So I didn’t get the Simpson’s scene where Principal Skinner chases Bart in The Boy Who Knew Too Much (1994), let alone the episode Itchy & Scratchy Land from the same year.

The Original Terminator

Michael Crichton wrote the novel that Steven Spielberg turned into Jurassic Park (1993), which is essentially the same story as Westworld if you substitute dinosaurs for people. When Malcolm (Goldblum) in that movie says the “Pirates didn’t come to life and kill people”, he is obviously referencing Westworld. Another one I had missed.

A major character in this film – and in our clip below – is The Gunslinger (Yul Brynner). As homage to The Magnificent Seven, he wears the same outfit as in the Sturgess western: all black, like the TV version’s Man In Black.

The fans often refer to the Gunslinger as the original Terminator. Schwarzenegger reportedly based his performance on Brynner’s. You get it: for an overall better entertainment experience, watch Westworld. You’ll definitely have more fun if you watch the HBO show after savouring this feature.

Have We Got A Vacation For You

The movie did well at the box office. It cost only $1.5m to produce, made nearly three times that amount during its first release, and it took even more during the re-release a few years later.

You wouldn’t think this success came as a surprise, given the terrific high concept. Nobody had seen anything like this before: a thousand-dollar-a-day resort where people go on a holiday to act out their forbidden primal desires. Then, of course, things get out of control.

The truth is: despite the great concept, Crichton struggled to get it financed, the film was troubled with all sorts of production nightmares and the story doesn’t really hold up very well today.

Even back then, writer/director Crichton completely re-edited the first cut of the movie because he was depressed by how “long and boring” it was.

After Westworld, he learned a thing or two about basic screen story structure.

Westworld’s Structural Malfunctionings

[SPOILERS] Westworld’s realism, its tremendous attention for detail, and its slow build reminded me of 2001 A Space Odyssey.

It seems Crichton wanted it to look like pure sci-fi. If you can appreciate this, and you can transport yourself back to the 1970’s, you’ll enjoy the movie. If you prefer fast-paced however, skip straight to HBO.

Until the movie’s mid point, nothing really happens that is out of the ordinary in Westworld. In fact, the encounter with a malfunctioning rattlesnake is the real (and much overdue) Call To Adventure. How so?

Everything before this moment really belongs to the world our characters have been in during the entire movie. As long as it is functioning properly, the resort is the movie’s Ordinary World.

Doesn’t Anything Work Around Here?

A strong Call to Adventure (CTA) is an event that has never happened before, that has an impact on the main character, and that calls for action. It is always an Event happening to the hero, never an Action by the hero.

Here, in response to this CTA, our heroes should no longer trust the safety of the park, and the appropriate action would be to leave.

Remember Jurassic Park? That structure worked. When you’re developing a feature, it is always helpful to find successful precedents with a similar concept, and study their structure.

To make a screen story work for today’s audiences, the story catalyst should sit at least half an hour earlier.

Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, creators of the HBO’s show understood this, and introduced the inciting incident/CTA (the first on-screen malfunctioning ‘host’) within the first half hour of Episode 1.

Bring In The Gunslinger

Apparently Yul Brynner was one of only two actors in Hollywood who wouldn’t blink during the firing of a gun. Okay, that’s a piece of totally useless trivia, but still fun(*).

In this clip from Westworld, Brynner delivers an extraordinary blend of cowboy cool, and techno cold. “Get this boy a bib,” he taunts Peter (Richard Benjamin)… “He needs his mama.”

The moment is retained in the TV series, when one of the heroes spurs the other on to start a fight. They’re invincible anyway… Even though we know that the Gunslinger’s bullet can’t hurt our heroes, the tension is palpable…

Oh, and in case you were wondering, yes that is indeed Christian Bale who traveled back in time to play John Blane (James Brolin).

-Karel Segers

(* the other one: Clint Eastwood)

https://ozzywood.wistia.com/medias/0rb0058th9?embedType=iframe&seo=false&videoFoam=true&videoWidth=1080

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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Jamie Campbell

Jamie Campbell is an author, screenwriter, and television addict.

