Thursday, April 18, 2013

SKYFALL Hits the 120 Universal Story Beats!

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 Storieshttp://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