by Robert McKee
WAYNE’S WORLD (US/1992)
Written by Mike Myers, Bonnie Turner, Terry Turner.
A WEDDING (US/1978)
Written by John Considine, Patricia Resnick, Allan Nicholls, Robert Altman.
WEEKEND (Fr/It/1967)
Written by Jean-Luc Godard.
WELFARE (US/1975)
Documentary produced and directed by Frederick Wiseman.
WHEN HARRY MET SALLY (US/1989)
Written by Nora Ephron.
WHISPERS IN THE DARK (US/1992)
Written by Christopher Crowe.
WHITE HEAT (US/1949)
Written by Ivan Goff, Ben Roberts.
Based on a story by Virginia Kellogg.
WHITE MEN CAN’T JUMP (US/1992)
Written by Ron Shelton.
WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT (US/1988)
Screenplay by Jeffrey Price, Peter S. Seaman.
Based on the novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit? by Gary K. Wolf.
WILD STRAWBERRIES (Swe/1957)
Written by Ingmar Bergman.
WINTER LIGHT (Swe/1962)
Written by Ingmar Bergman.
THE WITCHES OF EASTWICK (US/1987)
Screenplay by Michael Cristofer.
Based on the novel by John Updike.
WITNESS (US/1985)
Written by Earl W. Wallace, William Kelley.
Based on a story by Earl W. Wallace, William Kelly, Pamela Wallace.
The WIZARD OF OZ (US/1939)
Screenplay by Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson, Edgar Allen Woolf.
Based on the novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.
THE YELLOW SUBMARINE (UK/1968)
Screenplay by Lee Minoff, Al Brodax, Jack Mendelsohn, Erich Segal.
Based on the song by John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN (US/1974)
Written by Gene Wilder, Mel Brooks.
YOUNG MISTER LINCOLN (US/1939)
Written by Lamar Trotti.
A ZED AND TWO NOUGHTS (GB/Neth/1985)
Written by Peter Greenaway.
ZELIG (US/1983)
Written by Woody Allen.
ZERO DE CONDUITE (Fr/1933)
Written by Jean Vigo.
INDEX
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Accidental Tourist, The, 6, 36, 49, 50, 55, 59
Action/Adventure Genre, 36, 61, 82, 85, 91–92, 107, 216, 406, 409. See also Survival Films
heroes of, 213
Actors
as artists, 253
and subtext, 254–55
Acts, 41. See also Climax: Endings: Inciting incident: Scenes
design, 217–22
design variations, 222–25
false ending, 224–25
five or more act structure, 219–22
last, climax, kinds of, 42, 118–21
last, final condition, 41, 42
Mid-Act Climax, 220
and pacing, 289–91, 294
and progression, 118–19, 208–16, 294–301
reversal, 217–18, 220, 222–24
rhythm, 225–27
subplot/multiplot, 219–22, 226–32
three-act story, 218–17, 218–19
Adam’s Rib, 223
Adaptation, 364–70
first principle of, 367
Addicted to Love, 125
Aesthetic emotion, 110–12
After Hours, 47, 52, 359, 406–7
Airplane, 360
Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, 198
Alice in Wonderland, 85
Alien, 186–89, 224, 406
Aliens, 224, 406
Alive, 82, 124
All in the Family (TV series), 382
All That Jazz, 85, 128
Allen, Woody, 4, 123, 344
Altman, Robert, 9, 56, 65
Amadeus, 366–67, 369, 391–92
Amarcord, 65
And Justice for All, 126, 321–22
Angel Heart, 94
Animal Farm, 68, 85
Animal House, 320, 360
Animation, 85
Annie Hall, 125, 256–57, 362, 360
Anouilh, Jean, 12
Antagonism, Principle of, 317–18
contradictory value in, 318
design for story analysis, 318–33
negation of the negation, 318–19
