In 1985, Christopher Vogler, a Disney story analyst and student of Joseph Campbell, wrote a seven-page memo synopsizing the myth-master’s description of the archetypal Hero’s Journey, culled from thousands of years of stories, myths, legends and fairy tales. It was far from the first time Hollywood heard of Campbell--he’s been a conversational staple at least since George Lucas cited his influence on “Star Wars"--but outside of a few screenwriters, critics and academics, precious few people had actually read “Hero with a Thousand Faces.” So Vogler’s memo became a sort of a Cliff’s Notes for Hollywood literati and it soon began a journey of its own. Dawn Steel in 1987 asked Vogler for a copy and made it required reading for Paramount executives, producers and writers. Other studio story departments followed suit. The memo grew to a 15- and then a 40-page essay as Vogler continued to test and refine his ideas, talking with colleagues at Disney, friends at other studios and students at the UCLA Writer’s Program, where he teaches a story analysis class. Writers, producers and actors asked for copies. Among them was Jeff Arch, who, among other projects, wrote the story for “Sleepless in Seattle” and co-wrote the film’s screenplay, says Vogler’s work is “brilliant.” “Every time I write something, I run each charcter throuh the system Chris has outlined,” says Arch. Finally, the memo made the ultimate metamorphosis; Vogler write “The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Storytellers & Screenwriters.” Published last year, the book presents the Hero’s Journey in 12 stages. Link to the original: https://livingspirit.typepad.com/files/chris-vogler-memo-1.pdf