Product Description

A generation of screenwriters has used Syd Field’s bestselling books to ignite successful careers in film. Now the celebrated producer, lecturer, teacher, and bestselling author has updated his classic guide for a new generation of filmmakers, offering a fresh insider’s perspective on the film industry today. From concept to character, from opening scene to finished script, here are easily understood guidelines to help aspiring screenwriters—from novices to practiced writers—hone their craft. Filled with updated material—including all-new personal anecdotes and insights, guidelines on marketing and collaboration, plus analyses of recent films, from American Beauty to Lord of the Rings—Screenplay presents a step-by-step, comprehensive technique for writing the screenplay that will succeed in Hollywood. Discover:

•Why the first ten pages of your script are crucially important
•How to visually “grab” the reader from page one, word one
•Why structure and character are the essential foundation of your screenplay
•How to adapt a novel, a play, or an article into a screenplay
•Tips on protecting your work—three legal ways to claim ownership of your screenplay
•The essentials of writing great dialogue, creating character, building a story line, overcoming writer’s block, getting an agent, and much more.

With this newly updated edition of his bestselling classic, Syd Field proves yet again why he is revered as the master of the screenplay—and why his celebrated guide has become the industry’s gold standard for successful screenwriting.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6778 in Books
• Published on: 2005-11-29
• Released on: 2005-11-29
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780385339032
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Library Journal
Screenplay is one of the bibles of the film trade and has launched many a would-be screenwriter on the road to Hollywood. This third edition is updated to include the specifics of writing via computer.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
“Screenplay is one of the bibles of the film trade and has launched many a would-be screenwriter on the road to Hollywood.” —Library Journal

“Syd Field is the preeminent analyzer in the study of American screenplays.” —James L. Brooks, AcademyAward–winning writer, director, producer


From the Trade Paperback edition.

Review
“Screenplay is one of the bibles of the film trade and has launched many a would-be screenwriter on the road to Hollywood.” —Library Journal

“Syd Field is the preeminent analyzer in the study of American screenplays.” —James L. Brooks, AcademyAward–winning writer, director, producer

Customer Reviews

A most worthy contribution to the craft
Reading reader reviews of books on writing for the screen is about like reading reviews of movies: There's a lot of disagreement between the eyes of beholders. I sometimes think I should ask the reviewers at Mr. Showbiz what I should get high on before going to see what they consider a masterpiece.

"Screenplay" was sent to me by a movie producer who asked me to write a screenplay for a book I wrote. When I lamented that I knew nothing about writing screenplays, he said the book he'd just read proved to him I could write; all I needed was to understand some important aspects of the screenplay vs. the book.

I've learned a lot from Syd Field. "Screenplay" clearly showed me the visual aspects of film, "It's all about pictures," Field stresses over and over. If I learned nothing else from him, how to put a screenplay into professional format would make "Screenplay" worth the trip.

Sure, I had to study the book, go back over it several times before I got this, or that. But gosh, diving into writing screenplays isn't like a lesson in Microsoft Windows -- click here, drag that over there.

There's a lot to learn, and Syd Field offers a lot of guidance for the serious student. I don't care if he's never written a screenplay. Some of the very best book editors wrote nothing except editorial marks on others' works. The fabled Scribner's editor of old, Max Perkins, who brought some of their best out of Scott Fitzgerald, Hemingway, James Jones, Marjorie Kennan Rawlings, etc. etc., never wrote a book.

I'll say this: If you want to read a book on screenplays and put it down with the feeling you're ready to roll, don't bother with anybody's book on the subject. But if you really want to learn, if you have the requisite creativity -- AND gritty energy -- you'll get your money's worth from Syd Field's "Screenplay."

Also, his "Four Screenplays" has been very helpful to me. Field has a way of reinforcing things by saying them a different way, in a different setting. I really didn't get his advice to "get into a scene late and get out early" until I read this book. And didn't he pick some dandies? "Thelma and Louise" and "The Silence of the Lambs" are the two I studied most diligently, and what a ride it's been. Two great, great movies, to my mind, both demonstrating what Syd Field repeatedy shows us are important elements of fine screenplays.

One other thing, Field's coaching has put a tiny new edge on my writing skills as regards books, too, a benefit he probably didn't expect a writer would obtain.

Start here . . .
Syd Field's SCREENPLAY is a great book for a beginner. The author takes the reader through the basic steps of writing a screenplay, from the first idea to fleshing out the characters to the structure of the entire piece. He explains what a set-up is (and what it needs to be) and tips for beginning and ending the screenplay, two of the more difficult tasks a writer will face. Perhaps most importantly for those who have never written a script before, he devotes a chapter to the screenplay format, showing indentation and capitalization rules, defining terms used within the script, and explaining abbreviations.

Novices to the form should start with this book before moving to more advanced books. I also recommend studying actual professional screenplays in their entirety.

I'll admit it's a good idea to read this book, but...
Screenplay is a fine book, in a sense, simply because it has achieved such popularity that it has affected what studios expect from spec screenplays. A lot of it still holds true: most screenplays seem to have a "three act structure", whether or not the writer was thinking in these terms; most screenplays are very formulaic and created with buzzwords and phrases like "less black per page" and "show don't tell" in mind... Basically, most people want an easy paint-by-numbers approach to screenwriting. And all too often the paint-by-numbers crowd gets something produced (thankfully, most of them fail).

The problem with this book is that the "Syd Field paradigm" isn't such a hot thing anymore. Movies such as Pulp Fiction, LA Confidential, and Unforgiven, to name a few, have shown us and Hollwood that story is much more important than structure. The other major problem is that many suggestions within the book will get your work rejected at a glance. For instance, Syd Field basically suggests that we "direct on the page" when he advises occasional references to camera angles, reverses, POV, and close-ups in the slug line. Bad idea.

I found this book interesting but creatively stifling and a bit misleading. The author has his heart in the right place but seems a bit too sure of his theories.

Story and creativity are much more important than structure. The best way to tell if you're "on track" with your story is to ask yourself, "Do I like this?" Don't ask yourself, "How can I get Act One to end on page 27?"