by Jeff Kitchen
60. Cutter and Apollo steal $8 billion of St. Nick’s money
61. Some money thrown into crowd to create confusion and help escape
62. Cutter and Apollo mail $8 billion in $50,000 chunks to poor people around country
63. Cutter tells truth about operation on live national TV
64. Hutchings gets arrested for banking violations, drugs, and murder
65. Umbotha takes St. Nick back to Africa as his prisoner
66. Cutter goes back to his normal life, happy and now truly free of his demons
67. Mischa is scared straight
68. Apollo and the secretary run off to Rio together
Notice that I’ve just laid out one possible trail through this story—the one I’ve developed most thoroughly. Note as well that there’s very little detail included. It’s hard enough pulling the big picture together, and if the big picture doesn’t work, then the details won’t matter. I definitely wasn’t worrying about the particulars of exactly how Cutter and Apollo get away with the trucks of money, or how St. Nick plants evidence to frame Cutter, or how Mischa gets caught. But now that I’ve got the big picture nailed down, I can turn my attention to developing these details—as they become necessary. I’ll gradually weave them in, working from the general to the particular as I employ Sequence, Proposition, Plot for each part of the screenplay.
SEQUENCE, PROPOSITION, PLOT FOR THE WHOLE SCRIPT
First, I’ll use this tool at the overall script level. I’ll be working off my note cards as I build the reverse cause and effect for the whole plot. Remember that I’m trying to tie the script together, so I’m working on the big picture (see chapter 7). I’ll skip over details as I work my way backward, each time asking, “What’s the cause of that?” rather than, “What comes before it?” In this way, I separate the Necessary from the Unnecessary, only looking at incidents that are connected by cause and effect, so certain cards won’t be used on this pass; others will be integrated on successive passes. I’ll apply Sequence (reverse cause and effect) first, to isolate the spine of the script in a tight chain of events, and then I’ll use Proposition, Plot to lay out the conflict in the whole script.
Reverse Cause and Effect for the Whole Script
What’s the Object of the script? Cutter dismantles St. Nick’s entire operation and then goes back home to an honest and liberated life, free of his demons.
What’s the Final Effect that demonstrates that Object on-screen with real actors? Cutter, now free and truly happy, goes home with Margarita as well as Mischa, who’s been scared straight.
What’s the Immediate Cause of Cutter going free? The whole operation gets busted, Hutchings goes to jail, and Umbotha secretly takes St. Nick back to Africa as a prisoner.
What’s the cause of St. Nick and Hutchings getting taken? Cutter tells the whole truth about the entire operation on live national television.
What’s the cause of Cutter spilling the beans? Cutter, Apollo, and Mischa complete their revenge when they steal St. Nick’s trucks containing $8 billion and mail the money out to many of America’s poorest people.
What’s the cause of them stealing the trucks? St. Nick and Apollo create chaos with human rights protesters and rescue Mischa using a band of hired thieves.
What’s the cause of them rescuing Mischa? Margarita convinces Cutter to go back to telling the truth instead of trying to lie his way out. He agrees and sets up a plan to accomplish this.
What’s the cause of Margarita convincing Cutter to tell the truth? Cutter is trapped in an interlocking set of lies, and with two strikes already against him, it looks as though he’s going to prison for life.
What’s the cause of Cutter being trapped? St. Nick has framed Cutter to take the fall, and the CIA makes the new investigation against St. Nick go away by citing national security.
What’s the cause of St. Nick framing Cutter? Cutter and Apollo’s identities are discovered, and Mischa is captured and tortured by St. Nick for key information.
What’s the cause of Cutter’s and Apollo’s covers being blown? Cutter overextends himself by arranging to have a weapons system delivered to a food bank.
What’s the cause of Cutter sending the weapons to the food bank? Cutter realizes he’s got St. Nick’s crew reeling, and knows this is the time to strike. Cutter steals some of St. Nick’s hidden cash assets.
What’s the cause of Cutter and Apollo needing to strike now? St. Nick and crew panic and lash out in paranoia. They decide to move ahead with the operation, changing it to all cash so nothing’s traceable.
