Imagine a story about a soldier, wounded by past battles, who is sent to a hostile, unfamiliar place filled with danger and overwhelming obstacles. He’s a stranger in a strange land – the geography and the climate are almost the antithesis of his native world. His orders are conflicting and at times crazy, he’s in conflict with his fellow soldiers and commander, and the indigenous people in this new world come at him with suspicion, hostility and aggression. Even his attempts to connect with the natives seem futile, and his efforts to fight for some kind of justice on their behalf lead to tragedy and death….
I’ve always found it fascinating that Avatar and The Hurt Locker – the two movies that duked it out for the 2009 Best Picture Oscar® – have so many common plot elements. Ultimately, The Hurt Locker won six Oscars®, including Best Original Screenplay to Mark Boal, while Avatar won three (though it wasn’t even nominated in the screenplay category).
The Hurt Locker went on to make just under $50 million in worldwide theatrical box office receipts, and only $16 million in the US and Canada.
Avatar made $2.75 billion.
<div id="attachment_16690" style="width: 610px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16690" class="size-full wp-image-16690" src="http://creativescreenwriting.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Avatar-2.jpg" alt="Sam Worthington as Jake Sully in Avatar. Photo by Courtesy of WETA - © 2007 Twentieth Century Fox - All Rights Reserved" width="600" height="337" srcset="https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Avatar-2.jpg 600w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Avatar-2-150x84.jpg 150w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Avatar-2-250x140.jpg 250w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Avatar-2-500x281.jpg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" />Sam Worthington as Jake Sully in Avatar. Photo by Courtesy of WETA &#8211; © 2007 Twentieth Century Fox &#8211; All Rights Reserved</div>
So why the huge difference?
The easy answer is to attribute it all to Avatar’s huge budget, amazing production values, and dazzling 3-D special effects. But all the technology in the world can’t, by itself, generate that kind of audience response. Otherwise a lot of previous big budget movies, and even James Cameron’s own 3-D documentaries, would have topped the billion-dollar mark.
So Avatar’s success must have at least something to do with the story and screenplay.
I am not making any value judgment about the scripts for Avatar or The Hurt Locker. I thought both these movies were terrific – deserving of the praise they both received. And I would never maintain that big box office equals great art; too many fairly dreadful scripts have become blockbusters, and far too many wonderful screenplays fail to find a large audience.
But box office receipts are indicative of one thing: huge commercial hits that have managed to reach a huge audience. The writers of blockbuster films are able to touch a lot of people with their stories. So if you want to touch mass audiences in the same way, it’s critical that you understand how the screenplays for megahit movies manage to do so – even if your desire is to write only small, independent films.
For me, the big distinction between the screenplay for Avatar and the screenplay for The Hurt Locker is that in Avatar, the hero has a clearly defined outer motivation; the hero of The Hurt Locker does not.
<div id="attachment_16689" style="width: 610px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16689" class="size-full wp-image-16689" src="http://creativescreenwriting.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Avatar-1a.jpg" alt="Sam Worthington as Jake Sully and Zoe Saldana as Neytiri in Avatar © 2007 Twentieth Century Fox - All Rights Reserved" width="600" height="336" srcset="https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Avatar-1a.jpg 600w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Avatar-1a-150x84.jpg 150w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Avatar-1a-250x140.jpg 250w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Avatar-1a-500x280.jpg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" />Sam Worthington as Jake Sully and Zoe Saldana as Neytiri in Avatar © 2007 Twentieth Century Fox &#8211; All Rights Reserved</div>
Outer motivation is my term for a character’s visible goal – the finish line the character is determined to cross by the end of the story. Your hero’s outer motivation is the compelling desire that they are desperate to achieve, and the one that defines the story concept of your screenplay.
So in Avatar, Jake Sully’s outer motivation is to stop the mercenary army from destroying the Na’vi.
This desire begins with Jake wanting to infiltrate the Na’vi tribe in order to gather information – to spy on them and figure out how to get them to leave so the unobtanium can be mined. This initial goal grows into a desire to stop the army from attacking them, and finally into a desire to lead the Na’vi in a war against the mercenaries. But these are all simply stages of accomplishing the same outer motivation: to stop the defeat of the Na’vi.
