... intriguing idea about having an audience disengage by overdoing the action up-front. I've never heard anyone say that before. Generally, the advice is to grab 'em quick and hard ... which I can see has value ... I think Wilder is saying not to overdo it, so as to not let them down, once the pace lessons. Am I right on that? Great thing to keep in mind. Also, just to comment on the idea of dismissing an audience to create art for one ... I couldn't imagine creating just for me ... what makes the effort so worthwhile is the connection one's writing, or a film makes with another person. The reward is in moving others, no? Gotta' pick up this book - looks interesting. Thanks, Scott ...

Good point, Doc. How high, hard, and fast we hit a script's action in the first act is entirely dependent on the type of story we're telling in combination with our narrative voice. I think you hit Wilder's main point: Don't set up the audience to think the movie is going to hit THIS HIGH LEVEL of intensity, then not deliver the goods. It's a great book. Definitely worth a read.

"You have to know how to distribute your plot points. What is there to be remembered? What is there to be remembered that leads indubitably into the third-act situation, which they did not quite know existed? But now they’ll remember. And now you play your cards openly if you want to. Because that’s what they want." Is this rule #9: The event that occurs at the second act curtain triggers the end of the movie? For instance, The Apartment: Sheldrake being kicked out by his wife, which sets up the final struggle. Stalag 17: the discovery of who the rat is the barracks by Holden's character, which he reveals to the others and turns the tables. This sets up the escape. Ace in the Hole: The reveal that the drilling can't be reversed (or something to that effect), which leads inevitably to the guy's death. Ball of Fire: Dana Andrew's character proposes marriage so Stanwyck can't testify against him. Leads to the final struggle.

That feels right, John. There is a kind of inevitability to the endings of stories, whether we can anticipate the actual results or not. And so there needs to be an event or events which propel the narrative / set the stage for the Final Struggle. I'm reminded of a conversation I had with a veteran screenwriter while picketing 20th Century Fox in the 1988 WGA strike. He told me, "You gotta know four things before you can write a script. The beginning. End of act one. End of act two. The ending. You got those, you can write the story. You don't got those, you don't got dick."

Awesome. Thanks for the feedback, Scott.