Using her insider knowledge, Oscar-winning screenwriter Pamela Wallace shows legions of hopeful writers how to write feature-length screenplays for film. Readers find a wealth of information on the craft of screenwriting as well as the business of making movies, including chapters on: Getting ideas and refining them within the context of the realities of the film industry; Key elements of the craft, from writing the synopsis and treatment to developing the plot, characters, scenes, dialogue and theme; Learning how to effectively pitch a screenplay to agents and producers; Beginners will appreciate the "first steps" approach of the book, while more experienced writers will welcome this Oscar-winner's inside knowledge. All readers will be inspired by Wallace's positive, encouraging instruction.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Pamela Wallace won the Oscar for Best Screenplay for her first feature, Witness. She has won the Writer's Guild Award and the Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America. She has written a number of other films, including the recent award-winning HBO feature, If These Walls Could Talk.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A little disappointing,
By
This review is from: You Can Write a Movie (You Can Write It!) (Paperback)
Despite the fact that the author penned the Harrison Ford movie, "Witness," there's a few things I'd question about this book. For a start, she treats loglines (e.g., the short TV Guide-style 'blurbs') and thematic statements as being the same when they might not be at all. For example, "love conquers all" may be your theme, and "a deaf woman falls in love for the first time" may be your logline. In the beginning of chapter 2, she recommends studying scripts that have no camera angles or stage business, but then discusses those very things at length just a page later. If she's advising writers to avoid them, why spend several pages on them? She also references "three-act structure" within the first 3 chapters, but doesn't actually explain it until Chapter 8. I found it odd that details like formatting margins and camera angles are defined long before structure. If you don't have at least a basic 3-act outline or idea, it's probably too soon to be worrying about margins. There's some nice nuggets in this book, but it's really more of an introduction to the screenplay form and to the general nature of the business. You'd still need to supplement it with something more meaty, such as (but not limited to) books by Syd Field, J. Michael Straczynski, Christopher Keane, Richard Walter, David Trotter, Robert McKee, or Lew Hunter.
6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Write Like a Pro From One of the Best,
By "adair_m" (an American in Paris, France) - See all my reviews
This review is from: You Can Write a Movie (You Can Write It!) (Paperback)
This is a skinny but great book, one of the best I've read on screenwriting. ... In this book, Pamela Wallace covers the basics, but also gives the reader solid professional advice, such as how to make strong, clear choices for a character that may or may not appear in your screenplay, but nevertheless help enrich the story. One of the most helpful points in the book is the section that deals with finding a character's defining moment - the point in the character's life that helped shape him and drives him throughout the story. There's also an interesting section on how to write compelling dialogue that actors can actually SAY, not just read. A big thumbs up for this one. Ms. Wallace knows what she's talking about.
6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
splendid. The best screenwriting book on the market.,
By richard hammersley (cincinnati, ohio United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: You Can Write a Movie (You Can Write It!) (Paperback)
This book is a very concise guide to writing a screenplay by an oscar winning writer. I think this book is a welcome alternative to books by writers without real credits.(Syd Field etc). It is very helpful in helping a writer focus their story before writing the script. Writing a good logline and defining the theme are focused on. The chapters on charachterization and writing dialog are the best I have seen for the beginning writer.
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