Antiplot, 45–47, 64, 66
change versus stasis, 57–58
coincidence in, 52–53
ending, 60
and film budget, 63
inconsistent realities in, 54–57
invention of, 350
quasi, 56
time in, 51–52
Apocalypse Now, 121
Arachnophobia, 124
Arc of the film, 41
Archer, William, 16
Archetypal story, 3–4
Archplot, 45–46, 64–65
and audience, 62–64
causality, 52
closed ending, 47–48
consistent realities, 53–57
external conflict, 48–49
protagonist, 49–51
scenes, number of, 210
time, 51
Aristotle, 5, 11, 13, 79, 100, 109, 112, 186, 217, 338, 357–58, 376–77
Art Film, 7, 59–61, 63, 86, 88–89
false ending, 225
and inciting incident, 204
Asian filmmaking, 14, 62
Astaire, Fred/Ginger Roger films, 332
Audience
and act design, 217–18
bond, 141–43
Elizabethan, 90
emotional experience of, 243–48
and entertainment as ritual, 12
and gap, 179–80, 270–71
intelligence of, 6–7
and Obligatory Scene, 198–200
positioning the, 89–90
principles controlling (empathy/authenticity), 186–89
reaction, 135–36, 179–80
shrinking, vis-à-vis choice of story structure, 62–64
target, 240
August, Bille, 50
Authenticity in film, 186–89
Authorship, 185–89
Autobiography, 84
Avant-garde film-making, 64–65
Babe, 137
Babette’s Feast, 59
Baby Boom, 126
Backstory, 183, 231, 340–41, 348, 350
Bad & the Beautiful, The, 55
Bad Day at Black Rock, 55, 119
Bad Timing, 47, 51–52, 55
Bambi, 81
Barry Lyndon, 344
Barton Fink, 55, 56–57
Basic Instinct, 97
Battle of Algiers, 84
Battleship Potemkin, The, 20, 46, 68–69, 136, 366
Beat, 37–38, 258–59, 270, 286–87
Beckett, Samuel, 54
Being There, 327
Ben Hur, 366
Benchley, Peter, 196, 202
Bergman, Andrew, 319
Bergman, Ingmar, 4, 9, 65, 72, 112, 203, 394
Betrayal, 352
Betty Blue, 250
Big, 46, 55, 81, 330
Big Wednesday, 84
Big Sleep, The, 119
Billy Budd, 257
Biography, 84, 85, 183
Birds, The, 125
Black Comedy, 82, 88, 321
Black Comedy (Shaffer), 217
Black Widow, 229
Blade Runner, The, 366, 379
Blazing Saddles, 64, 93
Blind Date, 107
Blocking Characters, 95–96
Blood of the Poet, 47
Blow Up, 55
Blue Velvet, 59
Bob Roberts, 59, 84
Body Heat, 97
Bond, James, 103–4, 195, 213, 214, 306
Bonfire of the Vanities, The, 369
Bostonians, The (James), 369
Bram Stoker’s Dracula, 408
Brazil, 224
Breakfast Club, The, 136
Breathless, 65
Bridge on the River Kwai, The (Boulle), 367–68
Bridges of Madison County, 96
Brief Encounter, 46, 97
Bringing Up Baby, 46, 300
Buddy Salvation Plot, 80, 85
Budget, and story structure, 63–64
Bugs Bunny, 85, 137
Bull Durham, 85
Bullets Over Broadway, 126
Bunker, Archie, 382
BuñTuel, Luis, 407
Burke, Kenneth, 1
Burnett, Hallie and Whit, 21
Burroughs, William S., 54
Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, The, 46, 93
California scenes, 336
Cameron, James, 406
Camp Nowhere, 360
Cape Fear, 408
Caper Genre, 82
Carnal Knowledge, 193, 196, 337, 338
Carpenter, John, 43–44
Casablanca, 20, 201, 223, 228, 229, 260–70, 287, 288–89, 306, 310, 333, 342–43, 353, 371–72, 375, 377, 405–6
Casino, 128
Cassavetes, John, 9
Cast design, 183–85, 379–81
size of, 213, 214
Cavani, Liliana, 348–49
Center of Good, 347–49, 378–79
Chaplin, Charlie, 4
Character, See also Protagonist
arc, 104–5
backstory, 183
