go all the way up to the mind. but how does the person project themselves? How do they try to come off to other people? How do they actually come off to other people? What is their "surface vibe" as they say? The throat is basically their posture. the left cheek is their methodology. The feet are essentially all wholly palpable details to draw on. C) Heart - What does the person need? What will make them a more functional person? Do they need to find self-confidence? Do they need to provide for their family? Do they need to find their humility? The heart is essentially all the things they secretly need in their life to make them a better person. Note: notice that the heart is extremely different from the groin and what the character wants. F) Right cheek - What is their idealistic / artistic capacity? What is their conscience and morality? What is their un-practicality? What is their spirituality? The right cheek is their ethics and soul and exposes their "right-brained" abilities. So when developing the heart of your character you should understand that you are likely developing it around your ending catharsis (or tragedy or lack of catharsis. which are often misguided. It’s also where you can start to piece together what really matters about this character to your story. and affectation. To wit: A) Feet – What does the person look like? What are the facts of their family history? Where have they lived? Where did they go to school? Were they poor? Do they have tattoos? Who is their best friend? What is their occupation? There are a million pertinent questions. Simply put: since character motivation is so important.Hulk was once introduced to a smart way of keeping track of character trees by using human body parts. B) Groin – What does the person want? How does their sexuality manifest itself? What about them is base and puerile? Greed? Approval? Esteem? Gluttony? You can basically run toward their approach to the seven deadly sins here. depending on the story you’re telling). It examined all the ways his wants. Combine Them! Points 11 through 15 concern the effect of real-life inspiration on our writing process. then ideological. but you have to be careful with it. Every benefit of a method will have a downside. character trees work so well in making all your characters truly different from one another. Hulk will bring you back to Tony Soprano because it’s such a great example of how a popular character ’s psychology was brought to the forefront of the show’s storytelling. they really are a great technique for developing your characters and the worlds they inhabit. This is also not the case! For one. That is also not true! Instead characterization is more about the texture of how characters behave in dramatic context. however. Try to work it out on your own! All that being said. Like all things. For instance. and then amalgamate those details into an actual character psychology. Know that you can always change it to enhance the psychology or find something more appropriate to your story! A more common problem. Better yet. it is about balance. So even if the sanctity of character trees are not the be-all-end-all of your writing process. Being extremely singular with your influences can be deeply problematic for… well… a variety of reasons. Because let's face it. For example. then get emotional. our friends and loved ones are a huge influence on our thoughts and experiences. So don't go overboard with your trees! You will notice a running theme in this book is that of achieving balance with all these devices and helpful guides. is that a writer will feel like they need to cram in all the details of the tree in order to make the character seem fully-realized. You start factual. . Who is this character? Ta-da! That’s it! That’s how you do a character tree. Hulk is going to give an honest warning: beware the dangers of character trees too! And that is because creating such an abundance of information before you’ve actually figured out your story can also lead to a lot of extraneous bullshit. soul. the writer can feel like they are “locked in” to those details after creating the fully-textured trees. Don't Base Your Characters On One Person. methodology. and history were shown through both his conscious and subconscious existence. One great possible homework exercise for the more studious among you is to take a richly textured character in existing media and try retroactively filling out the character tree for them. needs. And they make a great continual resource to fall back on during your writing process! 11. posture. And getting locked into any one form of character methodology will make you lose the organic qualities a script needs to feel natural. It’s so simple and to the point. It is a great way to build fully textured people with whole lives unto themselves. Whereas other forces (that Hulk will soon get into) should be driving your story! For two. it makes the assumption that the details themselves do the heavy lifting of characterization. There's no real way not to incorporate them into our writing in some form or other. But completely ignoring character backgrounds will make your story seem paper thin. it is more there for you as a comfort and support feature. So what to do when real-life people are inspiring you anyway? What to do if you recognize a truth in this real-life person that you want to explore it? How do you approximate the influence of real people into your script in a more organic fashion? How do you make them into something far more organic and unique? Hulk has a surefire trick to make your characters more interesting: combine them. Hulk’s not sure the character choice there really works for what you’re trying to set up later-" Jimmy: "But this is a real person!" Hulk: “Okay. The other was an Indian student with an interesting family story who was trying to approximate some kind of fun experience in college. A long. long time ago Hulk stumbled into this dynamic (which Hulk assures you is not new). funny kid who loved partying and was wasting away his parents’ college money. Hulk did it back in the day too. but-” Jimmy: “But this really happened!” It’s a very easy thing do as a young writer. Know this: just because a character is real doesn't make them feel real. And what actually matters is whether or not the action makes sense for the character as presented. you'd be shocked how quickly the character is brimming with depth and possibilities. you will absolutely encounter the same problem every single semester: Hulk: "Listen Jimmy. They can only sense the information and characterization that is given. suddenly the character has a brand new psychology! Seriously. In fact. The first was a gregarious. And if you've ever been in or taught creative writing students. An audience cannot implicitly sense what you know about this real person. If anything it’s something we all need to get over.) And then it just dawned on Hulk: combine them! Wouldn't you know it? But suddenly the character was leaping off the page. the better off you will be. it is hence meaningless. (Note: this movie was not Van Wilder. You have that one friend who is really interesting? And that other friend who is really interesting. His "Indian-ness" no .Like did you know that it’s surprisingly easy to tell when a young writer is basing a character on someone they know? Hulk sees this all the time in scripts and the reason it sucks is that the writer makes the assumption that the character's "reality" will do all the heavy lifting and provide the needed texture. But if you combine the two of them? And you create a shared wealth of history and wants and needs and backgrounds to draw on? Well. too? If you try to write them individually they always have a tendency to come off as flat and wooden. Because the sooner you can come to the realization that the person’s reality doesn't matter for your narrative. Hulk was once working on a script in film school in which two of the side-characters Hulk kind of based on real life folks were coming off flat and one-dimensional. and unless that information actually conveys something with meaning. ” You ever notice how real life can have this strange way of feeling distinctly "unreal"? After all.” And of course. So Hulk started to do this with pretty much every single real life inspiration. and stories whether they be hilarious. or mundane. Combining them completely revolutionized this character's story. combine three characters if it makes sense! Part of the reason this seems so counterintuitive is that we like to think that we see the people in our lives as complex. and it worked like gangbusters. No. horrifying. Better yet. nonfiction stories are usually filled with the grandest elements and extremes of human behavior. like the mundane heroism of getting up and going to work every day. but just go "Oh that's just so and so!" and so often we can’t help but define them in terms of how they affect us. And the great thing about this methodology is that it is not just true of characters… 12. It also made the problems with his traditional Indian parents feel much more textured instead of obligatory. How To Filter Your Real Life Into Storytelling Story inspiration doesn't just come from the characters we create. It makes you think about what is appropriate. It became a fascinating over-compensation. and they very much are. it creates new meaning to all those details. But the same idea applies: you can’t be lazy and assume the reader knows the event in question is true just because the author does. And it absolutely breeds three-dimensional characterization. but it becomes so much fun trying to find the neat combinations of people that actually fit together. And heck. Thus we must take these inspirations and events and filter them into real storytelling models and beats that make sense for dramatic purposes (we'll explore this in greater detail later in the structure section). the same lesson as point 11 applies: Just because it happened. Suddenly you’re not searching for “what’s there. experiences. and vice-versa - the party-guy suddenly felt so much more interesting and atypical of the alpha-male figure of Americana. And if you’re trying to tell a story where you’re interested in our most .longer defined him. our nonfiction is often immense and towering because we are naturally attracted to our extremes and grandest possibilities. You force them to be filtered through a prism of other characteristics and suddenly it removes their singularity. or doing what you need to do in order to feed your family. it comes from our own lives.” but instead “what makes sense. So what Hulk loves about this method is that it forces you to remove the singular way in which you think about the people around you. movies can often experience something Hulk calls “the true story complex. this device is not some one-size-fits-all thing you can do with any two characters. We look at them and rarely think of their totality. but believe it or not we have a tendency to still reduce them in our minds to their own kind of stereotypes of individuality. But again. doesn't make it feel real to an audience. Rarely do you see normalcies contained within them. And the gregarious party-going behavior became an interesting way for the Indian character to manifest his assimilation into American social culture. In fact. It gets you to make choices. It removed the stereotype of both characters. Think about it. the . Do Not Just Write The Story Of Your Life With The Lines You Wish You Said! Not only does it reek of amateur hour. Do you see the difference? When we impart a desire to correct the traumatic things that happen to us. And you are likely creating an insincere catharsis for only yourself. just take away one simple guideline: 13. but it’s more helpful to look at the kinds of tropes that are created by this “wish” dynamic: the infallible protagonists. And as an unintended consequence. A lot of you are trying to tell human stories about people who have faults and fail. It seems reasonable and necessary. we’re not letting the things that happen to us change us. "You're just working out your psychosis at everyone else's $8. it directly ties into Hulk’s previous warnings about indulgence. And there’s a sincere danger in doing so. Think about this most simple fact: the very reason we designate the entire genre as nonfiction is because we are doing something so “untrue” that we have to back it up with true-story-ism so the audience has to believe it. And really. you are not supplementing a universal experience for others. Hulk will now turn to another old adage about storytelling. But a lot of you aren’t. As Paul Thomas Anderson once put it. And quite often they teach us lessons and help us grow. We’re exacting revenge on our experiences instead of trying to show how they helped us grow. but drawing on real life really doesn't make your writing ring true. It may seem completely counterintuitive. You are excluding them. On the most basic level. In fact. fiction is built for what feels true. But why do we rally around the specificity so much? What experiences cause us to write certain non-functional details in our art? A lot of times.amazing feats then by all means have at it. But we have to be sure we are not the ones trying to teach our stories a lesson. We need a human experience to create a human experience. But why do we do it. Hulk could single out a host of romantic comedies and independent movies that are most guilty of this behavior. anyway? Why do we try to color our fiction with the overt specific details of our lives? It’s not a terrible inclination if you think about it. a lot of “true” elements have a funny way obscuring the thematic points you may want to make. And they can often fail to resonate with audiences. the not-so magic girlfriends who are just evil for no reason and are there to wreck the protagonist’s heart. To illustrate.50" (that should clearly be updated to 15 bucks). Hulk urges you to remember what Hulk is about to say. Hulk asked in the inspiration section “what compels you” and so often the experiences that hurt us are the ones that stick with us. The problem is that it’s so natural to believe that a personal story is inherently universal. the magic girlfriend characters who can do no wrong. We have to draw on experiences to have something to say about life. Meanwhile. the reason we do it is subconscious. They change our disposition. even if your eyes are glazing over and you have skimmed through every single other thing in this book. it really just leads to a lot of pure masturbatory writing. we’re still trying to change them… and really we’re just being petty. Heck. Instead. video game designers automatically programming their likenesses as the heroes. Even the most lauded masturbatory works call direct attention to the callousness of writing a masturbatory work. Hulk could go on and on. It’s human nature. But like every “rule” Hulk presents in this book. .fact that protagonists are always dudes. especially when you need to learn how to write other people first. and must ultimately embrace storytelling conventions to make those ideas resonate (even if one does so somewhat cheaply). It will teach you how to use empathy. at times he outright explains how insignificant it is and how it only helps the artist (this is the entire theme of Deconstructing Harry). You will be eschewing indulgence. And that film explains it better than Hulk ever could. Be sure it’s not just for you to work out your drama. and you won’t be living vicariously through them in your made-up universe. It will place you in the mind of the audience who doesn’t know this person. Hulk argues that picking a main character that feels distance to you in terms of experience or ethos can actually be a great learning tool. It takes a special kind of self-dissonance and the desire and will to eviscerate yourself in dramatic function. that they have the kinds of faults that aren’t really faults (“so and so never had any time for love!”). give us the tools to help work out our own. Go back and watch Kaufman and Jonze's Adaptation. masturbatory stuff Hulk alluded to above. And to further consider the import of what you are giving an audience. Do Not Write “Yourself” As The Main Character We always want to do it. It’s not that the storytelling can’t be done well this way. It’s about understanding the mechanism and reason we do something. So sure. Like with the best films in the oeuvre of Woody Allen. You’ll assume your protagonist is likeable. which is 100% about this entire concept. You will naturally be predisposed to cheat empathy and embrace posture. But Hulk swears to you if you’re a young writer it won’t be a helpful tool. You will shade experiences that make them seem bad to come out better. You will be assumptive. Trust Hulk on this one. It's all about how one cannot simply rely on the facets of truth and must search for beauty and truth and themes. you can tell the story of your life and present yourself as the main character. Give us an experience of empathy. Hulk keeps saying it (because it’s true).” Actually. There always has to be a purpose and reason for the inclusion. self-aggrandizing story purposed through the justification of “sincere experience. because you think you are inherently likeable. all of this is hinting at a pretty damn good rule that we can just use as extension: 14. but Hulk implores you to consider the reasons you are doing so. either. You will be best serving the purpose of storytelling. Tell a story. It just naturally skews toward all the indulgent. nor is writing a version of yourself as the main character impossible to do well… it’s just that it’s extremely difficult to do so. it’s not to say you can't make the story of your life work. he weaves the problems and hang-ups of his own masturbatory writing directly into the narrative. It’s just that it’s a terrible learning tool. It’s all a weird form of insincere. And this time it is the understanding that both reality and self-story do not automatically make for good fiction. writers turning the issues of the film and story into their own personal soapbox. Thus you will relate to them the way the audience does. Bridge gaps. but achieving balance is always the right instinct. it feels true. At first there was Malcolm’s hustling days. This works less well with a person's life. It’s actually a helluva problem. The first is to heavily layer on the conventions of narrative over the story. and inconsistent with the otherwise “realistic” tone of the film. and sure writers do their best to try and make it a story. does it? Often it just feels like stuff happening. And in doing so he creates a biopic that isn't just true. You make it feel just as tight as any fictional piece. So let’s just be upfront: Hulk has a great deal of reservations when it comes to the biopic as a film form. You be like Zodiac. all adding up to a much larger story. his meditative final days. it goes double for biopics and “true story” inspired films. Then his jail days. and much better with a specific event or time-frame. too. Then his period of learning (education montage!). so that the traditional storytelling elements do not feel half-assed. The stories in the film all have very specific narrative conventions. And often attempts to cram clear narrative devices or scene purpose or recurring themes into the story feel completely disingenuous. Because getting too close to real life is pretty complicated. So they do not feel inconsistent with the overall tone of the piece. In all these films you eschew or . especially when you start selling your story as “real”… 15. Hulk calls this the journo-cinematic route. You be like The French Connection. but each of them feels like its own specific little movie. You be like Contagion. Why is the form so difficult? Because recounting a life story tends to have nothing to do with how narratives actually work. shoehorned. He amplifies the facts cinematically. Lee fully embraced the principals of narrative at every turn so that the supposedly restricting "facts" became incredibly compelling. then. The writers will recount all the "greatest hits" in a person's life. So as a writer / filmmaker. The best example of heavy narrative layering done right is Spike Lee's incredible Malcolm X. The Biopic / Reality Complication If what Hulk just said is true for your fictional stories. He makes the film episodic. Even with made-up stories that still want to capture the texture of reality you can do this. This means you tell the story through the evolution of relevant details. but it doesn't ever end up feeling like one. you just have to be super confident that those narrative conventions actually fit the truth of the person too (otherwise you might just be making propaganda). Then his rising up into power days. The second option is to pretty much dismiss the concept of narrative all together and commit solely to the concept of accuracy. You be like Zero Dark Thirty. And ultimately. He expresses Malcolm's life through tried and true story tropes. He approaches each of Malcolm’s life events like little mini-movies. You be like All the President’s Men. believe it or not. There are way more sections than these. He doesn't change the facts. every human has events that change them and natural act breaks. as they tend to have a really high degree of difficulty and that always leads to several reoccurring problems with the form. you have two real options. Sure. There's so much propulsion and economy to each mini-story. To find Osama Bin Laden. It resisted all forms of stylization (there's a great anecdote where David Simon talks about a choice not to have the camera pan down to show an important detail because "The camera wouldn't know to do that. Always hope they could see it like Hulk does and see the event as the character. So where is the arc? Where is the character change we truly need in movies? The event becomes the character." .." Point being it was an unstylized. It absolutely blew Hulk's mind when Hulk first heard this idea. like. Sure. but this detail is revelatory. The actual human characters come in and out and should be entertaining and fullyrealized. neutral universe). Now. There’s often no central character journey. Their unbending fixation is there to serve the propulsion of the narrative. they still used perfect story . who drew on their real lives and experiences. That narrative is The Wire. It is harder for the audience to empathize. you may say to all this: “B-but Hulk! That can’t be right! Just two options?!? With nothing in the middle?!? There’s gotta be a way to split the difference. There's one option. Because the show also sticks so beautifully to the elements of narrative. They were just so damn good at grounding those narratives in the journalistic influences and blending all of it with a kind of muted un-cinematic texture. Even with all the show's fixation on detail. Everyone was like "The Wire is totally. particularly Greek drama structures. but you just always have to hope they stay engaged. but they have the space and clarity of intention). The problem is that option is so difficult to do that Hulk has only really seen one narrative perfectly capture it in the entirety of TV and film (novels are much better at it. there’s gotta be!!” Fine. whether fiction or nonfiction... but Hulk understands why it’s hard. there are still a lot of people in the traditional audience that can't relate to them. but the filmmaker just has to reconcile the fact that kind of plot-driven reality story is not for everyone. Even though these kinds of films are some of Hulk's favorites (and maybe yours as well). People often mistake The Wire for only having the journo-cinematic route and that's not accurate. To find Charnier. The character ’s drive help's fuel the film's drive. To find the Zodiac Killer.downplay the principals of narrative and character arcs to tell the story of "an event" through the fixation of detail. To understand and cure the disease. Hulk. the show was written by former journalists. To unlock Nixon's Watergate. usually through the character ’s fixation on the event itself! The first time Hulk realized that little nugget suddenly the entire plot-based film concept made so much sense. And they used those details in such a responsible way that it just seemed like the journalistic element was dominant. In all these real event films Hulk lists above. Yes. they are filled with characters that push through discovering the narrative itself. they might be missing out.. And that is you have to perfectly capture the sanctity of realistic detail and combine it with the ethos of character-driven story in complete and total harmony. but the film should be focusing on narrative propulsion. But that's only half the story. other than little subtle stuff. real man. It seems to fly in the face of all the character-centric stuff Hulk said earlier. but thankfully our research departments have gotten pretty damn good at this. for instance with Lost (which was an amazing show all things considered). But even then. perhaps there are some lessons to take away from it. “Hyperbole much. There is just such a wide range to how the audience treats verisimilitude.. Like this one: 16. but far more to do with the ideas Hulk has already mentioned regarding character consistency and thematic resonance. And if Hulk is being honest. you should be fully researched on the topic so that you are a mini-expert and will be ready to represent it as truthfully as possible in your story. then a lot of writers in this industry are guilty of being lazy.economy. Given #2: Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you don’t have a little flexibility. And Hulk will go into the following idea at great length later in the structure section. but that would ignore what Hulk sees as a rather complex issue. thematically loaded television show that has ever existed. The problem with talking about movies is that so often people are coming from different places when it comes to not just the effectiveness of your film but the “accuracy” of it too. it had a scientific element that was often lauded by casual viewers. We may never see anything like this show again. Like how often has it seemed that the writers have never used a computer and don't understand what the term "hacking" actually means? The ‘90s are an utter graveyard of techno-babble. Suddenly fans of the show were reading about electromagnetism and . just understand how hard it is to do cinematically. but writing a compelling narrative often doesn’t have that much to do with scientific accuracy and plot holes. It's The Wire. true story-ism and character-centric intention. What Hulk would actually argue is a far more valid topic when it comes to your research is upholding the spirit of accuracy. And if you're going to try to replicate it. And it got people excited about those concepts. if you’re going to try and split the difference between the influence of real.. They only used the level of journalistic detail they needed and the rest is traditional character arc and catharsis. Hollywood movies and glitzy televisions shows are filled with all sorts of nonsense. Hulk? Whatever. And in terms of theme it may be the single most socially-conscious. Research! Hulk could give you a simple note here of “do your research!” and be done with that. That would just be lazy. But just because those things are more important to making a good narrative doesn't mean that we shouldn't bother putting the effort in to make our films as accurate as possible (within reason). Given #1: Whatever the subject you are writing about. What does that mean? Well. the pursuit of real-life logic (and again. And Hulk thinks that this dishonest approach to portraying real-world professionalism has really bad societal consequences. An infinitesimally small portion of cases get a whiff of that kind of science aptitude and we’ve turned it into B-movie pulp. but the real problem is that they are doing so under the guise of realism and scientific accuracy. You just have to put the work in.. Look at CSI. And it is responsible for most of the good cop. Hulk’s not kidding. The problem is that some of them have taken to lying right through their freaking teeth when it comes to “the spirit” of the work. And sure. Perhaps the real boon of true research is how it can go on to inform so many great ideas and really flesh out your story. CSI is fun. Again. but in truth. they couldn’t abide. Simply put: audiences like to watch smart. There is quite simply a rift in audience needs with these things. Going back to David Simon. and Hulk would argue that it actually did a very good job upholding the interest and value of science. it was pretty much gibberish. there is some wiggle room here). really hard for them to watch the show. It’s what allowed us to access them. Generation Kill is compelling because all they tried to do with the narrative was create the most accurate depiction of life as a soldier in Iraq imaginable - and that was it. In truth. Don't believe Hulk? A lot of courts have stopped taking jurors if they are CSI fans. so understand that anything less than expertise will be viewed as such by certain people. talented people do their professional thing. seriously hardcore science friends and it was really. silly television with big reveals (they’ve patented the Act 4 to Act 5 double twist) and a hyper-stylized flare..Minkowski space and how those concepts fit into the larger themes… the problem was that when you examined the science up close. But to the hardcore. but Hulk . how those people really do their jobs. CSI experts are three scientists in a little lab nowhere near the action and there is usually a six-month waiting list for only the most high profile cases. It brings up a really difficult argument about the pursuit of narrative vs. but Hulk honestly thinks that audiences subconsciously respond to characters when they really know what to call things. they created a kind of detail-oriented truth that helped strike a chord with those of us looking in on the situation. Hulk doesn’t think this got in the way of making Lost a great show. esoteric details can actually give the air of veracity. And as such it creates a seriously damaging portrait of how policing actually works. but the show is the most dishonest look at solving crime imaginable. It is even utterly dishonest about the success rate of the techniques and. Mostly because they would reference these cool advanced concepts and then not actually understand their function. The show lies so badly when it comes to the reality of police procedural abilities that potential jurors expect every single case to have the kind of resources they need for high-tech on-site forensic evidence. narratively speaking. the kinds of resources police actually have. And sometimes great truths are arrived at when you work backward from that veracity. And they did so in a way that was only meant to make those soldiers agree. It’s an inauthentic narrative about how those sciences are actually used in the field. the use of specific. lawyer and doctor shows we see on TV. Hulk has a bunch of non-armchair. A lot of Hollywood producers fear having their characters talk over the heads of the audience. most importantly. The science may be sound and it may have a team of experts to show off real techniques. And it may sound crazy. But by pleasing those soldiers. That’s drama. They are lying about the purpose. or after. you. Like how characters should have motivations and psychologies. Think of “story” as the logical side of your narrative. You take a compelling character and suddenly they’re hanging on a rooftop. And you do that by understanding the stakes. This is totally real life and you are on your way to work or something. And in terms of “story sense. Story The following would likely make more sense after Hulk has finished the structure section. Thus it is drama that is about the experience.” each option would be just as logical. On the other hand Hulk is arguing that accuracy can matter more than anything.thinks you can often push those creative liberties into the realm of creative dishonesty. And the thing is that we can find out what their motivations were either before they commit the murder. And then we fret and worry about the state and well-being of those cares. Thus far. Quick. They are lying about the most important thing possible. Drama vs.. What kind of story are you telling? Does the accuracy matter to your story? Would it be dishonest to represent it as anything but accurate? Is it okay to be pulpy and use pseudo-science here? Your ultimate takeaway should be to utilize a manner of storytelling that accurately reflects the intention of your storytelling. But it’s not just danger. And this is how traditional drama works: a character explains why they care about something. there's someone after me! Help!" . And where you put information reveals very much affects the experience. right? Finding out wouldn’t affect the character ’s psychology or logic for anything. but it’s just so important to understand before going into the writing process that it needs to be mentioned now.. The problem is that just because a story may make sense. This is not a movie. So what to do? On one hand. That’s it. Let’s say they have a reason for doing it. Now pretend someone suddenly showed up and said "Hi. And so the idea of drama is to engage the most active part of the audience’s brain and turn up the urgency and viscera. We have to connect to it and have empathy.. Hulk is arguing that accuracy doesn’t matter for your story. And yes story and drama are two different things when it comes to our own particular working definition. pretend one character goes and murders another. We put those cares into jeopardy. Let's go with a hypothetical: pretend you are. during. I'm your long-lost brother. well. As an example. How do you know when is when? It’s an insanely tough question.. doesn’t mean it’s necessarily engaging or the best way to experience it. It’s like threatening to kill the kitten. Like how there should be thematic backbones and meaning to what you unveil. But Hulk has prepared you very little for the realities of drama.. but it’s actually one you have to answer for yourself. It has to be active danger felt by the audience.. Hulk has prepared you for a lot of story concepts in narrative. What would your reaction . 17. A character not knowing someone is about to turn on them. both traditional and ironic. Again. And thus. but if we're not empathizing with someone. Mostly you would be confused as all hell. we fret! But this is the clearest example of dramatic irony. You may have heard the phrase “dramatic irony” before and its meaning is simple. You'd want to help him and you’d care what happened to him. then we're not so willing to go off on a crazy journey with them. folks? That's exactly how audiences react to new information too. Hulk swears to you that reveals of new information just don't have the same dramatic effect as a previously established level of investment. To back up what Hulk is saying here. unsuspecting. And it’s true of all drama. The most obvious example is like something out of a horror movie when we know the killer is standing in a room and the lead character walks in. because your response is based on something that has been built and earned. . but it’s not. We need the information and defined relationships and then we need the stakes. wouldn't you mostly just be like "What the fuck!?!?!?" Well guess what. guess what. You might go on instinct in either direction. imagine if you had a long-standing. The only thing that would draw you in to doing this is a sense of mystery. it’s just chaos and curiosity. Dramatic irony is when the audience is privy to some piece of information that the characters onscreen are not privy to yet. We may even see the killer start stalking them. We like to think the sudden reveal of information and “Let’s go off and deal with it!” is the most exciting and interestdrawing approach in the universe. it is amazing how much you can accomplish in engaging your audience. And then all of a sudden he showed up and said someone was trying to kill him. Seriously. right? And Hulk imagines it would be a rushed and crazy scenario! Would it be exciting? Sure! Would it be the craziest thing that could happen to you that morning? Probably! But as far as you go.be? Answer honestly. You would want to know the truth. is exactly what we do when we watch movies with traditional narratives. You wouldn't know if you wanted to trust this person. Well guess what? That's exactly how audiences react when they have built a relationship with a character in whom they are invested. Hulk looks around at the landscape of narrative storytelling these days and sees a complete lack of understanding when it comes to drama. great relationship with your hypothetical brother. complete with your own motivations and interests. It builds tension and effect. and thus it creates tension in the audience. when you know what is at stake. When you know what is going on. What would your reaction be then? When it was someone with whom you had a whole history with and had built trust and genuinely loved? Why. you can achieve it almost any way you see fit for various models of tension and release. then you'd have motivation to help. Hulk thinks it is the number one bad habit of our good writers. this is real life. And yet. meaning the person you are. A character walking into a trap. And how could they? We may like someone and be intrigued. Which. You'd even have understanding and clarity about your motives. It’s like the entirety of Hollywood needs to take a playwriting class. But the important thing to note is that dramatic irony is derived from the audience knowing the information. All the actors were compelling and filled with personality. long after we really needed to care. save one (who will become our titular Nemo). We need stories that give us reasons to care and then just step back and let us care. But the real import of the scene is that we then understand why Marlon spends the next two hours of the film being overprotective. They follow the actor ’s body language and feelings. People would much rather watch films actively. Finding Nemo. It is just such a complete misunderstanding of how drama works. People just don’t watch movies with rapt dramatic interest when clarity is delayed. the audience. And the Pixar story team knew this and adamantly insisted Stanton put the scene at the beginning. only Stanton reveals this two-thirds of the way into the movie in the middle of a big fight. completely understand why he’s doing it. But suddenly there is a horrific barracuda attack - Marlon’s wife is killed and their eggs are eaten. They were right. Every bit of plotting eventually makes sense. We need to see the world through them. but curiosity is not a long-term plan. are deciding what to name their big batch of children who rest below them in egg form. He was so haunted by that experience that his over-parenting is kicking in. Meaning the entire movie was essentially the brother appearing out of nowhere and then explaining to us the ‘”how” hours later. Empathy is based on clarity. But why was the movie inert? Why did it fail to capture our collective interest? Hulk knows it has its fans. What’s rather ironic about this point is that nothing makes the case more than one of Stanton’s previous films. We need to understand. But Hulk guesses that Stanton wanted to prove he was right all these years later and so John Carter uses the same exact device of a dead family. He wanted to put the opening scene two-thirds of the way into the movie so that it was a reveal. Marlon and his wife. not at them. Thus we need drama. That film opens with a short scene in which two fish. non-relatable asshole. And we will follow him through the depths of hell to get Nemo back. the movie killed the cat). It’s late information for no functional reason. plain and simple. We need to understand what they care about. And Stanton didn’t want to do it. The movie works a thousand times better playing the information straight ahead at the very beginning. It’s all a genius bit of dramatic storytelling. So that we would understand everything in this late moment and go “Aha! There was a reason! The filmmaker knew what he was doing all along!” But the filmmaker also did not realize this “aha” moment might not be worth sitting through an hour and a half of your main character being an overparenting. It’s a deeply compelling scene. Every bit of storytelling in the film is logical. often given right as the dramatic action was actually happening. but on the popular level it didn’t quite engage the audience at large. with subconscious understanding. one that engages the audience and makes Marlon extremely empathetic (notice he’s not just doing a nice thing - instead. we. We can empathize. Andrews. Why? It’s because almost every bit of story information and character motivation was saved for later reveals. The scene itself is rousing and pretty and… completely ineffectual when it comes to the film’s overall drama. and Chabon). Worse. And even if we don’t agree with his behavior.Last year. We just spent most of the film trying to be empathetic to our main character who just seemed to be a withdrawn jerk to . the damage is already done. John Carter was released and it was concocted by a handful of certified storytelling geniuses (Stanton. They may be curious. “But Hulk… isn’t there a place for mystery. He knows that a well-built mystery can engage an audience. But both these guys tend to use the power of mystery and secrecy to a fault. Hulk feels pretty comfortable saying that. The film has three prologues of nothing but information. A way of saying “look how smart my writing is!” Like they want to show that they understood this confusing thing all along and you should have trusted them.. and lock into your sense of curiosity. propel further discussion. 