Film Courage: How does the lead characters arc relate to structure? LA4Hire's Wendy Kram: Very good question when
people talk about structure a lot referring to the classic structure that
will hear and Syd field and Bob McKee and I think both of those writers their
books on screenwriting I think are really I think every screenwriters
should aspiring screenwriter should should read those books
now the question about structure you'll hear okay there has to be act 1 act 2
act 3 and inciting incident sometimes writers get so bogged down with oh no
I've got it here to to these there really guidelines and it's really
beginning middle and end when you think of act 1 act 2 act 3 I know as some
other people are talking about 7 & 8 X structures and so on but really with the
story you won't have it can take away all the terminology you're really
looking at a beginning middle and end the character you're usually starting
out with a heroine or hero and that they have a strong emotional want I think
it's very that's really how we usually get engaged whether it's the heroine in
The Hunger Games she wants to protect her sister and save her sister from
dying you know in these these crazy games and then the the journey the path
is very clear she wants to survive and live and in the process make sure that
other people she cares about don't get hurt the and then we have so many
obstacles along the way because at every twist and turn there are some things
some element going against her threatening to destroy her to kill her
so she's that's a very physical type of obstacle that she has to continually try
to overcome a movie that I loved in terms of its character arc and maybe
it's an oldie but goodie is an officer and a gentleman
you had the care character who and the very opening you
see that he is the father who is a drunk womanizer doesn't appreciate his son at
all doesn't think his sons going to amount to anything when he tells him
that he's enlisted he I think makes fun of him what you think you're a man now
the whole movie is really about a guy with so much armor and bad attitude when
he first gets to training camp he doesn't share with other of his bunk
mates or other soldiers and he's just really not a good guy but we know that
deep down inside he's carrying all this emotional heart and we know that he
really does want to be better and not wind up like his dad and then you're the
amazing performance by Lou Gossett junior as his captain sergeant who winds
up breaking him down so you have a character trying to better himself and
then finally when he's broken is when he starts to become a better guy and
becomes an officer and a gentleman and winds up with the girl and so on but
usually there's a character flaw or vulnerability and we see that getting
chipped away and chipped away until they're healed and that also applies in
romantic comedies as well and I can think of a couple of examples whether
it's proposal or something about Polly where yeah the Ben Stiller character is
very anal and the last thing he wanted was the Jennifer Aniston character and
through that relationship he winds up becoming less uptight and really capable
of loving what about in the wrestler going back to the oh well that's it see
not that's a really good question not every movie has to have this like huge
epiphany or growth
the I'm trying to think the I think the wrestler is thinking of something about
Schmidt I was thinking also of fellini's movie La Strada
with Anthony Quinn where the character is in a relationship with this woman
that he totally takes for granted and the oh it would be a spoiler alert at
the end of the movie we see a man who really is broken and realizes that how
that he really is all alone so maybe there's a sense of growth or victory in
the triumph of awareness very quiet kind of Arc in Something About Schmidt that
Jack Nicholson character is looking for connection looking for connection
reconnecting with family friends whatever he is his left since his wife
died and realizing a sense that his life has really passed him by and at the end
of the movie the child that he was trying to be a pen pal with and finally
responded and it was so touching because it's the notion that all we all want is
love in here that he was violently developing a relationship and a love
connection it was so small but it was meaningful and the wrestler what was so
sad was that he really he messed up he messed up connecting with his daughter
in the only place where he belonged was the ring even if that was going to be
where he was going to it was going to kill him so it just but you did see a
character who had a strong emotional want and I would say how structure in
terms of beginning middle and end relates to characters arc is starting
out with their strong emotional want what are the obstacles along the way and
the wrestler the obstacle was that he's been a screw-up certainly as a father
he's the obstacles are he's no longer he's older and been
through a lot in battle in the ring and that he the obstacle trying to reconnect
and get a daughter who he really abandoned to love him and then he gets
in his own way but we're sustaining this characters emotional want he has a
setback and so on and we see it through to the end whether
they wind up satisfying and learning or wind up going down and we just get a
glimpse of their humanity
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