My first day of Screenwriting 101 at Tisch, my teacher stood before us, a motley collection of wannabes, wearing mostly black. He gave us his non-negotiable screenwriting rules:

1. Courier 12 point.
2. Always have an active protagonist.
3. No Deus Ex Machina. A Deus Ex Machina literally means “God from the Machine” or rather “a plot device whereby a seemingly inextricable problem is suddenly and abruptly solved with the contrived and unexpected intervention of some new character, ability, or object.” (Thanks Wikipedia!)
4. There are only two types of stories and they’ve already been written: “I’m going on a journey” and some version of “boy meets girl.” Every story falls into one of those two categories, metaphorically they can fall into both; it’s the details that will set your story apart.
5. Know your three-act structure, so you can most succinctly and satisfyingly tell a story.

And for whatever reason, those five tips resonated with me. To my credit, I’ve never pulled a Deus Ex Machina because I knew it was a cheap punch, lazy writing. When you use one, you’re, in essence, screwing your audience out of seeing the protagonist have to struggle; which is really the best part. You throw a life raft to help your character, and then he doesn’t have to try and swim. He’s succeeded simply because you, an unseen “hand of god,” helped him. It’s one of those cop outs that always makes me angry.

Rising from the footlights of the ancient Greek stage, Dues Ex Machnia was never acceptable or enjoyed even during its inception. It was so maligned, in fact, as a storytelling device, even on opening night in ancient Greece, literary critics complained about its use, saying that it ruined the story for them.

For example: your protagonist is about to drown, he’s in a small box that’s quickly filling with water. He is going to die. That is, until a tsunami comes from out of nowhere, breaking open the container and freeing our hero into a sun-shiny tomorrow. He didn’t have to try to get out of the box. The box opened on its own, due to circumstances outside of his control. To borrow a phrase from the Bluth family, “That’s a freebie.”

I mostly never think about Dues Ex Machina as a device because I refuse to acknowledge it as a screenwriting tool. That was until yesterday when I re-watched the 1981 “Clash of the Titans.” For some reason, I saw this beloved movie in a new light.

The perfectly cheesy Perseus, played by Harry Hamlin, is LITERALLY moved around throughout the story by ACTUAL GODS. In this instance, Deus Ex Machina wasn’t a lazy go-to, it was an integral and literal story point. So, it got me thinking, in a world where there are few absolutes, is a Deus Ex Machina device always a bad thing?

It turns out no, it’s not. In “Clash of the Titans” it is an integral part of the story that gods are toying with mortals’ lives. If Zeus, Hera, and Athena hadn’t been squabbling and decided to meddle with mortals, there would be no story. So, while Deus Ex Machina is employed as a device, and Perseus becomes the most in-active, active protagonist in history, the device works within the structure of this story.

Deus Ex Machina was also cleverly used in “Donnie Darko.” In fact, Donnie even utters “Deus Ex Machina” as the as the grandma / death paradox plays out. Without the inexplicable addition of the engine falling from the sky, his story would never get moving. Without the Deus Ex Machina, his story can never be concluded.

Also, Charlie Kauffman, like a slight-of-hand-magician, brilliantly used a Deus Ex Machina in “Adaptation.” Not only was Kauffman daring enough to employ this device, he told you he was doing it, while he was doing it. Rather sexy indeed.  In the movie, the character “Charlie Kauffman” desperate for screenwriting advice, goes to see the character “Robert McKee.” McKee guides him, demanding that he not use a Deus Ex Machina in his script. But the actual screenwriter Charlie Kauffman, and the character “Charlie Kauffman” both resort to them in their respective ways. It’s a masterful and clever nod, from a consummate writer.

So, you rebels out there are going, “I am smart enough to pull off a Deus Ex and get away with it.” But you’re not sure how? Build it into the structure of the script. By making the endlessly giving “gods” characters with their own stakes in the script, their interference no longer becomes lazy writing, but clever plotting.

This is not to encourage you to just hand your characters everything they need simply because they want or require it. As a parent you wouldn’t give your kids Oreos for breakfast because you know it’s a bad scene if you do. You need your protagonist to strive and struggle for what he wants, so it can be satisfying to the audience when he succeeds. Remember, for your characters just as it is for yourself, the things worth fighting for are the things worth having, Deus Ex Machina or no.

Recently, I was interviewed on getting started screenwriting in Hollywood at All Freelance Writing.com. Here is a link to the article where I candidly share how I got my start and helpful tips on how to get started yourself. I sincerely hope you enjoy and find this interview resourceful and a fun read.