Books about Screenplays from Amazon.com

Critically acclaimed director Christopher Nolan follows up his blockbuster film Batman Begins with the highly anticipated The Dark Knight. Batman Begins was a successful re-boot of the popular Batman franchise, and The Dark Knight sequel takes the fresh perspective further, developing the highly anticipated, raw cat-and-mouse game between our superhero Batman and his twisted arch-nemesis The Joker. Celebrated stars include Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, and Gary Oldman, returning as Batman, Alfred, Lucius Fox, and Lieutenant Gordon, respectively; and new additions Heath Ledger as The Joker, as well as Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Aaron Eckhart. The Art of the Dark Knight is the ultimate companion book to the movie, showcasing production ephemera including storyboard art, character sketches, Nolan’s original shooting script, still photos, and even personal behind-the-scenes material created by the Nolans and Crowley during the movie. The Art of the Dark Knight is certain to appeal to diehard and new fans alike..
Price: $23.59 [Notify me when price goes down.]

This ultimate insider's guide reveals the secrets that none dare admit, told by a show biz Veteran who's proven that you can sell your script if you can save the cat!.
Price: $11.89 [Notify me when price goes down.]

How does a spec script differ from a shooting script? What kind of fasteners should one use to bind a script? How did the term MOS come to mean without sound? You'll find the answers to these pressing questions and much more in David Trottier's eminently usable Screenwriter's Bible. The avuncular Trottier--a writer-producer, script consultant, and seminar leader--has written a friendly guide through the Hollywood morass. He touts it as six books in one: it's "a screenwriting primer, a screenwriting workbook, a formatting guide, a spec writing guide, a sales and marketing guide, [and] a resource guide."

Much of Trottier's advice is common sense: "Don't write anything that cannot appear on the screen"; to keep casting options open, don't make your physical descriptions too specific; "don't say Ron Howard is looking at the project if he is not." But there are things to know about Hollywood that are, well, quirkier. Don't write the title of your script on the front cover or side binding; present action sequences using the "stacking action" style; in query letters and scripts alike, avoid "big blocks of black ink." Trottier's guidance--from character development and revision to queries and pitches--is invaluable. Getting in the door can seem impossible, but it's not, necessarily. "If you write a script that features a character who has a clear and specific goal," says Trottier, "where there is strong opposition to that goal leading to a crisis and an emotionally satisfying ending, your script will automatically find itself in the upper five percent."

(By the way, MOS is said to have "originated with German director Eric von Stroheim, who would tell his crew, 'Ve'll shoot dis mid out sound'"). --Jane Steinberg.
Price: $14.82 [Notify me when price goes down.]

No book can find your ideas for you, but this one provides a great service in helping you discover and develop a story, and to come up with the completed script. King helps you learn to think cinematically, in the language of the movies, and to keep asking the essential questions as they work: What's the story? Who is the story about? Do you care about the characters? Does anyone? King also tries to help you survive not just the structural pitfalls that can derail a script, but also the mental or emotional whirlpools that can prevent any artist from finishing a project..
Price: $7.71 [Notify me when price goes down.]

For almost twenty-five years, aspiring screenwriters have turned to guru Syd Field for clear and insightful step-by-step guidelines on the art and craft of writing screenplays. Now, with a totally new, up-to-date perspective on today's film industry, Syd Field again proves why he is revered as a master - and why SCREENPLAY remains the bible of the film industry. From inception through completion, from opening scene to finished script, here is a sourcebook designed to help today's aspiring screenwriters turn their ideas into scripts that will sell and succeed on the screen tomorrow..
Price: $9.02 [Notify me when price goes down.]

In the long-awaited sequel to his surprise bestseller, Save the Cat!, author and screenwriter Blake Snyder returns to form in a fast-paced follow-up that proves why his is the most talked-about approach to screenwriting in years. In the perfect companion piece to his first book, Snyder delivers even more insider's information gleaned from a 20-year track record as ?one of Hollywood's most successful spec screenwriters, ? giving you the clues to write your movie. 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..
Price: $15.21 [Notify me when price goes down.]

