Something Startling Happens: The 120 Story Beats Every Writer Needs to Know

I've found that not all movies follow this minute-by-minute thing 100%. Even some of the examples on the website for this book have a couple scenes where he stretched to make the examples fit.His theory is that, through the long editing process, a movie eventually falls into place like this. Every time somebody edits something, it's because they feel like something's out of place, and it only feels "in place" when it follows the outline. However, some movies like The Breakfast Club didn't really didn't go through a lot of editing story-wise; in fact, an entire speech was improved in that movie. Unsurprisingly, that movie does NOT follow the book closely at all, yet it was still a big hit.But using this for writing a movie? Well, it can be nice to have some restrictions on what to write, so you always know what to write next. However, this seems like a lot of finding patterns where there really aren't. OK, in several movies, something startling happens 7 minutes in. OK? That's a pretty vague description. Later on, something is "hidden from sight", figuratively or literally. Maybe a "message is sent", figuratively or literally. Do these things really matter that much to having a hit movie??I'd say the bigger lesson in screenwriting that comes out of this is this: Every minute, there's gotta be something different to keep the audience's attention. That's not to make it sound like the audience is dumb or ADD or anything; it's just that you do not need to spend more than one minute on one single detail or point, because by one minute, we already get the point, and we're ready to unfold and understand something else new.Also, think of it like this: An hour and a half may seem like a long time, so your first idea is "OK, what can I do to fill up all that time?" Instead, think "What's a really long story I could tell, and then how could I fit it all into an hour and a half?" Your audience does not want filler. They want to feel like they witnessed a lifetime in front of their eyes, not like a lifetime passed by waiting for the movie to finally be over.

Author hypothesizes that good movies (USA) follow a pattern for about 120 minutes, then he proves his point by citing particular movies where a certain expectation (something starling happens, for instance) at the precise minute in his 120 minute guide. Just started it, so won't judge it too harshly yet.

I agree completely with all the 1-star reviews. If I could give this book zero stars, I would.The thesis of the book is complete hogwash. It's wrong-headed, reductive and pathetic (particularly in the author's attempts to shoe-horn his thesis into the various film examples). There's nothing here of value. In fact, if anything, reading this book will confuse you and set you back. It's paradigm without intelligence. You can add this title to the increasingly large pile of books by non-writers (or unsuccessful writers) trying to cash in on the magic-formula, strike-it-rich screenwriting book craze. Sad, sad, sad...They should rename this book Something Predictable Happens (at Each Exact Minute, Every Time, in Every Script).I never bother to write reviews. But this time, I just had to get the word out. Caveat emptor!

A must have for every screenwriter regardless of your level; from novice to pro it needs to be on your shelf! Great book, filled with ideas that will stimulate your screenwriting to no end. Todd Klick has put in all of the heavy lifting - take advantage of it.

Mostly good product dirtier than I expected but besides that it was as promised.

I just started reading this book last night. The author's ideas are sound and presented clearly. That said, a lot of work [on my part] will be needed to obtain full benefits. I am not complaining, just pointing out reality. I expect, for example, that I will need to watch movies with a stopwatch, and start and stop the movie, noting what happened (and why) during each "minute" of the movie. The author did this for many movies, and he suggests that there is a benefit to learning to do this yourself. I agree. Screenwriting - and fiction writing in general - is such a difficult task that I am not surprised that a lot of work is necessary to understand how it works. "It" being the creation of a story that will hold someone's interest... I rated this book 5 stars because I know that it will improve my writing - anything that can accompish that end gets my highest appreciation - and my highest Amazon rating -- regardless of the fact that a huge amount of work will be needed to obtain the benefit. Note: this book is not for beginners. If you are a beginning, I would advise, at minimum, becoming familiar with SAVE THE CAT(Snyder) and WRITERS JOURNEY(Vogler) and THE ART OF DRAMATIC WRITING(Egri). You really need to understand story fundementals to get the most out of SOMETING STARTLING HAPPENS.

If only I could get my hard-earned money back. A dodgy premise, poorly explained, examples stretched to the limit of credibility to match Klick's theory of film - all written without apparent need of an editor or proof reader. I'd lost the will to live by the time I got to a reference to walking "through the Valley of Death, to paraphrase the Lord's Prayer" - I kid you not.I would never usually in a free market implore people not to buy something, but if I can protect others from having to bear the remorse of buying this overpriced, lightweight bit of fluff, I would have performed a public service. If you want to read a decent, respected book on story development, including explanations about beat sheets - turn to the estimable Linda Aronson's The 21st Century Screenplay.

The author has really shoehorned some of the movies he uses as case studies 'beats' in to fit his theory. What he has basically 'discovered' is that each scene needs tension or conflict. Hardly a mind-blowing eye-opener. All books on script-writing teach this. He's just dressed it up differently.That said, it is interesting to see different films mapped out minute by minute, even if they don't all fit his theory.

It's not a template to write a screenplay and how best to structure it but rather an excellent guide on the tone or tricks your screenplay needs to radiate on a particular page. I found this extremely helpful after completing my first draft I use the book to shape, trim and even omit pages from the screenplay. My work is far better because of it.

I'll admit to a certain scepticism about this idea. I've ready Brent Snyder and Daniel Calvisi on the same subject and both are excellent and useful books. They provide you with "tent poles" to hold up your story while leaving you to weave the cloth which hangs between them.This is an altogether more ambitious task, providing a minute by minute beat sheet for a 120 minute film (with opportunities to jump out earlier for shorter films). I took a look at the table of contents, outlined the beats in Scrivener and armed only with the pithy titles and a stopwatch I launched straight into watching "The Game"...I was absolutely astonished. I had no problem matching beat for beat until at least 80 minutes in... three examples:26 minutes: The Big Unexpected: The clown on the driveway where his Father's body was found.33 minutes: The Ominous Oh No!: The CRS pen leaks into his shirt.42 minutes: Surprise Reveal: The lights go out and everyone at the fake hospital disappears.50 minutes: The Portent: Nicholas JUMPS into a dumpster full of rubbish...65 minutes: The Resistance: Nicholas uses the taxi company to find Christine's house.76 minutes: The Grim Reaper: Nicholas is drowning in the back of the taxi...82 minutes: Surprise-Surprise: Nicholas finds the burning ticket in the lampshade...It is amazing... and I think very useful.So now I'm off read this in it's entirety then plug the known elements of my plot into beats to see what's missing....

This is another book on story structure, but this one gives a page-by-page breakdown of the structure of a screenplay. The common threads are specific enough to be useful, but vague enough to allow for a considerable amount of creative freedom. It is probably best used at the rewriting stage, rather than for a first draft, to help you see if your screenplay is hitting the beats; or when adapting a screenplay from another medium, to help identify where the different parts of the source material should go in the screenplay.