The Scriptcake Five Structural Screenwriting Pillars

There are Five key Structural Pillars in Screenwriting.

Example: Spider-Man (the first one with Tobey Maguire in 2002)

Opening Impression:

The first time we see Peter Parker he is late for the bus (a symptom of not being responsible). He states that “like all great stories, this one’s about a girl (Mary-Jane)”. Wait, I thought this was a super-hero movie, nope, it turns out it’s a story about a girl wrapped within the world of a super-hero movie. That’s an important distinction to make – you are always writing two screenplays – the emotional one and the physical one.

The Protagonist’s Push (1st Act Break):

Not stopping a thief robbing a wrestling promoter when he easily could have results in the thief killing his Uncle Ben (emotional). This causes Peter Parker to chase down the criminal himself (physical), pushing him to use his powers responsibly and not for his own benefit. Do you see how the emotion of his uncle dying pushes him into action? Please always remember that emotion pushes action.

Midpoint Realization:

When the Green Goblin kidnaps Aunt May (emotional), this forces Peter to go and save her (physical). Peter realizes that his loved ones are in danger if anyone ever finds out his true identity. This forces his change in mindset that he has to be way more careful (i.e. more responsible) to protect his them. This is where using his powers for himself die and where he truly begins to use them to serve others.

The Protagonist’s Pull (2nd Act Break):

The Green Goblin kidnaps Mary-Jane (emotional) and Peter must go and fight the Green Goblin over water where the Green Goblin has a huge advantage (physical). The kidnapping pulls Peter to a place that he is a huge underdog. Do you see how the screenwriters use emotion to dictate physical action throughout the screenplay?

Final Impression:

Mary Jane realizes she loves Peter and tells him so (emotional). This is the one thing that he’s wanted the most since the beginning of the movie. In fact, it’s all he’s wanted. Everything he did was to impress her. In a stroke of screenwriting genius, Peter turns and walks away from her (physical) because he knows that if any other enemies find out his true identity, she will be the first person they will attack. He walks away because he loves her. He walks away to protect her even though it breaks his heart. He walks away because he has finally learned the lesson of the move – “With great power comes great responsibility.”

Emotion pushes action.