Customer Reviews

Tales from the Script: 50 Hollywood Screenwriters Share Their Stories

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I loved this book even though I'm not a screenwriter. I picked it up because I'm a movie buff who loves behind-the-scenes stories. I never knew how badly screenwriters are treated, and I never knew how important screenplays are. But after reading this incredibly entertaining book, I feel like I just got to know all of the writers included. They're a fun bunch of people, they've seen everything there is to see in Hollywood, and their stories are just as compelling as the movies they write!

The photos of the writers make it feel like they're sitting right in front of me, and the extra interviews at the end of every chapter are really cool -- it's great to get the viewpoints of a development executive, a movie director, a guy who runs a script contest, etc. Thanks to "Tales from the Script," I have a new appreciation for how hard it is to write a movie, and I loved hearing all the stories about the making of "Bull Durham," "Butch Cassidy," "X-Men," "War of the Worlds," "The Mist," and so many others.

I know friends who write scripts, and I'm going to recommend this book to all of them, but it's not just for screenwriters. If you love movies, you'll enjoy this book as much as I did! Oh, and I can't wait to see the "Tales from the Script" movie when it comes out on DVD!

I was completely surprised by this book. I'm just an average movie-goer and I had never heard of most of the people that were interviewed. It's an unusual paradox. These are some of our society's favorite writers, yet almost nobody knows who they are.

"Tales from the Script" provides thoughtful interviews with an impressively broad group of writers that ranges across a huge number of films from "Alien" and "X-Men" to "Taxi Driver" and "The Shawshank Redemption". The truth behind the curtain is funny and insightful.

It's a shame that the actors and directors steal all of the limelight!

This book by Peter Hanson and Paul Herman is an excellent read. Whether you are a film geek, a writer, or someone who likes to read interviews, you will find something to entertain you in this book. Learning about the journey scripts take from writer to film from the people who write them is fascinating. Paul Herman and Peter Hanson did an excellent job choosing a variety of screenwriters to interview, so many different genres of screen writers are represented. Additionally, reading this book is a great way to discover some new movies that you might not have seen before. I highly recommend this book. There is also a film version which is very well done - so check that out if you enjoy the book.

[...]

This is a fantastic book that gives you the inside word from the best, most influential and most legendary screenwriters in the business. If you're working on your first screenplay, have written 50, or you're just a movie buff, this is an invaluable glimpse into a segment of the industry that is absolutely CRUCIAL but rarely explored. I especially like the cross-section of writers and movies here; there's a nice balance of classics and modern popcorn movies and a broad palette of filmmaking styles from the gritty populist films of the 70s up to the cgi action-fests of the 2000s.

If you're a serious screenwriter and fan of screenwriting, there will invariably be a few screenwriters that YOU would have loved to have seen interviewed but are absent, but that's subjective. They couldn't get everyone. Plus, even though I'm tired of hearing ol' windbag William Goldman chatter on about the same movies he's detailed in several books, I have to admit that he is the original "rock star" screenwriter. And talking about rock star screenwriters (an oxymoron in 99.9% of the screenwriting population, let me assure you!) it's pretty much REQUIRED that you interview Shane Black. It's amazing to me that it's been over 23 years since "Lethal Weapon" but he's still SHANE, the legend (and this is primarily for his huge paychecks, the $$$, but you don't get that kind of money in Hollywood without having a powerful, unique voice). And having met him in person at the Austin Screenwriters' Conference, I must say that he's great at offering his wit and wisdom to up and coming writers. Like Black, the other writers are articulate, honest and entertaining in their stories from the trenches. The editors have gathered a fantastic group.

The only HUGE name screenwriter that's notably absent is Joe Eszterhas, but if you want his irreverent take on things, check out his book "The Devil's Guide to Hollywood: The Screenwriter as God!" (yes, that's actually the title)

From Mike Binder to Nora Ephron to Steven E. de Souza to John August to Paul Schrader to Mick Garris to Frank Darabont to Larry Cohen to Josh Friedman...there's bound to be a writer in here that changed YOUR life with their words that were translated into film. So don't just worship the actors and directors; work a little harder and learn about the scribes that the pretty people need but will never give their due credit.

