Five Examples of the Refusal of the Call (Debate) for Screenwriters
What Happens Between the Inciting Incident and the Act II Break
The waters between the Inciting Incident and the Act II Break are often muddy.
For viewers, it might feel like the story is meandering or still setting up. Honestly, viewers will put up with this for a while. Things aren’t as tight as the old Save the Cat beat sheets would have you believe.
However, if the writer isn’t careful, it can become a major trap: get this section wrong, and the momentum from your Inciting Incident evaporates.
This transitional space—known as the “Refusal of the Call” in the Hero’s Journey or the “Debate” beat in Snyder terminology—is where the protagonist resists change. Even if the Inciting Incident rattled the protagonist’s world, it’s still possible, on the surface, that things could go back to normal.
But they don’t. Obviously, or there would be no film. Yet how can we connect the dots?
This post will examine five outstanding examples of this story beat in action, with examples to help you determine the best Refusal of the Call for your script.
What is the Refusal of the Call?
At its core, the RotC is about hesitation. The protagonist isn’t yet a hero, or often even a willing participant. Something out of the ordinary has just happened, but the protagonist is unaware of –or unwilling to accept–its implications.
- The call could be literal: “Give up your farm-boy life and be a space samurai with me,” says Obi-Wan.
- Or existential: “Your way of life is no longer viable,” says the heart attack.
Crucially, the RotC must create tension and ambiguity: whether the protagonist will change or not, grab what’s dangled in front of her or not.
1) Star Wars: A New Hope (1977)
Refusal: Luke says “No thanks” to Obi-Wan’s Jedi offer.
After the Inciting Incident—Luke discovers the message and sets off to find Obi-Wan—Luke is offered a classic Hero’s Journey setup: come with me, learn the Force, save the galaxy. Luke, of course, is too busy helping Uncle Owen and bullseyeing womprats in his T-16:
“I can’t get involved! I’ve got work to do!”
It’s simple. It makes sense. And it works quite well.
Moreover, Luke’s refusal tells us he’s not ready. This makes his later transformation more compelling: we have evidence of this luke as timid, unsure, and more concerned with farm chores than destiny.
The Act II Break comes hard and fast when Luke returns home to find his aunt and uncle barbecued. No more chores. Might as well go with the crazy old man, I guess.
Key lesson: A flat “no” is a totally valid choice—just make sure the Act II break is powerful enough to force a clear reversal of this no.
Writing Exercise:
Write a scene where your protagonist is offered a life-altering opportunity—and flatly refuses. Include a brief moment afterward where she tries to return to her regular life. Show how this fails spectacularly; the more difficult (or impossible) it is to return to normalcy, the better.
2) Sunset Boulevard (1950)
Refusal: Joe tries to leave—but ends up pitching himself to Norma.
When Joe Gillis’s car breaks down, he hides it in the garage of a decaying mansion. There, he meets Norma Desmond, a washed-up silent film star with delusions of a comeback.
Joe is creeped out by the place, the dead chimp, and the weird German butler. He wants to bounce. Bad.
But he did tell Norma he’s a writer. She offers him a drink and a chance to read her script. Then she flatters him. The script is crap, but after a few hours and a few more drinks, Joe has hatched a plan: this woman has more money than she knows what to do with, so she might as well invest in me.
Joe thereby offers his services as Norma’s script doctor. He isn’t kidnapped, he’s worn down by drink, flattery, general desperation, and his own greed–and he makes a choice that turns out to be far more compromising than he anticipated.
Key lesson: A refusal can be an uneasy, even tortured drift into involvement. Especially if the protagonist rationalizes it to himself.
Writing Exercise:
Write a scene where your protagonist is stuck in an awkward, vaguely threatening situation.
Of course she wants to leave like any sensible person would–yet over the course of the scene, she starts to adapt to circumstance.
End with her pitching an idea or making an offer that involves her more deeply in the threatening situation.
3. Fight Club (1999)
Refusal: The Narrator wants Marla out of his life—completely.
Taking the interpretation that Fight Club’s core beats are based around the evolution of the Narrator’s (Jack’s) relationship with Marla (not his relationship with Tyler), the Inciting Incident comes into stark relief: Marla appears and mirrors his own lies, exposing his fraud.
