FS: Can you tell me why you titled your book, Save the Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You’ll Ever Need?

Blake Snyder: I’ve been a successful screenwriter for over 20 years and because I’ve sold a lot of scripts, screenwriters would ask for my advice, which tended to be the same. I wanted to put into a book everything I learned about screenwriting and pass it on as a gift to others. I wanted it to be fun and slangly, so that’s why it’s called Save the Cat! I wanted my book to be special and different mainly because I have been successful at selling scripts. I did get a lot of slack for writing the sequel, Save the Cat! Goes to the Movies. And the third coming out is Save the Cat! Strikes Back which is about troubleshooting.

FS: After so many successful years as a screenwriter, what made you decide to write a book on the subject?

Blake Snyder: Everything that I learned along the way has been that all creative endeavors, especially in the Film & Television business, is the intersection between art & commerce. To be an inspiration to want to do something, there has to be a practical consideration of how are you going to do it and who are you telling it to? The turning point in my career that got me to writing Save the Cat! is when I got out of college, I entered this industry as a page at NBC and a production assistant.

At some point, it just became clear that what I really wanted to do was write and like any young writer I was banging my head against the wall a lot. For me it came down to the point where I had to ask myself, do I want to have this career or not?

After my father passed away, I studied what movies sold and what log lines attract attention. What is it about a script that people like? That’s when I turned the corner and started selling spec screenplays. I went from very poor, digging coins out of my couch to being a millionaire in 18 months. That’s from applying these things.

FS: One of the most important things you mention in your book about movies is the simple phrase, “What is it?”

Blake Snyder: In my opinion there are many opportunities for screenwriters today than there’s ever been. When my father was in this business there were three networks, NBC, ABC, and CBS. If he ticked off someone at CBS, he was down to two thirds of his market. Today, there is absolutely no excuse for any writer not to have his/her movie made. I’m very blunt about that.

FS: What do you recommend for new filmmakers today in telling their stories?

Blake Snyder: You can make a movie and put it on YouTube or a website, but the question is, will anyone care. What’s going to make people stop the dial and listen to you? Hollywood gets a lot of slack for their story methods, but that the same ones we need to use. What’s the intriguing hook of your story. Why should I watch your film? And it starts with a basic concept of “What is it?” I think you can make your “What is it?” more attractive.

Blake Snyder passed away on August 4, 2009.
(Article originally published in May 2008 on Suite101.com)

An interview with Independent Filmmaker David Spaltro who shares what it takes to direct a feature film, while still balancing his day job.

David Spaltro is the Director, Writer, & Producer of a low-budget independent feature film set in New York City that was semi-autobiographical about his college experience during film school and completely financed with his credit cards. Filmmaking Success sat down with David to find out what it takes in terms of passion and dedication to tackle a movie as a first time director.

FS: What was it like embarking on your first feature film?

Spaltro: Filmmaking is such a long, arduous journey that you may never see the light at the end of the tunnel for and if you're working on something you don't feel in your heart every second you NEED to be... it's going to be even longer and less fulfilling. If you're going to take plunge, do it with something that makes your heart beat.

FS: What is your day job and how did you balance that with making this movie?

Spaltro: I was working for an executive recruiter while doing a year of pre-production for the film, good hours and decent pay and access to the internet. When shooting I left the job and when I returned it was gone, so I spend the last two years bouncing around various forms of freelance work; construction, waiting tables, bartending, bouncing, janitorial, personal training; whatever I could get my hands on and spending the remaining hours working on the film. So no sleep in a very long time.

FS: What kind of advice do you have for first time feature film directors?

Spaltro: Just write and keep telling your stories however you can or have to. No matter what your situation, financial or whatever, no one can take the pen out of your hand and the paper away from you. You can do that much. Even if it's just baby steps and it all seems like an improbability to complete. Surround yourself with good people, people you enjoy seeing and working with and collaborating with. It makes all the difference not just in the work but in the entire process. A great teacher, Larry Hillier, also told me to do what you love, pick the projects you love.

