OK, so as you read these, bear in mind that I'm doing this from memory... so if I remember some scenes out of order or if you think I've remembered the act breaks wrong, feel free to challenge me in the comments, as it quite possible that my memory has failed me on the order of a scene or two. Also, if the title of this post means nothing to you, check out this previous post on Screenplay Structure, where I discussed The First Act and left you with a challenge to try and identify where the first act ends in three popular movies.
Now that that's all out of the way, here we go:
STAR TREK: THE WRATH OF KAHN - Kahn forces Chekov to contact Carol Marcus on Regula One to let her know that the Reliant is coming to take possession of Genesis under the orders of Admiral James T. Kirk, knowing full well that Carol will try to confirm the order with Kirk. She does, but Kirk is unable to understand what she's saying because Kahn is jamming the signal. Unable to stop being the hero even for a second, and chomping at the bit to get back in the Captain's chair, Kirk takes it upon himself to re-assume command of the Enterprise in order to find out what the hell is happening... just as Kahn, and his superior intellect, knew he would. The First Act officially ends when Kirk gets on the ship-wide intercom and announces that he is assuming command of the ship, they are embarking on a combat mission, and that he's going to need this boatload of recruits to grow up a little faster than they'd planned.
THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN - Chris and Vin have accepted the contract to protect the village, but based on their tactical plan, they know they cannot get the job done with less than seven men. Nevertheless, as the deadline for leaving town approaches, their rigorous interview process has yielded only six reliable recruits. It's a tense ride to the village, as each man realizes they are probably riding to their deaths at the hands of Caldera's overwhelming manpower... and yet as they ride, Vin notices that someone is following them. It turns out to be Chico, who is determined to jon the group despite his humiliation at Chris' hands during the interview. Impressed with his pluck and determination, Chris allows him to join the team... as they ride on, Vin looks at Chris, smiles, and holds up seven fingers. The teams is set, and Act One has ended.
DIE HARD - John McClane arrives at Nakatomi. At this point we've met most of the crucial supporting characters... Argyle, Takagi, Holly, and of course Ellis. Nakatomi has mentioned the important tactical information we need to know about the building... no one is here but the party-goers on 30, several floors are under construction, etc. etc. John tries to be civil with Holly but his temper gets the better of him and the last words they say to one another are in anger. She storms back to the party, while he throws water on his face in an attempt to relax. Meanwhile the terrorists seal off the elevators, effectively blocking off any escape from the 30th floor, and then start shooting up the party. McClane peeks out into the hallway, sees he is hopelessly outnumbered, and only has time to grab his gun and duck into a stairwell before the gunmen check the office where he has been hiding. Now he's alone in the stairwell with a single gun, no shoes, and no way to call for help. Our story has begun, and act one has ended.
4 comments:
KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!
I always thought of the first act of Die Hard ending right at the moment where the black computer terrorist says, "Boom, two points We're in!" right after they shoot the security guard.
MGL - Only reason I disagree with that is because McClane has not been angaged in the story yet when that happens. I like the moment where the terrorists come out of the elevator, the music stops, and they start shooting up the place, because that's when McClane is forced to make a choice whether to come out and start fighting right away, or to fall back and figure out his tactical situation before deciding on a plan.
We know that by the time the first act ends, you should be able to tell people what the movie is about. Up until the terrorists start shooting the place up and McClane disappears into the stairwell, you would not be able to write the logline "A New York City cop on vacation in LA is the only hope for a group of party-goers trapped by terrorists in a high-rise office building."
That is to say until McClane makes for the stairwell, you don't really know what the movie is going to be about... you don't knwo that McClane will hide and try to take the terrorists out one-at-a-time.
That's true, even though we sort of know what the tension is going to be, we don't really know what it is for sure until McClane does.
By the way, my second bet for bomb of the summer is looking good right now.
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