A minute-by-minute analysis of SKYFALL by Todd Klick,
using the Something Startling Happens story beats:
MINUTE 1: AT-TENSION!
James Bond finds a gravely wounded MI6 agent/the hard-drive is gone
MINUTE 2: THE BUILD
Bond and his co-agent, Eve, chase the Bad Guy Agent
MINUTE 3: THE RATCHET
Police chase after Bond/Bond crashes into Bad Guy Agent's car
MINUTE 4: ANOTHER NOTCH
The Bad Guy Agent shoots at Bond and kills the police
MINUTE 5: JAW DROPPER
Bond chases the Bad Guy Agent on the rooftops of the Grand Bizarre and jumps his motorcycle through a stained glass window!
MINUTE 6: FRIEND OR FIST
Eve follows after Bond to help him
MINUTE 7: FRIEND OR FIST 2
Eve chases after the train Bond jumped on
MINUTE 8: SOMETHING STARTLING HAPPENS
The Bad Guy Agent shoots Bond in the shoulder!
MINUTE 9: THE PURSUIT
Bond pursues the Bad Guy Agent with a backhoe/Eve tells M: "007 still in pursuit!"
MINUTE 10: THE DISCUSSION
M asks Eve: "What's going on?" Eve gives M an update
MINUTE 11: THE WARNING
Eve warns M that she doesn't have "a clean shot"
MINUTE 12: HARSHER WARNING
M warns Eve that she better "take the bloody shot"
MINUTE 13: THE SUBMISSION
Dead James Bond falls over a waterfall and sinks into the river
MINUTE 14: DANGER WATCH
M writes dead Bond's obituary
MINUTE 15: WHEW, THAT WAS CLOSE!
As they walk into the Chairman's offices, M tells Turner: "It's like being summoned to the headmaster's study"
Turner assures her: "It's the new chairman. Standard procedure" (whew, that was close!)
MINUTE 16: THE BIG CONCERN
The British government wants M to retire
MINUTE 17: WORLD UPSIDE DOWN
A hacker has broken into MI6's computers
MINUTE 18: TROUBLE TURN
The hacker blows up MI6's offices!
MINUTE 19: THE THREAT
A scorpion threatens to sting Bond's hand
MINUTE 20: PUSH BACK
Bond flicks off the scorpion and covers it with the shot glass
MINUTE 21: THE GREAT AFFECT
Bond learns that MI6 was bombed
MINUTE 22: TRUTH DECLARED
M: "I'm going to find whoever did this"
MINUTE 23: SCARY STUFF
Bond glares at M and says, "You should have trusted me to do the bloody job"
MINUTE 24: SCARY STUFF 2
M tells Bond that they're under attack
MINUTE 25: SCARY STUFF 3
Turner tells Bond that the hacker pulled off the impossible: hacked into their computers and turned on the gas
MINUTE 26: THE BIG UNEXPECTED
Bond stares at the new, impressive MI6 offices, which are now underground in Churchill's former bunker
MINUTE 27: THE MINI-QUEST
Bond attempts to hit the target
MINUTE 28: BIG QUEST PREP
A psychologist attempts to figure out if Bond is mentally stable enough to go back to work
MINUTE 29: BIG QUEST PREP 2
A psychologist continues to attempt to figure out if Bond is mentally stable enough to go back to work
MINUTE 30: THE NEED
Bond needs to find out who the bullet fragments belong to
MINUTE 31: DISTRESS SIGNAL
Bond spots Eve, the agent who shot him
MINUTE 32: ANXIETY AMP
Bond meets the new Chairman. Bond wonders if he'll be reinstated
MINUTE 33: OMINOUS OH NO!
