Save the Cat! Strikes Back: More Trouble For... (11 page)

I am most excited about what I call the “Five-Point Finale” because by using it you can finish
any
story. And though I've had a version in my back pocket for a while, it wasn't until I began helping writers that I realized how useful it is. We've seen how the hero is thrown into the Transformation Machine and forced to change, but how do you finish this process? Synthesis gives us one clue. But when it comes to figuring out what to
do
, I hope you will soon be rocketing upside down through the Holland Tunnel smiling — and thinking fondly of me.

In addition to Act Three being about Synthesis, the Third Act Finale is best seen as the “Final Exam” for the hero. Having started off naively, and been schooled in the world of hard knocks, he has died and been given the chance to be born anew. But has he learned his lesson? And can he apply it? There is no better way to show this test than in what I call
Storming the Castle
, the essence of every ending and the key to the Five-Point Finale.

What is the “castle”? And what are these five points?

1.
Gathering the Team
– The first step, once the hero has decided to proactively cross into Act Three, is the “Gathering of the Team,” those he'll need to “storm the castle.” The
castle
can be anything, from an actual fortress (the “Death Star” in
Star Wars
), to getting on stage at a local rock club (
School of Rock
), to helping your girl reach the airport (
Casablanca
), to “rushing to the airport” to stop your girl from leaving without you (
Love Actually
). A big part of being able to do this is the rallying of allies, who may not be on speaking terms with the hero at the moment, and “amending hurts” to be able to work together. It also involves “gathering tools,” and making plans for what we hope will be a successful run at the task at hand. This includes “strapping on the guns” in
The Matrix
, when Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss literally choose the weapons they'll need to storm the castle and free their captured mentor Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) from the clutches of… those guys.

2.
Executing the Plan
– The second step is the actual “Storming of the Castle” when the execution of the plan feels foolproof. Sure it's a challenge, and there must be some sense in every Storming of the Castle that “this is crazy.” In fact, that very line is heard in many Finales just to let you in the audience know what an impossible task is at hand. “This can't be done” is key to setting up the challenge our heroes face. But as the plan begins to unfold, by gum, we just might pull off this crazy plan! We're succeeding! The team is working together like a well-oiled machine. In many instances this is also where we pay off the arcs and proofs of growth for the minor characters, and show how that defect they had at the beginning of the story is now “fixed” — and even useful — thanks to the journey the hero dragged his pals along on. It's all looking good here. And yet there is a sense as the goal nears that this is too easy. Sure we've lost some nameless soldiers, who demonstrate their loyalty by taking a bullet for the team (Randy Quaid in
Independence Day
, Rhys Ifans in
Notting Hill
, those way-too-happy-to-die pilots in
Star Wars
), but the crew is together and the High Tower in sight.

3.
The High Tower Surprise
– The third step in the Five-Point Finale proves how overly optimistic that assessment was. For this is the part where the hero reaches the High Tower where the princess is being kept and finds something shocking: no princess! (For a twist on the “Princess,” check out the Five-Point Finale of
Enchanted
, which proves Princesses can often save their own damn selves, thank you very much!) But the point is made: The High Tower Surprise shows we were not only overly confident in our plan — overconfidence is one of the problems! Seems not only is the plan dashed, but the Bad Guy, or the forces aligned against our hero, “knew we were coming” all along. This is the part where “traitors are exposed” and our brilliant plan is revealed to be a trap set by the Bad Guys (as Russell Crowe in
Gladiator
discovers when his plot to rally Rome and overthrow Joaquin Phoenix proves to be doomed from the start). The effort now comes to a dead stop. The hero and his allies are
“arrested in their tracks,” and the “clock is ticking” on our doom. It looks like all is lost
again!
However smart our hero thought he was up to this point, however much he's done to “synthesize” his lesson by reuniting his allies and giving it his all… it's not enough. The shock of the High Tower Surprise is learning that's not what this effort has been about. And the real challenge of the Final Exam the hero must pass is about to become clear.

4. “
Dig, Deep Down
” – The whole point of the Finale now is revealed — and it's not what we expected. This is the part where all human solution is exhausted. This is where we've got
bupkis
; there's not a back-up plan, nor an alternate course in sight. And it's all come down to the hero — who's got nothing either. Yet, as it turns out…
this
is the true test! In a sense, every story is about the “stripping away” of the stuff the hero thinks is important at the start of the story, including his own little ideas for winning at the end. This is the part where the hero has to find that last ounce of strength to win but can't use normal means to do so. And lest you think this is a goofy, “formula” thing, in fact it is the whole point of storytelling. For this is the part we've waited for, the “touched-by-the-divine” beat where the hero lets go of his old logic and does something he would never do when this movie began.

