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On Screenwriting

Editor's Note: Authorlink welcomes Los Angeles screenwriter and teacher Neil Flowers and his new monthly column on the subject of writing for film and television. Neil's columns appears on the first of every month.

Now, as we move to act II, the hard part begins. Not so hard to understand in theory. But notoriously difficult to execute in practice.

Fact is, most writers begin with a protagonist around whom to build a story, or, the opposite, a story demanding a certain protagonist or a genre picture with a type of hero.

". . . creating acts I and III are relatively easy compared with act II."
—Flowers

Most writers therefore find it easy enough to create an antagonist, too. The antagonist could be a homicidal villain as Vincent is in Collateral or Hans Gruber is in Die Hard, someone extremely unlikable as Amanda is in The Devil Wears Prada, a force of nature as in Tornado, a competitor for the heroine’s hand as in any romantic comedy, an unseen menace as in The Blair Witch Project, or even the protagonist himself, as in Oedipus Rex.

Once the protagonist, antagonist and story are evident to the writer, creating acts I and III are relatively easy compared with act II.

For Act I, introduce the protagonist in the appropriate milieu; reveal his or her character, especially that aspect that will change by the end of the narrative; add a couple of pertinent supporting and minor characters; and create the event that reverses the protagonist’s emotions and fate and serves as the transition to act II. Voilà!, Act I.

Act II ends when it seems as though there is no way out for the protagonist, that all is lost, that his or her life is at its lowest point and it looks like there is no way out. Maybe she’s in prison and the only key to the lock has been swallowed by an alligator. Maybe he finds that all his friends have deserted him and he must stand alone against four bad guys armed to the teeth. Whatever. The outlook is bleak at the end of act II.

Not that acts I and III are a cakewalk. Creating believable characters, milieu, dialogue, major reversal, and climax are not the same as baking your mother’s lemon meringue pie. You can’t repeat the recipe endlessly and out comes the flick from the oven of your brain, perfect every time. But most writers will tell you that the setup (act I) and the resolution (act III) are much easier to write than the act II conflicts and complications. These require constant creativity, brain power, and just plain doggedness and perspiration than any other aspect of a film script.

Why? Because, well. . . Ooops!

I see that we’re just about out of space. So we’ll have to leave it here for the moment, trapped in suspense -- like in an old-time serial -- at the edge of the cliff, or watching that key being munched by that alligator. But we’ll continue next month. . .

However, to close, I’d like to recommend a book, a very wonderful book, called Reeling Through Hollywood, written by Dan Bessie. This book recounts Mr. Bessie’s 40-year sojourn making films in Tinseltown. For anyone who has ever wanted to write, direct, produce, or have anything to do with filmmaking: This is the book for you. I confess to not having quite finished “Reeling” yet, but will by next month, when I’ll say a little more about it. The book is available at Amazon or at Blue Lupin Press.

Suggested film viewing for next month: Evil Dead II (very scary!), and, if you can possibly find it at your video store and stick with it’s slowness, Je Tu Il Elle by the great French filmmaker Chantal Akerman. ADVISORY: This latter film is subtitled and contains an off screen sex act in act II and a softcore lesbian scene in the third act. The scenes are crucial to understanding the film’s plot and central character. However, if such scenes will offend you, then avoid Je Tu Il Elle. For those who sit through it, this film is an object lesson in three-act structure, beauty and roughness of photography, and in how a film can be made with a bare minimum of materials, including camera setups, dialogue, and characters. In my opinion, it’s a great film.

Special thanks to Andrea and Byron for their help with this column.