Jamie is proud to be an Editor for The Story Department.

Her latest series Project Integrate is out now.

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Jamie Campbell is an author, screenwriter, and television addict.

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With thanks to Jamie Campbell and Brooke Trezise.

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Karel

Jamie Campbell

Jamie Campbell is an author, screenwriter, and television addict.

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You may argue that Blomkamp hasn’t changed the world with his film but I disagree. By watching the story through the POV of Wikus, we go through the liberating experience of seeing our hero transform. At the beginning of the movie, Wikus is racist or at best an ignorant fool. From the mid point he will gradually transform and show empathy for the aliens as he slowly becomes one.

Another reason to be awe-inspired by this movie is the fact that it was adapted from a short film.Writer-director Neill Blomkamp remade his short film Alive in Joburg and started a trend of filmmakers launching a concept via a short film, hoping to do a deal in Hollywood. So far, not many have pulled it off. As a matter of fact, I don’t know of any film in the two years since District 9.

When you adapt a short film into a feature, you pretty much have to make up the entire story from scratch. The only other instance of a successful feature based on a short film I know of is Twelve Monkeys. Do you know of others, please let us know in the comments.

Fun Trivia:
IMDb lists Sharlto Copley (Wikus) as playing an alien in the upcoming Men In Black III.
David James (Koobus) had a part in the South-African series Binnelanders.

So how did District 9 writers Blomkamp and Teri Tatchell structure their story? Let’s have a look.

spoilers galore

PROLOGUE – Wikus: archive footage & Interviews with entourage (10mins)

00:00 Tristar and QED International Leaders
01:00 Introduction by Wikus van de Merwe, at the MNU Alien Affairs head office.
01:30 Report on the arrival of the aliens and setting up of District 9.
06:00 Controversial plans by MNU to relocate the aliens to a new settlement.
07:00 Wikus appointed Field Officer to take command of the operation.
07:30 Tania, Wikus’ wife, tells of investigation launched against him.
08:00 Interviewees speak about Wikus in past tense. What happened? Is he dead?
09:00 Wikus challenges ‘the cowboys’ over too much ammunition.

This prologue immediately gives the film a fresh, quirky tone. Blomkamp uses hyper-realistic news footage and shows the space ship and aliens in a completely matter-of-fact way, much like the original short film. This works very effectively in suspending disbelief and setting up the world of the story.
It also creates tremendous mystery around the figure of Wikus. Is he dead or alive? He’s clearly racist, yet naive and well-meaning. Is he going to be our hero? Towards the end of the sequence, our empathy grows when Wikus finds himself in conflict with the war-mongering Koobus.
Why would we call this a prologue? Because we haven’t fully settled for any particular hero yet and all exposition refers to events in the past or events that are to be shown later. There is no story ‘happening in the now’.

ACT ONE

Sequence A: Violent relocation of aliens for weapons. (10mins)

10:00 Start of operation. Eviction notices to be served, backed up by military.
13:00 Wikus and military convoy enter District 9.
15:00 Wikus displays knowledge about the aliens and negotiating skills. Tries to avoid use of arms.
16:30 Nigerian gangs in District 9
18:00 Alien eggs found and destroyed. Wikus has little concern for the alien life.
19:30 (pov) MNU is into weapons research and aliens have superior weapons.
20:00 Alien executed from the air, “had a spade”.

Confusion about our hero continues: his ethics are debatable and he doesn’t look very smart. More antagonism arises with the introduction of the Nigerian gangs. Key strengths why we are interested in Wikus: he is excited, energetic and totally committed to his task, even though it may be dangerous (and stupid). Film audiences will always prefer a not-so-smart but gung-ho character (see how many comedic characters you can come up with) over a genius who doesn’t act.
Note that this entire first sequence is told from Wikus’ point of view (POV), except the brief interview segment about MNU’s motivations. The story doesn’t go into any other POV during the dramatic scenes.

