The Megahit Movies

by Richard Stefanik

  Inept Behavior that Results in Destruction: Deviations from the expectation that characters will be competent and non-destructive. Ghostbusters

  Their objective is to find and eliminate the ghost in the hotel. The Ghostbusters each activate their power supplies. Ray leads the way down the hallway. A cleaning woman pushing a cart enters from the opposite direction. They quickly turn around and fire their weapons at her. They blast the cart. Several rolls of burnt toilet paper fall onto the floor.

  Inept Behavior Which Results in Self-Destruction: Deviations from the expectation that characters will not destroy themselves. Raiders of the Lost Ark

  An Arab swings a bat at Jones but misses and hits an Arab standing next to Jones. Jones punches the Arab who is holding the bat. He grabs Marion and tells her to get out of there. An Arab attempts to stab Jones with a sword but ends up stabbing another Arab instead.

  Wanton Destruction of Property: Deviations from the expectations that characters will respect and protect property. Home Alone

  Marv, one of the burglars, stuffs cloth into a sink drain, then turns on the water. He laughs with glee at the irresponsible destruction that he is about to cause.

  Ghostbusters

  The Ghostbusters destroy the ballroom in the hotel during their efforts to capture their first ghost.

  Taking Pride in Expressing Negative Traits: Deviations from the expectation of morally or socially acceptable behavior. Batman

  Bruce Wayne confronts the Joker. “I know who you are,” whispers Bruce. “Let me tell you about this guy I know, Jack. Mean kid. Bad seed. Hurts people.” “I like him already,” laughs the Joker.

  Fooling an Authority Figure: Deviations from the expectation that characters will respect people in authority. E.T.

  Mary covers Elliott with a blue sleeping bag as Elliott puts the thermometer back into his mouth. Laughter is generated because the audience knows that Elliott heated the thermometer by holding it against the light bulb. They know he is fooling his mother and getting away with it.

  Ridiculing An Authority Figure: Deviations from the expectation that characters will respect people in authority.

  A policeman, with his back to the camera, stands in the hallway of a house. He tries to get someone to pay attention to him, but everyone ignores him.

  Playing a Practical Joke on Another Character: Deviations from the expectation that a character will not intentionally humiliate another character by making him look foolish in public.

  Ghostbusters

  Venkman and Ray approach Spengler, who is sitting on the floor of the library reading room. Spengler is wearing earphones as he uses an instrument designed to measure psychic energy. Venkman knocks on the table above Spengler’s head, makes strange noises, and then drops a book on the table. He does this to mock Spengler and his psychic research.

  Triumphant Laughter: Deviations from the expectation that characters will not gloat over defeating their opposition. Raiders of the Lost Ark

  Belloc gestures to the native Indians to cut Jones’ throat. The natives get up and chase after Jones. Belloc laughs with pleasure as he admires the golden idol in his hand.

  Batman

  The Joker laughs after incinerating the gangster, Antonio. Raiders of the Lost Ark

  In Nepal, a native suddenly enters the bar, grabs Jones, and throws him against the wall. The sadistic German laughs at Jones.

  Sadistic Behavior: Deviations from the expectation of not taking joy in hostility and violence. Audiences will laugh as long as the characters for which they have empathy are not harmed.

  Ghostbusters

  Venkman administers minor electrical shocks to the male student during his ESP ability test.

  Disgusting Behavior: Deviations from the expectation of normal behavior concerning bodily wastes. The audience will often laugh, but are also often left with feelings of disgust and distaste.

  Ghostbusters

  As the Ghostbusters walk down the aisle stacked with bookshelves, they come upon card catalogues that are covered with oozing slime. Ray characterizes this slime as “ectoplasmic residue” generated by “telekinetic activity.” They ask Venkman to get a sample of this. Egon hands him a plastic container. “Somebody blows their nose and you want to keep it,” says Venkman.

