Screenwriting is Rewriting: The Art and Craft of Professional Revision

by Jack Epps, Jr.

Overview

If there is one skill that separates the professional screenwriter from the amateur, it is the ability to rewrite successfully. From Jack Epps, Jr., the screenwriter of Top Gun, Dick Tracy, and The Secret of My Success, comes a comprehensive guide that explores the many layers of rewriting.

In Screenwriting is Rewriting, Epps provides a practical and tested approach to organizing notes, creating a game plan, and executing a series of focused passes that address the story, character, theme, structure, and plot issues. Included are sample notes, game plans, and beat sheets from Epps' work on films such as Sister Act and Turner and Hooch. Also featured are exclusive interviews with Academy Award® winning screenwriters Robert Towne (Chinatown) and Frank Pierson (Dog Day Afternoon), along with Academy Award® nominee Susannah Grant (Erin Brockovich).

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781628927382
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	01/28/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	272
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Jack Epps, Jr. is the co-author of the films Top Gun, The Secret of My Success, Dick Tracy, Legal Eagles, Dick Tracy, and Turner and Hooch. As a script doctor, Epps contributed to such films as Sister Act and Die Hard With A Vengeance. Epps is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Writing for Screen and Television Division in the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California, USA.
Jack Epps, Jr. is the co-author of the films Top Gun, The Secret of My Success, Dick Tracy, Legal Eagles, Dick Tracy, and Turner and Hooch. As a script doctor, Epps contributed to such films as Sister Act and Die Hard With A Vengeance. Epps is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Writing for Screen and Television Division in the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California, USA.

Table of Contents

Introduction

How To Use This Book

Let's Talk About Rewriting

The Pass Method – Layer By Layer

Movies You Need To See

Part One: Foundations and Fundamentals

Chapter 1 Notes – Receiving and Organizing Notes

Chapter 2 Interpreting Notes – Reading Tea Leaves

Chapter 3 Annotated Draft – Your Reference Guide

Chapter 4 Game Plan – Creating a Road Map for the Rewrite

Chapter 5 Character – Writing from the Inside Out

Chapter 6 Foundation Pass – Strengthening the Core

Chapter 7 Character Pass – The Emotional Core

Chapter 8 The Set-Up – Establish – Complicate – Resolve

Chapter 9 Story&Theme Pass – The Emotional Underpinning

Chapter 10 Structure – What Stays In, What Goes Out, and In What Order

Chapter 11 Structure Pass – Architecture and Design

Chapter 12 Plot – How Will This Turn Out?

Chapter 13 Plot Pass – Cause and Effect

Chapter 14 Feedback on Your Interim Draft – Checking-In


Part Two: Details and Layering

Chapter 15 Opposition Characters – Sources of Conflict and Tension

Chapter 16 Obstacles, Complications, Reveals, and Reversals – Complicate, Complicate, Complicate

Chapter 17 Obstacles, Complications, Reveals, and Reversals Pass – Making Life Much More Difficult

Chapter 18 Relationships – The Ties that Bind

Chapter 19 Relationship Pass – Interconnecting

Chapter 20 Dialogue – Rhythm and Flow

Chapter 21 Scene Pass – Link and Connect

Chapter 22 Consistency Pass – Motivated Actions

Chapter 23 Polish Pass – Dialogue, Text, and Tightening

Chapter 24 Sending Out Your Screenplay – Letting Go

Chapter 25 Working with Directors, Producers, and Executives – Patience, Patience, Patience


Part Three: Screenwriters on Rewriting

Interview with Robert Towne Chinatown, The Firm, Mission Impossible II

Interview with Frank Pierson Cool Hand Luke, Dog Day Afternoon, King Of The Gypsies

Interview with Susannah Grant Pocahontas, Erin Brockovich, The Soloist


Part Four: Examples

Studio Script Notes Turner&Hooch Notes Sister Act Studio Notes and Game Plan

Student Annotated Pages Suicide Girl by Ivy Pruss

Student Script Notes&Game Plans Take Your Grandma To Work Day by David Ngo F@#% The Knot by Romi Barta

Essential Three Act Questions

Acknowledgements

Quote Sources

Index

Editorial Reviews

The book is a great starting point that would teach aspiring screenwriters or students of creative writing how to go about starting, developing and rewriting their screenplays.” - Alphaville: Journal of Film and Screen Media

From the Publisher