The Art and Craft of Screenwriting: Fundamentals, Methods and Advice from Insiders

by Shelly Frome

Overview

This guide for screenwriters and those interested in the screenwriting process has important information on every facet of the screenwriter's trade.
Introductory chapters discuss skills essential for all screenwriters. The second part covers various options available to screenwriters (such as different genres, indie films, adaptation) with important methods for each. Part Three is a collection of revealing interviews by the author with several established and seasoned professionals.
Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786434268
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	01/27/2009
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	263
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Shelly Frome is a professor of dramatic arts emeritus at the University of Connecticut, a former professional actor and a prolific writer of fiction and nonfiction. He lives in Litchfield, Connecticut.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents



Preface 1

Introduction 3

Notes on Content 9



PART I—THE ESSENTIALS

1. An Eye for the Camera 11

2. A Knack for Juggling 18

3. A Touch of the Actor 28

4. A Storyteller’s Vision 39



PART II—OPTIONS AND METHODS: RUNNING THE GAMUT

5. Genre as a Niche 50

6. Alternative Routes and Strategies 64

7. The Indie Option 76

8. Intrepid Merchandising 88

9. The Adaptation Chronicles 92

10. Taking on the Novel 105

11. Piecework at the Factory 115

12. The Screenwriter at Work: Guidelines and Gauges 123

13. Scripting, Polishing and Other Nuts and Bolts 143



PART III—INTERVIEWS: THE VOICES OF EXPERIENCE

The Top Flight Agent 158

Coverage and the Script Reader 164

The Hollywood Producer 169

The Independent Producer 175

The Film Festival Director 181

The Actor for All Seasons 187

The Versatile Writer-Director 193

The Hollywood Writing Partners 199

The Emmy-Winning Chronicler 207

The Master Storyteller 214

The Screenwriter and the High Road 220

Afterword 231



Appendix A: Glossary 233

Appendix B: Conventional Three-Act Format 236

Appendix C: Hollywood Mythic Formula 242

Appendix D: Resources 244

Selected Bibliography 247

Index 251

Editorial Reviews

valuable screenwriting tool...as thorough as it is honest and passionate”—The Review; “as highly entertaining as it is informative”—Republican-American; “offers a refuge for those juggling with originality versus what will sell”—The Hollywood Scriptwriter; “An informative and lively book about the art and craft of screenwriting.”—Peter Lefcourt, co-executive producer, Desperate Housewives and author of The Manhattan Beach Project and The Deal; “Aspiring screenwriters will find these interviews a treasure trove, but everyone can appreciate them. If you wonder where film may be heading—especially independent film—then you'll savor the insights in [this] book.”—Steve Lawson, executive director of the Williamstown Film Festival and author of the Emmy Award-winning documentary Broadway’s Dreamers: The Legacy of the Group Theater, and his adaptations of Tennessee Williams’ letters (A Distant Country Called Youth and Blanche and Beyond) have been performed across America.

From the Publisher

offers a refuge for those juggling with originality versus what will sell

The Hollywood Scriptwriter

as highly entertaining as it is informative

Republican-American

valuable screenwriting tool...as thorough as it is honest and passionate

The Review