The 3-Act Paradigm at Work: The Contender
written by Rod Lurie
The Contender is a political drama with very strong 3-act structure.
Structural Analysis
- Hook (1 min.)
- A car crashes over a bridge and a governor, fishing nearby, fails to rescue the girl in the car. But he's a hero for trying.
- Complication (5, 10 min.)
- But the governor is turned down as V.P. candidate by the President. A woman is nominated instead.
- Call to Action (17-8 min.)
- The woman senator, our protagonist, accepts the nomination.
- Act One Plot Point (30-5 min.)
- A smear campaign starts against the senator about her sex life in college, but she won't step down.
- Midpoint Plot Point (59 min.)
- The story about her college sex orgy goes onto the Internet and becomes public.
- Act Two Plot Point (86, 95 min.)
- She still won't fight back. The President prepares to drop her for the governor.
- Climax and Resolution (100-115 min.)
- The governor's heroism is fraudulent. The senator drops out but the President refuses her withdrawal. Her time has come.
MODULE 4:
SCREENWRIGHT: the craft of screenwriting
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