William Goldman: Four Screenplays with Essays

Book Description

Marathon Man, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Princess Bride, Misery. Author royalties donated to the Motion Picture and Television Fund.

Customer Reviews:

Esential reading for all aspiring writers.......2002-09-29

Most people have seen these four films. Far fewer have read the screenplays. Because of the diversity of the material and the quality of the writing, this book is truly essential to all writers, especially those who want to write for the screen. Goldman's screenplays are unique. In effect, he has invented his own screen language. He's that rare beast, a screenwriter who cares about style.
Prepare to be thrilled and inspired.

Great for fans of screenplays and of The Princess Bride.......2001-02-06

Well, I've always enjoyed reading screenplays. In addition, I've loved The Princess Bride since I first saw it. I also loved Misery. However, I hadn't seen Butch Cassidy yet. Reading the screenplay made it mandatory.

Goldman's comments about the movies are a wonderful addition to the screenplays. I highly recommend this book.

Wonderful companion guide to four great films.......1998-04-20

An enthusiastic 'thumbs-up' to William Goldman for including four essays to accompany his wonderful screenplays.

If you wonder why the author chose the idea of using the grandfather as the storyteller in the "Princess Bride" or how beloved Andre the Giant was on the set of the film then this book is a must-read.

Want to know which major scene with Kathy Bates in "Misery" was changed over the objections of the screenwriter? It's all here, colorfully annotated by the author in his essays that preface each screenplay.

Book Description

In a field being transformed by technology, Syd Field shows you what works and why and how to find new ways to create a truly outstanding film using four extraordinary examples: Thelma & Louise, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, The Silence Of The Lambs, and Dances With Wolves.

Customer Reviews:

Learning to write but also learning to ferociously edit your work.......2007-03-25

I think what throws everyone off is that they think they can learn the creative process of writing from Syd Field. I don't think you can. In my mind writing is two activities. Learning to create/write (which is not something you are going to learn from any of syd field's books) and learning to edit your work into a format where it makes sense and you can edit it. He comes entirely from the perspective of an editor. The problem is that he's marketing his services to people who are writing, and if you read all the complaints they are people who aren't getting what they need on the creating end of the deal. I think if you buy his books keep in mind that is only for the editing part. A lot of writers don't like the editing part, but it is necessary. I also write poetry for instance, and there are so many poets who just create and never edit what they do, and they just leave it like they created it but it isn't fine tuned. It's not like a snapshot. All Mr. Field is really trying to say is that there are firm rules by which this process operates and they expect to see x happen on y page, or back it goes. That's an important thing to keep in mind, and I'm thankful he's shared his perspective. Even if a person may not like him, that doesn't matter. He offers an important perspective, and without it a lot of writers wouldn't have the firm guidelines that they need. They need to know the rules. i don't think we like rules, but it's good to know what they are. Like it or not. Hopefully that clarifies things a little. For the creating part get books from someone else, for the editing part, Mr. Fields books are helpful.

don't be fooled.......2003-01-02

The reason Mr. Field uses other writers' screenplays as examples is basically because he doesn't know how to write a screenplay himself. Considering that, how can anyone take this guy seriously? This type of so-called advice will only fill your head with bad ideas and ruin you for years to come. Instead, I suggest, you look up writer/directors like Joe Carnahan and find out how they did it and what they have to say. Listen to talented and accomplished filmmakers who are actually doing it (and then devise your own system), but stay away from guys like Syd Field who has never written anything that was produced. I truly believe this guy's misguided advice will only derail and hurt the novice movie writer.

Disappointing.......2002-04-11

...The main thing that bugs me about Syd Field is that he writes from the point of view of the story editor, not of the screenwriter. He focuses on how to evaluate, not on how to create. Which is fine, but not how his books are marketed, and not what i'm looking for.

