Read Save the Cat Goes to the Movies Online
Authors: Blake Snyder
Save the Cat Goes to the Movies (37 page)
SPIDER-MAN 2
Screenplay by
Alvin Sargent
Story by
Alfred Gough & Miles Millar
and
Michael Chabon
Opening Image:
Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire), late for work, ogles Mary Jane, aka MJ (Kirsten Dunst), who adorns a billboard. Tobey’s human vs. Superhero dilemma is seen through his relationship with Kirsten. Can he have her
and
be Spider-Man?
Theme Stated:
Blowing a pizza delivery, Tobey is told by his boss, “To you Parker, a promise means nothing.” Holding true to what we promise — and putting others before self — is the theme.
Set-Up:
Tobey is in multi-tasking hell. He works for
The Daily Bugle
, run by J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons), who pesters him for photos of Spider-Man. He’s a gifted student but behind in his studies — and his rent. Home for his birthday, he learns Aunt May (Rosemary Harris) is being evicted. Yet Tobey can do nothing. The bright spot is Kirsten, whose attitude suggests she has a crush on him, too. Tobey can’t tell her who he is — or why he can’t see her — but promises he will come see the play she’s starring in.
Catalyst:
At Minute 18, Tobey is introduced to Dr. Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina), who’s created a new form of energy. The doc likes Tobey and introduces wife “Rosie” (Donna Murphy). Alfred has found a way to have a “normal” life and still have a mission.
Debate:
Can Tobey balance his life? Getting ready for Kirsten’s play, Tobey opens his closet; there are two suits hanging there, his every-day clothes and Spider-Man’s outfit. On his way, at Minute 25, Tobey is involved in a police pursuit and arrives at the theater late. Waiting for the show to let out, Tobey sees Kirsten kiss John Jameson (Daniel Gillies). Tobey is heartbroken. Angry, he takes to the sky as Spidey, only to be brought down by
arachtile dysfunction.
Seems his web-slinging skills are ebbing.
Break into Two:
Tobey attends the demonstration of Alfred’s experimental power source. As Alfred dons a robotic six-limbed contraption and seals it to his spinal chord, one of the coolest bad guys ever is about to be created. At Minute 38, when the public experiment goes awry, Spider-Man appears but can’t pull the plug in time; Alfred’s beloved wife is killed and he is knocked unconscious. Later, trying to remove his robot arms, Alfred’s artificial limbs come alive, killing the surgeons. “Doc Ock” is born.
B Story:
The “internal story” is seen through Tobey’s battle with the mad Doc Ock. Alfred’s life — without his wife — is now out of balance. Love gone, he crosses to the dark side. As metaphor for what Tobey’s life might look like, Alfred’s is a cautionary tale.
Fun and Games:
We also get a brand new creature found in the “upside-down world” of Act Two: an eight-limbed criminal running amok in the city and Spider-Man’s Nemesis. “Doctor Octopus,” as Jameson calls him, is on a new mission, his serpent-head arms urging him to re-do the experiment on his own. Ock and Spider-Man battle when Ock tries to rob a bank to finance his mad dreams.
Midpoint:
With Spider-Man blamed for the robbery and his powers failing, Tobey hits a mid-point bottom and a “false defeat.” Assigned to cover a society event for his boss’ son, the real low comes when Tobey learns Kirsten and John are engaged. The next day, Tobey goes to a doctor to get help for his lagging powers, and told he doesn’t have to be a Superhero if he doesn’t want to. At 1 Hour 2 Minutes, he declares: “I’m Spider-Man no more.” A and B stories cross as, prompted by his stalemate with Doc Ock, Tobey will be a “civilian” and wear only his every-day clothes for a while.
Bad Guys Close In:
Tobey tries to be “normal.” He gives up crime fighting, keeps his promise to see Kirsten’s play (The
Importance of Being Earnest)
, and catches up on his homework. But we know it won’t last. Crime keeps happening — and duty pulls at Tobey.
All Is Lost:
Finally, when a fire breaks out at an apartment building, Tobey dashes in to save a little girl. But the “whiff of death” of this “false victory” (and the perfect opposite of the midpoint low) is that one person didn’t get out — and died.
