FILM 332: Advanced Screenwriting: INTRODUCTION

The author of Barbarella and other successful screenplays analyzes the basic structures of effective screenplays, from initial plot lines to realized scripts. All the essential building blocks are discussed in depth: the need for a strong premise; the roles of protagonist and antagonist; the orchestration of plot, characters and dialogue leading to a clear resolution.

This book not only instructs first-time writers on how to go about their work but also serves as a valuable check-list for established authors, and for actors, directors and teachers, in their task of deconstructing and assessing the value of the material placed before them.

Designed for screenwriters, novelists, and movie fans, this book gives readers the key breakdowns of the 50 most instructional movies from the past 30 years. From M*A*S*H to Crash, from Alien to Saw, from 10 to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Snyder reveals how screenwriters who came before you tackled the same challenges you are facing with the film you want to write ? or the one you are currently working on.

The leap from concept to final draft is great, and the task is filled with hard work and horrors. It is here that most writers struggle to get the plot right at the expense of the story's real power. "Emotional Structure," by Emmy- and Peabody-Award winning producer, writer, and teacher, Peter Dunne, is for these times, when the plot fits nicely into place like pieces in a puzzle, yet an elemental, terribly important something remains missing.

One of the best kept secrets in hollywood is the use of consultants to fine-tune scripts. Whether you are a screenwriter or not, if you have a second sense or insightful knowledge that can improve film storytelling, you may have just found a new way to make over $100,000 a year.

With clear logic and ... language, Anatomy of a Screenplay goes beyond the rigid-rule and subjective approaches to ... show a flexible... way of understanding a screenplay. Dan Decker's revolutionary theories of Character Structure, Drive Structure and Convergence are presented to the public for the first time in this book.

This book provides a CSI (Crime Scene Investigation) approach to Academy Award-winning screenplays, giving you the nitty gritty details of how an Academy Award script was created.