The Fellowship of the Ring ends with the apparent death of a major character that the audience has come to love, Gandalf. This is a bad way to end a movie you hope to become a mass market success. But, Gandalf does comes back to life in the second movie. Spielberg uses this often in many of his movies. In E.T., he makes everyone thinks ET dies then brings him back to life. In Raiders, he makes the audience believe that Marion dies then brings her back again. This structure has a powerful affect on the audience. They grieve when a character they love dies but then becomes overjoyed when this character is brought back to life. This is one of the structures used in popular movies to give the audience an “emotional roller-coaster” experience. You have to design the story so that it will be an emotionally satisfying experience for the audience. But killing a protagonist and not bringing them back to life will result in box-office disaster. An example of this can be found in League of Extraordinary Gentlemen in which the hero, Allan Quatermain, dies at the end of the movie. It was a box-office failure with a U.S. Domestic Gross of only $66 million.
Self-sacrifice for the common good is the dominant theme of this movie. Sam is willing to sacrifice himself to help Frodo get to Mount Doom and destroy the Ring. Aragorn is willing to sacrifice himself to fight the army of Mordor and distract the Eye-of-Sauron so that Frodo will have a chance to destroy the Ring. The Elves made a great sacrifice to join the humans in the Battle of Helm’s Deep because Elves are immortal unless killed. Many gave up their immortality in that battle. If they had gone away to the West, they would have lived forever!
Some people think that Sam is the real hero of Return of the King. He definitely had a pivotal role. We saw his strengths, weaknesses, and his sensitivity. And the movie does end with Sam back in the Shire. But the obligatory scene, the climax battle, is between Frodo and Gollum. So, from a structural point of view, Frodo is the protagonist and Sam is the most important protagonist-supporter in the story. Aragorn also played the important role of creating a diversion for the Eye of Sauron. It is common to open a movie with the antagonist. This shows the audience what and who will be the main problem in the movie. Return of the King opens with the Gollum story. It shows how the Ring was found by Deagol and how Sméagol murders Deagol to take possession of the Ring. It also shows the power the Ring has on a character. The Ring transforms Sméagol into Gollum. It drives him mad. He becomes obsessed with the Ring, “his precious.” So Gollum is definitely the primary villain of this movie, although Sauron is the prime villain of the Trilogy, as Saruman was the principal villain in The TwoTowers.
The climax fight scene in Return of the King is the fight between Frodo and Gollum for possession of the Ring. Gollum triumphs, gets the Ring, but falls to his death. The lava river dissolves the Ring, and this destroys Sauron. But the fight is not directly between Frodo and Sauron but with Gollum, one of the minions he controls through the Ring.
Another thing to realize is that Frodo does not directly kill Gollum. Gollum accidentally falls off the cliff during his struggle with Frodo. This is another common feature found in many popular movies. This event absolves the protagonist of guilt and lets the audience continue to feel good about him. It is also important to realize that Frodo does not triumph over the Ring, but that the Ring triumphs over him.
Frodo refuses to drop the Ring into the lava river, even as Sam begs him to do this. Frodo fights for the Ring, even after Gollum has chewed off his finger. This is the structure of the climax scene. Frodo does not fight Gollum to destroy the Ring, but to get it for himself. His last moment is not heroic: his intention is not to save the people of Middle-Earth, but to possess the Ring.
There are many Resolution scenes in this movie. Return of the King was the ending of the Trilogy: over 9 hours of film experience. The Director, Peter Jackson, wanted to make sure that the audience knew what happened to all the major characters that they had gotten involved with during all three movies. He did not want to leave any loose ends.
When the Ring dissolves, the Eye-of-Sauron explodes, and the tower collapses. This is the end of the Great Villain of the Trilogy. The Army of Mordor either gets swallowed up in the earth or runs away. At the same time, the army of Gondor watches Mount Doom explode, and they grieve because they think that Frodo and Sam are dead. Sam and Frodo escape to a rock in the middle of the lava river. They dream of the Shire. Sam says he would have married Rosie if he had the chance. The screen goes black then Gandalf and the three eagles appear and save Frodo and Sam. In the next scene, we are back to Minas Tirith. Frodo is in bed with a bandaged finger, joined by Pippin, Merry, Gandalf, Gimli, Legolas, Aragorn, and Sam. The survivors of the Fellowship reunite. This scene has the structure as the Wizard of Oz movie. There Dorothy awakes in her bed and is surrounded by her loved ones after her ordeal in Oz.
