Last month I wrote that story trumps everything else when it comes to filmmaking. When you read a novel, you need a reason to keep turning the pages. You have to want to know what's going to happen next. Even though we're a captive audience while watching a movie, locked in a dark room with strangers for two hours, we need to be engaged in a story unfolding from scene to scene to keep us from playing with our smart phones or just getting up and leaving.