THOR, which grossed $448 million at the box office, hits all the Something Startling Happens' minute-by-minute beats. Whether you're writing a superhero movie, drama, thriller, horror or romantic comedy—of any length—the universal minute-by-minute beats work!
Here's my minute-by-minute analysis of THOR:
MINUTE 1: ATTENSION!
Jane stresses because her atmospheric prediction didn’t come true
MINUTE 2: THE BUILD
A threatening bright light in the sky explodes into the ground
MINUTE 3: THE RATCHET
They find a possible dead man
MINUTE 4: ANOTHER NOTCH
The Frost Giants threated to plunge the mortal world into a new ice age
MINUTE 5: JAW DROPPER
A jaw dropping “Great War” erupts
MINUTE 6: FRIEND OR FIST
Odin tells Thor and Loki the story of the war (Friend)
MINUTE 7: FRIEND OR FIST 2
Thor and Loki hold Odin’s hands (Friend)
MINUTE 8: SOMETHING STARTLING HAPPENS
Thor winks at his Queen, a startling gesture to her
MINUTE 9: THE PURSUIT
Thor pursues the throne
MINUTE 10: THE DISCUSSION
Odin: “Do you swear to guard the Nine Realms?”
Thor: “I swear”
MINUTE 11: THE WARNING
The Front Giant attack the Asgard guards
MINUTE 12: HARSHER WARNING
Odin tells Thor that he is not king, yet
MINUTE 13: THE SUBMISSION
Thor sits on the steps, feeling defeated
MINUTE 14: DANGER WATCH
Fandral, Hogun, Volgstaff and Sif (the heroes during this minute) watch as Thor proposes a dangerous proposition
MINUTE 15: WHEW, THAT WAS CLOSE!
Heimdall almost doesn’t let them pass
MINUTE 16: THE BIG CONCERN
Thor and his friends might be left to die in Yodenheim’s cold wasteland
MINUTE 17: WORLD UPSIDE DOWN
Thor and his friends are sucked into the bifrost and travel at lightning speed
MINUTE 18: TROUBLE TURN
Thor and his friends have landed on Yodenheim’s ominous, cold planet
MINUTE 19: THE THREAT
A voice says, “You’ve come a long way to die, Asgardians”
MINUTE 20: PUSH BACK
Thor talks back to the Frost Giant’s leader
MINUTE 21: THE GREAT AFFECT
The Frost Giant’s leader says, “Run back home, Little Princess,” which sparks Thor to fight
MINUTE 22: TRUTH DECLARED
Volgstaff says, “Don’t let them touch you!” (the Frost Giant’s touch freezes them)
MINUTE 23: SCARY STUFF
The Frost Giants outnumber Thor and his friends
MINUTE 24: SCARY STUFF 2
A giant beast gallops after Thor and his friends
MINUTE 25: SCARY STUFF 3
The giant beast blocks Thor’s path
MINUTE 26: THE BIG UNEXPECTED
Odin arrives on his horse to save them
MINUTE 27: THE MINI-QUEST
Odin brings them back to Asgard
MINUTE 28: BIG QUEST PREP
Odin prepares Thor for a lesson in humility
MINUTE 29: BIG QUEST PREP 2
Odin prepares Thor for a lesson in humility by taking his hammer
MINUTE 30: THE NEED
Thor calls out for his hammer—he needs his hammer
MINUTE 31: DISTRESS SIGNAL
Thor gets zapped by a taser
MINUTE 32: ANXIETY AMP
Thor thinks the doctors are attacking him so he fights them
MINUTE 33: OMINOUS OH NO!
Jane thinks she’s found a wormhole to someone else’s constellations
MINUTE 34: FRIEND AFFECT
Jane discovers that Thor escaped
MINUTE 35: BAIT & SWITCH
Locals are excited about finding the hammer (+), but it breaks the truck (-)
MINUTE 36: HIDE & SEEK
The hammer remains hidden from Thor
MINUTE 37: OVER HIS HEAD
“This mortal form has grown weak,” Thor says (he’s over his head physically)
MINUTE 38: POSITIVE RECONNECT
Fandral, Hogun, Volgstaff and Sif try to figure out what to do about Thor
MINUTE 39: NEW JOURNEY BOND
Odin calls Loki his “son”
MINUTE 40: ALLY’S WORLD
We see that Loki was really a Frost Giant who was abandoned, and Odin saved him
MINUTE 41: THORNY ROSE
Odin hoped Loki would unite Asgard with Yodenheim, but Loki resists
MINUTE 42: SURPRISE REVEAL
Odin collapses, revealing his failing health
MINUTE 43: SURPRISE REVEAL 2
A local tells Thor where the hammer is
MINUTE 44: NEW NEWS
Thor kisses Jane’s hand, she giggles—they like each other
MINUTE 45: OUT OF THE ORDINARY
Jane yells at Agent Coulson, a government official
MINUTE 46: THE REVELATION
Jane realizes she’s screwed—the government took all her equipment
MINUTE 47: THE ESCORT
Sif leads the others to Odin’s throne
MINUTE 48: NEEDED KNOWLEDGE
Loki tells them that Odin might not ever wake again
MINUTE 49: FOREBODING FACT
Fandral, Hogun, Volgstaff and Sif realize that Loki won’t listen to reason
MINUTE 50: THE PORTENT
Erik finds a book that possibly explains the legend of Thor
MINUTE 51: THE ENGAGE
Jane almost drives off the road, but recovers
Jand and this strange new guy (Thor) connect
MINUTE 52: SAY UNCLE
Jane gives in to Thor: “God, I hope you’re not crazy”
MINUTE 53: THE INTIMIDATION
Government official have the hammer surrounded
MINUTE 54: THE LIGHTBULB
The government officials realize they have a breach
MINUTE 55: SIDESWIPE
Guards rush at Thor
MINUTE 56: DARK TWIST CHAT
Agent Coulsin tells the guards to get rifles
MINUTE 57: DIFFICULT WORDS
“You’re big,” Thor says to the huge guard
MINUTE 58: VITAL EVENT
Thor can’t budge the hammer
MINUTE 59: THE DECEPTION
Thor’s been deceived—the hammer doesn’t work for him anymore
MINUTE 60: THE SHOCKER
Jane is shocked to see the hammer in a children’s book
And so on...
To learn much more about all 120 minute-by-minute beats, and how to apply them to your screenplay, TV pilot, novel or graphic novel, order Something Startling Happens: The 120 Story Beats Every Writer Needs To Know at Amazon.com or Barnes & Nobles.http://shop.mwp.com/products/something-startling-happens-the-120-story-beats-every-writer-needs-to-know
And try the #1 Bestseller, The Screenwriter's Fairy Tale: The Universal Story Within All Movie Stories: http://www.amazon.com/The-Screenwriters-Fairy-Tale-ebook/dp/B007U6D0CM/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1348519200&sr=1-1&keywords=the+screenwriter%27s+fairytale+the+universal+story+within+all+movie+stories
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