18. but it can also hang over a scene to an incredibly muting effect too. like performing a cinematic magic trick or something. Yes. how sometimes “mystery” is just not the required tone or choice for narrative propulsion and yet they use it anyway.” And drama convinces the audience every time. He outlines the whole theory in his now-famous (infamous?) TED speech about how mystery can command a story all the way through the storytelling and especially the marketing presence. It’s all logical story information with no real dramatic experience. Even his frequent co-writer and collaborator Damon Lindelof often talks about his writing strategy where every character he writes has a secret. What obviously helps is that his work has tremendous energy. they want the allure of mystery and delighting in the reveal. which informs and guides their depth. None of which are character-based or reveal motivation (like a certain dead family one would allow for). Like first and foremost. when used correctly mystery can hang over a scene to wonderful effect. There’s no stakes or motivation. Like . but far more importantly. these tactics have great value. Make no mistake. The JJ Abrams Question - Mystery? vs. Often the storyteller wants it to be… different. but instead are just moving bits of plot that will only make sense by the end. Why does this happen? Hulk’s not too sure. all of his projects absolutely commit to the power of mystery. Hulk has even used the “secret” tip a number of times too. And this poor decision is symptomatic of everything in the film.. create a beautiful atmosphere. But they won’t be compelling. Urgency! JJ Abrams has built a career off the power of mystery. Honestly. Instead. There are no stakes. The frustrating thing is he is so damn talented with almost everything else that it’s frustrating he can’t get this basic concept of story experience. convince me. And he is far from alone in this tendency. Hulk does not mean to single out Stanton by any means. as so many writers and directors do it too these days. There is no understanding. maybe? The method of traditional drama and how it just lays out all the information might just be seen as too straightforward.everyone he met. Hulk thinks this tends to be a show-offy way of displaying an understanding of narrative. too? Can’t curiosity work? Can’t a reveal be an awesome thing? Sure thing… you just gotta understand the mechanisms. But as one of Hulk’s favorite old adages of this business goes: “Don’t impress me. do we then lose the power of two characters arguing with all their information out in the open? When there are stakes we understand? Hulk understands that Lost was often interested on a thematic level in subverting the very idea of what one can actually know (focusing on the need to place one’s energy into faith). Mystery is great. Urgency is born from clarity. sometimes scenes just need to be functional. but Hulk just wants you to be aware of. there are clear reasons to use both mystery and urgency.. with all its dull simplicity. Believe it or not. allows the audience to skip the use of their brain and just experience the film in the most primal and exciting way. But the deeper down the well they went. It is wholly functional. how to use them and why. And the moving shell game of “mystery!” became more and more tiresome with every passing season. Again. So if Lindelof needs to give every character a secret. What's funny is that the first season really did understand how to balance (there’s that word again) that mystery with the power of clear stakes and perceptible character motivation. you're sunk. So ask yourself. And then when the movie calls for catharsis. really. This is admittedly a vital engagement that doesn't happen often enough in cinema. And don't think that urgency only applies to action and world-ending circumstances. We have to stop that thing or the bomb goes off and we both die! The thing Hulk really likes about this kind of storytelling is that it is a visceral engagement. It’s just a good example because so many people are familiar with it. we wondered what the heck they were talking about as they tip-toed around vague concepts. and Automobiles. Ultimately. Trains. Steve Martin) as we tag along with him on his journey. Mystery makes an audience member go "Oooh. so much so that it even ruined some of the power of the central mystery. It wasn't that we wanted "answers. Urgency is simple. we are given the information that the annoying travel companion’s wife recently died and all this behavior is symptomatic of the fact that he is lonely. what would make this scene work better? Not understanding the urgency and engaging the audience on a cerebral level. the film’s central conflict is driven by the fact that this crazy guy (John Candy) seems one-dimensional and annoying. Sometimes they just need to be clear. really loved the show. what the heck is going on here?" and brings people into their minds to ponder. Different scenes and films just call for different things. but it truly has a short-term lifespan. Think back to how many conversations on Lost had two people waxing philosophical about something we never actually understood the specifics of. Sure. It works just as well for two characters talking about something that is important to each of them. but we were not necessarily engaged on a character or story level. Why does this late .the heart of drama. it’s the mechanisms. And urgency. Sometimes they need to have urgency. or totally understanding it and engaging the audience viscerally? That is the central question." it was that we wanted clear stakes and something that felt like it mattered. If you try to sustain it for too long. but not it all. And this provides comedic conflict for the main character (our audience surrogate. And please keep in mind this is coming from a Hulk that really. You see. the more they lost sight of that balance. And Hulk thinks urgency is geared to how best use filmmaking's natural power. but so often this wishywashy mysteriousness overpowered the mechanics of basic conventional narrative. But it is often just a cerebral engagement. you know. the best example Hulk can think of when it comes to late character reveals is Planes.. That may sound like Hulk is advocating being a philistine. We sat down and the writer starting pitching their version of the project and they immediately started talking about the mythology of the world they were creating. felt awful for him. but like the background information in character trees. but we fell in love with it . but for your own work: you have to gauge the validity of the conflicts that are given to the audience from characters not knowing that information and you compare them to the kinds of conflicts that are created by the audience knowing that information. The film’s narrative didn’t require mystery. It was going to be for this giant popular thing. uninspired story about their characters that they didn’t put half as much thought into as they did the world in which they were setting those characters. If we knew his wife was dead at the beginning it would be hard for us to laugh at him while empathizing with our main character ’s situation. gives you all the tangible stakes. we would have understood why he was pushing others away from him. Hulk knows we’ve all come to love the Star Wars universe and mythology. perhaps nothing highlights the differences of the two approaches like the stark difference between Abram’s Mission Impossible III and Brad Bird’s Mission Impossible IV: Ghost Protocol.” Then they went on to tell a very formulaic. And when it’s time for that conflict to be resolved? The information is revealed. and ultimately would have relished in the depths of conflict the moment he was put in harm’s way. and takes you on one hell of a compelling ride. too.. but never forget that narrative and character are the driving forces of your film.. well there’s this main character and his parents die. Don’t Over-Mythologize Hulk is always deeply reluctant to give vague personal anecdotes. The anecdote is symptomatic of the fact that we now live in the age of mythology. The second example eschews mystery altogether and explains absolutely everything involved. And yes mythologies can be very cool things. This is all good and neat.reveal pay off here and not in John Carter? Because the conflict we get from not knowing is what drives the movie. Does that make sense? And Hulk wholly argues that if we knew from the beginning that John Carter ’s wife had died. and followed him happily on his journey to Mars where he would find a new lease on life. but sometimes a situation speaks directly to a great point and thus it is necessary. Not stories. And going back to Abrams. But what’s the story?” Writer: “Oh yeah. They went on and on and on and on and on until someone Hulk will just call “one of the smartest people in Hollywood” stopped him dead in his tracks and said: “Look. We’ve become fascinated with building worlds. and it works.. So… Hulk once sat in on a big development meeting. and. 19. The following will sound confusing. The first steeps every single character and even the film's central nameless MacGuffin in the total shroud of secrecy. having a fully realized world is merely a great thing to fall back on with which to texture your world. It required empathy. the nuances of semiotics are best left for the realm of criticism. the messages of a film erupt outward no matter what. other people. through the reasoning. Raging Bulls about Marcia Lucas making the call to edit for pace and not the actor ’s rhythms). but there has to be an anchor. however. it is still true: your writing is inherently arguing for something. From there. thus arguing religion is false. Quentin Tarantino argued that one best. 20. the proverbial writer. and ultimately within our ability to process it. You always have to remember that stories and drama are what bring us into a universe. they are still there. but the one core thing that you. Everything You Write Is Inherently Saying Something The following are valid arguments based on the text of each movie: -Transformers 3 argues for not trusting our government and advocates military autonomy. knows how to harness those messages. well told. It can be some grand on-the-nose political statement. Everything your characters do and say automatically implies something about the way those characters view life. and did so only in an attempt to be entertaining. Even if you wrote those characters subconsciously as part of a pure automated attempt to execute your narrative. the totality of everything in a narrative has consequences and supplies context. And for anecdotal evidence of such. It wasn’t just the revolutionary effects. Sure. You don’t need to understand every part of it. -Shrek argues you can only date within your race.because the original film was a good story. And even if that may seem like an obfuscation of intent. All these examples are silly extremes. but that the film’s narrative had a revolutionary sense of propulsion for its time (see the anecdote in Biskind’s Easy Riders. and conflict. but proof positive that whether or not we mean to put messages in our films and media. not the other way around. This is an inescapable fact of authorship and the anchor behind the entire field of semiotics. They use the story's context to create their own meaning. through the subtext. that big popular thing was never made. -Top Gun argues… well… actually. A good storyteller. through the tone. -Life of Pi presents a story that isn’t real as example of the power of religious faith. equally view life. and conflict. need to have is a simple awareness of what your work is saying. And the way the narrative regards those characters can’t help but show how you. Often it is quite the opposite. It’s about the way the entire portrayal of each entity adds up together through the action themselves. The art of narrative is instead dependent on contextualization. the proverbial author. it can be a specific thought . But let’s get this out of the way immediately: please do not assume this means that characters are automatically a stand-in for the author's beliefs or some silly notion like that. other people. so harness away! This is actually where we get into the "soul" concept of that popular “mind. loss. if that's what you actually think.. It doesn't need to be oppressive and dominate the story or sense of fun in your film. Theme is always an opportunity.about a character's behavior. isn't the script just an opportunity to harness that message in a coherent way? Reward behavior you think should be rewarded. When looking through the lens of our most dutiful sensibility. They are universal soul-connectors. it’s really just saying something about human nature. but it is also serious criticism about the simplistic way action films paint good and bad. So harness! And even if you just want your movie to be fun and not overwhelm your audience with messages." and avoid what you think is trite or didactic. And the sheer awareness of whatever that idea is. For instance. and heartbreak. because anything that dips into the arena of sexism becomes . But your work is saying something. Don't Write Women Just In The Context Of Men Okay. the film makes fun of over-the-top car chases and clichéd super-police officers. Even in the most silly of comedies like The Other Guys. Show what you think. he finds it interesting that action films often feature these crazy ethnic bad guys who operate drug cartels and murder and stuff. then it’s just a matter of tact. but don’t forget you are inherently arguing something about those ideas. McKay finds a way to comment on the things he finds important and he makes them work with the context of a send-up of action movies.. And that means that thematic messages are not a burden or a responsibility. but a damn opportunity. Hulk is not going to get big into this. Speaking of opportunities… 21. it can be a simple justification of heroism and kindness. but whose exploits are almost nothing compared to the pervasive shame of white-collar crime (which often funds them). soul” approach to movies Hulk mentioned in the inspiration section. body. but isn’t that just the formalization of your own message? Hulk means. whether you mean to or not. your purpose. And in a less preachy way. Hulk will say it again: The mere act of having a viewpoint and theme in your head while writing will do half the job for you. but Hulk says it all the damn time: awareness matters. but Hulk argues the intent was to provide themes that can be used to compel both your characters and then the audience. not a burden. Expose the shame of how behavior that should be punished is in fact rewarded. Everything you write in your screenplay means something. Or heck. hope. So many of our films are about love. your theme. you can post-modernly thumb your nose at the idea of "saying something. Sure. often does half the job of sorting that context for you. Punish behavior you think should be punished. Meaning it is the intent of what you’re arguing which is your best chance to connect to a person's soul. Hulk knows that sounds like an over-simplification. or vice versa. theme allows the author to say something important. but guys are default main characters!" Of course. Here she addressed the strange and problematic similarity of narrative approach from young women playwrights: “I’m seeing a significant amount of plays by women with female characters structurally positioned as the central character. getting into the how or why these tropes develop would be the subject of their own book. you can write a woman. They just do. So much of it is a failure to admit a problem. We have to start on the most basic level of improvement and that means Hulk just wants you to give female characters stuff to do! Stuff that doesn’t have to do with men or passive sexuality! If you can write a man. And any attempts to fix the problem are often met with a phrase Hulk hears all the time from screenwriting students (and even professional writers): "But I don’t know how to write women!" On the most basic level that's just bullpoop because it is a simple misunderstanding of characterization that assumes a woman has to be defined by “being female” and not simply being a female who has her own character worth. 99% of the plotting you can do has absolutely nothing to do with gender itself. just reactive to whatever the male characters are doing. that female character isn’t driving the narrative– she is. the best thing Hulk saw on the topic was from the popular blogger Bitter Gertrude who is the artistic director of Impact Theater in Berkeley. or even saving the world. Hulk just wants us to get the basic idea of not always writing women as vacant or damsels or passive characters. Actually. So Hulk wants to cut through all that and just say that all writers have to do a better job with how they portray women. It’s about people. You want all your characters to have their own stuff going on. talking to her friends about some man. bad way right now. either: a lot of romantic comedies starring women are particularly guilty of this. vivid women for the sake of your narrative altogether. interacting with some man about . instead. There are a lot of levels to it. And then there is the casual sexism of "Let's only define women through the gaze and context of the male characters!" Or even the subconscious sexism of "The girl in this movie is the way more interesting. You want your characters to be textured and seem human and have purpose. And the biggest problem is how often female characters are missing basic human traits. but suffice to say they are a problem. driving force of the narrative and theme.” It has to do with good storytelling. Yes there are a bunch of ways to talk about gender issues with your writing. active sexism of a male audience that doesn’t care and just argues that women only need to be in a movie so men have something to look at (this actually happens. Notice Hulk didn't say Hulk wants you to "write strong role models!" because that’s not the same thing as writing vivid characters. relationships. We should all at least be able to admit that the culture of women in film is in a bad. However. To suggest anything other than that is ridiculous and lazy. external conflicts. but you really don’t have to feel like writing “an interesting woman” automatically implies tackling gender politics. And it’s not like this is some conversation reserved just for “macho” male-aimed films.such a difficult topic to discuss on a larger canvas. And here’s the reason it matters most of all: it is important to create interesting. It’s a woman sitting around wondering what to do about some man in her life. It has nothing to do with politics or any “-ism. And so much of it is just lack of awareness. A lot). There's the obvious. ” It’s not that passivity can’t be part of the character ’s operational method. Ensemble pieces don’t change anything– they work the same way. But how can you do that when you skimp on the characterization and participation of 50% of the people on this planet? It is instinctually felt. Either version displays an authorial intent to say something about the reality. which is often rife with sorrow. And while that contributes horribly to the overall double standard and conditions of patriarchy and all that awful stuff.his decisions or actions. the audience needs to understand why that is limiting them. it really is that simple. the writer. but these received narratives of how to ‘correctly’ perform our genders are having an impact on the way some playwrights are writing. In essence. and that impact is working against some women playwrights’ ability to tell their stories. just in the plural. Hulk’s problem for you is a bit different: It makes for bad drama. It’s still a story with a central male character. And we are simply dropping the ball when it comes to doing any of this with our female characters. Context has to rule. Juliet of the Spirits. Hulk just explained to you why good drama is about the experience and understanding of stakes and motivation. For you. just told from the woman’s point of view. but it’s shockingly common from early career women writers. If it’s a lesbian play. It’s not a .” Hulk likes her use of caps! But the piece received a good amount of fallout wherein a lot of women argued that it was representative of what a lot of women’s lives are like. So what the effing eff is going on here? I rarely see this from the more experienced. almost always drives the narrative and has an active arc. are often rewarding that passivity. the striving for good drama backs up the purpose of storytelling. And the great thing about drama is it can do those things even when people are being the opposite of those things. but every film on the planet can be made better by making the female characters three-dimensional. the central character. Here’s the weird part: I ALMOST NEVER SEE PLAYS LIKE THIS FROM MEN. It is about characters making decisions and being compelling and having active interest in their own lives. just change that male character to a female character. as well as a whole host of romantic comedies and TV sitcoms about marriage. Seriously. male or female. And when they don’t. either by transcending that passivity with character growth (one of Hulk’s favorite movies ever. but within the piece itself she nails why that thinking is problematic: “Being empathetic and reactive aren’t necessarily bad things. is about traversing passiveness and the same goes for Ibsen’s A Doll’s House) or succumbing to the tragedy of passivity. And the problem Hulk sees is that the plays in question. You may think this issue is not all that important to the story you are telling. Good drama is built on the foundation of character growth. or by how it feels for humanity. When I get a play by a man. or maybe even speaks to integrity. whether through the gaining of knowledge. The structurally central female character is just as reactive. It’s just like Hulk argued in the context section: what happens in your narrative provides a viewpoint. accomplished women playwrights. but good storytelling requires that the author be conscious that passivity is the subject. And wouldn't you know it. Even the most sexist dudes on earth. it's like the movie actually decides to start. We are simply moved by interesting. 22. so the last two points will cover the ideas behind beginnings and endings. no matter what gender they are. Think of all the rare films that actually manage to do it. They assume just because we’re watching our characters that we’re building relationships with them and it takes so much more than that to ingrain story purpose. importance. stakes. Hulk is addressing the problems of a lot of our more traditional Hollywood narratives. The Value of Preexisting Conflict "Everything was just fine! And then it wasn't!" While this description suits a number of wonderful movies. Think about how even the most basic example of a not-embarrassing character like Princess Leia has gone on to have such cultural resonance. * * * Note: we are finally winding down the conceptual section (hurray). And while there is totally a way to build up normalcy and then take a spectacular right turn with your narrative. It’s not an accident. Even with scripts that try to start off with some big action scene or attention-grabbing device. displays a whole range of kindness and anger and lust and frustration and nuance. Think about how many great movies start right in the middle of a larger conflict. it is often an empty gesture. A past psychological trauma. like action films and romantic comedies. which famously starts in the middle of a space battle (with that epic shot too) and there are hugely underrated movies like Mann’s Miami Vice (it’s a super plotty. meaning. . It doesn't even need to be some grand scale thing. All they have to do is start people in the midst of a world already in conflict. bold examples like Star Wars. It is often not even part of the real story. lessaccessible movie that was using digital too early. capable leader with her own opinions. We get a look at some world that is built up with nonvital. So many of those films don’t use that time for anything important or critical to the story. It’s not magic. We can start in the middle of intimate human problems too. that sort of writing takes a lot of deft understanding of rhythms and some serious craft. There's big. her own stuff going on. A relationship at odds. who insist they don't "need" interesting portrayals of women in their films. It is often energy without purpose. Hulk is here to tell you that it is also the first act of a whole shit load of bad movies. Starting off with these problems gives your script immediacy. And thus so many movies pass up on the opportunity to ingrain their films from the very onset with a sense of weight. human characters.revolutionary concept. A parent's death. but it’s still great). folks. So instead. This has become our modus operandi. Think that’s an accident? She’s a smart. Every film can benefit. all adore Leia. Doing this gives your story immediacy. We can't help but enjoy when fully-ranged and interesting people are onscreen. non-compelling character work and then at a certain point. but it just so happens every audience member comes to love her. loved dropping us right down in the middle of a larger conflict. but his character ’s character Brock Landers.” And most recently with The Master. but he has completely lost himself: he’s delivering a monologue not even as Dirk Diggler. it should resonate as the audience leaves the theater. And that's a shame. wherein he didn't just use the ending to ram home all his ideas. All these movies end with truly striking moments that don’t fit in a lot of conventional “resolution” models. It creates a world that we already know has consequences and importance. where the saddest. most tragic character finally earns the ability to smile. the figurative sand castle figure made real. So keep it in mind! 23. It’s no accident that the greatest writer of all time. often hard-edged and satirical. This isn't to say preexisting conflict should be required for every movie. The film just took on a bigger. citing “I’m finished. The Ending Is The Conceit If all the ideas in our films mean something. but a small human moment. was transformed by a real emotional sensitivity to what had transpired and then was driven home by the thematic hammer. it’s just that Hulk thinks people treat the opposite as the rule. Hulk adores the endings of Paul Thomas Anderson. all those ideas. yet ethically bothersome figure from his past. For instance. William Shakespeare. wherein Plainview’s megalomania is finally sated when he has completely ruined and ultimately killed an insignificant. It was downright resonant and reshaped the entire film you saw. placating whimper. then your ending should say everything. as he is a man who has always kept his violence under a surface of shine and propriety. more human and emotional scope. With Boogie Nights we have Eddie Adams from Torrance staring at a mirror with his junk out. That way one enters a world that already feels lived-in and rife with history. all those themes. but they connect with us because they hammer home the entire theme of their respective movies with great character moments. not for a second! Just that so many stories seem to miss out on an opportunity to use it. Or with There Will Be Blood. So don’t be afraid to jump right into it. Sometimes it doesn’t even need to be a big thing. all that work. but Gunn really understood how much you could say with an ending. in which our sincerely damaged and psychologically-played-with protagonist of Freddie Quell has finally made a tangible (if puerile) connection with a lady in the bar. but used it to reveal what the thematic idea of what the film was really about the whole time. And it wasn't some cheap plot trick or a twist or anything as trite as that. All the story. but a better way to think of an ending is for it to hammer in everything you ever meant. . which always seem to end on a slight gesture of sorts. The film. One film Hulk loves to use as an example of the ending being the conceit is James Gunn's excellent Super. It should not be extinguished in a merciful. And the movie could have so easily placated us and alleviated our worries after the climax. We often look at endings as those things that just wrap up the story and make us feel better after the conflict is over. With Sydney (Hard Eight) our titular character covers the blood on his cuff. finally pumping his ego / id / weiner up with “You’re a star! You’re a star!” Or with Magnolia. This isn’t some rule that inherently works better. So hammer home your points. Hulk mean. They may have a smile on their face as the credits roll. End strong.. do not look at the ending of your piece as a burden. It is an opportunity to be soulful and underline the purpose of storytelling. An opportunity to say everything you want to say in your movie. So give them a reason to remember it all on their way out of the theater. Now let's quit this conceptual shit and get into part five and how to use structure! .. It is an opportunity to be poetic. and interesting. And if you skirt on that opportunity? And just wrap a few things up without living up to the rest of your film? Then that might be a bit of a problem because that's what the audience leaves with. and how they should resonate going forward?. dammit. Why else would Shakespeare (the aforementioned greatest writer of all time) always end his plays with some haunting or beautiful monologue? One which was delivered by an actor right to the audience? One in which they would ruminate on the events that have transpired. but as an opportunity..Endings always matter and they matter thematically. what it meant. Hulk swears this is why so many people forget movies so quickly.. resonant. The ending is the conceit. Say something. He is basically saying the conceit right at the end!!! Like Hulk keeps saying with most of these points. but they need something to stay with them. and breaking it down so you understand it on a structural level. whereas breaking a story is about taking the idea itself. It’s like using a single recipe without actually understanding how to cook. can die in a fire. yeah. It's like you are manipulating what you . And Hulk assures you that Hulk’s approach is not going to feel restrictive. Hulk rejects that crap. They give you charts and graphs and tell you all stories work in the same way and give you paint-bynumbers guides to doing the same. * * * So the parsing out of a screenplay’s structure (aka deciding how to tell your story) is commonly referred to as "breaking a story. so to speak. It’s like you are taking your inclination and the story already locked in your mind. Most screenplay books are obsessed with telling you exactly how to structure your screenplay. and carving it down to your immaculate sculpture. Understand the “why” of how all these tactics work and suddenly you will be able to cook. shown above. it’s super important). almost as if it was a raw chunk of marble. Because the sad truth is. So Hulk is going to dive headlong into structure too (because. Part Five - - How To Tell The Story – Structurally Note: The corresponding picture of screenplay management. that approach doesn’t actually teach you how a story works at all. It’s hopefully going to free you. but it’s going to be focused on understanding how it works! This is going to be about giving you the mechanisms you need to craft and tell the stories you want to tell and say what you want to say." Hulk likes that phrase better than "constructing a story" because that word reminds Hulk of the idea of logistical assemblage. It just tells you what a story sometimes looks like and how to copy it. And that won’t help you understand how to write one bit. really need to embrace the concept of economy. full of thorough characterization and thematic exploration. And if you're telling more than you need. And then you want to do it over and over and over again. then there better be a damn good reason for it. Heck. Economy Is Your New Second Best Friend A friend of Hulk's said something fascinating recently. much better than the notion of “construction. Better yet. even the most casual character pieces.. economical narrative. Repeat it again and again: tell only as much story as you need. but Hulk wants you to keep one very important fact in mind: they are some of the best writers on the planet and can do what Hulk is arguing for here in their sleep. then Hulk is here to tell you that it will be far easier to integrate characterization. Hulk already knows that you might be suspicions of writing without that kind of loose freedom. He made the comment that there's not a single summer tent-pole released in the last ten years that couldn't stand to lose at least 15-20 minutes. maybe it’s like working with Play-Doh or something. Whatever your metaphor. more focused. you will force yourself into moments where you learn how to combine thematic ideas with character. Quentin Tarantino and the Coens have long-running tangents and jokes. well. as there are exceptions to every rule. texture and theme than it would be to go in the other direction. This is a truth. And Hulk guarantees you that by valuing economy from the onset. By focusing on economy as a developing writer.. Trust when Hulk says it is far more difficult to take a lumbering story. So why not go the other direction? In every kind of story. but the point is that you really. Hulk will get into the inclinations that create this story fat in the next few chapters. And no. . And by comparison. It should be the huge thought in the back of your head. How to link a “fun” scene directly into the plot. Hulk not talking about mere "pacing" which is built in the edit and direction (and something that is actually executed faster than ever these days). Hulk reads four scripts a week of people indulging the fat for no other purpose than 1) padding stuff out or 2) because they don’t know how to get whatever is funny or interesting about that fat into more purposeful methods of storytelling.” Anycrap. and then somehow parse it down into a tight story. you always want to enter each scene with a new sense of purpose and interest. you still want the character's evolution to secretly be propulsive. if you do manage to write a crackling. Even with the most intimate. But the real value of keeping economy in mind as you write is that it’s a perfect learning tool. Hulk likes this kind of thinking much.already know on an instinctual level. Some movies excel in how they are able to revel in the fat. it will help you create a tighter. Hulk is talking about whole scenes that have no purpose other than to be funny or cool. exciting script. Look. You want the film to feel like it should never end. if you’re delving into chewing on the proverbial fat. let's look at the best ways to break a story! 24. human stories. even films with a leisurely editing pace. Hulk is talking about script-level fat. It is stunning how many movies today tell their stories with a ton of fat. The Myth Of The 3 Act Structure Hulk hears it all the time when people complain about movies: “It’s the problems in the film’s second act!” All… the fucking… time. which Hulk personally finds to be the most abominable way to both explain and instruct storytelling. so false in what it achieves. Hulk is here to help you do that. even working writers and most don’t have an answer. Why? Because they are just totally bogus. So false in what it describes. Now. But the problem with this generic “second act” designation is that it can imply a problem with virtually anything in the middle part of storytelling. that even though the phrase is used to near ubiquity. or running out of steam. film journalists. . Hulk! I should write a propulsive story. Luckily. and even though there are thousands of writers using the 3 act model as their guide at this very moment… Hulk argues it is still. Hulk understands what the complainers mean by the statement. essentially. * * * Question: what is an act? People use the word all the time without really bothering to think about what it actually means. “Okay. Hulk will just ask them that same question: what is an act? Hulk will ask young students. or cramming stuff in. Hulk gets how the comment is intended. a myth. Oh. Meaning it is a beyond vague way to talk about story structure. But what’s the best way of doing that?!?” Well… in order to do that you are first going to have to unlearn two of the most popular storytelling models in screenwriting. 25. or losing track of characters. It is usually used to imply when a film is treading water. Isn’t that a little fucking weird? Any time Hulk hears people complaining about problems in a film’s act structure or talking about their own. So what creates such wishy-washy storytelling? And the even wishy-washier way of explaining it? It is because of the ever-popular notion of The 3 Act Structure. or whatever story-fault you can think of. Write down the choices being made and how it helps the character grow and go on their journey. a personality reveal.” It is storytelling with purpose. Better yet. full of change and new conflicts. No. The act break can be a new and interesting plot development. two previously un-met characters becoming friends. So Hulk’s got another of Hulk’s famous working definitions for you. It’s not just killing the cat. What has Hulk said about character and empathy and all this good amazing stuff so far? How much has Hulk talked about characters being our gateways into experience? The more we ground the story changes into those reasons for connecting. It’s not just “stuff happening. “But Hulk! Couldn’t that point really be anything? Like a character just leaving his house and grabbing coffee or something?!?!” Okay it has to be slightly more valid than a simple change in action or the environment. with this working definition. Plus. and other way-smart people. professors. And at the end of each of those acts he makes a choice and goes forth into a vastly different situation. does it? No. all with many different kinds goals. After all. something as insipid as “No! The bad guys are here! Run!” … an act break can be anything as long as it has a significant changing effect on the narrative resulting in the character choosing an action defined by that change.Sometimes they’ll fall over their words.” The first thing to understand is that the use of the word “point” is purposely vague. And the best way to put it is to define an act by its point of separation from the next. It’s giving the audience the stakes and meaning.” And well… that doesn’t actually mean anything. More importantly. it doesn’t. Sometimes they’ll be hit by a bolt of speechlessness. Hulk seriously cannot advise you enough to go back and watch this and sort out all the act breaks. it’s just an amazing film! . which brings them into the story. there are many different kinds of stories. but a movie like Malcolm X has about 9 distinguishable acts in Hulk’s estimation. it’s bringing the audience into a character. middle. It will be such a useful learning tool in understanding the mechanism of acts and act breaks. And it’s not out of Hulk’s butt here. one that causes them to move forward in this new reality with understanding. and that means it can sort of be any kind of moment. a poignant character realization. an act break creates propulsion. Thus: The end of an act is a point in the story where a character(s) makes a choice and can no longer “go back. the more we involve the audience. and end. it means a film can have any number of acts depending on what it’s trying to say and do. each focusing on a time in his life where Malcolm could go through periods of focus and come to a new kind of enlightenment or character reality. Hulk talked about it before. But their answers basically amount to an act being a term that’s a general placeholder for chunks of story that usually separate “beginning. It is a truly epic film that takes the standard biopic and separates those events into very obvious “sections” of character development. It’s one used by many great screenwriters. or even. if handled correctly. Heck, some movies have upwards of 20 acts. It‘s all a question of what story you want to tell and the better you understand this definition of propulsive, character decision-centric act breaks, the better your screenplay will be at propelling the narrative in meaningful ways. Look. It’s not like the action movie staple of “Oh no, it’s the bad guys! Run!” can’t work in terms of changing the situation and making things interesting for a moment. After all, Raymond Chandler had the funniest quote ever when he said: “In writing a novel, when in doubt, have two guys come through the door with guns,” but that statement was purposefully a little bit flip. He’s literally talking about a quick story inversion that gives energy when you’ve got nothing else going on. And the real reason you have to be careful with that stuff is that it becomes so dull and repetitive that we get tired of the chase after only two instances or so. That’s why character is the fundamental and ideal driving force of act breaks. You need more interesting things to be going on than surface-level conflicts and external threats. By the way, this is probably the chief reason Michael Bay movies don’t actually work. He fills them with all this hooplah and mayhem, but he’s only interested in the chase. Sure, he’ll sometimes be able to mask this MacGuffin / set-piece-jumping with distracting visuals (or attempts at quasi-racist comedy), but the chase is always his focus and it will always become boring without actual character propulsion. In promoting Transformers 2 he touted the epicness of the 45 minute end battle, but it might have been one of the most boring things Hulk has ever seen because it so lacked in purpose and character decision. It was chaos. Meanwhile go back and look at the hour-long battle of Helms Deep in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and count how many choices were character-centric. Look how the moments of the battle were given pauses and consideration, punctuation marks in the longer rhythms of story and character. It was anything but “the chase.” It’s strange when you look at certain not-so-good movies with this definition of an act and you realize how many of our big summer tent-poles just do nothing like that. And Hulk honestly feels like this tiny bit of advice, this tiny rethinking of a popular convention, this way of finally ignoring 3 act structure in favor of constant character development, could save hundreds of movies. Hulk really does. For example, the recent debacle with The Green Lantern was entirely due to the fact that the film has one real, genuine act break. Repeat. One. Oh sure, there’s lots of stuff that happens, but in terms of main character propulsion and decisionmaking? Nope. The main character makes one decision in the entire film. In fact, no other film quite highlights the failure to create purposeful story changes quite like this one. And no other film quite highlights how our traditional, purposeless understanding of three act structure results in a story that is. So. Damn. Boring. But let Hulk reiterate the film’s plot for you in an effort to make it clear: Hal Jordan starts as a pissyass fighter pilot who is then given a lantern ring by a dying alien cause, like, destinyorwhatever, and is then zapped to planet Oa (neither of which is his decision). He then trains for all of two seconds only to then quit and not embrace his new situation (with no discernible consequences and gets to keep his ring) wherein he goes back to being a pissy-ass fighter pilot who doesn’t even fly planes anymore and instead needs about 10 pep talks in his apartment. And it is not until 90 different scenes of relative moping, futzing around in his suit, and fucking rejecting Blake Lively’s advances that he finally embraces being a lantern or whatever and makes an actual fucking decision to change things and go back to Oa. Then he just fights a giant face-cloud in the entire third act. A few times. Repetitively. Now… Hulk brought this “one act break” thing up to everyone in a group after we saw the movie and they said “No, the second act starts when he gets the ring and goes to Oa!” … but after everything Hulk has just told you, do not tell Hulk that Hal Jordan getting the ring is equal to an act break. Even though it’s the shift that comes one-third of the way into the movie and thus feels like an act break, there’s no real point to it, nor character urgency of change. There definitely should be in that moment, but there isn’t. And that’s because the filmmakers defined an act break as lazily as this group that was evaluating it. They just figured a change in environment and some obligatory hero journey nonsense would do all the story work. And that’s why the filmmakers let their main character spend literally the entire middle of the movie going back on that action. They never understood what the act transition meant in the first place. Hulk can’t remember the last time a film had one real act break. Everything else, outside of Hector Hammond (who was lucky enough to get an actual mini-story arc), is just stuff happening. There is no clear character motivation at play in any one other character. Meaning the film, along with hundreds of other movies like it, simply does not realize what an act actually requires. They don’t realize that characters have to make decisions. And Hulk blames this stringent, ubiquitous Hollywood belief in the existence of the 3 act structure for crap like this. Hulk really does. By indoctrinating what might seem logical, we have endorsed that which makes for terrible movies. And it’s not just the fact that they can’t define what act breaks mean whatsoever. It’s actually the entire array of language we use in talking about story structure. It’s this whole dull focus on beginning, middle, and end, which makes some basic sense in terms of “summarizing” a plot, but it gives zero indication of how to actually write that story. And shouldn’t that be the most important part? Think about it. Think about Hulk’s example from the beginning, the complaint about second acts being purposeless. If we were using the traditional model of 3 act structure, then the first act is all introduction and set up and the third act is the climax. These terms are both vague but still selfexplanatory, and when you look at that pesky second act, which is often just defined as “rising action” or “a rise in conflict,” you begin to see why so much “middle” storytelling has a lack of real purpose… seriously, what the fuck does “rise” even mean on an instructional level? “You know… the conflict! Just, um, rise it!” Whatever it means, it’s certainly not good storytelling. Sure, it can be an accurate summary of what’s happening onscreen (or at least how it feels). But in terms of the actual mechanism it is still incredibly vague on the broadest of levels. Worse, it is not instructing you how to actually write. It provides none of the good stuff that is critical to understanding narrative. Stuff like character arcs, personal motivation, relationships, conflicts, turns, reveals, and propulsion. None of it is in there! “But, Hulk doesn’t that exist separately from structure? Can’t you just ldo all that stuff within the 3 act guide?” No! You can’t! Because that’s exactly what structure secretly is. Story structure is inherently dependent on understanding purpose and all that good narrative stuff listed above. Good structure is about taking those qualities and applying them in the most economical, functional, and dramatic way possible. And for that you need real specificity when it comes to understanding the purpose. 90% of 3 act models lack that specificity. And every single other highly-detailed 3 act model automatically creates so much dead air and purposeless space-filling that it makes for terrible propulsion. Those models focus on page counts and tricks and things that are supposedly universal applications of “what should be happening to a character” that may have absolutely nothing to do with how to make a movie. Hulk can always tell when Hulk is reading a Syd Field devotee screenplay and they all fail in the exact same ways. And that’s because a 3 act structure leads writers to just try to make connecting points between the beginning and ending of their story. That’s really about all it does. Which means your characters are not moving forward in any discernible way. They’re just waiting around for the 80 minute mark so that they can begin that whole ending thingy. It descends into a shell game of unmotivated events and it’s all because the definition of the 3 act structure is complete ass. As a result, we hear it all the time: “The problems in the film’s second act.” Sorry if Hulk has been coming off as too smashy here. It’s just such a personal issue. Hulk has never seen something so unhelpful become so widely accepted. Sure, it makes sense and is a simple way to see stories from afar, but it’s also so simple that it’s taught to elementary school kids when they’re first grasping the concept of narrative. And while Hulk argues that the simple truths are oft times the most important ones, the expression of those truths should be far more complicated. And the 3 act structure is not even “a truth.” It’s a writing model attempting to help you get at one. So Hulk thinks that Hollywood could maybe stand to do a little better than a third grade grasp of story. So let’s get serious. If 1) the 3 act model sucks. 