The Tools of Screenwriting: A Writer's Guide to the Craft and Elements of a Screenplay

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0312119089 ISBN 13: 9780312119089

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin, 1995

In The Tools of Screenwriting, David Howard and Edward Mabley illuminate the essential elements of cinematic storytelling, and reveal the central principles that all good screenplays share. The authors address questions of dramatic structure, plot, dialogue, character development, setting, imagery, and other crucial topics as they apply to the special art of filmmaking.

Howard and Mabley also demonstrate how, on a practical level, the tools of screenwriting work in sixteen notable films, including Citizen Cane, E.T., One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Rashomon, The Godfather, North by Northwest, Chinatown, and sex, lies, and videotape.

Review:

A comprehensive guide to writing screenplays by an experienced screenwriter and a respected writing teacher. Along with sections on the sreenwriter's craft, basic storytelling, and the parts and objectives of a screenplay, the book is distinguished by detailed analyses of sixteen successful films' screenplays, including the likes of E.T., Some Like It Hot, North by Northwest, Citizen Kane, and Annie Hall.

From the Back Cover:

Screenwriting is the art of telling stories dramatically - and it can be learned. Although there is no standard formula for writing a screenplay, there are central principles that all good screenplays share. In The Tools of screenwriting, the authors illuminate the essential elements of cinematic storytelling. These elements are guideposts for the aspiring screenwriter, and they can be used in different ways to accomplish a variety of ends. Questions of dramatic structure, plot, dialogue, character development, setting, imagery, and other crucial topics are discussed as they apply to the special art of filmmaking. The authors demonstrate how the tools of screenwriting work in sixteen notable films, including Citizen Kane, E.T., One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Rashomon, The Godfather, North by Northwest, Chinatown, and sex, lies, and videotape. in the analyses of these films, the reader will discover the common elements of compelling screen stories. The Tools of Screen writing is an essential book for anyone who wants to write a script that will be filmed.