Chairman Mallory tells Bond that "it's a young man's game" and that Bond has "lost a step." He suggests Bond retire
MINUTE 34: FRIEND AFFECT
Turner finds out who the bullet fragments belong to. Turner: "Luckily we have one or two friends left in the CIA"
MINUTE 35: BAIT & SWITCH
Turner to M: I didn't know Bond passed the tests" (BAIT)
M: "He didn't" (SWITCH)
MINUTE 36: HIDE & SEEK
Bond wonders who the young man is who sat beside him. It turns out to be the new Q.
MINUTE 37: OVER HIS HEAD
Witty Q says he can do more damage with his laptop in his pajamas than Bond can do out in the field -- Bond may be outdated
MINUTE 38: POSITIVE RECONNECT
Q wishes Bond good luck out in the field
MINUTE 39: NEW JOURNEY BOND
Bond follows the Bad Guy Agent while wearing a disguise
MINUTE 40: ALLY’S WORLD
The Bad Guy Agent (Bond's ally to finding the Main Bad Guy) takes a taxi
MINUTE 41: THORNY ROSE
Bond spots Bad Guy Agent (ROSE), but the agent shoots the security guard (THORN)
MINUTE 42: SURPRISE REVEAL
Bond nimbly bounds up and grabs hold of the bottom of the elevator, revealing that he is still surprisingly nimble for an old man
MINUTE 43: SURPRISE REVEAL 2
Bond's shoulder hurts him
MINUTE 44: NEW NEWS
Bond learns that the Bad Guy Agent is going to kill someone
MINUTE 45: OUT OF THE ORDINARY
The Bad Guy Agent uses a glass cutter for an assassination attempt
MINUTE 46: THE REVELATION
The Bad Guy Agent realizes Bond is there and fires at him
MINUTE 47: THE ESCORT
Bond finds a poker chip that leads him closer to his goal
MINUTE 48: NEEDED KNOWLEDGE
M learns that the Bad Guy posted five agents' names and faces onto the internet
MINUTE 49: FOREBODING FACT
Someone knocks on Bond's door
MINUTE 50: THE PORTENT
Bond gives Eve the razor
MINUTE 51: THE ENGAGE
Eve and Bond flirt heavily
MINUTE 52: SAY UNCLE
Bond gives into Eve's flirtation
MINUTE 53: THE INTIMIDATION
Bond tells Eve there's "lots of blind spots" in the casino
MINUTE 54: THE LIGHTBULB
Bond learns that the woman who was at the assassination is at the casino
MINUTE 55: SIDESWIPE
The woman tells Bond she doesn't gamble
MINUTE 56: DARK TWIST CHAT
The woman says to Bond: "Should we discuss your next performance over that drink?"
MINUTE 57: DIFFICULT WORDS
The woman asks Bond: "Do you mind if I ask you a business question?"
Bond: "Depends on the question"
Woman: "It has to do with death"
MINUTE 58: VITAL EVENT
Bond tells the woman he wants to meet her employer
Woman: "Be careful what you wish for"
MINUTE 59: THE DECEPTION
The woman acts brave, but Bond knows she's scared
MINUTE 60: THE SHOCKER
Three bodyguards attack Bond
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
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
Todd Klick Writing Services: www.toddklick.com
Thanks Todd. I bought "Something Startling Happens" and it's been invaluable. So eye-opening! Makes you realise how Hollywood has to fit so much in a tight time frame of 120 mins, etc. Beats are so different to tropes and help you get the emotions deeper,the action tighter and so on. My novel feels more professional and commercial after designing around the beats. Stops the wandering around in an amateur story. I've had Hollywood shopping list contract for a memoir and know how fast you need to be able to adapt something to Hollywood structures. Can't wait to apply to my new fiction projects now. After a few finished attempts at a series and the story not feeling right, I knew something was missing. After reading "Something Startling Happens," everything fell into place as soon as I started applying the beats to my scenes. they instantly got deeper, tighter, packed more emotional impact, made me understand where my special dialogue lines had to go, made the pacing fall into place, etc. So thanks again. Otherwise I'd still feel like I was in limbo not wanting to send out an inferior book and destroy the great concept.
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