[b_ttercup]

Glossing through save the cat- it doesn't seem like a restrictive guide, but rather a set of reasonable narrative components, like stating the theme and having a narrative catalyst. Frankly this seems fine, if not beneficial. I would be more concerned about the formulas that drive your average Michael Bay quality film or second-by-second construction of trailers.

[Animats]

The key new idea in Save the Cat is that both dramatic elements and pacing are standarized. Save the Cat tells you on what page of a screenplay the various elements should appear. Screen time allocation is rigid.

[grantsch]

Yeah... and that's not really accurate.