What’s the cause of St. Nick panicking? Cutter emerges as his old lying, raging self and goes on the attack against St. Nick. Cutter sends him a fabricated communiqué, supposedly from the African communist rebels, claiming to know all about the weapons shipments and the U.S. bank’s involvement.
What’s the cause of the old, wild Cutter emerging? Shallott’s cover is blown and St. Nick murders him, then turns his suspicions on Cutter.
What’s the cause of Shallott’s cover getting blown? [I don’t know yet. What could cause Shallott’s cover to be blown? Does Shallott do something stupid? Does Shallott get so mad at St. Nick that he flips out? Does something happen that tips off St. Nick? Does Cutter make a mistake? These are all possibilities. One of the handy things about this tool is that I don’t need much in the way of detail on the first pass. I can sketch something in and then figure it out in more detail on the next pass—at the act level.] For now, I’ll simply say that Shallott slips up because he’s so angry.
What’s the cause of Shallott betraying his anger? St. Nick and Senator Hutchings are celebrating because they believe they’re now above the law. St. Nick seems to be slipping out of Shallott and Cutter’s grasp.
What’s the cause of St. Nick slipping from Shallott and Cutter’s grasp? The investigation against St. Nick is dropped, and the limitation on money loaned to Mambia through the agricultural program is unofficially lifted.
What’s the cause of the investigation being dropped? The CIA wants St. Nick’s bank, already in business with Umbotha and unencumbered by other clients, to become a purely CIA operation.
What’s the cause of the bank becoming a CIA asset? The CIA really needs Umbotha now. He’s escorted all over D.C. for meetings with senators, spies, the White House, and arms dealers.
What’s the cause of the CIA needing Umbotha so badly? While Umbotha has been in America on banking business, there has been a communist coup in the country next to Mambia.
What’s the cause of Umbotha coming to see the bank? Senator Hutchings pulls some strings so the rest of St. Nick’s dirty money can slip through the red tape and into the reserves. The bank is now officially open for business.
What’s the cause of Hutchings pulling the strings? St. Nick blows his top and tells Hutchings that it’s all getting too complicated, that he can’t take it—he’s going to flip out and blow the deal.
What’s the cause of St. Nick freaking out? There are complications in moving St. Nick’s illegal assets into the reserves; the FBI starts investigating the bank; and the stock market drops precipitously.
What’s the cause of the FBI investigation of the bank? The FBI suspects something when they spot some potential irregularities as Cutter, now trying to get the bank running, helps Shallott start moving St. Nick’s hidden assets into the reserve fund.
What’s the cause of Cutter now trying to help get the bank running? Cutter tells Apollo about his promotion in the ranks and what he overheard, so they put their original plan on hold to see if working inside St. Nick’s system offers a better opportunity to destroy him.
What’s the cause of Cutter and Apollo changing their plan? Cutter eavesdrops on St. Nick and Hutchings as they discuss their plan to use government-guaranteed agricultural loans to get filthy rich at the expense of U.S. taxpayers. St. Nick says he really likes Cutter’s fighting spirit and decides to promote him.
What’s the cause of Cutter eavesdropp
ing on St. Nick and Hutchings? Cutter is afraid that his temper has ruined their revenge operation.
What’s the cause of Cutter thinking he’s ruined everything? There’s a legal glitch with the IRS, and St. Nick’s paranoia flares up. He accuses Cutter of being a liar, and Cutter reacts furiously.
What’s the cause of Cutter being accused of lying? Hutchings sees a way to exploit the Uruguayan tax shelter, and they start using it to bring in St. Nick’s offshore money.
What’s the cause of using the Uruguayan tax shelter? Apollo shows up in disguise as a banking client and turns out to be an old acquaintance of the Senator. Cutter is stunned to learn that Apollo is actually a retired ambassador from Uruguay, but doesn’t show his surprise. Apollo tells Hutchings that his country is offering some unique tax shelters. [I just made this up. It wasn’t in my note cards, but I’ve been wanting more of Apollo in this story. He’s been around for a long time and his father was the dictator of a South American country, so he could have been at least an honorary ambassador at one point.]
