Citizen Shane
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Script Study

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A Screenwriting Blog for writers looking to expand their understanding of screenplays. Script Study helps you better understand your screenplay by using an out-of-the-box lens to deconstruct structure, format, dialogue, beats, plot, creation, character, themes, workflow, and behind-the-scenes processes.


The Long Kiss Goodnight - Script Study

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Film: The Long Kiss Goodnight

Screenplay by: Shane Black

The matches - which act as Chekhov’s Gun - are set-up when we transition into Act II to during the scene that forces the amnesiac protagonists into her crisis, finally crossing the threshold. Her daughters cast is also set-up on page 16 when the daughter falls skating. In this scene, the protagonist’s (mother) troubled past comes through for the first time and we see her darker side which will be revealed in Act II. This furthers the character’s development, moves the plot forward, and sets up a crucial pay-off.

Mirroring this plot point, the matches and cast pay-off when the protagonist survives their Dark Night of the Soul just before we break into Act III - a result of her daughter carrying the matches inside her cast because her mother told her to. With life or death stakes, their lives are saved through intelligent writing and set-ups invisibly dotted throughout the film.

 
Shane Patrick