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Brenz
03-23-2005, 09:24 AM
I took a writing class with Denny O'Neil, and he said Casablanca actually had a couple of inciting events, the courier's murder, and Ilsa's appearance.

http://www.livejournal.com/users/scabrendan/94636.html

re: antagonist/protagonist reversals. I've been kicking around for a while the idea of a two-in-one movie (or two movies) where it's first just a cop trying to catch a crook, and that plot ends halfway through, then we get a little extra info intercalated with different perspective that makes the crook into the protagonist. I think it'd be a neat challenge to see if both can achieve their goals without the two endings being at odds.

If anybody thinks they can pull that off, you're welcome to the idea. Just turn us a favor when you're famous. ;)
Steven Grant
03-23-2005, 09:31 AM
Most longer stories have more than one inciting incident. A single inciting incident is more common in short stories.

The problem with your movie idea, which I kind of like, is you'll have a hard time fitting it into a common movie structure that a producer or studio will cotton to. If a way could be found to interweave the two stories in the course of the story -- see Woody Allen's new MELINDA AND MELINDA for an example -- it might make the screenplay interesting enough to intrigue a production company into backing it.
Brenz
03-23-2005, 11:24 AM
Oh, sure, Hollywood probably won't care, but I just write the stuff that interests me when I think it's ready to land on paper. If it can't be sold, e.g. because it lacks a three-act structure, I just turn it into a comic.
bartl
03-23-2005, 12:36 PM
Most longer stories have more than one inciting incident. A single inciting incident is more common in short stories.
FALLING DOWN was a good example of a movie where the protagonist and antagonist were somewhat interchangeable.
badMike
03-23-2005, 01:14 PM
FALLING DOWN was a good example of a movie where the protagonist and antagonist were somewhat interchangeable.Hey, one of my favorite movies!
Brenz
03-24-2005, 07:13 AM
Yeah, it's the Joel Schumacher exception that proves the rule (cue etymology discussion). Robert Duvall trumps all evil.