STORY - Substance, Structure, Style, and The Principles of Screenwriting

So this year I am throwing myself into the world of screenwriting as I have at least two classes at all times until the end of the academic year.

Last week, I had a reading assigned to me from Robert McKee's very popular screenwriting book STORY - Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting. Now when I say very popular screenwriting book, I mean very popular screenwriting book. It is the winner of the International Moving Image Book Award and has giant advertisements in every screenwriting magazine I've read.


So I open this book and start reading. The introduction hooked me right away. In it were eight statements about Story:

Story is about principles, not rules.

Story is about eternal, universal forms, not formulas.

Story is about archetypes, not stereotypes.

Story is about thoroughness, not shortcuts.

Story is about the realities, not the mysteries of writing.

Story is about mastering the art, not second-guessing the marketplace.

Story is about respect, not disdain, for the audience.

Story is about originality, not duplication.


Now, one could argue that these statements are made about McKee's book, since it is titled "Story" but I like to think that he's talking about actual stories. Everyone of these statements made me think of all of the current scripts I have in progress right now to see if they apply. Some of them do, some of them don't.

And it can be very hard to follow these "guidelines". Especially in today's world where there are so many stories circulating via film, novels, video games, music, and many more mediums, it is hard to come up with a story that is original. And then respect for the audience. As a storyteller, I get so caught up in my own world and the world of my story that I forget about the audience and just think about how I would like my story to go. Don't get me wrong, I will not write my story based on what an audience would want, but it's very important to keep them in mind while you're writing.

So thank you Robert McKee for opening my eyes a little more to the world of the storyteller. I very much enjoyed the introduction to your book.

Moving on the first chapter, this was a different story. The first chapter, titled The Story Problem, is McKee rambling bitterly about how writers these days are just not the same and how the "craft has been lost". Overall, it was a negative view on the screenwriting industry today. Since it's an industry I plan on entering, a negative insight on it isn't what I'm looking for. Where's the good!?

I haven't read any further than that yet though but I sure hope it turns around to something more positive.

Have you read any of Robert McKee's Story? What do you think?

First Sample of my Work

So i've been blogging for quite a while now and I feel it's about the right time to post some samples of my writing. I've been taking a Screenwriting class over at scriptforsale.com called BizofScreenwriting. The samples I am posting are the first three assignments that we were given. I posted three scenes from the same script. I am posting them in chronological order, but they were not written that way. There is some vulgar language so if you're offended by bad words, I suggest probably not reading.

FADE IN--

EXT. GAS STATION - DAY - A FEW WEEKS LATER

A small station wagon is parked outside of a gas station. The
engine is running.

INT. CAR - DAY - CONTINUOUS

Three men sit in the car. BILL is sitting in the drivers seat. He is
fiddling with the radio. He will listen to one station for a
few seconds while looking around the parking lot, and then
change it. He does this over and over again.

In the passenger seat, CURLY (mid-40s, messy hair, casually
dressed) rolls his eyes.

CURLY
Jesus Christ man shut that fuckin'
thing off!

Bill turns off the radio.

BILL
(Quietly.)
Sorry.

CURLY
Okay, are we ready?

Bill starts to pace in his seat nervously. His hands begin to
tap the steering wheel impatiently.

BILL
(Keeping his lips sealed.)
Mhmm.

Curly notices his nervous twitches.

CURLY
Oh you're not gonna get cold feet
on me are you? Look man, if you
fuckin' bolt while I'm in there--

BILL
I'm fine.

CURLY
You don't look fine. You're
sweatin' like a pig.

Bill takes a handkerchief out of his breast pocket and wipes
the sweat off of his forehead.

BILL
It's hot, that's all.

CURLY
You've got the fuckin' air
conditioning on full blast!

BILL
Look I'm fine.

CURLY
You said you needed this.

BILL
I do.

CURLY
Okay, so let's go over it again.

In the backseat, SCAR (50s, short hair, long scar down the
side of his face, big build) sits calmly looking out the
window at the gas station.

BILL
(Impatiently.)
You go in...(he swallows with
difficulty) do your thing... you
get back in the car and I drive
away.

CURLY
Right.

Curly goes to open the door.

BILL
But what's this guy here for?

Bill motions to the back of the car.

CURLY
Scar here's got some talents that
might come in handy.

Curly smiles and leaves the vehicle. When the door closes, a
tense silence sets in. Bill wipes the sweat off of his
forehead again and goes back to tapping on the steering
wheel. Scar continues to look out the window calmly.

Bill looks at Scar in the rearview mirror.

BILL
So what's this special talent that
you've got?

Silence.

BILL
Not a talker huh?

Silence. Bill rolls his eyes. He reaches to turn on the
radio.

SCAR
Don't.

Bill stops and takes his hand away.

BILL
Sorry.

Silence. Bill is so restless that he can't stop moving. His
nerves are getting worse.

BILL
I'm not actually a thief.

He checks both of his side mirrors and then looks again in
the rearview.

BILL
I just lost my job and--you know-
gotta pay those bills!

He laughs nervously. No reaction from Scar.

Suddenly Curly is urgently knocking on the passenger side's
window. Bill unlocks the door and Curly jumps in.

CURLY
DRIVE DRIVE DRIVE!

Bill can't move. He is panick-stricken.

BILL
Why!? What's wrong!?