I'm a novice screenwriter, just starting my first screenplay. I've read a number of books, including Keane, Field, and Trottier and found little new or interesting here. Field even repeats a fair bit from his other books, rather than showing how his other books principles would apply. What little there was might be marginally helpful if I want to be a story critic, but not at all helpful if i want to write and create.

He basically gives a rehash of plot and shows some scenes intended to illustrate principles. Since I've seen all the movies, about 60% of what he writes is redundant. His example of showing good screenwriting were simplistic and his analysis of why it works were, from my view, just plain wrong.

Look at Trottier's book for a better example of how to create a scene using the good screenwriting principles, and as a better example of why a scene was created the way it was.

A good second semester with Syd Field.......2000-01-29

There is a huge gulf between writing books and screenplays. Books must paint mental pictures, where movies ARE pictures, usually accompanied by dialog. "Usually," I said, because I saw a fine feature movie in Zurich once that had no dialog. Background sounds were there, and it wasn't until halfway through that the absence of dialog dawned on me. The movie was made for viewing by audiences of any language.

Field handles the subject of screen writing visually. His book "Screenplay" was immensely helpful to me, even if I did have to get darned serious with it and plow through it several times. But, describing the elements of good screen writing is, after all, much more complex than explaining in words how to make a tasty stew.

The stew recipe could be followed by most anybody and the result would likely be okay, but Field's subject is much more complex and subjective. Nevertheless, anyone who pays attention and will apply themselves can benefit from this book, and from "Screenplay" as well.

Many readers of books on writing will never write anything, but this one has a side benefit for those who sort of want to write but won't: It's a movie-appreciation course, too. I saw "Thelma and Louise" (one of the 4 studied here) years ago, liked it, then left it alone. Working through Field's books over and over required that I watch this fine movie again. Gosh, Susan and Geena, I hardly even knew 'ya. Another once was not enough -- now I've seen "Thelma and Louise" a dozen times and never tire of it. Not only is it a splendid "how-to" on script writing, it's a wonderful movie adventure.

Field preaches that we should enter scenes late and exit early. That's demonstrated again and again in "Thelma and Louise". He stresses that, because movies are visual, don't insert dialog when an expression or body language will do. After Thelma talks to Darryl for the last time ever, it's evident that she has cut the cord with him (about time, too). Up to now she hasn't agreed to go with Louise to Mexico, but after answering Louise's question: "So, what did Darryl have to say," Thelma asks matter-of-factly, "So when to we get to goddam Mexico?" Louise's response is a small, complacent smile. 'Nuff said.

There's a lot here if you're serious about screenwriting. Thanks, Syd. You've been a big, big help to me, and I appreciate it.

This book opens your mind up........1998-08-27

Syd field gives a very in depth look into what a screenplay is. He has such knowledge and he makes me look at scripts more. The script is more than just what we see on screen.

Four More Screenplays by Preston Sturges

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Preston Sturges' Screenplays
Three Fine Comedies and One Odd Misfire
Great comedy films

Four More Screenplays by Preston Sturges
Preston Sturges
Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0520203658

Book Description

Includes The Palm Beach Story, Triumph over Pain/The Great Moment, The Miracle at Morgan's Creek, and Unfaithfully Yours.
Humorous, sophisticated, and superbly crafted, the cinema of Preston Sturges maintains an enduring presence in the small canon of films that enjoy critical acclaim, scholarly attention, and popular admiration. Following the enthusiastic reception of Five Screenplays by Preston Sturges, the University of California Press returns with Four More.
This volume contains three scripts widely regarded as among the filmmaker's best: The Palm Beach Story, The Miracle of Morgan's Creek, and Unfaithfully Yours. Based on the actual shooting scripts rather than the final screen versions, these screenplays contain scenes that were not filmed or that disappeared on the cutting room floor.
In the fourth script, Triumph over Pain/The Great Moment, Sturges dramatizes the career of W.T.G. Morton, the doctor who first demonstrated the use of ether and thus revolutionized surgery. Arguably the most important biographical film project of the 1940s, this film was recut and rearranged by Paramount before it was released. By reprinting Sturges's original script and explaining its transformation, Brian Henderson has, in effect, discovered a new work by Sturges.
In the introductions that precede each screenplay, Henderson examines every important aspect of the screenplay's composition. He analyzes Sturges's process of constant revision, discusses variant drafts and fragments of drafts, and describes the writer/director's relations with Paramount executives, the Church, the Hayes Office, and Darryl Zanuck.
Alone or as a companion to the earlier volume, this work will be welcomed by scholars, film buffs, screenplay writers, and admirers of Preston Sturges.

