The first step, once the hero has decided to
proactively cross into Act Three, is the “Gathering of the
Team,” those he’ll need to “storm the
castle.” The castle can be anything, from an actual fortress (the
“Death Star” in Star Wars), to getting on stage at a local rock club
(School of
Rock), to helping your
girl reach the airport (Casablanca), to “rushing to the airport” to
stop your girl from leaving without you (Love Actually). A big part of being able to do this is the
rallying of allies, who may not be on speaking terms with the hero
at the moment, and “amending hurts” to be able to work
together. It also involves “gathering tools,” and
making plans for what we hope will be a successful run at the task
at hand. This includes “strapping on the guns”
in The
Matrix, when Keanu Reeves
and Carrie-Anne Moss literally choose the weapons they’ll
need to storm the castle and free their captured mentor Morpheus
(Laurence Fishburne) from the clutches of... those
guys.
