How to Adapt Anything into a Screenplay (Paperback)

by Richard Krevolin (Author) "Whether I am reading a script written by a USC School of Cinema and Television student or by an aspiring screenwriter from somewhere in the..." (more)
Key Phrases: unifying filmic devices, supporting characters change, other characters change, Miss Madison, Harry Potter, Gold Cup (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
A well thought out and professional book on adaptation. Richard Krevolin has done the heavy lifting and put together an indispensable guide for any serious screenwriter. How to Adapt Anything Into A Screenplay has a permanent place beside my computer. . . The best book on adaptation, hands down. – Jack Epps, Jr., screenwriter for Top Gun, Dick Tracy, The Secret Of My Success

"Enlightens and clarifies the adaptation process...It's like a semester of film school only a lot cheaper and you can learn while lying on your couch in your underwear." – Tom DeSanto, screenwriter for X-Men, Apt Pupil, X-Men II

Richard Krevolin understands that writers of adaptations owe little to the original material. Instead, like all screenwriters, they owe audiences the best possible movie. He asserts quite rightly, in clear and engaging language, that adaptations are more like original screenplays than they are different from them. And in doing so, he has written the best book possible. – Prof. Richard Walter, UCLA School of Cinema Screenwriting Chairman

Oh good, another book I don't have to write since Richard Krevolin's done such a bang-up job of it. He's distilled not only the essence of the art of adaptation but also reminded us of the essentials of drama and why we want to tell stories in the first place. – Chris Vogler, author of The Writers Journey

I wish I had this book when I was adapting the life of Jake LaMotta into the screenplay for Raging Bull. – Mardik Martin, screenwriter for Raging Bull, Mean Streets, and New York, New York

Product Description
From concept to finished draft-a nuts-and-bolts approach to adaptations

Aspiring and established screenwriters everywhere, take note! This down-to-earth guide is the first to clearly articulate the craft of adaptation. Drawing on his own experience and on fourteen years of teaching, screenwriter Richard Krevolin presents his proven five-step process for adapting anything-from novels and short stories to newspaper articles and poems-into a screenplay. Used by thousands of novelists, playwrights, poets, and journalists around the country, this can't-miss process features practical advice on how to break down a story into its essential components, as well as utilizes case studies of successful adaptations. Krevolin also provides an insider's view of working and surviving within the Hollywood system-covering the legal issues, interviewing studio insiders on what they are looking for, and offering tips from established screenwriters who specialize in adaptations.
* Outlines a series of stages that help you structure your story to fit the needs of a 120-page screenplay
* Explains how to adapt anything for Hollywood, from a single sentence story idea all the way to a thousand-page novel
* Advises on the tricky subject of just how faithful your adaptation should be
* Features helpful hints from Hollywood bigwigs-award-winning television writer Larry Brody; screenwriter and script reader Henry Jones; screenwriter and author Robin Russin; screenwriter and author Simon Rose; and more

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• Paperback: 218 pages