2) We define acts as something where the characters can’t go back. And 3) A film can have any number of acts it wants - how do we actually approach structure? Well, Hulk’s gonna tell you for the whole rest of part five! But the first step in doing so is comparing the traditional 3 act model with the storytelling model that erupted out of the legacy of the greatest storytelling genius of all time… William Shakespeare. Fact: while Shakespeare’s plays were not officially written with act designations, he did talk a great deal about his view of essential storytelling. And when his works were later preserved they were all broken up into 5 acts and studied extensively as to the purpose of how his stories worked. And in doing that, we identified all the brilliant ways that Shakespeare (again, the greatest storytelling genius of all time) used structure to make it work. For sake of explanation, Hulk will use most Shakespeare’s most popular play, Romeo and Juliet as an example “audible grooooooooan!” Hey, it’s a sneaky good play that’s way more satirical than people realize! And far more importantly, it is his best known play so it helps vastly when trying to explain something. So Shakespeare’s 1st acts were always comprised of introductions and the establishing of a preexisting central main conflict (i.e. two families are at odds, Romeo is a lovesick pup over Rosaline, Juliet is a naive and lovelorn girl). Now, Hulk talked about it before, but this preexisting conflict in the background is so important because it creates a conditional world for the audience who is entering it. Shakespeare didn’t have cinema’s neat tricks of landscape shots and voiceover prologues. So he started us immediately in the story and it was an amazing way of creating a sense of space, history, and believability. And it’s a big surprise to Hulk how often this practice is ignored in blockbuster filmmaking. And heck, even if it is some intricate human drama or something, a preexisting conflict could do so much. Mostly because it gives you a great situation to spur the main conflict into effect! And that’s because the 2nd act is usually comprised of some kind of central event that challenges or deeply worsens the main conflict. It’s usually in the form of relationship development, a fight, a reveal, or a surprise (i.e. star-crossed teenagers Romeo and Juliet meet and go ga-ga over one another, which is a huge problem given the nature of the preexisting conflict of their families’ feud). Basically this act features the main surface plot of the story coming into effect. Meaning if you had to explain what the movie was about, the conflict being created in the 2nd act could easily describe the main conflict of the entire film, i.e. “two star crossed lovers fall in love while their families are at war with each other.” And however this conflict is revealed, it should be done in whichever way would benefit the story most. Then the 3rd act comprises a turning point. Now, Hulk reminds you that this need not be a “twist” per se, but more of a spurring incident or action that makes the conflict infinitely more complicated (i.e. Mercutio getting killed by Tybalt then Romeo killing Tybalt). Often these moments are surprising. They deeply affect not only the level of seriousness of main conflict, but dramatically alter the actual direction of it. This is the sort of thing alluded to in the “rise in conflict” statement, but you know, way more specific. It requires that you think intensely about the nature of your conflict: why does it exist? What is perpetrating it? What would make it worse? And have the story respond accordingly. And the Shakespearean 3rd act is such a great opportunity in storytelling because: It’s a way to hit the audience with climax-like drama before they’re ready for it. Before they expect it. And it’s not mere “gotcha” tactics. If done right, you can create the kind of emotion to carry you right through to the end. Shakespeare’s 3rd acts were often filled with such moments of storytelling beauty: great inversions of fortune. Best intentions gone awry. Deaths! Loss! Confusion! Sudden chaos! Even though these 3rd acts don’t finish the arc of the whole story, they are often the most resonant moments and they are still climax-worthy in scale. What does Hollywood tend to do in their big adventures? They have “2nd act problems,” that’s what they do. They say “hey, let’s put an action scene here!” Or spin their wheels and lose all sense of purpose, often saving what could happen now for some inevitable 3rd act obligatory conclusion. They fuck up the middle of their storytelling. Meanwhile the Shakespearean 3rd act is perfect. It makes for a “turning point” that is both deeply affecting and provides change to the arc of the entire story. And it is something far more important than what 3-act-structure argues is just putting things in place for climax. Speaking of which… The 4th act of Shakespeare’s model was known as “the spiral” and it is actually full of character decisions that cause characters to sink toward the real climax (i.e. Romeo and Juliet decide go on the lam, hatch a plan to fake their deaths, etc). These decisions are rapid. Fast-paced. Poorly conceived. And hugely dramatic. In truth, this is the point where you are really arranging and setting up the climax. But in that goal it is equally important to remember that you have to stay true to the character arcs and flaws, otherwise it will feel like things are flying off the rails instead of simply getting more intense. And this feverish, intense climate is the best place to expose the deep character flaws that will either bring down our heroes or allow them to succeed. (Meanwhile, the Shakespearean 3rd act turning point can sometimes allow for a main character acting out of character. It’s a neat little distinction to keep in mind when you are trying to decide what a character would do in a situation versus what they didn’t do). The Shakespearean 4th act also provides a great opportunity for a quiet moment of reflection before the finale, before they make the kinds of grave decisions that seal their fate. But it can’t just be all reflection and pausing (cough cough Green Lantern). Again, it should really feel full of decisions. The pace should quicken. Things should feel like they are falling out of control for our character. It is “the spiral,” after all. And it should feel like it’s all happening in a very short amount of time before we get to… The 5th act is where the audience gets the climax / resolutions / weddings / tragedy / fallout/ etc. (i.e. Romeo and Juliet have a fatal miscommunication, kill themselves, and leave their families to be heartbroken and declare peace). The most important thing to remember is that this last act is not just wrapping things up, but is the encapsulation of the story and should exhibit all the points one is trying make in your movie. As Hulk said earlier, the ending is the conceit so the climax and resolution are the very goal of your movie. While Shakespeare would have a character talk directly to the audience and sum up the lessons they should take away from the story, Hulk gets why that same methodology might not fly in screenplay form. But screw it, modern writers are so dreadfully afraid to be didactic that they forget to incorporate their purpose and intent in their endings. They opt for alleviation or obfuscation. Most of them could do with a fair bit of direct moralizing. Heck, No Country for Old Men ends with the Shakespearean soliloquy to the audience, so you should be less afraid of it too. No matter what, your ending should be the summation of everything you have written so far. It should not be a freakin’ afterthought. No matter what the story - tragedy, comedy, or history - Shakespeare’s plays were imbued with this specific 5 act structure every time. The intro, the establishing of the conceit, the turn, the spiral, and the climax (which hammers home the conceit). Sure, he gets heaped with praise over his mastery of language and the deep resonance of themes, some justifiably credit him as the father of psychology, but Hulk wants to make it clear to you that he was just so fucking brilliant at story structure to boot… it’s sort of unfair. And Hulk knows it may seem lame bring up such an obvious choice as “best writer ever” but, well, he was. But while Hulk clearly adores the way that Shakespeare’s 5 act structure can help you unlearn 3 act structure, chiefly in how it gives import and meaning to “the middle” of storytelling, it is important to remember that this Shakespearean 5 act model is just another possible example and not the rule. You can honestly do whatever you think best in terms of number of act breaks. It’s whatever works for your story, like the use of 9 acts in Malcolm X. But hey, if you’re looking for a tool to help better structure your story, or if you are a student looking to get better and learn how to write with purpose and intent… well… one could do a lot worse than that Shakespeare guy. So now then. After reviewing all this, Hulk wants you to go back to the traditional 3 act structure model for a second. You may notice something very important when comparing it to Shakespeare’s model. You may notice the way the second act described in the 3 act structure is the exact same way act 4 is defined in Shakespeare’s model, minus the whole important “decisions” part. Shakespeare’s “spiral” with its increasing of intensity and positioning of details before the climax is really similar to the 2nd act’s rise in conflict. Hulk argues that this is so telling that it’s not even funny. It means that this little, short moment that Shakespeare used for escalating the final stakes and positioning the endgame is the same exact way Hollywood screenwriters handle the entire central section of their goddamn movies. No wonder so many are aimless and boring. After all, it’s no accident that’s Shakespeare’s 4th acts are always the shortest, least interesting, and least compelling part of every single one of his plays. Name a memorable moment from any of them! Hulk’s sure there’s something, but Hulk can tell you the major event of every act 3 in every single one of his plays. He kept this 4th act stuff short for a reason. So imagine a whole Hollywood full of writers trying to expand that same tiny amount of story and purpose into the 30-60 sum odd pages that make up entire second acts… how terrible is that? It means that characters can’t help but just wait around. It means the writers are simply trying come up with distractions and B.S. conflicts that don’t have anything to do with the point or truly affect or alter the arc of the story. It means that writers end up cramming too much good stuff in the first act to try and establish all needed details when really they are missing great opportunity for developing a story at an organic pace. The lessons of Shakespeare can translate to anything. You may ask: “Hulk! How does this 5 act thing work with popular movie-going? Big budget movies aren’t exactly Shakespeare!” First off, Shakespeare would totally write the best summer blockbusters ever and that’s actually sort of what he was doing for his time and age! Second off, while there are a host of great examples, let’s look at Hulk’s old buddy / great movie: Iron Man, which has an exceptional story structure. It may not have been written with this five act Shakespearean intent, but Hulk swears to you it fits and is worth talking about. After all, the one thing everyone seemed to love about that film is that it spent so long before Tony actually became Iron Man, and thus the audience got to experience all the great character development along the way. More telling, everyone lauded the fun sense of adventure that came from out of the conflicts of his trying to build the suit. It avoided so many modern pratfalls. It never rushed getting to “the action” that so many big budget movies require, because the film instinctively knew that it could take a movie about the process of invention and make it work great. The storytelling was the action. And guess how many acts the movie has, in Hulk’s humble estimation? Yup. Five. Act one – intro + state of preexisting conflict – we get to know Tony as a playboy and even see him deal with the external moral conflict of supplying weapons and brush off the concerns of the fact that his weapons are falling into the wrong hands. Act two – the conceit and being at odds with the preexisting conflict – Tony is captured and put to work in the terrorist camp. He discovers the reality about his weapons going to the bad guys and he is already at his lowest point and on the brink of survival. He decides to build the prototype suit and escape. He becomes Iron Man; conceit established! Act three – the turning point – Tony is now back at home, and he makes a moral decision, shuts down weapons ops, and changes the direction of his life. Tony decides to continue on this path and starts building a new suit (which has a hilarious set of trials). Obadiah is revealed as the bad guy behind Tony’s kidnapping. Tony goes live with his suit and helps others, not just himself. Act four – the spiral/escalation of conflict – Tony continues to use the suit out in real war conflict, admits the truth to Rhodes, gets sidelined by Obadiah, and now faces a grim circumstance. Notice that these developments feel more of the action-y wheel-spinning activities that reek of standard act 2 developments that one sees in typical 3 act structure. But in this movie? Because it all comes after the awesome suit-building transformation of act 3? It feels so fresh and exciting to the viewer who has had to wait. The movie held out beautifully before tipping its hand. And it all goes on for a perfectly shorter length of time, before moving to the inevitable finale… Act five - climax/conclusion/resolution – Tony’s conflict with Obadiah comes to a conclusion both personally and as big-ass Iron Men fighting in death suits. The important part of this act is how all the plots come together (even though the action felt a little underwhelming). Hulk actually finds that detail to be neat, to be honest. It meant that the action was the least interesting part of a big summer blockbuster for once. And that’s a serious achievement. Score one for charisma and characterization! But Hulk understands that some of you may argue there are lots other possible act breaks in Iron Man. Some of you may contend that the film was not written with five acts in mind. Both are absolutely true. For one, writing is filled with “micro-acts” which help propel every scene forward and have different acts for all the different stories and characters (we’ll get into this later), but Tony’s arc with Pepper has its own act breaks. Tony’s relationship with Obadiah has its own breaks. It all comes together to make the story feel propulsive + organic. After all, every scene should have a real goal and objective to it. And going back to the point at hand, labeling all that great character development and decisionmaking in the middle of the movie as just the rise in conflict is just downright asinine. For two, Hulk keeps saying it, but you can decide the act breaks are wherever you want and you’d be right. It’s just about what seems the most reasonable and makes the most sense. Better yet, it is about what makes the most sense for giving your act breaks purpose and meaning. And call it a naturally occurring number, but Hulk sees movies with the 5 act structure turn up in good stories again and again. And it’s not just Shakespeare and Iron Man, folks. Ever notice that all one hour TV dramas are all segmented into 5 acts? Yes, it’s done for commercial breaks, but that magic number is no accident. It’s a tried and true system that helps make those TV shows propulsive instead of languishing. Again, like anything, you are more than allowed to break away from this model and make good television, but you’d be surprised how many non-traditional narratives utilize 5-6 acts too. People loooooooove to talk about Quentin Tarantino’s non-linear storytelling as a counter example to traditional “act-based” storytelling, particularly with Pulp Fiction. But guess what everyone? That movie has exactly 5 acts, which are all distinctly separated with title cards. Oh, and Reservoir Dogs? 5 acts separated with title cards. Both Kill Bills? Each one has 5 acts separated with title cards. Inglourious Basterds? 5 acts separated with title cards. Django Unchained? 5 acts with superimposed signifiers. You sense a theme here? Hulk just cannot emphasize this enough. A story is a multifaceted thing. If you want to structure your story, remember to have both act structure for the main plot and act structure for each of your characters’ personality developments. By having all these varying structures, each with their own beats, with each character making active decisions, it creates a constant sense of moving forward for your movie. That’s why they call it “development,” as it is the key to bringing your audience along for the journey. But perhaps you think Hulk is being too hard on the 3 act structure. Perhaps you think Hulk is simplifying it in an effort to tear it down. That’s fine. But Hulk would argue that the heavy advocates of 3 act structure do a good enough job of that on their own. In researching this topic Hulk came across so many websites that… Hulk just can’t even quote them... It’s too soul-crushing. It’s just full of blind reductions and over-simplifications and gross amounts of lying. Entire charts where they say “No, Shakespeare was totally writing in the 3 act structure!” And then they reduce act 2-4 of his plays and just slap the “act 2″ designation on it, which is not only hilarious in its over-simplification but it actually ignores 3 act structure rules because he introduced his main conceits in the second act, not the first. The whole thing is basically laughable. They’ll toss out entire act structures of 4 act modern dramas, because they think it is only there to account for set changes. They’ll look at entire acts that last half the running time and say “Well, you probably shouldn’t do that.” It’s upholding a model that is not only wrong, but deeply uninformative. Seriously, does the following image make you feel confident about your writing? Hulk sees models like this shown to young writers all the time. So if you are writing a screenplay. Hulk is telling you. The 3 act structure is garbage. Stop citing it in articles. Stop talking about it with friends. It will not help you. It can only hurt you. Start the dialogue. Insist that it is a myth propagated by a need for simplicity. Say “of course stories have a beginning, middle, and end, you insufferable turd!” Then throw a drink in their face and run away… okay, maybe Hulk is getting carried away here. But Hulk seriously worries that unless we really, truly change the culture of how we talk about the 3 act structure and act breaks, then all this advice may be useless. Chances are you will find yourself in a Hollywood meeting someday, and they’ll start talking about 3 acts and to try and argue with them would be fruitless. Say what you need to, Hulk guess, but stick to a more propulsive method of narrative in your own work. Tell ‘em it’s 3, but really make it 5. Do everything you can, because in this Hulk’s opinion the strict adherence to 3 act structure is killing Hollywood. Heck, if this book were to have any sort of real-life, substantial change, Hulk would adore if it got studios to start thinking outside of the 3 act box. It’s certainly something Hulk has tried to share every place Hulk has worked… but who knows if getting the message across is possible given its level of acceptance. And the very worst thing is that this same Hollywood often fails at the 3 act structure they’re trying to uphold. And that’s because so many movies are green-lit on just a pitch and possibly having stars attached, so you basically have movies being made that have only figured out the conceit so far. Meaning they only know the first act or so… and that’s fucking it. The endings of these films are so barely established and uniformly tend be terrible. So many scripts seem to start with a straight line from their starting point and pursue the fallout until they just run out of steam. It really is inconceivable to Hulk that folks can start making a movie without truly knowing the ending. So if you want be a writer, always know your ending. Always uphold your purpose. So, to summarize this rant of unlearning: The amount of acts in a movie should be dependent on the story you want to tell. Each act should reach this moving forward point in an organic, earned way. And the total number of acts you use is dependent on how much you are trying to accomplish with the story. More importantly, they should all tie together in a coherent way. And then, it should ultimately be done with the best possible economy without losing anything critical or affecting the organic quality of the telling. It’s a lot to handle, but that’s the ideal. And if you’re starting out, try Shakespeare’s 5 act on for size. Hulk thinks it’s a wonderful learning structure. After all, no matter who you are, storytelling is largely about problem solving. One can always come up with great ideas that motivate and excite them, but the other half of that equation is figuring out how to make it translate to a fully-formed reality on the page. How do we make this scene entertaining and yet propulsive? How do we make a movie that is true to our conceit? One that works on every character level? You need to constantly ask yourself these questions. Which means that writing is problem-solving. And take Hulk’s advice: the 3 act structure won’t help you solve a problem. If anything, it will create more problems. And thus, there’s nothing more important for you to unlearn in your quest to become a better writer… … except maybe this next thing: 26. Why We Have To Quit It With The Hero Journey Shit Ahhh, the monomyth. It is a fascinating academic pursuit, a journey into our cultural history, to the ties of communication that bonded our early civilizations. It even explains how our storytelling roots are directly born from that shared history. And the lessons at the core of the monomyth are manifold, rich, and textured; a thousand versions of a hero’s journey, all bound by the human condition, all crucial to our understanding of why we tell stories in the first place. Simply put, the hero’s journey is vital to our humanity. And now it’s a total fucking crutch. A lot like Hulk’s dismissal of 3 act structure, the problem with Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces is not its lack of accuracy in a descriptive sense, but instead how we misread its intention and falsely use the information it provides. Chiefly, the fact that our society has wholly adopted the book’s breakdown of the hero journey as some kind of ready-made app for paint-bynumbers storytelling. To be honest, Hulk’s not even really sure how many people who regularly cite the hero’s journey as a story model have actually read the damn book past a few chapters… or read it at all…. This reality is actually quite obvious because the book’s intended value is deeply, even maddeningly academic (at times it is downright anthropological). The truth about Campbell’s much-lauded book is it doesn’t actually have a lot to do with all those neat little diagrams you see at the beginning. Instead, it’s far more interested in cultural deductions about anthropological commonalities that you can make based on those concepts. But since those diagrams are all we seem to remember, it is thus all we seem to take from it. For many, the hero’s journey is just universal storytelling made easy. And that reality is hurting more than it’s helping. Here are the reasons why: For starters, there is a fundamental error made in how we interpret the apparent “simplicity” of these myths, mainly in how they are not simple whatsoever. The universal breakdown of them may render them as seemingly simple, but the structure on display is anything but that. For instance, you’ll notice that one of the main referenced myths in the book, The Epic of Gilgamesh, is anything but a paint-bynumbers story. In fact, the 12 tablet Epic of Gilgamesh is actually pretty fucking complex from a structural standpoint, even though it’s somehow considered the Rosetta stone for the hero journey. Sure, it contains the familiar big picture reference points (the passing into the strange world, the call/return, etc), but these amount to nothing but loose plot points or actions and are by no means the engine of the narrative. No, what drives the narrative and the plot are the basic methods of cause and effect storytelling (which we will talk about soon) as well as its focus on the dynamic themes in place. Like with the in-flux relationship with Enkindu, which is born out of stopping Gilgamesh from engaging in his more, um, sordid activities (rape mostly). There’s also the quest for immortality (L’Morte D’Arthur alert!), some other stuff about religion, prostitution, dream states, you name it. Hulk has even read more analysissesss of Gilgamesh and Enkindu as hidden lovers than you would imagine is possible (oh, college papers!… actually, they may have a point with that one). The point is there’s a shit ton going on with how the story is functioning on a moment-to-moment level that goes beyond its fun little ability to be vaguely outlined in terms of the hero’s journey. And it is those things that make the myth a compelling and interesting classic, not the mere fact that it mostly fits within the confines of monomyth classification. And yet, Gilgamesh only seems to survive in our cultural consciousness because of the Campbellian hero diagram and our desire to talk about it in those very specific and universal terms: the call! The refusal! The trials! The return! Yay! Yay! Now, is most of that stuff above in Gilgamesh? Absolutely. Is that what makes it a story worth telling? Eh, maybe when it comes to thematic purpose. Is that what makes it a good story? No. Is that what makes it a well-told, well-structured story? Fuck no. But many assume it does. And this misunderstanding speaks directly to what Hulk believes is the great fundamental error of how we interpret academia. Chiefly, that when you boil down storytelling to its most basic elements, you are therefore boiling down storytelling to its most basic elements! Hulk mean… gaaahhh. That’s what you are actually doing! The intention of this breakdown is to find similarities and make deductions about our cultural and psychological inclinations! Which means this breakdown is not the key to unlocking universal storytelling, but a key to making your story as similar as possible to everything else out there. To reiterate: there is great value to the Campbellian hero breakdown, specifically concerning the formative nature of culture and why we value and tell these stories, but it is actually the furthest thing away from a how-to guide for story structure. Whoever are the folks responsible for the oral traditions behind stuff like Beowulf and Gilgamesh, they weren’t sitting down saying “okay, okay, now he has to refuse the call and then by tablet 2 the next beat should…” gaaaah. Hulk smashy! It was all primal and constructed from a completely different sense. What’s so interesting about the hero’s journey is the way these themes and dynamics seeped naturally out of these different stories, not that everyone felt obligated to uphold the model or were purposely trying to do it. The hero’s journey secretly has nothing to do whatsoever with good story structure! Just thematic content and iconography! If there is anything that Hulk so desperately wants to convey to all of you in this screenwriting book it is that there is a stark difference between the language we should use in the broad strokes of description and analysis versus the language we should use in terms of creation and practical application. We will get to Hulk’s preferred method of structure called “multi-act flow structure” soon. Similarly. Star Wars takes a stunning amount of its dynamics from Dune. All of these problems are about the confusion of language. For example. Think of how many beats in the “hero journey” would not be called for with that character. not just know that they exist and where they should more or less go.It’s like the myth of the 3 act structure. but it’s a complicated methodology that is meant to account for all the most important aspects of practical application. but because we think they’re “cool” we just build our action around posture. not obligatory servitude. Action scenes work best when they construct a-to-b cause and effect visual stories. Jekll & Mr. you can’t sit there and go “I’m going to make cool action scenes” when you don’t know the mechanisms and function of how to do that. practical application into a metaphor: knowing that a house is made from wood with plastered walls and a roof does not allow one to simply build a house. the hero stories that worked structurally worked for completely different reasons than you think. Hyde). There are also the now ubiquitous comic book origin stories. we see it all the time). You don’t want to start from those broad. and end does not mean that it is the best way to approach structuring a story. ever-present beats. disconnect. Yet we constantly mistake these models of description for “how-to’s” and thus we keep running into the same basic storytelling problems again and again. by the way. each step of Tony’s journey to becoming Shellhead is an articulated. The way we break things down and describe them is not necessarily helpful to understanding how to best construct them or what we construct them for. Meaning. you can’t sit down and structure your new novel saying “I’m going to base it all off being post-modern and everything will fall into place!” That’s not how you build the thing. storytelling should be geared around the construction and evolution of drama and character. But since it is so seeped into our consciousness. though to be fair. There is rarely a super hero origin these days that feels interesting or different. as if it is the only thing that matters. reductive elements and work backwards. how many movies have we seen that are beat-for-beat the same story as Star Wars? It doesn’t help that there are a multitude of writers who simply equate Star Wars with the only existing model of the hero’s journey (hint: it’s not at all) and then just regurgitate it as if they were photocopying the script and changing the names (Eragon takes the proverbial cake on that one. As Hulk has alluded to. You can’t look at blueprints and just copy them to make the house feel like the real thing. character-based micro-step. Let Hulk put this argument of categorization vs. You have to understand how to literally build it and shape those things. We have to revise our language. The one exception? Hulk goes back to Iron Man! The reason that movie works so well is that it knows when to completely avoid the beats of the hero journey that don’t matter to the story it wants to tell. a singular decision that deals with the moment and is directly . middle. Their solution? They just don’t use them! Instead. which have become universal in their construction (except for Hulk’s origin! Hulk’s is truly unique! … in that it’s a blatant usage of Dr. Just because you can break a story down easily into a beginning. We have to gear our moments around function and purpose. not the lame obligation to hitting tired. We have to reform and broaden our models. and slick imagery. Seriously. which looks alluring but does not actually work dramatically. And yet every year we see movies that desperately cling to the hero journey model. The situation came to light for most people when a popular meme showed up in the form of a “BioWare Game Chart” that identified just how similar all the storytelling and characterization was. but it also took them ages to escape the clutches of the hero’s journey. Again. They nakedly thought the monomyth Campbell model was their how-to guide. The medium is really burgeoning now and there are a lot of companies like Valve. The company of BioWare has been lauded for a long time. Here is exactly how the BioWare writer responded [via message board. like. but that they are all so similar in the most rote. But Hulk wants to talk about the story of one game company in particular. That’s because we all read it in. but this broad characterization has merit. Hulk too is familiar with this book you speak of. it was in a rather pissy way. But honestly. 9th grade.related to the situation at hand. And that’s really not what the book is saying. and then things change and you have to go out and do stuff. And that’s because most video game writing is wholly imitative. That’s asinine. Bethesda. The problem of why it got so bad was that they thought this was the correct way to do things. every single game they released had the same stories. but it’s important. every Bioware game has the same plot! See. They thought similarity was the point. soul-crushing way possible. there’s Hulk’s favorite example of the formulaic version of the hero’s journey… video games. Hulk isn’t trying to accuse the writer of perpetually being like that. etc. that are producing incredible. there is nothing that showcases backward thinking quite like the oblivious writing of the video game industry taken on the whole. for it is wholly resonant to our discussion. And that difference is everything. Lastly. using a level of smugness one can only get from faux-intellectualism. And that led to very funny situation where one of the writers at BioWare who was in part responsible for these hero-journey regurgitations came out to defend themselves in… well. just that in this instance that’s how it came off.” If Hulk were to be a big fat jerk about all this. at that]: “So I’m supposed to believe someone is smart enough to do a big excel spreadsheet with color coding and stuff but not smart enough to know about Campbellian archetypes? Yeah. which followed the dust-up and were summarized in an article in Eurogamer: . guys. let’s just be honest. assembled without actually understanding narrative craft on any level. but this is really a whole different level of bad. and you go to crazy weird places! Aaaaaand so yeah. And that’s because movies don’t actually work if the characterization or plot isn’t compelling in some way. it’s not a matter of things merely being similar. video games can work just fine without those things as long as it has compelling gameplay. Which makes it real fucking writing and not paint-by-numbers. Hulk would simply reply: “Yes. People like to make fun of Hollywood’s poor understanding of storytelling. Forgive the following non-movie digression. They are challenging. with the same exact characters (just with slightly different proper nouns). Rockstar. but thanks for calling everyone an idiot for not blindly accepting its universal application and dismissing the concerns of someone who was actually making a great point. It wouldn’t even be fit for even the worst Hollywood movies. and a ton of fun. immersive. For a long time. totally the same story. Does this sound harsh? Hulk is sorry. Hulk loves video games. things are kind of normal.” And here are the same writer ’s other comments. Particularly fun was the point when you start arguing for the sameness of Campbellian archetypes and then proceed to sarcastically argue the critics are over-typifying said sameness. thoughtful work. Meanwhile. then having a complication that splits them up. They brought a ton more objectives beyond the golden number and players ate it up.’ Weekes explained that four is a golden number of objectives for an area that may confuse.“[The writer] said the ‘intro. Firstly. No other purpose. and then a tightly focused ending is like riffing on how romance novels generally start out with two people being attracted to each other but having emotional issues. like any other. ‘Humorously snarking that our games have a beginning part that is streamlined and introduces you to the game. a middle that allows you the freedom to go to several places and have adventures. Thirdly. Because there is actually a way that his comments make perfect sense and seem reasonable. depending on the context and execution. but there is a really relevant point that Hulk wants you to understand: 1. and then in the end they get together and are happy. Plus that’s an outright falsehood. Stories that seemed to directly comment on human ethics and get to the heart of nuanced politics. Hulk has thus far articulated that there is plenty wrong with it (and more to come). ‘People who create fiction in any form use a structure appropriate to that form. as areas can be culled if they’re not ready in time for launch with minimal impact on the final product. 2. But even all that isn’t that big a point of contention. four planets. then gradually building trust.’ he concluded. something else has happened with BioWare games that makes Hulk’s argument for Hulk… BioWare’s Mass Effect 2 hugely abandoned the hero’s model and took a much more broad approach to storytelling. And as a result of all this hard work and model-breaking? .” When Hulk first responded to these comments a long time ago Hulk got angry.’ ‘It’s a structure. They do it because their audience understands and responds on an emotional level to that structure. ‘There’s nothing wrong with it. They were clinging to the similarity as if the similarity was the important part. “Easy” is a never a good reason to do anything. Especially given the fact you have 30-80 hours’ worth of story to tell and you’re using a model built for short myths or 2 hour movies. They expanded the scope far beyond the “4 world” dynamic and crafted long-form storylines for the characters that were seriously more in line with well-crafted TV dramas and group dynamics instead of rote Campbellian typicality.’ he wrote. Hulk smashed things. And in the time since. It’s what he says after that completely misses the point. Assuming it’s easy to “understand” and would frustrate your simpleton audience is not the way to relate to them. But Hulk has since calmed down. Gamers adore a lot more objectives. There was no tact. The problem is not that their stories were doing all the general stuff most common stories were doing… It’s that it was all they were doing. overwhelm and frustrate once exceeded. Secondly. let alone build a challenging game. 3. ‘Players understand it. finale’ structure familiar to BioWare games is picked for a number of good reasons. They were grounding the mechanics of the story in those basic functions. it’s ‘easy’ in the sense of QA. They crafted new personalities outside the archetypes. that’s what has to happen in order to tell a hero story. And what was stopping them was the mere belief that the rigorous. but the problem is that we mistake the nature of this assessment and say therefore that any old human qualities will do for our heroic character… even “none. The point is that Remy was truly dynamic. And then with Mass Effect 3 they went even further and crafted a game with such a stunning thematic narrative device for the ending that Hulk thought they finally brought mainstream triple A gaming into the realm of art… the problem is Hulk in’t sure how well that part translated or how much people were even ready for it. To wit. and flawed. let Hulk focus on popular movie tropes and explain the seven fun ways people use the hero’s journey to ruin stories: I) – Don’t Make People Heroes Simply Because They Are The Main Characters And They Are Getting Called To An Adventure! Or Something.Mass Effect 2 was widely hailed as one of the best games of all time. the obligatory nature of having to hit these beats and tropes rears its ugly head. Everyone likes to point to Luke Skywalker as why the vanilla hero is what works “best” because of the success of Star Wars. He just seems vanilla because he’s often standing next to one of the greatest scoundrels of all time in Han Solo. Soooooo many movies. limited model they were using before was “correct. But maybe you think Hulk is being too hard on the hero’s journey. We do this apparently to ensure that the main character is a conduit that the audience desires. horribly wrong and then how the abandoning of it allowed things to go wonderfully. We know one of the great things about heroism is that a hero could literally be anyone. Sometimes it’s far lazier than that and these characters are picked to be heroes for no other reason than “well. wonderfully right. A sense of morality. Hulk argues most movies fall victim to the same exact thinking that BioWare did. forceful personality with the same human yearning for adventure beyond his farm. A spark. frustrated. What makes someone worthy of being a hero? There seems to be some confusion over the matter. He never had a sense of belonging. they freed themselves up to do so much more. but that a hero can come from anywhere. but remember correlation does not mean cause. He soon came to know tragedy and trauma. Meanwhile.” It’s the falsehood of what an everyman means. But the fact that they largely abandoned that hero’s model and suddenly started crafting not just good games. Well. But the key is that they have to have something inside them. It’s not that anyone can be a hero. but the best damn games around says everything. That Hulk is seeing too many problems with movies striving for similarity. Hulk brought all this BioWare/video game stuff in because it was just the best possible example of the hero’s journey gone horribly. Do you remember the end of Ratatouille where the critic character Anton Ego surmises that he was mistaken about something of grave importance: it’s not that anyone can cook but that a great cook can truly come from anywhere? It directly speaks to this issue. Luke was still a strong. and a desire to go far beyond himself.” Instead. And yet we constantly misapply this “anyone can be a hero” trope to mean that anyone with a vacuous .” Again. but as a result we are creating main characters who are just vacuous. Remy the rat was someone with an innate ability (smell). an interest (appreciation of the taste of food). even you! It’s a nice thought and has significant narrative and thematic value. A yearning. He was also human. blank slates. Therefore. pick the most fearless guy on this planet!” Other guy: “But this guy is secretly afraid of everything and kind of moany and shit!” Guy: “Right. There has to be a reason we want to be like them or empathize with them other than context.” Okay. Funny. then the character is a complete failure. or (b) because the writer thinks it will manufacture drama. not human for. Occasionally. but who cares! We need the character to have the illusion of growth!” Other guy: “Oh okay. So why does this happen so much? Either because (a) they are following the hero’s journey and think they are supposed to.personality can become a hero/main character simply because some old man shows up and hands them a magic thingamajig. And ooh. okay. smart. and awesome. flawed. you want your main character to work as a conduit. Do you see the crucial difference? If the projection of our desire to be in the same situation as the hero is our only means of identification with them. So now Hulk is going to do one of Hulk’s favorite things and bring it back to Indiana fucking Jones! The great thing about Indy is that he’s a hero and yet the dude’s a fucking character. in an effort to slavishly stick to the hero’s journey model. because… um. So how many movies. and don’t forget! When writing heroic characters always remember: exasperated = good! But whining = bad! So toe the line! II) – Don’t Have The Characters Refuse The Call For The Entire Duration Of The Movie cough Green Lantern cough. troublesome. we can’t just have him kick ass immediately because he has to fit in the hero model and deny the call! So have him deny what he can obviously do. when really they are giving us no set up for this behavior whatsoever. Don’t use your main character as someone who is only functional in terms of plotting. it’s crazy! This is weird!” Or something. but those occasions are far rarer than you’d think. Yes. ooh. a movie can handle the refusal in an okay way and give legitimate reasons why the main character wouldn’t want to just abandon their life and go to this crazy adventure. As a result. we are treated to hero after hero you could basically rename Milquetoast McBlanderson. throw in an obligatory and wholly unnecessary scene(s) where the character denies answering the call for no good reason whatsoever? It is this Hulk’s opinion that there is no more a hollow exercise in writing. Cue imaginary Green Lantern discussion: Guy: “We need a new lantern! C’mon ring. they should have a damn personality. goofy. but does this seriously have to be the plot of the entire movie?” Guy: “Yes!” Audience: “… shit. Hint: it’s not . this isn’t how it works for every movie. Because usually the reasons expressed are: “I can’t go with you. So don’t be afraid to throw in some drama into that conduit! Don’t waste your personality on secondary characters just because you think you should (though they should obviously have good stuff going on too). some reason… that… doesn’t… make sense. but that doesn’t mean they have to be an empty shell - it means they are a flesh and blood person who we can be human with. Don’t be meta. but for Pete’s sake. You know. In case Hulk has to keep reminding you. And now every movie has their not-nearly-as-good version of them. 38 seconds of logical A. Seriously. try to hide what you’re doing. And so many people try to develop their main character with one singular refusal too. Watch the fucking movie. and then in their next scene he immediately realizes his aunt and uncle are in danger. “How can I make this crone unique?” Or even further. Yoda!” … Seriously. Hulk doesn’t mean to imply that using a crone figure in your story isn’t super-useful. either. we do the equally obvious thing and try to brush off this lazy writing with a dumb joke: “Do this thing. Luke Skywalker refuses the call for approximately 38 seconds of total screen time. Look. He says no to Ben Kenobi. Give them a role in the story’s function besides being the crone. it feels like a cheap shortcut. grating duty in movies: they’ve basically become exposition machines. Worse.weird. There are ways to do everything. but guile and intention are key. those characters in Star Wars weren’t solely exposition machines. Ask yourself. Do not just use a Yoda for Yoda’s sake. whether personal. Of course anytime this is too painfully obvious. that was an actual interaction from Spawn. But so often. so he runs home and sees their charred corpses and says. So why are we turning that little bit of needed doubt and tiny conflict into entire “act twos” wherein nothing happens but a character ’s inaction? It is so misguided. that actually brings up a good little tangent: how many times have you said to yourself “I’ll forgive this blatant aping of [insert popular movie] because at least it is self-aware blatant aping!” … Hulk’s gonna wager not a lot. and the evolution to our understanding worked beautifully. It’s like.” And he makes the decision to go with Ben to Alderaan to become a Jedi like his father. your audience will already know that this is exactly where it is going so embrace economy and get it on with it Remember. In fact. this does not include films that directly use these touchstones to invert the meanings for comedy purposes and yet still inform their own stories.” / “Hey. B. Remember that Yoda was first introduced to us not as Yoda but as a batshit insane little animal. It’s your destiny. the things they are really good at have now become their sole. “There is nothing for me here now. as if answering the call is the solution to all their problems. “How can I make them not feel like a crone at all?” . Those have a great deal of grounding and purpose. moral. Try to understand the function of that action and what it did for the characters. Develop their character evolution incrementally and based on other issues. Think of Emperor Zerg’s “I am your father” moment from Toy Story 2 or the Point Break scream-and-fire-your-guninto-the-air reference in Hot Fuzz. either. easy. folks. Being a movie’s “Yoda” has actually become shorthand for audiences. Of course. done with economy. or relationship bound instead! There should be so much more going on than just the willingness to be a hero! III) – Don’t Over-Rely On The Wise Old Crone Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda. C storytelling. Hulk can usually tell the exact moment each one these crone mentors will be killed off to send the main hero on his way alone (just because they’re supposed to and that’s what Star Wars did). And it does wonders. So in your own stories give them interesting and unique stuff to do. Wonderful characters. Your use of these devices and figures need either tact or invisibility. one of the delightful things that no one seems to realize is that in Star Wars. Go far beyond exposition and an occasional joke. And that’s when it hits you: he’s battling his personality and his mind. more complete person. cinematically speaking. no actual fighting. and as far as actual goddess conduits go Hathor was pretty cool). It won’t make your writing better. inclination. like. going back to Star Wars.” So if you’re still writing women with only these basic Madonna / whore archetypes in mind. In fact. the truth is that writing dynamic women just makes for better plots and better movies. the seven deadly sins work well for these personality-made-physical brand of obstacles). V) – Don’t Just Fall Back On Meeting The Goddess / Woman As Temptress For Your Female Roles Hulk. What? No one reads that far? Oh. The point is that the trials cannot be empty exercises in neat-o action. humility. you got your feminism in my hero’s journey chapter! Darn tootin’ Hulk did. but integrate them together. that movie actually did a fine job of avoiding that shit. archaic view of gender and it’s all about what “women can do to men” and not “what women can do. This is not to imply that the trials cannot contain a series of fights. It’s character development made literal and it’s all so incredibly fantastic. not a misspelled city but that figure of Greek myth. So really each trial should be treated as its own ministory addressing the character components of the larger journey… and yes you can use action to do that.C. human depictions of women since just about forever. when it comes to our women figures we can just write them as the goddess/temptress! (read: Madonna/whore). teach him/her loss.) Ugh. Again. As Hulk said in point #20. While writing their stories so many people look at the hero journey model and go: “Well. because that’s how we’ve been doing it forever. He’s trying to move rocks and gain self-control. For example. Plus. but here goes: the trials are just not a series of fights. there’s only Leia and it’s not like she’s the perfect example of feminism. Deal with it cause it’s important. This is a story and stories develop. a series of fights is usually a pretty sweet thing. One could address his acceptance of defeat. or whatever they may need to go forward as a better. One fight could address his lust (in general. the other truth is that there have been interesting. one fight could address his pride. these tropes are as old as the dawn of time because a lot of men have not been able to get over this dynamic since the dawn of time. just stop it already. And please know Hulk is not deriding this bad habit out of some modern. that’s the sum total of female approximation when looking at the chart (Campbell’s book actually has a lot of good maternal and sacred feminine stuff in the back once you get past the model thing.IV) – Don’t Mistake The Notion Of “The Trials” For “The Hero Fighting A Bunch Of Things” Hulk hopes this one is pretty self-evident. It’s always been a male-centric. Hulk argues that the goddess/temptress model has always been outdated. okay. But what each fight should do is have some sort of thematic resonance and reflect on a personality development of the main character. too (proof? Atalanta for one. Honestly. Well…okay. revisionist P. Going back to Star Wars. Sweet! Thanks monomyth!” Seriously. remember how fucking psychological Luke’s trials were during his time on Dagobah? There’s. but as Hulk talked about . Also Semiramis. But we’re not copying the mechanisms and engines that really drove its success. Leia is that much a central and positive figure in our era. No two bones about it. Well. Hulk would go so far to say that Leia stands as a direct attack on the values of the hero’s journey and is symbolic of so many attributes that the women’s movement valued in the seventies. You may have noticed that Hulk keeps bringing up Star Wars and Hulk is doing so for a reason. but does that film’s structure and sense of drama and excitement resonate with us? No. but how it’s still truly different. the psychology at play in the trials. 