Book Review: Do Not Forget To Save The Cat
Blake Snyder’s book reads like a very fast-paced screenwriting manual which gives the reader a step-by-step guide on how to write at least the first draft of a screenplay or a “spec” as he calls it. He introduces the reader to the industry by using the slang words among the members of the Writer’s Guild of America of which he is a member. His basic premise is that a successful screenplay must be able to establish a good “save the cat” scene. This is usually in the first 10 minutes of the film wherein the lead “does something – like saving a cat – that defines who he is and makes us, the audience, like him” (Snyder, 2005).
Snyder insists how important this is because if we do not root for the lead character and be willing to go with him as he goes through his journey in the film, the screenplay does not work and you have just lost your audience. One of his most memorable examples is the Disney movie “Aladdin” wherein the lead character steals bread because he is hungry. He escapes the palace guards who are after him and just as he is about to eat the bread that almost got him caught, he shares his bread with street children who looks more hungry than he is. This is Aladdin’s “save the cat” moment. He may be willing to break the law but he has a big heart; and, we, the audience, is now emotionally connected enough to sit through the rest of the movie to find out where Aladdin’s journey will take him.
Snyder also encourages screenwriters to be able to create the perfect “logline.” This is the one sentence that can answer the “What is it?” question when asked about the screenplay you are writing or the movie you want to watch. The author is adamant that if the screenwriter cannot sum up what the movie is about in one line and get to the heart of the story, then the screenplay gets tossed out. He proceeds to present examples of good “loglines” of “specs” that got sold to studios in the six-to-seven figure range:
A newly married couple must spend Christmas Day at each of their four divorced parent’s homes (4 Christmases). A just-hired employee goes on a company weekend and soon discover’s someone’s trying to kill him (The Retreat). A risk-averse teacher plans on marrying his dream girl but must first accompany his overprotective future brother-in-law, a cop, on a ride along from hell (Ride Along) (Snyder, 2005).
Or the more popular ones:
A cop comes to L.A. to visit his estranged wife and her offiice building is taken over by terrorists (Die Hard). A businessman falls in love with a hooker he hires to be his date for the weekend (Pretty Woman) (Snyder, 2005).
Having a good “logline” or “one-line” ensures that the screenplay is grounded and the screenwriter is very much aware of what he is trying to achieve. The “logline” is also the same line one pitche made to studio executives, producers, and even directors even before they read the screenplay. They simply want to know what the big idea is about. Then Snyder guides the reader through the process of writing a good “logline,” proceeds to discuss the 10 genres every movie ever made can be categorized by, and an in depth discussion of each of the 15 beats found in a successful movie, all based from his experience as a screenwriter. He even outlines the contents of what a 110-page screenplay should have and he is very specific of the page numbers by which certain milestones should occur.
For example, opening image by page 1, set-up is from pages 1to 10, midpoint by page 55, dark night of the soul from pages 75-85, and so on until the final image by page 110. If as a reader you want a screenwriting book with general theories and sweeping generalizations, this is not it. The goal of the book “Save the Cat” is to be a tool you can use from fade in to fade out and if the reader decides to follow the exercises at the end of each of chapter, he or she might have finished writing a screenplay draft by the time you turn the last page.
To Save the Cat or Not to Save the Cat
To say that the book has been an enlightening read for me is an understatement. This is the first screenwriting book I have ever read and most definitely not the last. What struck me the most is how mechanical the process is. It is as if the screenwriting process is a well-oiled machine that runs itself as long as you’re willing to go along with the motions as the screenwriter. I always thought screenwriting was simply writing a novel only for movies. I did not know that so much work went into each frame, each image, each arc.
I don’t think I will be able to watch movies the same way after reading this. Maybe I will find myself trying to box the movie I am currently watching in terms of the 15 beats Snyder mentioned or to mentally check the “loglines” of each movie I am about to see. This also helped me appreciate the work that goes into adapting a novel into a screenplay. This was not discussed in the book but since Snyder’s book gave me very concrete and tangible structures to work with when it comes to dissecting and writing and screenplay, I can almost imagine it in my head how a paragraph from a book should be translated to a scene on film. At the heart of this Snyder’s work is the same old cliché, “show, don’t tell.” The thought of writing my first screenplay is daunting but maybe if I decide to follow Snyder’s nuggets of wisdom from the opening image to the final image, I could have a shot at a decent first draft.
