Expert: Donald L. Vasicek - 1/21/2010

Question
QUESTION: what Billy Wilder's tip no. 10 mean?
he says:"10.   The third act must build, build, build in tempo and action until the last event"
the third act?! which act? what is the first and second?

note: I'm Iranian and maybe i can't understand the right meaning of him because of my language!!

ANSWER: Masih,

I apologize for taking so long to answer your questions.
I've been shooting a film and it keeps busy.

I'm unfamiliar with Billy Wilder's tips.  I do  know that
The first act should introduce  the main character,
the theme, the dramatic premise, other characters,
the main character's goal,etc.  The second act takes the
main character/story into achieving her/his goal.  The
third act shows the main character's resolution of
accomplishing her/his goal.

I hope this has been of help to you.

Best Regards,

Donald L. Vasicek
Olympus Films+, LLC
The Zen of Writing and Filmmaking
http://www.donvasicek.com
dvasicek@earthlink.net

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: thanks Donald
here is Wilder's screenwriting tips:
1.   The audience is fickle.
2.   Grab ‘em by the throat and never let ‘em go.
3.   Develop a clean line of action for your leading character.
4.   Know where you’re going.
5.   The more subtle and elegant you are in hiding your plot points, the better you are as a writer.
6.   If you have a problem with the third act, the real problem is in the first act.
7.   A tip from Lubitsch: Let the audience add up two plus two. They’ll love you forever.
8.   In doing voice-overs, be careful not to describe what the audience already sees. Add to what they’re seeing.
9.   The event that occurs at the second act curtain triggers the end of the movie.
10.   The third act must build, build, build in tempo and action until the last event, and then—that’s it. Don’t hang around.


ANSWER: Masih,

Thank you for sending these tips.  What Mr. Wilder
means"...the third act must build, build, build...",
is to make the tension of what your main character is
doing to achieve her/his goal go up, up, up, like using
a corkscrew to open a bottle of wine.  The more you  
twist, the tighter the tension in the cork becomes, until something
gives, the cork breaks, or whoever is screwing in the
corkscrew, decides it is time to pull out the cork with
the corkscrew.  

In other words, make it more and more difficult for
your main character to achieve her/his goal until
she/he comes to a point where he/she must either
give up her/his goal, or, he/she "goes over the top",
experiences an epiphany, and accomplishes the
goal.  Each obstacle (difficulty) must be more
challenging than the last.  It's like putting your
main character on a tree branch.  Her/his
opposition throws rocks at her/him until the
branch breaks.  Then, he/she falls in a raging
river.  Then, in the river, he/she fights to keep
from drowning until he/she comes to a roaring
waterfall.  The question is, will she/he, survive
the waterfall, or not?  

When you have your main character at the "waterfall"
of your story, then you have your main character
decide at that point, what she/he has to do to
survive tumbling over the waterfall.  To conquer
this, the main character must overcome her/his
greatest fear of accomplishing his/her goal
throughout the story.  If he/she does, then he/she
experiences an epiphany.  He/she faces her/his
fear and overcomes it.  Perhaps, instead of tumbling
over the waterfall, getting battered to death by
rocks, and drowning, which has been your main
character's primary fear that has been keeping
her/him from accomplishing his/her goal in the
story, that of the fear of drowning, your main
character swims back upstream and saves
herself/himself.   

This is the last event in the third act.  From
this point forward, wrap up all loose ends
from your story, send your main character
to the Olympics as a champion swimmer,
and end your screenplay.

I hope this has been of help to you.

Best Regards,

Donald L. Vasicek
Olympus Films+, LLC
The Zen of Writing and Filmmaking
http://www.donvasicek.com
dvasicek@earthlink.net

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi donald
I'm happy for writing you again.
i have new question:
1-What happened between "Dalton Trumbo" and "Ian McLellan Hunter" in 1953?
Had Mr.McLellan prejudice agaiast Trumbo and grabed his award?!
2-In that year, they have 3 awards for Oscar:
Motion Picture Story:Roman Holiday -- Dalton Trumbo
Screenplay: From Here to Eternity -- Daniel Taradash
Story and Screenplay:Titanic -- Charles Brackett, Walter Reisch, Richard Breen
What's different between these 3 subject?  

Answer
Masih,

I hope you can forgive me for being
late in answering your questions.  I
have been in Atlanta on business
and just returned.

United States Senator Joseph McCarthy
was running an inquiry into Communism.
Dalton Trumbo and Ian McLellan Hunter
were suspected of being involved in
Communistic activities.  They were
blacklisted from Hollywood for it.

A motion picture story, is a story.  A
screenplay, which is written in a
different form and structure, is also
a story.  Story and screenplay are,
individually a story, and a screenplay.
This award category combined both
as well as individually.

I hope this has been of help to you.

Best Regards,

Donald L. Vasicek
Olympus Films+, LLC
The Zen of Writing/Filmmaking/Consulting
http://www.donvasicek.com
dvasicek@earthlink.net