Save The Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need Paperback – May 25, 2005

The cover is sad! I do not like to see any animal dangling at the end of a rope,...let alone a cat. To say that this is "The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need," is an even more pathetic statement! There are many books on screenwriting, and this is merely one of them. Some people will like it, and others will not! However, writing takes much more than a formula. Some writers are talented by nature,---however writing is much like any other talent: It has to be cultivated and practiced. Each writer has his, or her own voice and style. It is sad that screenwriting and in some instances, all other writing has become a formula in order to make money, and only money, --- disregarding everything else. This is exactly why so many movies these days are so very, very bad,...because the writing is bad! Gone are the days of Gone With the Wind, Lawrence of Ararbia, etc. If someone wishes to become a screenwriter, they need to sit down and to read past screenplays, watch classic movies, read books on writing, study cinema history, and even attend some proper writing classes. Yes, it is indeed hard work, and it does take much more than a formula to produce good writing. Even though this book will lead you to believe otherwise. Most importantly, when one sits down to write,--- one must feel and believe---what one is writing. Not see the dollar ($) signs with each word typed. Writing is much more than a formula. Somehow, the public has been lead to believe otherwise. Sad day for writers! Sad day for humanity! Most of all,---a very sad day for that poor cat on the cover!

OK, maybe not the last book you'll ever need, but if you are a screenwriter or play one on TV, this just may be the BEST book you'll ever need, or read, on the subject of how to break into the big screen big time as a writer of tall tales.

Blake Snyder is a working, selling writer himself, so that gives the reader a true inside glimpse into what it's like, what it takes, and what to expect on the long road to screenwriting stardom. Many screenwriting how-to tomes are written by guys and gals who have few or no real studio credits, so with this book you can be sure you are getting the info direct from the source of a successful member of the Hollywood elite.

Snyder starts out with a bang, describing how important a good title, pitch and concept are, and giving tons of useful advise for whipping those log lines into shape, the best shape ever in fact, for as the author points out, many industry powerbrokers won't even look beyond a log line...so it better be good. Damned good. He then discusses how to make your story like everything else out there, only different, and if you can come to understand that paradox, you will be a success indeed.

We also learn about the importance of creating characters that fit certain archetypes, like the hero and the villain, and how the use of Jungian archetypes can help you shape and mold real people that resonate with the audience. Also covered is the importance of knowing your genre and how to best amplify the style of that genre.

Another chapter deals with the author's own system of breaking a script down to 15 beats, and how every successful movie fits this same beat system. We also learn the art of building scenes and the use of those wonderful index cards for moving and changing scene progression, as well as following the basic rules of a great story, rewriting and reshaping the script, and of course, what the heck to do with the darned thing once you've finished. I really appreciated the glossary of screenwriting and industry terminology, something every writer should know (or at least pretend to know in meetings).

Although this book does follow the mold of many other screenwriting books before it, focusing both on writing and marketing the script and including summaries and exercises for the reader to expand their understanding, the difference that makes this book stand out is the honesty and directness of the author in giving the reader every best chance to comprehend and conquer the inner and outer workings of screenwriting. "Save the Cat" (I'll let you find out what the title means on your own!) doesn't hold back on doling out the solid advise, and presents it in a way that will not only inspire screenwriters, but also make them more aware of just how hard it really is to succeed. No sugar-coating here, but plenty of motivation and great info packed into one book.

So, "Save the Cat" may not be the final screenwriting book you will ever need, should for some reason the entire industry change and adopt some bizarro new standard of screenwriting that will require you to learn the metric system and Pig-Latin. But barring a drastic reshaping of the industry standard (I think most execs are too lazy to change much of anything), this is no doubt the one book that will do more to help you achieve success and get your two-brad-bound puppy through the door than any other I've read so far. And believe me, folks, I've read them all.

FADE OUT.

This author talks a big game, that he is a successful screenwriter and that this book offers advice from one who is successful as opposed to someone who theoretically understands screenwriting but hasn't sold anything. Well, this book just sucks! This author may have sold stuff, but based on what he has had produced, and the constant pitches he makes (an example: The presidents helicopter crashes behind enemy lines and the president has to capture Osama Bin Laden, called "Chickenhawk Down" and is pitched as "Galaxy Quest" with George Bush - and he can't understand why this didn't sell - By the way, how is that concept remotely like Galaxy Quest, which was a funny comic parody of Star Trek) . This man is a hack! When you put down a film like Memento and praise "Legally Blonde" as one of the greatest titles for a film in years, it is astonishing! I should have guessed it was going to be bad based on his two produced films, "Blank Check" and "Stop, or my Mom will shoot" (which was one of the two films that has almost destroyed Sylvester Stallone's career) then there really isn't anything more to say. You may be making money pal, but your films are disposable trash.

I would have given this no stars if Amazon would have let me.