Next, Aragorn is crowned King of Gondor by Gandalf, and he is reunited with his true love, Arwen. Man and Elf will wed. The four Hobbits are honored by the people of Gondor. That could have ended the movie.
But then the Director decided to show the Hobbits returning to the Shire. They have drinks at the bar, and Sam goes up to Rosie. In the next scene, Sam marries Rosie. This is the resolution of Sam’s dream but not quite the final resolution of the movie. Frodo has to write his book which takes four years to complete. But Frodo can no longer stay in the Shire after his adventures with the Ring on the journey to Mordor. He has seen too much and lived too much to be happy in the peaceful Shire.
Gandalf, the White Wizard, rides up with Bilbo in a horse drawn covered wagon. Everyone in the audience wanted to know what finally happened to Bilbo Baggins. We learn that he gets to sail away with the Elves to the land in the West as do Gandalf and Frodo. The Elf Queen, Galadriel, says that it is the end of the old world and now the time of Man. All the magic and wizards must go away. They all sail into the yellow sunset! A classic Hollywood Happy Ending!
But there is a second yellow sunset in this movie! Sam goes back to the Shire, to his little cottage where he is met by his wife and two little children. They go into the sunset of his HOME as they walk through the yellow circular front door of their cottage. The round yellow door closes after them. This is Sam’s sunset ending; the last image of the movie.
The Resolution Scenes of megahit movies are very important. The characters take their time saying goodbye to other characters with whom they shared their journey. There are lots of hugs and tears. Study the closing scenes of the Wizard of Oz when Dorothy leaves Oz, or the movie ET when ET flies back home in his space ship. These scenes give the audience a chance to share in the emotional release expressed by the characters, for the audience was also part of this long journey.
Frodo does have a character arc in Return of the King. Frodo is caught between Sam and Sméagol (Gollum). Frodo has sympathy for Sméagol because he knows that Sméagol has also carried and worn the Ring. This is an experience that they do not share with Sam. Frodo wants to help Sméagol because he wants to hope that “Sméagol can come back” from the power of the Ring, so Frodo can believe that he also can come back, because the Ring is now possessing him. The real personal conflict in this movie is between Sam and Gollum and centers on the question of who will eventually win the trust of Frodo. We even have the empathy scene for Sméagol (Gollum) when he struggles with himself, and Sméagol finally banishes Gollum from his being because he believes that Master (Frodo) will take care of him. Frodo does not call Sméagol “Gollum,” because he has pity for him. Sam hates Gollum and calls him by that name.
Gollum sets up Sam with the crumbs of bread and gets Frodo to send Sam away so that he can lead Frodo to his death in the cave of the spider Shelob. Sam represents ultimate loyalty and friendship...that is his true value. He has no desire for the Ring. He only takes it when he thinks that Frodo is dead so that he can complete the mission! But he gives it back to Frodo when Frodo asks for it. Sam resists the need for power! But so did Frodo in the beginning. The Ring will wear down anyone! Even Gandalf respects its power and refuses to t
ake it when it is offered to him by Frodo in the first movie. Because of Sam, the mission is accomplished, and not because of the will of Frodo. But Sam is still a supporting character. Frodo is the true Ring-Bearer. The mission also would not have been completed without the efforts of Aragorn and the Fellowship, who attack the Black Gates of Mordor to create a diversion for Frodo to distract the Eye of Sauron.
The ONE RING TO RULE THEM ALL represents control over others!The loss of freedom! Some of the characters need and want this control, others do not! It is Man who is weakest of all the creatures of Middle-Earth and desires possession of the Ring! Sauron wants it, as do Saruman, Boromir, Faramir, Denethor, and Sméagol (Gollum). But Gandalf and the Elves do not desire this Ring. The Ring contains the spirit of Sauron, and it is through the Ring that he controls others. Even Frodo ultimately falls under its control and will not destroy it when the time comes!
