37 pages • 1 hour read
Blake SnyderSave the Cat: The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need
Nonfiction | Reference/Text Book | Adult | Published in 2005A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Summary
Background
Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Key Figures
Themes
Index of Terms
Important Quotes
Essay Topics
Tools
BetaChapters 3-5 Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 3 Summary: “It’s About a Guy Who …”
At some point in the pitch, the screenwriter must include information on whom the movie is about. Snyder argues that the “who” is how the audience connects to the story. The identities of the protagonist and antagonist, if there is one, should be in the logline with an adjective for both, as well as the goal they are trying to reach. Even in an ensemble cast, there is usually just one character who carries the theme or has the most growth. The ideal “hero” is one who offers conflict in the premise, has an emotional journey to go on, and is pleasing to the broadest moviegoing demographic, which is viewers in their twenties. The motivation for the hero to act must be primal, and there must be real stakes for the character if they win or lose on their journey.
Snyder advises that a screenwriter should not cast the actors before the script is sold or write parts for specific actors, as they cannot control the actors’ schedules or availability. However, just as there are story archetypes, there are actor archetypes going back to the early days of cinema, such as the “sex goddess” and the “wounded soldier” (58-59). In the special circumstance of writing a biographical film, the same approach of figuring out the archetype should be used. Snyder uses the movie Kinsey as an example of needing to alter the facts of a real-life figure to a certain extent in order to help the audience connect to someone who might otherwise be too objectionable in certain ways for the audience to identify as a hero. To identify or create a hero, Snyder defines five rules for the relevant character: The character must be someone who the viewers “can identify with, […] can learn from, […] have compelling reasons to follow, […] believe deserves to win and […] [h]as stakes that are primal and ring true” (62).
Chapter 4 Summary: “Let’s Beat It Out!”
Based on ideas from Syd Field’s book Screenplay and Viki King’s How to Write a Movie in 21 Days, Snyder created his own “Blake Snyder Beat Sheet,” called “BS2” thereafter, to develop the structure of a movie (72-91). The 15 parts of the BS2 cover the three acts of a film (called the thesis, antithesis, and synthesis) and are marked with the approximate page where they should be found in a 110-page screenplay. The “Opening Image” sets the tone and mood of a movie and gives a sense of what type of movie it is. The “Theme Stated,” often by a different character than the hero, usually occurs within the first five minutes. It should suggest the premise. The “Set-Up,” occurring in the first 10 minutes/pages, shows the main characters and whatever their flaws or problems are, termed “The Six Things That Need Fixing.”
The “Catalyst” is the event that sets the hero in motion, and Snyder recommends putting it on page 12. The “Debate,” appearing on pages 12-25, features the hero debating their options and answering questions about the premise. The “Break Into Two,” on page 25, should be some critical event where the hero decides to take an action that ends the “thesis,” or their ordinary world, and sends them on their journey. The “B Story,” starting on page 30, is often the love story of a movie and often encapsulates the theme. There may be new characters in the B Story, and it often serves as a break from the dominant mood and action of the main story. The “Fun and Games” section takes place on pages 30-55 and provides “the promise of the premise” (81). Often the fun or interesting scenes that the logline hinted at occur in this section, which may be lighter in tone than other parts of the movie, even in dramas.
The “Midpoint,” on page 55, marks the two halves of the movie. In it, the hero either has a false victory or a false defeat. Snyder realized the importance of this component while listening to a recording of the Barbra Streisand movie What’s Up, Doc?, in which he noticed how the dynamics changed at the midpoint. In the “Bad Guys Close In” section, approximately pages 55-75 of the script, either the actual enemies regroup for a new attack, or the situation causing conflict for the hero has not yet been resolved. The “All Is Lost” moment, page 75, is the opposite of the midpoint regarding the fate of the hero. Snyder suggests adding a “whiff of death” (86), either actual or metaphorical, into this moment to mark it as the antithesis of the first act.
The “Dark Night of the Soul,” on pages 75-85, is the hero’s response to or contemplation of the “All Is Lost” moment and is crucial for the hero’s growth. The “Break Into Three” on page 85 is when the hero finds a solution. Usually the A and B storylines intersect at this point. The “Finale,” on pages 85-110, is the synthesis of the two previous acts. The hero has learned a lesson, the enemies are defeated, and the world is new. The movie and the screenplay should end on page 110 with the “Final Image.” This image should mirror the Opening Image in some way and show the change the hero has wrought.
To further illustrate his point, the author plots the beats of the Sandra Bullock movie Miss Congeniality on his BS2.
Chapter 5 Summary: “Building the Perfect Beast”
Mike Cheda is a development executive and script writer/consultant whom Snyder esteems. From him, he realized the importance of “The Board,” a physical layout of the plot. The board consists of four horizontal rows, one for Acts 1 and 3, and two for the two halves of Act 2. Each scene has one index card, and Snyder strongly advises using only 40 index cards in total. For each card, the writer indicates whether the scene is interior or exterior, the setting, and the time of day. A brief sentence indicates the action in the scene. At the bottom of the card, there are two sets of symbols: “+/-“ and “> <”. The plus/minus indicates the “emotional change” that must occur in each scene, either from positive to negative or vice versa (110). The greater/less than sign marks the conflict in each scene, with each character in the scene having their own goals and desires. Each scene should only have one conflict.
