The 3rd Act: Writing a Great Ending to Your Screenplay [Paperback]

Drew Yanno (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2006

A film's ending is crucial. It is the last thing an audience sees, and often the last thing it remembers, before leaving the theatre. Indeed, it is no stretch to suggest that, more than any other part of the film, the ending determines whether the audience likes a film or not. By extension, the ending of a script is probably the last thing the reader will remember when they put it down An otherwise great script will likely be passed on if it does not end well. "The Third Act" is the first screenwriting instructional book to focus entirely on that most important part of a script - the ending. Like the three-act paradigm for the entire screenplay, "The Third Act" offers a unique structure for the writer to follow when writing the last act of their script. No other screenwriting book offers this simple structural approach to endings in a three-act story. Additionally, "The Third Act" provides suggestions as to which type of ending writers should consider for their particular story. The book features detailed examinations of the endings of many memorable films, including "Rocky", "Rain Man"; "Good Will Hunting", "Saving Private Ryan", "Casablanca", "The Breakfast Club", "Se7en", "Lost in Translation", and "Gladiator". A check is provided at the end of each chapter, giving the reader some suggestions to apply in their writing based on the structural element being explored in that chapter. A longer and more comprehensive list of suggestions appears in an appendix.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Drew Yanno is Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Fine Arts Department at Boston College in the USA, where he teaches courses on screenwriting.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Continuum (September 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0826418783
• ISBN-13: 978-0826418784
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #598,786 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars True Screenwriting Gem -- A great book for writers and film critics alike!, September 18, 2006

By 

A. Bradley (LA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The 3rd Act: Writing a Great Ending to Your Screenplay (Paperback)

Thank god someone has finally written an intelligent and helpful book on 3rd Acts!!

Having earned my MFA in Screenwriting from USC and working full time in development, I have read hundred of scripts. I can say for a fact that even the best writers can meet their downfall in the crucial third act (see Cameron Crowe's Elizabethtown).

I have seen many good scripts crash and burn at page 80 - the start of the 3rd act. Usually the writer has no idea how to resolve their plotlines, and winds up taking shots in the dark. The truly amazing scripts have killer third acts - every moment of the previous scenes as been building to this. The mediocre scripts have satisfying, yet never surprising, third acts. And truly horrible scripts? Well, those writers never considered their third act while writing the first act.

Yanno walks the reader (and screenwriter) through the key types of scenes often seen and usually required in successful 3rd acts. He breaks down the mechanisms of the 3rd act, and of scripts in general, without losing the purpose of writing - to tell a story that evokes emotion.

During his numerous examples, Yanno does not discriminate with his taste in films. He discusses a wide range of movies: classics, modern releases, art house flicks, and even popcorn blockbusters. Most screenwriting books focus on the author's one or two favorite examples, Yanno uses almost 20!

Although I read The 3rd Act as a screenwriting guide, it works equally as a critical discussion of story structure - and therefore would be a tremendous value to writers and film theorists alike.

I really hope this is the first in a series by Drew Yanno. His thorough and friendly examination of other areas of screenwriting in definitely needed.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Helps with more than just the ending!, September 10, 2006

By 

Rich Flair "The Xman" (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The 3rd Act: Writing a Great Ending to Your Screenplay (Paperback)

I had the privilege of taking Yanno's screenwriting classes a few years ago, and when I heard he was coming out with a new book, I knew I had to buy it right away. While there are so many screenwriting books on the market, there aren't too many that focus exclusively on the hardest part of a script: the ending. As a struggling screenwriter myself, I know how difficult it can be to write a complete script from beginning to end. I also know how difficult it can be to find the perfect ending to a script that refuses to escape from a state of unfinished purgatory. Yanno's book helps a writer escape that depressing limbo by providing helpful insight to end your movie the right way. Yanno knows that a movie's ending can make or break the story. He knows that a bad ending can make the best movies feel stale, and agrees that even the opposite is true; that a great ending can make a mediocre movie seem better than it really is. The strength in Yanno's book not only rests within the many examples of great movie endings, but also with a good amount of bad movie endings--some of those movies being movies that Yanno himself liked a lot, but agreed that the quality of the ending is the reason why the movie is seen as a failure. While the bulk of this book is focused on showing how to create a great ending, by use of these examples, Yanno has also included a list of thirty questions that I believe is the perfect blueprint for a screenplay as whole. While those thirty questions help the writer form an ending that bests fit with the script's story and characters, they also help the writer isolate the core of the script's story and characters in order to make a complete work more complete. In closing, Yanno's book is a vital (and affordable) tool that any screenwriter should possess in order to make your work truly stand out (in a good way)!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Keeping It Simple, October 17, 2006

By 

J. Britten - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The 3rd Act: Writing a Great Ending to Your Screenplay (Paperback)

Problem solved! Drew Yanno's book arrived just in time as I was about to give up on a spec script that I had wrestled with for the past six months.
After reading his book, my problem became quite clear. I had conflict, I had resolution, but I had neglected to answer the question raised in the first act.
I use the word "simple" purposefully as this is the style of Mr. Yanno's writing. He lays out guidlines for great endings in clear, plain English. No math degree needed, no plot points, no concentric circles, no diagrams.
The book is rife with specific examples of how great endings were fashioned in a wide range of great movies from Casablanca to Gladiator. His dissection of the third act of the latter was particularly instructive to me as it always struck me as contrived. Walking through the construction of the act, the author explained how and why it was the best way to resolve the ultimate conflict while answering the first act question.
So, if you think your script needs a geometric fix, read McKee. If you want to satisfy your audience with a great ending, read Yanno.