  Physically Punishing the Villains: Deviations from the expectation that characters will not physically harm other characters. The audience will laugh if the characters are not seriously harmed.

  Ghostbusters

  Debris falls on the crowd in the street below. Peck, the Environmental Protection Administrator, stands in the midst of the debris. Suddenly, he looks up and screams as wads of hot sticky marshmallow fall on him.

  Home Alone

  The complete third act of this movie consists of scenes showing the burglars receiving physical punishment from Kevin because of their efforts to rob Kevin’s house.

  The Misinterpretation of a Situation: Deviations from the expectation that a character will correctly understand a situation. Batman

  Bruce Wayne is trying to tell Vicki Vale that he is Batman. “There is something I have to tell you. You know how people have different sides of their personality. Sometimes a person will have to lead a double life,” says Bruce.

  “Oh no, you’re married!” says Vicki.

  Star Wars

  Luke and his companions are about to be crushed in the garbage disposal unit. Suddenly, the walls stop moving because R2D2 has shut down the unit. The prisoners shout with joy at not being crushed to death. C3PO hears the sounds and believes that they are dying.

  Behavior Appropriate in One Type of Situation becomes Inappropriate When Performed in a Different Situation: Deviation from the expectation that behavior will be appropriate to a situation.

  Batman

  The ACTION NEWS is being broadcast on the television monitor. Suddenly, the Joker appears on the screen. He dances down the aisle of supermarket. “New and improved Joker products with the new secret ingredient, SMYLEX. Let’s go over to our blind taste test,” says the Joker. “Love that Joker!” announce two models with hideous smiles. A man is tied to a chair. Titles stating, “NOT AN ACTOR,” flash across the screen. This is a parody of a standard television commercial.

  Characters Who are Oblivious to What is Really Occurring in a Situation: Deviations from the expectation that characters will be aware of what is occurring around them.

  E.T.

  Mary, with her arms filled with grocery bags and clothes from the cleaners, walks into the kitchen. She is followed by Gertie, who sees E.T standing near the refrigerator. Mary opens the refrigerator door, and knocks E.T. in the head. He falls backwards onto the floor. Gertie helps E.T. up off the floor. He walks past Mary as he goes back to the refrigerator. Mary still doesn’t see him. This increases the audience’s tension. Gertie keeps telling her that she wants Mary to meet somebody, but Mary ignores her as she talks about how much the price of food has gone up in one week. E.T. grabs a can of coffee from the kitchen table, then again walks past Mary as she goes in the opposite direction. He goes back into the TV room. The laughter is produced by Mary’s failure to see the alien who’s right under her nose.

  SEQUENCES DESIGNING A SERIES OF SCENES

  Entertaining the Audience

  Visual Material

  Excitement

  Surprise

  Suspense

  The Chase

  Ticking Clocks

  Using Props

  Exposition ENTERTAINING THE AUDIENCE

  “Movies are for audiences...Don’t be boring!!!” —Richard Walter, Screenwriting “If the spectators are interested, they will sit still and be silent; if they are amused, they will laugh; if they are pleased, they will applaud.” —Raymond Hull, How To Write A Play

  Entertainment is something that is performed to amuse an audience. Amusement causes people to laugh or smile and to make time pass pleasantly. To entertain an audience means to give them the thrills and excitement of vicariously bein
g in the midst of danger while still having a pleasurable and humorous experience.

  “A correct dramatic construction presents the story content in the most effective manner. It should prevent the spectator from feeling boredom, fatigue, dissatisfaction, and lack of speed. It should cause surprise, hope, fear, suspense, and forward movement.”

  —Eugene Vale, The Technique of Screen and Television Writing

  Every scene should be constructed in terms of its effect on the audience. Each character’s action or any event that occurs in the story should be designed in terms of its impact on the audience. The audience’s emotional reactions should be carefully designed to maintain the intended character empathy, along with the appropriate levels of tension, stress, fear, surprise, and laughter.

