Hollywood Screenwriter

Other products by Write Brothers

Product Features

• Express your ideas in the form of a screenplay and turn them into a movie, TV show or play for professional consideration
• Just push a few keys and enter every important script element -- character, dialogue, action, scene breaks and more
• Built-in typing assistant helps you work more efficiently by filling in names & direction after just a few letters
• Television Templates add automatic formats, margins, script styles and character lists
• Sample scripts let you see screenwriting samples from hit shows like NYPD Blue, The X Files and Frasier to see how the pros do it

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00004TYC4
• Date first available at Amazon.com: June 6, 2005
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,371 in Software (See Bestsellers in Software)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #8 in	Software > Education & Reference > Script & Screenwriting
  #17 in	Software > Home & Hobbies > Movies & Television
  #18 in	Software > Education & Reference > Writing & Literature

Product Description

Amazon.com Review
Show business loves its archetypes. One chestnut that won't go away is the image of the feverish screenwriter, hunched over a word processor, ideas flying so thick and fast that the chore of punctuation would invite creative disaster. Hollywood Screenwriter is a script-writing program that promises to simplify the mundane stuff--like proper script formatting--so creative juices can flow freely.

The only keys a writer needs to move between script elements in this program are TAB, ENTER, and (. Since scripts have a logic and order that's fairly standardized, the program can intuit what's next, placing time of day after scene headings or formatting for dialogue or a parenthetical after a character's name. This is a less-complicated program than some of the more expensive screenwriting programs out there, but it doesn't do as much as those other offerings either.

Hollywood Screenwriter is designed for writing spec scripts: speculative screenplays designed to get the attention of stage or screen producers. This program will help you format your script correctly, ensuring that it won't get tossed out based on appearance. But if someone decides to produce your masterpiece, you won't be able to make a production script with this program. Then again, if that happens, you might feel flush enough to go buy one of those spendy programs that does A and B pages.

No other place clings to dated stereotypes of how things are done quite like Hollywood does. Included in Hollywood Screenwriter's instruction manual are painstakingly detailed instructions on how to assemble a script correctly. Which begs the question: Are there really people out there who would reject a possible Oscar winner because it's not punched by a three-hole press and bound by two solid-brass Acco No. 5 brads? --Anne Erickson

Product Description
Hollywood Screenwriter helps you turn an amateur story idea into a Hollywood blockbuster! Get a full analysis of your script and learn statistical information about your scenes and characters Spellchecker correct typos instantly Drag-and-drop editing lets you move or change a block of text(or a whole scene) without reformatting the entire screenplay Word Processing modes make writing query letters, outlines, treatments, acceptance speeches, etc. a snap

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

100 of 102 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Very unhappy with this program, June 25, 2002

By	M. Sindy Felin (Atlanta, GA United States) - See all my reviews

I'm sitting here thirty-six hours away from sharing my script with my screenwriting group and I don't know if I'll have a script to show them. This program started out fine at first. I, too, didn't mind having to put the CD in each time; afterall, I have to put my disk in each time I work.

First time I noticed a problem was when I tried to email my script to a friend for comments - you can't. Unless the other person has Hollywood Screenwriter, they won't be able to open it. The program doesn't even allow you to cut your text into a Word document (or any other application for that matter.) Secondly, the top and bottom margins were set at 1.5 inches so for several weeks I thought my script was much longer than it actually was. The margins are easily corrected, but still, 1 inch is proper industry format - they should know that. Third, the spacing between scene headings is incorrect. Proper industry format says three spaces, this program gives you two. I had to go in and hit a hard return at the beginning of every scene heading in a hundred page script - very annoying. Fourth, you can not incorporate a (beat) into the dialogue. As soon as you type a parantheses, the program thinks its acting instructions and formats whatever is in the () accordingly. On the online FAQ they recognize this problem and say to use [] or {} for beats!!! That's great, try to break into the business by having your script look different than other professional scripts. I don't think so. I makes me wonder what other formatting stlyle is incorrect.

Finally, and this is a doozy, at any point you can go and try to open a script you've been working on forever and find that it isn't there. The program gives an Error 32, whatever that means, and opens up what it calls your script but is actually one blank page. The company's online help has an update you can download to fix this problem and after the download, you'll supposedly be able to recover your script. Didn't work for me. I opened an older version I had and then re-did my work to the best of my memory. Now, this morning, I popped the CD in and...nothing. The program won't open at all.

When I researched the different programs to buy I did see mention of some little quirks but I figured for the price it would be a good place to start. Wrong. Unless you have no intention of sharing your script with anyone via email, etc. or don't care about proper format, or don't mind just randomly losing your whole damn script for no apparent reason, spend the extra few buck for something that works. Speaking of which - does anyone have any recommendations? I'm now in the market.

52 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This is a GREAT program if you know what you are doing., November 2, 2000

By	icekatice (USA) - See all my reviews

I LOVE this program. I for one, don't mind that you have to use the CD to run the program: Less space used up on my hard drive so that aspect does not bother me. I have had absolutely no problems with formatting. All my "spacing" is correct and falls under industry guidelines. I got the "proper" 1 inch space at the top and did not have any other problems with the program. This software, unlike others, will NOT write the screenplay for you. You absolutely need to know the ins and outs of screenwriting because it will not hold your hand through the process. I for one, do not want index cards popping up reminding me of what was written before. That is confusing and I am competent enough to keep up with my own work. This is a great basic program, and you can't beat the price. If you know how to write a screenplay or even if you have read a book on how to write a screenplay, this program is all you need. No frills, no chills, but it gives you the chance, properly formatted, to put your words down.

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars False economy?, September 29, 2000

By	Peter Reeve (Thousand Oaks, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I bought this because it was the cheapest screenwriting software available... A major inconvenience with it is that you need the CD in place when you run it. Like many people, I use two PCs - a desktop and a laptop - so that makes the requirement to have the CD to hand even more inconvenient. Tip: if your PC has a removable CD drive and you start the program with it removed, the program does not ask for it and runs anyway! The program does not handle certain script features very well, e.g. transitions and complex character headings like FRED (V.O.) (CONT'D).