Saving the Cat - Part 2

Okay, having tweaked the one-liner to the point where I think it conveys a sense of the story content, the story's inherent irony, and its primal drive, it's time to move on to the beats. I think of these as the movie's pivotal moments and memorable scenes.

Mr. Snyder has a fabulous tool to make this easy to lay out called the Beat Sheet. It not only tells you what the beats are, but when to plug them into a spec script's table of contents.

Quick side track - one of the things I love about Save the Cat is that it doesn't get caught up in any pretensions about creating a great work of art. It tells you how to write a spec script that is sellable.

Now, back to my beat sheet.

Beat Sheet


Title: Dark Disciple

Genre: Buddy Love (I'm still struggling with this because I want it to be Golden Fleece or Monster in the House, but I think it's really Buddy Love. I'll explain this in a later post.)

1. Opening image (p. 1): Night. Exterior. Busy parking lot. Porter's car pulls into the parking lot.It's LOUD and filled with mobs protesting capitol punishment. Porter gets out of his car alone.
2. Theme Stated (p 5): Someone comments to Porter, "You'd sell your soul to get what you're after." (Having trouble with the theme.)

3. Set-up (pp 1-10): Intro to Porter as a loner, despised by others for his "cover" profession as a tabloid journalist. Driven and hard-bitten. "Save the cat" moment when he protects/offers comfort to the"Pied Piper's" mother. Intro to Wells as a medical examiner. Intro to the Dark Disciple in the crowd. Walk through the execution. Porter seeing Wells capture the soul. Show Porter making glass dagger, or at least starting to in his car. Porter stalking Wells to her house.

4. Catalyst (12): Fight on Well's front porch. Wells kills Porter.

5. Debate (12-25): Wells interrogates Porter. How can they find the Dark Disciple? Learn about Necromancers. Reveal on Witch hunters. Decide they will have to work together!

6. Break into Act 2(25): They decide to work together. Porter tells Wells they'll "need some things."

7. B Story (30): Porter's world. They travel to a Witch Hunter sanctuary to get some stuff to face the Disciple.

8. Fun and Games (30-55): Wells' and Porter's "love story" as they get to know each other and become friends. We learn more about Porter and the Witch Hunters. Comic relief from some bumbling monk-types who fawn over Wells. (Nerds around the hot-chick syndrome.)

9. Midpoint (55): (False success) Porter feels on top of the world as he realizes he has a new friend and ally in the war against evil.

10. Bad guys close In (55-75): Disciple's minions attack the sanctuary. Wells and Porter go for the source. They find her and initial fight ensues.

11. All is lost (75): Fight goes poorly for our heroes. Porter is left for "dead" on the floor, looking at the Disciple's reflection in a shard of broken mirror.

12. Dark night of the Soul (75-85): Wells is being interrogated by the Disciple, while Porter lies dead in another room

13. Break into Act 3 (85): Back to Porter on the floor. We hear Wells being interrogated in the distance. Porter blinks, and rises.

14. Finale (85-110): Big fight. Glass dagger comes in handy. So does Porter's new knowledge that he's already undead. After their triumph Porter confronts Wells about being undead, and learns that she doesn't know what might happen for him next.

15. Final Image (110): Dawn breaking. Porter and Wells drive together down a quiet country highway, in silence.


This really needs some work - which is a great realization! I basically grabbed this from an email exchange with some friends a few weeks ago. Now I see how rough it is.

Back to the BEAT BOARD!!!!