A Hollywood Script Consultant

C.J.O.A.E.!!!

BY CRAIG KELLEM

It’s human nature to try to figure out the essence of things. Indeed, you can see this demonstrated in articles and such, which attempt to define what the “real truth” is in this or that. The innovator who touches on the ultimate heart of a matter is going to be the one who catches the proverbial brass ring. It can be argued that the great thinkers and philosophers in history are those who everyone feels has “the answers”.

In the more humble universe of screenwriting, trade writers recognize that there are inherent, ultimate truths underlying the very form of a script, the nature of which must always be respected in order for a piece to really work. Take for example, the omnipotence of the three-act structure. Any writer who has ever violated the underlying rhythmic demands of this fundamental design, knows the havoc wrecked upon the entire script. One cannot get away with a first act devoid of story set up, or a second act in which the plot barely progresses, or a third act launched on a sleepy, un-dramatic note. All great scriptwriters intuitively bow to the essential, story-telling pace imposed by the three act structure, fully aware that they must adhere to this “truth” about the overall form in order for their piece to really gel. Same goes for including an “inciting incident” in any film or insuring that there is a sympathetic protagonist dominating the script. These factors must become assumed, guiding hands, ever-present within the writer in order for him/her to do good work.

For me, there are many ultimate truths involved in screenwriting, but if someone were to force me to identify the most essential of the bunch, I’d say it’s the ample inclusion of: CONFLICT, JEOPARDY, OBSTACLES, ANGST AND EVENTFULNESS (C.J.O.A.E.).

The first of these, CONFLICT, came to my special attention when I was leaving Twentieth Century Fox and moving on to Universal to be in charge of a large, creative department. I was excited, but quite nervous. In fact it reminded me of the time that I was involved in the first year of, Saturday Night Live and Lorne Michaels - after going through all the pains of selling and setting up the show – heavily sighed, “I guess we’ve got to go out and make the show now.” He looked uncharacteristically anxious saying this.

So too, I found myself worriedly wandering into the Fox commissary during one of my last days there, and sidling up to a notable ex CBS exec who’d just started at Twentieth, to tell him about my new position and ask for some basic advice. He glanced up from his Chinese chicken salad and grunted, “remember conflict.”

He was spot-on right.

I soon discovered that good news, being nice, polite, soft, agreeable, genteel, and subtle were great for real life, but toxic in theatre. Great story telling requires heaps and heaps of conflict. It’s the ingredient that captures everyone’s attention. Just think of all the rubbernecking that instantly creates hours of traffic!

Now, of course this doesn’t mean that one should contrive so much jeopardy, obstacle, and angst in one’s material that it reads gratuitous and so forced that it’s hard to believe. Every writer must find the balance in his or her material, so that the drama feels authentic and organic to the story. But you’d be surprised at how many projects there are out there that suffer from a lack of excitement and mojo, which could be easily remedied by dashes of C.J.O.A.E. Misery and malice almost always get a reader wondering about what’s going to happen next, and that keeps them firmly in what I sometimes call the “story tent.” This is where you want your moviegoer to be – not just enjoying and admiring your movie, but so into it that they happily wait to see what’s going to happen next, rather than taking a needed trip to the bathroom. Talk about a litmus test!!

Bottom line: Give characters more conflict, angst, obstacles, woes, and difficult situations, and they will automatically become more interesting – PLUS, their dreams and goals will become more story-like because your reader will be worried about them, rooting for them, and wondering, “what’s going to happen next?” – which is of course the very essence of what story is all about and why we continue to turn pages.

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