Customer Reviews:

Preston Sturges' Screenplays.......2006-12-05

This book is a wonderful compilation of Preston Sturges' screenplays.
It's very good for all who love the great director.

Three Fine Comedies and One Odd Misfire.......2005-11-26

This volume contains some of Sturges' best work, including the immortal comedy The Miracle of Morgan's Creek, together with The Palm Beach Story and Unfaithfully Yours. Five stars for The Miracle of Morgan's Creek, perhaps the funniest, most subversive movie of the 1940's.

The biggest curiosity here, though, is Sturges' script for his odd dental-anesthesia biopic The Great Moment. This film was heavily altered by the studio prior to its release. Sturges' original script would probably have been a better picture, but it's hard to imagine this project succeeding in any case.

Great comedy films.......2001-11-23

Contains the screenplay for "The Miracle of Morgan's Creek" (to my taste, the most hilarious film of all time). When I worked as a cataloger at Newport Public Library, I constantly told my co-workers that I thought Preston Sturges wrote better dialogue than Shakespeare. I could prune lines from "Hamlet," but I couldn't cut a single line from "The Miracle of Morgan's Creek."

Four Weddings and a Funeral: The Screenplay for the Smash Hit Comedy

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A screenplay book that's as much fun as the film!

Four Weddings and a Funeral: The Screenplay for the Smash Hit Comedy
Richard Curtis
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Griffin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0312143400

Book Description

The hilarious, Academy Award-nominated screenplay that features six old friends, three disastrous receptions, a tongue-tied priest, and the role that made Hugh Grant the world's favorite bumbling bachelor.Toasted by romantics and cynics, critics and fans, Four Weddings and a Funeral grossed more than $250 million worldwide, garnered Academy Award nominations for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay, and was unanimously pronounced the romantic comedy of the 90s.Richard Curtis's smart, irreverent, and brilliantly crafted screenplay will delight fans of the movie, as well as screenwriters and film students. From the first spoken line to the last ("I do"), it's a jubilant celebration of friendship, romance, and good humor.

Customer Reviews:

A screenplay book that's as much fun as the film!.......2000-04-01

I bought this book shortly after reading the screenplay of Notting Hill(also by Mr. Curtis and another beautiful volume). This book is fully worth reading, whether you are a fan of the film, the genre of romantic comedy, and even if you wish to learn the ins and outs of filmmaking. That said, the bonus sections, especially the scenes cut from the film, make this book more than just a "companion" piece and frankly, are the bits I keep going back to.

Customer Reviews:

Great plays, great films.......2002-01-20

Contains English translations of the screenplays for Smiles of a Summer Night (1955), The Seventh Seal (1957), Wild Strawberries (1957), and The Magician (1958). Obviously, all four plays date around the same time period, a crucial coming-to-being turning point in the career of, almost inarguably, the greatest film-maker of all time. Also included is an introductory conversation exerpt by Bergman on film-making and a Preface by producer Carl Anders Dymling. The book I own was put out by Clarion, a division of Simon & Schuster: Books by the same title have been published, I believe, under the same name by different publishers, and I can't be sure as to the content or arrangement of them.

