Screenwriting is, arguably, the most important and underrated role in Hollywood. Joel Engel brings together interviews with the best screenwriters working today, each of whom has won an Academy Award for his or her work, and each of whom shares a wealth of knowledge, insight, and experience about this little understood facet of moviemaking.
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All film jobs, says Joel Engel, "depend on the script." It remains a mystery, then, that so many in the film biz consider a script to be "little more than typing." Strangely enough, everyone, it seems, wants to be a screenwriter. In Screenwriters on Screenwriting, Engel has shaped interviews with 11 Oscar-winning screenwriters into chapterlong monologues. These writers provide companionship for the aspiring screenwriter, but their tales should appeal equally to any film lover interested in the stories behind the stories. William Goldman (All the President's Men) laments the current state of cinematic storytelling; Ron Bass describes how My Best Friend's Wedding and Rain Man evolved; Stephen Gaghan (Traffic) talks about completely revamping his work process after giving up drugs and alcohol. And Marc Norman (Shakespeare in Love) claims that his best writing "has been on the scripts I wrote as suicide notes to the industry--sort of, 'F--- you, guys, I'm outta here. This is the last script you'll ever get from me.'" --Jane Steinberg
About the Author
Joel Engel is an entertainment journalist and a frequent contributor to the New York Times. He is the author of Screenwriters on Screenwriting and several other books. He lives near Los Angeles.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
very disappointed,
By
This review is from: Oscar-Winning Screenwriters On Screenwriting: The Award-Winning Best in the Business Discuss Their Craft (Paperback)
While the book is useful on a superficial level, the presentation is weak, and the first-person narrtive offered by the screenwriters sounds edited and forced. Much of the material offered here sounds gleened from published interviews, rather than directly from "the horse's mouth." As a chronic collector of books on, by, and for screewriters, I was very disappointed, both in the quality of the book (cheaply produced; poor quality paper, blurred printing) and by the lack of insight promised. There are many better books out there!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
good stuff here,
By fearless (LA, CA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Oscar-Winning Screenwriters On Screenwriting: The Award-Winning Best in the Business Discuss Their Craft (Paperback)
The conversations with Alan Ball & Stephen Gaghan are especially nice, since these guys are fresh off the award show parade. I really appreciated their candor.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
THERE'S A JOKE ABOUT THE POLISH STARLET AT A HOLlywood party. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, American Beauty, Dead Poets, Warner Bros, Cider House, Dustin Hoffman, Los Angeles, Cool Hand Luke, Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Shrunk the Kids, Steven Spielberg, World War, Cuckoo's Nest, Jim Wilson, New Hampshire, Rain Man, Shoot the Moon, The Holy Road, Tom Cruise, All the President's Men, Cat Ballou, Civil War, Dog Day Afternoon, Nobody's Fool New!
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
THERE'S A JOKE ABOUT THE POLISH STARLET AT A HOLlywood party. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, American Beauty, Dead Poets, Warner Bros, Cider House, Dustin Hoffman, Los Angeles, Cool Hand Luke, Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Shrunk the Kids, Steven Spielberg, World War, Cuckoo's Nest, Jim Wilson, New Hampshire, Rain Man, Shoot the Moon, The Holy Road, Tom Cruise, All the President's Men, Cat Ballou, Civil War, Dog Day Afternoon, Nobody's Fool New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 20
books:
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- Cool Hand Luke: A Novel by Donn Pearce on page 126, and page 127
- Dances with Wolves: The Illustrated Story of the Epic Film (Newmarket Pictorial Moviebooks) by Kevin Costner on page 63, and page 64
- The Dillinger Days by John Toland on page 27
- Summer and Smoke. by Tennessee Williams on page 166
- The Moving Target by Ross Macdonald on page 10
See all 20 books this book cites
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