I Liked It, Didn't Love It: Screenplay Development from the Inside Out [Paperback]

Rona Edwards (Author), Monika Skerbelis (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1580650627 | ISBN-13: 978-1580650625 | Publication Date: May 1, 2005

The most commonly used rejection line spewed by studio executive honchos when they do not buy a script is, "I liked it, didn’t love it." What happens to your screenplay or novel when it leaves your hands and is submitted to a studio or production company? What happens to it after it’s optioned or sold? What does "in development" really mean? Rona Edwards and Monika Skerbelis will shed light on all those questions for both those who are new to the business, and those already journeying through the "storied" halls at a film studio, television network, or production company.
Edwards and Skerbelis will tackle how to find new ideas, what it takes to be a development executive or a story analyst, how to work with producers and writers, and tips for pitching. They present exercises created to assist the reader in developing their writing skills.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

The most commonly used rejection line spewed by studio executive honchos when they do not buy a script is, "I liked it, didn’t love it." What happens to your screenplay or novel when it leaves your hands and is submitted to a studio or production company? What happens to it after it’s optioned or sold? What does "in development" really mean? Rona Edwards and Monika Skerbelis will shed light on all those questions for both those who are new to the business, and those already journeying through the "storied" halls at a film studio, television network, or production company.

Edwards and Skerbelis will tackle how to find new ideas, what it takes to be a development executive or a story analyst, how to work with producers and writers, and tips for pitching. They present exercises created to assist the reader in developing their writing skills.

Monika Skerbelis and Rona Edwards have lived the life of a studio and development executive, having developed and sold screenplays for the past 15 years. They have taught feature film development classes at UCLA for the past six years.. Both authors live in Los Angeles.

About the Author

Monika Skerbelis and Rona Edwards have lived the life of a studio and development executive, having developed and sold screenplays for the past 15 years. They have taught feature film development classes at UCLA for the past six years.. Both authors live in Los Angeles.

Product Details

• Paperback: 250 pages
• Publisher: Lone Eagle (May 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580650627
• ISBN-13: 978-1580650625
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.4 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,282,101 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Development Hell, June 21, 2005

By 

Pi Ware (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Liked It, Didn't Love It: Screenplay Development from the Inside Out (Paperback)

"I Liked It, Didn't Love It"
By Rona Edwards and Monika Skerbelis
Review by Pi Ware

"I Liked It, Didn't Love It" is not a book--as the title might suggest--about improving your script so that people will love it. Rather, the book is a guide through the bureaucracy of Hollywood story development. Authors Rona Edwards and Monika Skerbelis have developed and sold screenplays for the last 15 years, and while they clearly understand the social networking and complex hierarchy of the story department, their most impressive credit is a Patrick Swayze trucker movie, "Black Dog". All of which highlights the absurdity of the Hollywood machine: college-educated people compete fiercely to spend millions of dollars and thousands of man-hours working and reworking films that, in the end, serve only to cheapen human experience, dilute artistic movements and defy common sense.

But there is more to the Hollywood machine than absurdity. There has always been--and will continue to be--great cinema born of L.A. And since the time of Thomas Edison, the story department has served as the solid foundation for L.A.'s studio filmmakers. "I Liked It, Didn't Love It" dissects and displays that mysterious foundation. The book takes you on the journey from pitch to production, and all the meetings in between. Although the majority of the text is a dry breakdown of jobs and their responsibilities, Edwards and Skerbelis spice up the read with quotes, cartoons and historical documents such as Jerome Lachenbruch's 1922 article, "What's Wrong With Your Photoplay Story?"

If you're looking to get a job in Hollywood development, this book is a must-read. If you're a writer with a script heading into the Hollywood machine, it's a helpful heads-up of what to expect. But as an independent filmmaker, you may find the endless interworkings of assistants, interns, agents and executives symptomatic of Hollywood's wasteful fascination with business over art.

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Cautionary Tale, September 26, 2005

By 

Thomas Gates - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: I Liked It, Didn't Love It: Screenplay Development from the Inside Out (Paperback)

Yes, screenwriters have a word that comes right after "development": hell. Why does my script bear no resemblance to what I wrote? How did it go down the rabbit hole never to be seen again?

I've read many books on film, but none has gone deeper into the belly of the beast than this.

The fact is, script development is an integral part of a billion-dollar business. It is the difference between a film that rakes in a fortune all over the world and another that goes straight to DVD.

No actor, no director can survive a bad script. The film audience can smell it before it's out of the can.

"I Liked It, Didn't Love It": a six-word death warrant and a warning to writers and producers. Do a lot of development on your own before your work goes into development.

Rona Edwards and Monica Skerbelis are pros, insiders, and they use language as well as any script writer. This is not just a cautionary tale for writers. It is a deep look into an industry that fascinates us all with its power and magic.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it, Didn't Just Like It, July 27, 2005

By 

rg9 (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Liked It, Didn't Love It: Screenplay Development from the Inside Out (Paperback)

This is one of the first conclusive books of its kind. Other books mention the development process, this one goes a few steps further - I was pleasantly surprised, it truly was a book worth owning, one I can refer to again and again as I navigate my way through the Hollywood system. This book gave me a blueprint of not only what to expect but also who is involved and what every one's function is. It not only gave me a roadmap, it instilled in me tools to come up with creative ways to find new stories. Just what I've been looking for.