What strikes me most about Bergman's screenplays is the tremendous literary value of them, aside from their being an invaluable supplementary resource to the films. Reading the screenplays, one learns to catch the more subtle pieces of the films, sees the parts that were meant to be emphasized, the parts left out, and can examine closer the dialogue and events to extract their meanings. The Seventh Seal and Wild Strawberries, of course, are universally regarded as milestones and alone make the book a worthy purchase; but I find most refreshing the addition of the Magician, an overlooked favorite of mine that has always seemed to me a great precursor to Tarkovsky. Even if you don't have the films or haven't seen them, however, Bergman's screenplays stand well enough on their own and deserve to be in any library of literature.

Book Description

"This is real theatre in the real sense of the word: eternal and universal."-World Literature Today

"Deeply moving, forceful, remarkable."-Detroit Jewish News

"I applaud the publication of this collection."-Jewish Currents

Book Description

Rob Ryder made that pledge to his wife, and he was determined to stick to it. As technical consultant on blockbuster sports films, he had seen up close how the film business works and what kind of chaos can, and usually does, ensue. And now he was ready to take it on!

Hollywood Jock is the suspenseful, dramatic, outrageous, and honest true story of the year when Rob Ryder, screenwriter, laid it all on the line -- and kicked, scratched, wheeled, dealed, and fought like hell to hit the Tinseltown big time. It is a chronicle of schmoozing producers, shopping screenplays, corralling sports legends, and dodging irate actors -- a fascinating perspective on the highs, the very lows, and the behind-the-scenes madness that makes the world of Hollywood so endlessly compelling . . . and infamously brutal.

Customer Reviews:

wonderful book.......2007-05-07

I LOVED THIS BOOK! All right, so the author went to Princeton, where he played on the basketball team. We won't hold that against him, especially since the team he played on almost beat #1UCLA in the NCAA's(lost by a point.) Perhaps that near victory prepared him for life as a Hollywood screenwriter, where he suffers the "plight of intermittent reinforcement": every once in a while he'll get a rat's pellet of reward, just enough to keep him "bashing his head into a cinder-block wall."

See the way I'm quoting the author? This is the kind of book where you underline all the time. (Mine is NOT a library copy, I own it.) Some samples:
Comparing how men and women cross a dance floor differently when they're drunk. A man will "do these flanking motions, like a sailboat tacking upwind, stumbling left...then heading back right, like you improve your odds of finding your destination by covering more territory somehow..." A woman will cross "like she's on a mission, walking that straight line.. putting one foot in front of the other, steps short and quick, knowing as long as she keeps leaning forward and staying focused she's gonna finally get there."
Or his example of "due diligence:" "When people are young, they sleep together before getting married to find out how good the sex is gonna be. Second time around, it's to find out how bad's the snoring. Due diligence."
Quoting a teacher friend of his: "Moviemaking is the slow disintegration of a good idea."
Quoting another friend's mother: "Closed mouths don't get fed."
Quoting a doctor on why his friend developed a lump in his scrotum (non-malignant--this book is for laughs, not for downers): "Forget firefighters, forget steelworkers. Writing's the worst--high stress, constant rejection, alcoholism, drug abuse, heart disease, phlebitis, self-contempt, you name it, plus you sit around on your balls all day."

Part of the book is based on columns the author wrote for espn.com. That means he writes short, snappy chapters, which make it an easy read. He also puts in web addresses that will help writers and others with their work. And he's not afraid to personalize the book, be it his relationship with his wife (Where did he find such an angel?!), his sons, or his genuine feelings about our troops in Iraq (sadly, though the book chronicles the year 2005, the troops are still there.) But mainly it's funny. Who knew watching some other guy face constant rejection could be so entertaining?

