240 pages packed with techniques and tips for screenwriters, focusing on the action, thriller and suspense genres. No theories! Only actual techniques! The ultimate HOW TO screenwriting book! Creating the ultimate villain, harvesting the audience's secrets desires or hidden fears to create a hit film, how to write a plot twist, the four kinds of suspense, using reversals to keep your descriptions exciting, four ways to explode cliches, the two types of heroes, ten ways to create exciting action scenes, using secrets and lies, weapons for weirdos, instant character identifiers, your script's DNA, 16 steps to better description, pacing secrets, rugpulls, visual characterization, "Popeye" points, and more! "Secrets Of Action Screenwriting" was written by a working professional screenwriter with seventeen produced films. He knows what works!
"William C. Martell is the Robert Towne of made for cable movies," (Washington Post reviewer) David Nuttycombe.
How many writers of screenwriting books make their living actually writing and selling screenplays?
William C. Martell has written nineteen produced films, including three HBO World Premieres, two Showtime Originals, two MOWs for USA Network, and a whole bunch of CineMax Originals (which is what happens when an HBO movie goes really, really wrong). In 2009 he wrote the big budget studio remake of a low budget 1980s theatrical horror movie - which is still inching toward production, and in his 20 year career as a professional screenwriter has done everything from adapting a New York Times Bestseller to turning down the job adapting ANGELS & DEMONS.
When he's not writing screenplays, he spends his time on film festival juries, including Raindance in London (twice - once with Mike Figgis and Saffron Burrows, once with Lennie James and Edgar Wright - and went back to "jury duty" in October of 2009). Roger Ebert discussed him with Gene Siskel on his 1997 "If We Picked The Winners" Oscar show. and he's quoted a few times in Bordwell's great book "The Way Hollywood tells It". His USA Net flick HARD EVIDENCE was released on video the same day as the Julia Roberts' film Something To Talk About and out-rented it in the USA... resulting in many meetings at Warner Bros (who released both films) where various executives asked him "Why?". In 2007 he had two films released on DVD on the same day - one from Sony Pictures, one from LionsGate - and both made the top 10 rentals. He is currently working on several projects for studios... plus a bunch of spec scripts.
Mr. Martell has been interviewed in Variety (February 24, 1997), featured in The Hollywood Reporter's first Writers Special Issue (February 1994), was the cover interview in The Hollywood Scriptwriter (October 1996), and was interviewed in the first issue of ScreenTalk Magazine (Denmark). Entertainment Today (March 23, 2001) named his website ScriptSecrets.Net the Best On The Web for screenwriters... and his blog was selected as one of the best by Bachelor's Degree Org.
Mr. Martell's book, THE SECRETS OF ACTION SCREENWRITING (First Strike Press) has been called "The best book on the practical nuts-and-bolts mechanics of writing a screenplay I've ever read." - Ted Elliott, co-writer "The Mask Of Zorro", "Shrek", "Pirates Of The Caribbean" movies.
"William C. Martell knows the action genre inside out. Learn from an expert!" - Mark Verheiden, screenwriter, "Time Cop", "The Mask" and TV's "Smallville".
"This book is dangerous. I feel threatened by it." - Roger Avary, Oscar winning screenwriter, "Pulp Fiction".
"My only complaint with SECRETS OF ACTION SCREENWRITING is that it wasn't around when I was starting out. The damned thing would have saved me years of trial and error!" - Ken Wheat, screenwriter, "Pitch Black" and "The Fly 2".
"Finally a screenwriting book written by a working professional screenwriter. Bill Martell really knows his stuff, showing you how to write a tight, fast screenplay." - John Hill, screenwriter, "Quigley Down Under".
Mr. Martell was born in the same hospital, in the same month, as Tom Hanks. Many believe they were switched at birth, and Bill should be the movie star. He lives in Studio City, California, and can be found most afternoons at some coffee house writing some darned new script on his laptop.
