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SIR ISAAC NEWTON -- The Consummate Screenwriter?
By Hank Isaac
I have this unswerving belief that all things in the Universe are reflections of each other. And that if you
can somehow know one, you can know them all. It's just a matter of discovering the similarities. Take screenwriting, for example.
Einstein notwithstanding, we live and function in a Newtonian World. The Industrial Revolution wouldn't
have happened otherwise. We'd still be gazing at the stars instead of trying to visit them. Baseball games
would be theoretical exercises. And we wouldn't have to yell, "Oweee!" every time we fell down.
Sir Isaac Newton -- the guy who got hit in the head with that apple -- gave us some basic "laws" of physics
which have brought us to where we are today. By the way, I believe the falling "apple" was more or less
symbolic of the delivery of "knowledge" and not the result of some unfortunate repose under a tree.
So here goes...
Newton's First Law (paraphrased): "All the forces that push on something combine together to send the 'thing'
in a direction which is the net result of all of the directions of all of the forces and at a rate determined
by a combination of the strength of those forces and the resistance offered by the 'thing'."
Whew!
That's his roughest one. Wonder why he made it the first one? Ah well...
But it basically says: We gotta push harder if we wanna move a big thing. So in writing a film, a big obstacle
needs a big force to overcome it. But unlike the space program, we want to fail. Initially. So we hold back. If
we apply "maximum force" at the end of Act I and it doesn't work -- it can't, otherwise
the story would be over -- then what do we do for the rest of the film? So our writing must therefore reflect the careful
application of force which can ultimately lead to overcoming the obstacle. But that force ought to be applied in a way
which gets our audiences chanting, "Just one more try!" They must chant this. If not, they no longer care and
we've lost 'em. Probably for good.
Newton's Second Law: "A body in motion tends to stay in motion unless acted upon by an outside force."
This is the simple sentence which allows spacecraft to orbit, ultimately leave the Earth's gravity, fly to the
Moon, land, then return home. It also keeps planets going around their stars. But let's apply it to
screenwriting. In space flight, this is a good thing. In a story, it's deadly. Why? Because
if nothing happens for a long time, the story literally proceeds forward with the
same motion imparted to it by the last bit of "outside force." We ride roller coasters to experience the
acceleration and deceleration -- not the flat spots. Don't let us give our audience any excuse to go for popcorn.
Newton's Third Law: "For every action there is an opposite and equal reaction."
So we were little kids and, wow, were we surprised when we jumped off our wagons for the first time and
the things scooted the other way. We almost killed ourselves. That was Newton's
Third Law. Applied to screenwriting, it means that if something happens, that specific "something" needs to affect the characters
-- and by extension, the story -- in some recognizable way. Fail to do this, and not only do we piss off the
Newtonianites, but we subvert our film. So if we write that wonderful little scene
which is visually exciting and full of the best dialogue that ever skimmed the lips of
any of our characters -- but it does nothing for the story -- guess what? We cut it. Save it for
some other time. Some other story..
By the way, Newton also discovered the color spectrum. Should he not have been credited in "The
Wizard of Oz?" Think about how that applies to cinematic writing.
Next time: Story Structure and the $5 Car Wash.
Read Hank's previous columns by clicking the titles
in the left navigation bar. You can visit Hank's site at
http://authors.home.mindspring.com/
or e-mail him at authors@mindspring.com.
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