Any properly stated outer motivation creates an immediate image of what accomplishing that goal will look like on screen. As soon as we hear or read the words “stop the mercenaries from destroying the Na’vi”, we can imagine what that final battle might look like. We won’t know the details, and we won’t know the outcome, but the image is still clear.
It may sound odd, but when audiences go to the movies, they want to know as soon as possible how the movie will end. They want to know that they’re on a finite journey, one that will be brought to a clear, specific resolution.
When the hero of your screenplay pursues a clearly defined, visible goal, you’ve given the audience (and the readers of your screenplay) something to root for. They now know exactly what they want to happen at the end of the movie, and they can envision and anticipate that climactic event throughout the story.
We don’t want to know whether the hero will succeed or fail (that would spoil the ending). And we don’t want to know exactly how the hero will achieve her goal. But we want to picture what success will look like if the hero is strong enough, and courageous enough, to achieve it.
Jake Sully actually pursues a second outer motivation in Avatar: to win the love of Neytiri. (Winning the love of another character is the hero’s outer motivation in every love story, and every romantic comedy.) Again, once we realize that winning her love is his goal, we can easily picture what success will look like on the screen: the couple will be united in a committed, romantic relationship at the end of the movie.
So in Avatar, we can easily picture the two visible outcomes that we’re rooting for the hero to cross at the climax of the screenplay and film.
In The Hurt Locker, we cannot.
<div id="attachment_16872" style="width: 610px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16872" class="size-full wp-image-16872" src="http://creativescreenwriting.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/The-Hurt-Locker.jpg" alt="Anthony Mackie as Sergeant JT Sanborn and Jeremy Renner as Staff Sergeant William James in The Hurt Locker © 2008 Summit Entertainment. All rights reserved." width="600" height="337" srcset="https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/The-Hurt-Locker.jpg 600w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/The-Hurt-Locker-150x84.jpg 150w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/The-Hurt-Locker-250x140.jpg 250w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/The-Hurt-Locker-500x281.jpg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" />Anthony Mackie as Sergeant JT Sanborn and Jeremy Renner as Staff Sergeant William James in The Hurt Locker © 2008 Summit Entertainment. All rights reserved.</div>
Certainly we want Sergeant James, the hero of The Hurt Locker, to survive his tour of duty in Iraq. But survival doesn’t give us an end point or finish line. James is surviving every time he defuses another bomb, or avoids getting hit by sniper fire, or is out of range of an explosion. This goal of survival takes us from minute to minute and scene to scene, but it doesn’t lead us to a clearly defined endpoint, one that we can clearly envision, and one that will give the story its climax.
Unlike Sully, Sergeant James is not trying to defeat an army, or win a war, or even win a specific battle. Nor is he trying to win a character’s love, or pursue someone sexually or romantically. In other words, there’s no outer motivation for the hero.
The Hurt Locker is what I categorize as an arena story – a story where the hero is thrown into an unfamiliar situation filled with conflict, and where his only goal is to survive until he’s able to leave this hostile environment.
Arena movies are not about escape. Wanting to escape a threatening situation gives a hero a clear outer motivation (as in the movies Panic Room or Toy Story 3). And don’t confuse arena movies with movies that actually have arenas, like Rocky or Remember the Titans or The Karate Kid – those are all sports movies, where the goal is to win some competition at the climax of the film.
Other examples of arena stories would be The Queen (Queen Elizabeth must weather the controversy surrounding the death of Princess Diana), Under the Tuscan Sun (Frances wants to start a new life after her divorce), or The Devil Wears Prada (Andrea wants to move up in the world of journalism by working for the demanding editor of a top fashion magazine).
These heroes are all like gladiators in an arena. Each enters a new situation, either by choice or by circumstance, and each faces overwhelming obstacles. But none pursues a specific outer motivation with a clearly defined endpoint. These heroes just have to keep going, hoping to be better off when their situation is resolved.
