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Title: Secrets of Screenplay Structure: How to Recognize and Emulate the Structural Frameworks of Great Films by Linda J. Cowgill ISBN: 1-58065-004-X Publisher: Lone Eagle Publishing Company Pub. Date: February, 1999 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.73 (26 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: You don't have to be a screenwriter to appreciate this book!
Comment: Anyone who appreciates great films will love this book. It gives you insight into how great films are put together, and what really makes one. This book starts at the beginning, yet it doesn't feel like it's written for the beginner. It covers a variety of topics, including nonlinear and ensemble films -- which I, frankly, haven't seen covered in any other screenwriting book, at least not in this depth. This book uses a limited number of films to study, so examples can be viewed, and I loved each film she used. I'd forgotten what terrific films Quiz Show, Risky Business and Tootsie were, and now have a greater appreciation of them. I can't say enough good things about this book. It makes you want to sit down and write your great screenplay, yet also lets you know just how much of a collaborative process it really is to get there.
Rating: 5
Summary: Best Screenwriting Course in a Book
Comment: This is a terrific concept for a screenwriting book. It is structured like a screenwriting course, laying out its foundation with a limited number of study films to clearly illustrate how screenplays are constructed. The author doesn't use a convoluted language, but gets right to the point, explaining what goes into in a great screenplay and film. This book is a classic. What's even better are the detailed chapters on ensemble and nonlinear films. No other screenplay book I've seen takes on this daunting task of analysing these two difficult types of film structures. At the end of each chapter, Cowgill discusses a final draft or late draft of each study film's screenplay and compares it with changes made to the final film. What would have been more interesting is to include a discussion of the selling screenplay, but that's a minor quibble. This is a great book for anyone interested in screenwriting or just understanding film in general. A real 5 star achievement.
Rating: 3
Summary: Lives up to half its title
Comment: She's got the "Recognize" part down cold. The analyses are excellent. "Emulate," however, is almost entirely absent, except in the vaguest of terms. This book has helped me to become a slightly better viewer of movies, but not a significantly better writer of screenplays.
That's my major quibble. My minor quibble is the constant use of the word "great" when, in fact, what's really meant is "extremely solidly constructed, with clear points of interest for commentary." Not the same thing.
If you just don't know what makes a story tick, this book is good for getting you up to speed. If you already know what makes a story tick, and you're looking to expand your understanding in a practical, useful way, this is not a good book for it. For instance, I already understand what a subplot is--but being able to recognize it in a diagram after the fact isn't the same thing as knowing how to construct one. This book is mostly "Look at what a subplot looks like after you've made one." Again, recognition rather than emulation.
Worth the time, and interesting. But not as practically useful as I would have preferred.
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Title: The Screenwriter's Bible: A Complete Guide to Writing, Formatting, and Selling Your Script by David Trottier ISBN: 1879505444 Publisher: Silman-James Press Pub. Date: August, 1998 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Creating Unforgettable Characters by Linda Seger ISBN: 0805011714 Publisher: Henry Holt & Company, Inc. Pub. Date: 15 July, 1990 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: How Not to Write a Screenplay: 101 Common Mistakes Most Screenwriters Make by Denny Martin Flinn ISBN: 1580650155 Publisher: Lone Eagle Publishing Company Pub. Date: August, 1999 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Story: Substance, Structure, Style and The Principles of Screenwriting by Robert McKee ISBN: 0060391685 Publisher: Regan Books Pub. Date: 17 December, 1997 List Price(USD): $35.00 |
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Title: 500 Ways to Beat the Hollywood Script Reader : Writing the Screenplay the Reader Will Recommend by Jennifer Lerch ISBN: 0684856409 Publisher: Fireside Pub. Date: 13 July, 1999 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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