Table of Contents
Save the Cat! TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD The official stamp of approval of the Save the Cat method from Sheila Hanahan Taylor, producer and development executive for Zide/Perry (American Pie, Final Destination, Hellboy) INTRODUCTION Why another screenwriting book? — Some background on the author and the reason for the book — And what does the phrase “Save the Cat” mean anyway? CHAPTER ONE: WHAT IS IT? The importance of “the idea” — What is a “logline” and what are the four requirements to creating a better one? — What is “high concept” and why is it still relevant? — Test pitching your movie for fun and profit — Plus five games to jump-start your idea-creating skills. CHAPTER TWO: GIVE ME THE SAME THING... ONLY DIFFERENT! All about genre — The 10 genres that every movie ever made can be categorized by — How genre is important to you and your movie — Plus ways to peg every movie’s type. CHAPTER THREE: IT’S ABOUT A GUY WHO... The subject is the hero — Why the hero must serve the idea — How to adjust the hero to make your movie idea work better — The myth of casting your movie — Jungian archetypes and why we need ‘em. CHAPTER FOUR: LET’S BEAT IT OUT! The beats of a movie as defined by the official “Blake Snyder Beat Sheet” a.k.a. the BS2 — An in-depth discussion of each of the 15 beats found in a successful movie as found in the BS2 — How the beats apply to Miss Congeniality. CHAPTER FIVE: BUILDING THE PERFECT BEAST Putting it up on the board — Sectioning off four horizontal rows, one for each section of the movie — 40 index cards and 40 only! — Troubleshooting based on the layout — How a screenplay is like a business plan and how you can create one that sells. CHAPTER SIX: THE IMMUTABLE LAWS OF SCREENPLAY PHYSICS Common sense rules of screenwriting based on experience in the trenches of Hollywood, such as: Save the Cat, The Pope in the Pool, Double Mumbo Jumbo, Laying Pipe, Too Much Marzipan a.k.a. Black Vet, Watch Out for That Glacier!, and Covenant of the Arc. CHAPTER SEVEN: WHAT’S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE? Despite everything, you’ve written 110 pages of nada — How to get back on track by using 6 fast double-checks on your work: The Hero Leads; Make The Bad Guy Badder; Turn, Turn, Turn; The Emotional Color Wheel; “Hi How Are You I’m Fine”; Take A Step Back — all ironclad and proven rules for script repair. CHAPTER EIGHT: FINAL FADE IN Before you send your script out, how can you smooth the way? — Marketing ideas for both the newbie and the established professional that will help you get your script sold and made — Plus personal examples. GLOSSARY From A to Z, a review of every slangy STC expression and Hollywood-inside-the-310-area-code term.
