Writing a successful pop culture movie is a task that is undertaken many times in the course of a year by people who are payed way too much money and don’t actually produce anything worth looking at.
But why should they have all the fun? You, too, can take your own half-baked, microwave-warmed idea and turn it into boffo box-office.
getting started

The basic three-act structure of any good mainstream screenplay goes something like this:
Act 1: Setup
Act 2: Confrontation
Act 3: Resolution

Do not try and get creative here. This is the structure for all mainstream plots. Think of it as a blueprint. You don’t want your house to look too different from everyone else’s, do you?

Act 1:The Setup

Introduce all of your main characters. Don’t worry about letting the audience know which one is the protagonist. If your casting director is worth anything, the biggest star will obviously be the hero/heroine.
If your plot takes place in a big city, then establish where most of the action will take place. You don’t want your audience getting lost. Also, your protagonist must be shown to be capable, so provide them with a little mini-confrontation. When the audience sees your hero execute their abilities with poise and ease, then they know that this person is an expert in whatever their field is.

Establish archetypes early on, so that the audience doesn’t have to think too much about the motivations and desires of your characters. Have a half-witted boss, or a funny side-kick or a precocious scamp of a child. This lets the audience know when it’s okay to laugh and when they need to pay attention and, most importantly, which characters they can ignore. They need to know when it’s okay to turn to their friends and make comments.

This is also where you can establish what kind of conflict is going to be in Act 2. The basic conflict types are:

Man vs. Man – One personality goes up against another, and only the strongest will survive. This is the conflict type of most action movies. Think Die Hard or Iron Man.
Man vs. Self – The least fun of all. Involves characters that confront their own personal flaws, like alcoholism or desperation. Stay away from this one, unless you’re really smart. Think Leaving Las Vegas.
Man vs. Society – This is when your character has to overcome common perceptions, social traditions or governmental law in order to achieve happiness. Think Good Night and Good Luck.
Man vs. Environment – Exactly what it sounds like. Think Predator.
Man vs. Supernatural – Exactly what it sounds like. Think Predator.

Act 2: Confrontation

Act 2 is where we will see the main conflict arise, and it will be the longest part of your screenplay. The antagonist is introduced in the beginning of Act 2. You might be tempted to deviate from standard character archetypes, but you must not do that. It is vital that your audience know who is the good guy and who is the bad guy. You don’t want them getting confused.

It would be a good idea to have some obstacles in mind. Refer to the type of conflict you set up in Act 1. Remember, the more obstacles, the better.

This is also the time to introduce the “inciting incident.” It is the event that drives the protagonist into Act 3, hopefully on something that is rocket-propelled. If you can’t come up with one, try killing off one of the lesser characters that we met in Act 1. Make sure the bad guy is responsible. That way, the audience will care when the protagonist defeats the antagonist in Act 3.

If you like all of your characters and don’t want any of them to die, that’s okay. Just make sure you have some kind of major reversal that will make it look like your protagonist can’t possibly overcome the obstacles that are set before them.

Act 3: Resolution

The last part of your movie. All the loose ends are tied up, usually with the protagonist killing or arresting the antagonist. This is where we see the seemingly impossible conflicts overcome and our protagonist’s life is greatly improved for the experience.

This is yet another chance to “raise the stakes.” If your resolution seems too boring, try having it take place in a completely different geographical location, like the bottom of a salt mine or an asteroid or Vancouver.
If it’s at all possible, include some hand-to-hand combat. That’s always an exciting way to “kick it up a notch.”

Do not try and get cerebral here, Shakespeare. Make sure that in the end, the good guy defeats the bad guy so everyone can go home and attempt to grope their dates.

Next week, I’ll explore the added benefit of sub-plots and romantic interests.