Save the Cat! Romantic Comedy

Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat BS2 15 Beats merged with Billy Mernit’s Seven Basic Romantic Comedy Beats for a 110 minute/110 page screenplay

Save the Cat by Blake Snyder

Writing The Romantic Comedy by Billy Mernit

BS-2 #1 Opening Image (1) [ 1 page ] The scene in the movie that sets up the tone, type, and initial salvo of a film — and it’s the opposite of the Final Image.

Rom Com Beat #1: The Chemical Equation: Setup A scene or sequence identifying the exterior and/or interior conflict (i.e., unfulfilled desire), the "what's wrong with this picture" implied in the protagonist's (and/or the antagonist's) current status quo.

BS-2 #2 Theme Stated (5) [ 5 pages ] Usually spoken to the main character, often without his knowing what is said will be vital to his surviving this tale. It’s what your movie is “about.”

BS-2 #3 Set-up (1-10) [ 5 pages ] The first 10 pages of a script must not only grab our interest — and a studio reader’s — but introduce or hint at introducing every character in the A story.

BS-2 #4 Catalyst (12) [ 2 pages ] The telegram, the knock at the door, the act of catching your wife in bed with another, and suddenly you know your life has changed. It’s the movie’s first “whammy.”

Rom Com Beat #2: Cute Meet: Catalyst The inciting incident that brings man and women together and into conflict; and inventive but credible contrivance, often amusing, which in some way sets the tone for the action to come.

BS-2 #5 Debate (12-25) [ 12 pages ] The section of the script, be it a scene or a series of them, when a hero doubts the journey he must take.

BS-2 #6: Break into Two (25) [ 1 page ] Act Two, that is, and it is where we leave the “Thesis” world behind and enter the upside-down “Antithesis” world of Act Two. Let the journey begin!

Rom Com Beat #3: A Sexy Complication: Turning Point Traditionally occurring at the end of Act 1, a new development that raises story stakes and clearly defines the protagonist's goal; most successful when it sets man and women at crosspurposes and/or their inner emotions at odds with the goal.

BS-2 #7: B Story (30) [ 5 pages ] The “love” story, traditionally, but actually where discussion about the theme of a good movie is found.

BS-2 #8: Fun and Games (30-55) [ 25 pages ] Where we find “set pieces,” trailer moments, and the “promise of the premise.”

BS-2 #9: Midpoint (55) [ 1 page ] The dividing line between the two halves of a movie, the part where “fun and games” end, where the “stakes are raised,” and where the going gets tough for our hero(es).

Rom Com Beat #4: The Hook: Midpoint A situation that irrevocably binds the protagonist with the antagonist (often while tweaking sexual tensions) and has further implications for the outcome of the relationship.

BS-2 #10: Bad Guys Close In (55-75) [ 19 pages ] Both internally (problems inside the hero’s team) and externally (as actual bad guys tighten their grip), that part of the film where pressure is applied.

BS-2 #11: All Is Lost (75) [ 1 page ] The “False Defeat” and the place where you find “the whiff of death” — because something must die here.

BS-2 #12: Dark Night of the Soul (75-85) [ 9 pages ] Why hast thou forsaken me, Lord? That part of the script where the hero has lost all hope...

BS-2 #13: Break into Three [ 1 page ] …but not for long! Thanks to a fresh idea, new inspiration, or a last-minute word of advice from the love interest in the B Story, the hero chooses to fight.

Rom Com Beat #5: Swivel: Second Turning Point Traditionally occurring at the end of Act 2, stakes reach their highest point at the romantic relationship's importance jeopardizes the protagonist's chance to succeed at his stated goal - or visa-versa and his goal shifts.

BS-2 #14: Finale (85-110) [ 24 pages ] The Synthesis of two worlds: from that which was, and that which has been learned, the hero forges a new world.

Rom Com Beat #6: The Dark Moment: Crisis Climax Wherein the consequences of the swivel decision yeild disaster; generally, the humiliating scene where private motivations are revealed, and either the relationship and/or the protagonist's goal is seemingly lost forever.

BS-2 #15: Final Image (110) [ 1 page ] The opposite of the Opening Image, proving that a change has occurred. And since ALL stories are about “transformation,” that change had better be dramatic!

Rom Com Beat #7: Joyful Defeat: Resolution A reconciliation that reaffirms the primal importance of the relationship, usually a happy ending that implies marriage or a serious commitment, often at the cost of some personal sacrifice to the protagonist.