Screenwriting guru Syd Field says that you can decide about whether you like a movie or not within the first 10 minutes of watching it – that’s why it’s so important to make sure the first 10 pages of your script are the best they can be. However, I think it’s what happens about 40 or 50 minutes down the line that will tell whether the movie’s got something special or not. See, a Hollywood movie will do anything, say anything, blow up anything, in the first 10 minutes to keep you in your seat.
So once you get past all of the big budget Hollywood salesmanship in the first 10 minutes, what in the film is really gonna set it apart from any other piece of crap? What is the the movie really bringing to the table to satisfy your hunger for entertainment? I mean, it’s insulting that the studios think they can serve up anything they throw together so long as the body count is high enough by the time the opening credits are done rolling.
So after the bombast of the first 10, and the breather of the next 10 or 20, we get into the meatier part of the film where it loosens up and lets us see its true colours. So while it might be the case that the tweens and dilettantes with short attention spans have to be punched in the gut for the first 10 minutes to keep them in their seats, I think that the indoctrinated cinephile knows better. And while they might appreciate the opening intensity for what it is, they’ll be waiting for the story to weave itself together part-way into the second act before jumping to any conclusions.
Does that mean that movie theatres should change their policy and offer refunds up to 45 minutes into the show instead of 30? Maybe not. But it might mean that budding screenwriters, like myself, should consider their own advice and references when structuring their stories, instead of putting all their eggs in Syd’s 10 minute basket.
[...] 10 Minutes, My Ass! [...]