by Jeff Kitchen
RETURNING FROM DETOUR: CONTINUE FROM HERE
In the first section of this chapter, I started imagining the story and then worked to apply dilemma. It wasn’t too hard to see that Cutter is damned if he gets involved with Apollo’s plan to destroy St. Nick and damned if he doesn’t. Getting involved will ruin Cutter’s new life, force him to break his vow to his wife, and open up the way to a life of crime for his son. Cutter knows that once he starts lying and stealing, his old addiction will take over his life like an evil genie gushing out of a lamp. I know how crazy the old Cutter used to be and how dangerous St. Nick is. And yet it’s hard to walk away from the chance at revenge on St. Nick, because Cutter loathes him, Apollo’s plan is solid, and there’s an opportunity to make a fortune in the process. Plus, Cutter may be secretly attracted to Apollo’s offer to come out of retirement.
To recap, in our detour to Chapter 10, I used the 36 Dramatic Situations to open up our plot by exploring story possibilities; I also invented three new characters. The first, Senator Hutchings, is a crooked politician who needs St. Nick to be the front man and to put up the capital to launch the bank. Senator Hutchings recommends another new character, Shallott, a bank examiner who secretly wants revenge on St. Nick for the death of his brother. The third character introduced is Umbotha, a corrupt African dictator who will be on the receiving end of the government-guaranteed loans that Hutchings and St. Nick will shoot his way in exchange for huge kickbacks.
In Chapter 11, using the Enneagram to explore the characters’ identities, I came up with some interesting and unexpected personality traits. The old Cutter would have been a 7, The Enthusiast—adventurous, fearless, and flamboyant—until, trapped in an endless cycle of excess, greed, and hardened insensitivity, he suffered the downside of his lifestyle before he turned his life around. In his new incarnation as a 1, The Reformer, Cutter has become someone with strong personal convictions and a definite sense of moral and religious values. Apollo and St. Nick share some qualities of an 8, The Challenger, and Senator Hutchings seems to be a 3, The Achiever. These types are not set in stone, but are rather an insightful spectrum of possibilities with which to further develop these characters.
Chapter 12 on Research and Brainstorming showed the trail of my research into what it takes to buy a bank. One great find was a book that unexpeectedly turned out to be just what I needed—exactly how the best research often works. I was able to run with it and do a lot of brainstorming in my Writer’s Notebook that yielded the core of the mechanics for this story’s plot: an agricultural loans scam. I also found an exhilarating movie that triggered a full-blown brainstorming session, exponentially expanding the possibilities for Apollo.
So let’s continue from there, using this newly developed Apollo as I get back to working on Cutter’s dilemma.
Resuming Work on Cutter’s Dilemma
Making Apollo a really tempestuous character—dangerous, but also fun and crazy—will significantly enhance Cutter’s dilemma. Because Apollo is so unpredictable and mischievous, Cutter is that much more damned if he gets involved with his scheme. But because Apollo is such a free spirit and adventurer, it makes Cutter that much more damned if he doesn’t join in—adding a new layer to the dilemma.
Cutter knows that nothing is what it seems with Apollo; that there’s always something going on behind the scenes; that there’s always trouble involved. He knows things will spin out of control, insane complications will ensue, and Apollo will stop at nothing to win, seeing it all as some kind of crazy pissing contest with the Fates. Cutter also knows that Apollo will drag him back into dishonesty, and he will soon be stealing, cheating, and lying to cover the lies. And yet he also sees Apollo as fulfilling an irresistible urge, as a breath of fresh air into what’s beginning to feel like a stultifying existence bound by the limits he has set for himself. Cutter knows he shouldn’t, but he begins to think Apollo really could pull off this perfect crime, a perfect revenge on St. Nick. In fact, he knows it will be an adventure that he wouldn’t miss for the world. It will wake him up and bring him back to life, drawing his soul out of the dormant state that he’s put it in to survive his self-exile.
Clarifying the Dilemma with a Two-Column Chart
In what ways is it unacceptable for Cutter to go along with Apollo? In what ways is it equally unacceptable if he doesn’t? Let’s break down Cutter’s dilemma using the two-column chart to isolate each half of his internal debate. If necessary, return to Chapter 1 to review this process and recall how this chart facilitates the development of dilemma. Cutter is saying, “Wild horses could-n’t drag me into this thing, but on the other hand, I wouldn’t miss it for the world. I’m appalled and intrigued. Repelled and fascinated. Panicked and spellbound. Running for my life and spoiling for a fight. Terrified of extinction if I get involved and raging for revenge.” Let’s continue this line of thinking on the following chart, looking at how Cutter can’t go along with Apollo’s plan but can’t refuse it.