<div id="attachment_12007" style="width: 610px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-12007" class="size-full wp-image-12007" src="http://creativescreenwriting.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/devil-wears-prada.jpg" alt="Meryl Streep as Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada" width="600" height="338" srcset="https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/devil-wears-prada.jpg 600w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/devil-wears-prada-150x85.jpg 150w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/devil-wears-prada-250x141.jpg 250w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/devil-wears-prada-500x282.jpg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" />Meryl Streep as Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada</div>
While there may be some romantic relationships in an arena story, the romantic pursuit has either already occurred (as with the married or romantically involved heroes of The Hurt Locker, The Queen and The Devil Wears Prada), or it comprises only a small part of the entire story (as in Under the Tuscan Sun). It is never an outer motivation that carries us through the entire film.
Arena stories, by definition, are very episodic. One desire or obstacle or crisis follows another. And while these episodes can be dramatic or funny or exciting, none propels us to a highly anticipated climax. Because of this, the emotional involvement of the reader and the audience is much more difficult to sustain. And while the examples I just gave were all commercial successes, only The Devil Wears Prada could be considered a blockbuster.
As you consider the concept for your next screenplay, notice that finding successful examples of arena movies is far more difficult that finding blockbusters with clear, visible outer motivations for their heroes. Because Hollywood overwhelmingly favors stories where the finish line is vivid, compelling and worth rooting for.
&nbsp;
Featured image: Zoë Saldana as Neytiri in Avatar, photo by Courtesy of WETA – © 2007 Twentieth Century Fox – All Rights Reserved; and Jeremy Renner as SStg. William James in The Hurt Locker, photo: Greg Gorman &#8211; © 2008 Summit Entertainment – All rights reserved.
&nbsp;
[addtoany]
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
<p style="background: url('http://creativescreenwriting.com/wp-content/themes/patterns/images/bg_widgettitle.png') no-repeat bottom right; border-bottom: 1px solid #4a4a4a; font: bold 16px Arial, Helvetica,Sans-serif; font-size: 120%!important;">Before You Go
<div class="related-articles">
<a href="http://creativescreenwriting.com/product/michael-hauge-screenwriting-collection/"><img class="alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-17173" src="http://creativescreenwriting.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/set26-129x150.jpg" alt="" width="129" height="150" srcset="https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/set26-129x150.jpg 129w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/set26-250x290.jpg 250w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/set26-768x890.jpg 768w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/set26-883x1024.jpg 883w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/set26-1024x1187.jpg 1024w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/set26-150x174.jpg 150w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/set26-500x580.jpg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 129px) 100vw, 129px" /></a><a href="http://creativescreenwriting.com/product/michael-hauge-screenwriting-collection/">The Michael Hauge Screenwriting Collection</a>
Check out our new 7 video streaming box set.
Don&#8217;t miss out on this great screenwriting series!
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
</div>

Arenas and Finish Lines in Screenwriting

12 Powerful Principles of Story Structure

Stories are built on a foundation of desire and conflict. To create an emotionally-involving and commercially-successful screenplay, you must give your hero some compelling desire he or she is desperate to achieve. Then you must make that goal seem impossible. And if you want to take your character through an arc – to show some transformation in the protagonist – they must overcome some deep emotional fear. And that also must seem impossible.
So to make it credible that your hero can achieve both what he wants and what he or she needs, you want to give him some help in the form of a reflection character. This is my term for the character who is most closely aligned with your hero – the best friend, partner, mentor or spouse whose primary function is to help the hero achieve the outer motivation and to urge them toward transformation.
Such a character is beautifully illustrated in David Seidler’s award-winning screenplay for The King’s Speech. Speech therapist Lionel Logue embodies all the characteristics of an effective reflection to the film’s hero Bertie (later King George VI).