For Middle-Earth to be free, it must be destroyed. If the Ring gets back into Sauron’s possession, he will even control the world of the Elves. That is why Arwen becomes sick as the power of Sauron grows. The most interesting case is the Elf Queen, Galadriel. She says that if she takes the Ring, then all creatures will love her and despair! They will love her so completely that they will lose their freedom. Not taking the Ring from Frodo is her gift to them. How is she able to resist the Ring? Galadriel does not want to have power over the others. Even though Frodo offers it to her, she does not take it. The same thing happens with Gandalf in the Shire. They both know the corrupting influence of the Ring. It will take the most innocent and make them lust for power. This is shown in the scene between Bilbo and Frodo in Rivendell, when Bilbo asks for the Ring back. For a moment, Bilbo becomes a monster with vicious teeth when Frodo denies him the Ring! Because the corrupting spirit of Sauron is in the Ring, no one who carries it will remain free. It, therefore, had to be destroyed!
The RETURN OF THE KING won the Producers Guild of America (PGA) Award for Best Picture of the Year in 2004.
The RETURN OF THE KING won the Directors Guild of America (DGA) Award for Best Picture of the Year in 2004.
The RETURN OF THE KING won the Academy Award for Best Picture of the Year in 2004.
Screenwriting & Movie Magazines
Recommended Screenwriting Books
The Megahit Movies Hollywood Story Design Workshop™
The Megahit Movies Website (www.TheMegahitMovies.com)
SCREENWRITING & MOVIE MAGAZINES
The Independent www.AIVF.org
Creative Screenwriting
www.CreativeScreenwriting.com
Fade In
www.FadeInOnline.com
Film Comment www.Filmlinc.com
IndieWire
www.indiewire.com
The Hollywood Reporter www.HollywoodReporter.com
Premiere
www.PremiereMag.com
MovieMaker
www.MovieMaker.com
ScreenTalk
www.ScreenTalk.biz
ScreenWriter
www.ScreenWriterMag.com
ScriptWriter
www.ScriptWriterMagazine.com
Scr(i)pt Magazine www.ScriptMag.com
Written By
www.WGA.org
Daily Variety
www.Variety.com
RECOMMENDED SCREENWRITING BOOKS
Hollywood Story Structure
Field, Syd. Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting. New York: Dell Publishing, 1982.
Hauge, Michael. Writing Screenplays That Sell. New York: McGraw Hill, 1988.
Seger, Linda. Making a Good Script Great. New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1994.
McKee, Robert. Story. New York: Harper Collins, 1997.
Character Development
Egri, Lagos. The Art of Dramatic Writing. New York: Touchstone Books, 1960.
Hood, Ann. Creating Character Emotions. Cincinnati: Story Press, 1998.
Seger, Linda. Creating Unforgettable Characters. New York: Henry Holt, 1990.
The Theory of Emotions and the Psychology of the Audience
Calhoun, Cheshire and Robert Solomon. What is an Emotion? New York: Oxford University Press, 1984.
Lazarus, Richard S. Emotion and Adaptation. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991.
Maslow, Abraham. Toward a Psychology of Being. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1998.
Ortony, Andrew and Clore and Collins. The Cognitive Structure of Emotions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988.
The Theory and Techniques of Humor
Carter, Judy. Standup Comedy: The Book. New York: Dell Publishing, 1989.
Goldstein, Jeffrey and Paul McPhee. The Psychology of Humor. New York: Academic Press, 1972. Helitzer, Melvin. Comedy Techniques for Writers and Performers. Ohio: Lawhead Press, 1984.
Monro, D.H. Argument of Laughter. Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press, 1963.
Morreal, John. Taking Laughter Seriously. Albany: State University of New York, 1983.
Perret, Gene. Comedy Writing Workbook. New York: Sterling Publishing, 1990.
Perret, Gene. How To Write and Sell Your Sense of Humor. Cincinnati: Writer’s Digest Books, 1986.
Vorhaus, John. The Comic Toolbox. Los Angeles:Silman-James Press, 1994.
The Practical Business of Writing and Selling Screenplays Abreu, Carlos de and Howard Jay Smith. Opening the Doors to Hollywood : How to Sell Your Idea, Story, Screenplay, Manuscript. New York: Three Rivers Press, 1995.
Aronson, Linda. Screenwriting Updated.Los Angeles: Silman-James Press, 2000.
Atchity, Kenneth and Wong, Chi-Li. Writing Treatments That Sell. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1997.
Breimer, Stephen. Clause by Clause: The Screenwriters Legal Guide. New York: Dell Publishing, 1995.
Cole, Hillis R. and Judith M. Haag. Complete Guide to Standard Script Format. Los Angeles: CMC, 1980.
