The Beat Sheet – Part 2: Theme Stated
I don’t know what I’m doing.
Just rereading my last post covering Part 1 of the Beat Sheet and it already seemed that I was bleeding the opening image and the theme into one confusing post. My opening image was ok, though I’m still uncertain whether or not I’m going to keep it even remotely the same as I wrote it. My problem was including this:
‘Hell is all around us, it’s of our own creation, and our apathy doesn’t make it go away’.
That’s the theme, and hence it belongs here, not with the opening image.
Ok. *takes deep breath* I got that off my chest now.
The theme as stated above will come into play around page 5 of the screenplay, when the protagonist is brought in off the city streets into a research facility hidden behind one of the old sandstone tenement buildings. Greeted by the research team, made up of the leader and a handful of grad students, they apologize that he had to come into this part of town to meet with them.
“It’s hell out there isn’t it?”
“That was your choice.”
Not the exact dialogue I want, but it conveys the theme of the film rather nicely. To confirm this whole 5 page = stated theme theory I pulled out a few of the movies I had laying around my computer and checked out what was said around the 5 minute mark. I might be grasping at straws for some of them.
I started out with The Saint starring Val Kilmer. Five minutes into the movie we are still in a flashback to the Saints youth in a Catholic orphanage. He’s talking to the girl he loves, mentioning that he is leaving on a crusade. Is the crusade the theme? That we all want to do something worthwhile, even if it means sacrificing our material comforts? If you are a bit looser with the time frame you could go back a bit to where the young Saint if being forced to name himself John Rossi which he refuses. The theme in this case could be that nobody can be told who they are…it is something that we all have to learn on our own. And perhaps that pretending to be someone we’re not can be dangerous.
After the 8 minute mark of Alien Vs. Predator I haven’t got much. Some talk about the PSR (Point of Safe Return) is ominous, but hardly a thematic statement. A few minutes later (11ism minutes) the grandpooba who’s put this whole expedition together talks about this journey being worth the risk. That fits better with being a theme…is the pursuit of knowledge worth the risk….any risk? At what point is it better to back off and place personal safety over personal gain? However, this is almost twice the distance from the beginning as one would think to find the theme stated.
Of course, both these movies didn’t do great at the box office which could lead me to believe that by missing this beat the audience is confused. We’ve spent so much time waiting to find out what this movie is ‘about’ that we’ve given up on it already. Somehow I doubt that’s the case, but lets look at one more film.
The Maltese Falcon. I bought it awhile ago and still haven’t watched it. How sad is that? I must admit to thinking that there would be some statement of theme right at the five minute mark on the nose. Maybe it’s because the movie is from Hollywoods golden era where everyone seemed to be craftsman at their respective trade. Anyhoo, the only statement of theme I could come up with came around the 8 minute mark, when Spade is at the crime scene watching his partners body being bundled up. The inspector mentions that Miles had his faults but he must have had some good points too. Looks can be deceiving? Everyone is good and bad? You can’t trust anyone? Those are themes which could be explored in the movie.
Now I’ll just have to watch it to see if they pan out.
In the meantime….on to Beat number 3….The Set-Up