biography of, 84, 85, 183
cast design, 183–85, 379–81
climax and, 107–6
comic, 381–83
and contradiction, 379–80
dimension, 378–80
first step in creating, 143–45
and the gap, 147–49, 151–52, 177–79, 270–71
revelation, 103–4
and risk/maturity, 149–51
screenplay of Chinatown, 154–76, 178
structure and character functions, 105–7
three levels of conflict, 146
three tips for writing, 383–87
true, 101, 375–77
versus characterization, 100–102
world of, 145–47
“Character as destiny,” 52
Character-driven story, 107
Chariots of Fire, 85
Chase sequence, 366
Chayefsky, Paddy, 118, 257
Cheap Surprise, 354, 355
Chekhov, Anton, 386
Chien Andalou, Un, 47
Chinatown, 55, 56, 97, 98, 119, 124–25, 154–76, 178, 201, 228, 236–37, 239, 240, 241, 256, 296, 301, 331–32, 336, 341, 351, 371, 406
Choose Me, 358
Christie, Agatha, 350
Chungking Express, 47
Citizen Kane, 46, 359–60
Claire’s Knee, 47
Classical Design, 44–46, 49–52
and audience, 62–64
and writer’s craft, 64–65
Clean and Sober, 126
Cliché, 7, 67–68
action genre, 61
and Hollywood films, 61
and multiplication of act climaxes, 221
overcoming, 76–78
and scenes leading to climax, 293–94
and thriller, 87
transition, 301
Climax, 42, 220–22, 309–12, See also Acts: Controlling Idea: Endings and character, 107–6
difficulty of writing, 206
and irony, 128–29
last act, 42, 206
Mid-Act Climax, 220
and mystery, 350–51
Penultimate, 224–25
positive/negative, 304
and reversal, 42, 309
rhythm and tempo, 291–94
and self-recognition, 118
Sequence Climax, 234
and Turning Point, 286–87, 304–5, 311–12
Clouzot, Henri-Georges, 402, 405
Clowns, 47
Cocktail Party, The (Eliot), 367
Cocteau, Jean, 177
Cohn, Harry, 409
Coincidence, 356–59
Coleridge, Samuel Taylor, 186
Columbo (TV series), 117, 350
Comedy
comic character, 381–83
design, 361–62
genre, 19–20, 82, 87–88, 247
hybrids (Dramedy, Crimedy), 362
problem of, 359–62
Coming Home, 328
Commercial films, bad script, 23, 24
Composition expressing
progression, 294–300
pacing, 289–91, 294
rhythm and tempo, 291–94
third thing, 301
transition, 301
unity and variety, 288–89
Computer Generated Images (CGI), 24–25
Conflict, Law of, 210–13, See also Antagonism, Principle of
complication through complexity, 213–15
conflict at three levels, 215
and scene analysis, 261, 268
Controlling Idea, 112, 114–17
and climax, last act, 119–21, See also endings
components of, 115–16
in creative process, 117–18
and The Deer Hunter, 297
ironic, 125–28
and Kiss of the Spider Woman, 231
and society, 129–31
and subplot, 219–22, 226–32
versus counter idea, 118–21
Conversation, The, 12, 87, 312
Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover, The, 220
Cool Hand Luke, 81
Cop, 94
Courtroom Drama, 82, 84, 181, 229
Creative choices, 76–78
Creative limitation, 90–92
Crichton, Charles, 87
Cries and Whispers, 72
Crime and Punishment, 71, 323
Crimes and Misdemeanors, 97
Crime Story, 82, 86, 87, 92, 114, 116, 119, 181, 229
Crimedy, 362
Crisis, 303–4, 309
decision, 304, 308
design of, 307–9
placement, 306–7
Creative limitation, 71–72
Crying Game, The, 20, 55, 56, 96, 194, 196
Dance with a Stranger, 124
Dances with Wolves, 93
Dangerous Liaisons, 3, 59, 83, 96, 116, 117, 311, 369