<div id="attachment_16309" style="width: 610px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16309" class="size-full wp-image-16309" src="http://creativescreenwriting.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/The-Kings-Speech-Lionel-2.jpg" alt="Geoffrey Rush as Lionel Logue in The King’s Speech © 2010 The Weinstein Company" width="600" height="338" srcset="https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/The-Kings-Speech-Lionel-2.jpg 600w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/The-Kings-Speech-Lionel-2-150x85.jpg 150w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/The-Kings-Speech-Lionel-2-250x141.jpg 250w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/The-Kings-Speech-Lionel-2-500x282.jpg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" />Geoffrey Rush as Lionel Logue in The King’s Speech © 2010 The Weinstein Company</div>
A typical role for a reflection character is that of mentor to the hero – a teacher, trainer, coach or therapist whose job is to give the hero the skills necessary to achieve their goal. Like Morpheus in The Matrix, Mr. Han in The Karate Kid (or Mr. Miyagi in the earlier version), or Sean in Good Will Hunting, Lionel is there to instruct the hero, Bertie, and to encourage him to face his fears in order to accomplish his outer motivation in the script: to give a speech without stammering.
Acting as a mentor isn’t the only form your reflection can take. Often, it’s simply a character who physically assists the hero in his or her pursuit, as do George in My Best Friend’s Wedding, Russell in Up or Rooster Cogburn in True Grit. Either way, the reflection character’s primary goal is to help the hero achieve the outer motivation.
<div id="attachment_11924" style="width: 610px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-11924" class="size-full wp-image-11924" src="http://creativescreenwriting.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/true-grit.jpg" alt="Jeff Bridges as Rooster Cogburn in True Grit (2010)" width="600" height="338" srcset="https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/true-grit.jpg 600w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/true-grit-150x85.jpg 150w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/true-grit-250x141.jpg 250w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/true-grit-500x282.jpg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" />Jeff Bridges as Rooster Cogburn in True Grit</div>
Reflections who are teachers are usually introduced after the beginning of the story – often around the first key turning point: the 10% opportunity. This allows the reader and audience to become acquainted with the reflection as the hero does, rather than having to fill in the blanks of an existing relationship, as with a “best friend” reflection who has been aligned with the hero for some time.
We first meet Lionel Logue when Bertie’s wife, Elizabeth, approaches Lionel. As soon as he appears on the screen, his function in Bertie’s story is made clear:
&nbsp;
<div class="script">
ELIZABETH
My husband has seen everyone to no avail. He’s given up hope.
 LIONEL
He hasn’t seen me.
</div>
&nbsp;
When Elizabeth tells Lionel he must come to them to treat her husband, Lionel refuses. “My game, my turf, my rules,” he declares. This stance continues when the prince arrives for his first session. Lionel insists on calling him “Bertie” rather than “Your Royal Highness”; he also won’t allow Bertie to smoke, and he repeatedly probes into Bertie’s past and personal life until, finally, Bertie declares, “This isn’t for me,” and leaves.
<div id="attachment_16307" style="width: 610px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16307" class="size-full wp-image-16307" src="http://creativescreenwriting.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/The-Kings-Speech-Elizabeth.jpg" alt="Colin Firth as King George VI and Helena Bonham Carter as Queen Elizabeth in The King’s Speech © 2010 The Weinstein Company" width="600" height="338" srcset="https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/The-Kings-Speech-Elizabeth.jpg 600w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/The-Kings-Speech-Elizabeth-150x85.jpg 150w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/The-Kings-Speech-Elizabeth-250x141.jpg 250w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/The-Kings-Speech-Elizabeth-500x282.jpg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" />Colin Firth as King George VI and Helena Bonham Carter as Queen Elizabeth in The King’s Speech © 2010 The Weinstein Company</div>
These initial exchanges illustrate a critical element of creating an effective reflection character: There must be lots of conflict between hero and reflection. Even though the reflection is the hero’s ally, teacher and friend, it is the reflection’s role to push the hero beyond their limits, challenge the hero’s poor decisions or weak actions, and repeatedly criticize and cajole them toward doing what is necessary to achieve their goal. Like Shrek and Donkey, Will Hunting and Sean, or Mattie Ross and Rooster Cogburn, Bertie and Lionel confront and argue with each other far more than they get along.
This reveals two other principles for creating a powerful reflection: At some point in the story, the hero MUST reject the reflection character completely; and ultimately the reflection must remain loyal to the hero in spite of this hurtful rejection until the hero returns and aligns with the reflection once again.
In The King’s Speech, Bertie walks away from Lionel a second time, when Lionel pushes too hard for Bertie to accept his role as king:
&nbsp;
<div class="script">
LIONEL
 I’m trying to get you to realize you need not be governed by fear.