Sequence B: The Fluid. (10mins)

20:30 (pov aliens) Aliens looking for fluid.
21:30 (pov aliens) 20 Years of work collecting the fluid, finally plan is ready.
22:00 (pov aliens) Cylinder must be protected, kept from MNU.
22:30 Wikus searches their shack.
23:30 Chemical lab found. Wikus finds cylinder.
24:00 Fluid in cylinder sprays on Wikus’ face. He takes cylinder in for inspection.
25:00 Weapons found, Wikus calls for reinforcement.
26:00 Wikus gloats at alien. The alien attacks Wikus, is being shot from chopper.
27:30 Wikus refuses medical treatment.
28:00 Christopher. Sharper. Refuses to sign paper.
30:00 Wikus threatens to take son away.
30:30 Wikus sick. Bleeds black liquid.

For the first time we move into the POV of the aliens Christopher and his son. See how this happens right at the beginning of a new sequence, after a climax. This way it interferes minimally with the building of tension. Look at other successful movies and you’ll often find that a first shift of POV happens at the beginning of a sequence, where the tension is relatively low. This shift of POV is essential to show us the aliens’ secret, setting up a strong conflict between their aliens’ goal (to hide the fluid in the cylinder) and that of Wikus’ (to turn everything upside down to find weapons).
Note how during the remainder of this sequence we stay in the POV of Wikus, yet meanwhile we do feel empathy for the aliens. The sequence climaxes with Christopher refusing to sign and Wikus being infected by the black fluid.
Structurally, this end of Act One is interesting: some people may empathize more with the aliens than with Wikus, because their goal is clearer, harder to achieve and at the same time simpler, more primal. The aliens want to return home and they have invested a lot in it. Wikus still only wants to finish his job, although the elements have been set up to make this harder and harder.

ACT TWO

Sequence C: Wikus’ deterioration, capture and escape. (12mins)

33:00 (pov aliens) Christopher can’t find the cylinder.
34:00 (pov) Nigerians kill and eat aliens to cure diseases.
35:00 Surprise party for Wikus at home.
35:30 Piet not happy: too many aliens died today. Wikus throws up again.
36:30 Wikus to hospital. He has grown an alien arm.
38:00 Wikus taken to MNU bio-labs: alien DNA, now subject of experiments.
39:00 “What are they doing to these prawns?” Confused and shocked.
39:30 Wikus used in weapons testing, able to shoot the alien weapons.
41:30 Wikus forced to shoot a captured alien.
42:00 (pov MNU) Body is to be harvested, worth billions.
43:00 (pov Tania) Piet lies to wife Tania and tries to convince her to forget about him.
44:00 They try to cut open his chest but Wikus escapes from the building.

Wikus, previously the hero of the relocation operation, now becomes a fugitive. He will increasingly empathize with the aliens as he has started his transformation to become one. In terms of character goals, the aliens’ objective is still clearer than Wikus’. They must find the fluid in order to return to their planet. Wikus doesn’t quite understand what’s going on with him. Only at the end of this sequence does he have a clear, strong goal: to survive.
This sequence, too, opens with a shift in POV: very briefly we go back to Christopher. Immediately after that, we shift POV again, to the Nigerians. The climax of this sequence feels like an early mid point as it acts as a massive reversal, with the world suddenly turned against our Hero. After this, the movie’s tone will be a lot darker.

Sequence D: A Fugitive, going back to the alien slums. (10 mins)

44:30 (pov) Piet informed of escape, Koobus leading the manhunt for Wikus.
46:00 Calling friends; they let him down. Hassled at takeaway, shot at.
46:30 (pov) “He became the most valuable business artifact on earth.”
48:00 (pov) The entire world’s attention and focus is on Wikus.
49:00 Wikus seeks refuge in District 9, the only place he can go to.
49:30 Queuing with other aliens for food from the Nigerians. Eating cat food.
51:00 Call from Tania: “I don’t want you to hold me again.”
52:00 Wikus attempts to cut his alien arm off.
53:00 Koobus and fleet of helicopters arrive in District 9.

