Customer Reviews

Anatomy of a Screenplay

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you want a practical, "how to" book that treats the reader with respect and assumes a high level of intelligence this is it. More in depth than other screenwriting books on the market. The other book of quality I would look at is "The Writer's Journey" by Vogler.

As a member of the film industry, I found the principles in Dan's book to be right on. They do not limit the screenwriter but give a firm "backbone" on which individual creativity can be expanded. Dan offers solid advice for filmmakers entering the business.

This is a book about the fundamental CRAFT of writing a screenplay. Outlining, structure, character relationships, story points, log lines, format. I had the good fortune of taking one Dan Decker's classes in screenwriting, it was an invaluable experience. This is everything one needs to get started... that is, if they are SERIOUS about writing a successful screenplay!

K.E. Cole

Dan Decker has written the only screenplay book I know of that deals with what makes a charactor. The needs and wants. He also deals with the roots of what makes a good story that people will want to see.

First, as this is a section for book reviews, I would rate this book 4 of 5 stars. This is the first book I've read that simply states that the character is the basis for great movies and not plot. It's the character's story, personality, and decisions. Creating the story through plot results in *thinking* you have a better story than you do. If this isn't evident in a first draft, it is very obvious in rewrites. Adding twists/turns/wrinkles to plot makes a movie seem forced. Adding dimension to characters makes the story seems real. Strong characters attract the talent that gets movies made.

'Anatomy of a Screenplay' is straightforward. It's not beautifully written (hence my 4-of-5 star book review). Though it teaches structure, it would be erroneous to read it as one way to write a movie. The book starts with the basics and moves on from there. If you're writing cookie-cutter scripts because of this book, you read it wrong... I would rate Dan Decker and his screenwriting organization 5 of 5 stars... No collection of books is going to teach someone enough to write a professional screenplay, play basketball, play jazz, or be a doctor. You need to learn...

If you are looking into screenwriting, I recommend this book. It may be more technical and dry than some other books. There is a lot of information, and the straightforward writing allows this information not to get cluttered in flowery language...

This book provides excellent screenplay analysis and guidelines for the writer to construct a marketable screenplay. I highly recommend it to all writers regardless of expertise.

I agree completely with the reviewer who called this book Not Much of A Classic.
Mr. Decker does simply make up new names for well established strategies and
writing techniques. Mr. Decker gave a talk at a local library in Las Vegas not long
ago, and the poster announcing his talk called this book a best-seller. Oh, really?
On what list would that be?

Mr. Decker's book is loaded with typos. It doesn't appear as if he or anyone else
even did a very good job of proofreading it. This is the kind of book anyone
could quickly put together in minimal time.

Don't bother

I learned the foundations of mainstream screenwriting from this book. Decker's principles will force you to reexamine your script for inevitable soft spots in story and character development.