50% better. What makes the original Star Wars trilogy so awesome after all these years is not how it’s the same as every classic hero story. Look. Hulk always gives people the same advice: “Fuck it. but Hulk’s huge problem is that most of the time it’s unintentional! Why does that happen? Because either that’s what the hero’s journey says to do or because writers just have no idea how to do anything else. the Madonna/whore dynamic is still everywhere these days. but she still had the innate capacity to be strong.before she’s at least pretty damn good. but compared to what the Campbell model dictates. but the person who claims to have no idea how to write women will then instantly get it every time. Hulk recommends that even most intermediate writers should stay away (Hulk includes Hulk-self in this). Structurally. which means no one is interested in copying that. Yes. guess what folks? The Seeker: The Dark is Rising fits the hero’s journey even better than Star Wars does. a human being. And best of all. Because the film is not very good at all. But that’s okay. Deus ex machina is fucking hard. Again. you know. the humor of its crones. This trick isn’t some magic cure-all or anything. we’re not copying its sense of economy. its understanding of drama. She’s a fully-formed and interesting character who has her own stuff going on and a whole range of personality. but you’d be shocked how much it instantly makes a lot of young men’s female characters. And she just so happened to transcend the entire awful dynamic. just write her like Leia. Which made her. We’re looking at the most basic content and motifs and copying those elements. maternal. and sexual. and its strong female lead. a lot of times it’s because the male writer can’t help but view women with this inhuman dynamic. That is because chances are you will do it in mediocre fashion and will thus fail. Do something else. So whenever Hulk reads this unintentional Madonna / whore stuff. you should probably just stop doing that. It’s our main cultural touchstone for the hero’s journey.” It sound so stupid and simple. And despite Leia’s near unanimous popularity. But is there a way to do deus ex machina? Of course! But you have to either directly engage the theme (which Hulk will illustrate later) or you have to disguise the device in a way that totally makes sense: . Let Hulk put it like this: anytime your big hero story solves problems the way Entourage does. the one that wholly popularized it. she wasn’t interested in being either goddess or temptress. the power of its characterization. VI) – Don’t Blatantly Use The Elixir Remedy / Deus Ex Machina This one sort of deals with the “return with elixir” component. but basically Hulk just wants to point out that way too many storylines resolve with deus ex machina. We’re literally missing the best stuff about Star Wars because we’re too busy looking at how it fits the hero’s journey along with everything else we digest. she’s not perfect. like. Almost every other kind of plotting is a better way to solve story problems. and yet we can’t even seem to imitate it properly. They return because they have nothing left to fail at. The last moment of Luke asking for help sets it up so perfectly. Conventional plotting is dependent on set-up and delivery. They always give you a reason to love them.” Then the film then spends the exact right amount of time away from Han so you completely forget about him. And unless you give the return some thematic resonance. starlight-behind-Falcon.grounding it in character purpose and drama.. Hulk is talking about the prequels. VII) – Don’t Think “The Return” Only Means That Characters Should Come Home At The End Perhaps we can blame The Odyssey for this one. Absolutely nothing is different about their situation with the Trade Federation. Hulk keeps writing about Star Wars and kinda falling in love with it again… This after Hulk was going to swear it off. but in this specific case: the literal return to Naboo in The Phantom Menace is downright bizarre. But if you set it up? And not just with some magical do-hickey. can feel so damn cheap to even the most unaware of audiences. gorgeous moment. The return actually implies a thematic or psychological return. Those movies are all terrible for hundreds of reasons. Oh well. Gosh. their journey to Coruscant yields absolutely zero results that affect the plot. unless you have built up the meaning of that return and have truly changed the character. not a literal one.. In that moment it is a sudden surprise. And yet we see movies that literalize that returning to “home” and think that inherently implies some kind of meaning. but really it’s the result of a carefully constructed character arc. when used poorly. Seriously. or character. as he shuffles away with all his money grumbling to a reluctant Chewy “I know what I’m doing. The biggest problem of which is that there is no device in popular storytelling that. until the very second he streams in. aside from picking up a little Anakin Skywalker. does it work. Let’s go back to that same movie yet again: remember the Han Solo “yeee haw kid! Now let’s blow this joint!” moment from Star Wars? Of course you do. And nothing makes the audience more aware of a lack of set-up then the sudden saving of a character from some means that seem foreign to them. but in terms of character catharsis? When you gear it around dramatic function? Hooo boy. or their personal situations or . It works as a moment that is deus ex machina only… but it’s not deus ex machina at all. and saves Luke! It’s a beautiful. but it works because of all the great character set-up.” It’s human. that’s what happens with good things. That is because. situation. but there is a definite lack of understanding for what “the return” actually means and it is responsible for dozens of hyper-pointless endings. And as a result it works so damn well for the audience… it’s amazing how much Lucas took that deus ex machina moment and made it something so different and more functional. Hulk’s personal favorite example of the nonsensical literal return occurs in a series of films which are the complete opposite of the original Star Wars trilogy. It works because they spend the entire movie showing that Han doesn’t do stuff like that and have the characters tug at his heart strings trying to get him to do stuff like that. not something as ethereal or random as “fate” or “interference of the gods. Writers get it stuck in their head that we somehow have to return home and this magically brings things full circle… yeah. then it means absolutely nothing. It’s all sort of conflicting and we don’t exactly know what it means. Again. Not to get too literal. It doesn’t matter where the characters are actually located. So that means the thematic point of the return. The return is a thematic one. Wait. . You came all the way here to ask that? What the hell is wrong with you?” Which oddly enough is something that could be made into an interesting political statement about democracy. not just our hero stories. So in the meantime. Anakin enters as the dark stranger who instantly loves Padme. Meanwhile. to have a character stuck in two worlds so to speak. Also they should have… done a million other things. and wholly interconnected society so Hulk argues that the effect of spatial separation is less resonant (even though it still works damn well cinematically). This “return” would have real. Assuming there is a singular fix to the problems of the prequels is like swatting a mosquito and assuming they are extinct. But here’s the real key. Coming home should mean coming to catharsis. the Obi-Wan crush evaporates. but since this is a screenwriting book Hulk feels it is okay to talk about different story options and what they could have done better in the prequels. but they ignore that context too. even for some big epics. But we now live in a transient. nomadic. There are a million things they could have done to fix it. Which is important because we see the empty. Even when Padme showed up in the Senate and pleads her case. VIII) – Don’t Use “Cuz Destiny!” This one isn’t necessarily something Campbell talked about a lot. It doesn’t fit with most stories anyway. but here’s one small change that could have improved so much: Padme should have stayed on Naboo and dealt with the fact her planet was under fucking attack. shrug their shoulders. Obi-Wan is pissed there’s a new Padawan and everyone would have real motivations and emotions. literal return all the time. when they returned it could have all come together in a way that actually made sense. Downright bizarre. But modern society is interconnected all the time. but it makes way more sense in classic myth or an intergalactic community or something. serious consequence. The last thing Hulk wants to do is turn this into a fan-fic session. In fact. There he finds a new. better Padawan in young Anakin. Also Hulk would have gotten rid of Jar Jar. and be sure that has been executed in the name of drama. why the hell is Hulk even doing this? You can’t polish a turd. Qui-Gon should have left Obi-Wan there to protect her and thus Padme and Obi-Wan could have developed a friendship and she could have had a schoolgirl crush. So at this point Hulk urges you to not even bother with it. we’ve adopted it into a shit load of mythoses. just hammer home your damn themes. useless group where everyone stands around while other people get to have actual stories. Qui-Gon would have been the only one to go back to the Senate and get stranded along the way on Tatooine. but we have absolutely adopted it into the hero mythos. is actually our modern constant.their character growth. But instead they all got to travel together in a big. He could have freed him the same way and their stupid mission to Coruscant still could have failed. where going on any kind of journey is some giant undertaking. Just be sure all your characters have hit the beats they need to hit for their stories to work. They’re just in a different geographic place. Economy and focus. the Senate is basically like “What!? No! Of course not. folks. Hulk just wanted to show a way that there could have been an actual point and consequence to the return. and go home to really start dealing with the issue at hand. Destiny has gotten all up in. but storytelling in general. when it comes to your ending. wherein the notion of trying to cheat death was actually perceived as a character flaw. The first problem is that by taking the reason things happen in a narrative and chalking them up to destiny. narratively speaking. The irony of all this is that almost all of our ancient dramas were completely geared around the concept of destiny. died. is that we took this very specific plotting device. Why did they use it that way? Well. regardless of our own goodness or import. It effectively gives away the end to the audience. To be heroes. Damn the fates they say. Believing you are invincible is a form of heroism. not in terms of the story of the logical “how. And that’s giving yourself a huge dramatic obstacle. But back in the day? Achilles. Our hero tales used to be cautionary. Now. and turned it into this cheap vehicle for ready-made plotting and objective-satisfying. A good cold would kill you. And thus every myth was directly trying to engage that central reality of life. which was usually used for the one inevitable constant in life (death). was going to happen in our lives. To get everything in life besides death. it’s just that as a choice it tends to breed a lot of lazy drama. Heck. It’s an outright perversion of the intention of destiny. But hey.” but most certainly in terms of drama. There’s no fable. We rally around characters that embrace invincibility. Meaning to use it as we do now is a complete misunderstanding of the mechanism and purpose of that device. folks. It may make “story sense. And introducing the concept of "destiny" instantly removes the notion (or illusion) of choice from the character altogether. How to explain it… You remember when Hulk talked about act breaks being geared around a character ’s choice? Well we can then assume that character arcs are geared around a character ’s entire series of choices. Life was infinitely more random than it is now. free of consequence. Death was a constant (it still is now. Now we use the witches from Macbeth to tell our heroes all the awesome things they’re going to be and then just sit back and watch them as they supposedly overcome their minor bullshit and finally do it. It’s not that a storyline about destiny cannot be well-executed. those flaws are upheld as sacred virtues. perhaps it’s just a sign of our prosperous age. War. Hmmmm. Most of the time you just. And using destiny as a device prevents us from ever forgetting. Famine. actually). Women usually didn’t survive childbirth. And drama is all about how the narrative threatens us viscerally so that we forget that the hero will succeed or even become a hero in the first place (again. like. Which Hulk guesses just proves the thesis of Macbeth right in a way? . Probably because now we actively reward a character who is trying to cheat death. Indiana Jones works so because he’s constantly reminding you of his ability to fail). old-school life used to be fucking hard. Our stories just have the stars in their eyes. Gilgamesh. specifically in regards to the inevitability of death. Perseus. There’s no lesson. Murder. aka death. So much so that it became the backbone of Greek drama: challenging the fates.” but it ruins the function of drama. was a much more persistent reality. Now we use destiny to make us think we’re born to be stars. The real problem. you inherently remove both personal motivations and contextual conflict.And Hulk does not like it one bit. Which if we are going to be honest about our culture is probably thematically understandable all things considered. we are taught to value it as a virtue. All present. Thus the idea that fate. albeit the key difference being that their use of the device was used mostly in tragedies. It was a commentary on the nature of choice. But now we wholly forget that part of the equation. It’s making connections between points of a timeline without understanding all the concepts we’ve been talking about in this entire book.. not just the thrilling card game where Han won the ship from Lando (although that will be in the movie and will be included in some wacky. keeping with Hulk’s theme of balance: adopting less rigid models does not give us carte blanche to devolve our movies into a story-less.” Yup. No. There was a recent announcement of a “young Han Solo” movie (oof) and Badass Digest’s own Devin Faraci wrote a great little satirical piece on why a) this was likely a terrible idea and b) the way these terrible tropes we see more and more in movies overtly explain interconnections without making them dramatic. it is important as a culture to constantly evaluate our tried and true systems. This is not an invitation to disappear up our own assholes with reflexive academic talk. It’s: “Here’s the thing you were meant to do! Go do it by the end of the movie and it will seem like a journey!” But it’s not a journey... I’m in. That’s the ethos of our whole approach to storytelling right there. So here’s some advice to every screenwriter out there. IX) - Wrapping It All Up You know… perhaps a better title for this chapter would have been “a better way of approaching the hero’s journey” but again. Heck The Wire turned the notion of challenging the fates (read: modern institutions) into the best television ever offered to us. And the popularization of the hero’s journey is significant to our cultural understanding. No. We just have to loosen up the way we deal with these structural matters because this weird sense of formalism is crippling our ability to focus on more productive mechanisms of storytelling. there’s no “refusing the call” in Indiana Jones and he’s still a damn hero. It’s mistaking the notion of set-up and delivery for having obligatory destinations. Bay-esque malaise of action.. A young Han - four or five years old - will be transfixed by the ship under construction. Han had to make a choice to come back to rescue Luke. We will actually see the Falcon being built. This part was great: “We will see the origins of the Millenium Falcon. There’s no propulsion and no character choices. The worst part is so many writers don’t think about the purpose of these mechanisms. unexpected way. He’s simply like “The ark of the covenant? Fuck yeah. Ever.” Again. but we have to be more perceptive to what actually helps us do things.. And this kind of destiny thinking? It’s a hollow imitation of storytelling and it’s become such a crutch. People just do it because they have no idea what drama is and they inject these tropes into storytelling because “that’s what movies do. it’s obligatory.” And everyone was totally cool with that. but now our over-reliance on it for pragmatic storytelling . Hulk really wanted you to unlearn the story model. but are instead there to help us craft tight and dramatic stories that fit what we are trying to do. it’s because you’re using it for traditional dramatic storytelling without realizing you’re using the dramatic equivalent of: “Why?” / “Because!” So just avoid the trap until you can learn to navigate the other arenas of story. It’s a nothing. Not because it’s impossible to do well.Ugh. Remove "destiny" from your plotting of anything you ever do. Beyond that. like Han and Lando are playing cards in Jabba's dungeon or something). Remember. Still. Almost as if it's his destiny. Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight is 1) about a superhero 2) one of the most respected and successful superhero films ever and 3) and it doesn’t even really touch the Campbell model in any strong way. if by comparison. did not see it as structural model. It grounds its characterization in theme and keeps things going in a far more involving and modern way. economical writing that is good for your ideas. . Which means it’s no accident that so many of these modern post-Star Wars films who base their stories on it come off like segmented nonsense. Actually. but you have no idea how important it is to unlearn these two popular storytelling models and doing so takes a lot of work and analysis. Linking things together is the single most important factor in crafting a well-told story. Every place should make sense. Instead. we were doing it a lot better because we weren’t trying to reduce it down to the hero’s formula. Yeah.” It’s like climbing stairs: each scene should lead to the next and so on in a way that advances the plot. beginning to ending. This is what Hulk means by “flow. Lucas’s story. you are taking whatever ideas you have and just plugging them into the hero’s journey then Hulk would argue you are most definitely doing it wrong.has reached a kind of critical mass." . with characters hitting obvious and repeated beats with no flow for no other reason than destiny and cosmic interference. which used the hero’s journey as an influence. but instead a way to build something thematically resonant. or theme. character. was really something that was made to investigate why we created myth and not intended as how-to instruction.. At this point Hulk would like to apologize for the length of points #25 and #26. Even the great Star Wars.. rather than augmenting your story to fit something that is the equivalent of a two-thousand-year-old Cliff’s Notes analysis. Especially. it’s built around moment-to-moment propulsion of story. you are actually butchering the purpose and intent of Joseph Campbell’s incredible academic work.. meanwhile. The Sequential Approach The sequential approach is more detailed than what follows. The reward? You now have access to the vast number of other storytelling models that will be far more helpful in helping you write. but it basically amounts to "sit down and start writing the story logically from point A to point B. was instead built by drama and propulsion. So let's look at them. which again. Didn’t you ever find it curious that the hero’s journey tells you the specific beats in a general order but it gives you no idea how to link them??? Wouldn’t that be an important part of any storytelling model? That’s because the hero’s journey is not a storytelling model. shall we? 27. And then it should unify into a single story with tight. The book has only been around for 60 years and we were telling amazing hero stories without it just fine beforehand. if you've never written one before. So. This is a horrible way to write screenplays. In a way.. So how do you combine the sequential approach with a more rigid form of outlining? The sequential approach is best used as a kind of intermittent tool. the sequential approach can re-introduce the most basic form of logical writing: Cause and effect storytelling. C storytelling and it works. This happens so this happens. And with it. Every time you have to enter a new scene where you have no idea what’s going on. Start with heavily planned arcs. sometimes it’s impossible. but it’s not the letter of the law. They just do. where the story just plain runs out of steam with no real sense of how to resolve it. And it may ultimately fit together in a logical way. And they'll each work like their own little plays. Go back and forth. Cause and effect. Be sure that where you're going fits in with the spirit of the outline. Sometimes you need to interrupt to bring up important information or a viable tangent. etc. achieving this balance will make much more sense). Negotiate with yourself. most overtly structural outlines create flow problems. But never be afraid to give into what the scene itself dictates might happen next. you still keep going back working it into your beats. It will show a lack of forethought. The whole process of writing is a difficult balancing act (and once Hulk explains the next few beats. It’s A. There’s nothing more propulsive to a story in the world. but the really important thing is to realize that story flow and transitions are always critical to creating an organic sense of propulsion. Hulk sees scripts that were clearly written this way time and time again. And in comparison. you can make a 3 hour movie feel like it passes by in minutes. The problem is that it works in terms of making your outline look good and well-realized. Still. See what really works. Ideas will be lost and the story will simply meander to places where it doesn’t belong. the audience will be rapt with attention. And if you can tie those transitions in with the evolution of your character? The sky is the limit. but never forget that transitional storytelling with clear beats is the heart of structural propulsion. purposeless story. But a good question remains: how do you know which transitions and beats actually make sense for . But the value of the sequential approach becomes startlingly apparent later on in your development.Chances are it will create a run-on. but don't be afraid to momentarily lose yourself in the flow of the writing (particularly if it’s the first draft). y’all! That’s what creates propulsion in a script. but overrelying on those methods also hurts the overall flow. Once you've already had a good deal of experience with structure and heavy outlining. The story is just this scene and then it's that scene. Then just always take pit stops to refocus. but it can be problematic. Because no matter what. the logical process of writing sequentially can be so helpful when you finish a scene and say "Well now I go here of course!" It’s all about dramatic transitions. And yet you see so many intermediate writers get caught up in the game of beats and structure and character points and arranging all their little chunks that they'll end up writing these disconnected scenes. And so when you give information in one scene about where it’s going next and then a transition makes it clear that it’s happening and then you let the drama play out. B. the audience’s brain will have to “reset” for a moment. And once you're done. and soul. which are basically the beats of your outline. It was something Hulk instinctually understood for a long time. but it took us a long time to learn it. It’s a show from a punk-rock mentality that can now tell stories for the mind. It's no accident that the South Park guys have become better writers with every passing season of the show. A few years ago. but after a decade and a half they have finally learned to shape their storytelling. The "and thens" stop the narrative cold. And that’s really something. Simply put: "therefores" and "buts" create the sense of propulsion.” right? So what I’m saying is that you come up with an idea and it’s like ‘okay. Meaning the show has gone from being flippant and funny. but this is effectively one of the most succinct and helpful things that Hulk has ever come across in explaining the process of structural writing. It should be ‘this happens’ and THEREFORE ‘this happens. We’ll have our beats and we’ll say okay ‘this happens’ but ‘then this happens’ and that affects this and that does to that and that’s why you get a show that feels okay … and there’s so many scripts we read from new writers and things that we see-” MATT: “FUCK that. It even addresses the single most relevant problem in today's writing and that is a lack of narrative purpose to the action one is seeing onscreen. You got something pretty boring. this happens’ and then ‘THIS happens. they unexpectedly showed up in an NYU screenwriting class and dropped some knowledge bombs. Therefore/buts give you the causation. What should happen between every beat that you’ve written down is either the word “therefore” or “but. If the only way to line up the beats is with "and . You don’t want to have one scene and go ‘well. And Hulk really doesn’t even need to expand on it because it is just so freaking clear. but here’s the best section: TREY: “… [WE SAY] well this would be a funny scene if we had this. Each individual scene has to work as a funny sketch. but used the concept time and time again in Hulk’s own writing. we see movies that do it! It’s just like ‘this happened and then this happened’ and that’s when you’re ‘the fuck I’m watching this movie for???’ That’s not a movie. body. to becoming something downright resonant. The guys are on to something there. There was a little two minute video of the highlights. But we can take these beats. Since finding it. And that’s a story. what was the point of that scene?’ So we found out this rule that maybe you guys have all heard before.’ … And sometimes we will literally write it out to make sure we’re doing it. but this newfound clarity just gave it such better focus. So look at your own stories.’ No no no.that flow? 28. And if the words ‘and then’ belong between those beats… you’re fucked. It doesn’t seem to be an accident that The Book of Mormon has gone on to win every award imaginable and it is without a doubt their best pure story work to date. Hulk has not only spread the gospel of its message. Basically. Trey Parker + Matt Stone’s "Therefore / Buts" Not "Ands" Trey Parker and Matt Stone are perhaps best known as the South Park guys. Look at every scene.” Okay… it comes across much more clearly in video form. They have always been funny and smart.’ BUT ‘this happens’ THEREFORE ‘this happens. . Earlier Hulk talked about the value of having your characters evolve and grow. The short version of his character-conflict-circles look like this: 1. and nowhere is that more clear than with Dan Harmon’s “circles. or even. He took what he liked about the hero journey and augmented and applied it to a different situation that was not only better for the kinds of stories he was telling. So by approaching story structure from this character-centric angle. Dan Harmon's Circles There are. Isn’t that really cool? The other great thing about this model is it not only fosters good characterization. 8 scenes in a novel. Adapt to it 5.” There was a recent Wired article where the incredible Mr. Harmon. but it does some truly neat things that can be applied to many other forms of storytelling. creator of Community. based on their wants and needs. They enter an unfamiliar situation 4. A character is in a zone of comfort 2. Having changed It is a wonderful way to look at storytelling because it is a direct model for showing how a character changes and learns. not just the iconography and tropes. Then return to their familiar situation 8. an episode of television. 8 scenes outside of that context. Notice how all those 8 beats can be linked with “therefores” and “buts”? Isn’t that also cool? Meaning you now have 8 little characters beats that can be manifested over a whole movie. but instead it is wonderful. if you're really good. And that’s exactly how it should work! Now this model has a very specific purpose to the episodic-yet-somewhat-serialized nature of TV sitcoms. which is something that you may think sets off alarm bells given what Hulk said earlier. far more complex models to create a sense of propulsion. He made it his own. Pay a heavy price for it 7. 8 little moments. but also helps produce traditional narrative propulsion and purpose to each scene. The funny thing is that his structural model is actually very much inspired by the hero’s journey. but incorporated the triggers of plotting and conflict. And that’s because it inspired his own methodology. It doesn’t have to only be causality.then" then you're in trouble. So find your "therefores" and "buts” and start reshaping your purpose! 29. Get what they want 6. you can get those 8 beats out in a single brief interaction (Tarantino and the Coens are the masters of going through this full cycle in a single series of exchanges). But they want something 3. not only gets into great dynamics of human nature. delved into his structural approach for writing the show. wherein we built psychology and catharsis. Harmon is actually giving you a perfect model for how to achieve catharsis. of course. That’s right! We’re going back to Hulk’s character trees. He was a Russian guy who did a lot of Russian things. But still. See. this can be uber-helpful not in terms of creating cut and paste dynamics. Propp always said he was trying to get to their “irreducible elements. Now. Harmon talks a lot about how difficult it is to always make the circles work or come off organically. Whichever structural methods you end up incorporating. Moving on! 30. it may just help you solve a whole bunch of problems in your scripts. assuming this was a freaking how-to for story structure. This is where flexibility comes in. Dan Harmon took the hero’s journey and found a way to apply it to his sitcom writing. it should be mentioned that once again everyone took Propp’s functions and applied them in the wrong way. but for giving you 31 ideas on the kinds of conflicts you can create! So much more plot-dynamic specific than the hero’s journey. The hero may also be introduced here. “1. wherein characters have to change and yet establish reconciliation time and time again for an episodic format. often being shown as an ordinary person. But when it does work? It’s responsible for some of the best episodes of television ever produced (in this Hulk’s humble opinion).Still. 2. instead of just all the possible angles for thematic analysis. Case in point: modes of deduction are not the same as modes of construction. but he also took a look at Russian folk tales and labeled 31 possible functions. So you can take Dan’s circles and find a way to apply them to other structural models. . INTERDICTION: an interdiction is addressed to the hero ('don't go there'. 'don't do this'). ABSENTATION: a member of a family leaves the security of the home environment. y’all! So Vladimir Propp is probably Hulk’s favorite story analyst. but Hulk assures you that you will run into plenty of times where it’s hard to engineer these character beats into the plot that you’re trying to execute. Which is probably good for your writing overall. But perhaps the real lesson to take from Dan Harmon's circles is how much work and thought he puts into his character arcs. and how hard he works at getting his stories to break to them.” which is a great way of putting it because when crafting your story you want it to be the opposite of irreducible. This may be the hero or some other member of the family that the hero will later need to rescue. you should be working just as hard. the complexity of Harmon’s system is that it requires a lot of plotting built outward from character instead of ever allowing for vice-versa. This division of the cohesive family injects initial tension into the storyline. which may need to be a certain way for a host of other reasons. Vladimir Proppisms! Let’s talk about fairy tales. You want it be thick and sumptuous and complicated and organic. In fact. Particularly regarding character catharsis. The hero is warned against some action (given an 'interdiction'). but our understanding of this should be well-versed at this point. 9. TRICKERY: the villain attempts to deceive the victim to take possession of victim or victim's belongings (trickery. causes a disappearance. theft of magical agent.). 6. The hero now decides to act in a way that will resolve the lack. expels someone. threatens forced marriage. This may range from providing the villain with something (perhaps a map or magical weapon) to actively working against good people (perhaps the villain has persuaded the hero that these other people are actually bad). (hero is dispatched. RECONNAISSANCE: the villain makes an attempt at reconnaissance (either villain tries to find the children/jewels etc. COMPLICITY: victim taken in by deception. Other information can be gained. the villain causes some kind of harm. villain disguised. plunders in other forms. for example searching for something valuable or trying to actively capture someone. VIOLATION OF INTERDICTION: the interdiction is violated (villain enters the tale). BEGINNING ACTION SEEKER: seeker agrees to. Perhaps they are just a lurking presence or perhaps they attack the family whilst the hero is away. whereby something is identified as lost or something becomes desirable for some reason. hears call for help etc. This may include capture of the victim. commits murder. a member of family lacks something or desires something (magical potion etc. for example in the hero's family or within a community. often about the hero or victim. casts spell on someone. for example a magical object that will save people in some way. often using the information gained in seeking to deceive the hero or victim in some way. The trickery of the villain now works and the hero or victim naively acts in a way that helps the villain. alternatively. for example finding a needed magical item. getting the hero to give the villain something or persuading them that the villain is actually a friend and thereby gaining collaboration. unwittingly helping the enemy. tries to win confidence of victim). or decides upon counter-action. The villain now presses further. either or both of which may appear in the story..3. perhaps appearing in disguise. This generally proves to be a bad move and the villain enters the story. The villain (often in disguise) makes an active attempt at seeking information. There are two options for this function. rescuing . 5. substitutes child etc. spoiling crops. In the first option. VILLAINY OR LACK: villain causes harm/injury to family member (by abduction. although not necessarily confronting the hero. freed from imprisonment). DELIVERY : the villain gains information about the victim.. The hero now discovers the act of villainy or lack. a sense of lack is identified. MEDITATION: misfortune or lack is made known. provides nightly torments). perhaps finding their family or community devastated or caught up in a state of anguish and woe./ alternative is that victimized hero is sent away. 8. for example about a map or treasure location. They may speak with a member of the family who innocently divulges information. They may also seek to meet the hero. 7. or intended victim questions the villain). imprisons/detains someone. for example carrying away a victim or the desired magical object (which must be then be retrieved). 10. The villain's seeking now pays off and he or she now acquires some form of information. perhaps knowing already the hero is special in some way. 4. In the second option. EXPOSURE: false hero or villain is exposed. performs service. STRUGGLE: hero and villain join in direct combat. new garments . BRANDING: hero is branded (wounded/marked. 28. attacked etc. 20. frees captive. UNRECOGNIZED ARRIVAL: hero unrecognized. 24. interrogated. VICTORY: villain is defeated (killed in combat. arrives home or in another country. 27. spontaneously appears. eaten/drunk. riddles. or thing given to him/her). purchased. RETURN: hero returns. 25. 16. handsome. SOLUTION: task is resolved. RESCUE: hero is rescued from pursuit (obstacles delay pursuer. 18. slain person revived. 26. RECEIPT OF MAGICAL AGENT: hero acquires use of a magical agent (directly transferred. RECOGNITION: hero is recognized (by mark. preparing the way for his/her receiving magical agent or helper (donor). 21. FIRST FUNCTION OF THE DONOR: hero is tested. 29. uses adversary's powers against him). reconciles disputants. DIFFICULT TASK: difficult task proposed to the hero (trial by ordeal. 23. undermine the hero). This is a defining moment for the hero as this is the decision that sets the course of future actions and by which a previously ordinary person takes on the mantle of heroism. 19.those who are captured or otherwise defeating the villain. banished). hero hides or is hidden. located. 12. eat. 15. hero saved from attempt on his/her life). test of strength/endurance. delivered or led to whereabouts of an object of the search. brand. killed while asleep. PURSUIT: hero is pursued (pursuer tries to kill. LIQUIDATION: initial misfortune or lack is resolved (object of search distributed. HERO’S REACTION: hero reacts to actions of future donor (withstands/fails the test. hero transforms unrecognizably. 17. captive freed). 11. DEPARTURE: hero leaves home. help offered by other characters). other tasks). UNFOUNDED CLAIMS: false hero presents unfounded claims. prepared. 13. receives ring or scarf).. 22. GUIDANCE: hero is transferred. spell broken. 14. defeated in contest. TRANSFIGURATION: hero is given a new appearance (is made whole. etc. and ended up revolutionizing the way those constructs felt.). Propp and use them to suit your own purposes. Invert the genders. And thus the expression of the notions themselves. So why can’t you do the same with the 31 Proppisms? Be bold. or was Vladimir Propp the main inspiration behind the Scooby Doo cartoons? … sorry. Be purposeful. The truth is that we’re really talking about is an even simpler version of storytelling than that: fables. Make them nuanced. here represented in their “irreducible elements. the function of a donor occurring early. etc) as the conflict methodology of his uber-modern television show The Wire.” To restate: this list is not a how-to on story structure. when we think “fairy tale” we think of something like Cinderella. some of these functions are inverted. Or complicity. with handsome princes and dreams coming true. Look at how many of these story functions link together off cause and effect. Also looking over that list… is Hulk crazy. so that it must be repeated three times in western cultures. WEDDING: hero marries and ascends the throne (is rewarded/promoted). not in their mere presence. For the value of these devices lies in the fact that they create certain dramatic reactions in the audience and create certain meanings toward the themes. What Hulk simply wants you to do is look at the kinds of cause and effect that these actions have on the story. you may be curious: why fairy and folk tales? Why are they so important? After all. not just the surface description. More often. Apply it to a situation outside of good and evil. Every story needs mediation. Use your ingenuity to make them apply to something completely different. Look at how many of those Proppisms hold up the basic value of fables. as when the hero receives something whilst still at home. Now. let’s move on. Meaning what Hulk wants you to actually understand is the mechanism of these story devices. In fact. you do not need to have these beats in your story whatsoever. 31. 30. Make them feel modern. The snowflake method . 31. Occasionally.1? Fables are so important. Isn’t it amazing? So if you want to uphold that same purpose you should take those 31 mechanisms from Mr. Look at how many function in terms of therefore / buts. Address topical concerns. David Simon used Greek drama (challenging the fates. a function is negated twice.” are meant for something else entirely. PUNISHMENT: villain is punished. Remember when Hulk talked about them way back in 7. The terminology comes from the idea that snowflake starts dense in the center of condensation and continues to crystallize outward forming new. people will have trouble finding ways to enrich the story with detail while still remaining relevant to the initial or central conceit. take an hour and write a one-page summary sheet that tells: The character's name A one-sentence summary of the character's storyline The character's motivation (what does he/she want abstractly?) The character's goal (what does he/she want concretely?) The character's conflict (what prevents him/her from reaching this goal?) The character's epiphany (what will he/she learn. As always. These "character synopses" should tell the story from the point of view of each character. Here’s an excerpt from advancedfictionwriting. you know it now. you have a solid story and several story-threads. So now just keep growing the story. you may have spent as much as a week. you should have a good idea of the large-scale structure of your novel.com that Hulk has truncated to make more palatable for this book: “Step 1) Take an hour and write a one-sentence summary of your novel… Step 2) Take another hour and expand that sentence to a full paragraph describing the story setup.A lot of times. If the story is broken. particularly when approaching longer stories like season-long TV arcs or novels. Characters are the most important part of any novel. feel free to cycle back to the earlier steps and make revisions as you learn cool stuff about your characters… Step 6) By now. but it doesn't matter. The standard stuff such as birthdate. The final paragraph should tell how the book ends… Step 5) Take a day or two and write up a one-page description of each major character and a halfpage description of the other important characters. Well. and you have only spent a day or two. how will he/she change? A one-paragraph summary of the character's storyline… Step 4) By this stage. rather than after investing 500 hours in a rambling first draft. Thus. one for each character. and the time you invest in designing them up front will pay off ten-fold when you start writing. That's when Hulk finds the snowflake method helpful. Now you need something similar for the storylines of each of your characters. truthfully. you will again be expanding each paragraph from step (4) into a full page… Step 7) Take another week and expand your character descriptions into full-fledged character charts detailing everything there is to know about each character. we have point #10's character trees to help us flesh things out. For each of your major characters. All but the last paragraph should end in a disaster. . Sure. Basically. the story is developed the same way. major disasters. Now take a week and expand the one-page plot synopsis of the novel to a four-page synopsis. Take several hours and expand each sentence of your summary paragraph into a full paragraph. more detailed shapes. and ending of the novel… Step 3) The above gives you a high-level view of your novel. but that's doesn't solve a lot of long-form structure problems. . It brings us to why we wanted to tell the story in the first place! Let's also go back to our awesome Six Feet Under example. you may have realized that Hulk has brought up a whole bunch of different possible structural takes. how will this character change by the end of the novel?. Of course. All of his central themes are directly extrapolated into plotting. even having imaginary conversations with the dead. We established that Alan Ball asked himself: in what scenarios would confronting mortality best manifest itself? And he found answers: working in a funeral home. Step 8) You may or may not take a hiatus here. motivation. practical use of the snowflake method. as it really seems to hammer home the cool. It really can be a fascinating exercise in taking your core idea (the one sentence of what your novel is about) and extrapolating it into the singular details that make up the story. Hulk has no idea if Ball is a snowflakemethod guy or what.. The source of inspiration. and singular details. . folks! 