This sequence offers little more than an extended chase, starting with Wikus’ escape from MNU and ending with his arrival at Christopher’s shack. The story doesn’t really progress much but the tension is kept high in a way that is utterly cinematic. It is significant that Wikus’ wife has given up on him when she says “I don’t want you to hold me again,” which is the start of her ‘shape-shifting’. The sequence ends on great tension, with Koobus and his men close on Wikus’ heels. This marks the story’s real Mid Point as from this point onwards Wikus will be working with the aliens rather than against them. Remember another blockbuster movie with aliens that had a similar reversal around the mid point?

Sequence E: Becoming an alien and teaming up with Christopher. (10mins)

54:00 Wikus hides out in Christopher’s shack. Begs him to help him.
54:30 Christopher sees Wikus’ alien arm and decides to hide him.
56:00 Secret bunker under the shack with ship to get back to the mothership.
56:30 Christopher can fix Wikus’ condition if they can get to the mothership.
57:00 They have to break into MNU headquarters and get the fluid.
58:00 Wikus’ transformation is accelerating.
58:30 Tania wants Wikus back. He is determined now to carry out the plan.
59.30 (pov Koobus & Piet) They’re locating Wikus to get him.
60:00 (pov aliens) Aliens compare their planet to Earth, looking forward to going home.

Wikus is at first selfish when he works with Christopher to get the fluid back: he only wants to get himself fixed. This first sequence after the Mid Point also sets up something that is typical for many successful stories: the Approach To The Inmost Cave. Wikus will have to return to the place that is most dangerous to him: the headquarters of MNU. This place will also become the Inmost Cave for Christopher when he sees the dead body of his friend.

Sequence F: Going into MNU. (10mins)

61:00 Wikus goes to the Nigerians to get weapons. They want his arm.
63:30 Wikus fights his way out, using alien weapons.
64:30 Wikus and Christopher storm into MNU headquarters.
67:00 Wikus finds the fluid. Christopher distracted by alien bodies.
68:00 Military come in. Shootout.
69:00 “think of your boy for fuck’s sake” Christopher wakes up and they escape together.

In the Approach sequence, the hero has to show how far he is willing to go in order to achieve his goal. Wikus has to shoot and kill humans in order to get the fluid, which underscores his further transformation to alien. In this Inmost Cave, where Wikus had faced death before, they find the fluid (a first Reward in Wikus Hero’s Journey).
In the climax of the sequence we see Wikus no longer just thinking about fixing himself when he encourages Christopher “Think of your boy…”.

Sequence G: Betrayed by Christopher. Tortured by Obesanjo. (10mins)

71:00 Christopher wans to save aliens first. Will be back in 3 years.
72:00 Wikus feels betrayed. Attempts to go to mothership on his own.
73:00 Koobus enters the shack.
73:30 Wikus fires up the ship and takes off.
75:30 Ship is shot down by missile.
76:00 Ship crashes down. Alien and Wikus captured by Koobus.
78:00 Convoy ambushed by Nigerians, Wikus taken.
79:30 (pov) Christopher’s son, still in the ship, is able to activate it.
80:00 Obesanjo tortures Wikus, wants to eat his arm to get his powers.
82:00 (pov) Son activates mothership, alien devices re-activate everywhere.

District 9 has three sequences between the Mid Point and the end of Act Two. I wonder if this is typical for darker films. In any case it seems like the Ordeal (or Crisis) is extended to an entire sequence of 12 minutes. When Christopher tells Wikus that he wants to help his alien people first, it feels to Wikus as if all is lost. Later – in a typical ‘Cave‘ moment – he is being tortured and nearly killed by Obesanjo. Christopher’s son manages to re-activate the mother ship, which opens the doors to Act Three (in the Hero’s Journey this moment is a second Reward, aka the Seizing of the Sword).

ACT THREE

Sequence G: Protecting Christopher – Wikus vs. Koobus. (10mins)

83:00 Wikus escapes with the aid of a robot.
84:00 (pov) Koobus interrogates Christopher.
85:00 Wikus steps into exoskeleton. Hears that Koobus wants to kill Christopher.
86:00 Wikus decides to rescue him and help him to the dropship.
89:30 Wikus covers for Christopher but snipers injure him. Christopher runs.
90:00 Wikus fights against the military.
92:00 Alien makes it to dropship and gets lifted up to mothership.
93:00 Wikus vs. Koobus
94:00 Wikus falls out of exoskeleton. Koobus approaches.
95:00 Wikus left at the mercy of Koobus.
96:00 Koobus about to execute Wikus when other aliens move in and kill Koobus.
97:00 Mothership begins journey back home. Leaves earth.

