Writing Movies: the Practical Guide to Creating Stellar Screenplays

To break into the screenwriting game, you need a screenplay that is not just good, but great. Superlative. Stellar. Writing Movies provides everything you need to know to reach this level. In a single book. And, like the very best teachers, Writing Movies is always practical, accessible, and entertaining. Inside you'll find: Explanations of the fundamental elements of screenwriting craft (plot, character, scenes, etc.); insight into such crucial (but seldom discussed) topics as description, voice, tone, and theme; analysis of five brilliant screenplays--Die Hard, Thelma & Louise, Tootsie, Sideways, and The Shawshank Redemption; strategies for breaking into the business; a guide to screenwriting format; assignments that strengthen your command of screenwriting craft; step-by-step tasks that take you from rough idea to polished script; and tie-ins to supplementary material at the book's website. Written by Gotham Writers' Workshop expert instructors and edited by Dean of Faculty Alexander Steele, Writing Movies offers the same methods and exercises that have earned the school international acclaim.