Because of its incredible success, it is worth studying the Avatar screenplay and its story structure. With the top two highest grossing movies ever behind his name, writer/director Jim Cameron knows what he is doing. These are not studio-driven movies: they are personal obsessions. Titanic was Cameron’s excuse (and funding source) to continue his infatuation with the deep ocean, while Avatar is now apparently all he wants to do – ever again. The sequels Avatar II, III and IV, which the director is working on in his new home in New Zealand, are currently scheduled for 2017 and 2019.

The Avatar Screenplay

Avatar is in essence a simple ‘boy meets girl’ story within the action genre, and it covers a whole range of themes – if you want to see them – from environmentalist, anti-colonialist, to buddhist. The movie is long, but clearly not too long, telling from its success. The post-production script  was only 110p.

How come Cameron’s movies put half the planet at the edge of their seat? No-one – probably not even Jim himself – know. But I believe his understanding of mythical storytelling has something to do with it. The only way to connect with a planet-wide audience, is to tap into the mythology of the times.

The film abounds with mythical imagery and archetypes. Jakes doesn’t just have one mentor. He has three. In the Ordinary World, Colonel Quaritch gives him the life lessons; once on Pandora, Neytiri will take that function. During the transition from the one world to the next, Jake’s third mentor, the ‘threshold mentor’, is played by played by Sigourney Weaver as Grace. The last thing she says to Jake, just before the start of the Threshold sequence is “Just keep your mouth shut.” He is going into unknown territory and will have to let his mentor(s) lead him. Throughout the scene, Grace keeps giving Jake advise. “Don’t run,” but a moment later “Run! Definitely run!”

Join Cameron’s Screenwriting Class

Avatar has been lauded for its eye candy, but too easily despised for its screenplay. In my view, any critics just don’t like this type of cinema, as Cameron’s screenplays are excellent. In fact, many of his peers could learn from him. Cameron doesn’t have to deliver a script to the industry standard, or any standard for that matter. Yet his screenplays are prime examples for any beginning screenwriter: clear, tight, visual, well-formatted, and with clear, dramatic subtext written into the scenes where necessary. Don’t forget that these are action movies, after all.

Cameron has a brilliant action writing style, with ample use of double dashes (—) to build and keep suspense for the reader.

Alien for dessert

The threshold sequence opens as the crew flies into the jungles of Pandora. Have you noticed that we never see the choppers take off? We never even see them climb. In this sequence, we can only see them descend. Do you believe this is coincidence, when every Hero’s Journey begins with a descent into the Special World? I don’t.

Jake goes exploring and the tension rises gradually, as he passes his first few tests in this new territory, assisted by Grace and her team. The third test – the Thanator – chases him away from his mates, until he is completely separated, and there is no way back before nightfall. Again, all mythical imagery…

Have a look at how the Thanatos is introduced in the script:

You have got to admit: this is a fun read. James Cameron doesn’t have to sell his script as badly as you and I do. He has to raise financing, yes, but by the mid 2000’s, people were pretty confident that Cameron would deliver the goods.

“This thing could eat a T-rex and have the Alien for desert.”

Note also that in this Threshold passage, Jake loses his rifle and his backpack. These are typically tools from the Ordinary World, and they are of no use in the new world. In a mythical sense, Jake is stripped naked from all that protected him, ready to be reborn.

And guess where he ends up in the final moments of this sequence… amneotic fluid, also known as Pandora water.

– Karel Segers

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Download the Avatar screenplay sample here.

Karel FG Segers

Karel Segers wrote his first produced screenplay at age 17. Today he is a story analyst with experience in acquisition, development and production. He has trained students worldwide, and worked with half a dozen Academy Award nominees. Karel speaks more European languages than he has fingers on his left hand, which he is still trying to find a use for in his hometown of Sydney, Australia. The languages, not the fingers.

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And yes, of course it’s possible.

But… Why would you? If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

The whole idea behind The Hero’s Journey and the insight that most successful stories employ archetypical characters is exactly that: we use the metaphor.

Archetypes are used to get a point across simply, without having to create complicated, realistic situations, so you can focus on what is really important in the story: the main character’s problems and actions, the hero’s journey of change.

Life often lacks archetypes?

In life, stuff is random and we need to analyze and interpret all these events to find meaning in it. If you believe your story is helped by this and you find a fascinating way to emulate reality while still entertain your audience, you have to follow that instinct.

However, in stories usually meaning is highlighted, enlivened and inspired by living characters, so we can focus on what they have to tell us rather than waste time on cracking the code of randomness.

Take the Mentor character. In life, we learn from everything and everyone, every day. Say, someone asks you: “How did you learn to become such a great proof reader?” The answer is probably a combination of sources. But if you want to maintain this level of realism in your stories and explain the detail in order to stick to the truth, your audience will fall like flies.

The Hero Without A Mentor

If in a story a character needs to learn something, the point of the scene is hardly ever really about the teacher character but rather about the actual lesson learned. So the teacher will be a simple, recognizable mentor character.

This doesn’t mean that every successful movie needs a Gandalf, a Merlin or a Dumbledore.

Take for instance Die Hard.

Although Die Hard follows a pretty straightforward Inner and Outer Journey, the first act does not have a clear Mentor character. When John McClane runs up the stairs of the Nakatomi tower to a higher floor to take stock of the situation and he says ‘think, think’, who/what is he consulting? There’s no-one around to tell him what to do. No grey-bearded man in sight.

Not every story needs a Gandalf, a Merlin or a Dumbledore.

He’s effectively consulting his memory, all the stuff he learned at the NY Police Academy. Then he decides to try and get support. So here, the archetype of the Mentor is replaced by McClane’s training as a cop. This is in essence what the student in my class meant: just like in real life, the wisdom the Hero accesses in the moment of decision is not always presented in the shape of an archetypal character.

This is not a mythical way of resolving the situation but it worked fine for Die Hard.

But if you want to make your story mythical and your characters memorable, why not use the power of archetypes? Ask yourself: is replacing the archetypal function going to make your story stronger? If so, by all means go ahead.

Any thoughts or examples from your own stories?

– Karel Segers

Karel Segers is a producer and script consultant who started in movies as a rights buyer for Europe’s largest pay TV group Canal+. Back then it was handy to speak 5 languages. Less so today in Australia.

Karel teaches, consults and lectures on screenwriting and the principles of storytelling to his 5-year old son Baxter and anyone who listens.

He is also the boss of this blog.

Karel FG Segers

Karel Segers wrote his first produced screenplay at age 17. Today he is a story analyst with experience in acquisition, development and production. He has trained students worldwide, and worked with half a dozen Academy Award nominees. Karel speaks more European languages than he has fingers on his left hand, which he is still trying to find a use for in his hometown of Sydney, Australia. The languages, not the fingers.

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel!

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With thanks to Sol.

Enjoy!

Karel