The climax brings all the forces of good and evil together in one explosive climactic battle – and a setup for the sequel. One could argue that Obesanjo should have survived Act Two as he could have further complicated the climactic battle. Then again, Koobus is strong enough as the ultimate villain as he was set up from the Prologue and it keeps things simple to have only one major Shadow character.

Sequence H: Wikus gone. Waiting for three years. (3mins)

98:00 Wikus left to await his fate.
99:00 (pov) Theories about Wikus’ whereabouts. Setup of District 10.
100:0 Tania receives a flower. Evidence that Wikus is still alive?
101:0 Wikus completely transformed into an alien.

Do you have any thoughts about District 9 and how it is structurally different or similar to other movies? Let us know in the comments!

Structural Analysis: Adrian Kok
Notes: Karel Segers

_______________________________

With thanks to Sol.

Enjoy!

Karel

_______________________________

With thanks to Sol.

Enjoy!

Karel

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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_______________________________

With thanks to Sol.

Enjoy!

Karel

My first viewing of Inception was at the world’s largest IMAX screen in Sydney’s Darling Harbour. The experience was sensational but not perfect, because the projection was marred by an error in the IMAX print’s aspect ratio, resulting in a picture of which the height was about 9% squeezed.

I loved the movie enough to see it again in the same week at a standard theater (where the projection was flawless).  I watched it a third time and took detailed notes with a view to publishing this breakdown.

If my life hadn’t suddenly hit the accelerator over the past few weeks, I would have easily posted a breakdown in the first week of release.  The only real problem I still have is getting the last act right. It moves so fast it is virtually impossible to get every beat down accurately. So many things are paid off, so quickly.

Have a look for yourself and see if I have left out any major moment. I’d be grateful if you could let me know in the comments. Thank you!

Now enjoy!

Karel.

spoilers galore

PROLOGUE (FLASH FORWARD)

00.00    Warner and Legendary logos.
00.30    Cobb wakes up on a beach, sees his kids, is taken away at gunpoint.
01.30    With old man (Saito), who says: “I knew a man, possessed of some radical notions.”

ACT ONE

Sequence A: Cobb at work. Extraction, dream w/in a dream. (15mins)

02.30    (Dream Level 2) Saito having dinner, Cobb explains extraction, sells services.
04.00    Arthur: He knows. The building shakes. “What’s going on up there?”
04.30    (DL1) Saito and Cobb’s team are asleep.
05.30    (DL2) Wife Mal shows up. Cobb climbs out of room, re-enters building.
07.00    (DL2) Kills a guard, goes in to take envelope out of the safe. Stopped by Saito & Mal.
08.00    (DL2) Saito knows they’re dreaming, they have Arthur, shoot his leg. Dream collapses.
09.30    (DL2) Saito has an empty envelope, Cobb has the documents from the safe.
10.00    (DL1) Cobb won’t wake up. Team decide to give him ‘the kick’ in bathtub.

11.00    (DL2) Cobb drowns in building, water shooting in through windows.

11.30    (DL1) Saito attacks Cobb, holds him at gunpoint. An audition. You failed.
12.30    (WAKE) Team sleeping in train, timer set, music plays, waking up.
13.00    (DL1) Cobb throws Saito on rug. Fake: still dreaming! I’m impressed!
14.30    (WAKE) Debrief in the train. Out in Kyoto. Every man for himself.
15.00    (WAKE) Saito wakes up and smiles.

The first sequence sets up Cobb’s thieving life (Ordinary World), as well as his character (the best dream extractor) and his flaw (Mal).