32. If there's no conflict. I don't do this step anymore. father dying.. there are a couple of things you can do to make that traumatic first draft easier. isn’t it? The core idea. waiting for the book to sell. With a spreadsheet…. and sketch out the essential conflict of that scene. At this juncture. Individuality and Hulk’s “multi-act flow structure” Okay… time to get serious. but when Hulk looks at his work it sure seems like it. goal. you've got to actually write the novel. And the easiest way to make that list is . the idea at the center of the snowflake method is gold. At some point. You basically ask yourself: "What are the scenarios in which my core idea would best manifest itself?" It’s all coming back to you. Before you do that. Put in any cool lines of dialogue you think of. we’re looking at the most detailed structural model to date and it brings us right back to the beginning of the book. character. The idea that compels you. The thing Hulk likes about this approach is that it really helps you flesh out the ideas in through-lines for every single facet of the story construction.) Switch back to your word processor and begin writing a narrative description of the story. history. etc. The whole point of doing so is to have as many different ways of attacking different . dealing with grieving loved ones. you'll know it here and you should either add conflict or scrub the scene… Step 10) At this point. Take each line of the spreadsheet and expand it to a multiparagraph description of the scene. The first thing to do is to take that four-page synopsis and make a list of all the scenes that you'll need to turn the story into a novel. Most importantly. All this time later. just sit down and start pounding out the real first draft of the novel…” Now if this rigorous methodology seems like your sort of thing then Hulk recommends you do more research on the snowflake method.description. Step 9) (Optional. Even if you don’t use the methodology. constantly taking in dead bodies. and theme. but they all seem so different don’t they? How would you ever condense all that? Once you hit a certain level of expertise. As to how to execute it? It's really a two part process. Then you hit a snag. The term “inventing it” sounds really official. Does it have to be 100% true for every scene? Of course not. or thematic level. Then we built our own definition of what constitutes an act. either on a character. It makes sense. for short) and Hulk finds it to be the best way to keep things propulsive while still trying to juggle all the respective arcs of plot.F.S. but the more central it is to your operation the more propulsive and meaningful a film you will create. when you’ve really worked out a lot of this stuff and used the methodology many times over (and you really have to have done this: no cheating).” And this is a slightly more lenient version of that. M. Then we learned how to understand the way to connect those A’s B’s and C’s by turning to Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the “therefores and buts” they use in transitional plotting. We then turned to Dan Harmon to understand how plotting should center around character motive and catharsis. C storytelling. because they tend to lead to more bad habits than good writing. while still keeping them grounded in the conceit of story. And you try and figure it out. We then turned to the sequential approach to fully flesh out our details. After all. It just springs forth from your brain and everything seems great.kinds of story problems. we defined the end of a true act as being a moment where characters can no longer “go back. the original nugget of inspiration. doesn’t it? We could also just go with “Hulk made it up!” Anycrap.. it’s called “multi act flow structure” (Hulk will use M. First we unlearned 3 act structure and the hero’s journey.F. Then we turned to the sequential approach to help us understand logical A.A. 33. which is perfect because writing is largely about problem solving. plot. then you need to evolve into something different.S. Earlier. Hulk kind of invented it. Part 1 - Breaking Into Concurrent Arcs One of the best places to start really organizing your structure is to look at all the arcs in your story .A. So what kind of method best accounts for that process? What kind of method best accounts for all the structural models we’ve seen so far? For that.. We then turned to Vladimir Propp to best understand the different kinds of story mechanisms that best express those conflicts. The idea is that each scene should really accomplish something that changes the narrative. It’s problem solving. It doesn’t always have to be a major thing. Often times. but each scene should feel like the world of your film is now somewhat different. character. B. the process of actually writing is rather different. complete with a mini-act break. At its core: multi-act flow structure is predicated on the idea that each scene works best as sort of its own mini-act. you just write. we turn to Hulk's favorite method of story-breaking because… well. Plus. So the main character and the boss will have a disagreement over the proper treatment of AIDS. like. It makes up the world of melodrama and such. but because Hulk keeps talking about the problems of reverse engineering. a doctor has journeyed to a small AIDS hospital in Africa. Hulk really wants to explore the real-life concepts of compassion vs. The boss won't take certain risks and will only do what they can do to keep the system in balance. independent of anything else. practicality in a bureaucracy. So in this story. Hulk even swears Hulk won't refine the idea so you can see the spark of story generation as it happens in real-time. Hulk will now come up with a made-up story right here on the spot. but also. So Hulk begins to work with these ideas. The boss will also have a very practical approach to not helping folks who can't be helped. That sounds like three good places to start. Relationship with boss: ..and lay them out as individual stories. Hulk would not waste anything. So. Hulk swears this is what Hulk is doing and it probably isn’t going to be very good. you get it. Also. but their own complete stories. but at a certain point in the brainstorming process Hulk would sit down to map out the three concurrent arcs: -Relationship with boss -Relationship with co-worker -Relationship with himself / his past And for each of these arcs Hulk would plan out a story that makes sense on its own.. but here's a quick + dirty treatment (that again is unedited) of what the story beats would look like for one of those concurrent arcs. cool. But Hulk doesn't want it to be this simple good / bad dynamic. They both have their ideals. This is the value of the organic process: Um.. And there is also another main character and she is a co-worker at the hospital and love interest to help him rebuild his life. This would allow Hulk to be sure that each beat really accomplished something. to rebuild his life after a painful divorce.. They would not simply be "elements" of a larger story. Now. Hulk won't do it for all of them.. Let's reverse it then.. And this is not just in terms of medical logistics. let's go in a different direction instead.. Hulk’s really interested in the state of health and politics in Africa. and they both have their sense of practicality. You know this kinda story. as it would just be a waste of your reading time. which would comprise each beat of the story. where the main character is pro-practicality with safe sex and the boss is religious with the old stance of abstinence. whereas the main character sees that as lacking compassion. Hulk would list out each scene. but regard for human life and what is best for everyone.. the doctor has to face his own past and pain and yadda yadda yadda. believing it will only get others sick. Now… Hulk could come up with a fun analysis of a movie that we all know and could work with. there's a boss who runs the hospital in a very counterintuitive way that is different from the doctor's own experience. Hulk’s not just interested in something as simple as those character archetypes. So now we have some themes Hulk finds compelling. Okay. but because it only tries to do the most basic things right…. Hulk would do this for the other arc with the coworker relationship and the arc with his past / self. we have what we need.-The doctor meets boss and notices their different life approaches. . the doctor sees how his emboldened attitude has undermined the boss’s ability to run the hospital.. -The main doctor feels emboldened by this success. but Hulk actually wants to use a real-movie example to show what “conflicting arcs” actually means. Again. Part 2 - Merge Into Conflicting Arcs Hulk could just launch right into the example we just used. This is a movie. There is an incident that shows a good reaction.A. -The doctor then sees the boss's pragmatic uncompassionate style in action and it gives him ethical concern -So they come into a conflict over it. could easily feel forced. -It is a success and everyone else is fine. And incident that shows a bad reaction. -The doctor feels alienated. it is less successful. but that’s just makes it perfect for our purposes. We don't need any more than that. -His emboldened attitude was misplaced so he then sees negative consequences of this decision. like any story. The movie is Kung Fu Panda. And as such it is one thing. Either way. or a TV show. the problems are righted by the two appreciating one other and coming to work together..S. much to the dismay of the boss. And boy it gets them so. and we can now talk about where it can properly go. Really? Yes. Notice Hulk does not double up on conflicts which say the same thing. so right. Those two cases alone will propel the story where it needs to go. M. or a novel. Since they are all familiar story beats you implicitly "get" the bare bones of the story and the mechanisms. -The decision causes others to get sick. But the beats could feel natural as anything too. The first step would be that these beats need to be fleshed out in an organic and accurate manner. not because it's a stunning example of innovation and lyrical prose. Which means the arcs need to be ingrained into a singular story. complete story. or whatever. we do this to be sure each element is a singular. -The negative consequences spiral. The story. Now this example isn't that good or focused. But these are not three separate stories. We don't need any more scenes than what is conveyed in that description of the arc. What’s funny is that Hulk uses the following movie all the time when talking about screenwriting. . Next. So we have economy. -The doctor sticks to his guns on a different case and saves a patient who is a danger to others. are they? Not at all. This is where you do the second part of the breaking process: 34. and in fact it is the kind of hospital plot line we've seen a million times before. so the next time the doctor does this same thing.F. We don't want it feel like three separate movies. The thing Hulk loves about the film is how it balances the relationships and plot mechanics to keep them all very unified. They all have reasons to dislike each other and provide conflict. the one who was in line to be the Dragon Warrior and is now deeply disappointed at not being chosen." even though it probably won't be a tangible object and instead some concept or theme that is far more ethereal. When the Dragon Scroll is unlocked. We need to find our unifying concept of a "Dragon Scroll. is Master Oogway. and even in the case of revealing Tai Lung's own pride and vanity as his core weakness. 5 main characters. 5 different sets of relationships. They are all real characters with their own wants and needs. in a singular moment of converging plot. There is Tai Lung. it really allows each character to come to a real catharsis about the understanding of themselves and their relationship to one another. So go and watch it again with all those things mind! Constantly be aware of the relationships and how the wants and needs of each character adjust with every turn of plot. the villainous former pupil who wants to unlock the power of the Dragon Scroll for himself. And all three are linked to Master Shifu who failed in training Tai Lung because he loved him too much and gave into all of Tai Lung's indulgent behaviors. a task he does not want or understand. And then Shifu is faced with training the idiotic but well-meaning Po. We need interested parties. we don't just augment what is already there to make it work. They all have motives to relate to each other. There is Po. We want it to converge. And then guiding over all of them. That would be half-assed and ultimately make things still feel disconnected. There is Tigress. We need to converge the relationships. Shifu's realization of his blinding pre-judgment of Po. . whether it’s Po's embracing of his own zen-like abilities. Hulk just has to say it: on the surface. often at once. We need to start over. particularly Shifu's frustrations. Shifu was then far too hard on his next pupil. So we essentially "start over" with the multiple arcs. Tigress. Meaning they all have real stakes in the story and action. To correct his mistakes. Tigress's will to accept Po as Dragon Warrior. The film does not waste any of these great dynamics either. But best of all they are all "interested parties" in the main plot of obtaining the Dragon scroll. the one who chose Po as Dragon Warrior and guides all five of these characters with a quiet sense of zen and destiny. We need stakes and different wants all centering around the central setting and narrative. all in a singular narrative moment. which in turn imbues her with far too much desire to please him. Notice the way everything is in conflict with each other. That's right. we want to go all Kung Fu Panda on this shit. from whom he is detached. You hear that? Perfect. the dim-witted panda chosen to be the Dragon Warrior by Master Oogway and meant to unlock the power of the Dragon Scroll. It’s a spectacular learning tool! So now that we’ve established a great example of what “merging into conflicting arcs” actually means let’s return to Hulk's silly African doctor movie that we just made up and is nowhere near as good. They are not characters simply made to be foils for each other. especially because the Dragon Scroll was meant for Tigress. Kung Fu Panda is a somewhat funny movie with some really good Kung fu animation… but in terms of the basic mechanics of how this film integrates plotting and character… it’s fucking perfect. The movie comes together for every character arc and every relationship. It is also not the kind of human story Hulk’s interested in telling. Like… how about the love interest coworker? This would be good because before this Hulk hadn't really a strong idea of the character's faults. And it is how one writes one singular story.S. practicality. it's just too damn manipulative. none of this would be so cut and dried by the end. practicality. but also the main theme of idealism vs. Now is the time to completely assimilate them together by starting over. It would help make her textured and real. but instead we should give her a contention and differing view point on what direction the hospital should go in. one that would surely sink the hospital’s direction. and well-observed. For instance. But guess what? Hulk's African doctor movie is still not done talking about the treatment of women in . Plus by adding this army/despot character we would then have an outside force. They could be another coworker in the hospital. Both the boss and the main character should want to stick to the hospital's crucial independence. . They were a rough draft to help us be sure we didn't skirt anyone's relationships. The inclusion of this character would be productive. she was just one of those foils who could make the doctor realize he needs love or something stupid like that (thus violating Hulk’s rule about not writing women in the context of men). They could create a love triangle and have a radically different. the plot. involvement in African politics).e. which helps us automatically empathize with everyone within the hospital's team. It would make her relevant to the story and not just relevant to the main doctor ’s catharsis.. For one. have resources that could help. It would make for a story in which all 3 main characters had significant interest in the direction of the hospital (i. Hulk’s very interested in the politics of Africa as well. And that means no abject villains. But since we still want the sense of conflict and drama that the villain provides. We would get the same conflict the villain would have provided. But what could this third direction for the hospital actually be? Well. Doing this will provide stakes and conflict. but in this version her humanity would make her view seem more human.. It would give all three characters different relationships with one another. We need to make it one story. It would make for a clear foil in the scenario. and give it to a non-evil character. the Tai Lung example above made Hulk think about adding another character to the mix who would complicate the whole thing and add another layer of conflict. But again. It would provide the audience with empathy for the other main characters and hate for this jerk-face. It would basically set up the default rooting scenarios we want in the film. so maybe the 3rd character should want to reach out to the local army or despot who. It would be totally effective and worthwhile. Which means all those arcs we just made in point #33? They don't matter. but Hulk's particular inclination would be to make this script more quiet. inhumane idea of how the hospital should be run. It is the merging of conflicting arcs. Sadly. Hulk knows this melodramatic story likely can't be turned into high art or anything. despite their atrocities. nuanced. it would then make sense to take some of those same 3rd party clashing motives. They would all come to understand each other ’s' view of idealism vs. which is a direct commentary on U. they will either be played by an actor or an actress so the audience will be able to tell what sex they are. Gender matters. you'll notice Hulk immediately went to the "default male protagonist" and also the default "female support figure. so that the female was the protagonist. Do you know why? Because they're people. truly has the ability to be augmented. Hulk wants you to think about these kinds of interpretative matters and thematic effects constantly. the important thing Hulk wants you take from multi-act flow structure is that it really. And writing them as people makes for better characterization. Doing so will totally inform your stories and implications in the best possible way. but all for a very specific effect of thematic gender commentary. Because it is concerned with functionality and conflicting purpose. Just like how Hulk would easily be open to switching back the sexes of the two coworkers. and gives you the . Hulk is stopping for a moment to ask questions of the state of the story. But here’s where it gets reflexive! Because the tone of the story could feel so much like fodder for a kind of exploitative female story (something almost Lifetime-esque). It doesn’t matter when it comes to who should be doing what or who would reach out to the dictator or how “men are like this and women are like that.. For instance. You may even realize that this story. it does not hold you to rigid ideals of doing certain things by certain pages..." Neither of these options makes a good first inclination. Hulk could also try to push it in a different direction and embrace an atraditional tonal approach. with all its capacity for melodrama and by total admission a somewhat Grey’s Anatomy-like plot. You can switch genders in scripts all the time and unless you're making penis and vagina jokes or something (which is something Hulk would totally do). character. It takes a look at the whole of storytelling and focuses on the main five tenets: purpose. propulsion. This is what Hulk means when talking about the responsibility of the author and taking responsibility for what your films say.film. Hulk wouldn't worry about doing that in the slightest.. it’s not about having your characters avoid anything haphazard.” So don't worry so much about writing them as a typified gender. and audience investment. It would be a male doctor in touch with his emotions and a simple relatable story. And with that awareness you have room to make a million decisions. Hulk wouldn't want it to be aimed at an audience but something aimed at everyone. It’s not about upholding the paragon of gender identities. It could be a case where Hulk would go the opposite of his intuition for the main character's gender. the effects aren't that big a deal. and theme and makes you break a story in a way that values economy. You don't have to write it to tell them. really makes more sense if the main character was female. It’s about awareness. but it often doesn't matter in the way you think it does. Because in the end. conflict. drama. Multi-act flow structure gives you the tools you need to do what you want to do. right? Hulk totally agrees. That's even a good sell for this movie. Hulk really has to think carefully about what Hulk wants to say about gender in this scenario and it’s altering Hulk’s entire sense of plot and character. Not genders. But even as Hulk eschews gender lines and espouses on the principals of melodrama here. Still. Again. It doesn’t say your character has to be like this. or they have to do that. there are ways that what happens could play as positive and ways it could play negative. Every one of them works with a certain set of expectations and catharsis. It’s true of every art. It’s true of every scientific arena. But it’s also the reason that good procedurals are so much fun. It may sound like the genre at hand. And forgive the rough transition here. Hulk could give you a really tricky recipe and you could practice it 50 times until you got it perfect and it would totally seem like you are a great cook. And when you understand the mechanisms? When you understand how mystery works? Then you can use it any way you see fit. and original movies on the planet because he understands genre and can apply genre mechanisms at a moment’s notice to get an immediate visceral effect on the viewer. Learn Your Genre Conventions! Do you realize how many mysteries and procedurals Hulk reads where it is completely clear that the author has never actually studied mysteries? As in they don’t seem to understand what propels a mystery and makes it work? And are possibly / totally just copying what they see on TV? It is honestly about half the time. but if you keep your head on your shoulders this soooooooo will not be true. It’s always about the effect on the viewer. And part of being able to write any kind of story means you should know how to write every kind of story. Every kind of story is different. With cinema. But mechanisms. What studying the genre will allow you to do is understand the mechanisms that propel mystery or intrigue or whatever kind of mood each genre is intending to create. To be fair. There is some misguided belief that doing this will create regurgitated stories. but unless it understands the purpose it goes nowhere. It may look like the genre at hand. Look at the films of Edgar Wright. Not so they can ape all the “correct” beats. That’s the exact reason there are so many bad procedurals out there in script land. Hulk can spot a genre Xerox instantly. but using the purpose. There’s a way the plotting just works. Notice Hulk didn’t say “style” either. vivid. All Hulk wants is for them to pick up any damn book on the subject and learn the conventions of noir or mystery or detective work or whatever the heck they're writing. Quentin Tarantino is the clear master of this. that’s exactly how we got in the hero journey mess. which are often lauded for the way they will suddenly become “different movies” at a moment’s notice and you’ll see that he’s not just using the style of those genres. just to have a little more functionality. Think of it like cooking. Meanwhile. It always informs a character ’s decisions or a change in the plot.flexibility to change on the fly depending on your purpose and intent. . But does that make you a great cook? Do you understand the process? Would you understand that cooking is essentially dehydration? Or why the searing of meat is important to taste? Would you be able to apply those basic concepts to other dishes? Would you be able to make substitutions to the dish if you needed to? Nope! And that’s exactly why understanding what’s really propelling things is the key to innovation. but that's why you really should: 35. Understanding genres allows you play with them in a way that will help you create new meanings and worlds. where he takes all these cinematic worlds and uses them to construct something vibrant and original. an artist like David Lynch is able to create the most interesting. dammit. Then it took those tropes and assembled them in a way that didn’t understand how they would relate together on the plotting level. But instead of copying the iconography. We don’t understand anything until later. He’s essentially an investigator. Each scene transitions poorly. it should seem like you understand the effect of westerns. Sadly. but of course it was his worst performance! He had absolutely nothing to do and was given no personality! All the lessons we’ve talked about apply: the film has no agency. they instead just aped tropes and iconography. The convention allowed The Man with No Name to roll into town as a disconnected entity and then the plot would connect him. unstoppable badass with no agency and whose core details (that would make you empathize with him) don’t come around until two-thirds of the way through the movie. nor the effect on the audience! For instance. The entire movie is one big “and then!” The entire movie is hellbent on using reveals and not drama. he’s the nasty villain. but instead of understanding the function of the genre conventions. Then when the aliens show up he just instantly starts acting like an anti-hero. you really should ask yourself a different set of questions: how is this affecting me? Why is it working? What is this plot saying? What does that mean for me? What am I getting out of this? If you’re writing a western. Heck. Take Harrison Ford’s character. Worse. The entire film even misunderstands the purpose of storytelling. His history didn’t matter. They know all the tropes he’s supposed to be. That character had no past and was a total mystery. but they mash them together ineffectively and without the needed transitions. Remember earlier when we talked about Han Solo’s great redeeming moment at the end of Star Wars? It was about the way that moment was set up and used for perfect dramatic purpose… and this film didn’t know the purpose. Which might seem odd. but it really didn't seem like it knew the first thing about how the genre actually worked on a dramatic level. you already have a lifetime’s worth of movies you’ve watched. well. usually based on morality and ethos. but he has no actual memory… which means he’s just wandering around doing stuff as more stuff happens. Then he’s treated to a scoundrel’s evolution and is suddenly just a decent guy for reasons that don’t expressly work. But Cowboys and Aliens took Daniel Craig’s character history and turned it into the big driving mystery at the center of the plot. Hulk doesn’t mean to take a cheap shot at Cowboys and Aliens. At first. it had no idea how to actually do that. There’s nothing to follow. Daniel Craig’s character is clearly influenced by “The Man with No Name” archetype that made Clint Eastwood famous. We’re just watching. You instinctually understand it. they inadvertently created one of the most detached characters ever written. There’s no empathy. And there weren’t significant enough events to make him change. By combining The Man with No Name with The Man with No Memory and then also characterizing him as a silent. everyone started calling it Craig’s worst performance. but here’s the thing… that’s not what the films were about. Mostly because the way Ford eventually came around was not fit for who the character was in the beginning. Which doesn’t mean that it’s an insurmountable amount of knowledge for you to acquire. . and by grounding the film in that character they wrote one of the least effective storylines ever written. given that it was made by a bunch of smart people who apparently watched a lot of westerns as research (and you can see all the references on the screen). But what are all the procedural conventions? What are all the conventions of mystery? The truth is that to even begin trying to discuss all the rules of genre conventions would entail writing a giant book about each genre separately. always. Most of the time it is about the psychology of release. to feel that. one of the reasons Hulk really appreciates horror films is that most of the filmmakers really do understand the conventions and purpose of the genre. There’s a reason a lot of horror filmmakers are suspicious when an “outsider” filmmaker tries their hand at the genre and so often it’s because they don’t do it all that well. but about all the ways the hero is in danger. which then makes it "okay" to watch the film again. You have to ask the question. The outsider may like the effect of horror. knew its iconography. Hulk’s lookin' at you. In Cowboys and Aliens? Every plot is effectively its own movie. The film's success is in tricking the audience's brain. through wholly visceral filmmaking techniques. It goes back to urgency and drama. Hulk will stop talking about that movie. There is a reason that action films work well with clear stakes and completely obvious plotting. And that’s everything. None of it ever seems to affect anything else and barely even intersects! Sorry. depending on the tone and rhythm. about the visceral effect on the audience. where everyone’s action or inaction was contributing to the main plot. all genres and films use similar cause + effect models to achieve some form of anticipation and release. the action hero maybe won't survive because “that fall is too high!” Or “that gun is pointed right at them!” Again. It’s just such a great learning example of a film that did all its research. But there's an entire rhythm to horror films and you'd be shocked how often the outsiders misuse and abuse it… or don’t even understand it. that doesn't actually matter. just for a split second. had smart people and good actors behind it. Or if you look at action films you will notice that cause and effect needs to manifest itself by creating tension followed by a moment of elation and impact (Are they going to do it?!?! Yes!! They did it!!!) Even though you know that in most action films. It knew how to merge all those arcs into a conflicting singularity. does the audience want this particular character to die? Or not want this particular character to die? And go from there. They play right into your visceral experience and they do so with an impeccable sense of craft. it knew it wanted to use the Stagecoach model of giving secondary characters a lot of background and screen-time… but the thing about Stagecoach is all the action was centralized together into the same ongoing plot of their journey. Wicker Man remake! But the real reason you need to know your genre conventions isn't just for these tonal reasons. While Hulk isn’t a diehard fan of the genre or anything. For example. the heroes will succeed. Even with every other character in the film. They would rather be esoteric and moody. . That’s mechanics. Each genre then lines up with a different emotion: horror films use this two ways. All our lessons apply. It was like Kung Fu Panda. but so clearly didn’t understand the mechanisms or the purpose behind the kinds of stories it was trying to use. The two psychologies completely inform how one should write and stage the action of the horror in any given moment. It's always. but because they each have a psychology to how they work. it shouldn’t be about the hero being an unstoppable badass. The other way is fright. it utilizes anticipation and then uses a moment of shock to send you into elation. which wants to you fear the kill so it tries to establish tension followed by a moment of releasing the audience from tension. always. They understand the mechanics of a scare and how to lay the mechanics on thick or light. They understand how to unnerve and build distrust. When you are excited for the kill. but they often don’t understand the mechanics and the craft. . Or that romantic comedies depend on the audiences falling in love with the characters before the characters do with each other. creative. in some way. "Page 17" The term "Page 17" is a strange phenomenon revealed to Hulk by an old mentor. Perhaps this is apropos of nothing. and original film work. If You Use Characters. like understanding how good westerns are often about the end of things. It doesn't play into the basic sense of how the cause + effect works (Knocked Up notwithstanding because that movie actually goes for other avenues of narrative resonance and succeeds brilliantly)." then chances are that it is a bad thing. small structural problems and odd devices that show up in writing.. It’s this naturally occurring page number where it feels right to really start embarking down the main narrative path. He spent a career looking into it. folks? We've covered the "breaking stories” section of this book! Hurray! But now it’s time to address a little troubleshooting.5 pages. These cause + effect models are part of every kind of genre. but if your read a ton of scripts then "page 17" of these 90-120+ page screenplays seems to be this naturally occurring point in the main plot where the story really gets going. for some reason the movie's main plot or action kicks into place on exactly page 17. It's almost bizarre. Hulk believes that every film is.. Hulk checked into it too. They Should Likely Be Reused . technically a genre film. It even applies to thematic motifs. He said that if you look through most good screenplays. It’s like in the Shakespearean second act where the main conflict kicks into gear.. Even something as non-traditional as the first chapter of Inglourious Basterds is 17. Have you started your main plot too fast? Have you delayed it for too long? If it's page 33 and the main plot of your story hasn't gotten going yet.. 37. Understanding the psychology of how a genre works will give you precisely what you need to make your own individual. There's a reason that so many romantic comedies fail when the characters sleep with each other and now they have to figure it out. that's all. It's like the screenwriting pi or something. all because you're still "setting things up. He's pretty much right.. but Hulk sees it as yet another tool at your disposal. And yes.. but Hulk would like to suggest if you're going much earlier or much later than that page number. then perhaps you should probably have a really good reason to do so. *** So guess what.... And to understand them is paramount to your ability to write. Even melodrama. And since then. 36. It’s simply a question you can ask yourself in trying to decide what it is you want to do. It's not as if you absolutely have to get your main story cooking by page 17. and take a look at a few.. . these are guidelines. Still. Exposition. But hey. And often they will then disappear.. but it's fucking awful. Not just for inmovie logic terms." The stories we weave always have connections.. Even then. but in Green Lantern we are introduced to Hal Jordan's family in an opening scene. Simply put. Hulk guesses there's far more boring things to do when your family is in trouble. How To Actually Use Deus Ex Machina! . it feels so immediately. But then. Comic relief. We promptly never hear from the family ever again.. short or long-form narrative. They subconsciously sense when things don't feel important or necessary.. find ways to do that. Even something as silly as Animal House. drama.. It doesn't have to be so perfect and have little neat bows on it. the more they'll feel like tangents. but there is surely an organic way to not waste characters. Whether comedy. but the real reason it sucks is that it feels like wasted narrative time. but also some old-school racist overtones!. They should serve purposes beyond "I like what they do for the hero in this one particular scene. doesn't just bring in Otis Day and the Knights for a good times sequence. mostly because it fails to meet our inherent standards for set-up / delivery and cause + effect. maybe something ended up in the cutting room floor and it was cut by the studio and Hulk is just being mean.. but hey whatever. but it was one of the most laughable things Hulk's ever seen in a giant film. Hulk knows Hulk keeps picking on the movie (perhaps fairly so). Again. Whatever. Sorry. but later returns to them to make a very different impression (complete with criticism of white-assumption. Meanwhile. Anycrap. As a great example. blatantly manipulative. but in terms of character consistency too. really it's the "primitive cultures" joke that is truly dated. there should be reasons characters are part of the story. he can spend that time moping. Like in Hulk's example with how the characters in Kung Fu Panda converge and have stakes in each other because it makes for a relevant story. You figure he'd care about his family when all of a sudden shit started going down with the city getting eaten by parallax. it's just one offense from a terrible script (who knows though. all we can go off of is the finished result). They clearly do it to make him seem all human and caring and stuff. 38.. the point is you should always try to look for opportunities to make all the characters have as much relevancy to the story as possible. Because the more characters feel like tangents. Not only does abandoning the family feel like we lose a bond we might be interested in. but Hulk can’t talk about that movie without bringing up that mean-as-hell line). But so often we are introduced to certain characters in a story who achieve some temporary goal in a scene. The audience can inherently sense messy and scattered storytelling. Okay. think about the way Curb Your Enthusiasm plots are constructed where everything always seems to come back and be relevant. Sorry for the tangent. Spurring forth a new plot. And that means finding fun and interesting ways to bring them back. It doesn't work that well for your story arcs. the rest of the movie is still pretty amazing. the device coming into eventual play is the focus of the entire episode.. And one night he stares down into the hatch and slams his fists against the window. A light comes on within the hatch.. which we can read as we want. And it's one of the most beautiful moments Hulk has ever seen on television.. The best example of which was in a season one episode appropriately titled "Deus Ex Machina. a man who has recently found his faith through extraordinary means.. a character espouses some belief that the universe is trying to guide him. Ever so quietly. one he desperately has tried to open in order to unlock the mysteries within. but there is of course an effective way to use it.. didn’t Hulk already talk about this??? You betcha. but something that swells with meaning and resonance.. And for that reason they turn the device not just into something that "works" within the narrative context of the show. once again begins to question it. As Hulk said above. The episode ends. Ask yourself: why am I using this device? Is it just an easy solution? Is this the only way I can solve the problem? Does it say anything about my characters or change them? Have I questioned the very nature of the character’s beliefs or the nature of faith? Is there any reason I am using this? And if so. And then. A vision had brought him to a mysterious hatch on the island. As Hulk illustrated earlier with the Han Solo saving Luke moment.. It is not a big gesture that makes it clear the heavens are interfering… it is the simple device of a light turning on. Usually this requires some sort of engagement of the idea of faith. It is perfect writing.Deus ex machina works when it is the point. deus ex machina works best if it is the point of the story. So when you consider using deus ex machina in your own work. More importantly. He is at his wits end with his very sense of faith shattered. Over a great deal of time he finds no success in trying to open it. one that speaks so deeply to the narrative and themes at play. think of this one stunning example. It is an episode about the very purpose of deus ex machina itself.. Lost was a show that had amazing characterization and deep-tissue thematic resonance. For example. For example. His anger grows." Spoilers and such... And that is because it finds such meaning in this tiniest of gestures. Wait. think about the nature of the device and what it actually . It shines on John's face and up into the night sky. And think of the Han Solo moment. There are so many stories where at the last second the hand of "god" or fate or whatever comes in and saves the characters from certain doom. These moments are so out of nowhere and often undeserved that even the most unaware audience member will be tempted to yell "bullshit!" There are the ritual worst offenders of this device (like Hulk mentioned with lazy old Entourage). but in that episode the character of John Locke. but it’s that important. or that he trusts he will be saved. But Hulk wanted to take an extra moment and talk about a way to make deus ex machina work by engaging the theme directly. He screams and yells to whatever is within. They were also quite good in how they handled this particular device. He then yells out to the universe: Why had they cursed him with the vision? What did the world want from him? Why was he supposed to open this hatch? Why would the universe be so cruel as to taunt him with this impossible task? He screams and cries into the hatch as the music swells.. the last minute “saving throw” works best when it is grounded in character and plotting. That's probably why they bought a ticket. But it should also be there to . that's that object from. then perhaps it’s worth thinking about. but so often that sort of flash-forward is unnecessary.means on a thematic level. And since there is literally no comprehension. 9 times out of 10. "Oh. it was a common device on the first few seasons of Breaking Bad and sometimes it worked spectacularly. For instance." etc. Hulk sees the device used so damn much these days and it’s not only everywhere. full of drama and stuff! It shows conflict and is exciting! Hulk not-so-politely asks in return: so the fuck what? What is the real point of doing that? How much are you actually accomplishing? Hulk means. it was often total misdirection.. Beware The Opening Flash-Forward So this isn't more Lost analysis because the flashback and flash-forward system they used was actually pretty damn purposeful on the whole! No. They will build a complete sense of mystery as to what we're even seeing. Hulk even mentioned it briefly before in the preexisting conflict chapter. of course the audience knows that the movie will get exciting and climaxy because that’s what movies do. If your movie begins with a lot of normalcy (and Hulk means a lot). It's not just jumping ahead. It’s like this big tease. It’s when a movie will start off with some moment from the climax or a later scene. the narrative will just jump back to the real beginning of the story. They'd start with a few scattered images we barely understand. Deus ex machina works when it is the point.. Hulk has a simple question: why is this happening? Possible (bad) answer: because it lets the audience know that stuff is going to go down in this movie! That it will get all serious! That the protagonist will end up in some crazy situation! That's. Like everything. showcasing how unimportant it really was. Hulk understands the desire to let an audience know what kind of craziness is in store so it doesn't take them off guard. And the few times Breaking Bad did give away actual context and information in the flash-forward scene. but also poorly done. you know. you have to be sure there’s a reason for it. and then the movie just starts as normal. And after it's over. It’s a quick-seeming and cheap solution to imbuing a film with the illusion of conflict. the kind of opening flash-forward Hulk’s talking here is the kind you see all the time in movies. The flash-forwards were used as clues. 39. as there are some ways it can work. showing off the answer to everything and then asking "how are these characters going to end up in this crazy situation?" the way so many bad scripts do. Aren't there so many better ways of doing that? To introduce real and actual conflict? Like with the whole "preexisting conflict" thing Hulk mentioned? Now this isn't to make it seem like the device is completely unusable. when events are all heightened and dramatic. it works like a mystery to be pieced together later. ” Again. the reason we try to be like that is that emotional connections scare us. We don’t want to be vulnerable. But Hulk doesn’t see it that way at all. It isn’t dramatic. completely distant and unemotional.. ended up phasing it out. The word “cool” is so troublesome and Hulk finds it really problematic in storytelling. Is that how you want your movie to come across? Is that what you’re interested in making? Sometimes people are interested in making movies like that and they’re often terrible. We think it’s alluring. and hey. or imagery. Heck. a lot of time Hulk feels like writers use the opening flash-foward because “that's what movies do. who used the device well for two whole years. So let’s try a little experiment. We don’t want to get hurt. It can’t just be an “and then. That’s why we want to seem like we don’t give a fuck. and altogether shitty. nor robbing your climax of important urgency. and rebellious. Think about those words: flippant and detached. Even Breaking Bad. is it? The things we think are “cool” usually relate to our understanding of early social dynamics. it’s that it isn’t emotional. Define “cool. Understand the mechanism and what it’s accomplishing. ". flippant.” You have to be sure you are not wasting the audience’s time. the problem is that it’s not all that emotional or empathetic. or style that are devoid of tact and understanding? How often can Hulk argue in this book that the biggest problem is the common misapplication of a story mechanism and not the mechanism itself? Understand the thing you are doing. It can become a strangely hollow exercise. Don’t Try To Be “Cool” The following is Hulk's general piece of advice about life: if you start any sentence with "Wouldn't it be cool if. but that’s not really the case." How many times can we talk about movies that use devices. But Hulk’s problem is not that being cool is alluring. Ask: “What is this really accomplishing?” 