Chiarella, Tom. Writing Dialogue. Cincinnati: Story Press, 1998.
Dancyger, Ken and Jeff Rush. Alternative Scriptwriting: Successfully Breaking the Rules. Boston: Focal Press, 2002.
Epstein, Alex. Crafty Screenwriting: Writing Movies that Get Made.Henry Holt & Company, 2002.
Field, Syd. Selling a Screenplay. New York: Dell Publishing, 1982.
Frensham, Ray. Teach Yourself Screenwriting. McGraw Hill, 2003.
Goldman,William. Adventures in the Screen Trade. New York: Warner Books, 1983.
Goldman,William. Which Lie Did I Tell? New York: Pantheon Books, 2000. Hollywood Creative Directory. Producers. Hollywood: IFILM Publishing, 2001. Hunter, Lew. Screenwriting 434. New York: Perigee Books, 1993.
Joseph, Erik. How To Enter Screenplay Contests and Win! Los Angeles: Lone Eagle, 1997.
Kosberg, Robert. How To Sell Your Idea to Hollywood. New York: Harper Collins, 1991.
Lucey, Paul. Story Sense. New York: McGraw Hill, 1996.
Press, Skip. Writers Guide to Hollywood Producers, Directors and Screenwriting Agents. Prima Publishing, 1999.
Seger, Linda. Advanced Screenwriting: Raising Your Script to the Academy Award Level. Los Angeles: Silman-James Press, 2003.
Seger, Linda. Making a Good Writer Great: A Creativity Workbook for Screenwriters. Los Angeles: Silman-James Press, 1999.
Stuart, Linda. Getting Your Script Through The Hollywood Maze. Los Angeles: Acrobat Books, 1993.
Taylor, Thom. The Big Deal. New York: William Morrow and Company, 1999.
Vale, Eugene. The Technique of Screen and Television Writing. New York: Simon & Schuster,1982.
Walter, Richard. Screenwriting: The Art, Craft and Business of Film and Television Writing. New York: NAL, 1988.
Walter, Richard. The Whole Picture: Strategies for Screenwriting Success in the New Hollywood. New York: A Plume Book, 1997.
Walter, Richard. Escape From Film School: A Novel. New York: St. Martins Griffin, 2000.
Whitcomb, Cynthia. Selling Your Screenplay.The Writer Books, 2002.
Whitcomb, Cynthia. Writing Your Screenplay. The Writer Books, 2002.
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(Twelve Session Workshop) Class 1 : Introduction
The Fundamental Question, Popular Movies, Story Design, and the Story Conceptual Framework
Assignment: Write a climax scene that includes a Protagonist, Antagonist, Love Interest, and the Unique Object. Class 2 : Characters
WIZARD OF OZ scene-by-scene analysis
Protagonist, Antagonist, Love Interest, Audience Empathy, and the Psychology of the Audience
Assignment: Write an audience empathy scene for the Protagonist and Love Interest. Write and enmity scene for the antagonist. The audience should hate and fear the antagonist, while having sympathy for the protagonist and the love interest.
Class 3 : Characters
WIZARD OF OZ scene-by-scene analysis
Motivation, Objectives, Decisions, Relationships, Codes of Behavior, Transformations, Personalities, Supporting Characters, and Crowds
Assignment: Write a description for the protagonist supporter, who should be humorous and likeable, and the antagonist supporter, who should be very mean and hateful. Then, cast the three primary characters (Protagonist, Antagonist, and Love Interest) with currently bankable Hollywood Actors. Write a paragraph description of each actor in the role they have been cast.
Class 4 : Objectives
RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK scene-by-scene analysis Primary Objectives, Concrete Objects, Abstract Values, Subgoals and Plot Twists, and Strategies.
Assignment: Write three (3) subgoals that the protagonist must obtain in order to achieve his primary objective. Then, have him finally achieve his objective in an unexpected way. These will be the plot twists of your story.
(Twelve Session Workshop) Class 5 : Conflicts
RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK scene-by-scene analysis Obstacles, Jeopardy, Self-Conflicts, Enemies, Relatives, Friends, Lovers, Physical Objects, Natural World, and Supernatural World
Assignment: Write ten (10) obstacles that the protagonist must overcome in order to obtain his primary objective. Include at least one from each of the above types of obstacles.
The Megahit Movies Page 45