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The media starts sniffing around. She learns there's a political

connection between safety standards and plant management.
Maybe, someone says, they discover some missing plutonium. It's a
good thought, but another story, I reply.
Sarah's uncovering the political connection becomes the Plot
Pointt the end of Act I.
Act II is the Confrontation. It's that place in the story line where
Sarah confronts obstacle after obstacle in her investigationso
many obstacles, in fact, that she suspects there's some kind of political cover-up. She cannot ignore it any longer. We need to create
someone for her to talk to, confide in; maybe a love interest. Perhaps she's involved with a recently separated or divorced attorney
with children. Their relationship becomes strained; he thinks she's
"crazy," "paranoid," "hallucinating," and they may not be able to
keep it together under the pressure of what she's going through. If
need be, here's where we can write a two-page essay about Sarah's
relationship with men. (How many times has she been in love?
What kind of person does she become involved with? And so on.)
She will experience conflict and resistance from members of her
law firm; she may be told she's going to be removed from the case if
she persists in her investigation. Her parents disagree with her, so
she'll have conflict there. The only people who will support and
help her are the people who work at the nuclear power plant; they
want her to succeed, to expose the unsafe working conditions. We
can use the media, and possibly create a reporter who believes she
should continue the investigation. He's going to get a story out of it.
Possibly there's a romantic link between them.
What about Plot Point IP. It must be some kind of incident,
episode, or event, remember, that hooks into the action and spins it
around in another direction.
Perhaps the reporter comes to her with definite proof that
there's some kind of political link involving many officials. She has
the facts in her handswhat is she going to do about it?
Act III is the Resolution. Sarah, with the help of plant workers
and the media, exposes political favoritism in the government's regulation of nuclear power safety standards.
The plant is closed until new safety standards are established.

STORY AND CHARACTER

SCREENPLAY

Sarah is congratulated on her persistent, courageous, and victorious

stand.
There are different kinds of endings. In "up" endings, things
work out. Think of Erin Brockovich (Susannah Grant); Lord of
the Rings: The Return of the King; Whale Rider (Niki Caro); and The
Shawshank Redemption. In sad or ambiguous endings, it's up to
the audience to figure out what happens to the characters. For example, Clarissa (Meryl Streep) in The Hours; Bob and Charlotte (Bill
Murray and Scarlett Johansson) in Lost in Translation; Kill Bill II. In
a "down" ending, not everything works out: American Beauty, The
Wild Bunch, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Bonnie and Clyde,
Thelma & Louise, Cold Mountain, Million Dollar Baby (Paul Haggis).
If you're ever in doubt about how to end your story, think in
terms of a positive ending. We're talking Hollywood here, and I
think the purpose of art, or entertainment, is to entertain. That
doesn't mean that everybody lives happily ever after, but that people
walk away from the theater uplifted, fulfilled, spiritually aligned
with their own humanity. As with Jason Bourne searching for the
fragments of his life in the The Bourne Supremacy, I believe the silver screen is a mirror, reflecting our thoughts, our hopes, our
dreams, our successes, our failures.
I once taught a workshop in Germany for some fifty writers, and
out of fifty stories, forty-six of them ended in death, suicide, mayhem, and destruction. I told the students that there are better ways
to end a screenplay than to have your character caught, shot, captured, die, commit suicide, or be killed. The best ending for your
story is an ending that's real, believable, and true, as in Seabiscuit,
Magnolia, or Annie Hall. Titanic had a real, believable ending, in
spite of its romanticism. Though money is no criterion of success, it
is a criterion of just how many people saw the film and were entertained and uplifted by it. And it's good to remember that the two
things that run Hollywood are fear and greed. Everybody wants to
be associated with a "winner." That's why weekend grosses are so
important in the movie industry.
Resolve your stories any way you want, but be true to your story
and characters; if possible, look for the positive, uplifting aspect of

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