BERTIE
 I’ve had enough of this!
LIONEL
 What’re you afraid of?
</div>
&nbsp;
This exchange reveals what is perhaps the most important reason for creating a strong reflection character: to develop your hero’s arc. In your hero’s inner journey — their transformation from living in fear to living a courageous, fulfilled existence — the hero’s reflection will keep pushing them toward their essence and truth.
<div id="attachment_16305" style="width: 610px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16305" class="size-full wp-image-16305" src="http://creativescreenwriting.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/The-Kings-Speech-2.jpg" alt="Geoffrey Rush as Lionel Logue, Colin Firth as King George VI and Helena Bonham Carter as Queen Elizabeth in The King’s Speech © 2010 The Weinstein Company" width="600" height="338" srcset="https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/The-Kings-Speech-2.jpg 600w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/The-Kings-Speech-2-150x85.jpg 150w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/The-Kings-Speech-2-250x141.jpg 250w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/The-Kings-Speech-2-500x282.jpg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" />Geoffrey Rush as Lionel Logue, Colin Firth as King George VI and Helena Bonham Carter as Queen Elizabeth in The King’s Speech © 2010 The Weinstein Company</div>
This is why Lionel keeps probing into Bertie’s past: to force Bertie to confront the wounds of his childhood and then find the courage to move past them.
&nbsp;
<div class="script">
BERTIE
I was informed my father’s last words were: “Bertie has more guts than the rest of his brothers put together.” He couldn’t say that to my face.
</div>
&nbsp;
Bertie describes a childhood filled with pain and abuse: taunts for his stammering; an epileptic brother hidden away as an embarrassment; an abusive nanny; painful splints to correct his knock knees; and an unloving father demanding that Bertie live up to overwhelming expectations. We understand the fear that causes his stammer, and that keeps him from embracing his duty and destiny as king.
Lionel tells Bertie, “You don’t have to carry [your father] around in your pocket. Or your brother. You don’t need to be afraid of things you were afraid of when you were five.”
Your reflection character’s role is to hold your hero’s feet to the fire and to remain ever loyal and supportive, even as he or she pushes the hero out of his comfort zone and into a life of courage and fulfillment. The reflection is the character who holds a space of acceptance for the hero – who says, in one way or another, “Whether you like it or not, I’ll do everything I can to help you get what you want and need. Not just the visible goal you’re so desperate to achieve, but the realization of who you truly are.”
<div id="attachment_16306" style="width: 610px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16306" class="size-full wp-image-16306" src="http://creativescreenwriting.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/The-Kings-Speech.jpg" alt="Helena Bonham Carter as Queen Elizabeth and Colin Firth as King George VI in The King’s Speech © 2010 The Weinstein Company" width="600" height="338" srcset="https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/The-Kings-Speech.jpg 600w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/The-Kings-Speech-150x85.jpg 150w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/The-Kings-Speech-250x141.jpg 250w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/The-Kings-Speech-500x282.jpg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" />Helena Bonham Carter as Queen Elizabeth and Colin Firth as King George VI in The King’s Speech © 2010 The Weinstein Company</div>
In The King’s Speech, Bertie tells Lionel that he’s the first “ordinary” person he’s ever really spoken to. He then reveals the loneliness and isolation he has had to endure as a part of the Royal Family:
&nbsp;
<div class="script">
BERTIE
Sometimes, when I ride through the streets and see, you know, the Common Man staring at me, I’m struck by how little I know of his life, and how little he knows of mine.
LIONEL
What’re friends for?
BERTIE
I wouldn’t know.
</div>
&nbsp;
As Lionel and Bertie rehearse the coronation ritual, Lionel enrages Bertie by sitting in the chair of Edward the Confessor.
&nbsp;
<div class="script">
BERTIE
Listen to me&#8230;I’m your King!!!
LIONEL
Nooo you’re not! Told me so yourself. Said you didn’t want it. So why should I waste my time listening to you?
BERTIE
Because I have a voice!
LIONEL
Yes you do. You have such perseverance Bertie; you’re the bravest man I know. And you’ll make a bloody good king.
