The Megahit Movies

by Richard Stefanik

  Jack approaches Barbossa and Will. Barbossa is about to cut Will’s throat, but Jack explains that once he does that, the pirates will all become mortal and the British sailors waiting for them will kill them. The pirates should defeat the sailors while they still cannot die! They make a deal. Barbossa will get two ships. Jack will become the captain of the Black Pearl once again. Barbossa will become a Commodore.

  Barbossa orders his men to attack, but not by using the row boats as Jack expected. The pirates walk underwater and attack the British ships, thereby, bypassing the waiting sailors in the rowboats.

  The Governor talks to Liz through the cabin door. He opens it to discover that Liz has escaped. The cursed pirates attack the British ship. The Governor fights a skeleton arm. Liz saves Gibbs and his crew. She wants them to help her save Jack, but they refuse. Liz row towards the pirate’s cave alone.

  Liz returns to the fight. Jack fights with Barbossa. But since Jack has stolen one of the coins, he is now also cursed and cannot be killed. In the climax scene, Liz runs toward Barbossa. He points a gun at her. Jack points a gun at Barbossa. Will cuts his hand and drops the two Aztec coins into the chest. Jack shoots Barbossa, who is now mortally wounded and dies. All three characters, Liz, Will, and Jack, together bring about the destruction of Barbossa. Therefore, all three should be considered protagonist of this story.

  All the pirates on the ship become mortal. They surrender to the British sailors. Liz, Will, and Jack are alone in the cave. Will tells Liz that Norrington is waiting for her. “If you are waiting for the appropriate moment that was it!” says Jack to Will as Liz walks away.

  Back at Port Royal, Jack is on the gallows waiting to be hung. Will walks through the crowd. Liz watches the scene. Will tells Liz that he loves her. The gallows door drops open. Will throws his sword against the gallows wall. Jack stands on the sword and struggles not to fall. Will frees Jack. Jack and Will grab a rope and trip up several soldiers. Finally, they are surrounded. This is the final confrontation scene between Jack, Will, Liz, Norrington, and the Governor. Will accepts that he can be both a pirate and a good man. Jack bids his farewell and trips over the edge of the fort. He falls into the water below. Norrington gracefully frees Liz from her vows to him. Norrington gives Jack one day’s lead. “But he is a blacksmith,” says the Governor about Will to Liz. “No, he is a pirate,” answers Liz.

  The Black Pearl sails into the harbor and pulls Jack onboard. Anna Marie gives Jack his hat back. Jack takes control of the wheel, looks at his broken compass which does not point north, sings a pirate’s song, then says “Now give me that horizon!”

  THE END

  COMMENTARY In the first ten minutes of the movie, what do we see? What is the first image? The very first image? A ship in the fog, young girl on the bridge. Meeting of the young girl and boy. The girl rescues the boy. So, who is the protagonist? Is it Captain Jack Sparrow? But Will Turner is the one with a character arc, while the opening scene makes you focus on the girl, Elizabeth Swann, who has a fascination with pirates.

  Liz is the one who takes the Aztec coin from the neck of Will Turner. You could argue that there are three protagonists in this story: Liz, Will, and Jack. They each take the lead at different parts of the movie, and they are all together and necessary in the climax scene where they defeat the villain Barbossa.

  There definitely is only one antagonist! Barbossa. The pirate captain of the cursed crew. Will and Jack also have Norrington as an antagonist. Norrington creates problems in the love triangle, but he is not the real villain of the story. It is Barbossa that killed Will’s father, tries to kill Liz, tries to kill Will, tries to kill Jack, and led the mutiny that stole the Black Pearl from Jack. So there is no doubt he is the villain.

  Liz, Will, and Jack all function as the protagonist. Will tries to save Liz from the Pirates, but then Liz tries to save Will from the pirates. This is a movie with many, many twists... which makes it exciting.

  Now back to the opening scene. A ship comes out of the fog (this sets up the mystery) with a young girl at the front of the boat, Liz. She talks of pirates with Gibbs and her father. The antagonist is introduced first by conversation. Liz expresses her fascination with pirates. They next find Will on a raft, and they bring him on board. Liz sees the pirate coin around his neck. This coin becomes the unique object of the story: the object that everyone wants to possess. Then, they see a ship destroyed by pirates which introduces danger and jeopardy for all the characters. These are the basic elements of the story, and they are all introduced during the first five minutes.

