The little story engine that could

[mcjulie]

This recent Slate article [Save the movie!] suggests that an over-reliance on the beat sheet from Blake Snyder’s “Save the Cat” books is ruining Hollywood movies, but I think it’s completely wrong. The problem with dull blockbusters isn’t that they are following Snyder’s beat sheet - it’s that they aren’t following it.

I admit, when I read the

Comments

PSYCHO BEAT SHEET

[anonymous]

Thanks for this - I have been interested in how Psycho fits into Blake Snyder's model for a while, and I agree that 'the formula' has nothing to do with how unsatisfying some films are.

Great observation about how the midpoint twist - 'the shower scene' - shocks us from one genre into another, but still adhere to the Save The Cat formula.