Rather than tagging an opening action sequence before the start of Cobb’s story (as we see in e.g. The Matrix), Nolan works the action hook into this story in a fascinating, intelligent and at the same time elegant way. After only fifteen minutes into the movie, we have learned a lot, without at any point having the feeling that we’re ticking off a list of expository items.

Sequence B: (all WAKE) Offered a job by Saito: Inception. (6mins)

15.30    Cobb at home, spins a top on the table. It topples. Phone call from his kids.
17.30    Arthur knocks: our ride is on the roof. Are you OK? Time we disappear. Buenos Aires.
18.30    Saito has offer: architect’s safety in return for a job.
19.00    Inception explained. Cobb: Do I have a choice? Yes. Then I choose to leave.
20.00    How would you like to go home? Can’t fix that. Just like inception.
20.30    Job brief. Arthur: we should walk away. Guarantee! Saito: Leap of faith or old man.
21.00    Assemble your team Mr. Cobb and choose your people more wisely.

This is a short Act One and some may argue that the Act doesn’t really end until the team is assembled, i.e. around 44:30, just before they actually enter the dream. Entering the dream is certainly a way of the crossing of the threshold into the ‘Special World’. However, Cobb had already mentally crossed the threshold by accepting Saito’s proposal, so the assembling of the team is part of the mission. In this respect, traveling to Paris is a first threshold scene and the ‘Ariadne’ sequence is an ‘Ally’ sequence, which typically belongs in the 2nd Act, even in the Hero’s Journey.

ACT TWO

Sequence C: Getting the architect – and losing her again.(13mins)

21.30    Cobb & Arthur on plane to Paris.
22.00    Meeting dad. Design yourself! -Mal won’t let me. Last job to get me home.
24.30    Testing Ariadne: draw maze that takes more than 2 minutes to solve.
25.30    The team briefed in workshop.
26.00    (DL1) Cobb & Ariadne: First lesson in shared dreaming: explosions.
28.00    Another 5 minutes gives you an hour in the dream.
29.00    (DL1) What happens if you start messing with physics? City folds.
31.00    Projections become aggressive – Ariadne does trick with mirror.
33.00    Mal appears. Ariadne: Wake me up! Mal attacks. She wakes up.
34.00    Cobb spins top. Ariadne: “Cobb has serious problems.” walks off.
34.30    I’m gonna go visit Eames. Mombasa! We need a forger.

Sequence D: Team complete. Ariadne learns. Gathering info. (15mins)

35.00   Briefing Eames in Mombasa.
36.00   Eames: work on the relationship with the father.
36.30   Eames recommends chemist. First getting rid of Cobb’s ‘tail’. Fight & Chase.
39.00   Saved by Saito, protecting his investment.
39.30   Arthur is showing Ariadne around. Infinite staircase. Hide from the projections.
40.30   Safer if Cobb doesn’t know the layout. Mal is dead. Just his projection.
41.30    Chemist: 3 levels is possible. Need powerful sedative. Six team members: Saito.
43.00   For the sleepers, the dream has become their reality.
44.30   Saito briefs Cobb: The world needs Robert Fisher to change his mind.
47.00   Eames gathers information on the Fishers and Browning.
48.00   Ariadne finds Cobb ‘experimenting’. Mal’s totem.

49.30   You can’t keep her out. It’s getting worse… They think I killed her.

Sequence E: Ariadne joins Cobb’s secret memory dream. (10mins)

50.00   Cobb briefs the team in the workshop. Translate business strategy into an emotion.
51.00   Three levels of deams requires an extremly powerful sedative.
51.30   Lowest level: 10 years. Kick to get out.
53.00   We need 10 hours: Sydney – LA. Saito: I bought the airline. We have our 10 hours.
54.00   Ariadne finds Cobb dreaming. Joins in: Mal & Cobb. These are my dreams.

56.00   In my dreams we’re still together. These are memories I have to change.
57.00   Mal already gone. James and Philippa. All too late.
58.00   The Hotel suite. Anniversary. Mal attacks: you said we’d grow old together.
59.30   Ariadne: do you really think that’s gonna contain her? Ariadne is going.