"Stephanie Palmer delivers clear, useful advice on how to successfully move the good idea in your head into the other heads in the room. It is hard to think of a more valuable skill."

--Peter Kaufman, CEO, Glenair Inc.

Former MGM Director of Creative Affairs Stephanie Palmer reveals the techniques used by Hollywood’s top writers, directors and producers to get financing for their projects and explains how you can apply these techniques to be more successful in your own high-stakes meetings. Because, as Palmer as found, the strategies used to sell yourself and your ideas in Hollywood Hollywood not only work in other businesses, they often work better.

After taking over three thousand pitch meetings, Stephanie Palmer has seen what works, what doesn’t, and has developed a system for helping people with good ideas get the attention and financing they deserve. This is important because of how technology and globalization have created exponential growth in the marketplace for ideas. If you can communicate your ideas concisely and effectively, you will have the edge no matter what industry you are in.

Whether you intend to ask for a raise, sign a potential client, promote a new business, secure financing for a creative project, get sponsors for your charity walk or even ask someone on a date, GOOD IN A ROOM shows you how to:

-Master the five stages of the face-to-face meeting
-Avoid the secret dealbreakers of the first ninety seconds
-Be confident in high-pressure situations
-Present yourself better and more effectively than you ever have before

GOOD IN A ROOM is a step-by-step guide to improving your performance in high-stakes meetings as well as in other areas of your professional life. You’ll learn insider secrets, cutting-edge techniques, and how to construct winning presentations that persuade decision-makers. That’s what being good in a room is all about..
Price: $13.91 [Notify me when price goes down.]

How Not to Write a Screenplay is an invaluable addition to any aspiring screenwriter's shelf--and you'd best make the shelf within arm's reach of the computer. Author Dean Martin Flinn, an experienced script reader, details the common rookie mistakes that drive script readers crazy. Flinn makes no pretense of being able to teach anyone how to write the next Great American Film--or for that matter the next Stupid Summer Blockbuster. Instead he offers information that will help keep the novice screenwriter's opus from being immediately tossed on the trash pile (arguably a more valuable service). As Flinn says in his introduction, if you follow the advice in this book, "you may not write a particularly good screenplay, but you won't write a bad one." Flinn offers practical advice on formatting, such as the proper form for a slugline and where to set your margins, and more general rules of thumb on giving the actors room to interpret their roles and avoiding dictating camera angles to the director (who will ignore them anyway). The second half of the book deals with content, also in a remarkably pragmatic way--structure, pacing, plot resolution, and dialogue that really stink are all handily dealt with. Flinn illustrates almost all his points with excerpts from screenplays both good and bad (names have been changed to protect the guilty), giving the reader concrete examples of the difference between poorly and well-structured scenes. Not sucking is an unusual goal for a screenwriting manual, but any script reader will agree it is a noble one. --Ali Davis.
Price: $7.64 [Notify me when price goes down.]

With the average payment for a screenplay over $100,000, every writer knows that screenwriting is where the money is. In this guide, successful screenwriter and teacher Cynthia Whitcomb shares her extensive knowledge on writing for the screen. This book will teach you her proven techniques, including how to:

• test an idea for its commercial potential
• plan a compelling script
• write great openings and endings
• create characters that grow and evolve
• revise and hone your script to attract Hollywood agents and producers

Includes lists of the best movies to study—and why!

Cynthia Whitcomb has sold more than 70 feature-length screenplays, 25 of which have been filmed. She has made millions of dollars for her work, and her scripts have won and been nominated for many awards, including the Emmy Award, Cable Ace Award, Edgar Allan Poe Award, Humanitas Award, and Writers Guild of America Awards. Her students have also gone on to write successful box-office hits. She has taught screenwriting for many years, including seven at the acclaimed UCLA Film School.

Whitcomb's commercial success and teaching experience make this an essential resource for anyone who wants to write winning scripts for Hollywood..
Price: $13.07 [Notify me when price goes down.]