40. It’s just a word that is synonymous with “good” to them. And that’s why we project coolness. sometimes it is. It can be a real preventative burden. And while those traits are certainly alluring. we think of it as being synonymous with good. don't do it.express some idea of the themes at play or possibly to create a sense of dramatic irony. A lot of people don’t understand why Hulk makes such a big fuss about it. Meaning: it isn’t good cinema. Just don't do it. You have to be sure there’s a reason. And the only way they tend to be successful is by indulging the audience and making them want to be like those cool things through . Ask yourself the right questions. They’re aloof bits of slick cinema. Cool people and cool things are often detached. So be wary.. Don’t assume. Because sometimes the unintended effect of the flash-forward is that you're subconsciously making the audience feel like they're just sitting there waiting to get to the climax again. And it isn’t empathetic. Honestly. Trying to be cool is how we got pretty much all of the early ‘90s with cartoon characters in sunglasses. He’s referencing the most obscure nerdy things. He’s a guy who knows his craft and knows the purpose of every single cinematic mechanism he’s employing. his characters are grounded in a kind of regularity and focus on the mundane. It will be like a marketing executive trying to identify what the hip kids are into. People think that Tarantino is always trying to be cool or that he makes “cool” films. Isn’t that such an important thing to realize? That coolness is so transitive that it changes constantly and can’t ever be constant? And soon after it is effective it will be considered passé? And if we can’t define such a nebulous concept. Quentin wants his films to be cool. We just sit there with our brains and we decide “oh that’s cool” and even then it’s not all that helpful because we regularly disagree on what is cool or what makes things cool. not in an effort to connect with their children. Even if you really are a cool. Yes. which also makes for bad cinema. zen leader Optimus Prime and turning him into a government-hating badass hell-bent on executing motherfuckers. forward-thinking. not a visceral one.wish-fulfillment. but that’s not how he actually constructs them! Seriously! Oftentimes. Do you want your movie to be like that guy? It’s the parents who try to keep up with their kids’ music. More importantly. Trying to be cool results in taking benevolent. You’re just trying to be cool. good-guy. It’s so damn ephemeral and that makes it impossible to construct! It’s like trying to bottle lightning. The real truth is that Tarantino is actually super dorky. He obsesses in the obscure and the uncool. It is the Poochie-fication of cinema. trying to be cool. but to adopt their tastes as their own and to stay relevant. when you are still writing and constructing the idea. then we can only rely on how we know it when we see it. but if you ask Hulk this is a spectacular misdiagnosis. you’re in trouble. And you ever see a guy trying too hard to be cool? Oof. It’s the guy at the party still wearing the scorpion jacket from Drive. It will be disingenuous. he constructs his films in terms of function: his long-form dialogues are just as much about classic innovations of drama and build up and tension. Which brings Hulk to another important point. He understands that no matter how much you dress stuff up in awesomeness… Cinema is secretly about being dorky and earnest. It's true. it will feel calculated and cold. The other problem with “cool” is that it’s often an evaluative concept. favors flights of dialogue fancy over action. He much prefers careful characterization and intelligence over posture. It just always reeks of blatant and false intention. progressive person. It seems desperate and unearned. . More than that. the idea doesn’t exist yet. And that is what makes his films so damn cool. it never has anything to do with being a valid option for the story. So Hulk swears to you: the second you are trying to be cool. in whatever path you choose to go. It should come from a place of genuine connection and empathy to the experience of your audience. Hulk wants to run out into the streets and start smashing . should be earnest. Even if unintentional.l. In case you are unfamiliar. Look.But this whole predicament brings us to our next big “don’t”… 41. that title card made it seem like they were effectively cheating the audience out of seeing the end of the film and making them catch up later through another form of “payment. in moment of complete stupidity. And we're doing the antithesis of that. Even if the material is frivolous or superficial. the film ends abruptly with a car crash and a cut to black with a story card that tells the audience that they can continue the story… on a website.r. Even if the story was complete (and it wasn’t). We're just trying to make it realistic. they were still implying there was a more important narrative to be held elsewhere. the film was calling attention the fact they were crafting an incomplete narrative. Here's the filmmakers’ explanation of what happened (via Bloody Disgusting): "Stories always have a very Hollywood ending. they did not realize that. narratively speaking. Don't Fuck With The Audience Just To Fuck With The Audience Stories should be earnest. there is a huge difference between wanting to be inventive and just trying to be different for different's sake… do that and it will just end up seeming like you're fucking with the audience. The decision was essentially just a misguided attempt at trans-media lameness. Even if it’s the most un-Spielberg-ian material on the planet." … … …What!??!?!?!? Like… seriously?!?!!??!?!?!?! Okay please understand something right now. The storytelling itself. Even if the story is about a lack of earnestness. People reacted as if the film had just leapt off the screen and killed all their mothers.” But the point Hulk really wants to hammer home is that by shifting to u. So when it comes to constructing your narrative. But in the filmmakers’ desire to be different. Not every situation ends perfectly or the way you want it to end. they were doing the most ridiculous thing possible. And the audience does not like to be fucked with.. I know some people love it and some people f*cking hate it but it gets people talking. the filmmakers / studio said they wanted to do something "different" and. They made it seem like the narrative was purposefully incomplete. they did something they thought might be cool: you see. They did something worse than just having an unresolved ending.. Look no further than the recent debacle with the ending of The Devil Inside. Hulk has a question for you: when Alfred Hitchcock made Psycho. Hulk will do the more civilized thing and analyze why that comment might be the worst thing ever said by a filmmaker. So to all of you writers out there. “it gets people talking” is the chief phrase people use in marketing. Not storytelling. like. He seems to think that anything with resolution is akin to having the characters ride off into the sunset hand-in-hand. It showcases exactly what Hulk is talking about with the false pursuits of fucking with your audience and doing the opposite for opposite’s sake. None. If "the ending is the conceit" then this film’s conceit was total ineptitude. he is being attractive or cool or badass or worse. His "Hollywood ending" comment shows that he actually perceives nothing about how endings work. Storytelling is an art that is dependent on your sense of craft and audience response. it is just contrarianism in service of nothing. how it works.cars and punching Chitauri… but instead of Hulk smashing things. And in the end. “artistic” (go back to Hulk’s comments on art to see how untrue that one is). It’s a super-valid business. In fact. thus implying we're just a bunch of hapless dumb-farts who need to be placated. but it works in a completely different way from storytelling. Which is fine. he’s misunderstanding what “Not every situation ends perfectly or the way you want it to end" actually means in how it should affect your narrative. And you have to know how to pull it off. Hulk wants you to know that storytelling is not some game where you mess with the audience. or why it matters. but at least most of them have an ending gesture like that manages to. all you did was get people to talk about how awful that story decision was. Hulk’s worked in marketing. So if you are going to throw an audience off-kilter or if you are going to do something rebellious… you have to do it for a good reason. But the bigger problem with all these statements is that there is clearly no understanding of what “narrative” even means. Gahhhhhhh… there’s so much to say here. Let’s start with the fact he's obviously not trying to tell a story but just do "the opposite" of storytelling as if that both made sense and was somehow enough. Both the film and his ensuing comments are enough evidence to showcase that this person could not possibly understand less of what a story is. do something. He seems to think that by doing so. what the hell does getting people talking and cutting a story short so they can go to a website have to do with realism? Nothing. by the way. It's asinine. Second. was he just fucking with the audience? . Remember what Hulk said earlier about how the ending is a chance to ram home themes? Well most found footage films tend to end abruptly. Fourth. that's what. This one just ends on another action beat indistinguishable from other action beats before. The first problem is that he’s making it clear he's just fucking with the audience to get a reaction. And if that’s your approach to storytelling you can just get the hell out of here and work in marketing. His words imply that we're just mad at the ending because the film didn't end how we wanted it to. Third. Visceral. character. Human Centipede 2 "works" for its filmmaker). It gets right to the heart of “what the film means. You can always bring an audience to an antagonistic place. The lesson is simple: if you want to go in bold narrative directions.” And as a result. Marion was the main character. Quentin Tarantino gets away with scenes of long-running dialogue because he writes some of the best dialogue on the planet. And you can’t just do that in every scene. Essentially. One of the best movies to talk about in terms of innovation and embracing of unconventional story is the ending of No Country for Old Men. But with the ending it becomes something so much more. The only thing that stops us in our tracks is that. You have to know when you’re pushing it. instead becomes on one of the best films of all time. his dialogue is full of its own narratives and stories and dispositions and all that good cinematic stuff. And more importantly. That your decision had meaning and theme and import. The film gives us every reason to believe it can happen. It subverts its genre needs and expectations and achieves this stunning thematic resonance. They played with expectation and then looked at what that playing-with-expectation actually meant. the entire opening secretly sets us up . well-realized action film. We get a total creepy-as-shit build up. unconventional decision. You have to know what your effect will be. And then you have to follow it through to the end. And then the film delivers a pure a Shakespearean third act turn that is worthy of climax. You have to show the audience that you made this unconventional choice for a reason. It doesn’t just decide to become artistic for artistic’s sake. often to places that are uncomfortable. Tight. The absence of one element of good narrative means you should fully embrace one of the other elements from our working definition listed in Part One. or reality. It spreads out far beyond what we see. By removing the shackles of narrative restriction. Hitchcock and his team didn’t fuck with the audience just to fuck with the audience. but that great. The entire movie was secretly full of this same kind of commentary. You have to show the consequences. rebellious moment in Psycho works because the entire film is constructed around it. But the way the moment “works” does not stop with the deed itself. Dropping narrative economy and propulsion? Better make perfect sense for your theme or an important character point. they constructed an entire film around their inventive. And then he understands instinctively when to dip right back into pure visceral cinema. It’s an important question. but you can't do it in antagonistic way. Heck. And it doesn’t do this willy-nilly. Dropping theme? It better make perfect sense for the texture. You start with the familiar tropes and you carefully bring the audience on a journey. You have to prove that you aren’t just fucking with them. And contains what is quite probably the bestfilmed action that Hulk has ever seen. well. The film before the ending qualifies as a remarkably suspenseful revenge film. Anytime you branch away you have to have a reason. but you do so with a guiding hand. His conversations take you on a narrative journey. The filmmakers may have had a desire to shake things up. It’s palpable. The event has a tremendous fall-out and consequences to the new characters. And if you do? You better be damn sure that audience's angered reaction is the exact result you want (which is why in its most basic sense. you have to negotiate. the film is free to explore something more abstract. what could have just been a tight. even downright poetic. you do it smart. The Modern Difficulty Of Relativism So for an entire book Hulk has talked a lot about having a purpose with your writing and the importance of saying something with each gesture. but crafting statements. It’s just… look. but did so in the name of pure art. but on the flip-side he was essentially being the most thematically responsible filmmaker of all time. Every way his characters shied away from empathy and connection was a purposeful way of getting you to disconnect so you could engage in an idea. They also understand their responsibility to deftly weave in and out narrative in order to create new thematic meanings. the ending of No Country really rubbed them the wrong way. Even their most bizarre comedic moments in films like The Big Lebowski are laced with topicality and subtext.for ending. “unless not saying something is your point. There’s a reason folks are averse to doing so this day and age. regardless of tact. Or look to the greatest American filmmaker ever in Stanley Kubrick. Hulk didn’t want to seem authoritarian or like a moralist. You may think he was thumbing his nose at conventional storytelling and emotion. But it really goes beyond that. The only real problem is that the connections it was making and the place they were going works better for people who embrace subtlety and thematic storytelling. then by all means you must follow your hearts and minds. And to that purpose Hulk understands why they tell their stories in such a way. but Hulk’s going to take a few seconds to . After all. Every inverting gesture had a meaning. And they did a good enough job of it to make one of the best-acclaimed movies of all time. And it's because it eschewed the most basic expectations of narrative. But the Coens understand and expect the limitations of their choices. and all the while Hulk has kept adding the caveat. Hulk can assure you they didn’t sit around and go "wouldn't it be cool if?" 42. Sometimes it feels like there is this unspoken value among artists that. And whatever you think of the tactics of the Coen Brothers or Stanley Kubrick. Every bit of oddly staged production design had a semiotical construct. where The Devil Inside is anything but subtle and just rubs it in our face). trying to be didactic is the worst thing you can do. and that’s because it seems reductive to the great universal truth that nothing is really true. They are making art.” or something to that effect. But sometimes that’s the price you pay for working in subtlety (notice the stark difference though. Hulk isn’t here to tell you what “compels you. wherein there is an emphasis on not being didactic. who eschewed every convention ever. The point Hulk wants you to take away is simple: the Coen Brothers may defy expectations of storytelling conventions constantly. They do so to create new vivid meanings and make truly interesting statements. And their art is not based on getting a mere reaction. Most of the films that counter these conventional values of narrative are independent and / or valid art films and trying to reflect a certain understanding of post-modernism. And for all the people who either weren't perceptive to thematic stuff or just were not that into it.” If that kind of statement compels you. but they do so only to engage deeper questions in life. a lot of times people don’t want to attack an audience with some after-school special tactics or archaic lessons or make a big artistic statement or do anything like that. meaning Hulk’s view can’t be true and your view can’t be true. Here’s a nuts and bolts version: post-modernism is largely grounded in the dissolution of truth. It’s often nuanced and humane. Every single scene in that show is 100% trying to say something and convey a very specific lesson about sociology. And the problem of so many movies with the traditional post-modern bent is that in trying to uphold the reflexive value of all actions they are thereby robbing those dramatic functions of their importance. Maybe they think they are reflecting truthfulness? Maybe they find anything else to be placating? Whatever their intentions Hulk just thinks that they don’t realize how much they are narrowing their own narrative effect. Once again. Dramatic action. say nothing of trying to say a nuanced thing. conceptually. It’s probably the best weapon humanity has against totalitarianism and extremism. the practical application of post-modern thinking is pretty fucking important. and yet we’ve bred a generation who is afraid to do it because they confuse the will to say something with after-school-specialism. But there is a caveat to that and Hulk hopes the following makes sense: the problem with post-modern relativism is that it was also humanity’s first problem. purposefully making a film seem like it doesn’t have a point at the end just makes for bad narrative. But it’s anything but ambivalent. Good narratives have purpose to every moment in them. it’s trivializing. there is only what we believe. at least. but. That’s a pretty crude way of putting it. Deliberate pointlessness makes a story really. In fact. And thinking that others shouldn’t say anything either is. it’s instead coming from that place of not trying to say anything. . so therefore nothing is true. The truth is that most people criticizing things as being didactic not because the story has the will to convey meaning and ideas. it’s hyper-specific about everything it wants to say. it’s kind of personal and feel free to disagree. but the important thing is that we use postmodernism to dissolve the certainty of absolutist thought. Inspiration comes from having something to say. On one hand. In other words. So once again we have a crisis of language. Only the “what” of that lesson is extraordinarily complex. which all just means that good narratives have purpose. Say nothing of ambiguity. Hulk reads scripts all the time where people are just so damn afraid of having something strong to say. well. The ending being the conceit. Act breaks are character choices. Character psychologies are based on wants and needs and projection. And as a result. why you want to be careful with it. Not just dramatically.try and explain why Hulk isn’t crazy about the idea or. The first reason is simple: look at everything we’ve talked about in this book. but because some people can say really broad. Dramatic function. We are essentially talking about relativism. Hulk thinks being didactic is one of the core tenets of storytelling going back to fables. And the other reason Hulk isn’t a fan of this kind of relativism is because … well. but Hulk finds relativism to be really boring. like. let’s go back to The Wire as a great example with the problems of this thinking. stupid things with that didacticism. And it bounces off dozens of other messages and creates an accurate picture of a society in conflict. really inaccessible. We grunted. and the impossibility of single perspective have been hurled onscreen with the same kind of ineffectual shrug befitting its lack of forethought. and lust and give them names. … but maybe that’s just the working definition. And thus Hulk would like to submit the idea that trying to define things is not inherently a lie. Or if we have souls. but Hulk can count on Hulk’s fingers and toes the number of films Hulk’s seen that are interested in creating the new myth. Just as we pointed at the mammoth so we could give a word to it as food. or an attempt to bare your soul and say something is not an instinctual attempt to undermine relativism. we as human beings must also be here to save each other from abandoning definition all together. aka those things we all saw every day. We grew and survived because we could communicate. We tell stories so that we can know these concepts and grow and pass on an understanding. okay let’s bring this back to a little less grandiose place: Hulk knows that a lot of postmodernism is geared around a less stringent version of the relativism Hulk talked about earlier. We pointed at rocks. And as much as post-modern relativism is here to save us from the crushing certainty of absolutism. It’s a survival mechanism. It is the goal to pursue as much truth as we can possibly know. or an attempt to tell a truth. for every truly great film Hulk has seen in which post-modern thought led its hero to shying away from absolutism of . Okay. Of course we can’t undermine it. which are effectively just “stories. It is the pursuit of knowledge and the foundation of science. There isn’t a single person on this planet who can know what happens to us after we die.. A calendar of celestial bodies stirring above us. We used our languages and definitions to start planting things like corn. happiness.“……… what?” Okay how to put it. It is the constant battle we wage every single day of our lives.” Those stories became channels to our understanding of the stars and universe. Because we could define things. But how did we survive? We were in the figurative Tower of Babel and we couldn’t communicate. we point at those unknowable concepts like love. or that it embraces the new myth. We don’t throw up our arms and say “it’s all relative! So whatever!” What would happen to the scientific process if we ever gave up on finding the better answer? We tell stories so they might be of some fucking use. Hulk can count by the barrelful the number of student films that Hulk has seen in which relativism. We ate things. Because we looked at a mammoth and simply agreed to call it a mammoth so that we could understand each other and come together. We instinctively knew how to do things. This reality is crushing. but we live in the dark. reflexivism. We don’t like to think about it. Meanwhile. anger. Everything was relative. An agreement on language and stories was how we survived. And then our little protoversions of us created language. We pointed at things. From a philosophy that often seems like it’s trying to dig us right back down into the dark. To best relay these ideas we created a sequence of meanings.. To do so would be to abandon the value of language. At the dawn of culture we didn’t have language. And the fact that we had no objective truths to agree on was a threat to our very survival. We would point at those big food things and we called them “mammoths” and hunted them with our spear heads.” And from those rocks we made spear heads. It was how we came out of the dark. And thus. For every brilliant dalliance of post-modern reflexivism. an attempt to define things. and agreed that they should be called “rocks. jealousy. that just means you have to write a good movie. the main focus was the adapting of popular books. independent. because neither gives you a sizable enough audience to be successful. but then the industry really started shying away from that focus. so we’ll just leave that one alone.” It started with old TV shows and then switched to comics. Don’t please the hardcore fans? They don’t help you market the long play to the masses. And even if most people are some lessened version of each side. There are no set rules in adaptation. or artistic. It’s all about marketing a known value so you can get your awareness numbers up and that somehow becomes your justification for green-lighting a movie. This is just a Hulk being honest about what Hulk doesn’t find compelling… The thing Hulk wants you to keep in mind is that most audiences. cartoons. the core idea at play in adaptation is something you need to understand. Do with this sentiment what you may. line by line re-creation of the source material and don’t actually care about the experience other than that. instinctively tend to agree with Hulk on this one. Prove Hulk wrong. Twitter accounts. then by all means go for it. It wasn’t about known stories. . Now. and even theme park rides. Adaptation So if you ever find yourself in the position of writing in Hollywood. Don’t please the simple movie-goers? You won’t have a successful film on any level then. famous characters.S. whether mainstream. but instead there is a very specific set of conditions best expressed by a simple dichotomy. For many years. it was all about “known iconographies. The important thing to realize is that even while the particular talents for adapting a novel are slowly becoming less relevant. Basically. The first part of the dichotomy is that you have to accept that there are people in the theater who want a staged. from someone who is just afraid to say something.” The reason why this happened isn’t some big mystery. Do what compels you. 43. it’s all about adapting “properties. chances are you’ll find yourself dealing with the art of adaptation. Hulk has seen 50 times the amount of juvenile B. If you look at this and think Hulk is super-duper wrong. Find the great cinematic reflection of relativism or flippantly pointlessness. you still have to try and please everyone. Which is pretty damn meaningless in terms of making a good movie. The second part of the dichotomy is to accept there are people there who have never read the book and could care less about faithfulness.politics or something equally dangerous. The practice had its own peculiarities (full-on novel-adaptation screenwriting classes would be taught and everything). Which means the art of adaptation just falls to our reliable old concept of “balance” to save us. which Hulk readily admits can be difficult. a file dropped on a desk. Sometimes you’re fine if you go just make your own adventure. taking “written info” and making it “showing info. Look at the choices they make in condensing information. As for the plotting? It’s a negotiation. Most of the time when you’re first trying to get an agent or manager you will be writing original scripts and they will be read by these people “on spec. The only difference being that your ability to analyze and breakdown why a story works in its original form will absolutely allow you to build a better adaptation.” Think about the purpose and everything we’ve been talking about.” meaning anything that is unsolicited material. People always talk about how a good adaptation “captures the spirit” of the property. a smile. 44. Entire monologues in the book are cut off and feed what we assume they must have talked about based on the next scene. And if empathy truly is everything for getting your audience to invest.” . Spec Scriptin’! Okay. It’s all transitional filmmaking. That’s everything. All the same lessons apply. so technically a spec script is anything that is written “on spec. And hey. but a production company is still reading to check out a writer. What are the character decisions? What are the themes? How do the plot mechanisms accelerate at a certain point? And from there: streamline! Do everything we’ve talked about with economy. A master class. it means what Hulk been saying since the beginning of this whole damn book: character is king. Not because of any tonal choices (the film is remarkably subtle and quiet). if the original property was able to resonate then that’s a pretty damn good indicator that capturing the same things will cause your adaptation to resonate too! So remember: capturing the spirit = nailing the characters. Audiences just want to recognize the characters they have come to love or be fascinated by. but what does that actually mean? It’s kind of vague. And before you know it they’ve taken a book that was a 5 hour miniseries adaptation and turned into a 2 hour film without missing a beat. then getting the characters right is your primary concern.The key to doing that in adaptation is understanding what you have to keep and what you don’t have to keep. Each action forwards the story. right? Really. people worry about cramming everything into an adaptation. but for true adaptation you really just need to decide on the central plot-points (meaning mechanisms) that allow the functioning of the plot in the original property and incorporate them into the central structure of yours. Still. it’s not the “what” of the plot point but “the why. It’s writing all the same. If you need a good working example of the tactics you can use in your approach. Each action reveals character. A knock on the door. really. Just remember. then Hulk heartily recommends first reading John le Carre’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and then seeing the recent Tomas Alfredson film adaptation with Gary Oldman. You want the people of the property to be the same people in the film. And that’s because the film is a master class in adaptation. an extended gaze.” and merging into conflicting arcs. therefore / buts. but because of the expressions of plot through pure cinema. always plays bad. It’s an understandable inclination. Unless you’re Arrested Development or something where callbacks are woven into the fabric of the show. So you write a fake episode of Mad Men and the idea is to establish that you could totally write an episode of that show to prove your mettle. It’s sort of a weird circumstance. it’s amateur hour because you’re instantly proving you’re a masturbatory and indulgent writer. The idea is to both impress the hell out of everyone and signify that you can play with someone else’s toys. Say you want to be a TV writer. And in those circumstances it’s just so easy to go off the reservation from their specific way of writing the show. It happens more than you would think and it’s something that you can’t fake. But the people approving you and hiring you are often too close to the show to truly be able to separate themselves from what you are writing. You would imagine it was the most logical thing in the universe. You want to prove you can uphold the status quo… not change it. but it used a narrative device (centralizing around a previously unknown character) that many felt was too radical a departure for that show… perhaps Hulk was just too . They are guarded with it. a lot of times spec script writers include some major event that dramatically changes a character or the plot. Which means just doing all the good writing stuff we’ve talked about here. don’t go nuts! Heck… even then. the industry also uses the same phrase of “spec scripts” to mean un-commissioned TV scripts for shows that already exist. You are proving that you can take that world and craft your own unique and interesting story within it. don’t go nuts with your fan-fic-ing inclination for the show. dramatic script… but really your job is to show that you can uphold the rules and norms of the universe you are trying to write for. put it this way. VI) Or less offensively. At the same time… IV) Don’t go nuts trying to show off how much you know! A lot of spec scripts will try and cram in every history or reference ever. Look for overlaps! Look for the kinds of shows that those people like! Be smart about it! But at the same time… III) Don’t pick a show that you do not know well. impressive. because you want to write a big. So try to avoid new hook-ups between the characters. Quite bluntly. But really you want to show that you can look at another person’s show and understand the characters and get the tone right. What does that mean? Well. II) So that means you pick a show that’s like the show you would want to work for. Either you know the history and tone of a show and that’s clear or you don’t. With the caveat of a few pieces of advice Hulk will give you now on how to thread the needle of what people will be looking for… I) Often times it’s not good to write a spec script for the exact show you’re trying to get a job on. It just always. Because television so readily involves hiring writers for an existing show (90% of writers are working on a show that isn’t “theirs”). They know the entire universe so well that they will take it personally.But there is a curious overlap in terminology that specifically applies to television. dramatic TV show. Some years ago Hulk wrote a spec that Hulk thought was sharp and upheld the universe. Say you want to write on a smart. It can even be a little thing. V) Also. When Friends was first on the air the writers would always get spec scripts where it was clear the writer just wanted to make two of their favorite characters hook up… don’t do that. Negotiate what you most value and account for all the possible results. logical beings who need to make sense of what is happening around us. The problem with talking about plot holes in the first place is there seems to be a lot of confusion about what they even are. right? Of course it is. And in a way. Movies definitely need to have a certain level of logic to work because we are." For instance. But what Hulk would like to prove to you in the following chapter is that plot holes (at least in the way people use the term) actually have nothing to do with whether or not stories are good or bad. Half the stuff that gets called a plot hole these days isn’t even close. a sci-fi film may explain in the beginning why this particular world is different and how that society operates. But enough tangential thoughts… it’s time to address one of the trickiest. It would be like walking out on to a major league field and trying to no-hit an opposing line-up. Hulk understands this inclination. remember the difficulty of aiming too high. You know how Hulk mentioned Mad Men as a possible option? Well. Because those words prevent us from diving into a whole bunch of extraneous questions and they allows us to accept the rules of the world on a conditional basis. So that’s a lot of things to try and balance.inspired by “The Zeppo. but for now note that the two words "as presented" are also rather important. A more concrete (and famous) example of sci-fi “givens” would be Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics (and if you'll notice. which is oddly enough the same thing that makes compelling characters. obvious way (this is Hulk's personal definition): a plot hole is a crucial gap or inconsistency in a storyline (as presented) that prevents the proper functioning of the plot or central characterization (as presented). but would you expect anything else in the major leagues of writing? Like everything Hulk has told you so far. The idea of established givens should work even for more emotional .” which you will then use to solve the proof step by step. The words “crucial” and “prevent” are both key for reasons that Hulk will explain in a bit. one thing you should keep in mind is that Matthew Weiner is one of the best writers on the planet. but a true plot hole is actually a very nuanced thing that Hulk believes can still be defined in a clear. you always start with a series of rules and information.” (That’s a reference!) VII) Lastly. the subsequent breakdown of those three rules is what creates the chief conflict in his stories). But this doesn't have to be the case for these unique sci-fi worlds. when we start a film we are essentially accepting the rules of the world as a kind of "given. Think of it like this: in mathematical proofs. They just become things we talk about in trying to explain them. Writing is about making difficult choices. These rules are accepted as true and called “givens. achieve balance in your writing. most problematic concerns in writing… 45. How To Approach Plot Holes And Movie Logic Whenever people talk about how stupid movies are they like to talk about plot holes as if they are the reason the movie was bad. after all. Hulk isn’t telling you to aim low… Hulk’s just saying to be aware of what you’re attempting… because you’d be surprised how many are not. it really is the only answer that matters. For instance. Glibness aside. So in that spirit. In fact. But the thing to understand here is that the kinds of plot holes that actually matter are the plot holes that hurt the functioning of the movie. or theme). But a plot hole occurs when the new information given is fundamentally countering the old information with no eventual accounting for why. we get more and more information (whether for plotting. Do you see the distinction? A lot of times we can have a character suddenly switch motivations. Because as movies go on.. We call these sorts of situations "conflict" and they happen to be the entire basis of good storytelling and drama.realms of a movie world. it can be that “this character can talk to the camera” or “people behave absurdist” in this world. and then we operate within the context of the movie from there.. Sometimes those rules can be about character consistency and established feelings. A friendly and kind acquaintance of Hulk's was once discussing the problems he saw in Looper and he asked the logical question: "why doesn't the future mob just drop their targets in the middle of the ocean?" The simplest answer? Because then there would be no movie. tears. And we watch movies to experience drama. like "Dad hates Mom" or "our main character is unpopular. and this creates more and more understanding of the world. but this has to be explained for us to accept it. We go because we want to watch a damn movie. We have to watch people fuck up. . You can stop virtually any single movie on the planet (invented sci-fi world or not) with a simple solution that nullifies the core conflict. sadness. But we don’t go to theaters to watch people come up with the best solutions. the better we feel about it. and sympathy. And in order to experience these things we must have situations in which the simplest and most logical solution isn't present. like melodramas and comedies. character. dizzying highs. And the more the switch makes sense based on other information presented before or after. we have to watch people do the wrong thing. meaning the plot holes that derail the in-moment experience and actively prevent you from enjoying the film right there as you are in the theater. We have to see their wants and desires become entangled in a situation where they have to make a bad choice. let's be clear - a plot hole is not any of the following: I) A blatant movie-stopper II) Something that only seems confusing in retrospect III) An event that simply occurs off-screen IV) A loose end (though it can be) V) A real-life inaccuracy So let's talk about each in order… I) It is not a blatant movie stopper." These behaviors and dynamics are givens for the world we are entering. laughter. but that truly doesn't matter. So in Hulk's mind. Again what is being missed here is that the disturbance of natural. It would create a non-story. This one is actually the most complicated. dramatic scare. When he was presented with this logical counterpoint.On top of that the frequent problem with going down the logic rabbit hole is that Hulk has a million good reasons the ocean solution isn't even a logical fix to begin with. but none of them have to do with actual storytelling. right? We can at least agree with that. For instance. these overt logic questions that are "movie-stoppers" or “scare stoppers” or “drama stoppers” are really not even worth getting into that much. just logic itself. It’s all "everything was okay. we actually see the looper hitman system as a wholly functional enterprise and the only two unsuccessful incidents are actually the sole driving force of the conflict in the movie. Which is not only inaccurate. Hulk would argue there's a pretty damn good reason for the future mob’s use of looper hitmen - because mob killings are all about "kill confirmation. lest we forget. there are a million other things that have to do with making an effective scare or an emotionally effective scene. There’s no kill confirmation). but another misunderstanding of the very purpose of conflict. Most people think he makes proficient and reasonably effective movies. Christopher Nolan is pretty damn well respected for the most part. And the ocean solution ignores this rather logical policy of the mob. yes. the ocean solution has absolutely nothing to do with making it a "better” movie. that is very true. In fact. That sentiment should be blindingly obvious to all of us. Of course. which. but the real answer to "why didn't they just do _____" in a horror movie is always to make the most effective. Still. Now. And the best way to address this part is to have a little talk about Christopher Nolan.” having someone responsible who can attest to the relative success of the hit and be responsible if it fails (it's actually the same reason people laugh at Bond villains who leave our hero in an easily escapable situation and just presume he'll die with no one watching. Especially with horror movies. It would in fact make the movie infinitely worse. The Joker's plan . this is largely because we place ourselves in the stalkee's shoes a great deal in those kinds of movies and actively look for solutions on our own. compelling experience. because they undermine the experience we are there for and fundamentally misunderstand the goal of a dramatic. logical order to things is actually the fundamental approach to creating conflict in movies. we see the hitmen “fuck up” a lot. is the entire reason we are in the theater. and then this inciting incident happened so it wasn't anymore!" Far more importantly. For instance. And when you look at it in a rigid plot-based way. a number of people have spent the last several years laughing about how The Dark Knight doesn't make a lick of logical sense when you look at the plot as a whole. It is the failure to realize that every single conflict scenario you have ever seen onscreen probably had a more logical solution than the one that plays out in the narrative. II) It is not something that only seems confusing in retrospect. but Hulk assures you they often don't have all that much to do with plot logic either. and yet we still keep reverting to the place where we ask those logical questions. said acquaintance then cited that the ocean solution was still preferable because with the looper system. he is often the subject of a lot of plot hole talk. but it is also important because it gets at the heart of the movie “function" part of Hulk’s definition. It means they've had time to process the logic and now they can suddenly see the seams. And please take special care to note that almost all of The Joker's games are built around ethical choices that directly engage both the characters and the audience too. and focused that they utterly carry us through the movie in terms of our understanding and comprehension. It’s because of the moment-to-moment energy and the clarity of a mental connection that The Dark Knight gets hailed as a masterpiece. In fact.. so missing the point of what a movie is supposed to do. it's that first watch that counts for everything in terms of whether or not the dramatic function works. To fulfill the purpose of storytelling and translate life's narrative. The Joker's plan is chaotic. That's what pulls you in. we're downright fascinated by it.. so.. but it still flows beautifully and engages us on other levels which are far more important. . Boy howdy did it work. then it really doesn’t need it at all. but fantastic purpose. And that's everything. this is very common. while keeping everything thematically interesting. So why do we judge the logic of a movie differently in retrospect? Why do we say “shit. but his crystalline approach to the ideas behind that chaos. It really doesn't end up mattering. the movie's overall logic doesn't quite work. That's what brings you satisfaction. Scenes move along with not just fantastic pacing. Drama is by far the most effective tool in connecting with people. the movie practically feels like a tightrope walk for our moral souls. Because so often the eschewing of logic is done in the name of giving you a dramatic and thematically resonant experience (that probably made you fall in love with the movie in the first place). He's interested in entertaining us in as dramatic a way as possible. the pure anarchy and his goals of breaking down Batman. And that's when (because they think movies have to be defined by logic) they begin to think that great movie they loved was perhaps not so great.. Sure. With plot hole hunters. resonant. If a story didn't need the logic to function like that the first time. But you’ll notice that Hulk talked about a situation being only "confusing in retrospect. this movie makes less sense the ninth time we watched it!” Drama is simply the gateway to everything we need from a movie. There is a sense of intrigue and character motive that showcases what a master filmmaker can do. And even though there is a plethora of films that reward multiple watches for either cerebral. it didn’t really pop up a lot until most people had experienced multiple re-watches at home or on hbo. III) It is not an event that simply occurs off-screen. Harvey Dent and the rest of Gotham are so absolutely clear (and terrifying) that we can completely hang our "attention and interest” on them for every second. And he did a pretty darn good job of it if you ask Hulk (and the legions of people who first walked out of the theaters proclaiming it a masterpiece). Not only is that a shame. Why? Because Nolan isn't that interested in having it all make sense." everyone who tended to complain about the logical problems of The Dark Knight only seemed to do so long after the first time they saw it (and generally loved it). but it is so. The plotting mechanism at play was fairly obvious: Nolan was just building a cat and mouse game of increasing escalation where we follow new pieces of information from scene to scene in an ultra-enthralling and propulsive fashion. But here's the thing about all of that. Hell. But it worked.for much of the movie is ridiculously implausible and dependent on incredible amounts of convenience and luck. Yes. detail-oriented. What are those other levels? Hulk argues that what saves The Dark Knight from having a thread of ill-conceived logic undo everything is the fact that the ideology and theme are so damn logical. or humorous purposes. IV) It is not a loose end (though it can be). Or perhaps you may have wanted two characters to hook up. which is certainly true. but instead the film is interested in telling a different kind of story and left that love unexplored on purpose (or has them committing to other life needs). but the truth is that you simply cannot wrap everything up in a film without letting all the air out of your emotional conlusion and poignancy. Hulk even argues that everything having a grand. Something that happens off-screen and is later alluded to is not a plot hole. especially if their resolution would be tonally disparate. you may have wanted a likable comic relief character to get a proper send-off. So let's qualify it like this: the mere existence of a loose end is not necessarily a plot hole. Because of this gray nature. All of this should be obvious. Hulk could just sit back and argue that it's all a "case by case" basis. As a writer you will struggle with this constantly. Somewhat confusing matters is the subject of a loose end. And in the end the author is choosing what gets wrapped up and what doesn't and we have to understand that. but if they serve their function earlier then they may not be necessary for the film’s ending. but you can't do that without really undermining the emotional end for Harry. intentional gaps of information that are omitted because the viewer doesn't need to see them. so the following is Hulk’s puny attempt to argue that the kinds of loose ends that actually qualify as plot holes have nothing to do with want. Heck. but you would not believe the number of times Hulk has been asked about a “plot hole” that involved something that was explained but not shown… yeah those are not plot holes. but because as an audience we like everything to have a reason. for instance. Therefore movies create inherent. plot-based purpose is actually a surefire sign of good storytelling.K. And quite honestly. What is worth wrapping up? What is not? Hulk advises you to look to existing. effective art to find a balance. this all becomes an even more nuanced subject of loose ends when we get into the topic of . Ultimately. Naturally. The things we want to happen must often be left aside for what the story needs to happen (and note that Rowling explained most of her extended epilogue outside of book form to give that added resolution for the minor characters later). it becomes a question of function and balance. To reiterate: movies are things that are edited. And the thing about these histories and mythologies is that we don't necessarily need to know them. But that's not really all that helpful. but instead with function (are you sensing a theme here?) What does Hulk mean by want? Well. we're kind of right to want everything to have a reason. Rowling could have attempted to detail what happened to every single character in the Harry Potter universe. Which means the question of "what gets resolved" (particularly in a big saga) is largely a question of negotiation.. Hulk just had to acknowledge this and move on. J. or an unresolved plot-line or character arc at the end of the film. And the thing about loose ends is that they tend to bother us not because we want what we want. but simply feel them. movies bring us into fully realized worlds with their own histories.. but there are indeed loose ends that can be plot holes. The problem is that there's a huge range of what qualifies as a loose end. People want more drama? You get the entire slow burn of Season 4. But that's just a stellar example of its use. That was a really provoking move (especially without the title card). either. like so much of the psychology that had become fundamental to the show's text. No show was ever more content with pushing the limits of audience indulgence and withholding want more than that particular show. Hulk kind of adored most of Lost's use of ambiguity for much of the series' run.purposeful ambiguity. And the movie is really about making peace with ambiguity and all the loose ends of life in a truly meaningful way. He was pointing at us and trying to get us to look inward. that whole cut to black thing drove most of America crazy. He didn't try our patience with slower episodes to be a jerk. symbolically driven.. rather unbalanced and morally askew. And yet. He went with the most open-ended. But perhaps the best example on the subject of loose ends is The Sopranos. power - men will pursue them to the ends of the earth. Look. "the ending is the conceit. folks. And truth be told. Hulk gets it. You're a big boy. But the ambiguity thing became slightly problematic when they went in a purposefully didactic direction in the finale. In fact. David Chase wasn't interested