What’s the cause of Apollo showing up now? Cutter and Shallott begin working to bring St. Nick’s illegal assets into the system, and they’re fairly stumped on some key issues. Apollo, who is keeping an eye on things from the wings, sees that he needs to act.
What’s the cause of starting to bring St. Nick’s illegal assets in from hiding? Shallott takes Cutter into the bank as his assistant, convincing St. Nick that Cutter is trustworthy and that he can’t bring St. Nick’s hidden assets into the system legally without Cutter’s help.
What’s the cause of Shallott taking Cutter to St. Nick? Cutter reluctantly agrees to help destroy St. Nick when Shallott explains his vulnerability while trying to go legit as part of a crooked senator’s banking scam.
What’s the cause of Shallott explaining St. Nick’s operation to Cutter? Apollo blackmails Cutter into being part of this scheme, and reminds him of their utter loathing for St. Nick. Cutter agrees to talk to Shallott.
What’s the cause of Apollo blackmailing Cutter? Cutter refuses when Apollo drops in on his reformed straight life and tries to enlist him in a perfect crime to destroy St. Nick, their archenemy.
Proposition, Plot for the Whole Script
Now let’s see how Proposition, Plot lines up for the overall script. (Note that St. Nick killing Frenchy is not the Initial Act of Aggression because that doesn’t happen in the movie itself but before the movie started—what’s known as the Conditions Precedent—events that already happened before the story starts.) Here we’re dealing with a very stripped-down conflict map for the overall script. Cutter and St. Nick cross swords fairly early on. Remember that the section we call “Plot” answers the dramatic question and completes the action, wrapping up the story.
Protagonist
Antagonist
Initial Act of Aggression
St. Nick becomes paranoid when Cutter and Shallott are moving illegal assets and accuses Cutter of being a liar.
Justified Retaliation
Cutter stands up to St. Nick, saying he did not lie and will not be called a liar.
Aggravation of the Issue
St. Nick murders Shallott and comes after Cutter, certain he’s in on Shallott’s operation.
Precipitating Act
Cutter snaps into his old self and goes on the attack, then fabricates a communiqué from communist rebels in Africa declaring they know all about the weapons shipments.
Central Dramatic Question
Will Cutter and his crew smash the operation and take down St. Nick, or will St. Nick destroy them?
St. Nick and crew panic and rush ahead with the operation using only cash, much of it drug money.
Cutter has a weapons system delivered to a food bank, and leaks information to a congressional committee.
St. Nick figures out who Cutter is and captures Mischa. He has the CIA stop the congressional investigation, citing national security, and then frames Cutter.
Cutter rescues Mischa, steals $8 billion, and gives it all away. He tells the truth about the operation on live
TV, ruining St. Nick and Hutchings.
DIVIDING THE SCRIPT INTO ACTS
Now I’ll divide the script into acts and apply this tool to each one. As I read the reverse cause and effect from the bottom up, putting the story in its correct order, I look for natural breaks in the plot. The best rule of thumb for this division is where one major “chapter” finishes up and another starts. I see Act I ending when, after overhearing St. Nick and Hutchings’s scheme, Cutter goes to Apollo and they decide to put their original plan on hold. I see Act II ending with Shallott’s murder, and Act III beginning with Cutter’s Judy Garland transformation as he clicks into his old untamed persona.
In the following diagram—unreadable but intended only as an overview—you can see the reverse cause and effect that we just did for the whole script. The lines show where I’ve divided the script into acts; I found three, but there could have easily been four. Act I, below, is set off in bold.
