SCRIPTREADERPRO.COM

OK, so we’ve looked at how every scene in your screenplay should have a protagonist with a goal and an antagonist who wants to stop them achieving it.

Every scene should also have an overall and a specific goal. The overall goal is the protagonist’s intention throughout the script; the goal they want to achieve by its end. The specific goal is what they have to achieve in each individual scene in order to get one step closer to the overall goal.

As an example, let’s take a look at the Dog Resuscitation Scene in There’s Something About Mary.

This is the scene in which Healy (Matt Dillon) turns up at Mary’s place for a date.

Healy’s overall goal is clearly to win Mary. When the scene starts, it’s just been established in a conversation between Mary and Magda that Puffy will have a big say in Mary’s attitude towards Healy depending on its reaction. Healy then arrives at Mary’s door to find Puffy growling at him. This is a great set-up for the scene as it clearly establishes the following dynamics:

Protagonist—HEALY

Overall Goal—to impress Mary

Antagonist—PUFFY

Goal—to stop HEALY entering

Healy slips the dog some Valium, making it putty in his hands. Inside, Mary’s impressed, but then at the “Act One” turning point of the scene, Mary and Magda leave the room and the dog fails to wake up.

This is where Healy’s specific scene goal is established—to resuscitate Puffy. The conflict is driven by the fact that if he’s killed the dog, he’s also killed all hope of getting together with Mary.

In other words, it’s the overall goal that gives the scene its tension. If Healy and Mary were taking a walk in the park and he tries to revive a random dog in order to show off to her, they’d be less at stake and less tension. He’d still be trying to win Mary, but as it’s not her dog there would be no threat of failure and possible death of the relationship.

So, at the first turning point in the scene, the dynamic shifts to:

Protagonist—HEALY

Overall Goal—to resuscitate PUFFY

Antagonist—PUFFY

Goal—none

Re-read the scene and notice how Healy goes through a series of desperately escalating measures to try and revive the dog. At first he shakes it. Then he performs CPR. Then, finally, he tries electric shock treatment using the wires from a couple of table lamps. (The magic “number three” rule of comedy. More on this in a later post.)

The act two “All Is Lost” moment occurs when he sets Puffy on fire, but a vase of water thrown over the pooch brings it back from the dead.

So, at the scene’s climax, Healy has saved himself—Puffy’s OK again and his relationship with Mary is back on track. This is how all good scenes are constructed, and it’s only possible by establishing both a clear overall and specific goal for the scene’s protagonist.

By far, the most common fault with spec screenplays is associated in one way or another with the hero’s goal. These problems generally fall into one of the following four categories:

1) There is no goal

Nothing happens at the end of Act One, around page 25, that establishes a major quest for the hero to embark upon. They are left to drift through the script with no clear function, purpose or drive.

2) There is a goal, but it’s weak

The hero has something to achieve but the stakes aren’t high enough for us to care if they do or not. There’s nothing of much importance, or interest, in their goal so, in effect, they may as well not have one.

3) There is a goal, but the protagonist isn’t interested in it

A compelling goal has been established, but the hero seems intent on not pursuing it and would rather do something else.

4) There are too many goals

One minute the hero has to stop one antagonist from stealing a magic ring. Then they have to stop another from releasing a deadly virus. Then, they realize the real threat is actually some guy with a nuclear missile. Each on its own is enough for one movie.

A fifth, less popular version, is the hero who has a goal, which they pursue through the script, right up until the last act, before ditching it in favour of an unrelated goal. For more info read our post on How to End a Script.

So, take another look at your hero and his / her goal and make sure it doesn’t fall into any of the four categories. If it doesn’t, you’re already half way to gaining a “Consider” or “Recommend.”

If it does, here are the answers to the problems, one by one…

1) If you feel your hero may not actually have a goal, give them one. Make something happen around the 10—15 minute mark that spins their head on their shoulders. An invitation, a major problem, the cry of adventure. Then, after a brief period of wondering whether to accept the challenge, make them come to a decision and go for it at the end of Act One.

2) Make sure that whatever goal you choose for hero, it’s an interesting one. Can you imagine the story in a trailer? On a poster or a one-sheet? All good films have high stakes attached to their goals because all good films are about death. Either literal death (The world is coming to an end, as in 2012) or figurative death (the protagonist’s real self will die, as in The Truman Show or any romantic comedy) if they don’t get the girl or guy.

3) This one’s all about delivering on what you’ve set up. An interesting premise / problem for your hero has to be followed through and fully developed, right the way through to the climax. If you throw them into a difficult situation, make sure your hero attempts to get out of it.

4) Your hero will have many minor goals throughout the script, but they should all lead to overcoming the one major goal at the climax. This goal should be deceptively simple and singular. If your script has more than one major goal, one needs to go. Then, focus on this as the hero’s goal— one key problem that he / she needs to solve by the script’s end.