The first scene cards to go on the board are “major turns” or the “hinge points of the story” (104): the break into Act 2, the midpoint, and the break into Act 3. Snyder cautions against using the cards for character notes, which is backstory; instead, he advises using them only for scenes. Often a writer may find one act is overloaded with cards, while the other acts have holes. After reviewing the story cards on the board, the writer should determine whether the B story has been tied up and the loose ends resolved. The author recommends color-coding for theme and repeated imagery, as well as character arcs and secondary stories.
If the board has fewer or more than 40 cards, averaging 10 per row, then the screenwriter should figure out what to cut or what to fold into other rows where more scenes are needed. Chase scenes, Snyder notes, can go on one index card, even if the chase spans multiple scenes. Snyder justifies the time spent on creating the board as a way to tinker with the components of a story without needing to commit to them. It serves as a foundational preparation to writing the actual screenplay.
Chapters 3-5 Analysis
One key element to bear in mind when approaching Snyder’s advice is the period during which Snyder gained his insider experience. Snyder relies on his insider understanding of Hollywood when he asserts that, “[m]ore than any other element, the bones of a screenplay, as constructed in the story beats of your script, will be proof to those who decide who gets credit at the Writers Guild of America (WGA) that the work is primarily yours” (68). Snyder warns writers about “credit jumpers,” people at the studio who will alter the work and try to take credit for the script, depending on the extent of change; a solid story structure defends against these people, Snyder argues, because it will shine through any changes, marking the skill of the script’s originator (68). However, Save the Cat was originally published in 2005, and much of Snyder’s success occurred in the early 1990s, so modern readers should take his advice in light of the changes to the film industry in the decades that followed.
In addition, though Snyder insists that his approach will serve writers best in terms of financial and industry success, he sometimes prioritizes Box Office Success Versus Art on shaky foundations. In these chapters, Snyder continues to push his stated goal of wanting the writers following his method to be able to make money from their writing; he is more concerned with commercial success than with artistic achievement. However, in this argument, he uses the movie Memento as an example of what not to do, noting that “[e]xistential dilemmas are what close on Saturday night, as the low-performing art house gem Memento proves” (91). This choice of an example is somewhat problematic. For example, while Memento cost less to produce than Snyder’s movie Blank Check (around $9 million versus $13 million), it made about the same amount in the box office (around $40 million). Moreover, the film was a major milestone in the career of Christopher Nolan, a leading filmmaker of the 21st century who now has Hollywood blockbusters to his name. Just as factors beyond the script have a powerful influence on a film’s box office results, such as advertising investment, competition, and performance, box office results are hardly the only factor—or even the main factor—in a scriptwriter’s career success.
Several major voices in the film industry have rejected Snyder’s insistence on the Likability of the Hero, including the rule from which his book takes its title. Writers including William Akers, David Trottier, and Robert McKee have rejected Snyder’s advice; Akers asserts that there is only rule for character creation: “[D]on’t be boring” (Akers, William M. Your Screenplay Sucks! 100 Ways to Make It Great. Michael Wiese Productions, 2008, p. 27.).
While Snyder does not address any particular criticism, his broader discussion of the protagonist in these chapters does move beyond the notion of “likability,” offering more nuance on how plot must interact with protagonist. Though Snyder says that his movie ideas often start with scenes or a premise, he argues that the structure of scripts should hinge on the hero, or main character. That the book spends an entire chapter discussing the protagonist stresses the importance of this concept. Beyond the likability factor, as discussed in the Introduction, Snyder links Making It Primal to ensuring an audience’s connection with the hero: The hero should have primal urges, because “[s]urvival, hunger, sex, protection of loved ones, fear of death grab us” (54) and, being universal, can translate to overseas sales.
The BS2 depends on the hero. Through this vehicle, the audience moves through the beats, from the Set-Up, wherein we see the hero’s ordinary world and personality; to the Catalyst, which pushes the hero to act; to the Dark Night of the Soul, where the hero recognizes the need for change; to the end product in the finale. Every scene, whether it features the hero or not, needs an emotional shift, often brought about by conflicting motivations.
Snyder emphasizes that the BS2 system is meant not only to increase a script’s odds of success but also to ease the process of writing. On the business side, Snyder asserts that the BS2 and the board will help the screenwriter in pitch meetings, when they have to answer questions about major turns. In addition, the beats track with many of the stages of the classic hero’s journey, as set out by Joseph Campbell, making it more likely that the resulting script will resonate with a wide audience. On the writing side, by limiting the number of index cards (scenes) and giving writers the ability to rearrange things easily, Snyder hopes to make the writing process more approachable, stating that “[t]he worst thing that can happen in screenwriting is to not finish” (114).
In the drafting process, Snyder prompts streamlined thinking. Writers should envision the characters entering a scene “with a goal and standing in their way is an obstacle. […] And whether it’s physical or verbal or simply a guy who really needs to pee and must get to a bathroom soon or else!, that conflict must be foremost on your mind” (111). In this sense, the board is a visual aid for ensuring that the screenwriter has thought through each scene.