in just giving a dramatically . Hulk has talked about the end of No Country for Old Men ad nauseum. it makes them downright angry. And when it all came to an end and everyone was expecting all the stories to get wrapped up. He wanted us to be better viewers. but they didn’t realize that ambiguity is something best experienced and not told." and the ending of that show fully expressed what it was really about: bringing you into the mind of a man who is emotionally connected. But to Hulk's point. Hulk talks about the purpose of storytelling and Hulk has seen a lot of ambiguous endings that have no other bigger idea behind them than "it's ambiguous!" or "you guess what happened!" Oftentimes. there were some people pissed off with the ending of The Sopranos 'cause they never came back to the random crazy Russian guy who was running around in the woods somewhere. but Hulk gets why some found it dramatically unsatisfactory. A lot of audiences hate ambiguity (specifically regarding endings) almost on principle. Have your character make decisions. their didactic explanation of it came off rather curt and cruelly withholding. It was often buried into the themes and characterization in a way that felt largely natural and compelling (including the few rare cases of great use of deus ex machina).") But that doesn't mean ambiguity can't be completely profound. but that movie made so many beautiful statements about how things can't always end the way we want. Hulk says it all the time. but while they were trying to clearly adhere to their central theme. he instead went outward." Call 'em what you will: money. He got esoteric. the creators think that ambiguity itself works because it gets to that inherent post-modern truth or relativity. brilliant cinematic experience that brought us right into the head of tony soprano. And oh yeah. Hulk won't get into all that (phew). Hulk gets it. And on one hand. very smart person once said to Hulk regarding a terrible ambiguous ending Hulk wrote: "C’mon. And quite honestly. He wanted us to get outside ourselves. He was asking why we indulged in the killings and the nudity and what we got out of it. And honestly.. He wanted us to fucking care. and it shows the damage we will do if we chase those "ends. David Chase wasn't being a dick about it either. The Sopranos was cerebrally brilliant and often very involving emotionally. People like violence? You get an episode like "University" where it becomes so cruel and ugly that you cannot abide it. He was always questioning our morals and getting to the heart of life's narrative. Hulk understands this wasn’t the intention. Hulk finds a lot of ambiguity to be kind of sophomoric (as one very. but instead to get us to explore bigger forms of storytelling and the amazing nuances of all the characters at play. justice. Maybe you like muscle cars. He wanted us to explore new boundaries of storytelling. So when you're dealing with someone who is not an expert like you. Yes. And when you see someone talking about that subject or dramatizing it in some way. Like harder than anything you can ever imagine. He wanted us to embrace the ideas behind Tony Soprano and why we were even watching in the first place. really fucking hard. Maybe you know every word to The Replacements' oeuvre. Guess what? You are probably an expert in something. And some people are very much going to know that what you’re putting on screen is wrong. So at a certain point you are going to have to make a choice: do the dramatic thing or do the logical. And it’s hard to please them both. then there has to be a sense of understanding with all of it. so ask yourself: "Why was it not addressed? Was it really all that important? What are they saying by that?" And these questions may give you the answers and possibly the dramatic catharsis you need. and in an ideal scenario all that is factually accurate will feed itself into the correct dramatic choice. He could have done that in his sleep. Maybe you know the ins and outs of every episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Or things can be ignored in the face of some other artistic choice. And that means you have to be willing to give a little leeway. really. And as a writer you are going to have problems with this dilemma. but it does mean sometimes accepting it if they fudge details in the name of effective drama. Look to an example. you sitting there reading this book. He wanted to push us into an area we weren't comfortable with. cinema is the lens of exploring everything about the human experience) and beyond the individual effort. if you are open to them. the dangers of space debris) but fudges on others (the relative distances between spaces stations aren’t manageable distances to travel in the way . you have to understand that the person may not be an expert in the same way you are. And chances are that writer or director has thrown themselves into whole worlds and done countless amounts of research (again. who is just trying to make the best choice for the experience of the movie. factual thing. Maybe you are a molecular biologist. Remember. Maybe you are an electrical engineer. Especially in how you watch movies. V) It is not a real-life inaccuracy. So while Hulk told you to research your heart out. This does not mean accepting it if they spit in the entire face of what the subject means. But in the community process of filmmaking things can get missed. but often it will not. When you are dealing with these loose end questions in your own writing. Hulk wants you to really dig in and ask "Why did the filmmaker do this?" These things are rarely unintentional. we have the entire aforementioned departments devoted to getting things right. why are you in the theater? Chances are it's not to watch seamless historical or factual integration. Because writing and making movies well is really. It’s a great film that very much captures some realistic aspects of science (the lack of sound in space.satisfactory ending. Because some people aren’t going to know what you’re putting on screen is wrong. you probably know more about something than most other people. Maybe you've seen every Bergman film. Whatever it is. You. Take Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity. To be well-researched. Primer is a great movie because it articulates desire. we walk out The Dark Knight and we proclaim it to be a masterpiece. Just know that movies don’t suck because of some logical hiccup. terrifying experience and he ignored the ones that would greatly impair his ability to tell a dramatic story. And unlike ROTF(L). the will to control. But the kind of truth that will always need to resonate more is an emotional and visceral one. And hey. We talk about nonsensical geography. But Transformers ROTF(L) sucks because it is a terribly told story with endless bloat. no actual relationships.they are shown). you need to be pretty well-versed in the language of drama and character and all the other stuff Hulk talks about in this book. not a factual one. For all of the much deserved credit for accurate science. we look for logic. To see something speak to our souls and emotions. All Hulk can say is that writing is about making choices. Sure. Meanwhile. isn’t it? We walk out of a movie like Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen with this feeling of relative horror in our guts over the nonsensical thing that we have just witnessed. We adore it. a weird-as-hell tone. no momentum. why. fear. To be factual. then these elements will matter more than usual. and the complete loss of that control. and how you think it helps your . You will want your story to make sense. but that doesn’t matter because the movie is 100% grounded in character purpose and theme. We talk about the fact there’s no way a Transformer could take a real-life lady form and how that’s never addressed. The dynamic between these two movies illustrates everything Hulk is trying to convey to you in this chapter. if you are making a film like Primer (which is largely about the cerebral component of the story and makes the science front and center). All those things are valid observations and some are true blue plot holes. Funny. We talk about characters being in places they shouldn’t. you will be brandishing a double-edged sword. But to articulate all that to someone. that movie doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Most screenwriting books will tell you “Do this!” or “Do that!” As if there was one magic answer. But as a writer. As a writer. we use our logical brains to find the apparent faults. The logic and goal will more or less makes sense from moment to moment. want. no character consistency. Some choices fix one problem and inadvertently hurt another aim you may have. paper thin characterization. Why did he follow some logical rules and not others? Because he took the things that mattered in terms of conveying a realistic. We go to be enthralled. and that’s why we don’t care if it doesn’t make sense in retrospect. how do you know when to do which and how? There is no great answer. So it’s all about making that choice of what you want to accomplish. We don’t go to the movies to watch a logical exercise play out in front of us. carefully building to all its points and moments of dramatic emphasis. zero sense of drama. and a whole lot of sexism and racism to boot. And when it’s time to explain why we have that feeling. it is written with an assured hand. It all works toward the purpose of storytelling. and to resolve it he asked himself. And because our brains are logical. but it’s not the case. “Why is my audience in the theater? What am I trying to convey?” * * * Perhaps the most important argument for why you should not overly focus on plot holes is that we only seem to be enraged over them when a movie is bad. poorly articulated conflicts. He had to make a choice. but proof you have written a certain number of pages. to paraphrase. And then? Do. Don’t care even if it’s gobbledygook. So you can see what needs to be done and how it needs to be changed.. The paralysis that comes from a blank white sheet of paper where a scene should be. Worry about momentum holes. Really. Get in a place so you can see it all before you. it is! There is the old adage that "writing is re-writing. there’s just something so daunting about the prospect of their being unfinished or unformed. The other paralysis comes from the words actually being on the page and having no idea what to do with them. It is not proof you have written a story. Worry about pacing holes. but you keep going over it again and again until it's smooth. And editing is fun. It doesn’t matter. Writing Is Re-writing One of the big problems people have in writing is paralysis. Worry about drama holes. So the way Hulk always likes to write is to just get a first draft over and done with so that Hulk can then be on Hulk's way with all the fun editing process. Still. Don’t care if it even works. that writing is like ironing. Each pass straightens the shirt. There are two forms. And worry less about plot holes. 7 rewrites. we want them to convey exactly what we intend. Our brains want the words to be perfect. Because the simplest truth is that a first draft is nothing. here’s Hulk’s advice on which way you should be leaning: Worry more about character holes. Don’t care if it’s good. Worry about motivation holes. You have this rumpled mess that's still a shirt and everything.story. Worry about theme holes. you know. at least. Paul Thomas Anderson talked about writing once and said. Hulk has never really read a good first draft of anything. accomplishing its job until you have exactly . Worry about inspiration holes. Get it all up on the page because no one ever has to see it.. Just get it done. But they won’t ever be perfect. And the best part about refining your script is. Hulk loves editing scripts. Remove the paralysis. like. It's when the story actually feels alive. When it's a bad script (and they are all bad at first) you can reshape it through sheer commitment to making it a good script." Hulk feels it is true because that is when you get to shape the actual story. will they? So what is the point of being paralyzed? So here’s Hulk’s advice for both forms of paralysis: Just write the first draft no matter what. Worry about emotional holes. you can still make great changes with zero negative consequences (unlike when you start filming). given everything Hulk has learned about movies. In both cases. 46. Your story. not rules. They abandoned one element of our good narrative definition to deeply explore another element of our definition. Sometimes they were examples of guideline exceptions that worked and sometimes they were examples where it didn't work. These are what matter. They were the results of artists who didn’t really understand the conventions and story devices they were utilizing. He did what made sense for his story. we’ll get to that. character. “So yeahyeahyeah.. but in doing so he created a movie that used our own expectations and movie-watching prejudices against us. And it was a hundred times more interesting than any possible battle. When & How To Disregard These Guidelines In the beginning of this book. But all the exceptions that worked did because they knew how to negotiate what they were trying to accomplish. The thing that compels you. So he had a brilliant 5 minute monologue. texture.what you need. . Hulk kept bringing up exceptions to rules. So everything you write should cater to making those things resonate. Tarantino’s Kill Bill Vol. Got it. First we have to talk about: 47. all in the name of delivering a beautiful statement about the nature of life and happiness. Mike Leigh's Happy Go Lucky eschews every rule of traditional romantic comedies to say something and opts for a system of character reveals instead of dramatic function. So do what makes sense for your story. theme. context. And Hulk meant it. Do what makes sense for your story. unconscious reactions or flippant. summing up the entire viewpoint of the character. Hulk said these chapters were all guidelines. Hulk. Your idea. But you have to understand them and know how to use them first. epic battles in the last act! They tend to let me down!" if that's what your story calls for. followed by an equally climactic discussion over dinner. counterintuitive gestures.. So do what makes sense for the kind of story you want to tell. and finally 5 seconds of intense fighting. Understand the mechanisms at play and you can accomplish anything with them. etc. The ones that didn't work were usually the result of haphazard. edit a lot. The good exceptions can always negotiate and approximate in the name of a more impressive dramatic function. I knew that after the battle against the 88. Be willing to say "fuck big. You may have noticed that throughout all these guidelines. whether it is plot. But how do you know when you’re done?” Well. he couldn't top it action-wise. but it still succeeds only because the sequence is pure joy from start to finish. If you forgive Hulk for indulging in this bit of a history . there are a lot of filmmakers who really don't even know what the rules are anymore. But the biggest problem with how everyone is breaking the rules nowadays is not because it's robbing us of traditional narrative power (though that sucks). It gets away with doing this because the storytellers knew how to take that audience disappointment and directly address it. concept. These examples of successful exceptions worked because the exceptions make complete sense for those stories and are handled responsibly. Shane Carruth's Primer gleefully breaks every single rule about narrative. Do what makes sense for your story. It's almost as if the story had to go to these creative places in order to see their conceits through to the end. they therefore can't understand what breaking the rule says either. it's because no one seems to even understand why the rules are even there. interesting films ever made. It's never "just because it would be neat. Animal House essentially stops the movie’s forward motion in any conventional sense in order to have a full-on dance number to "Shout.. and completely original film. This completely unapologetic treatment of scientific accuracy-via-plotting results in a stunning. But for some folks. It so concentrates on the concepts of scientific veracity that it captures its resonant thematic truths through the subject itself (much like the Zodiac and Contagion examples). only his subject is one of the most complex theoretical concepts on the planet. even if it lets the big cathartic story gestures happen off-screen." They weren't making some totally pedestrian movie and then broke a rule because "it's more real!" Even if going with their gut was the thing that brought them to this creative decision. There's got to be a reason for all of this. they all eventually had a logic and sense of how to make it work. They're just trying to be different. But just know this." It halts the narrative. The filmmaker pursued an uncommon view that compelled him and thus revealed a new view that compelled us. Do what makes sense for your story.. he manages to create one of the most brazen. there are some people who can’t even watch it. Every single rule or guideline that is being broken in the examples listed has damn good reasons for why. They knew they could make us understand with a resonant final monologue about two dreams. distinct. If they don't know what the rule says and how it works. Hulk’s already explained why that’s so problematic but worse. right? Why don't we know the rules anymore? What happened? And why do we just slam forward with this faux-understanding of filmmaking? It all speaks to an evolution of cinema. cutting to the bone of their essence. The ending of No Country for Old Men tosses aside all narrative propulsion to wax philosophical on the nature of life and resolution itself. It pokes inward at each of the characters. and coherence. As such. Do what makes sense for your story. Let's look at super-recent examples of both: Super 8 usurps all the language and cadence of Spielberg's films.. Outdoors. too. and why no one seems to give a shit about the rules anymore.. is that we have fallen in love with the cadence of this rebellious work. Scorsese. which is totally neat and stuff. Movies had a very set craft. Spielberg. but storytellers always seem to have an implicit desire to snub the dominant culture or popular models and embrace the most artistic constructs and forms. A dialogue guy. pretty much always. the style of movies broke the mold. Lucas. Of course. It is an idolization of perpetual rebellion. But alas. but the reason no one comes close to being as good as him is they only take the tangible stuff from his films. Natural.lesson. Wall Street-centric 1980s. but a good deal of storytellers and studio folks got lazy within those constructs. The director had a role. all the best writers / filmmakers of that era knew exactly how to sneak subversion into their work. stories. They miss the very simple elements of narrative propulsion. essentially. New audiences wanted an alternative and something that felt resonant to them. The textures. or to work outside the system. The out-of-order storytelling. Think about the ‘90s boom. They get the idea that people talk. People rip off Altman. It's all very romantic-sounding. dammit. etc. and clear stakes. But the ‘60s and ‘70s changed the paradigm. The 1990s’ independent filmmakers rebelled against the homogenized ‘80s model. But again. Tarantino has had hundreds of emulators. This has always been true. this produced a lot of films that were similar. things changed. but they were also in love with the ‘60s and ‘70s poets of their day. and showed off top-notch quality craft. but it's not why his films work. all done through the homogenized. but it fails because it doesn't know . But the reason those rip-offs feel so false is not because they are derivative. Again the films went messy. People obsesses over his cadence. His storytelling isn't out of order for no good reason. So the movies turned to new filmmakers. Movies and storytelling were. Outdoors.. Natural. Writers were all stabled in the studio system and they would even have different roles. The purpose of all this history is to highlight the fact there have been ebbs and flows to the nature of the business for. but not how they talk. it resulted in the audience genuinely tiring of the Hollywood system.. the independent movement was homogenized again as corporations are now running "indie studios" too. They didn't have resources so the construction was messy. but because they fail to recognize the most basic dynamics of good narrative storytelling. They knew all the beats. the huge success of some of these rag-tag blockbusters in the ‘70s suddenly put dollar signs in the eyes of big business and paved the way for another round of studio dominance. Yes. When this fact was coupled with serious changes in the counter-culture. Depending on the direction of the trend it makes it easier to do one or the other. objectives. Which means movies in general got lazy too. But the problem with this. on an assembly line. There would be a structure guy. The ironic sense of music and bloody gunfights. There is always a dichotomy: to work within the system. Even their artistic inclinations could flourish. ideas all resonated in a perfect way for the time and place. and sought to emulate them. but back in the golden age of Hollywood everyone pretty much knew the narrative rules. but it also produced movie after movie that just worked. And besides. The swears. Thus. but instead to reveal the story in a fascinating thematic evolution. The system had been "working" so well for so long. The cool suits. We had another reaction to "The Man" with the ‘90s independent film boom. Hulk doesn't care what kind of conceptual story you are telling. Just think about what you are saying. What does this action mean? What am I implying with this character's behavior? Know when you're following the rules and know when you're breaking them. or you can be chucking rocks from the outside with an independent bent. and its ability to resonate for the audience. Know who you are reaching and why. Be smart. And because Hulk has to acknowledge the exception for just about everything. And be you… . It gets all four components of Hulk's good narrative definition. But stylization is not nearly as critical as the intention and honesty of your well-meaning story. It really makes no difference to Hulk.how to make the monster elements connect thematically to the story (unlike Jaws and ET). The meaning of the story. Ask yourself questions. yes the cadence/style of your script and film are great tools for speaking to certain audiences.. Cadence is overrated. You can be telling a traditional story or you can be using a wildly inventive meta form.. Really. body. it doesn't get two central components of our good narrative definition. you can be operating subversively within the system. Approach your stories in terms of mind. Be conscious. Attack the Block succeeds because it takes the inspiration of Carpenter and Dante and filters those motifs and approach into its own personal story and texture. Story rules. Plus it has deep thematic ideas. or what structure you are using. It doesn't matter where you come from and who you're working for. is what makes the narrative work. and soul. Basically. But it is still incredibly important. please understand that you are not being hired for what you have already written. there is also the format of the screenplay itself! Holy hell! Can you believe we’re finally here? Hulk apologizes that Hulk waited all the way until part six to talk about this. It is your trade and chosen profession. It’s not just for the script itself. if you cannot work quickly. there’s much less nuance. But please do not take this statement to mean that Hulk thinks formatting and screenplay etiquette are unimportant. You have to have mastery over the written word. it’s just the solutions to achieving this are much more clear and direct. Because while most of Hulk’s previous advice was stuff that helped you write compelling stories. Seriously. And that means you need to understand grammar and usage. They will reinforce your understanding of language . So please. Like actual books. screenwriting is writing. Hulk promises you that this section will help you the most when it comes to actually selling your scripts! So let’s get started: 48. but do not know how to write. you will not be hired. waaaaaaaay more important than what basically amounts to a matter of proper formatting. You Need To Understand Grammar And Sentence Structure That may seem obvious. You cannot just be a screenwriter and think cinematically. when you sell a screenplay you are really being hired for your ability to write. but many other times it is because the writers have a good idea. If you cannot compose a sentence on the fly. It doesn’t matter if you understand a lot about cinema. After all. especially because from then on in there will probably be a lot of re-writes during pre-production. And the things you are about to learn in this section are really simple and easily applied. Part Six - How To Write A Screenplay –Script-Specific Instruction Of course. So get out there. as they can actually help you write the most functional. So many young writers will sell something and not understand why they are immediately dismissed. Read books. Trust Hulk on this one. but do you realize how many scripts Hulk reads where it is clear that the person does not have a lot of experience actually writing and composing sentences? If that’s the case then it doesn’t matter how good a story you tell. then you will be in big trouble and probably left in the dust immediately so they can bring someone in who can actually do these things. readable screenplay possible. Sometimes it is genuine bad luck. You are being hired for your ability to write. but it is because the fundamentals of good storytelling are way. too. I) Header It’s an all caps line (yay!) At the top of your scene. Hulk’s done it about 275 times in the process of writing this book. positively use screenwriting software.) Followed by the location. Screenplay Format Basics! Please note: if you are writing a script and have any intention of doing something with it you should absolutely. And screenwriting software will do all the formatting for you. HULK’S HOUSE – NIGHT” .) Or interior (INT. Look stuff up. Keep your grammar guides and usage dictionaries right beside your computer. It’s complicated to explain. If you want to be a writer.A. To start. The first part tells you whether the scene is an exterior (EXT. No question. Soak them up. There’s nothing else necessary for writing a screenplay. Learn how to master our language. Don’t download it either because Hulk swears you can get in trouble with the W. Please. then you can know how to break rules for effect (our running theme). -Scene Numbers That’s seriously it. So let’s go one by one…. But just so you know what you’re doing without that software. Absolutely buy the software. So let’s get to that stuff: 49. how to number scenes. followed by a dash and then the time of day. The last thing you want to do while writing is waste time on formatting. Strive for it. And beyond the basics of language. Consult usage.better than anything else. Hulk uses Final Draft and Hulk loves it. That’s totally allowed! But also don’t think of the ability to look things up as a cure-all. Do that and you will be able to make up fun words and do all that inventive linguistic stuff we want to do from the very beginning. And like everything. like what scene headings are. Use it repeatedly over the course of your life so you get better. the following are the only (needed) line designations: -Header -Action Line -Character -Dialogue -Character Parenthetical -Dialogue Parenthetical -Transition -Over Black. there are other basic things you need to know. this is part of the sacrifice. here’s Hulk’s no-bullshit quick guide to formatting a screenplay. over that. But you have to know grammar and sentence structure to do so. If you don’t have a lot of money.G. save up and buy it. Suck it up and buy your own copy. but just know it’s not worth it. Don’t be lazy. etc. It looks like this: “INT. some people get into discussions about how detailed you want to be when talking about the location. as cinema is dependent on what we can see. It looks like this: “INT. but a character talks with a little condensed blurb. Whatever you do. HULK Hulk wants to go to sleep and stop writing about screenplay formatting!” … It’s all pretty self-explanatory. HULK seems tired. keep it organized and simple. Also the character ’s name should be in all caps. HULK seems tired. HULK’S HOUSE – NIGHT A big giant green monster by the name of HULK is sitting at his computer and writing a book about screenwriting. Hulk likes capitalizing the name for the entire duration. Hulk tries to keep it as simple as possible (as it’s easier for someone to read). Things to consider: when a scene transitions from interior to exterior or vice versa without a break you can write “INT. / EXT. but sometimes if there’s a lot of location hopping in your scripts. HULK’S HOUSE – NIGHT A big giant green monster by the name of HULK is sitting at his computer and writing a book about screenwriting. II) Action Line The action line is a line of description underneath the header that describes in more detail what is happening in the scene. And then another person talks. There’s some disagreement about how often you should capitalize: either the first time a character is introduced or for the entire duration of the script.” Things to consider: this action line should be strictly visual information. IV) Dialogue You can see it briefly in the example above. III) Character A character designation goes below an action scene and lets you know who is talking. It just singles it out so the reader can always know who the characters are in the scene and won’t lose track of them. you should put the city of the location first to help and then a comma followed by the destination.” Also. It looks like this: “INT. It looks like this: “INT. HULK’S HOUSE – NIGHT . HULK’S HOUSE – NIGHT A big giant green monster by the name of HULK is sitting at his computer and writing a book about screenwriting. BETTY walks in. HULK Hulk wants to go to sleep and stop writing about screenplay formatting! BETTY Hulk! You know you have to get up early and go to Avengers HQ! The world can wait another day for your movie thoughts! HULK’S phone rings. Tony! BETTY rolls her eyes and exits the room. A big giant green monster by the name of HULK is sitting at his computer and writing a book about screenwriting. HULK (INTO PHONE) .O.).S. HULK (INTO PHONE) Yello? … What up.S. There is voice-over (V. HULK seems tired.) and special designations like talking on the phone (INTO PHONE). BETTY (O. “INT. off-screen dialogue (O. BETTY walks in. Basically they are parentheses next to the character name that indicate if the character talking is doing something besides the standard talking to another person onscreen. HULK seems tired. HULK Hulk wants to go to sleep and stop writing about screenplay formatting! BETTY Hulk! You know you have to get up early and go to Avengers HQ! The world can wait another day for your movie thoughts!” V) Character Parenthetical Everything else you’ve seen before. It looks like this. but character parentheticals you may have not.) Come to bed when you’re done! HULK Okay! HULK puts the phone back to his ear. Meanwhile…” Hulk should mention one thing that drives Hulk nuts is phone rule inconsistency. BETTY walks over and puts her arms around him. BETTY (whispering) It’s okay. It can also indicate when another language is being used. HULK (angrily) Hulk wants to go to sleep and stop writing about screenplay formatting! BETTY (concerned) Hulk! You know you have to get up early and go to Avengers HQ! The world can wait another day for your movie thoughts! HULK (sheepishly) Hulk know. “INT. It looks like this. HULK’S HOUSE – NIGHT A big giant green monster by the name of HULK is sitting at his computer and writing a book about screenwriting. BETTY walks in. NARRATOR (V. WHITE TIGER (subtitle) .) And so Hulk sat there on the phone and listened to Tony Stark ramble on about science or something. It may not seem like a big deal. It’s okay. You right. In your cinematic universe. THE WHITE TIGER suddenly bursts in and stars yelling in Spanish. Hulky. He seems tired. VI) Dialogue Parenthetical So this is different from the character parenthetical and is placed instead right before the dialogue. And hey. Its purpose is to illustrate how the person is talking or what their tone is. can we hear the person on the other end of the phone line or can we not hear them? You’d be shocked how many films mix and match. Hulk know.Go on…. but it’s just one of those things no one ever thinks about. if you really need to do both for dramatic purposes. But otherwise just try to be consistent. do so.O. The White Tiger! The short-lived Puerto Rican superhero that Marvel created in the ‘70s! I’m sadly the only character you could think of who speaks Spanish!” Things to consider: so… um… try never to use dialogue parentheticals. You may want to. HULK seems tired. Now it’s not specifically an editing note (fade. but your ability to write will depend on your ability not to use them. Seriously. VII) Transitions So a transition comes at the end of the scene and goes all the way over to the right of the page and says what happens in the transition. CUT TO: INT. Here’s what it looks like. READER’S HOUSE – NIGHT . star wipe! etc). but you’ll get there. Hulk once read a screenplay where 50% of the dialogue had descriptions of how it should sound and how the characters were feeling. It was showcasing a writer who didn’t have confidence in their words… The rest of the script backed that up. “INT. Especially for describing the emotional state of the character. Meaning it should mostly be a “CUT TO:” Sure you have your possible “FADE TO BLACK” which is obvious. When you’re starting off that can be hard.Hey you two! It’s me. but more just a way to let you know that a scene is over. HULK Hulk wants to go to sleep and stop writing about screenplay formatting! BETTY Hulk! You know you have to get up early and go to Avengers HQ! The world can wait another day for your movie thoughts! HULK Hulk supposes you’re right. You want to have the ability to make it clear exactly what you mean through the dialogue itself. Otherwise you’re just trying to be the acting coach and the actors will resent what you try to tell them anyway. BETTY walks in. HULK’S HOUSE – NIGHT A big giant green monster by the name of HULK is sitting at his computer and writing a book about screenwriting. But you also have your “SMASH CUT TO:” (any time you want a cut to land really hard and not seem seamless) or “MATCH CUT TO:” (in which the action onscreen matches the action starting at the next cut in some visual or audio way). Only use dialogue parentheticals when the character ’s tone is truly counterintuitive. Have confidence in your words. chiefly because there’s no interior or exterior or location. BETTY Come to bed. HULK’S HOUSE – NIGHT A big giant green monster by the name of HULK is sitting at his computer and writing a book about screenwriting.” Remember. Also if you’re cutting back and forth between two locations and your characters are on the phone or something. A DEVOTED READER sits there. try just introducing the new scene with the transition of “INTERCUT WITH:” and that will imply filming the scene in both locations. no problem. VIII) Over Black. Pretending those people exist! Anyway. FADE TO BLACK. BETTY walks in. CUT TO: .” Awww. HULK Oh yeah? HULK smiles. give your transitions purpose! Link them in a way that creates new meanings! Things to consider: most of the time you don’t actually need to include transitions whatsoever. Seriously you can just start a new scene heading and we will know. It looks like this: “INT. And of course you will be “cutting to” it. You’d be amazed how many people don’t know what to call it when the screen is black and you’re doing a title card or just audio or whatever.” in the header screen. but also as example of how to use a pretty standard joke known as “a cutaway. refreshing the homepage for an update over and over. So all you do is write “OVER BLACK. whilst crying. He seems tired. So really the only things you might need are smash cut or match designations. Hulky. HULK Hulk wants to go to sleep and stop writing about screenplay formatting! BETTY Hulk! You know you have to get up early and go to Avengers HQ! The world can wait another day for your movie thoughts! HULK Hulk supposes you’re right. Hulk hopes you look at this transition not just for the format. Look at Hulk. Moving on! VIII) Scene Numbers And the only other thing you need to know is scene numbers. DELIVERY ROOM – DAY BETTY screams as a DOCTOR delivers her baby. INT. “INT. it looks like this. THE LEADER I wonder what that big green asshole is plotting against me now?” And that’s it! That’s everything you really need to know about formatting a screenplay! Easy peasy lemon squeezy! But what is both far more tricky and for more necessary to discuss are the unspoken rules of . DOCTOR It’s a girl! HULK lights a cigar with the rest of the Avengers. TITLE CARD: “Nine Months Later. Anyway. HULK’S HOUSE – NIGHT 1 A big giant green monster by the name of HULK is sitting at his computer and writing a book about screenwriting. Screenwriting software adds them in the margins any time you tell it to.” … The less said about this scene the better. It will just clutter things otherwise. 1.” The sound of screaming can be heard. OVER BLACK. THE LEADER’S HOUSE – NIGHT 2 THE LEADER sits there deep in thought. And all it’s really there for is to give your production a sense of how many scenes they’ll need to shoot. HULK Hulk wants to go to sleep and stop writing about screenplay formatting! CUT TO: 2. but Hulk recommends you don’t even do it until the end. CUT TO: INT. Besides. when someone actually wants to make it and it will have gone through hundreds of changes . rather than make a good read. Important question: so why are most of that 95% writing their submission scripts like they are shooting scripts? Seriously. Isn’t this a huge deal? Yet Hulk sees thousands of young writers press on with the shooting script mode because they can’t let go of control or just because they think that’s the appropriate thing to do… and it is very much not. This can mean a lot of things: it is either a script that you plan to have studios read so they will want to make it. The idea behind this script is always the same: you want the person to enjoy themselves. the acting coach. a script that you want to get you a different job. production design. boring. You want them to be compelled. You are reciting them a grocery list instead of telling your story in the most compelling and involving way possible. Submission Scripts vs. utterly paralyzing scripts all the time because the person writing it thinks they have to control every single thing happening onscreen and go over them in laborious detail. They’re trying to be the director. and almost no one on the planet talks about it. folks? The person reading is the person who is telling you yes or no. So shouldn’t the idea be to make “the read” of your script as compelling and dramatic as possible? And shouldn’t that be obvious? Meanwhile a shooting script is something already effectively “green-lit” and you’ve finished all the drafts the studio needs. and everything but the writer. difficult lemon difficult. meaning that’s what 95% of you are writing. … Boy does Hulk love that movie. a script that you want to land you an agent / manager. Our working definition of a “submission script” is any script that isn’t neceessarily going to be made. Still… Important fact: 95% of scripts out there are submission scripts.screenplay formatting that can greatly improve your script. Shooting Scripts (And How It Affects Absolutely Everything) This is one of the most hugely important factors when it comes to how to approach writing a screenplay. or even a script you are just giving to a friend for feedback. the worst part is you can just add all that stuff in later. you know. over-descriptive. and the things that are actually going to help you make the damn thing. It’s a huge problem. And thus. Which is more difficult. a script that you are submitting for a new round of studio notes on a movie in development. they are shooting themselves in the foot because what they are writing is effectively bad drama for the person reading it. And guess what. the production designer. Hulk sits there and reads the most technical. 50. Like. so you can include any information you want like camera notations. You want them to think you’re a good writer. really. Because the 21 year old intern is actually pretty smart all things considered. the same goes for most of those people.anyway. And Hulk can read fast. sat down to read your script you would still want them to think it's great too. That means no walls of black text. easily distracted. like they’re reading a play. And the one unifying characteristic is that their time is extremely valuable. Hulk fucking loves to read dense and intricate text. They are the ones that sell and make you a better writer. Because they are the ones that matter. how could Hulk not? But those are essays. Ask yourself: “Holy crap. That would be nonsense. The script should feel alive and vibrant. Actually. When Hulk sees that big wall of black text in a script. It should not feel like a novel. And this pertinent reality means it is never productive for you to over-write the action happening onscreen. Heck. it's absolutely true. this does not mean that you can't use big words or tell a complex story. It should feel like it is happening in real time. sat down to read your script you would want them to think it's great and not be able to put it down. have you ever seen a Hulk essay. Those are something else entirely. Really. right? The same can be said for if your favorite actor sat down to read your script. you would want them to think it's great too. . By the end of Part Six you'll fully understand why that is. an incredible writer who knows what really makes a great script. And if a script reader. Hulk mean. Hulk picks up Infinite Jest every year to revisit it. Hulk's heart just sinks a little. Now. They are the ones to learn how to write… honestly though. And that’s why you have to make your scripts accessible to the 21 year old intern. who reads a million of them and whose time is short. but for now just accept that it is true. Which means you have to get to the point and not dilly-dally in the damn description. Hulk is one of the most patient readers on the planet. Now… guess in which order the script will be read? Yup. But it also means they are busy. It has no real function in a screenplay. wholly forgetting there's a next one on the pile. Because for every bit of screenwriting advice that is to follow. Hulk will be gearing it around submission scripts. So Hulk wants you to think about the differences between the two kinds of scripts very carefully. most of the following can be applied to a shooting script too. who am I actually writing this for?” And then you should try and make it as readable as possible. who really doesn't have the breadth of experience or patience for this job. Those are novels. The reverse of that. Know It Is Being Read By Every Kind Of Person If Charlie Kaufman. And if a 21 year old intern. And then if a studio exec sat down to read your script. 51. This goes without saying. So think about that. but when you're starting in this game and don’t have a reputation yet. sat down to read your script you would want him to think it's great. and not entirely aware of the subtlety of nuance. Sorry folks. then they'll just ignore it anyway and do what .You may think it's important. diligent readers. etc. But to the reader it's just not like that. These are busy-as-shit people. You are making it clear you are trying to direct from the page. It’s undramatic." then you are totally doing it wrong. less is always more. any good director will sit down and look at a paragraph in your script that has nothing but character history and say "how the fuck can I show that onscreen?" and then promptly toss your script in the garbage. Trust Hulk on this one. but you are secretly not helping your movie. It slows things down. okay you get it and of course you can't have nothing either.. This is also an important one. be as brief and concise as possible. The Golden Rule Of Description Write only what we can see. The same goes for the desire to be loquacious or ostentatious. It’s just how we read scripts. they will start to tune out when it gets dense. Tell a good story. Most of them will simply glance at the action to get a sense of what's happening and then just go back to the dialogue. Fill your limited words with purpose and import. Every reader will tune out. If you're writing a character ’s history in your action lines. or carefully constructed. or relevant. And when you have to over-write everything you are making it clear that you don’t trust the readers or potential filmmakers. if they like the story under it. It's secretly the same thing as Hulk's lesson in narrative economy. And hey. That’s how Hulk will know you’re smart. It's clear you're worrying too much about someone not doing exactly what you want. or interesting. And it’s just so unnecessary in a screenplay.” To do that. The dialogue and quick sentences propel us. convince me. Even with the most professional. David Foster Wallace once talked aptly about “the fear” young writers have where they want to be seen as smart. only it applies to the literal text of the script. Think about it: the only information that should be conveyed in action lines is what the audience could see in the theater. It may be helpful for the filmmakers in trying to decide who to cast. and that's not good screenwriting.. That’s why lean writing does not mean empty writing. With screenplay details. And if they’re really into the story they are not going to want to slow down anyway! They are not going to want to miss a beat. It is an absolutely fixture of the business. As the old adage of filmmaking goes: “Don’t impress me. Doesn’t that make so much sense? For one. so don’t let them get lost in text! Be brief and move on! Okay. They overcompensate with bravado. Convey only the most relevant information! And here's a good way to do that: 52. stuff like: "He grew up in a small town back. so they dress up their language in words that don’t actually mean anything. It may be lame. it's exactly what the movie needs to do too. Use them to really say something about the character. it is not just mere faux pas. but an opportunity to craft everything visually. You Are Not The Director Hulk stated this before. 