Lately, I have been talking a lot about the “death moment” of a script. In the script consultations I do, and in class talking with groups of writers, the “All Is Lost” moment on page 75 is becoming the most important part of the story.
I’m beginning to think it’s the key to cracking what your story is really about.
Since all stories are at their essence “The Caterpillar and the Butterfly,” the “death moment” is the cocoon stage for your hero, where the old way dies, lies in state for a time, then breaks him out into an amazing new way of being.
It’s painful, scary, and full of self-recrimination for a hero — and should be.
At the heart of that beat is the hero not only being “worse off than when this movie started” — and very often in jail, evicted, fired, abandoned, or left alone by the death of a mentor — but forced to face an ugly truth about himself that he’s been resisting.
Most stories involve a blind spot or flaw the hero is not aware of. And this is the part of his transformation that is so important; it forces him to look at that flaw, usually something so buried in him that it hasn’t been looked at for a long time.
That’s the “shard of glass,” that sharp-edged incident, bad behavior, tough truth or wrong done and absorbed that the hero swallowed a long time ago. Skin has grown up around its hard corners, but it’s in there — deep — and it must be pulled out and looked at and dealt with if the hero can get to that vital butterfly stage.
In Alien, the “shard of glass” for Sigourney Weaver is the horrible truth that the company she believed in considers her and the crew of Nostromo expendable — and why they were sent on their suicide mission. In Ordinary People, it’s when Tim Hutton rushes to his therapist to confess he’s stronger than his Golden Boy brother; that’s why he survived and his brother did not. In Notting Hill, the “shard of glass” for Hugh Grant is that it’s not Julie Roberts, movie star, who’s the snob, he is. And he is what has been stopping them from being together.
And it’s only by having this shard pulled out of us, and examined, that we can move on to the next stage: the part where we become something glorious.
What’s the “shard of glass” for your hero? What old idea must be looked at and discarded? What blind spot must your hero be forced to examine to become the fully formed being he needs to become? If you can find that shard, you can tell a more powerful story. Whether it’s comedy or drama, finding that piece will make all the difference! It’s not only the “cry moment” of every movie — but the truth we all get to learn from, thanks to the greatest event your hero ever experienced.
p.s. #1 My publisher and good friend Michael Wiese will be conducting classes at my favorite place on Earth, Rockport, Maine this summer. The Rockport Summer session is the best, and Michael is an avid, caring, and inspiring teacher with a lot of great information for filmmakers of every level. I recommend his class for anyone interested in expanding their skills and insight.
p.s. #2 Your generosity in donating to Beyond Shelter in the blog below has been overwhelming. I’m so proud of Cat! Nation and Beyond Shelter’s work is so vital, we’re continuing the campaign through June 30. Please read the blog and join our list of generous contributors!
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Great insight Blake.
This is a principle that holds true regardless of genre or audience. I was in a hospital waiting room recently, and the Sponge Bob Squarepants movie was on. I confess, my expectations from such a film were pretty low, but believe it or not, all the beats from the BS2 are there – including the Death moment, when Sponge Bob himself (along with pal Patrick) actually die of exposure at Shell City. Most bizarre – but there it is! Of course, they’re resurrected and return home in Act 3 to save the day, in a Sponge Bob kind of way.
BTW – Sponge Bob Squarepants Movie – Buddy Love or Golden Fleece?
I also think one of the challenges of the All Is Lost moment is to avoid broadcasting to the audience what’s going to happen. Because the same beats happen all the time (the hero loses his/her job, gets captured, loses the game, loses the treasure, is trapped, is in jail…) you have to make sure you come up with original ways for the hero to be at his low point. Sometimes when I’m writing a script, my All Is Lost moment is one of the first things I write down. If it’s a romantic comedy, the second thing I end to think about (almost right after I nail the hook even!) is, “okay so how do these two get to the point where the feel the relationship is over and they don’t want to see each other again…”. So it’s key that we come up with fresh ways of exploring that beat.
P.S. I love that Spongebob movie! My son watches it all the time so I’ve probably seen it fifty times, and you’re right, it hits every beat. And it’s definitely a Golden Fleece: a road, a team, a prize. But the prize (Neptune’s Crown) is not what the movie was really about, but about accepting who you are (being a “kid”). It’s his goofy goober power that finally defeats Plankton.
This post comes at a great time! I’m on page 70 of the draft I started at the end of May and about to hit “All Is Lost”… Is the “Shard of Glass” moment in Tootsie when Dorothy says to Ron: “Bullshit Ron. I understand you a lot better than you think I do.” [Because he’s really a dude who is a lot like Ron, and he finally realizes it!] That’s 80 mins into the 109 min movie.
I heard this is the moment of divergence. The Writer’s bootcamp speaks of this moment, and in Act III the dynamic character converges again. You see this with Obi Wan and Han Solo. Can anyone add to this?
The most difficult with All is Lost and the Dark Night of the Soul that follows is the fact that the character has to change in minutes (of movie time), when it takes years in real life, if the change ever takes place at all.