Note: my full review coming soon at my site...
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A little bit of everything is in here - comedy, drama, horror, suspense - with secrets and details that will captivate movie buffs and forever alter the dreams of those who aspire to write the next great screenplay, receive a life-changing paycheck, or both.

Tales from the Script is broken down into eleven chapters that capture the highs and lows of the Hollywood screenwriter:

The Adventure Begins
Breaking In
The Marketplace of Ideas
The First Yes
What's Your is Thiers
Power Players
The Rules of the Game
Slings and Arrows
Taking Control
No is the Path to Yes
Going the Distance

There are more than 300 pages of stories, secrets and anecdotes, so choosing just one representative of the entire compendium is impossible. I flipped back through the book, looking for a quote that best captures what a screenwriter faces. The following quote from Andrew W. Marlowe summarizes the screenwriter's life:

"You never really succeed. You always fail at a higher level. As a screenwriter, the first level of failure is you can't finish your screenplay. I saw a lot of those people in film school. Then you finish the screenplay, and nobody wants to read it. Then you get somebody to read it, and they're not interested. You get them to read it and they're interested, but you can't sell it. Then you sell it, but it's not made into a movie. Or it's made into a terrible movie that you're embarrassed to be associated with. Or, you know, you hit the jackpot. You get the movie made, it's a critical success, it's a box office success -- and everybody turns to you and says, `Okay, you gotta do it again.'"

I hope editors Peter Hanson and Paul Robert Herman will consider an additional volume. The last chapter was as captivating as the first. Rating: Five stars

BTW: A good friend of mine watched the documentary Tales from the Script and said it was riveting. I'm looking forward to watching the documentary and he's looking forward to reading the book.

Great book. Humorous and witty. I am a film student at USC and encourage all other film students to purchase this book!!! It's like getting personal advice from your crazy uncle who happens to be a famous Screenwriter.

I swallowed the book whole. It was so good I wanted more and watched the documentary. There is a lot more in the book and it's all good. It dramatically increased my enthusiasm for the script I'm working on.
Confession: I know one of the authors. That's why I bought it, but not why I loved it.

I've read a dozen different screenwriting books, most of them being for learning the craft. This book is totally different, I found it browsing in a bookstore. I had no idea what it was about but I read a little and couldn't put it down ever since.

There is so much useful information in this book, it's priceless. It explores everything from the lows to the highs of being a screenwriter today and yesterday. It gives you insights from some of the great, and not so great screenwriters. I was laughing with some stories, and sulking with others. I really connected and related to a lot of what the writers were talking about. The narratives in the beginning of each chapter really summarize the industry and how it works today for writers. It gives you a behind-the-scenes look of what it's like to be a Hollywood screenwriter. Beware that what this book contains may discourage some people from wanting to write films, this is a good thing though because if it does- then you're just not meant to make it as a Hollywood screenwriter because this is a tough, tough business.

Overall I love this book and think that it should be required reading if you are trying to be a screenwriter or if you already are a professional writer. It's the perfect length, and it gives you a real sense of one avenue of showbiz. I plan to view the supplementary documentary DVD soon. Highly recommend!

This book and the interviews and comments from screenwriters is brutally honest - and if you're an aspiring screenwriter - invaluable.

The anecdotes run the gamut of everything from feel good inspirational to be-careful-what-you-wish-for stories. The advice is solid and the warnings valid.

I paid full price for the paperback copy and I have to say that it's one of the few books I believe was worth the price.

A brilliant and well-organized compendium of perspectives and quotations from working writers. Highly recommended for the writing professional.

*Note: the paper quality is a little cheap (mass-market paperback-y), but it's the content that matters.*