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  • Something Startling Happens by Todd Klick
  • Jean Stawarz
Something Startling Happens Todd Klick . Studio City: Michael Wiese, 2011, 199 pp.

In one of the introductory sections of his new book, Something Startling Happens, Todd Klick quickly and clearly states that the premise of the book is that every movie—or to use his distinction, every great movie—shares a similarity in its minute-by-minute structure.

Klick came upon this when analyzing Raiders of the Lost Ark. The moment of action that occurs eight minutes into the movie struck a chord with him. After re-examining notes he had made during an analysis of The Matrix, he discovered an unexpected moment of action occurred at the same spot in both movies. Scuttling through notes he had made regarding the structure of other films, Klick confirmed his theory that eight minutes into most movies, "something startling happened."

To prove his thesis, Klick began by playing three movies side by side. Instead of looking at the films in the more traditional scene-by-scene or beat-by-beat fashion, Klick studied the three films minute by minute and discovered that essentially the same thing happens in each minute.

Klick ascertains that the universality of storytelling through production brings about this minute-by-minute rhythm; hence, he examines produced films instead of scripts. He goes on to suggest that it does not matter if the film ends at 89 minutes or 120 minutes—the minute events are the same. He also states that his theory can be used to improve overall story structure for the outline and treatment phase of screenwriting. Klick has a thorough list of FAQs prominently placed early in the book, discussing how the method works for scripts that are shorter than feature-length and even television pilots. Klick also thought through how his book could be used for production as well as post-production.

Klick's book varies from other screenwriting how-to manuals in that he does not discuss three-act structure or engage in the use of well-worn script nomenclature. The book is divided into six major sections that represent twenty film minutes. The minutes represent the chapters in the book; thus, each section consists of twenty chapters with catchphrase titles that proceed minute by minute with exhaustive examples of movies. Each section also contains two writing exercises that involve use of a stopwatch and very specific movies. Should the reader want to complete the exercises, the student must readily have films such as Titanic, Amelie, Braveheart, or Kill Bill, on hand.

The first section of the book, "In Da Beginning," covers minutes one to twenty of a feature film. Each minute is preceded by a clever title—for example, "The Build," "The Ratchet," "Whew, That Was Close!" and "Something Startling Happens"—that describes the essence of the minute. The chapters in all sections of the book are relatively short. Each opens with a brief statement that explains the concept in the chapter and then goes on to cite case studies—specific moments in films—to illustrate the [End Page 94] point. Although many films are cited in the book (the filmography contains forty-four titles), most of the examples are from the same movies: Juno, Being John Malkovich, Pulp Fiction, The Matrix, Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Halloween. To best use Klick's book, the reader would need to have familiarity beyond one cursory viewing of the film and would need to be somewhat intimate with the film examples. This is due to the fact that each case study is brief: generally, a short sentence intended to substantiate the chapter title, often only one page long. For example, in the chapter "Minute 92: Hugs & Kisses," Klick uses Being John Malkovich, Pulp Fiction, and The Matrix as case studies. To illustrate his point that in minute 92 the hero and ally, or love interest, show affection, Klick writes, "In The Matrix, Trinity and Neo try to find a way to save Morpheus (their way of expressing affection for him)" (147). In the case study for Being John Malkovich in the same chapter, he writes, "Maxine shows affection toward puppet-Lotte" (147). Unless...

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