  Then we jump years ahead...maybe ten or more. Continuity is maintained by the unique object: the pirate Aztec coin. Liz wakes up from a nightmare...much older now...and reaches for the coin which she then places around her neck.

  Next, the basic love triangle is introduced. Liz loves Will and Will desires Liz, but he is not in her class and feels he cannot court her. The father wants Liz to marry Norrington, Norrington wants to marry Liz, and Captain Jack Sparrow wants to get back his ship: The Black Pearl!

  Why does Will break the candle holder? Why did the writers put that scene into the movie? It shows that he is out of place in that household and it is meant to make us laugh. But it also creates sympathy for Will. We care about Will in his awkward moment. The scene was written to elicit an emotion from the audience for this character. We later discover that he’s good at sword fighting. Swords are his trade.

  Each protagonist gets their own empathy scene: Liz because she has to wear a tight fitting corset and cannot be with the man she loves, Will because he cannot court the woman he loves, and Jack Sparrow because he is a silly pirate on a sinking ship.

  Let’s talk about Johnny Depp’s entrance as the pirate, Captain Jack Sparrow. He rides a sinking boat into the dock. How fearsome a pirate can he be? He sails past the skeletons of pirates who were hanged, so there is danger in his situation. Jack gallantly salutes them which shows that he is indifferent to the threat of death. He rides into the midst of a British naval fleet. He is a quick witted thief which is shown in the scene where he pays a corrupt official for docking his sunken ship.

  Each character has an objective: each character wants something. This is how you design characters in your stories. Norrington wants to marry Liz and Liz wants to marry Will. Jack Sparrow wants a ship, but more than that, he wants to get back his ship, the Black Pearl. Barbossa wants to be released from the curse of the undead. To do this he needs the last Aztec Coin and the blood of a Turner. This becomes the unique object that ties the villain to Will and Liz.

  The writers play with this structure to create plot twists. Because Liz wants to marry Will, when she is captured, she tells the pirates that her name is Liz Turner, and they think that she is the daughter of Bootstrap Turner, therefore, the source of their salvation. They believe that once they return the last Aztec coin and spill some of her blood, they will become mortal again.

  The writers did a great job in crafting this story because they only gave the audience the information that that wanted them to have when they need it. Most of the time it was misinformation or incomplete information meant to deceive. That is why the audience is constantly surprised. This is how you create your plot twists and mystery...create anticipations in the audience which are then not realized. The audience never knows for sure what is going on. This keeps the audience engrossed in the story. It’s finding that fine line of what is needed to move the story along and yet keep the mystery and surprise coming around the next twist in the road. The writers did a great job in crafting not only a story, but expectations for the audience. The pirates didn’t go on boats to the ships, but walked underwater to attack, thereby upsetting Jack’s plan. Another plot twist!

  The writers kept coming up with surprises right up to the very end of the story. Jack becomes one of the cursed undead, so Barbossa cannot kill him in the sword fight from hell.

  Although Liz has a fascination with pirates, she can’t go on the Black Pearl with Jack
because the Black Pearl means freedom to Jack. Will accepts that he is the son of a pirate, and Liz decides to marry him.

  What was the climax scene of this movie? Or, how many climax scenes do we have in this movie? There was one for each major story line. Who kills the villain? This was the big swordfight in the cave. Jack, Will, and Liz together bring about the death of Barbossa: Liz forces Barbossa to point his pistol at her and not Jack, Jack shoots Barbossa, and Will drops the bloodied coin into the Aztec chest, which removes the curse, makes Barbossa mortal, and enables him to die! The three in unison bring about the defeat of the antagonist. This was climax number one!

  But Will loses his moment with Liz, and she returns to Norrington. Climax two occurs when Jack is to be hanged as a pirate by Norrington but is saved by Will and Liz. Norrington accepts defeat when Liz chooses Will over him, and he allows Jack to “fall free.”

