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Welcome to the Party, Pal…

Here’s what nerds argue about:

Where’s the first act-break in Die Hard? I watched this movie today, for the first time since I was maybe 10-years-old, in my continuing effort to analyze the way movies in this genre are put together. In particular, this movie was recommended to me because it shares one common element with my action thriller: an extremely long first act. I’m not ordinarily one to follow the goofy Field/McKee “if [insert jargon] doesn’t happen on page [number], your story will fail” line of reasoning. For me, screenwriting is about 30% mechanics, 70% instinct. Anybody who has seen a lot of movies could write a screenplay with a rough but definable three-act structure, even if they don’t know that’s what they’re doing. The structure may be the only thing they get right, with all the plot points and arcs hitting the right beats, because it’s ingrained in the medium.

So I have a 41-page first act, which is a huge no-no under the “mechanics first” school of thought. I believe Field says the act-break should happen on page 28; McKee, an even 30. It’s probably bad form for a bottom-rung screenwriter working on spec to color outside the lines. I know of readers who will read 10 promise-free pages, then skip ahead to 30, to the middle page (which is roughly where the dramatic “midpoint” will occur, e.g. 60 on a 120-page script), then count back 30 pages from the last (e.g., 90 on a 120-page script) to see if there’s a turning point. That’s fucking idiocy, although I admit I’ve done it myself once or twice. I usually at least read through the first act, no matter where the break happens. Fortunately, most of the shit I read is right out of Field, so it’s easy to discern the act-break and give up.

This screenplay is a little different. Although it’s still on spec, it’s written specifically for the firmly bent ear of a producer who will never, ever buy or make this script. But hey, it could get me a job doing useful things, like getting paid to ramble about why some piece of shit script doesn’t measure up to Die Hard. Point is, I have some wiggle room. This isn’t something that’s being read based on a cold-query. Plus, the 41 pages are tight as shit. This is the fourth draft, and while I don’t dare say it’s even close to perfect, the first act does exactly what first acts do, more economically (despite its length) than any script I’ve ever written. It’s merely longer because there are a lot of dominos to set up before knocking the first one down.

Before I send this off, I decided to check out Die Hard, both to refresh my memory and to justify my long first act (if necessary). Here’s the problem: the act-break is subject to debate. The friend who recommended it told me, in no uncertain terms, that the act-break is very simple to find: “Welcome to the party, pal.” That line is almost 56 minutes into the movie, which might make it the longest first act in cinematic history.

I can see it: it’s a confluence of events and characters (notably, the introduction and integration of Sergeant Al Powell) that drive the rest of the movie. In that moment, Hans and his buddies realize, in addition to posing a general threat, McClane may actually thwart their efforts completely; Powell finally believes there’s a problem, thanks to a body dropped on his squad car and a hail of gunfire from the terrorists, and calls for backup, which motivates the police and smarmy TV reporter (and later, the FBI) to show up, and gets on a steamroller of uncovering the method to Hans Gruber’s madness and how McClane will undo it all.

However, and this is where the nerd argument comes in, I’d argue the act-break comes much earlier. (And considering the length of the movie, “Welcome to the party, pal” would function as the midpoint.) The spot that screamed “act-break” to me occurs right around the 30-minute mark (sadly, the traditional place for the break). Shortly after McClane hides while Hans kills Takagi, he makes the decision that sets the rest of the movie in motion: he’s not going to come at them guns a-blazing, but he’s not going to hide. “Think…think, goddammit!” Then, he pulls the fire alarm.

The fire alarm ruse doesn’t work, but it’s the moment McClane takes action instead of hiding. (Okay, technically he takes action while hiding.) That simple action leads to Tony’s death a few minutes later, which leads to the insane Karl stuff later in the film. At the same time, if the fire alarm made Hans realize somebody was up to something, Tony’s death and the classic NOW I HAVE A MACHINE GUN — HO-HO-HO! sequence made him realize McClane was a true threat. His death is also what gets McClane the lighter, the radio, and, of course, the machine gun. The radio is the key to pretty much everything else that happens in the movie — without it, he’d never get in touch with the unsympathetic dispatchers, Powell, Hans, or anyone else — but he wouldn’t have gotten any of it if he hadn’t taken the important action of pulling the alarm.

So, what say you, movie and/or screenwriting nerds? When is the first act-break in Die Hard — the fire alarm, or “Welcome to the party, pal”? If you agree with me, can you think of any other movies (be it an action movie or anything else) with a particularly long first act?

Posted by Stan on March 12, 2008 5:51 PM  | Permalink | Career-Based Rambling, How Not to Write a Screenplay | Digg It