Dark Night of the Soul:
Tobey tells Aunt May about his part in the death of his Uncle Ben, but she tells him: “There’s a hero in all of us, even though we have to give up the things we want most, even our dreams.” Called back by the “promise” of duty, Tobey tries willpower to be Spider-Man again. Atop a building, he says: “Strong focus on what I want” and leaps — only to fall to the ground and hurt his back. His attempt at “self-will” fails.
Break into Three:
Kirsten meets Tobey. She is about to accept his offer to be together, and though he is on a new track to return to crime-fighting, she’s not giving up on him. As they’re about to kiss, Tobey sees Doc Ock hurl a car at them and saves Kirsten, then loses her as the villain grabs her to use as bait for Spider-Man. A and B stories cross, thanks to Doc Ock, as Tobey realizes his power is back. The missing component was love, and the “promise” to be with Kirsten now combines with the “promise” to be a Superhero.
Finale:
Among the great moments in this finish: Spider-Man stops an out-of-control train by “crucifying” himself (we’ve seen the exact same beat in
Raging Bull, The Matrix
, and
Gladiator)
and saving all onboard. Spent and without his mask, Tobey is brought inside and laid on the floor of the train. “It’s just a kid,” says a passenger. (Love that beat!) Tobey saves Kirsten when he convinces Doc Ock to re-embrace his humanity and not destroy the city. Kirsten now knows who Spidey is and loves Tobey even more.
Final Image:
Kirsten makes her own decision and runs from her wedding to be with Tobey, despite the danger of his being Spider-Man. By being willing to give up everything he loves, Tobey has gotten both. He has Kirsten
and
his mission, his life in balance. Opening and final image are opposites, the screenplay perfect.
Is this the end of the tail? Not quite.
SO WHAT ABOUT
GHOST?
Whew! That’s one hell of a lot of movies!
And it’s my bet that at some point in reading one or more of these chapters you’ve had an “A-ha!” experience.
A-ha!
Bad News Bears
and
Ocean’s Eleven
really are the same movie!
A-ha! The Half Man is in A LOT of Monster in the House flicks! How about that!?
A-HA! The Dude with a Problem is a movie I thought I knew but I
never
saw that “eye of the storm” beat before!
WOW!
At which point the top of your head explodes, and your brains spill out all over Starbucks.
At least this is my hope.
And yet, while those fantastic coffeehouse employees we love so — Nancine, Micah, and Tifani — are mopping up the contents of your brainpan, a new thought creeps in:
So what?
This whole genre thing may be an amusing parlor trick, but what does it really have to do with the job of sitting down and cranking out
your
movie? And btw, what about movies that seem to blend a bunch of these story genres together?
What about
Ghost?
Well calm down there, Starbuckeroo. Ask Nancine for a refill, sit down, and let’s kibbitz awhile. I agree it’s a lot to digest. But looking at these movies in a new way is really going to help. And the good news is that while we’re sitting here chatting — at least we’re not writing!
First of all, welcome to the business of storytelling. No matter what level you’re at — novice, skilled practitioner, or stratosphere-scraping genius — you are aware of the never-ending battle. Each of us goes about it in a different way and yet it boils down to the same question:
How do I write
my
story?
What chunk goes where? What does the audience need to know when? Is my hero heroic enough, and if not, why not? And the bottom line of any story: What am I trying to say?
What should be clearer after reading this book is that you are not the first to climb Mt. Everest. And yes, it
is
about tricks, storytelling sleight-of-hand, and tradition. And guess what else? As original as you think you are, you aren’t. Sorry! Whenever I hear someone insist that his story is original, I have to laugh. Fresh, I hope. Original?
No such thing.
We have already heard every story ever told. Like little kids who ask for the same tale over and over again, told exactly the same way, we too respond to hidden patterns. The elements that vibrate in us like a tuning fork — the stories that truly resonate — are based on patterns deep in our DNA. What we’re looking for as writers, and even as listeners, is an “internal balance,” a story that satisfies some pre-thinking part of the soul. And connecting to the stories we’ve told forever is key to figuring it out.