CURLY
THE SONOFABITCH HAS A SHOTGUN!
DRIVE! GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!

A LOUD BANG is heard and the backseat window SHATTERS as a
bullet goes through it. The two men in the front seat put
their heads between their knees.

BILL
SHIT! SHIT! SHIT!

In the backseat, Scar reaches for the door handle.

EXT. CAR - DAY - CONTINUOUS

Scar exits the vehicle and pulls a handgun out of his jacket.
He points it over the car at the GAS STATION EMPLOYEE and
fires once. The bullet goes right through the man's forehead
and he falls to the ground.

INT. CAR - DAY - CONTINUOUS

Scar re-enters the car and closes the door. There is a
silence. Bill is afraid to move.

SCAR
Drive!

Bill puts the car in "Drive" and pulls out of the gas
station.


FADE OUT.



EDIT: I realized that my post was TOO long, so I edited it to just include one of the scenes.

Rewatch: "The Sixth Sense"

I recently watched The Sixth Sense again, longing for the days when M. Night Shyamalan wrote good movies. And I must say, what a good movie he wrote!

I hadn't seen the movie in almost ten years (since it first came out) and all I remembered from it was its infamous twist ending so I was in dire need of this rewatch.

The script was amazing. The subtle signs and foreshadowing that are given to the viewer leave one in awe. Structurally, the script is perfect. He gives the right pieces of information at the right time and strings the viewer along this way. Just when the last interesting thing was over, BAM! You're hit with something new. For example, we know something's wrong with Cole right from the start. He's a strange, strange kid and we see this through many events (his episode in the class room: "Stuttering Stanley!", the birthday party, etc.). But just as we are getting tired of seeing all of his weird antics, we're hit with the problem ("I see dead people"). Some writers string the viewer along for too long, losing their interest; and others don't do it for long enough, failing to grasp the interest of the viewer. But Shyamalan gives us just the right dose to keep us in it.

Secondly, the movie could almost be split into 2 separate films. The first half of the film is a character piece about both Cole and Malcolm. We find out Cole's secret, Malcolm abandons him, and the film could have ended right there. Not too satisfying of an ending but I've seen much worse. The second half of the film is Cole dealing with his problem. He starts to help the ghosts that come to him. Notice that from the beginning to the end, the story, and the goal of the protagonist, has changed. This is how you keep an audience's attention. If you spend an hour and a half on one thing (in this case it would be Cole's secret), the audience gets bored. By changing the direction in which the film is going, and throwing unexpected twists at the audience (Malcolm deciding to help Cole, Cole taking Malcom's advice), the writer was able to keep their attention the whole time.

Now let's move on to the twist ending. What amazes me most is that there are signs throughout the whole film that indicate Malcom's fate and the viewer just never catches on. Look closely: whenever there is a ghost around, the color red is present. Everytime Malcolm is onscreen (and I watched for this), something red is in the area. The doorknob to his basement office is red for christ sakes. Once we find out Cole's secret, it is almost obvious Malcolm is dead...if you know what to look for. The only person who looks at Malcolm is Cole. In his many encounters with his wife, never once does she look at him. Sitting in the living room with Cole's mom, they were not speaking and she wasn't looking at him. If you look closely after the shooting, Malcolm doesn't wear his wedding ring. There are many shots of his naked left hand, which is an indication that he is no longer with his wife. The brilliance in the script is that Shyamalan was able to cover this all up with the rest of the film. It's deception. He had the audience's attention on Cole the whole time when the really interesting bit was Malcolm. When you don't know where to look, you wouldn't believe how much you miss.

The acting in this film was excellent. Genuine, to say the least. Little Haley Joel Osment was terrifying and is probably the reason why quiet little kids scare me these days. Bruce Willis delivered probably the best dramatic performance of his career. And even the supporting cast did a great job (Toni Collette as Lynn Sear, Cole's mother, and Olivia Williams as Anna Crowe, Malcolm's wife). One of the cast members said they didn't know the film was a horror until they saw the final product so during shooting, they treated it as a drama. Perhaps that's one of the reasons the performances felt so real. Generally, acting for horror films is very over-the-top and cheesy (see any Horror flick of the 21st century).

The Sixth Sense got six well-deserved Oscar nominations in 1999 including Best Picture, Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Best Actress in a Supporting Role, and Best Writing - Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen. It is one of only four horror films to get a nomination for best picture. It didn't win any Oscars, but that could be because it was up against American Beauty that year. No other film had any chance.

And as for you M. Night Shyamalan, you're trying too hard now. I believe after the Sixth Sense, his next attempt at a horror with a twist was The Village and I think the world would be better off if that film hadn't been made. Since then it's just been one bad movie after another. My suggestion? Take a break and stop trying so hard. I find that even with my writing, if I'm trying to write something a certain way, I fail every time. You just have to write what comes out of you and stop trying to tell yourself to write a certain way.

What drives me nuts about this guy is that it feels like he's making movies just for the sake of making them now. There is no meaning to them and they're boring. Make something meaningful to you, who cares if it's not a horror or doesn't have a twist ending. Movies aren't (or shouldn't be..who am I kidding we all know they totally are) about money. And audiences can tell when it's meaningless.

Anywho, great movie. Watch it again if you haven't seen it in ten years and appreciate the writing! I'd give it an 8.5 out of 10.