ACT ONE CONTINUED

Darrell J. Banks

All Rights Reserved Copyright 2003

In the last few weeks I traveled to Los Angeles and Hollywood. I witnessed several thousand screenwriters meet and greet with the sole intent to learn and hawk their wares.

At Script Expo 2, I learned from esteemed writers on why I write screenplays. The writers ranged from William Goldman ("Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid") to Gary Ross ("Sea Biscuit") both of whom lectured on the business and art of screenwriting.

This article continues that focus and our study on ACT I. We will compare three movies and how they utilize different techniques in ACT I. The movies are "Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star," "Terminator 3" and "Matrix Revolutions."

ACT I In act one your goal is grab the viewer. In "Terminator 3," major plot points are reviewed that take the audience back to the previous two movies. These "points" inform the viewer on what will take place in Acts II and III. Simple lines are spoken by the major characters that provide a backdrop and pretext for future actions.

The same applies in "Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star." The premise of the movie is established when Dickie loses a boxing match and his girlfriend in the first few scenes.

By the seventh minute (page), Dickie wants to move in with a family to ensure he receives an acting part he desperately wants and needs. The writers, Fred Wolf and David Spade, construct a redemption movie where the main character Dickie is transformed from a self absorbed child actor into someone you would want as a friend.

To set this up requires that you know your character's faults and values. Someone has to like him. There has to be a reason other characters interact with him. You must also tell the audience what the protagonist wants. Through sub or pretext the character must voice what he wants. In the "Matrix Revolutions" Trinity wants something, she wants Neo. Morpheus wants something for others to believe enough to save Zion. In Act I you must inform the audience what the protagonist wants.

In the play and movie "Glen Gary Glenn Ross" you know what the actors want by page two. By page seven in your screenplay, you as the writer, must create a web that gives your audience very little wiggle room. They must stay on the word path you have dropped on page one through seven.

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