I got a call from a well-known screenwriter the other day.
I get emergency phone calls like X’s all the time to make sure they have their pitch straight, often just hours before going into their meeting.
I got these calls before Save the Cat! of course.
But now I get them a lot.
X was rarin’ to go! Coffee-ed up, he jumped right in. X had ten minutes of material — all great — about where the hero was born, where he went to school, what key moment in his life caused him to be him….
And then the movie starts, I said, kind of hoping X would get the point.
No. Not yet. Because X had more!
More back story. More pipe. More explanation.
And then the movie starts, I said, more insistently.
About three objections in, it finally dawned on the pitcher.
That was the pitch.
That was the movie.
And yet nothing happens, I said.
Silence. I could hear the wheels turning in the writer’s head. All that great set-up, all those great details about what kind of clothes the hero wore, where he went to school, all that stuff meant nothing….
… at least to an audience.
Panic. Now what? X didn’t have anything. But with a little work cutting stuff we didn’t need, and getting the story started without it, we found not only where the movie began, but how to get a better grasp on everything after it starts: theme, meaning, resonance, and a finale that matched the opening.
Will all that character work go to waste? Not at all. But we can put it all in a new act that one writer suggested I call “Act Zero.” The stuff we need to know BEFORE the movie starts… that no one else really wants to hear.
“Tell me a story” means fewer adjectives and adverbs and more verbs and nouns. Verbs are especially good. But when it comes to writing backstory and character biography, to me that has to come out “on the fly” and “on the run” as the story unfolds — and only about a tenth of it, or less, will ever be actually used.
It will still be on the page, and in the character… not just as blatantly as one might think!
A more pleasant phone call later came that day: The writer got the job! He had figured out how to tell the story without burdening his audience with backstory. The writer had got to the heart of the plot quicker and slicker.
Your imagination is a powerful thing. It paints pictures like crazy — and alot of the painting is absolutely necessary. But we have to be editors, too. Deciding what is important in any story we tell — no matter how we tell it — is the job. And just because we’re dazzled by the details doesn’t mean others will be too.
Try putting all that backstory into the place we’ll never see it, in the Act before the Action starts: Act Zero.
Blake Snyder
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Good job, and thanks for the powerful reminder!
I was a master pipe-layer until I was re-trained in your board class. Now when I’m editing scenes I pretend I’m a Cat-commando, infiltrating the story and blowing up all those enemy pipelines.
Hey, whatever works, right? :)
OOOhhh! Wow, I’m glad I read this. I’m getting ready to pitch a TV series next Monday and I’ve been given an inside tip – the person I’m pitching too REALLY wants to hear the essentials of the main character – but ONLY the essentials, NOT 50 feet of pipe.
I’m re-tooling my pitch now, getting it down to the bone and only the best cuts of meat – no fat, no fillers. Jeez, I’m making myself hungry…
Thank yet again, Blake! Wish me luck!
:)
jw
Blake, I’d be adrift without you.
Of course adrift beats being adrip, which is what I was before finding your Cat.
Act Zero? Awesome concept — reminds me of those Issue #0 editions comics put out sometimes.
Hey Blake, I saw this today and thought of your recent contest. Check it out. It looks familiar, doesn’t it? I’d thought you would get a kick out of it. Enjoy.
http://www.worth1000.com/contest.asp?contest_id=22703&display=photoshop
P.S. I just bought both of your books. Great stuff, I’m already putting your suggestions into use on a re-write on one of my scripts. It’s much better by leaps and bounds. Keep up the good work!
-steve
Great post, I can’t believe a professional and well paid writer doesn’t have their stuff together before they are off to the meeting. Whatever you charged him/her, double it next time!
Joe,
All the best on Monday. I’m sure you will be loaded with only the most effective ammunition–essential words and phrases–when you launch your Cat-tack! Whomever you’re pitching to will be overwhelmed, and will allow you to plant your series in their studio like a victorious battle flag. ;)
Seriously–good luck!
I get these calls all the time, Simon! The fact is no matter how far along we are, we are prone to getting carried away with our ideation process. Cool stuff begats more cool stuff until we suddenly look up and realize the cool stuff isn’t telling the story. Being brought back down to earth is why I encourage our Cat! writing groups, and lots of pitching! Get feedback, it’s vital no matter who is giving it!
I just saw Righteous Kill with Pacino and De Niro, and during the opening credits, they have an Act Zero of sorts.
It shows their camaraderie and competitiveness while shooting at an indoor range.
Bang and to the point !
Eric
It’s funny, I’ve been working on a play using the board, and realised today that what was missing was a piece of tape.
It belonged near the end of the first act, just after my inciting incident, was vertical and simply read ‘start’.
Because everything before that point was Act Zero.
Somehow reassuring to see you post about this- sometimes a bit of serendipity helps convince me that the world makes sense!
Act Zero is better than what I call my quirks file. Funny how some of this still manages to get into the script. But only the best becomes the character description.
Excellent article, Blake.
Info more writers should be aware of….Great article..
Remarkable post, Blake.
I keep telling folks I coach that films are about what happens right now, not what happened in the past. Granted, the writer needs to know the back story, but it’s the “now” story that is the movie.
It’s a concept that writers, especially new ones, but apparently seasoned ones, have a hard time grasping.
Thanks for nailing it down.
Act Zero. So very Zen! It’s like the sound of one hand clapping. You can’t hear it, but it’s there.
Blake….any news on when one of your other scripts is going to be produced? Why has it been so long since your last produced movie in 1994? Can you give us some insight as to how you deal with scripts that don’t ever make it to production?
I have a movie going into production this spring! It’s a great script I co-wrote with Mike Cheda, my screenwriting buddy and one of my favorite family film ideas! These days, I am much more interested in passing along what I’ve learned and helping others. But it’s a common complaint for screenwriters that they can sell lots of scripts, or work on projects, and not have their name attached to a finished product. I know many very successful screenwriters earning big bucks that have not had anything made — so I consider myself lucky! Thanks for the question, Brandon!
Thanks Blake! I’m “re-starting” STC because I got bopped on the head last week with a story idea that I had several months ago… you know, you’re lying in bed trying to fall asleep when you hear “you’re supposed to do that idea I gave you last summer…” and you go “Shoot… but I’m working on…” even though that script is stalled due to research issues. So, this new one is a different road – I’ve never done a family comedy before, but obviously sombody up there wants me to do it! Thankfully the poster came immediately and the tag had everyone I told instantly laughing. Now the logline needs to be set (it’s been wiggling around). Here kitty, kitty!