</div>
&nbsp;
This is the moment where Bertie’s arc is complete. With Lionel’s help, he has confronted his fears, found his courage and his truth, and will now be able to achieve his goal of giving a magnificent speech, and to live his destiny as a great leader.
 
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/F_dtIJgC-w0" width="600" height="338" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_dtIJgC-w0">Colin Firth as King George VI and Geoffrey Rush as Lionel Logue in The King’s Speech</a>
 
In the climax of the film, as he nervously prepares to give the defining speech of his life, Bertie finally acknowledges his mentor:
&nbsp;
<div class="script">
BERTIE
No matter how this turns out, I don’t know how to thank you for what you’ve done.
</div>
&nbsp;
And in return, Lionel gives him one final instruction.
&nbsp;
<div class="script">
LIONEL
Forget everything else and just say it to me. Say it as a friend.
</div>
&nbsp;
As in real life, a great reflection character is one who, no matter how difficult or painful, offers support, honesty, loyalty and real friendship. And one of the many wonderful gifts given by The King’s Speech is its simple story of two very different men who, through hard work and great courage, become friends.
&nbsp;
This article first appeared on <a href="http://www.storymastery.com/movie-analysis/friends-kings-speech/">StoryMastery.com</a>
Featured image: Colin Firth as King George VI and Geoffrey Rush as Lionel Logue in The King’s Speech © 2010 The Weinstein Company
&nbsp;
[addtoany]
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
<p style="background: url('http://creativescreenwriting.com/wp-content/themes/patterns/images/bg_widgettitle.png') no-repeat bottom right; border-bottom: 1px solid #4a4a4a; font: bold 16px Arial, Helvetica,Sans-serif; font-size: 120%!important;">Before You Go
Why not take a look at these great videos from Michael, available for streaming from this website?
<div class="related-articles">
<a href="http://creativescreenwriting.com/product/the-heros-two-journeys/"><img class="alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-16261" src="http://creativescreenwriting.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/DVD069-150x174.jpg" alt="dvd069" width="129" height="150" srcset="https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/DVD069-150x174.jpg 150w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/DVD069-129x150.jpg 129w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/DVD069-250x290.jpg 250w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/DVD069-768x890.jpg 768w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/DVD069-883x1024.jpg 883w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/DVD069-1024x1187.jpg 1024w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/DVD069-500x580.jpg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 129px) 100vw, 129px" />The Hero&#8217;s Two Journeys</a>
Includes Unique Bonus Content exclusive to Creative Screenwriting readers!
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
</div>
&nbsp;
<div class="related-articles">
<a href="http://creativescreenwriting.com/product-category/titles-by-author/michael-hauge/"><img class="alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-6327" src="http://creativescreenwriting.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/4_Writing-Romantic-Comedies-and-Love-Stories_dvd_cover_3d-129x150.jpg" alt="4_Writing Romantic Comedies and Love Stories_dvd_cover_3d" width="129" height="150" srcset="https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/4_Writing-Romantic-Comedies-and-Love-Stories_dvd_cover_3d-129x150.jpg 129w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/4_Writing-Romantic-Comedies-and-Love-Stories_dvd_cover_3d-250x290.jpg 250w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/4_Writing-Romantic-Comedies-and-Love-Stories_dvd_cover_3d-768x890.jpg 768w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/4_Writing-Romantic-Comedies-and-Love-Stories_dvd_cover_3d-883x1024.jpg 883w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/4_Writing-Romantic-Comedies-and-Love-Stories_dvd_cover_3d-1024x1187.jpg 1024w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/4_Writing-Romantic-Comedies-and-Love-Stories_dvd_cover_3d-150x174.jpg 150w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/4_Writing-Romantic-Comedies-and-Love-Stories_dvd_cover_3d-500x580.jpg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 129px) 100vw, 129px" />Creating Powerful Movie Scenes, Writing Romantic Comedies, and much more</a>
Five screenwriting lectures from Michael Hauge.
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
</div>

Arenas and Finish Lines in Screenwriting

12 Powerful Principles of Story Structure

What Are Friends For? The Reflection Character

Subscribe for Updates