Finally, Ryder actually had me hooked so much that I HAD TO KNOW what happened to the one screenplay he finally managed to sell. What's the exciting climax? I won't tell you, because you'll have such a great time finding out yourself. You'll also learn a whole lot about the in's and out's of the screen trade, viewed through the lens of a sports consultant, but, most enjoyably, as seen through the eyes of a sensitive, funny, compassionate writer who's been there, done that. If you're anything like me, once you've finished this book, you'll quickly give it to someone you care about so they can love it, too.

Hollywood Jock is worth a read.......2006-10-29

Hollywood Jock is an easy read, filled with the amusing adventures that Ryder has encountered in his quest to write screenplays of interest in Hollywood. Anyone even remotely interested in sports and show business will find the book entertaining and funny. This book seems like a natural premise for a TV sitcom. Maybe Ryder will get lucky and HBO will agree.

Most honest book about the Hollywood writer experience.......2006-10-23

This book is a gem!

HOLLYWOOD JOCK should be mandatory reading in every college Screenwriting class. Every starry-eyed writer heading to Los Angeles needs to know what to expect, and Rob Ryder's experience is what so many LA scriptwriters confront. Had I read Ryder's eloquent book before spending my dozen years in Hollywood, I would at least have been prepared for the experience.

What's most instructive is that Ryder has such a masterful command of both story and prose -- and deep insight into sport. His so his insider story of how Hollywood actually works at the script level helps explain why we see so few quality studio films.

But most of all, HOLLYWOOD JOCK is simply a crackling great read, whether or not you plan to be a Hollywood writer. It's the real deal about Hollywood, and it's about time someone told that story and so well. Kudos to Rob Ryder!

Hollywood Jock Scores With Readers.......2006-07-06

Hollywood Jock is the kind of book that needed to be written. Most other books are by better known screenwriters that only highlight the ups of their careers, while Hollywood Jock reviews it all. At times you just wish someone would drop some money into his lap to see what he can do, and by the end you're surfing the net finding out what he's up to now. If you're intrested in movies and the people behind the camera, pick up this book. If you don't care at all, still, read this book. The stories alone are worth the read.

Wild, uneven ride into Hollywood weirdness.......2006-07-06

If "Hollywood Jock" were a movie, the log line would run: "A sports-mad writer gets a shot at redemption when his wife gives him a year to sell a project to Hollywood."

This book collects the 34 "Hollywood Jock" columns written wrote for ESPN.com, and another 19 that continues the story of Rob Ryder, Hollywood Hustler. We follow him as he tries to sell anyone he can get ahold of on the merits of scripts such as "Zulu Wave," about a black surfer in apartheid-era South Africa, "94 Feet of Hell" that takes you inside a fictional college basketball game; and businesses such as a 4-on-4 summer pro basketball league. He's calls on agents for pro athletes who want to get into producing, directors he has worked with (such as Rob Shelton, who directed "Bull Durham" and "Tin Cup"), production companies, money managers, agents, anyone who knows anyone with two cents to rub together who might be able to get a movie launched.

When he's telling his war stories, Ryder is a genial companion, and you can sympathize with his struggles to get his projects off the ground.

But "Hollywood Jock" is also a mess, a shapeless diary that's as chaotic as the way Hollywood puts together movies. The "wife gives him a year to make good" conceit holds no drama or emotion -- and once he loses his paying gig at ESPN.com, the chapters move away from the look at Hollywood and pro sports and becomes a recitation of e-mails, meetings, appointments and cancellations, writing sessions and what Elmore Leonard would call stuff readers would skip over.

If you can handle that, "Hollywood Jock" is a good example of how Hollywood works and how it doesn't.

Four Plays (Penguin Plays & Screenplays)

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Four Plays (Penguin Plays & Screenplays)
Peter Shaffer
Manufacturer: Penguin Books Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0140481591

Four Plays by Charabanc Theatre Company: Reinventing Woman's Work

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Four Plays by Charabanc Theatre Company: Reinventing Woman's Work

Manufacturer: A Colin Smythe Publication
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0861404386

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Clair: Four Screenplays
Rene Clair
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0670224898

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