Author! Author!
Playwright Travalian feels pulled limb from limb these days. He has a Broadway play in rehearsal and they want rewrites. His tramp wife is leaving him, leaving him as well with four children from her previous marriages plus his own son. And his lead actress wants to move in with him but isn't used to kids.
The film earned $13.1M at the global box office.
2 nominations
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
Author! Author! (1982) exemplifies carefully calibrated narrative architecture, characteristic of Arthur Hiller's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 50 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 7.4, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Characters
Cast & narrative archetypes
Ivan Travalian
Alice Detroit
Gloria Travalian
Patrick Dicker
Debbie
Main Cast & Characters
Ivan Travalian
Played by Al Pacino
A struggling playwright dealing with opening night chaos while his wife leaves him, forcing him to manage five children alone.
Alice Detroit
Played by Tuesday Weld
An actress who becomes Ivan's romantic interest and helps him navigate single parenthood during his crisis.
Gloria Travalian
Played by Dyan Cannon
Ivan's wife who leaves him for another man just as his play is about to open on Broadway.
Patrick Dicker
Played by Bob Dishy
Ivan's producer and confidant who tries to keep the Broadway production on track amid personal chaos.
Debbie
Played by Ari Meyers
Ivan's oldest stepdaughter who provides emotional support and helps care for the younger children.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Ivan Travalian juggles his chaotic blended family while trying to finish his Broadway play. We see him as a devoted father managing five children from various relationships in his cramped New York apartment.. Of particular interest, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 14 minutes when Gloria abandons Ivan and the children, leaving a note that she's leaving him for another man. Ivan is left alone to manage five kids while trying to save his play.. At 13% through the film, this Disruption is delayed, allowing extended setup of the story world. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 28 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 25% of the runtime. This demonstrates the protagonist's commitment to Ivan makes the active choice to keep all five children together as a family, despite not being the biological father to most of them. He commits to being their parent while simultaneously fighting to save his play., moving from reaction to action.
At 55 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. The analysis reveals that this crucial beat False defeat: The play's Boston preview is a disaster. The leading lady (Alice) threatens to quit, the producers want massive rewrites, and simultaneously the biological parents start demanding their children back., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 83 minutes (75% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Ivan loses custody of the children - they are taken away by their biological parents. His chosen family is destroyed. The "death" is the loss of his family unit, the thing he fought hardest to preserve., indicates the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 88 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 80% of the runtime. On opening night, Ivan realizes that love and family aren't about biology or legal rights - they're about who shows up. He synthesizes his role as artist and father, understanding both require the same commitment., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Author! Author!'s emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs structural analysis methodology used to understand storytelling architecture. By mapping Author! Author! against these established plot points, we can identify how Arthur Hiller utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Author! Author! within the comedy genre.
Arthur Hiller's Structural Approach
Among the 10 Arthur Hiller films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 7.2, reflecting strong command of classical structure. Author! Author! represents one of the director's most structurally precise works. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Arthur Hiller filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional comedy films include The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, The Bad Guys and Lake Placid. For more Arthur Hiller analyses, see The Babe, See No Evil, Hear No Evil and Silver Streak.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Ivan Travalian juggles his chaotic blended family while trying to finish his Broadway play. We see him as a devoted father managing five children from various relationships in his cramped New York apartment.
Theme
During rehearsals, someone comments that "being a good parent means showing up" - establishing the film's exploration of what makes a real family versus a biological one.
Worldbuilding
Introduction to Ivan's complex life: his failing marriage to Gloria, his relationship with actress Alice Detroit who's starring in his play, the demands of five children, and the high stakes of his Broadway premiere approaching.
Disruption
Gloria abandons Ivan and the children, leaving a note that she's leaving him for another man. Ivan is left alone to manage five kids while trying to save his play.
Resistance
Ivan struggles to decide whether to send the children to their biological parents or keep them together. He debates with Alice and others about his responsibility, wrestling with whether he can handle single parenthood while mounting a Broadway show.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Ivan makes the active choice to keep all five children together as a family, despite not being the biological father to most of them. He commits to being their parent while simultaneously fighting to save his play.
Mirror World
Ivan's deepening relationship with Alice Detroit represents the thematic counterpoint - she embodies the possibility of a new, chosen family based on commitment rather than biology.
Premise
The "fun and games" of Ivan trying to be super-dad while dealing with Broadway chaos: managing homework, meals, school meetings, and tantrums while attending rehearsals, rewrites, and producer meetings. Comedic montages of domestic disaster.
Midpoint
False defeat: The play's Boston preview is a disaster. The leading lady (Alice) threatens to quit, the producers want massive rewrites, and simultaneously the biological parents start demanding their children back.
Opposition
Pressure intensifies on all fronts: legal battles with ex-spouses over custody, the play requiring complete rewrites, Alice pulling away emotionally, and the children acting out as they sense instability. Ivan's two worlds are colliding destructively.
Collapse
Ivan loses custody of the children - they are taken away by their biological parents. His chosen family is destroyed. The "death" is the loss of his family unit, the thing he fought hardest to preserve.
Crisis
Ivan sits in his now-empty apartment, devastated. He questions everything - whether he had any right to keep them, whether his play matters, whether he's failed at the only thing that truly mattered.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
On opening night, Ivan realizes that love and family aren't about biology or legal rights - they're about who shows up. He synthesizes his role as artist and father, understanding both require the same commitment.
Synthesis
The play opens on Broadway. The children, having chosen Ivan over their biological parents, show up at the theater. Ivan executes his finale both on stage and in life, bringing his two worlds together.
Transformation
Final image mirrors the opening but transformed: Ivan with his chosen family of five children at the theater, no longer juggling chaos but standing together as a real family - proven by choice, not biology.