Can one scene be the key to unlocking the whole story?

Stu and Chas are joined once again by the inestimable Stephen Cleary to explore his idea of 'key scenes'. Scenes like the diner scene in HEAT. Or the boardroom showdown in MARGIN CALL. These scenes are not only key to a film, they can also be key to developing a story. Why? Stephen's observation is that if you put your protagonist and antagonist in a scene together for a period of time and they will instinctively play out the beats of your whole story... if you have the characters figured out.

An interesting theory and one we put to the test. In addition to HEAT and MARGIN CALL, we look at scenes and sequences from THE GODFATHER, NOTTING HILL, THE DARK KNIGHT, THE RAID 2: BERANDAL and Stu avoids mentioning STAR WARS by working in EMPIRE STRIKES BACK instead.

LINKS

• SHORT TERM 12 by Destin Daniel Cretton - (Pages 42 - 48)
• Mike Jones: "Mythology of Horror: The Story That Won't Go Away" - www.mikejones.tv
• Stephen Cleary's Website: http://www.stephenclearyfilm.com
• THE DARK KNIGHT by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan (Pages 101-106)
  • The Dark Knight - "Interrogation Scene" (YouTube)
  • Hero Complex: "Christopher Nolan revisits his favourite scene in 'Dark Knight'"
• The Godfather Part II - "Corleone Family Flashback" (YouTube)
• HEAT by Michael Mann (Pages 84 - 88)
  • Heat - "The Diner Scene" (YouTube)
  • Den Of Geek: "Michael Mann's Heat: how research created a classic thriller"
  • Mann Made: From LA Takedown to Heat Part 1 (YouTube)
• MARGIN CALL by J. C. Chandor (Pages 47 - 58)
  • Margin Call - "The Music Stops" (Youtube)
  • Margin Call - "Be First, Be Smarter or Cheat" (YouTube)
• The Empire Strikes Back - "Tested on Dagobah" (YouTube)
• The Decalogue: I Am Lord Thy God  - "Catharsis" (YouTube)
• The Raid 2: Berandal - Trailer (YouTube)
• Jane Espenson: "Hot Cold Openings"