DZ-10: Midpoint Reversals and The Ride

Listen when your second act sags and you need a structural jolt to accelerate audience engagement.

Stu and Chas embark on the first of a series of explorations into the dreaded Second Act. Their first stop is midpoint reversals or shifts, a plot point bang in the middle of ACT II that changes the protagonist's goal, raises the stakes and potentially leaves your audience leaning forward and asking "How the hell is this going to end?".

To get to the bottom of what makes a good midpoint shift (and whether your story needs one or not), Stu and Chas ride through DEATH AT A FUNERAL, PRISONERS, SHORT TERM 12, ALIEN, ALIENS and UP. We also drift across FULL METAL JACKET, PHILOMENA, HOW I LIVE NOW, ELYSIUM, DIE HARD and STAR WARS. Of course. Stu couldn't resist. It's not even funny anymore, is it?

As always: SPOILERS ABOUND and all copyright material used under fair use for educational purposes.

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FILMS

• DEATH AT A FUNERAL (2007) — (w) Dean Craig (d) Frank Oz
• PRISONERS (2013) — (w) Aaron Guzikowski (d) Denis Villeneuve
• SHORT TERM 12 (2013) — (w) Destin Daniel Cretton
• ALIEN (1979) — (w) Dan Obannon, Dan Obannon, Ronald Shusett (d) Ridley Scott
• ALIENS (1986) — (w) James Cameron, David Giler, Walter Hill, James Cameron (d) James Cameron
• THE BOURNE SUPREMACY (2004) — (w) Robert Ludlum, Tony Gilroy (d) Paul Greengrass
• FULL METAL JACKET (1987) — (w) Gustav Hasford, Stanley Kubrick, Michael Herr, Gustav Hasford (d) Stanley Kubrick
• PHILOMENA (2013) — (w) Jeff Pope, Steve Coogan, Martin Sixsmith (d) Stephen Frears
• HOW I LIVE NOW (2013) — (w) Meg Rosoff, Jeremy Brock, Penelope Skinner, Tony Grisoni (d) Kevin Macdonald
• ELYSIUM (2013) — (w) Neill Blomkamp
• DIE HARD (1988) — (w) Roderick Thorp, Jeb Stuart, Steven E De Souza (d) John Mctiernan
• STAR WARS (1977) — (w) George Lucas

SCRIPTS

• Study the script: DEATH AT A FUNERAL (2007) — Dean Craig
• Study the script: PRISONERS (2013) — Aaron Guzikowski
• Study the script: SHORT TERM 12 (2013) — Destin Daniel Cretton
• Study the script: ALIEN (1979) — Dan Obannon, Dan Obannon, Ronald Shusett
• Study the script: ALIENS (1986) — James Cameron, David Giler, Walter Hill, James Cameron
• Study the script: THE BOURNE SUPREMACY (2004) — Robert Ludlum, Tony Gilroy
• Study the script: FULL METAL JACKET (1987) — Gustav Hasford, Stanley Kubrick, Michael Herr, Gustav Hasford
• Study the script: PHILOMENA (2013) — Jeff Pope, Steve Coogan, Martin Sixsmith
• Study the script: ELYSIUM (2013) — Neill Blomkamp
• Study the script: DIE HARD (1988) — Roderick Thorp, Jeb Stuart, Steven E De Souza

SHOT ZERO DEEP DIVES

• ALIEN Aesthetic (Pt 3) - Framing Ripley
• ALIEN Aesthetic (Pt 2) - The Ensemble
• ALIEN Aesthetic (Pt 1) - The Visual Strategies
• ▶ How does Ripley take control in Alien?
• ▶ Ripley invades Ash's space in Alien
• ▶ Facehugger attacks Ripley in Alien
• DIE HARD: integrating inserts in the action
• Character Introductions 002: Hans Gruber

LINKS

• Read: Scriptshadow: GSU!!!
• YouTube: Midpoint from HOW I LIVE NOW
• YouTube: DEATH AT A FUNERAL trailer
• Read: Bruce Block's The Visual Story: Creating the Visual Structure of Film, TV and Digital Media
• Read: Restoration

RELATED EPISODES

• DZ-01: Do Screenplay Gurus win you Oscars?
• DZ-07: On Rewriting - How much Bull is left in the Hustle?

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Full show notes at: https://draft-zero.com/2014/dz-10/