Crafty Screenwriting: Writing Movies That Get Made (Paperback)

~ (Author) "What's a screenplay?..." (more)
Key Phrases: Star Wars, New York, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Alex Epstein brings a screenwriting pro's honesty, skill, and expertise to a field otherwise crowded with how-to-write quacks." --John Badham, director of Saturday Night Fever
-- Review

"Alex Epstein brings a screenwriting pro's honesty, skill, and expertise to a field otherwise crowded with how-to-write quacks." --John Badham, director of Saturday Night Fever

Product Description

Crafty Screenwriting is the first book not only to offer a successful screenwriters tricks of the trade but to explain what development executives really mean when they complain that the dialogue is flat or the hero isnt likable. Smart, provocative, and funny, Hollywood insider Alex Epstein diagnoses problems that other screenwriting books barely address and answers questions that they rarely ask, like Why is it sometimes dangerous to know your characters too well before you start writing, or Why does your script have to be so much better than the awful pictures that get made every day? And as both a development executive who has accepted and rejected countless screenplays and a produced screenwriter, Epstein can take you into the heart of the most important question of all: Is this a movie? Crafty Screenwriting is a crucial book for anyone who has ever wondered what it takes to get their movie made.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Holt Paperbacks; 1st edition (October 8, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805069925
• ISBN-13: 978-0805069921
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #60,651 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars At Last..., June 8, 2003

By	S. Lawrie "kiwizoo" (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is good. Before you even write your first word, buy this and then read it.

I've been a professional writer (in advertising mind you) for ten years and have dabbled in screenplays many times - and I'm really over those `anyone can do this' kind of books (everyone can't).

This one tells it how it really is. What that means for you is that if you're SERIOUS about writing a screenplay that deserves to be made and use even some of the advice in the book - it'll be a better screenplay. (Might not get made, mind you, but it'll definitely increase your chances.)

Best advice in the book? Don't write a word until you've got a hook - and even then don't write a word until you've talked your story through again and again. Brilliant stuff. And funny too.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Crafty Screenwriting takes you farther, September 22, 2003

By	joseph borri (Farmington Hills, MI United States) - See all my reviews

I've been writing screenplays for three years now and do I wish I had this book when I started! I've read Trottier, Field and Walter-all of whom are very informative. This book goes farther than any of them. Epstein delivers more current and common sense application of the art form than I was able to see from the afore-mentioned authors. The emphasis on "The Hook" is worth the price of the book alone. Epstein has the ability to force you to really focus on the most important aspect of writing a story that SELLS. As he says, "what good is a screenplay unless it gets produced?" From writing the very difficult query letter to formatting your story, this book covers too many things to list here. Check it out! I encourage all aspiring screenwriters to find this gem and absorb the information. You'll be glad you did.

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Demystifying!, November 2, 2002

By	Branko Ruzic (Split, Croatia) - See all my reviews

Alex Epstein has written a book from the standpoint of a man who has been at both sides of the table - a scriptwriter and a development executive who spends time reading scripts. Using the experiences, he builds a solid, yet a very pleasant to read composition of succinct pieces of advice on how to write a screenplay that will get made.

Many people in the screenwriting biz seem to be in love with phrases. From writing gurus ("A good screenplay is a screenplay that doesn't waste our time", "Tell the story that has to be told") to folks who read and evaluate screenplays ("It's episodic", "We don't know enough about your hero"). The catch with all phrases is - they're not useful to a writer. This book goes beyond those common idioms, avoids clichés, and tells you EXACTLY what you need to know.

E.g. "Hook (a.k.a. High Concept)" - all around the Internet you can find a definition: "A premise that can be depicted in a sentence or two". But even such a structurally complex movie as "Magnolia" can be caught in one sentence; so again, the popular phrase is not telling us much. Going deeper from the evident confusion, Epstein successfully analyzes the entire "High Concept" problem by telling us what a good hook really is, why it is the most important part of the script, how to come up with a valid one, and finally - how to check out the quality of a chosen concept before you waste 6 months writing the script that won't get read, let alone get made.

Combining humor with practical examples, the author finds the best path to the essence of all critical screenplay elements (structure, point of view, pacing, dialogues...) and makes them clear and easily comprehensible.

Along with the abovementioned, the book shows an equally significant blueprint of the working principles of Hollywood selling&buying script system.