There’s a funny scene in Shakespeare in Love in which a boatman – upon recognizing the young Bard as his passenger – eagerly tries to foist a new script on him. As anyone who has lived in Los Angeles for more than 10 minutes can attest, it’s an accurate send-up of the fact that almost every valet, waiter and clerk you encounter will just happen to have an extra copy of his or her latest project if they overhear you have any connection to Tinseltown. (“Here’s the Cobb salad you ordered, Ms.
Choose elements of three other books or authors this book reminds you of:
author Kathie Fong Yoneda, and Christina Hamlett's characteristic elements of humor and a focus on practical insight
With this book, author Christina Hamlett has found a way to reveal the basic principles of screenwriting as a series of short, easy-to-reference concepts. The beginning filmmaker can use the 100 concepts that make up this book as the literary basis for creating a successful YouTube video or short film. In addition, these concepts lay the groundwork for a more in-depth study for the aspiring screenwriter. The author tested her material on Nick Morgan, a teen screenwriter, and credits him with helping her create an approach that appeals to teens.
Choose elements of three other books or authors this book reminds you of:
Linda Seger, Syd Field, William Goldman
"Could it Be a Movie?" tackles the title question with wit and a great sense of the craft and business of storytelling. Beyond that, it explores the fundamental question: Could I Be the Movie Writer? If that is a career you are considering, read this book first. Not only does it give solid information to help you make that decision, but it clues you in on the fundamental principles of the craft and business of writing for the movies. This remarkable book is loaded with resources from the library and from the internet. Could your idea be a movie?
If they made a movie:
Ellen DeGeneres as Christina Hamlett
For new screenwriters, crafting credible conversation is a major challenge. Too often, someone who would probably be better suited to writing novels or short stories tries to put words in the mouths of live actors. It’s a dead giveaway when they don’t know what they’re doing. Why? Because (1) the characters all talk exactly the same way, (2) they talk more eloquently than normal people ever do, or (3) they talk way too much.
THE CRITICAL DO'S AND DON'TS OF DIALOGUE
Writers have often expressed the view that Life is a continuous melting pot of free material; it’s just a matter of soaking it all up and discerning which parts are the most likely to yield commercial success when you put them to paper. To someone like myself who is as much an enthusiast of good writing as I am of good food, the journey to success doesn’t even have to start with taking a step outside one’s front door. If you want your plots to really get cooking, there's no better place for your education to begin than in your own kitchen.
Wally found me - as so many clients do - by reading screenwriting magazines and trolling the Internet for advice. He liked what I had to say and wanted to engage my consulting services to mentor him through his Epic.
Yes, you read that right. Epic. Wally was fixated for some inexplicable reason on Lewis and Clark. In fact, he had spent a good deal of his adult life reading everything he could about the intrepid explorers and decided the time was right to tell The True Story.
