This unique, comprehensive introduction to screenwriting offers practical advice for the beginning writer, whether college student or freelancer. Based on their experience as professional writers and as teachers in a large, successful screenwriting program at California State University, Northridge, the authors provide a progression of assignments at manageable screenwriting lengths for beginners. They lead students through development of a premise, treatment, stepsheet, and, finally, mini...

Heart of Darkness (1899) is a novella by Polish-British novelist Joseph Conrad, about a voyage up the Congo River into the Congo Free State, in the heart of Africa, by the story's narrator Charles Marlow. Marlow tells his story to friends aboard a boat anchored on the River Thames, London, England. This setting provides the frame for Marlow's story of his obsession with the ivory trader Kurtz, which enables Conrad to create a parallel between London and Africa as places of darkness. Centra...

When Magizoologist Newt Scamander arrives in New York, he intends his stay to be just a brief stopover. However, when his magical case is misplaced and some of Newt's fantastic beasts escape, it spells trouble for everyone...Inspired by the original Hogwart's textbook by Newt Scamander, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original screenplay marks the screenwriting debut of J.K. Rowling, author of the beloved and internationally bestselling Harry Potter books. A feat of im...

In one volume, the screenplays to two contemporary classics, directed by Richard Linklater, and starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, about the immediate and life-altering attraction between two strangers.On a train from Budapest to Vienna, Jesse, a young American student, at the end of a romance and his European trip, meets Celine, a young French woman. They are immediately attracted. Despite knowing this may be the only time they will see each other, in the next few hours in the ...

From the Academy Award-nominated screenwriter and playwright: an exhilaratingly subversive inside look at Hollywood from a filmmaker who’s always played by his own rules.Who really reads the scripts at the film studios? How is a screenplay like a personals ad? Why are there so many producers listed in movie credits? And what on earth do those producers do anyway? Refreshingly unafraid to offend, Mamet provides hilarious, surprising, and refreshingly forthright answers to these and ...

The first screenplay by the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Road tells the saga of rival families in post-Civil War South Carolina.Set in Graniteville, South Carolina, The Gardener's Son is a tale of privilege and hardship, animosity and vengeance. The McEvoys, a poor family beset by misfortune, must work in the cotton mill owned by the Greggs. But when Robert McEvoy loses his leg in an accident—rumored to have been caused by his nemesis, Jame...

Hollywood's premier teacher of screenwriting shares the secrets of writing and selling successful screenplays in this perfect gift for aspiring screenwriters.Anyone fortunate enough to win a seat in Professor Richard Walter's legendary class at UCLA film school can be confident their career has just taken a quantum leap forward. His students have written more than ten projects for Steven Spielberg alone, plus hundreds of other Hollywood blockbusters and prestigious...

Conquer Act Two. Complete Your Story in Less Time--and with Less FrustrationIf you’re like me, you know how your screenplay or novel* is going to start and end. Maybe not the exact image or line, but you’ve got a rough idea of what you’re going to write. So you begin writing your story with lots of enthusiasm...until you reach the middle, aka Act Two.That’s where you get stuck. Suddenly, all of your enthusiasm evaporates. Blank pages are scary in general. B...

Want to know how to sell an award-winning screenplay and earn millions of dollars doing it? The mystical secrets contained in this book may or may not help you. Why don't you just drink some liquid courage and download already? If it's not for you, you would have only wasted approximately 15 minutes of your "busy" life.

This ultimate insider’s guide to selling a screenplay shows you how to crack open today’s movie and television markets.“An informative, engaging look at the inside of the dream factory. This is a terrific aid for screenwriters who are trying to gain insight into the Hollywood system.”—David Kirkpatrick, producer, former head of Paramount PicturesEverybody has a story to tell. Everybody wants to write the great American screenplay. But what ...

Ever gotten stuck when working on the middle of your story?Ever labeled your story middle as saggy? Draggy? A creativity-draining slog?You’re not alone.Even big-name writers have trouble with the middle.Writers like John Grisham (“[it] has to hold up and not run out of gas”) and Jim Butcher (“the middle of books is HARD, especially for beginning writers”).The worst part: When you’re so stuck that it feels like your writing wheels are...

Conflict is the very heart and soul of drama, and Smith's latest work explores character conflict and the various ways to portray it both in scripts and on the stage.