Can’t Go Along with the Plan
Can’t Refuse the Plan
Must stay on track in new life
Utterly driven to ruin St. Nick
He can’t break his vow to his wife
He owes his life to Apollo
His whole family could get killed
St. Nick killed his close friend
He can’t go back to his old ways
He’s suffocating in his new life
He hates being blackmailed
Apollo will turn him in to the cops
He can’t be a bad example to his son
Son sees him as a loser and a wimp
Two strikes, one more is life in prison
Can’t let St. Nick get away with it
Apollo is crazy and unpredictable
Apollo is wild and free
He fears his lying addiction
He craves the wide open freedom
He’s a domesticated animal
He’s a wild animal
It won’t be as simple as Apollo claims
It will be unpredictable and fun
It’s deadly
It’s a call to adventure
He’s becoming sane in his new life
He’s going crazy with boredom
It’s disastrous
It’s fascinating
This will destroy him
This will create him
St. Nick is catastrophically dangerous
St. Nick must be taken out
Common sense
Adventurous instinct
Apollo will screw things up
Apollo is a genius
The danger is freaky-scary
The danger is intoxicating
His wife will know he’s lying
Apollo will tell her Cutter’s secrets
He can’t resist his nesting instincts
He can’t resist his hunting instincts
Craziest idea he’s ever heard
An awe-inspiring plan
He loves his wife and is loyal
He took pride in being the best liar
The community needs him
St. Nick’s removal is a public service
His new religion makes his life work
Going after St. Nick is a crusade
He’s got enough money to get by
Wealth would help his marriage
Life is nice and predictable
Life is stiflingly predictable
The plan is too free-floating
The challenge is inspiring
Panic and fear of death
Exhilarating adrenaline
You can see how I could keep going with this two-column chart—playing one side of the chart against the other, matching them up. Or you can also just make a long list on each side without trying to connect each statement to its opposite. The chart doesn’t have to be neat or exact or clear. I see the dilemma much more clearl
y once I’ve done this list, putting all the aspects out there in black and white, and making the obvious apparent. This will come in handy when crisis forces the protagonist to make a choice.
FOCUSING ON CRISIS WHILE CREATING THE STORY
By the time Cutter’s dilemma comes to the crisis point, it has been getting tougher and more complex as the story builds until finally it comes to a make-or-break moment. Remember that the Crisis tends to occur at about the two-thirds or three-quarters point in a script, and forces an immediate Decision & Action by the protagonist. In this story, the crisis should cause Cutter to snap and go on a lying spree that lasts much of the rest of the movie. I want this to be flat-out one of the most stunning feats of lying ever seen in a movie.
Testing Possibilities and Extremes for Cutter’s Crisis
Let’s look at some possibilities for precipitating a crisis. The most obvious is that St. Nick finds out who Cutter is and what he’s up to. Generally, in a hidden-identity movie, the point of crisis includes discovery by the opposition. However, I don’t think that will work well in Good Old St. Nick. If Cutter’s cover is blown, then not only would the entire scheme fall apart prematurely, but he’d probably be killed instantaneously. When a spy’s cover is blown, the game is over—period. If I want Cutter to be locked in an astonishing liars’ contest with St. Nick, then although everything seems to blow up in Cutter’s face, his identity should remain intact, at least enough for St. Nick to seriously consider his lies to be valid.
Certainly a near discovery could play a role in a good crisis. What about Cutter being betrayed by Apollo? I’ve been playing with the possibility of Apollo’s involvement with counterfeit money; this would be a good time to pull out that option. Even if Apollo just shows up with the money without trying to palm it off at this point, his hidden agenda can then begin to surface or the problems inherent in holding the funny money could begin to catch up with him. What about Mischa showing up? He may see a chance to inject himself into his dad’s world in such a way that he can’t be ignored. Perhaps he feels that he can make himself valuable or even indispensable. Does Margarita find out where Cutter is, or that he’s been having an affair with St. Nick’s secretary?
The crisis point is certainly an appropriate time for the murder of Shallott (as suggested in the detour). This could be the event leading to the near discovery of Cutter. But how would it happen? Does Shallott snap? Does he slip up? Does he do something that brings suspicion down on Cutter? Why would St. Nick be forced to kill Shallott? How would Cutter distance himself from Shallott, the bank examiner whom he is supposed to be assisting? Is the FBI investigating St. Nick, making him suspicious? Does this screw everything up, or can Senator Hutchings quash the investigation? (All this was developed in Chapters 10 through 12.)
Is Cutter becoming unstable because his medications are missing? Did they get lost? Did Apollo swap them for placebo pills to make Cutter’s rampaging side emerge? Does Mischa hide the pills so he can witness the old Cutter in action? Does Cutter lose it altogether, jeopardizing the revenge operation? Does he even realize his meds have worn off? Is he glad they’re gone?
Is the window of opportunity vanishing for revenge against St. Nick? Did the situation with the agricultural loans in Africa change so that St. Nick must now act immediately? Does Hutchings find a way to speed up or finalize the bank certification? Does St. Nick move his hidden accounts just when Cutter has finally located them? Does St. Nick suspect something because his instincts are tingling? Look at how many ways I’m considering to complicate the crisis. I may use only a few of them, but I’ll know going in what is available to choose from instead of accidentally missing a great possibility.
