Save the Cat! Goes to the Movies

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgements Foreword
In which producer Sheila Hanahan Taylor (American Pie, Final Destination) confirms the success stories of the Save the Cat! method and tells how this may be the best Cat! yet.

STC! 2: The Introduction
Why a sequel? - "Genre" and "Structure" - Plus some Final Words that define terms used throughout the Cat! series.

Chapter One: Monster in the House
The definition of one of the most popular story types ever, plus breakdowns on Alien, Fatal Attraction, Scream, The Ring, and Saw.

Chapter Two: Golden Fleece
How Jason and the Argonauts begat The Bad News Bears (1976); Planes, Trains and Automobiles; Saving Private Ryan; Ocean's Eleven; and Maria Full of Grace.

Chapter Three: Out of the Bottle
Magical analyses of movies using magic: Freaky Friday (1976), Cocoon, The Nutty Professor, What Women Want, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

Chapter Four: Dude with a Problem
The "dude" is an innocent and in big trouble in Three Days of the Condor, Die Hard, Sleeping with the Enemy, Deep Impact, and Open Water.

Chapter Five: Rites of Passage
Growth through pain in stories where "transition" is the obstacle: 10, Kramer vs. Kramer, Ordinary People, 28 Days, and Napoleon Dynamite.

Chapter Six: Buddy Love
The broad range of "love" stories include The Black Stallion, Lethal Weapon, When Harry Met Sally..., Titanic, and Brokeback Mountain.

Chapter Seven: Whydunit
The "detective" seeks the dark side and discovers "us" - as seen in All the President's Men, Blade Runner, Fargo, Mystic River, and Brick.

Chapter Eight: Fool Triumphant
This "fish out of water" tale stars an underdog we overlook in Being There, Tootsie, Forrest Gump, Legally Blonde, and The 40-Year-Old Virgin.

Chapter Nine: Institutionalized
Who matters most, the individual or the group? It's Man vs. "the herd" in M*A*S*H, Do the Right Thing, Office Space, Training Day, and Crash.

Chapter Ten: Superhero
Extraordinary man faces the ordinary world... and its Lilliputians in Raging Bull, The Lion King, The Matrix, Gladiator, and Spider-Man 2.

277 afterword
So what about Ghost? - How to best use this book to create any story you're working on and make it resonate!


Glossary Redux
Even More Terms from the 310 Area Code - An updated slangfest of Cat! phrases explained once and for all, including such new terminology as the "chase to the airport," the "button," the "Half Man," and the "eye of the storm."

About the Author