Save the cat question......

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  • Save the cat question......

    fun & games - the promise of the premise and the poster of the movie. In Miss Congeniality this is Sandra Bullock's relationship with the girls in her pageant and her talent/costume competitions.
    can anyone explain how this would apply in a thriller or horror film? or even maybe a drama where there is no "fun and games" in a literal sense?

    any movie/scene examples would be great have you can think of any. i'm having a hard time relating this to something other than a comedy or adventure film that has scenes that show fun and games, etc.
    One must be fearless and tenacious when pursuing their dreams. If you don't, regret will be your reward.

    The Fiction Story Room

  • #2
    Re: save the cat question......

    Fun and games is a misnomer. Snyder used the term to refer to that section of the movie where the hero plans, struggles, gathers information, meets allies and more enemies, etc. It's often where you divert from the core story and show other possibilities and scenarios, while your hero struggles to find the truth in a thriller.
    Last edited by Centurio; 12-20-2009, 10:16 PM.
    If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving an infant's life, she will choose to save the infant's life without even considering if there are men on base.
    Dave Barry

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    • #3
      Re: save the cat question......

      My take on fun and games...

      It's not literally fun or literally games. In a sense it is filler material. In a horror film your main protag survives this section, but all the others are running around and getting their heads chopped off. This comes after the setup and is where the teens drink, split up to go have sex and then start turning up dead.

      In a thriller, the cat & mouse events take place bringing us ever closer to the third act with chases and near misses, deceptions and rouses. In Die Hard, we have the cops attacking the building with the tank, the vault getting opened and Bruce Willis killing off the minor bad guys...It won't be until Act 3 that we have the protag/antag showdown. In Basic Instinct we have the protag and antag playing cat and mouse games with each other building up mystery and tension for the big finale.



      R.O.T.

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      • #4
        Re: save the cat question......

        In North by Northwest, my namesake, Roger, faces a bunch of difficulties which also made good fun & games scenes.

        He meets Miss Kendall on the train, has to leave disguised.
        Ye olde crop duster scene
        Fight at the art auction scene



        These are scenes that could have been a thousand other places and happened a million other ways. They fill-out the premise of innocent-man-on-the-run as he gets from Point A (New York) to Point B (South Dakota).



        R.O.T.

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        • #5
          Re: save the cat question......

          ah okay, now it's making more sense. so it basically just reinforces the logline or main premise of the action part of the story?

          i havent seen North by Northwest, but the Die Hard and Basic Instinct examples make sense.

          what would be the "fun & games" section of the movie Sixth Sense?
          One must be fearless and tenacious when pursuing their dreams. If you don't, regret will be your reward.

          The Fiction Story Room

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          • #6
            Re: save the cat question......

            I'd say the 'fun and games' part is why people go see the movie in the first place. The 'hook' from the poster. In Arachnophobia (I'm into monster movies right now) it's when the spiders start attacking people left and right. In Gremlins when Billy starts breaking the rules and we see the consequences. In Transformers when Sam discovers all the cool tricks his car can do. Etc.

            From The Sixth Sense the only thing I remember is Bruce driving around with the boy who sees dead people. I guess the mystery is the 'fun and games' part here. A lot of questions and no answers yet.

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            • #7
              Re: save the cat question......

              the fun & games in dexter is when dexter plays cat and mouse with trinity. in season 1 the ice truck killer played cat and mouse with dexter.

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              • #8
                Re: save the cat question......

                It's the section where the hero explores the "upside down world" and learns the rules of this world.

                Your best bet is to watch films and pay attention to what happens during that section.

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                • #9
                  Re: save the cat question......

                  Originally posted by Biohazard View Post
                  It's the section where the hero explores the "upside down world" and learns the rules of this world.

                  Your best bet is to watch films and pay attention to what happens during that section.
                  This.

                  A lot of times, in action movies or sports movies, it training or learning from a mentor.
                  what the head makes cloudy the heart makes very clear

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                  • #10
                    Re: Save the cat question......

                    I've seen this section also referred to as the 'Puzzles' section.

                    I think in Save the Cat, Snyder refers to this section as the 'promise of the premise' which is a good way to look at it.

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                    • #11
                      Re: save the cat question......

                      Originally posted by RogerOThornhill View Post
                      In North by Northwest, my namesake, Roger, faces a bunch of difficulties which also made good fun & games scenes.

                      He meets Miss Kendall on the train, has to leave disguised.
                      Ye olde crop duster scene
                      Fight at the art auction scene

                      These are scenes that could have been a thousand other places and happened a million other ways. They fill-out the premise of innocent-man-on-the-run as he gets from Point A (New York) to Point B (South Dakota).

                      R.O.T.
                      And where Kaplan has DAN-druff.

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                      • #12
                        Re: Save the cat question......

                        Also it's the trailer moments section.

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                        • #13
                          Re: save the cat question......

                          Originally posted by Juno Styles View Post
                          what would be the "fun & games" section of the movie Sixth Sense?
                          It's been quite a while, but I believe it has to do with Bruce trying to get the kid to open up to him. The kid with this special problem is part of Bruce's upside-down world - he's trying to do the same job as before, but under different circumstances. Bruce has to learn about this kid if he wants to help him. This all leads to the midpoint where the kid tells Bruce about his "power".

                          Feel free to elaborate and/or correct me if I'm wrong about anything.

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