I, and a lot of my friends, call it “breaking a story.”
But really it’s about finding it.
I personally love working out a story. And I love knowing that I am part of a long tradition of writers who have wrestled with the very same problems. I’m glad I know “making it fresh” has always been the job. But it really comes down to: Does the story work? And if not, what can I do to make it work?
Not every story I have broken down in this book does! I’ve given you some creaky old movies that are way passé to us modern urbanites. I’ve reviewed a few films that are not my personal faves. What I’ve hoped to do is show how I, like everyone else in this
craft, am always in the process of honing my storytelling skills. This book, if nothing else, is a method to do this in a new way.
Now when you tell me the movie you’re working on is “a road picture,” you know it should include things that a Golden Fleece has: a “road,” a “team,” and a “prize.” And if you’re working on a love story, you know the number-one litmus test is its theme: “My life changed for having met another.” Writing a mystery? You must ask: “What’s the ’dark turn’ of my hero?” because that’s what Whydunits are about. And if you’re not sure if it’s a Dude with a Problem or a Monster in the House you’re writing, you must ask: “Is my hero an ’innocent’? Is this story about survival?” If “yes” to both questions … you know. Right?
It’s all about getting a little better grip on what makes that tuning fork in our souls hum. And also knowing that you have a bunch of stories to study that can help!
So what about
Ghost?
When I was in the middle of writing this book, deep in my own “My, aren’t I a genius!” megalomania, the Bruce Joel Rubin-scripted, Jerry Zucker-directed thriller came on TV. And as I watched Patrick and Demi cavorting
ex corpus …
suddenly
my
brain exploded!
Ghost
is supernatural, which implies it’s an Out of the Bottle; it’s a love story, which means that “my life changed for having met another” is certainly in play; and it’s also a mystery and a Rites of Passage, too — for God’s sake, Patrick
dies
and can’t go to the light until he overcomes his unfinished business on Earth! So? What kind of movie is it?
After I simmered down, I realized two things: One, it’s a Whydunit, because solving the mystery of who killed Patrick and why — even though he is no longer operating at room temperature —
is
the story. Yes, it’s magical; yes, it’s a love story. But at the end of the day, it’s a “Fantasy Whydunit” — in the very same league as
The Sixth Sense.
When I figured that out, I was kind of pleased. My system worked! But the second thing I understood was that in cases where
we’re not sure what type of movie it is, the bottom line is we now have a language to talk about it. Just like the bullet points of the BS2, when I say “Fun and Games” or “All Is Lost” or “Bad Guys Close In,” we know what parts of the movie we mean; and when I say “Buddy Love” or “Rites of Passage” or “Out of the Bottle,” we suddenly have an overview of story type — and a set of terms to talk about those stories in a way we understand.
And a fun way too, if I say so myself!
Point is: This is one more tool. Knowing story and knowing how stories are put together — and what is satisfying — is our goal as writers. Being experts on all types, even those outside our genre, helps us be better in our genre. And identifying any story, even those answering: “What did you do at work today, Dad?” as one type or another — even seeing mythic elements in a commercial for furniture wax on TV — makes us more aware of story mechanisms. Let this book be a way to do just that, a new method to deconstruct old ideas.
So if you are trying to “stump the author” by thinking up movies that don’t fit the paradigm … stop. Won’t help you. What will help you is seeing how the gray, as yet unformed notion in your head can be fashioned into something that works for us all — and shaping it into a story that resonates is the job. Tapping into the primal nature of stories and why we tell them is magic. You have it in you already, and as I say in my lectures all over the world (who knew?!), the only thing stopping the stories from getting out is you.
So get out of the way! Let the stories bubble up from deep within, in patterns we’ve used to tell stories forever. Fact is the stories come from a higher source — that’s why they keep repeating. They’re being broadcast to us to remind us why we get up every day and hit it one more time, and we all carry the message. Stories are everywhere. Just look around Starbucks. From the primal campfire to the market square to here among the
coffeeati
, what resonates is truth.
Find yours. And pass it on.