Sequence F (MID): Things tougher than planned. (10mins)

60.00 Maurice died. Saito promises Cobb: No trouble with immigration if successful.
62.00 Take Off. Cobb has passport. Toasting to Maurice. Sleeping. Team gets ready.
64.00 L1 – Rain. Hijack cab. Pick up Robert. Attacked – under fire.
67.00 L1 – Not normal projections: trained! Saito bleeds. Cobb to Arthur: Your job.

67.30 L1 – Saito bleeding. When we die, we end up in limbo. Stuck in Fisher’s mind.
69.00 L1 – There’s a way out: continue as fast as possible. No other choice.

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ACT IIb

Sequence G: Level 1 – Cobb’s secret revealed to Ariadne. (14mins)

70.00 L1 – The combination: tell us what it is. You’ve got an hour.
71.00 L1 – Browning ‘tortured’ for safe code. Maurice told me you’re the only one.
72.30 L1 – Down to the lower levels: the pain will be less intense.
74.00 L1 – Eames/Browning works on Robert. Maurice’s last word: disappointment.
75.00 L1 – Ar.: When were you in limbo? Deeper into Fisher… deeper into you.
75.30 L1 – C.: We lost sight of what was real. Limbo became her reality. for 50 years.
77.00 L1 – Obsessed: our world wasn’t real. To come back home, she had to kill herself.
77.30 FLASHBACK: Our anniversary. Mal jumps to her death.
79.30 L1 – I ran. I left my children behind.
81.00 L1 – Ar.: Your guild defines her. Not responsible, forgive yourself. Confront her.
81.30 L1 – Threatening Fisher: First 6 numbers that come to your mind, right now!!
82.30 L1 – We’re going for a ride. Into the van. Attacked by projections. Shootout.
83.00 L1 – Eames to Arthur: you mustn’t be afraid to dream of something bigger, darling.

84.30 L1 – Mr. Charles. Sweet Dreams. (into Level 2)

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Sequence H: Level 2 – Mr. Charles, preparing ‘kick’ & Level 3 (12mins)

84.30 L2 – Robert Fisher in bar, stolen wallet. Mr Charles. Cobb offers security service.
85.30 L2 – Cobb: my people are on it as we speak. Fisher trusts him.  Strange weather.
88.30 L2 – Arth. kisses Ar. (L1: Van slides / shift in gravity.) Fisher concerned, believes Cobb.
89.30 L2 – Fisher: Can you get me out of here? Cobb: Rightaway. Leaving bar under gunfire.
90.30 L2 – Fisher holds gun to his own head: kill myself to wake up. Cobb: No! Sedated. Limbo.
91.00 L2 – Ariadne & Arthur: This room should be directly below 528.
92.00 L2 – Remember: hotel rooms… what was the number. 5th floor.
92.30 L2 – Arthur sets explosives for synchronized kick: when the van hits the water.
93.30 L2 – Cobb to Fisher: they’re putting you under, a dream within a dream.
94.00 L2 – Fisher’s projection of Browning. Let’s follow him to see how he behaves.
94.30 L2 – Browning & Fisher: the will is his last insult. Build a better company than he ever did.
95.00 L2 – Cobb: he’s lying. Going into Fisher’s dream, pretending it’s Browning’s. (into L3)

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Sequence I: Level 3 – Into the Snow Fortress, All seems lost. (18mins)