At this point, Jack refuses. In no uncertain terms. Jack negotiates an agreement with Marla: split the support groups, so he never has to see her again. Even when Jack’s apartment explodes, he doesn’t call Marla—he calls a man he literally just met: Tyler.
This beat demonstrates the consequences of the refusal. He actively avoids the one person who could help him integrate with humanity; instead, he dives headlong into the chaos of Tyler, the fight clubs, and Project Mayhem.
Only later—well into Act II—does Marla reenter his life–via Tyler, naturally, who unlike Jack is actually willing to make some sort of connection. The return of this thing he tried so hard to banish forces the beats through the rest of the film.
Key lesson: A refusal can be hostile. The character might try to shut the door on the very thing they need—only for that door to reopen later, and not by choice.
Writing Exercise:
Write a scene in which your protagonist tries to “banish” someone or something from her life.
Show how she attempts to restore balance, but include a small detail that demonstrates the problem to be far from gone.
4) Ghostbusters (1984)
Refusal: The business launch flounders—no clients, no calls.
After being fired from Columbia, Venkman, Stantz, and Spengler try the entrepreneurship route. They rent a building. They install a fire pole. They hire Janine as a secretary. They wait.
This is a classic “debate” beat: even though the heroes take productive action, the world doesn’t respond. The phone doesn’t ring. Even Janine is concerned about how long they have.
This refusal is external resistance. The world hasn’t validated the boys’ change of direction. It looks very likely that this thing will be a total bust.
Until the call arrives. John Belushi’s ghost is terrorizing a fancy hotel. The boys get $5000 to fix the problem.
Key lesson: The refusal can be comic futility—the protagonist has committed, but the new world hasn’t caught up. When it does, the change will be thick and fast.
Writing Exercise:
Write a sequence where your protagonist starts a business, a mission, or a major life overhaul–but no one around takes it seriously.
Show doubt arising through others’ indifference and mockery.
5) The American Friend (1977)
Refusal: Zimmermann declines to get involved with Ripley—but is tricked into accepting.
After Zimmermann refuses to shake Tom Ripley’s hand, which the ever-petty Ripley perceives as a slight, Ripley decides to retaliate. He recommends Zimmermann as a hitman to a criminal associate, knowing Zimmermann is a family man–who happens to have terminal leukemia.
The syndicate contacts Zimmermann, of course. He repeatedly says no. Still, Ripley spreads rumors about his health. The syndicate takes him to a shady doctor, who tells him the end is near. Zimmermann, terrified for his family’s prospects without him, finally relents and agrees to become an assassin.
Zimmermann’s refusal is moral and personal. He clearly does not want to become a killer. Yet the world conspires—methodically, cruelly—to force his hand.
Key lesson: Your protagonist might be absolutely correct to say no. Then show how even strong moral objections can be worn down by complex contextual pressure.
Writing Exercise:
Write a scene where your protagonist refuses to be part of something corrupt.
Then write a second scene where someone else quietly manipulates the situation (through lies, half-truths, or “evidence”) to change her mind.
Track the erosion of her confidence, leading to her eventual yielding.
How the Refusal of the Call Shapes the Act II Break
The Inciting Incident raises a question. The Refusal of the Call delays the answer. It tests the protagonist’s resolve. It can be one of the following, although this list is surely not exhaustive:
- Flat refusal (Luke in Star Wars)
- Uneasy involvement (Sunset Boulevard)
- Rejection of the one person who can help you (Fight Club)
- External failure (Ghostbusters)
- Manipulated collapse (The American Friend)
This part of the story ends with the Act II break–when the situation becomes irreversible. The character either commits, or the world makes the choice for her.
Conclusion
A strong Refusal of the Call makes for vital internal drama. Change is difficult. It establishes to the audience that the decision has not come lightly.
Ask yourself these questions in analyzing your Refusal of the Call:
- What makes the protagonist say no?
- How hard do they try to return to “normal”?
- What finally makes their choice—or its illusion—collapse?
Get this beat right, and the audience will feel the weight of each decision the protagonist makes. This moment of lull or hesitation, by contrast, gives the later choices more emotional depth.