  “We must learn to so construct a story that it will arouse, sustain, and steadily increase the interest of the spectator. To achieve this, we must make use of the spectator’s capacity and ability to anticipate.” — Eugene Vale, The Technique of Screen and Television Writing

  Humor in the midst of conflict relieves tension, and produces pleasure in the audience. To entertain an audience is to make them laugh in the midst of terror and excitement. The audience desires thrills and the experience of seeing fascinating images that they have never seen before. What they want is a sense of adventure: to journey somewhere they’ve never gone before. Most of the popular films considered contain elements of adventure in which all the characters are in great danger and jeopardy in a strange environment. But most importantly, the audience will be entertained if they have a pleasurable and emotionally satisfying experience.

  VISUAL MATERIAL “One picture is worth a thousand words...for this reason it may be wise for the writer to depend on the visual sources of information than on dialogue.”

  —Eugene Vale, Technique of Screen and Television Writing

  Film is a visual medium. It is not radio, an audio medium, nor is it literary, in which all information is expressed with written words. The visual image is essential to the cinematic form.

  A story must be told through images. In narrative films, the story is dominant, and the images must be chosen and ordered to construct a story that is emotionally effective. Story is more fundamental than image, even though the story is necessarily communicated through the use of images. A sequence of vivid images will not constitute a story unless the essential elements of story structure, such as character, objectives, values, decisions, obstacles, and emotional conflicts organize these images.

  Embedded in the most powerful images will be characters embroiled in human conflict; caught in situations in which they must make difficult choices concerning primal human relationships. Special effects, while visually overwhelming and exciting to the senses, are not as powerfully engrossing for the audience as a situation in which a character for whom they have great empathy is in jeopardy.

  It is important to realize that in the early years of the film industry, all of the films were silent movies. Yet, they were still extremely effective in being able to communicate a story without dialogue and with the minimum use of titles. Even today, many filmmakers are successful in making popular movies using a minimum amount of dialogue. Not more than fifteen lines of dialogue are spoken within the first fifteen minutes of Raiders of the Lost Ark or E.T., yet by the time these sequences are over, the audience knows much about the characters and the story.

  The audience loves to have new experiences, to see things that they have never seen before, and to experience images that they cannot find in their everyday lives. Special effects, exotic locations, or different historical periods all contribute to providing the audience with a unique and exciting experience. To select cinematic material means to choose a plot arena or story setting that lends itself to visual imagery not available in everyday existence.

  Titanic

  This film provides a view of an aristocratic life aboard a ship that existed almost 100 years ago.

  Star Wars

  This is a film with high-tech special visual effects exploding across the screen in the midst of a rebellion against an evil empire in outer space.

  Phantom Menace

  This is a futuristic film with high-tech special visual effects taking place during a war against the planet, Naboo, by an invading Trade Federation army of droids.

  E.T.

  The most mundane of all environments, contemporary suburban America, creates an environment where the most engrossing extraordinary visual image of all is a three-foot tall telepathic and psychokinetic alien.

  Jurassic Park

  This story takes place in a prehistoric park where dangerous dinosaurs roam.

  Forrest Gump

  This story takes place in the United States during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, with segments also occurring in Vietnam, a history that many people in the audience also experienced.

  The Lion King

  This is a jungle fantasy filled with animals that have human personalities and conflicts.

  Return of the Jedi

  This is a film with high-tech special visual effects exploding across the screen in the midst of a rebellion against an evil empire in outer space.

  Independence Day

  This story takes place throughout the United States and inside an alien spaceship that is attempting to annihilate the human race.

  The Sixth Sense

  This story takes place in Philadelphia neighborhoods, where a little boy sees dead people.

  Empire Strikes Back

  Like the other films in this series, it is a high-tech futuristic special effects production set in the story of a rebellion against an evil empire.