FS: Anything you'd like to add for filmmakers to keep going and finish their projects when things get rough?

Spaltro: It just takes dedication, commitment, and endurance to get up every day (assuming you did go to bed the night before), sacrificing relationships and other opportunities, and staying passionate about something. What kept me going were the people who bled for it and put good work into and making sure that got recognized.

…Around Official Website

• Starring: Robert Evans, Molly Ryman, Marcel Torres, Ron Brice, Berenice Mosca
• Director/Writer/Producer: David Spaltro
• Running Time: 104 minutes
• Genre: Drama

Directing is one of those unique skill sets that require a tremendous deal of finesse to pull off effectively. It's akin to taking a human being and guiding him/her to becoming an entirely different person. It's like Michelangelo looking at what most people would perceive as a giant slab of marble, but instead, envisioning the shape of David. A master sculptor such as Michelangelo possesses a high level of artistic control to shape a near perfect anatomical resemblance of the human body. However, a Film Director who controls and dictates too heavily the beats of emotions for his/her actors may have the opposite effect, as actors are not made of marble. They are living, breathing human beings.

Change My Vision into Our Vision
One of the best ways I've discovered to work with actors is to become as collaborative as possible by inviting actors to contribute and share their vision for the story. It may feel scary to let go of your control by allowing others to shape your story's vision, but what can occur in this process is that you will bring out the best performances in your actors. Actors revel in the ability to play with their emotions, which is best utilized if they feel empowered to make choices of their own free will.

Learn to Let Go
Emotions are a tricky nuance of human behavior to convey, even within ourselves in real life as our emotions can guide us towards irrational behaviors and desires. And when we direct actors by imposing behaviors that we are comfortable with and are based on our life experience, we are forcing a box for the actors to perform within. This has a tendency to stifle their emotions by treating the actors like robots rather than human beings, whose myriad of emotional ups and downs can never be defined or confined within a box. By telling someone to act/react in a specific way at a specific moment, we are effectively robbing them of their choice to bring forth what they feel is an appropriate emotion within that moment. Allowing actors to express their own emotions, in their own unique way, will ring much closer to truth for audiences.

Directing without Directing
Here are some things you can say to your actors to bring out their performances and allow them to fully collaborate in a shared vision of the film: Tell your actors that acting is their job, not yours. Tell them that they are free to direct themselves in any way they choose and there are no wrong choices. Impart to them that they need to take ownership of the scene, ownership of the project, and ownership of how their overall performance will affect audiences for years to come. Tell them that they are to listen to each other, and not you, to shape their actions and reactions. Invite them to move freely within the scene from beginning to end of each rehearsal. Allow them to explore, play, and lose themselves with each rehearsal and allow them to rehearse as many times as possible, until they feel comfortable in conveying the truth of their characters. And let them know that if they need help from time to time, to please ask you and you will do your best with your guidance. Tell them that the work that they do is something they should be proud of for the rest of their lives.

Camera Placement After Rehearsals
And what to do with the cameras? Once you know where the actors comfortably and naturally move within the scene, and then build your shots based off of their movements. By directing this way it will allow the actors to perform at their best and place the truth of the performance as the highest priority. This way, actors will be free to express themselves as if they were actually living and breathing in the moment of their characters. They will go where they want as their own emotions bubble forth and dictate their behaviors to what they feel is appropriate to the moment. With this approach you will discover some wonderful and magical moments that will occur from the collaboration of many minds as opposed to just one mind. Giving your actors the space to play and perform and then built the shots around them.

In Conclusion
Personally, this has been the best way I've discovered to direct actors and bring about natural performances. Remember that the key is to empower your actors so that they take ownership of their job as an actor. In doing so, you will have released their fears of getting it perfect as they will begin to focus on doing the best job for the Film, rather than for you. Much of this letting go of control will appear strange to many Directors, but before judging this technique, I invite you to try it for one of your films and see what happens. Feel free to comment and share if you were courageous enough to let go and empower your actors.