Jay Fingers, Screenwriter/Author/Youtuber: But I think that's the Save The Cat movement
because that's the moment where you realize that
Chris Knight is going to help this kid adjust to life at this school.
Film Courage: You love the film Real Genius with Val Kilmer.
What is the Save The Cat moment in that film?
Jay: I think it's probably okay so with Real Genius the premise there's a young genius
who enrolls in this sort of like cal tech type school and he partners up with Chris Knight who's
played by Val Kilmer and he's young like the this kid is like 14 or 15 years old he's young
and he's surrounded by all these older students they're picking on him whatever and he places a
phone call to his parents complaining about the school he's crying mom I don't want to be here
and the call is recorded and broadcast like I think in the cafeteria and he's humiliated this
kid is humiliated and he doesn't know what to do Val Kilmer says hey don't get mad get even and he
helps him concoct his plan to get revenge on like the main bully which is this guy named Kent it's
so funny that this film everyone at the school is a nerd essentially but they still have the
different factions you've got the cool kids you got your bullies or whatever so the main bully
Kent they devised his plan to get revenge on him and they do it by essentially dismantling his car
and reassembling it in his dorm room where it's like sitting on this inflatable raft or whatever
it's great it's great because it it works for the world with that film as well it's so absurd but it
works the world of that film ken he just he loves his car and everything but I think that's the same
the cat moment because that's the moment where you realize that kris knight is going to help this kid
adjust to life at the school that's the moment I think you really like him because he can come
off as a bit insufferable in the beginning like when we when we're first introduced to him he's
actually interviewing for a job and he's wearing alien antenna and bunny slippers and it was a
halloween costume that I wore one year actually it's fantastic you see just he just doesn't care
he doesn't care but when he helps out the new kid when he helps the kid get revenge on the bully
that's when you see he does care about something I think that's his Save The Cat
moment interesting so he's always been super smart he doesn't really have to worry about he
always figures things out exactly and so then you see sort of this humanity come out of him
helping this other kid that was being bullied okay I like that when you saw the guy on the
corner selling Save The Cat you buy the book you read it how has it impacted your work
even to this day well as I as I mentioned that book Blake Snyder what he did is he
he turned a lot of the elements that I think should be in the script right
for instance dark knight of the soul it's something that I've seen in every
just about every movie that I've watched that I've read in just about every story I just didn't know
what it was called I or I just didn't have anything to call it but I knew the moment
so the book termed all of these elements and that helped me realize oh that's what's happening here
that's why it's happening here this is why we should have this and so I've been a lot more
cognizant of how I'm using these elements where I'm placing them
in my own scripts in my own writing making sure just just being aware of me using those elements
and just making sure that they're placed properly in my script because you can't
have a dark knight in the soul at the beginning of that doesn't work
and then a Real Genius what is the dark dawn of the soul is that where the one character
calls the parents no I would say the dark night of the soul is when they realize what the professor
has done they they learn that the professor their professor is using their work to craft a laser
to essentially like assassinate people from space and they realize okay we've solved this issue and
he's taken it to the government what what can we do that I think that's the dark night of the soul
it's because even Val Kilmer his character Chris Knight is despondent he has a mini breakdown
and they they kept the their solution was to essentially like freeze the laser and they
kept it and in the freezer in the in the break room and he has a breakdown he's beating on the
on the refrigerator and he slumps down like I can't believe it he says I was a fool but then
there's the moment where they realize what they can do in order to sabotage the professor and
that's how they come out of the the dark knight of the soul so how does this professor get them
to come up with ideas he presents this potential laser yeah I guess I'm fuzzy on the details but
he has them working on a laser project like they they all know it's a laser and they're trying
different methods like there was one method I remember that that uses a mirror of some sort but
I think if I'm remembering correctly the problem was that the laser was was too hot like they they
couldn't regulate the temperature and that's where they got the idea to freeze the the mechanism that
fires the laser but because I know because it was so intense or whatever it was only good for
a limited amount of time maybe like two seconds or something like that yeah I'm fuzzy on the science
I want to see it again I think I think I have seen it but it was a gazillion years ago and
now now it'll be part of movie night I like that jay let's say you were writing a screenplay and
you go through it and you say I'm missing some beats according to Blake Snyder's Save The Cat
what would you do I think it's honestly I think it's difficult to to miss any of the beats because
they're so dependent on each other for instance you've got the catalyst and the catalyst is
supposed to be the life-changing event for the protagonist and then after that is the debate
and the debate is essentially the protagonists deciding on what action they're going to take with
regard to the catalyst I think because the beats are so dependent on each other even if even if
you forget about one or two there's they're still going to be present the script they've got to be
I just think that inherently they're part of the story you're going to have that that dark night
of the soul it just happens in every story because in every story the protagonist gets defeated
the they're the goal that they're chasing what they're trying to do they get thwarted
at some point and they feel low about it it just happened so I don't know that I don't
know that you can really leave out a beat or miss a beat it's there even if it's not strong like
it's there perhaps you'll have to go back and think oh wait a minute this is supposed to be
okay and maybe punch it up but but I think I think the beats are there they should be there yeah.