Three act structure

The movie "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou" uses the three act structure that Professor Ramirez-Berg described as being in use in Hollywood today.

The first act sets up the conflict, a floundering film-making oceanographer's best friend is eaten by a "jaguar shark" and he is out to exact his revenge. Along the way we are introduced to the main crew of the ship, and meet a possible son Steve had many years ago. Before the crew sets out on their journey, a reporter is assigned to them to write a story, thus completing the first act around 30 minutes into the movie.

The second act is about 60 minutes long and deals with the crew's search for the shark. Along the way we learn about what each crew member does and what they do in their free time. Steve, in an effort to catch up to the jaguar shark, decides to recklessly cut through unprotected waters getting the crew taken hostage by pirates. He then attempts to fight back and successfully defeats the pirates, ending act two.

With wounded pride, Steve and the crew who haven't abandoned him set out to rescue the bond company stooge and finally kill the jaguar shark. The third and final act lasts about thirty minutes. It is here that Ned, Steve's son dies, but not before they find the florescent snapper, a sign the jaguar shark is near. The crew then goes down in the mini-sub and sees the jaguar shark actually exists. Steve, after all he's been through, decides to let the shark live and ends up making, like he used to, a hit documentary, bringing the movie to a close.