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Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Screenwriting

I love Films and im interested in the art of screenwriting but ive never had time to write one but ive been buying books to learn how to do this for years the books i own are..

1. John Truby presents the anatomy of story, 22 steps to becoming a master storyteller
i got xmas 2008 its $30, its anti the simple 3 act structure
ive read a little of it as of 2010, its first published in 2007

2. Screenwriting for dummies by laura Schellhardt $19.99 or £12.95 copyright 2003
ive read some of it as of 2010.

3. The definitive guide to screenwriting by syd field
first published in 2003 , ive read most of it

4. The devils guide to hollywood the screenwriter as god ! , Joe Eszterhas
copyright 2006, first published in uk 2007
i highly recommend this, he tells all he knows about the industry its often funny, its not a
guide to screenwriting though.

5. Backstory 5 , interviews with screenwriters of the 1990s edited by Patrick Mcgilligan
copyright 2010, i got as an xmas gift in December 2009 so ive only just started it, Again its not a guide to how to screenwrite but should be very interesting.

6.Robert Mckee , Story, substance, structure, style, and the principles of screenwriting
ive read all of this, i got it in August 2002, its copyright 1998.

7. Crafty screenwriting, writing movies that get made, a development executives real world approach to writing screenplays that will get optioned, bought, and produced by Alex Epstein
First edition is 2002, ive read it all.

8. The 101 habits of highly successful screenwriters, insider secrets from Hollywoods top writers by Karl Iglesias. copyright 2001, i bought in june 2008 and have read it all.
i highly recommend it.

9.Writing screenplays that sell by Michael Hauge.
this is the first book i ever bought on screenwriting in october 1995 for £11.99, ive read it all, but its a hard read. It was first published in 1998 . I recall seeing a guy at a trail station holding it in a tommy lee jones movie where a volcano erupts under La ! ( some insider joke i guess to place the book in a movie scene )

10. Oscar winning screenwriters on screenwriting, the award winning best discuss their craft, by Joel Engel. Copyright 2002 $14.00 its not a guide to how to Screenwrite.

11. How to write a movie in 21 days by Viki King
of the title gets your attention but honestly no ones going to manage that !
its Copyright 1988, the paperback which i have was first published in 2001
i first began reading it in August 2009 and havent finished it as of 2010
It costs $15 us

12. Joseph Campbell the hero with a thousand faces
first published in 1949, the paperback i own was first published in 1993 it costs £9.99 and ive not yet read it.

13. Teach yourself screenwriting by Raymond G Frensham
Copyright 1996 its £6.99 and ive not read it yet.

Other things ive bought to help me Screenwrite include the Magazine called Script which costs £5.75 each but as of 2010 ive only got 2 copies as it doesnt teach you much.

Final draft 7 software was about £270 in shops in 2005, i got mine on Ebay from someone who gave up for about £90, you have to transfer ownership of the software and your limited to how many times you can reinstall it..which is a major pain if a hard drive fails or you change computer.
The only script i own as of 2010 is Braveheart screenplay by Randall Wallace
its a reproduction i got on Ebay for about £15 its in uk a4 size. but its useful to see a full size script.

I also own 7 scripts that are printed as small books..
1 Get shorty by Scott Frank from novel by Elmore Leonard ( free with esquire may after 1996)
2 Goodfellas by Martin Scorsese and Nicholas Pileggi ( free with Total film magazine year i dont know maybe after 1993)
3 Withnail and i by Bruce Robinson ( free with sight and sound magazine 1995 )
4 True romance by Quentin tarantino ( free with premier magazine 1995 or so)
5 The bad and the beautiful by Charles Schnee 1998 book i got for £1 at a book sale ive not read it as of 2010
6 The Ghost and the Darkness by William Goldman 1996 book again i got for £1 at a book sale
7 Four weddings and a funeral by Richard Curtis 1994 book again cost me £1 at a book sale
ive not read it as of 2010



This article was started on 12 jan 2010