53. you need do this in the script because. Going back to character trees (point #10) try to fit your "feet" details into the story through other approaches: groin. then you are totally overstepping your bounds. Hulk's old action scene column partner Tom Townend (cinematographer of Attack the Block!) brought up the great example of handling exposition with Silkwood. throat. So try to remember that a good script conveys only the information that can be seen. But since you can't just go into the description and write the history of the character." There's nothing a filmmaker can do with that. The director might even be pissed off enough about it to disregard your advice and actively do the opposite of . Also. Especially because this rule seems to go more and more by the wayside. it’s not just a completely wasted opportunity. clothing. But at the time. And guess who matters the most? The golden rule of description fixes all: write only what we can see. but you'd be amazed how many people don't realize this very simple facet of screenwriting. More importantly than informing a director. chances are you are not the director. The details like: age.they want. Really try to say something with the character ’s age. please note that this was long before the airlines went broke and you had to start paying for shit. Chances are the ones you are submitting to will want to hire another person. You're putting an idea into the filmmaker ’s head that will make total sense for your story. A script should be informing the movie how to work. Oh By The Way. but it's at least something that can be shown. It’s not like a novel. Meryl Streep's character is on a plane and she's about to be handed food. but it won't help the audience get it. voice. and it will help them get it and inform their experience while reading. the attention to detail spoke volumes about the character. voice. clothing. posture. But here's the thing: if you are submitting a script. If you write something we can't see. fuckin hell. posture. but it is a writing habit that will actively make the movie worse. and actions. and actions. A voice-over can’t just start reading your action lines and describing your characters. So they need to convey visual information! Sorry if Hulk seems angry and smashy about this one. but we really have to ram it home. The meaning is clear: she's never been on a plane before. but attendant informs her they're free. Instead write about how she has pictures up of her with her family on a farm or something visible like that. Don’t think of these details as being reductive or limiting. She goes to grab her wallet to pay. If you need to establish that someone worked on a farm years ago? Don't write "She used to work on a farm. embrace these opportunities to fit it in elsewhere. which means if your script mentions camera moves or anything that should be in the shooting script only. and crown. but his action lines are poetic and resonant. Hulk just made this up. The Poetic Art Of Action Lines So this is just an opinion.Y.what you wrote (even if your idea is good). Just like you want to do with action lines. Hulk's seen it happen. the information also conveys a good deal about character. Instead. The "belongs to" bit is great trick for implying we should be up close and then back out. setting. Check these fucking out: . But what does it tell you? It conveys a camera motion without an actual note of camera motion.I. Even when his character descriptions get a little too much in the way of things you can't see. and cinema. his writing is so good and purposeful that you don't really mind his rule-breaking. This is not in rare cases either - this is what happens in most cases. This is to say that he writes best for the medium of screenplays. Say you want to show something up close then have the camera pull out or cut further back to show the whole thing. This is all part of what Hulk likes to call: 54. information. you show don't tell. without just spelling out what her personality type should be. His scripts not only move fast with great economy. they are still these beautiful concepts that can come across in the performance of the character. The "Midwestern" term implies not only a look. but a personality type that goes along with it. It shows she's working a car show. This is the level of thought and effort that you need to put into your brief descriptions. They allow the directors to make the best possible movies. Besides. meaning. approach to her appearance and cheap clothing and this implies she doesn't have much money. To do that you say something like this: "A delicate hand glides over a 1952 Chevy Bel Air. Hulk probably spent 20 minutes on that one line and it’s just an example in a book and not an actual screenplay. how do you. But really it's his ability to convey information in lovely. So as a writer. which inherently convey character. it’s all part of the great “negotiation” Hulk talks about in regards to the choices you make to break guidelines. You show her D. with a bad home-spun blonde dye job and a discount pink dress. Here's Hulk's best example of how to imply movement with words.” Now. like. But going back to point #52 just before this. She proceeds to wave to the crowd. Like Tarantino. but Hulk thinks Paul Attanasio probably writes the best screenplays in Hollywood. freshfaced Midwestern smile. The hand belongs to ANITA JONES (20’s). small bits of economy that makes it work. is exceptionally difficult and takes a lot of time. Writing these sorts of lines. you use a few tricks to convey what should be shown and how. convey what should be seen? The answer is simple: you don't actively try. That is not to say he writes the best stories that will become the best movies (though he's obviously done some amazing work). handsome. 30s. you wouldn’t regale with every punch and blow. grudge-laden before God. . Entertain your audience and compel them. They should feel dramatic. Writing Action Scenes! The following is an extension of what Hulk has been talking about with not wasting a reader ’s time. early 40s and overweight. To the point. A to B. So all you have to do is just take every lesson we’ve learned about writing and reapply it to the arena of action! Okay. let’s start going on a path that brings this sucker home. but it goes for double here: Reading action scenes is the most boring thing in the universe. "HERBIE STEMPEL. debonair. one of the best scripts ever written. An endearing blankness -- the boy availability of a man still in search of himself. The bits where conflicts turn and then are ultimately resolved… doesn’t this all sound a bit familiar? Yup… you would be telling a story. Dramatic. Concise. Threaten to kill the kitten. Action and reaction. It's all there. They should not feel like choreography description. Cause and effect. You’re trying to entertain the people listening. what we’re seeing is rapid on the screen. "CHARLES VAN DOREN. Make the person reading your script feel like they are in danger just sitting there. So have objectives. tonal chaotic nightmares. And that’s all that action scenes are: visual storytelling. flayed by grey-flannel insults. The lithe build of a man who has never been made to run uphill. but that’s not what’s exciting. The answer? Craft it dramatically! Pretend you’re telling a story of some big fight that happened at a bar. Create stakes. Sure. These are both from Quiz Show. but the second you stop to describe the motion of pretty much anything. Herbert the great. self-deprecating. then it’s just slow-as-hell on the page. Poignant themes. If you want to know how to write beautifully in the screenplay format. 55. Marine haircut and shabby suit. then go out and hunt down a copy of Quiz Show and keep it forever. perfect. The turning points. Gorgeous prose. Because action scenes should not be big. The emotional journey. is that it shows you how to write scripts. particularly for this book. but the real reason it's wonderful. Sure. well-born. A Job for his generation - - exiled to the Boroughs. You would tell the big moments. You would tell how you reacted. scourged by lowly status. Hilarious dialogue. 56. What may seem like a small detail in the script is actually a detail that can be sussed out to several other implications. Hulk’s read a shit ton of scripts and these opportunities are rarely explored. Bang Bang (it's a hilarious. Jake Gittes is a private detective who has just informed one of his clients that. The . He wrote the Lethal Weapon movies and The Last Boy Scout. It's a brilliant little gesture of which Towne is a master.. great film if you've never seen it) and soon again with Iron Man 3. Both are fair reactions. it was a different era). his wife is cheating on him. Hulk thinks the scripts behind Black’s colloquial prose were usually pretty good and that was the important part (even if the scenes usually weren't actually good enough that the audience would start jerking off).. one of the things he became famous for was being very colloquial in the scripts. there is Shane Black... Always try to say something. Don't waste opportunities to say something! 57. He then sort of went to writer jail for The Last Action Hero and The Long Kiss Goodnight... Even try to say multiple things at once. big way with Kiss Kiss. that Gittes is "cheap" or something. Which is to say a lot of people liked it and found it funny. Don't Waste Opportunities To Say Something In Robert Towne's incredible script for Chinatown (though he isn't afraid to go on for big walls of text. Embrace the high standard. He directly engaged the reader and would say things like: "This is the scene that's so fucking good. So all Hulk wants you to do is embrace the kind of high-degree storytelling evident in these tiny details. Shane Black was the first million dollar screenwriter. on the other side there are more colloquial writers. But whatever you have to say about it. but the fact that he has them all lined up and ready to go in his office says something else. Towne writes that Jake does the following: "Gittes reaches into his desk and pulls out a shot glass. Really. It made an impression." The implication of this may seem obvious. To console the poor chap. It implies that Jake knows the client won't know the difference. So while Attanasio and Towne represent the formal end of the spectrum of screenwriting. but he returned in a big. And If You Want To Be Colloquial. the audience will just whip out their dicks and start jerking off right there in the theater!" . But when he started out. and a lot of the old school thought he was pissing on the craft. Every detail in your script can matter if you really want it to. there is this really neat little detail that exemplifies something that doesn't happen nearly enough in screenwriting today: in the film. quickly selects a cheaper bottle of bourbon from several fifths of more expensive whiskeys. For instance. yes. None. Otherwise you're just cheating. Be warned. who were much. because the audience sure can't see the funny action lines! It adds nothing of value to the film. then let's get something straight.problem was that all the love and all the hate happened to spawn a lot of colloquial imitators. is that when voice-over goes in and out haphazardly.. and what every single person who uses it tends not to realize. Voice-Over. That's all there is to it. And if it doesn't make Hulk laugh.. stupid problem of exposition. Even the most unaware audiences find voice-over to be pretty un-engaging. Those are the stakes of being colloquial. then there's no point to doing it. Do you know how many times Hulk has seen a script where the writer has identified a band or a song or a TV show that should be made fun of. and if the reader of the script identifies more with the victim then you’re fucked." You are saying the story comes from this person's perspective and they are a kind of "god of perspective" in . Those films used it just when they needed it to solve some weird. You have to be really fucking funny. It is used to explain things that don't need explaining and would best be left shown through visual cinema or natural dialogue. which means that reader might throw it in the garbage too. then you have to use it at the end (cough The Descendants cough). which admittedly is something to be appreciated in the long slog of reading scripts.. It certainly won't make the movie any better. What perhaps speaks to the device's assured laziness is how fucking inconsistent it is too. If you're going to use narration at the beginning of your film. then it is just a garbage line wasting a reader ’s time. and never shows.. Let's just try and cheer you up!" It better be good. And by breaking the fourth wall just say "I know you're a person / Hulk who is reading this. 58. Try Not Using It Voice-over is one of the most overused devices in the history of cinema. But also remember that humor is subjective. Because if you're not actively making the reader laugh. You're already pissing on the concept of economy.. Then there's that hilarious time the voice-over showed up in a couple scenes in the middle of We Don't Live Here Anymore and then promptly disappeared for the rest of the film. all comedy has a victim. Perhaps. What can Hulk say? It all just keeps coming back to people fixating on the tangible details and tone instead of the actual functionality of the mechanism. The real problem here. Seriously. It certainly won't convey to the director how to make the movie any funnier. The only thing it can do is make the reader laugh. But there isn't anything else the reader can do with it other than laugh. These sorts of uses only confirm the laziness. But all Hulk has to say on the matter is this: if you're going to go colloquial. Why is that? Because voice-over always tells. much worse and did not understand when and how to do it.. issues that would be best left explored by dramatic means. you are altering the rules of your "movie universe. but the executive in charge of reading the script actually likes that thing? Way more than you think. This shit is tricky. Then they promptly dumped it. where he'll suddenly start ruminating on panties in Japanese vending machines. dialogue was Hulk's biggest obstacle. There is no accepting that there are just some things you aren’t good at. But really. you have to be consistent about it. Just don't be lazy about it. and tone... especially while writing the first few drafts.. it taught Hulk to flatly reject the notion that natural talent is inherently limiting. which goes along with the beauty of his imagery. And eventually. If you really need it and don't want to fuck with your universe. patience. It doesn’t matter if it’s structure. has this lofty. who on the surface is a complete hick criminal. . There's always a way to use a device well. after years and years and years. There are of course. Like have one character literally telling a story that can overlap into the next scene and effectively be used like voice-over. You see. It just takes a massive amount of work. H. For many years. a ton of examples of great voice-over. but be careful with how it affects your universe. Hulk knows this struggle.I. And it has a huge impact on how your audience subconsciously thinks about the film's reality. This way you get the informative effect you want without getting the tonal effect you don't want. or cinematography. So when the movie suddenly fucking ditches the voice-over and becomes a regular movie apropos of nothing. extreme path. You are essentially saying you have made two different kinds of universes in your film. To even get to a competent place with dialogue. which does the exact opposite. but pure characterization and hilarity. All the Malick films employ the device to stunning effect. beautiful. always try not using it first. That's what voice-over really means to your tone. This doesn't make it narrative nonsense though as it serves two obvious functions: it helps balance the comedic tone with the seriousness of the story. Hulk finally got to a really good place. Worse. Voice-over can lend a nice feeling of atmosphere. we have some natural dispositions. You'd be surprised how well plain old narrative works. characterization. then try a few simple tricks to use it more organically. And that's cheating. it took time. There is no information or exposition. Hulk thought Hulk just didn’t have the ear for it. McDunnough. trial and error. And then there's the voice-over in the Coen's Raising Arizona. characterization. it's destructive to the intent of your storytelling. So by giving it this deep poetic resonance the Coens turn their film into a lofty. and a lot of lesson-learning. But again. Sure. Well.this movie. wonderful fairy tale. eloquent narration that actually counters the hilarity of the world of the film. he's one of a kind. Hulk thinks it's great. the dude is basically writing poetry. And really. 59. but we can truly learn anything. The Practical Art Of Dialogue So Hulk talked in the introduction about knowing the struggle of writing. But that’s great news.. weird. then the audience can feel it. and it helps explain just what kind of batshit guy would go down this silly. Another example is in The Informant! Where the seriousness of the plot is intentionally undercut by going into the head of Matt Damon's ridiculous main character. But heck. Hulk has a few practical solutions for you. with. Adding these kind of qualifiers just slows down the entire rhythm and import. So take them out of your dialogue. There's a reason characters talk like that in films and it's because that's how the audience needs them to be for the most effective drama and story purpose.. You should be able to hear one person in a scene and know who they are just by the dialogue.. but it will honestly help you differentiate them in your head. this is sort of the desire to be like the Coens and Tarantino. if you want your dialogue to be organic and sound like how real people talk. Be terse and to the point. And "You Knows." Ughhhhhhhh. It doesn't come off like "organic speech. "Likes". and you knows to your exact specifications and cadence. the other 1/4 of comedy scripts are really funny. like. Achieving this can be really difficult. And when whatever actor comes in to play them. If you're trying to get an actor to time their ums. but it's true. So concentrate on having your characters have different voices.. make them go bye bye. Throw in Steve Buscemi. and the last 1/4 are not funny whatsoever). 1/4 of them have all their characters talk in the generic.. then that's for the actor to decide. likes. and 1/4 of the others have their characters all talk like the author.. but it won't. When Hulk reads comedies. Once again. Really.. So here are the following hard-earned lessons about getting better at dialogue that Hulk learned along the way: I) Eliminate The Following In Dialogue: "Ums". think of a bunch of different. So really. The natural way we watch movie universes forgives a lot of brevity.. Because there’s a huge difference between natural and inane. Carol Kane or something. Putting stalls makes for a horrible read and terrible drama. So just say what you freakin' mean. Nancy Meyers movies tend to do that horribly. fake nonsense ever. you can get good at anything. then you are going to get the most hollow-sounding. It's just a way of . pronounced actors in your head. witty-but-nottoo-witty voice. Or whoever you like! Hulk knows this sounds stupid. and let you know that. III) Your Characters Can't All Talk The Same Way." it comes off like Hulk's ass. It is impossible to make these kind of natural pauses seem unforced. um. You may worry that doing so will make your characters sound terse and to the point. They're not necessary anyway and will completely stall the reader from just trying to get the meaning of your words. which is good news because they are in a movie! And that means audiences watch them like they are in a movie! And that’s the relationship that really matters. all with unique cadences. It’s the same lesson of economy as before. It will make them sound like they're in a damn movie. For example. Seriously. It prevents the audience from following along and engaging and responding because they're miles ahead of the characters themselves. who can do this sort of long verbal qualification thing well. Dennis Leary and. For instance. I was going to say. It will be organic because it won't sound like real life.If Hulk can get good at dialogue." and "I think I really just need to come out. If this is a big problem for you. II) You Want Your Character's Dialogue To Be More Clear And On Point Than You'd Assume. There’s nothing more boring than waiting for somebody to say something. Chances are you are still learning." There is a huge inclination among young writers to dress up dialogue in natural sounding cadence… this is bad. Stuff like "Well. You can't just rely on the actors to do it for you. but that’s not you. so Hulk advises you not to layer the dialogue in a lot of qualifying and anticipation. It sucks (FYI. they will bring the character a more organic center than the extremes you used in your head. Have you ever seen The Holiday? It's like 2 hours of characters sputtering out stuff before the characters talk and have opinions. it has such a wonderful use of dialogue.. Do you realize how many screenwriters never read their script out loud? It’s amazing given the fact that the second you hear your script out loud and you can instantly be like "oh that sounds like crap" or "oh that's a weird thing to say" or "oh that totally wasn't necessary. So this is your chance to make the script feel alive like cinema. and sense of rhythm that belonged in the script. Breaks not included. Many Times. right? Aside from some legitimate concerns about depictions of femininity. it solves so many problems immediately. .. just by getting the damn thing outside your head and into the open air.. David Fincher apparently had Aaron Sorkin sit down for him. It’s a mere means to an end." Like with the action lines that go on and on? Guess what? If you get bored reading them. Wait a minute! Isn't that just all the things Hulk mentioned back in Part One of this book!?!? When Hulk talked about all the stuff that makes a good narrative??? Hulk is bringing it full circle on y'all! So on to the actual anecdote: during preproduction on the film.. Hulk will speak to the power of what reading a screenplay out loud can do for you. but more about if the scenes felt dramatic and things moved from moment to moment. It should speak to the exact kind of movie you want to write. it took him 2 hours and 1 minute to read the whole thing. Have a couple friends read it with you and talk about it. The final running time of the film? 2 hours 1 minute. resonant themes. So Aaron sat there. read the entire movie out loud. This will solve a lot of the problems mentioned not just in the last point about dialogue. Ask them not just about what they understood (again less important). But honestly. but all the 59 points mentioned so far. You'll know exactly what to do with it once it's "real. Chances are you love movies. it’s so much more. To the anecdote! And now.. and a propulsive sense of storytelling.making their voices separate.. insightful details. Reading a screenplay out loud should inform you. You’ll get a sense of transitions. smart commentary. Heck. He wanted to know the pace. inflection. just as he had pictured it.. 60. Read Your Entire Screenplay Out Loud. Hey. there's a surefire way of fixing most of these dialogue problems." But it’s not just about what sounds wrong to your ear. but haven’t had years and years to breathe scripts yet like some of us. You'll get a sense of how your scenes are paced and if any of the scenes don't make sense near each other. then the person reading your script will get bored reading them too. We can all agree that The Social Network was pretty much great. and in one sitting he had Sorkin read the script out loud. So you'll know exactly what to cut. And who cares if you’re a bad actor? It doesn’t matter! Hulk really can't tell you enough how much you need to do this.. Phrase things in hypotheticals. .. They are so precious that they figuratively become our babies.” That may sound absurd. It is our natural. Make it clear you are there to help them unlock that which they want to do. He said “ideas are babies. But there’s a way to craft every bit of honesty in a constructive way. James Gunn said: “The key to show business is to give 110% while simultaneously not giving a shit. not paint your thoughts over theirs. human inclination. And while doing that you have to act like other people’s ideas are babies and cradle them gently. So be kind to the person you are working with. Do that while being constructive and informative. It is the only way you will become a professional. Really. But you want to know the interesting flip-side? You can’t expect others to do the same. And when you do that? They will forever be in your good graces. Okay. cynical. You have to be able to embrace the fact that your idea might be stupid. Your art will not be able to function without criticism and input from others. You need to write a lot.” That’s indeed what it feels like. And that just takes time. but you have to be able to handle that deftly. Use if / then statements with their story options.” and he meant that as a way to describe how much we cherish and personalize an idea of our own. or even an impossible catch-22. And those are the kind of working relationships you can build a career on.. You need to get rejected a lot. it’s like “They took your baby and smashed its head over a radiator. You have to get the thickest possible skin imaginable.The lesson is clear folks: read your script out loud and Hulk will guarantee you will win an Oscar for it. It is the only way you will learn and grow and get better. way better in every sense. And anytime someone brashly rejects your idea or calls it stupid. You have to be the nicest person. You need to share it a lot. And then you need to numb the pain. there’s no other way. Really. You need to hear terrible things. You have to spend a lifetime getting over the fact that your ideas are your babies. But most of all. despite getting a thick skin you have to keep the passion for your own work. That kind of vulnerability is so important to the creative instinct… but can also be really problematic to the creative process. That doesn’t mean you have to lie. you do. but it is one of those absolute truisms of . 61. In fact you should be honest. Now you may not want to take that baby home with you and adopt it. Feedback - Get A Thick Skin And Expect Others To Have None An old acting professor of Hulk’s had a great saying. That something you thought was genius is actually hackneyed and trite. it won't do that but it will make your script way. They are putting their ideas out there so you need to extend a kindness and understanding to them. Have empathy for them. You have to be willing to take your lumps and evolve. but how long to stick with a script you’ve written in terms of trying to sell it or get it made. When you are just tinkering with it. So let’s talk about the final step… 62. It’s not just about individual scripts either. But don’t give a shit in the sense that you have to take rejection in stride. So press on further. But when do you let it go? Well. It is always about learning to be better. Letting Go “I just gotta finish this script!” Hulk’s heard that phrase a million times… but there’s no such thing. No script ever feels perfect. but it is rooted in failure followed by persistence. Hulk just talked to you about the giving 110% and simultaneously not giving a shit philosophy. it is often followed by a spiral when they cannot handle the low point that inevitably follows. And for those who do experience instant success.Hollywood. might be well and good. your script is due. No one ever finishes scripts. It is always about growth. making small incremental changes which. Do better work next time. It’s amazing how much no one ever writes about this part of the process. So Hulk thinks you should only get real one or two rounds of tinkering and then it should be out of your hands and with other. For instance. Which really it gets to the heart of how we relate to our work and what we want out of it. Don’t get rattled. Give 110% percent because you can’t accomplish anything in this business without enthusiasm and genuine intent. Every single thing that you do in this business will fail until the one time it doesn’t. Don’t let failure bother you.” or by the time the show goes on the air or whatever enterprise you are in. but it can sometimes be tricky knowing when to do what part of that equation. but you might be a little naïve. trusted eyeballs. There is no finish… there is only the time to let it go. Be joyful and take pride when things go well. but they are providing no deeper overhaul or understanding to the piece itself. To either be approved. when in a lot of ways it is so vital. If you’ve ever felt like one was perfect then Hulk hates to say it. Hulk was having a conversation with a filmmaker friend the other night and Hulk was . There is only the time to let it go. But it’s okay. Hulk guarantees you this will happen. Isn’t that amazing? Everyone thinks success will be instant. You may hear 17 yesses in a row on a project and then suddenly be cut out at the knees by a no from the top of the pyramid. It’s impossible. sure. No script ever feels perfect. usually by the time the studio says “Hey. But for something you’re doing for submission? It’s time to let go when you feel like you're just treading water. It is always about the process. or to tell you what it really needs. The road of which is matched with higher highs and sickening lows. But Hulk’s filmmaker friend spoke up and said: “Yeah. but there’s a duality that may have more to do with your personality. and Hulk was taking this zen approach to it all. many of which will not come to fruition. it’s a great point and something Hulk obviously understands. but there’s a flipside to that. but it may be that very commitment that ultimately saves it.talking about moving on from a recent failed project to get something new up and running. who work on a singular project and labor over it intensely until it becomes a reality. II) And then there is the singular path of many a great. One that is built on your values and the belief of what you can justify. And like everything in this book. American auteur.” Obviously. And know when it’s time to let go…. In the end. it is a dichotomy. I can’t tell you how often my crazy passion for making something a reality is what ended up saving it at the last moment. So once again Hulk brings us to the precipice of a dichotomy: I) There is the Soderbergh/del Toro route of embracing the chaos and having a lot of irons in the fire. . Move and evolve. be ready to work harder than you ever have in your life. you’ll have a natural inclination. Make them and don’t become paralyzed by fear or get tied down by megalomania. But whatever you do. but Hulk wants you to look at it in terms of a negotiation. You are living and dying by the project. and actually making it a reality. Work fast. but one good idea surely will. Because both options can have real value. that when we sit down to actually do it. there are so many details about how and why to create a story. Then. Working professionals can just do it. learning is really the process of taking what you’ve already learned on some instinctual level and suddenly becoming aware of it. These elements must be seared into your brain so that they are completely automatic. . or that one goal of yours. Only then can you write sequentially and with flow and purpose. You have to be able to work on the fly and showcase the real-deal chops. But they cannot be fully applied with simple awareness. In truth. or guidelines you never thought of before. will the writing process and its results feel truly organic. For one. There is a certain kind of on-the-fly writing chops that are desperately needed if one plans to be a working writer in film and television. And to explain the precise nature of what Hulk is talking about. and most of the contents of this big-ass book will fall out of your brains like it was on Teflon. Hulk will now cite the Dreyfus model of skill acquisition. then your story won't be come across as organic either. Sure. and to start this section. Sure. You’ll be trying to think of that one thing Hulk said to do. That sound you heard is everyone's hearts falling down into their butts. The reason they don't matter is that everything Hulk just told you is not something that can be easily parsed out over a few planning sessions and incorporated immediately.Part Seven - Now Here Comes The Hard Part And thus we come to the seventh and final part of our journey.. it’s the process of rendering that awareness back into an unaware process. Only then will you still be able to include all of the critical elements of storytelling and structure that Hulk has been fawning over for this entire book because the simplest truth is that you really need that speed of comprehension and application. You can’t fake it. you might be able to hammer out a good script in the course of a year. Take a look…. Which means that. But from there. . the multitude of options and responsibilities renders the process dysfunctional. but what about when you're handed a re-write job and the thing starts shooting in two weeks? What about the fact that it's the end of the season and you have to write an entire episode in two straight all night sessions? That's what being a writer in this business is actually like. And even if you're a writer who somehow has all the time in the world. Hulk actually has some bad news to tell you… None of the things Hulk just told you actually matter.. chances are that if you can't write organically. you have to take these devices and concepts and ingrain them into your process. You may even be really eager to start trying to apply them. thanks to this book you may now understand a great many concepts. as a writer. devices. And this book may have articulated an idea on the tip of your tongue or illuminated you to some new concept you need to absorb. and only then. accumulation of information) Some perception of actions in relation to goals Deliberate planning Formulates routines 4. with meanings that adapt to the situation at hand 5. They piece it together. guidelines. Proficient Holistic view of situation Prioritizes importance of aspects ‘perceives deviations from the normal pattern’ Employs maxims for guidance. Sometimes it’s a scene. and maxims ‘intuitive grasp of situations based on deep. They have the ability to traverse between microscopic issues and big picture concerns at a moment’s notice. They write. They start to see the seams. some . right? So here’s what happens when Hulk and pretty much every working professional Hulk knows sits down to write a screenplay: Sometimes they’ve scribbled a few brainstorm notes. But for the most part it’s all on the fly. Proficiency is shown by individuals who develop intuition to guide their decisions and devise their own rules to formulate plans. The sad thing is that this natural process is actually ruined by obtuse studio involvement. And then they let it go. The progression is thus from rigid adherence to rules to an intuitive mode of reasoning based on tacit knowledge. Or worse. Michael Eraut summarized the five stages of increasing skill as follows: 1. Competent ‘coping with crowdedness’ (multiple activities. Expert Transcends reliance on rules. Sometimes it’s a description of a scene. They see a problem so they go back to their implicit knowledge of structure or genre convention. Sometimes it’s a sequence. Sometimes they outline casually until they’ve broken the story. tacit understanding’ Has "vision of what is possible" Uses "analytical approaches" in new situations or in case of problems” Pretty self-evident. but there are certain problems you can’t see at the treatment level that need to be changed at the script level and it becomes a whole big process. A lot of times they’ll require a treatment.“…competence is characterized by active decision making in choosing a course of action. They re-write. Then it starts to come together. Novice ‘rigid adherence to taught rules or plans’ No exercise of ‘discretionary judgment’ 2. Then they just start writing it. Advanced beginner Limited ‘situational perception’ All aspects of work treated separately with equal importance 3. As far as the business goes.000 hours usually takes about. right? Nope! It is hard work + time. Hulk has regularly cited Malcolm Gladwell's theory from "Outliers" that it takes 10.production companies require “act by act” submission. And to get to that point takes 10.000 hour figure. It takes practice. which is just garbage if you ask this Hulk. So often Hulk talks to people who have dreams of writing scripts and so often they are not even close to that figure. Yes. Things take time. The problem is that usually means you have to negotiate for less money. then you cannot let that reality stop you. It’s impossible to write a script when you can’t see the whole of it (and it utterly doesn’t help you confirm the truism of “the ending is the conceit”). we’re not here to talk about the industry. And Hulk can really speak to the truth of that 10. even if every single thing in this book is something Hulk thinks you should adopt with every fiber of Hulk’s being…there is still no quick fix.. But if you really want it. 10 years. You have to be ready to put in your 10 years. Gulp. The same way a baseball player practices hitting a ball over and over again until each reaction becomes simple muscle memory. recognizing falsesounding dialogue. The things you can do to take this entire book full of concepts and ingrain them into your process like a professional writer. Things take hard work. then 10.. Some of you are still young and in school and in the perfect place to start. If only the industry itself just had a little more respect for the process. A writer must do the same. Hulk cannot help if this reality scares you. And if you write almost every day for a few hours. story structure. But again. and the art of cinema. So for all these pages and pages of guidelines and practical advice.000 hours of writing. a bit behind. It wasn't until 10 years in that Hulk's writing became good enough for real-deal interest. but all these things Hulk "knew" had become something Hulk actually "understood. You have to learn to incorporate those ideas into your deepest essence as a writer. Focus. the process itself was actually rather gradual. These are all things that must be ingrained and easily recognized though the building of the same kind of muscle memory put on display by a great baseball player.. How the hell do you do that. seeing narrative shifts.000 hours of thinking about things like character motive. And suddenly. 10. Hulk’s favorite methodology is just pitch straight into full script. 10. And some of you are. We are here to talk about the things you can do to become a better writer." Going back to before.000 hours of solving your own script problems. anyway? How do you make all of these things become ingrained? It seems like it is either magic or innate talent. Repetition.. Identifying script problems. even if it’s advice that Hulk truly believes in. it felt like Hulk woke up one day and it all clicked.000 hours to become truly good at anything. You have to . didn’t Hulk mention that it took the South Park guys about 10 years to really understand storytelling and how to approach their show? That wasn't an accident. Fact: Hulk got an early start and was super devoted to this process and Hulk wrote over 70 screenplays before even one working professional said "Hey this is pretty good!" and from there? Getting something actually made is even harder. but as just another step in the process. but I don’t know about that. . And like a baseball player. Or perhaps you've been training as a good listener so you have an ear for dialogue. or perhaps the lifestyle or acclaim you think it will afford you. And again. You have to back it up with real professional know-how. Go do your first screenplay. You'll find you already have a lot of the skills and training you need to be good at structure. But that's totally okay. it will be scary as all hell. So it is time to start writing.. it will take unbelievable amounts of work. You have thousands of other writers with you. You have friends. Do it. Don't look at them as your be all end all. Learn how to craft stories. Hulk's done that all the time. Then start one that’s way outside your comfort zone. I think that seems daunting. And yes. but you are not alone. That’s not going to stop me. Then do it all again. Then write another. 2) Okay. Hulk knows that sounds cheesy as all hell. You like the things it makes you feel. But when the luck and opportunity finally comes around. Put it in a drawer. but that’s so much and I just usually don’t have the work ethic to see it through. And you have two possible reactions: 1) Damn… I … I don’t think I have the time to do that. Put it in a drawer. even if the script is crap.practice with them like a baseball player would. Hulk needed to warn you of the difficulties. Yes. And another. Don't worry you're wasting good ideas because the value of the idea and the inspiration never goes away. … and you have a Hulk. Just keep writing them. Sit down. it's going to be terrible. So in that spirit. so find your support. This is a team medium. He is one of the greatest screenwriters of all time. then you are a writer. fine. but Hulk means it: you have a Hulk on your side. And if you answered like #2. Maybe you have the focus to be economical. Whatever Hulk. then you like the idea of writing. So there is this guy named Paddy Chayefsky.. Write another one. Hulk just wants to finish this sucker with a little explanation of one of Hulk's heroes. You can always come back and re-do the idea once you're better at writing. I really would like to be a writer. Hulk even hates that this oh-so-necessary 10. You have collaborators.000 hour message is dominating the last section of this book. but Hulk would much rather inspire you. Hulk wants you to win. Do it better. you'll find your own strengths over time. Just write the damn thing. I mean. This is scary. Get better. If you answered like #1. And once you finish it. Ten years of it. But no matter what your skills become and how they manifest themselves. I want to. Do things you are not good at. you have to be sure you can deliver the goods. what is the purpose? On one level. As crazy as it sounds. he managed to penetrate the deepest layers of satire to the point where he basically foretold the future of television and American culture at large (Network). he spent his early career as a "working writer" during the golden age of television (read: mass produced and not nearly on the same level as cinema). He is everything we should ever want to be in a screenwriter. a writer of all forms. the range.. Back in college Hulk hunted down most of his lesser-seen stuff and the one thing that always becomes so amazingly clear about his work is that even with his this utilitarian TV work. television. Paddy Chayefsky approached his craft with a remarkable sense understanding. novels. Which means that the next step falls to you. medium. He always understood the purpose of what he was writing. A story of writing itself with a through-line that would maybe speak to you.Chayefsky's success was due in large part to the fact that he was. If you need a comparison. first and foremost. the growing state of the NYC social scene long before Capote even thought of Breakfast at Tiffany's (The Bachelor Party). for the system or against it. And thus. ever let that impact the quality." but he still never. He knew how to write big and small. And on one level. He wrote plays. Hulk? As you would say. But alas. calling it "democracy at its ugliest.. totality. Hulk wanted to try and make it a singular. So many ideas within are part of the . He could explore the simplest stories about decent human beings and ethos (Marty). broad and nuanced. He always understands the purpose! As any genius would. And he is a large part of what inspired Hulk to write this book. nor the effort that went into his work. Hulk still feels like it’s barely scratching the surface. and even language. comedy. the incredible thematic realities of bureaucracy and personal will (The Hospital). Chayefsky famously hated the way Hollywood encroached on storytelling and the author's duty. and he knew when to follow rules and when to absolutely shatter them. but never an overpowering "style" that dominated his work. the ahead-of-its-time views of sexuality and becoming a forerunner to late ‘60s cinema (The Americanization of Emily). His voice could mutate at a moment's notice. understanding. This book is only but the first step in a longer conversation. form. drama. why would you write something like this. Hulk was excited about the idea of trying to convey the sum total of almost all of Hulk's knowledge about storytelling and screenwriting. His style always seemed to vary. this book feels complete. and in his magnum opus. the hardcore sci-fi and horror concepts of trippy genetics (Altered States). You could always recognize his focus and intelligence. complete thought. he so completely understood what he needs to do with the story and devices he’s using. and humanity of Paddy Chayefsky inspires Hulk every single day. it was time to let go. “Yeah. then Chayefsky was sort of a porto-Charlie Kaufman and certainly every bit as much of a genius. and even criticism (Hulk likes criticism too in case you haven't noticed). But Chayefsky didn't just work on these lauded projects. tone. which earned him the most lone screenwriting Oscars of anyone in history. He could transcend genre. Hulk looks over what is written and stills sees so much more that can be said. and yet. . Hulk says this without a hint of cynicism or disinterest. You may recognize a way to imply something new.great negotiation. Hulk wants you to do what makes sense for your story. Help. To teach Hulk the many things that Hulk has yet to understand about a subject that can only be tamed. Because Hulk knows the struggle of writing all too well. so please be patient because Hulk fully responds to each one... So who would want to go through that alone? <3 Hulk . but never mastered. It is difficult. You may have a different take on how something might work. And it is often infuriating. Hulk? The same reason Hulk explained at the beginning. It is lonesome. Disagree with one of Hulk's working definitions? Need help breaking a story? Can't figure out a character's path? Write. It is an endless war with one's one brain. then we can all be something of a sounding board for one another. Hulk genuinely wants to change the culture of screenwriting. And if we really want to make it happen. Hulk hopes that maybe you can help Hulk even refine those ideas too.com. This modern world is so full of yelling and contention and ugliness. why do all this. The only way it’s going to happen is if we commit to the idea and have nothing but mutual respect for one another. It can get a little backed up at times and submitting full scripts is actually rather tricky depending on what’s going on with all Hulk’s contracts at the moment. But really. After all. so that Hulk wants to create a place where we can do way better than that. Ask. Hulk wrote this book so we both could become better writers. but it's true. Because secretly we are way better than that. Hulk knows that sounds freakin' insane. And feel free to drop Hulk a line any time at filmcritHulk@gmail. But Hulk wants to talk about all of those ideas with you. Hulk wants us to flesh them out and make them feel real and understood. but if you have questions then Hulk assures you that he reads every single thing Hulk is sent and will always try to get to every single person. Right now Hulk’s about 500+ Hulk-mails behind (some going back awhile). To the Badass Digest crew who make up the most amazing coworkers on the planet. <3 Hulk . and glorious taste in cinema. and supportive person ever. have quite literally changed Hulk’s life. love. luckily stuck around. To Papa-Hulk for his intelligence and patience. You have no idea but you. but for whom without their help and support none of this would have been possible. And to everyone who thought it might be fun to see what talking-Hulk had to say about movies. and helped make Hulk better at this thing. To Hulk’s colleagues in criticism. dear reader. And for that you have Hulk’s endless thanks and friendship. To all the remarkable friends who have not only been great fun. To Brother-Hulk for his sense of humor. To Mama-Hulk for her sacrifice. Acknowledgments There are too many people to thank. And even better friends… but probably even bestest drinking buddies? To everyone who ever gave Hulk an opportunity. To Hulk’s colleagues in Hollywood. fun. and Jeopardy-rival-worthiness. To “Betty” for being the most loving. Hulk thanks you for your daily inspiration. To the mentors. got what Hulk was doing. Hulk thanks you for your daily inspiration. Endnotes & Bibliography Books! .