The Birdcage - Half a plot - Screenwriter's nightmare

If you haven't seen this Hollywood remake-movie from 1996, it's about a college kid whose parents are two gay men who run a cabaret club in South Beach, Miami.  The college kid wants to marry a girl whose father is a U.S. Senator who chairs the committee for Moral fiber.

The movie has funny parts and it did gross $200 Million at the box office.

BUT in terms of storytelling, it delivers half a movie.

When it is revealed that the college kid's parents are two gay men - which feels like a MIDPOINT - the movie quickly jumps to the two college kids getting married and the credits rolling.

The Senator is up for re-election and we lose the opportunity to see if he loses his job.

No single character has to sacrifice anything.  No character learns anything.  There is no point to this story.

End of Act 2 PLOT POINT - Screenwriting - A secret revealed, a fear overcome

At the midpoint of your story there is a MAJOR SOCIAL REVERSAL.

Now lets talk about the next big plot point.  The point towards the end of your story when we dig into a relationship your character has been developing.  In this relationship your character has been keeping a secret and this is when that secret is revealed.

The effects of that secret will clearly define the future of their relationship.

Whether it's when George Clooney sees that Alex Goran is married in Up In The Air, or Warden Norton sees that Andy has escaped and the cops are coming for him, or Max Fischer showing Blume that his father is not in fact a doctor but instead a barber.

In an action movie it can be fear overcome.  Let's say in the opening the character fails to take action, in the end they take it.  In jaws, Quint destroys the radio forcing Brody to take action instead of relying on others.  In Cliffhanger, Stallone has to keep Jesse from falling like Sarah.

There is also ANOTHER POINT here.

You character will have a meeting with the mentor and attractor archetypes before heading into Act 2.  The meeting with the mentor could be simply going over what the mentor taught your character.  If the mentor has died than this is a typical way to do it.
The meeting with the attractor is what can give your character that final push to enter into act 3.  It may mirror the debate that your character had in act 1.

MIDPOINT - Screenwriting - What it is and how to develop your midpoint

The midpoint of your story:

You've arrive at page 55 of a 110 page script and ask, "Is this the midpoint?"

Here's the deal.  Your character will have a MAJOR SOCIAL REVERSAL at the midpoint of the story.  What do I mean by this?

Let's say your character dresses up in a bat suit and fights criminals.  At the midpoint, he will take an action that dramatically effects people in the story to the point where everyone will now take him seriously.  So some will rally around him while others will begin to actively try to take him out.

The point is that before the midpoint, your character is acting in this new way, he's taking on a new role, but no one is really noticing him yet.  Things are going relatively easily and it looks like reaching his goal will be easy.  But then he takes serious action, and everyone takes notice.

Another example would be if your character, SARAH, is trying to win a dance contest, she's dancing well during practice, theirs a preliminary dance test and she blows the girl who is expected to win out of the water.  The dance instructor takes a liking to SARAH and the old dance pro girl, TRISH, now wants to kick SARAH's ass because she sees her as a real threat now.

The midpoint signify s GAME ON.

MAJOR SOCIAL REVERSAL - Symptoms to tell if your character is performing one:

Symptom - Your character becomes 1) the solution some characters have been looking for and 2) the threat some other characters have been hoping won't show up.

Symptom -  Your character will take a step that shows that they have the upper hand.  That they are in control and rising to greatness.  Your villain will now take notice.

Symptom - Point of No Return at which characters take sides.  Point of no return in the eyes of the other characters.  They way they view your hero has changed forever hence no return.

From produced movies:

Rushmore: Max starts construction on the baseball field and is kicked out of Rushmore
Shawshank Redemption: Andy blasts an opera record for all the prisoners to enjoy
Jaws: The beach is being protected But Shark attacks Brody and Mayor's kids in bay
Field of Dreams: Mann hears voice and joins Ray.  Mark telling Ray's wife to sell farm.
Star Wars:  Luke and gang free Leia, Vader kills Ben

Rushmore - 3 Act Structure

Rushmore - Movie Analysis for Screenwriters

Let's explore each point:

Character Theme: This is how I describe who my character is, it's the attributes that I'm exploring and using to build the story.

Story Theme:  This is the subject matter that I'm exploring and using to build my story as well.  It is the world in which my character lives in.

Central Dramatic Question: This is what my character wants whether he knows it or not.

Answer to central dramatic question: This is what my character or my audience learns at the end of the story.

There can also be a Central Story Question like How do we get to New York by tomorrow?  Or How do we get the Key from the fortress? Etc.

the second draft - rewriting a screenplay

Two tips:

In the second draft you will ADD not subtract scenes.  You will be using your editing-right brained and this is the draft to let that speak.

 Tip two is to let the story sit for six months or until you forget most of it.

It is in the THIRD draft that you begin to cut, restructure scenes and shape the story.  For it is only until after you have let both sides speak that you can synthesize their voices into a story.

How many times have you sat down to rewrite that second draft with scissors and erasers and delete keys at the ready?   And how many times have you failed to produce a better draft?

Its commercialism and desperation and downright disrespect that leads you to thrust the throttle into a second draft rewrite.  Ultimately you end up riding on an airplane of tragedy that breaks up in mid air leaving you and yours, a blood exploded corpse on the asphalt roof of some suburban dry-hopped, hand job who can't stand up to the middle school kids on his block when they flick him off and smash his pumpkins.

So don't be that kind of shitty human writer, you little prick.

Build and develop your script in the second draft and don't cry over page counts yet.