David and Lisa, 94
Dead Ringers, 94
Death by Hanging, 47
Death in Venice, 207
Death Wish, 130
Deer Hunter, The, 126, 296–97, 308
Detective Genre, 82
on TV, 320–21
Diabolique, 402–4, 413
Dialogue, 388–90
description, 394–400
image systems, 400–408
short speeches, 390–92
silent screenplay, 393–94
suspense sentence, 393
when to begin writing, 417
Dickens, Charles, 98
Didacticism, 121–23
Die Hard, 3, 36, 92, 119
Diner, 136, 228
Dirty Dozen, The, 136
Dirty Harry, 116–17
Disaster/Survival Film, 82
Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, 57, 58, 222
Disillusionment Plot, 80, 81, 84, 85, 86, 87, 114
Do the Right Thing, 50, 59, 136, 228
Doctor, The, 126
Docu-Drama, 84
Documentaries, 47
Domestic Drama, 74, 82, 214, 356, 409
Dominick and Eugene, 189
Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands, 46, 251
Dr. Strangelove, 55, 71, 122, 360
Dracula, 324
Dramedy, 362
Dream Sequence, 343
Drugstore Cowboy, 59, 81
DuBois, Blanche, 137–38
Earthquake, 125
Eat Drink Man Woman, 20, 50, 136, 228
Eco-Drama, 82
Education Plot, 36, 80,
81, 85, 107, 116, 178, 292, 8½, 20, 47, 55, 65
Eisenstein, Sergei, 369, 407
Electric Horseman, The, 126, 127
Elephant Man, The, 125
Elephant Walk, 358
Eliot, T.S., 133, 365
Empire Strikes Back, The, 236, 239, 241, 305, 336, 341
Endings, See also Acts; Climax
climax and character, 107–9, 310
closed versus open, 47–48
deus ex machina, 357–58, 361
down-ending films, 311
false, 224–25
idealistic, 123
ironic, 125–28
keys to, 310, 312
Obligatory Scene, 198–99
pessimistic, 124–25
placement of crisis and climax at, 306–7
reversal, 217–18, 220, 309
English Patient, The, 61, 311
Equus, 94
Espionage Drama, 82
Esquivel, Laura, 4
E.T., 42, 224
Ethics (Aristotle), 11
European filmmaking, 14, 59–60, 204
European screenwriting, education, 16–17
European Script Fund, 396
Everybody Says I Love You, 59
Evita, 85
Exposition, 328–29
California scenes, 336
pace, 336
withholding
information, 336
Fabulous Baker Boys. The, 55, 56
Faces, 57, 58
Falling Down, 81
Falling in Love, 96
False Mystery, 354–55
Fantasy Genre, 53–54, 70, 85, 355
Farce, 64, 82, 85, 107, 213
Farewell My Concubine, 337, 338
Farewell, My Lovely, 119
Faulkner, William, 375
Feiffer, Jules, 193
Fellini, Federico, 65
Fields, Verna, 203
Fifth Element, The, 61
Film Noir, 82, 84
First Blood, 103
First Deadly Sin, The, 94, 230
First Deadly Sin, The (Sanders), 230
Fish Called Wanda, A, 20, 46, 55, 72, 88, 360, 361–62, 383
Fisher King, The, 59, 92, 126
Fitzcarraldo, 81, 124
Five Easy Pieces, 47, 55, 56
Flashback, 341–42, 352
Flaubert, Gustave, 369
Flight of the Phoenix, 124
Foote, Horton, 9, 32, 44, 199
Forced Entry, 94
Ford, Harrison, 92
Ford, John, 407
Foreman, Carl, 368
Foreshadowing, 200
Forman, Milos, 369, 396
Forrest Gump, 25, 81
Forster, E. M., 369
400 Blows, The, 129
Four Weddings and a Funeral, 46, 220
Fowler, Gene, 108
French Scenes, 292–93
Friedman, Norman, 80
Frost, Robert, 90
Frye, Christopher, 365
Fugitive, The, 36, 49–50, 119, 220, 290
Full Metal Jacket, 122
Gallipoli, 121
Gallo, George, 92
Gandhi, 84
Gangster Genre, 82
Gap
Casablanca, 270–71
and character
development, 147–49
Chinatown, 154–76