  The resolution? Liz and Will get each other. Liz not only gets a pirate, but the respect of her father and Norrington, while Captain Jack Sparrow gets back his ship, the Black Pearl, and the open seas of freedom.

  All’s Well that Ends Well on the Pirate Seas of Yore!

  FINDING NEMO

  Classic Hollywood story design has one protagonist trying to overcome dangerous obstacles to achieve a goal.

  Finding Nemo has two protagonists: A father in search of son (Marlin), and a son who wants to get back home (Nemo).

  This structure does work for the mass audience since Finding Nemo has grossed over $339 million in the U.S. Domestic Box Office. Let’s review the opening sequence, which is a standard Spielberg type of opening. A happy husband (Marlin) and wife (Coral) watch over the brood of new eggs. Then comes the hook...the JAWS...the RAPTOR. In the case of Finding Nemo, it is the Barracuda who knocks out Marlin then eats Coral and all the eggs except one. Nemo with the wounded fin!

  As Spielberg does in many of his megahit movies, this story starts with the introduction of terror in order to emotionally hook the audience! It creates sympathy and empathy for the dual protagonists: the wounded sole surviving child and the father, who has seen his family destroyed.

  Now the audience cares for the characters and wonders what will happen to Nemo! This is part of the important first ten pages of any script. Next, we jump forward to the future. Nemo has to go to school. Marlin is over protective about his son with the broken fin. First day of school they go to the drop off. Nemo decides to swim to the boat, and he is captured by a fisherman.

  This is the inciting event. Nemo’s and Marlin’s world changes! Nemo is taken away from his home! We are still in the first ten minutes of the movie. We now have two protagonists with two objectives: Marlin wants to find Nemo and bring him back home; Nemo wants to get back home. It is the same inciting event for both protagonists. The rest of the story is designed around a series of problems-obstacles that both characters have to overcome in order to achieve their primary objectives.

  Marlin and Nemo are given equal time on the screen. That is why the Nemo story is hard to classify as a subplot. I would rather say that they are the dual protagonists. Some movies have multiple protagonists. Independence Day is an example with four protagonists, all of whom have the same primary objective: save the Earth from destruction. Each of the protagonist finds a protagonist-supporter; a character who helps them on their journey. For Marlin, it is Dory; for Nemo, it is Gill. Dory helps Marlin find Nemo. Gill helps Nemo to escape from tank.

  Dory is the comic relief: Memento as a fish story. Dory has short-term memory problems which create problems for Marlin. But that is how to create an interesting story: create a supporting character that creates problems for the protagonist they are supposed to be helping.

  This is also the case with Gill. He has his own agenda. He wants to use Nemo to help him escape. He almost gets Nemo killed in the process. It is the scarred face on Gill makes him sympathetic to the audience, plus the fact that he almost sacrifices himself to save Nemo in the dentist’s office during the climax scene. The fact that Gill, too, had a wound is not an accident. It was part of story design to create empathy for Gill.

  Carla, the little girl, is the ultimate villain, even though it is the Dentist, who captures Nemo, who is the antagonist. She is the critical problem (the life-and-death villain), that Nemo will have to deal with in the climax scene. But the little girl is not the antagonist throughout Nemo’s story.

  It is Dr. Sherman who caught Nemo and holds him captive. What was one of the plot twists of the story? Sharks that are fish friendly is a bit of humor that works. This is a twist on our stereotypes! And that is how you create humor. We all expect sharks to be flesh eating creatures. That is the expectation. But then as writers we create the contradiction...the opposite of the expectation, the opposite of the norm. The shark in this story, Bruce, is a vegetarian who believes “Fish are our Friends!” This basic humor design is old as creating a Lion who is a coward (since we all know that lions are the symbol of heroic courage), as in Wizard of Oz. But although he is a reformed shark, he relapses now and then when he gets really hungy. Funny stuff!

  Another plot twist has to do with the fish tank. The audience is led by the writers to believe that once the tank gets dirty, the fish will be able to escape. So the fish in the tank overcome many obstacles to stop the filter and dirty the tank...then what happens? A plot twist! The subgoal achievement fails. A new upgraded filter is placed into the tank. Dr. Sherman installs a high tech filter and cleans the tank. Understand the basic structure: the writer creates expectations in the audience that he knows will not be realized. This is to create surprise and maintain a state of suspense in the audience.