How to make this realistic? And how to visualize it?
Setups of course, but still, it *is* a very unrealistic change.
When I became aware of the shard of glass moment,which is minutes ago in the reading of this blog,my main character from the last Script I wrote started screeming “Bloody Murder”.No I could not see the shard protruding from her Chest.It was there self inflicted by her reckless past and preventing her from ever having children.So now I’m a writer who does not care.God give me the strength to deal with these characters.It’s ok. Really she just wants everyone to know how she feels.I’m going to fix page 75 by letting her know I feel her pain and we all do.All she needs are tears from the audience.I didn’t know she felt so strongly.Later on I’ll give her a baby.
That is an interesting subject: is it the change/transformation that takes years, or realizing that the change(s) is needed?
I know the novel “Six Days of the Condor” was shortened to “Three Days of the Condor” because we like our stories compressed for easier consumption (I can only eat so much popcorn at one sitting ;)
I think we accept that the actual moment of transformation will occur in minutes or seconds just as we’ll accept that one moment we’re standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon in a movie and the next we’re in downtown Tokyo, or going through a wormhole.
I think we also buy it because we’re on the verge of so many conscious and unconscious transformations ourselves (wouldn’t that be an interesting list to make?) that we like to watch others “pop” first to make the real or perceived pain more bearable.
Here is my understanding when Blake was helping me find my story last year:
1) Why does the character taking this journey? Why did she put herself in
this situation in the beginning?
2) The character gets into trouble throughout the story because he doesn’t
realize that.
3) All is Lost moment is so bad the character looks beyond the murky layer
and understands her problem.
4) All is Lost moment helps the character to find his problem.
This happens in DNOTS.
In Legally Blonde, there is no story if the main character knows she’s smart despite her looks.
When the lawyer makes a move on her(All is Lost moment), she thinks this is how the world is going to look at her. And she’s distressed.
Then, she’s made to realize that it’s not the world, but she has to be serious about herself.
The journey she took and the pain she endured all through the story helps her come to that realization. It is not that instant, it’s the journey.
Even a movie like Gladiator — the story would be different had Crowe upon suspecting Phoenix has murdered Ceasor, taken Phoenix’s hand to avenge later.
He has another problem too: He believes he’s a commoner so he’s not the one to give Rome back to her people.
He rejects once more, when Ceasar’s daughter pleads with him to help give Rome back to people.
There is moment of quietness of him thinking afterwards in the soup scene.
This is a setup scene for the All is Lost and DNOTS. Sometimes, this kind of scene is necessary.
Wheh he takes his helmet off in the ring, he’s at the mercy of Phoenix.
The All is Lost moment.
Phoenix baits him to charge at him by saying how his son and daughter were murdered.
But, he doesn’t take the bait. He controlled his anger and actions. That’s his DNOTS moment.
Had he controlled his rage after Ceasar was murdered and taken Phoenix’s hand and fought the battle later on, he would have saved his family and so on.
=====================
While working in my story with Blake, that’s how I understood. The character’s journey and DNOTS have that kind of a relationship.
So though the realization is sudden, it actually is the result
of the pain endured throughtout the journey.
I believe once the fun & games and these issues are sorted out, the story will write itself in most instances.
One amendment to that: The character must arc as much as possible.
Change can happen instantly if you’ve got strong enough motivations for it. Read Tony Robbins’ “Awaken the Giant Within” – you can work this change on yourself, consciously, if you want to! The whole point of movies is putting this character under enough pressure to make them WANT to change, permanently. They can’t win until they do.
Well, Blake, once again you nail something I needed to sort out! Thanks for accellerating the process.
Blake, could you add a few thoughts on what the “shard of glass” is when the All is Lost moment follows a “low” midpoint, or a “false defeat” midpoint? The All is Lost moment is always the antithesis of the midpoint, per your STC, so this story beat is not a “shard of glass” but a…what? I’m working with this dynamic right now in a script, and it feels like it’s a step across a threshold, a moment of arrival, or actualization for the hero…an “All is Won” moment that sets up his third act tragic fall. Is that in the ballpark?
John- the way I see it the midpoint is the false victory or denial of the shard of glass thats just under the skin. If I’m wrong I stand to be corrected as I am definately a rookie at this.
Captain
Yesterday I thought, just for the fun of it, let’s put on Back To The Future and see what happens at around 70 minutes.
And I was shocked to see that this is the classic ‘false victory’
They found a way to get the DeLorean enough power to get back to 1985, so all problems seem solved. Doc talks how happy he is to know he’s going to live to see 1985. And then it hits Marty. Gettting back to 1985 will solve HIS problem, but it will still leave Doc dead upon his return. Talk about a downer. And it’s a great scene because it’s played in such an upbeat fashion. Doc is really, really happy. And in the background it dawns on Marty that there’s a ‘Future whiff of death’ waiting to happen.
I admire that movie so much I always feel like quitting trying to be a writer when I watch it. That bar is raised so high, I’ll need an elevator to reach it.