96.30 L1 – Van attacked again. Van rolling.

99.30 L2 – Fight in hotel. Rotating gravity.

100.0 L3 – Cobb briefs team. To Fisher: break into Browning’s mind on your own.

100.3 L1 – Van on bridge, chased by projections. Being shot at.

101.3 L3 – Exit music plays – too soon. Move fast. 10 secs = 3 mins = 60 mins

103.0 L1 – Gunfight on bridge

103.3 L3 – Air duct system that can cut through the maze

104.0 L1 – Van goes through railing, off the bridge. Falling.

105.0 L3 – Missed kick. Finish job before next kick – when van hits the water. 20mins.

106.3 L2 – Floating – no gravity.

107.0 L3 – Entering the duct system, projections know.

107.3 L2 – Weightless fight between Arthur and guard in rotating gravity.

108.3 L3 – Approaching the central tower

109.3 L2 – Arthur is collecting everyone, for the kick.

110.0 L3 – Entire army coming their way. Robert Fisher is in stronghold.

111.0 L3 – Mal comes in. Ar.: She is not real. Fisher is real! Mal shoots Fisher.

111.3 L2 – Arthur moving the team, preparing for the kick.

112.3 L3 – Failed. Fisher’s mind already trapped. We failed.

112.3 L3 – Ar.: There’s still another way. Follow fisher down there. Use defibrillator.

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Sequence J: Level 4 – Cobb’s cave, resolves guilt over Mal (14mins)

114.0 L4: Ocean and dead city.
115.0 L2: Arthur places team in elevator.
115.3 L4: Ar.: You built all this? C.: We built for years. All reconstructed from memory.
118.8 L2: Arthur placing charges.
118.3 L4: C.: An idea is a virus. Mal: your world is not real. Choose me.
120.0 L4: Mal: Our children are here. C.: I want to see them up above, Mal.
120.3 L3: Saito bleeding / L1: Van falling.
121.3 L4: C.: The reason I knew Inception was possible. I did it to her first.
123.3 L4: C.: Idea grew like a cancer. Death was the only escape. FB: Mal’s suicide.
124.3 L3: Projections enter. / Saito dies.
125.0 L2: Exit music plays. Ar.: We need to get Fisher. C.: Go check he’s alive.
126.0 L3: Ar. checks if Fisher is alive. It’s time. Come now! You can’t stay.
126.3 L4: I can’t stay … she doesn’t exist. You’re just a shade. Sorry, not good enough.
127.0 L3: Mal attacks with knife. Ar. shoots.  Need to get Saito back.
127.3 L2: The elevator moves.

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This sequence is where Cobb comes clean with himself. It is the end of his Inner Journey, his redemption. Only after this can he achieve the Outer Goal, i.e. the successful inception, which happens in the next sequence.

The end of Act Two is a Crisis or Ordeal in the traditional sense as we see Saito killed  (a character who has both Mentor and Herald qualities), as well as Mal (representing Cobb’s flaw or Inner Conflict). It is interesting that it is not Cobb,  but Ariadne who shoots Mal. Would this be because otherwise the scene would have felt too much like a Climax? I wonder.

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ACT THREE

Sequence K: Mission accomplished. All levels kick back. (8mins)

128.0 L3: Fisher with his father. Maurice: I was disappointed that you tried.
129.0 L2: Elevator drops.
129.3 L3: Robert finds paper windmill in safe.
130.0 L3: Eames blows up building.
131.0 L4: Ar. jumps: find Saito. / L3: All destroyed. / L2: Elevator kick / L1: Water kick.
130.3 L4: Ar.: Don’t lose yourself. Find Saito and bring him back.
131.0 L4: FLASHBACK (Limbo) We did grow old. I have to let you go.
133.0 L1: Van sinking
134.0 L4: Saito: Have you come to kill me? C.: Come back with me.

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Although the sequence of ‘kicks’ is a perfect example of a sequence crossing multiple thresholds back into the Ordinary World, In Hero’s Journey terms, Inception has a problem. Typically, this precedes the climax (or Resurrection) but obviously Cobb’s mission must be complete before he can return to the Ordinary World. This may explain why although intellectually satisfying, there is something oddly wrong with the way this climax feels intuitively.

Now looking at this structure, I realize that the climax is possibly the weakest part of the movie because Cobb is not active in it. It is Robert Fisher who plays out the climax and the only notable climax for Cobb is the resolution of the Inner Conflict at the end of Act Two.

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Sequence L: Waking up. Aftermath. Will the totem topple? (3mins)

136.0 In plane: We’ll be landing in about 20mins. All waking up. Cobb is wondering.
136.3 Saito wakes up and makes a phone call.
137.0 Immigration: Welcome home, Mr. Cobb. Father waiting at the exit.
138.3 At home: father. Look who’s here! Kids.
138.3 Totem spinning. Doesn’t topple.
139.0 The End.

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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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