Devoid of a human solution, the hero returns to the blackness he succumbed to during the cocoon stage of his transformation to prove he's mastered that part of himself that is beyond human to find faith, inner strength, a last-ditch idea, love, grace. It's the Dig-Deep-Down moment all stories teach us: At some point we have to abandon the natural world, and everything we think we know, and have faith in a world unseen. This is the part in
Star Wars
where we hear Obi-Wan say: “Use the Force, Luke!”; the part of
Gladiator
when, seemingly dead, Russell Crowe finds that last bit of energy to stab Joaquin Phoenix right in his Coliseum. It's the part where Hugh Grant dares speak to Julia Roberts in the press conference finale of
Notting Hill
, and in
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
when
Harrison Ford is given a choice to save his father (Sean Connery) by giving up everything else. It's the part in
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
where Steve Martin, having figured out John Candy has no wife, recalls the lonely man that has become his friend and goes back to rescue him. This is the moment of faith when, with a breathless gasp, the trapeze artist, high up in the darkness of the big top, lets go of his grip on the world, does his spin, and snaps out into the void hoping another will take his hands. And we watch in anticipation, for in our own way… we've been waiting, too.

5.
The Execution of the New Plan
– The answer comes from a place we've all hoped is real, but only the hero has faith enough to trust, and when he does, he wins… and so do we. Awakened to the true lesson of this story, the hero puts this last-ditch plan into action and it works! This is where “on the fly” the hero tries it a new way – and succeeds. Thinking fast, Humphrey Bogart's plan prevails in
Casa-blanca
; risking all, Dustin Hoffman grabs Katharine Ross and runs in
The Graduate
; going with his gut, Dev Patel answers the final question that will make him a
Slumdog Millionaire
. It was only by stepping into the unknown — and trusting — that the hero could find the way to triumph.
This
is the test. Can you give up belief in your old ways and have faith in the dark, quiet place inside? Rewards go to those who seek this moment in fiction and in life. It's the reason we tell stories and honor those who understand. This is why, when we go to the Final Image of a movie — such as the ceremony at the end of
Star Wars
— we feel like we won as well.

Because we did!

Believe it or not, this Five-Point Storming the Castle occurs in some form or fashion in
every
story! This is the “face-your-fear” part, the final test that proves the hero was paying attention — or not! And yet the risk of putting this out there is to once again hear cries of “formula!” To which I say,
phooey!

The Five-Point Finale is your secret weapon for finding the true meaning of your tale. And that Dig-Deep-Down point, that
“Use the Force, Luke!” beat, is what we're all looking for whether we are the writers of the story or the audience for it. Yes, this way of looking at the ending of any story also works when the hero or heroes are “Defending the Castle” as seen in the finales of
Saving Private Ryan
,
Shaun of the Dead
, and
Blazing Saddles —
or in “Escaping the Castle” as seen in
Alien
,
Free Willy,
and
Defiance
. Whether your team is on the offense or the defense, the lessons of friendship, teamwork, selflessness, and nobility are the same, and the Dig-Deep-Down moment is key. No matter what the permutation of your tale, it's the dynamic we seek, for the need of any story boils down to being touched by powers unseen.

Special effects are fine, great set pieces are wonderful, funny jokes and unique characters are vital. But if you take me to the divine in your story, I will tell all my friends about it.

That's what storytelling is really about.

And that kind of magic is as far from formula as it gets.

My goal is much simpler, however: to help you avoid feeling stuck. Between the ease of the BS2, the visual clarity of The Board, and this latest structure map, you should feel fully empowered. You now have the Wurlitzer keyboard at your command. You can set the tempo, rhythm, and structure for every story! Using these tools, you can finesse your way through any structure snag. And though we'll get into all new monkey wrenches in the next chapters as we deal with actual notes from executives and others, for now you can feel good. You have all kinds of new ways to throw your curveballs, spitballs, sliders, and fastballs.

But perhaps you're still feeling penned in?

If you can't shake the feeling that structure isn't helping you feel “free,” I understand. It's a common hesitation. Using the BS2 and working out the 15 beats, then going to The Board, you may still think it's all too easy, too mechanical, too formulaic. You are “All Beat Out… with Nowhere to Go” — dressed to the nines, picture
perfect, but unmotivated to continue on to the show. Well, if that's the case, you have to shake it up. You have to get out of the structure and tell the story in a new way. I have used these tactics to do so:

►
My movie: the one page
– This is the trick famed screenwriter William Goldman uses. He will not start writing his screenplay until he can tell his story in one page; he gives himself 300 words and no more to tell the tale. This forces him to get to the crux of his story.

►
My movie: the tone poem
– I'm not kidding. I have often retold my story as a poem. In rhyming couplets, with all brand new challenges to get across what my story is, sometimes I have had all new breakthroughs, and sometimes all new story ideas!

►
My movie: the comedy
– Perhaps you're too wrapped up in tone? Is your story overly dramatic, overly comic? Try pitching the opposite. If a drama, try the comedic take to shake it up.

►
My movie: the Rubik's Cube
– One of the nice aspects of the
STC!
software is the ability to move scenes around at will. Try it. Take them off the board, shuffle, and randomly put them back up out of order. You never know what insights will be realized.

Anything you can do to free your story, frees you too. It lets you deal with the continuing elasticity of your tale. All the way through, from the first
Save the Cat!
to this chapter, I hope I've stressed the nimbleness required, the talent to — at any minute — throw away everything you hold near and dear, and try something brand new. And nowhere is this particular challenge greater than when we have actually executed a script and are now staring at the result. Panic. Self-Recrimination. Grief. These are just some of the emotional candy we snack on when we know something's wrong — and we don't know how to solve it.

But fear not.

The Script Doctor is in!

Blake's Blog /
June 23, 2008