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Title: The First Time I Got Paid For It : Writers' Tales From The Hollywood Trenches by Laura J. Shapiro, Peter Lefcourt, William Goldman ISBN: 1586480138 Publisher: PublicAffairs Pub. Date: 01 October, 2000 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $24.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4
Rating: 3
Summary: Not what I was expecting
Comment: Maybe I missed the fine-print or something, but this book isn't what I was expecting, really, or what I was looking for. The book doesn't get three stars because it's bad -- it's not a bad book -- but because I think, well, the title is a sort of false advertising. When I picked up the book, I was expecting essays by successful writers about how they broke into the business of screenwriting ... inspirational-type stuff. Instead, what the book contains are stories about:
"The first time I ...
"... sold a tv-pilot after working for fifteen years as a staff-writer for a highly successful television show."
Or ...
"The first time I ...
"... adapted one of my highly sucessful stage plays into a screenplay."
And so on.
Many of the personal essays are interesting, some are funny, and the book is worth reading, if what you want to read are the kind of mildly amusing, sometimes hopeful essays contained in this book. If what you want is a book of essays by highly successful screenwriters about how the broke into the business, you'll find little (although some) of that here.
Rating: 5
Summary: Hope for us all
Comment: One of the things I'd like to do in my life is write a screenplay. I haven't actually done it yet, and I have no idea what the process is like. But this book was a very interesting read. It has given me a renewed sense of hope. Some of the writers' stories in this book are like fairy tales to the hopeful screenwriters, and some of the stories show the reality to us. Reading these has helped me learn what to expect--because I understand that most of these writers were lucky, and that's a lot of what it takes to make it in Hollywood. Let's hope I have it.
Also, I must point out that the forward by William Goldman was worth the price of the book all by itself. I thought I was going to die laughing. I think I read the whole thing out loud to my roommate.
All in all, this is a wonderful book, with many memorable and hopeful stories.
Rating: 4
Summary: Inspiring in an offbeat way ...
Comment: For anyone who's ever wanted to get paid for it, you ought to read this book. Especially wonderful for those who follow the Who's Who of Hollywood writers, and how they struggled. The foreword by William Goldman is especially charming as is the closing anecdote by Steve Zaillian, which I found touching. Audrey Wells' tale is flippant and funny as is Pamela Gray's.
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Title: The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Screenwriters: Insider's Secrets from Hollywood's Top Writers by Karl Iglesias, Lew Hunter ISBN: 1580625509 Publisher: Adams Media Corporation Pub. Date: 2001 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: The Big Deal : Hollywood's Million-Dollar Spec Script Market by Thom Taylor ISBN: 0688161715 Publisher: William Morrow Pub. Date: 1999 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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Title: Screenwriting from the Soul: Letters to an Aspiring Screenwriter by Richard W. Krevolin, Jeff Arch ISBN: 1580630367 Publisher: Renaissance Books Pub. Date: 1998 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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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: 1999 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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Title: Story: Substance, Structure, Style and The Principles of Screenwriting by Robert McKee ISBN: 0060391685 Publisher: HarperCollins Pub. Date: 1997 List Price(USD): $35.00 |
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