  Home Alone

  This film, set in a conventional middle-class neighborhood, becomes most cinematic when Kevin uses commonplace household objects to combat the burglars who invade his home.

  The Grinch

  This story takes place inside a snow flake where the community of Whoville exists.

  Jaws

  The beach is the most natural of environments for the young during summertime. It is this peaceful fun-filled environment that is terrorized by a man-eating shark.

  Batman

  The dark streets of Gotham City and a Gothic Cathedral establish the visual motifs for an underground battle between good and evil.

  Men in Black

  This story takes place in the New York City metropolitan area inhabited by refugee space aliens and one mean spirited alien, Edgar-Bug.

  The Wizard of Oz

  The story takes place in the magical Land of Oz, populated by witches, wizards and flying monkeys, a Scarecrow and a Tin Man who talk, and a Cowardly Lion that yearns for courage.

  Shrek

  This story takes place in a Fairy Tale Kingdom. Spider-Man

  This story takes place in contemporary New York City, where a young man wearing a red-blue spider costume swings between skyscrapers and climbs up the side of buildings.

  Finding Nemo

  This story takes place in the ocean and in a fish tank, experienced from the point-of-view of the fish.

  Monsters, Inc.

  This story takes place in a world where funny monsters scare little children.

  Bruce Almighty

  This story takes place in a city where an average guy gets to play God.

  Matrix Trilogy

  This story takes places in the futuristic world of the Matrix.

  Pirates of the Caribbean

  This story takes place in the world of cursed pirates, who are ghosts. Harry Potter-The Sorcerer’s Stone

  This story takes place in the magical world of Hogwarts: a school for young magicians.

  Lord of the Rings Trilogy

  This story takes place in the magical world of the warring Wizards, Hobbits, and Kings of Middle-earth.

  EXCITEMENT To excite a person is to arouse in them an intense emotion. Normally, this emotion will involve terror, desire, or joy. Most of the megahit movies do not rely on sex to create excitem
ent in the audience.

  In the top-grossing popular films, the audience becomes excited when a character with whom they have empathy for is placed in jeopardy. This danger can be either to his own person or to someone or something that the audience knows that the character holds dear: a favorite possession, a friend, a family member, a wife, a lover, or a child. In The Wizard of Oz, the dog, Toto, plays this role for Dorothy.

  The relationship of the character to this object of affection must be clearly established in the early scenes, so that the audience will unequivocally know the character’s affection for the object. Then, whenever the object is placed in jeopardy by the antagonist, the audience will have empathy for the character. The audience becomes “thrilled” when the character is able to rescue the endangered object from jeopardy. This gives them the feelings of joy and happiness at seeing the love interest saved. The danger that the protagonist confronts must be believable for the audience. The filmmaker can establish this by having companions close to the protagonist die violent and horrible deaths.

  In order to keep the story exciting, there must be an order to the objects placed under jeopardy, starting from those the protagonist cares least about to those that he loves more than life itself. The last object of affection (usually the “love interest;” a child or a very close friend) is typically placed in jeopardy of death in the climax scene. Here, the values and abilities of the protagonist are finally tested to determine if he can defeat the antagonist and obtain the dramatic objective, while still preserving the life of the person he most cherishes.

  Situations are thrilling to an audience when the protagonist confronts impossible odds and the threat of imminent death, yet still outwits his opponent and survives in an unexpected way. The films that are the most exciting, such as Star Wars are those in which the protagonists are constantly in jeopardy. This is accomplished by continuously throwing dangerous obstacles in their paths and their near misses with death. Even in a “children’s film,” like The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy is in jeopardy in almost every single scene.

  The amount of excitement in a scene is equal to the intensity of the danger to a character, with the greatest intensity resulting from lifethreatening situations. Characters overcoming dangerous obstacles make these films thrilling to watch. This, with the addition of unexpected obstacles to a protagonist’s plans and actions, provides excitement that an audience is willing to pay to experience time and time again.