  The climax scene for Nemo occurs in the dentist’s office. Will he achieve his objective, escape from Dr. Sherman and the fish tank and return home, or will Nemo be taken away by Dr. Sherman’s niece, Darla, the evil fish killing villainess? This is a life-and-death moment for Nemo, because the last fish that Darla took home in a bag, she shook to death.

  In the climax scene we expect twist upon twist, and we are not disappointed. Everything does not go according to the expectations set up in the mind of the audience by the writers. Many unexpected events occur before Nemo is finally free. This is good story design, because it gives the audience what they want (Nemo is freed), but in an unexpected way.

  Father and son are finally rejoined after Nemo shows Dad that he has the smarts to save Dory. We have the classic reconciliation scene that lasts no more than five minutes at the end of the movie. There is no place like home! Marlin finally has the faith in Nemo that he lacked at the beginning of the film. Marlin and Nemo go back at School. Bruce and the Sharks stop by to say hi! Nemo says: Love you, Dad. Marlin says: Love you son! End of movie! $339 million at the Box Office!

  While the deep structure is the same, the emotional subtext is the same, the context and setting of the story is very different. We must always be taken into an extraordinary world where “no man has gone before.”

  These stories are designed to provide the audiences with an “emotionally satisfying experience.” They take the audience through an emotional roller coaster ride with lots of danger, jeopardy, and thrills, but take them home safely at the end. The kids want to see it again and again, but they are too young to go themselves, so the parents have to take them, and the parents don’t mind seeing the story again. This is the kind of repeat audience needed to make a film a megahit movie.

  MONSTERS, INC.

  First Image: An Open Door.

  VO of parents talking to a child: “Good night.” A little boy is sleeping in his bed. Clock indicates it is 9:00 pm. The window is open…a strong breeze blows the curtains. A door opens. A monster from under the bed rises up and hovers over the child. The child wakes up and SCREAMS! This is a standard Spielberg type of opening: start with terror to hook the audience. But since this is a comedy, we have to release the fear and stress through laughter. How is this done? The source of terror becomes non-threatening. The terrorist becomes terrori
zed. The monster screams in terror. The monster reacts in shock and falls down onto tacks lying on the floor. The monster shrieks in pain. Suddenly, the simulation is terminated. Nobody really got hurt. The audience laughs.

  The monster, Mr. Vial, is reprimanded by the instructor. Other monsters are watching the simulation. They learn that the major mistake was to leave the door open.

  Mr. Waternoose, a spider-like creature and the owner of Monsters, Inc., is a tarantula dressed in red and black. These are the standard colors of the villain. This is the introduction of the antagonist scene. He explains that a human child is deadly and cannot be let into their world. Yet they need the screams of the children as an energy source to power their world. Mr. Waternoose announces that he will bring the best monster he has, James P. Sullivan, to give a demonstration to the others on how to scare children and make them scream.

  Sully, the turquoise bear-like creature, is asleep in his bed. Mike (of the green eye) wakes up Sulley and makes him exercise. Mike

  is Sulley’s trainer. TV Commercial about Monsters, Inc. and the Super

  Scream…pure energy. “We Scare because We Care!” Sulley’s mom

  calls because she saw Sulley on TV. Mike answers the phone call.

  There is a scream shortage. This is the protagonist’s main problem. His primary objective is to increase the energy supply for Monsters, Inc. and the city. Sulley and Mikey walk to work.

  Inside Monsters, Inc. Sulley is listed on the wall as the Scarer of the Month. Mike runs up to the receptionist, Celia, and says “Happy Birthday!” Celia has snakeheads for hair. Mikey promises to take her out to Harry Hausen’s Restaurant for Dinner.

  Mike and Sulley go into the locker room.They are confronted by nasty Randall, the lizard, and rival of Sulley. Randall wants to beat Sulley’s record. Randall appears to be the antagonist for the rest of the movie, until the very end, when it is revealed that he is really working under the direction of Mr. Waternoose. This becomes a surprise twist at the end of the movie. The Harry Potter movies also use the structure of keeping the real villain hidden until the end of the third act.