Compounding Cutter’s Crisis
What if the CIA is involved with the bank? That can happen when covert funds are moved overseas to prop up dictators. If the CIA is in the picture, then Cutter is in even deeper water, and it will be all the more difficult to pull off the revenge without being arrested or killed. St. Nick and Hutchings will have powerful allies working behind the scenes to shut down any investigation, citing national security. There could be drugs coming in from Africa, and drug money, money laundering, and so on. An investigation is a nice monkey wrench to drop in at this point; it opens up the unexpected and forces an eruption into pandemonium—especially for our wild liar, Cutter. He could end up lying to spies, senators, dictators, bankers, thieves, FBI agents, drug dealers, customs officials, and lawyers.
What I’ve just done in this section is to dig up ways to cause a crisis in the script. You can see that many different things could happen, each compounding the next to heighten tension and really hyper-compress the crisis. Remember that in general, crisis is when the worst possible things happen at the most crucial time, and it generally occurs around the two-thirds or three-quarters point of the story and forces immediate decision and action.
FOCUSING ON DECISION & ACTION WHILE CREATING THE STORY
If I’ve done my job well, Cutter is in a horribly complex situation that’s now blowing up in his face. This dilemma has built-in intensity that has now escalated to emergency status; Cutter no longer has time to contemplate it from a distance. Now he must make a crucial decision and take a key action. Everything hangs in the balance. Plus, I’ve been engineering this script so that at this point the old Cutter bursts out in a fearsome onslaught of lies.
Fight or Flight?
Depending on exactly how he’s backed into a corner at the point of crisis, Cutter could explode in varying ways. But I do see him making a conscious choice to embrace his dark gift of lying as a weapon of war. This is his decision. It’s the classic story of the gunslinger who has sworn off violence but is now forced to use it. Cutter must come out swinging if he’s going to stand a chance of surviving. But this moment should still have a comic edge as well, so the balance between thriller and comedy has to be maintained.
The Judy Garland Transformation
One of the key things I see happening at this point is what I call the “Judy Garland transformation.” I read an amazing article about a reporter who was granted backstage access prior to a performance toward the end of Garland’s career. She was running late and when she finally showed up, she was so unkempt that the reporter thought she was the cleaning lady. She seemed insecure, worn out, scared, and out of it as her handlers got her ready. Then, because of his special access backstage, the reporter watched as she pulled herself together. This shrunken little run-down woman literally transformed herself right in front of his eyes. She drew herself up and actually grew a foot taller as she seemed to suck power from nowhere, metamorphosing into the mighty Judy Garland as he watched, thunderstruck.
I want Cutter to go through just that—and I want Mischa to be watching from in hiding. Cutter will be on the edge of collapse because of all the things that have gone wrong, and yet he will dramatically pull himself together. It should be a complete and radical transformation of his character—a true transfiguration.
Wrestling with Possibilities
What direction might the script take when Cutter breaks out into a frenzy of fabrications? He’s certainly going to be lying to St. Nick as he fights to remain trustworthy, otherwise he risks losing the opportunity to take him down. If the bank certification is on shaky ground, then Cutter would cook up a whopping lie to keep it on track. Does he tell a crazy lie to Umbotha, the African dictator, who’s becoming worried about his loan? How would he lie to Senator Hutchings? Does he have to explain who Mischa is and what he’s doing there? Has Apollo been around for a while in disguise, or has he shown up just now? Does Cutter have to tell a whopper to cover for him? Can his lies calm a furious Margarita about this deadly caper, about Mischa’s involvement, and about an affair with the secretary?
Cutter could be lying to the CIA about some aspects of the bank operation. He could be telling one set of lies to the CIA and another to the FBI. His lies might set things in motion here that would come together spectacularly in the end. He woul
d be stretching and altering bits of information that people know, and capitalizing on what they don’t know. This is where studying world-class liars in literature, mythology, history, and film can help me to build on the best—or as many writers say, to “steal from the best.” In the film The Usual Suspects, Keyser Soze puts on a virtuosic performance as he concocts lies on the spot; based partly on fact, his stories hold water when U.S. Customs agent Dave Kujan checks them out in the adjacent room. That is the most mind-boggling display of lying I’ve ever seen in a movie—an ideal standard to keep in mind.
Playing with Extremes
A likelihood also exists that once his berserk side resurfaces, Cutter has really returned to being a hardcore criminal. He may have slipped into his deceitful persona so thoroughly that he’s now lying to everybody all the time. Perhaps the genie is out of the bottle and nobody’s safe. As far as the audience can tell, he’s gone completely over to the dark side. Cutter may be convincing St. Nick that he’s betraying Shallott or Apollo or Mischa. Mischa may do something stupid in his attempt to thrust himself into his father’s life, and Cutter may seem to be sacrificing him. This dark path is tempting to me as a writer, because one of the options I’ve considered is that Margarita talks him back into telling the whole truth, breaking the spell and resolving things in the end. At this point, then, I can imagine a real demon, a genuine evildoer emerging at the crucial moment. Taking things to this extreme could kick the story into high gear, where things would get scarier, crazier, and hopefully funnier as well.