SEQUENCE, PROPOSITION, PLOT FOR ACT I
Next I’ll be doing Sequence, Proposition, Plot for Act I, working my way through reverse cause and effect from the the act’s ending—the point where Cutter and Apollo put their old plan on hold and decide to go with the flow—to its beginning, which is also the beginning of the entire script. I just worked out the reverse cause and effect at the overall story level; now I have to expand upon it at the act level. I do that by literally going back through the cause and effect I just did, and thinking it through again in more detail for the Act I section. That section is reproduced here as a guide to help me expand upon it below:
Cause: Cutter tells Apollo about his promotion in the ranks and what he overheard, so they put their original plan on hold to see if working inside St. Nick’s system offers a better opportunity to destroy him.
Cause: Cutter eavesdrops on St. Nick and Hutchings as they discuss their plan to use government-guaranteed agricultural loans to get filthy rich at the expense of U.S. taxpayers. St. Nick says he really likes Cutter’s fighting spirit and decides to promote him.
Cause: Cutter is afraid that his temper has ruined their revenge operation.
Cause: There’s a legal glitch with the IRS, and St. Nick’s paranoia flares up. He accuses Cutter of being a liar and reacts furiously.
Cause: Hutchings sees a way to exploit the Uruguayan tax shelter, and they start using it to bring in St. Nick’s offshore money.
Cause: Apollo shows up in disguise as a banking client and turns out to be an old acquaintance of the Senator. Cutter is stunned to learn that Apollo is actually a retired ambassador from Uruguay, but doesn’t show his surprise. Apollo tells Hutchings that his country is offering some unique tax shelters.
Cause: Cutter and Shallott begin working to bring St. Nick’s illegal assets into the system; they’re stumped on some key issues. Apollo, who’s been keeping an eye on things, sees that he needs to act.
Cause: Shallott takes Cutter into the bank as his assistant, convincing St. Nick that Cutter is trustworthy and that he can’t bring St. Nick’s hidden assets into the system legally without Cutter’s help.
Cause: Cutter reluctantly agrees to help destroy St. Nick when Shallott explains St. Nick is vulnerable while trying to go legit as part of a crooked senator’s banking scam.
Cause: Apollo blackmails Cutter into being part of this scheme, and reminds him of their utter loathing for St. Nick. Cutter agrees to talk to Shallott.
Cause: Cutter refuses when Apollo drops in on his reformed straight life and tries to enlist him in a perfect crime to destroy St. Nick, their archenemy.
Starting at the top, I’ll do reverse cause and effect for Act I, working my way back through what I’ve already got, using the above as a map and thinking my way through the act, vistualizing everything in a little more detail. I also have to check Proposition, Plot for the overall script, specifically the section that pertains to
Act I—the initial conflict between Cutter and St. Nick—because there are often actions created in the conflict map that did not exist in the chain of cause and effect.
Reverse Cause and Effect for Act I
What’s the Object of Act I? Cutter and Apollo see an expanding opportunity for revenge on St. Nick, as well as a chance to stop a major crime against the American public, so they put their original plan on hold.
What’s the Final Effect that demonstrates the Object on-screen with real actors? Cutter and Apollo realize that a gift may have dropped into their laps: They know St. Nick’s secret plan, and that St. Nick wants to promote Cutter. This gives them a chance to ruin St. Nick even more spectacularly.
Immediate Cause: Cutter goes to Apollo and tells him what he’s just learned.
Cause: Cutter hears St. Nick and Senator Hutchings discussing their plan to use government-guaranteed agricultural loans to run a scam with an African dictator: The bank loans him the money, he defaults on the loan, and the U.S. government repays the bank.
Cause: Cutter eavesdrops on their secure room using two cans and a string. He hears St. Nick praise Cutter’s fighting spirit and suggest promoting him.
Cause: St. Nick gets a grip on himself and cools down. Cutter hides it, but he’s afraid he’s ruined the revenge operation.
Cause: St. Nick gets paranoid and accuses Cutter of lying. Cutter, who in this case actually isn’t lying, reacts furiously and lashes out in his own
defense.Cause: The IRS challenges one of the tax deals through Uruguay. Cutter says he and Shallott can handle it, that it’s not a problem.
Cause: The bank starts using the Uruguayan connection provided by Apollo, and it’s working well.
Cause: Hutchings wants to try the tax shelter and Shallott approves.