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Film is Truth
Date of Review: Jul 1, 2004
The Bottom Line: Read it.
All you really need to know about Story is that it is the greatest book ever written on screenwriting.
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I have to admit that I have not yet read Syd Field s Screenplay, which also boasts that claim. I do know, however, that Robert McKee, the author of Story, incorporates Syd Field s method into a more complicated yet less strict and less generic template on the necessary stages of your screenplay. Unlike many other books on the topic, McKee never says, This is how is has to be done. Instead he shows you how is has been done in the past, using over a hundred different movies as examples, from Ingmar Bergman s European art house film PERSONA to James Cameron s action/Sci-Fi flick THE TERMINATOR to the SNL skit-turned-movie WAYANE S WORLD.
The first book I ever read on screenwriting was The Complete Idiot s Guide to Screenwriting by Skip Press. Big mistake. When looking for the screenwriting book, you must understand that normally those who teach cannot do (though the common phrase is reversed). Press book was filled with unintentional subtext that rang with the bitterness of a writer who never quite made it. It was obvious from the beginning that Press only wrote the book because he could never succeed at his true passion.
The opening to McKee s Story also hints at subtext, but, unlike Press book, it s both humorous and relieving. McKee, like Field, is a man who knows he s never going to write the great American screenplay. Instead of seeming upset about that, he appears to be more upset that nobody else is writing the great American novel. In the first chapter, The Story Problem, we can feel McKee's irritation at the Hollywood leftovers that are being pumped out of major studios at a ridiculous rate. He yearns for another meaningful experience in the cinema and writes in the hope that he may inspire that next experience. No doubt he has, as graduates of McKee s popular seminar have been involved in the likes of Cheers, THE DEER HUNTER, THE ELEPHANT MAN, A FISH CALLED WANDA, FORREST GUMP, LEAVING LAS VEGAS, M*A*S*H, MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL, POWDER, Seinfeld, TOY STORY, and THE TRUMAN SHOW. Who else can claim that?
Actually, without knowing it, you are probably already familiar with McKee. He was portrayed by Brian Cox in the movie ADAPTATION, where screenwriter Charlie Kaufman pays tribute to the great film guru.
McKee says that the biggest problem in screenwriting today is that not enough people will go out and study their craft. Instead, they pound away at a keyboard, typing useless (if you haven t figured out already, I love this phrase) Hollywood leftovers that will never be made. He ends his book with a nice analogy:
High above the forest floor, a millipede strolled along the branch of a tree, her thousand pairs of legs swinging in an easy gait. From the tree top, song birds looked down fascinated by the synchronization of the millipede s stride. That s an amazing talent, chirped the songbirds. You have more limbs than we can count. How do you do it? And for the first time in her life in millipede thought about this. Yes, she wondered, how do I do what I do? As she turned to look back, her bristling legs suddenly ran into one another and tangled like vines of ivy. The songbirds laughed as the millipede, in a panic of confusion, twisted herself into a knot and fell to the earth below.
On the forest floor, the millipede, realizing that only her pride was hurt, slowly, carefully, limb by limb, unraveled herself. With patience and hard work, she studied and flexed and tested her appendages, until she was able to stand and walk. What was once instinct became knowledge. She realized she didn t have to move at her old, slow, rote pace. She could amble, strut, prance, even run and jump. Then, as never before, she listened to the symphony of the songbirds and let music touch her heart. Now in perfect command of thousands of talented legs, she gathered courage and, with a style of her own, danced and danced a dazzling dance that astonished all the creatures of her world.
Like the millipede, you may have great writing talent, but you will never be able to amble, strut, prance, or run until you study how you do what you do.
McKee also has a good sense of humor, and because his comedic remarks are so rare, when they are made they are very effective, lifting the text up one level higher, both entertaining and helping the reader understand his sometimes dense concepts. A favorite of mine included a quote from Harry Cohn, who said, MOGAMBO is a terrible title. MOGAMBO starring Clark Cable and Ava Gardner, is a great f-cking title.
And yet Story is not limited to writers, or even people working in Hollywood. I think anybody with a serious interest in the art of film should casually read this book. It gives great insight into why great movies are great.
I don t really have any problems with Story, but you must know that it s a long book, not only because it s 421 pages, but because the material is consistently overwhelming. This is not something you can read in a week. It s something you have to read slowly while sorting everything out in your mind as you go.
And, like McKee says, reading this once isn t going to guarantee that you ll understand all the concepts on the same level as William Goldman. You ll have to revisit many passages when writing your script, probably dozens of times until, like the millipede, your instinct becomes knowledge and you no longer need Story as a reference.
