FRIDAY'S SCRIPT TIP:

CHA-CHA-CHANGES!

You can't judge a script by its movie.

Brilliant scripts get shredded every day, it's just the way the biz works. You think most of what you see on the big screen is junk? You wonder why they bought that crappy script? Heck, it was probably a GREAT script when they bought it. So how does a good script go bad... and why? If the producer liked the script enough to buy it for $3 million in the first place, why change it? Why ruin it?

Let's take it step by step.

1) Joe Producer reads this new script by Will Shakespeare called ROMEO & JULIET and loves it. There's romance, action, family drama, and that amazing double twist ending! He buys Will's script for $250,000 against $750,000 - that's 3/4 of a million bucks! He takes it to the studio to get financing. The studio says: "We love this script! We want to 'fast track' it... But downer endings don't test well. We can't give you the production budget unless Romeo and Juliet live happily ever after at the end." Now the producer has a choice between shelving Will's script and taking a loss, or having Will rewrite the end and having the studio put the film on the release schedule for next year and start casting the leads.

When Will sold the script for $250k against $750k, that deal included two rewrites and a polish. So included in Will's first set of rewrite notes is "happy ending"... and Will is expected to make those changes. It's part of that contract Will signed, and getting the full $250k (plus the $500k production bonus) depends on Will doing the required rewrites. Will makes a tough choice, and Romeo and Juliet live happily ever after.

2) The studio tries to find a bankable star to play Romeo. Though Will's dream may be to find a great unknown actor who really fits the role, the studio realizes the audience pays their $10 before they've seen the movie... and a big incentive to pay for that ticket is a star in the lead. If you have a choice between seeing a movie starring some unknown, or your favorite actor, which would YOU see? The studio needs a name in the lead - any name - or the whole project is dead on arrival.

So the script goes out to potential Romeos. Leo's agent gets a copy, and Brad's agent gets a copy, and Ryan Phillipe gets a copy, that kid from FAST & FURIOUS: TOKYO DRIFT gets a copy, and so does anybody else in Hollywood who "can open a movie" (get a bunch of people to pay for tickets just based on their name)... Hey, even Chris Tucker gets a copy! One problem with this Romeo character is that he's young, and there are very few young movie stars. Sean William Scott was in DUDE, WHERE'S MY CAR and both of the AMERICAN PIE movies... but can you see him as Romeo? Plus, he's, like, thirty! Who are the 20 year old male stars who can open a movie?

Well, Brad and Leo and Ryan and even Sean are booked, but there's a big name star who is interested in changing his image, and thinks playing Romeo might help. Ah-nuld is interested. VERY interested - he's not a Governor anymore. And Ah-nuld is still on the studio's list of approved stars - he may cost $25 million, but his films are almost always hits. Ah-nuld is money in the bank... even if he is a little old for the part. So they hire Ah-nuld as Romeo, and Will's next rewrite changes Romeo and Juliet from teens to "star age" (mid- thirties to mid-forties, even though Ah-nuld is mid-sixties).

But Ah-nuld wants more action, less love. The story is about two families at war, right? Why can't he kick ass? Why can't he fire machine guns and jump out of helicopters? Instead of the conflict between families being mostly off screen, why not make it mostly on screen? Wouldn't that be more exciting, not to mention: more what the fans expect from an Ah-nuld movie?

An-nuld wants the producer to hire Walon Green to add action stuff. Will Shakespeare is fired (he'll never get all of his $250k - unless he had a great agent that had him paid full amount no matter what) and Walon (WILD BUNCH) Green is hired.

Romeo is now more like Rambo.

3) Next they need to find a director that both the studio, Ah-nuld, and Joe Producer can agree upon. After dozens of meetings, they decide on Chuck Russell (THE MASK, ERASER).

Now Chuck likes FX movies - he began working on horror and sci-fi movies like DREAMSCAPE and the remake of THE BLOB and is known for his use of special effects. So he wants a rewrite of ROMEO & JULIET that features a handful of fantastic cutting edge FX scenes. "What if we re-thought the whole thing? What if Juliet was an alien? What if this was like INDEPENDENCE DAY... but a love story?"

Chuck has Walon write a new sci-fi version of the script, but isn't completely satisfied with they way it turns out. He lets Walon go and writes his own version of the script...

The studio isn't sure of this new draft. They like the alien thing, but they want to make sure the script is REALLY great. They want an "A list writer" to do a draft, so that they're sure the script is of high quality. Now, you and I might just be able to read a script to tell if it's any good, but producers may never actually read the script - they might just read coverage. Even if they did read the script, they may not know the difference between a good script and a bad script... even though you might think that's a basic part of their job. So a producer will hire a brand name writer, known for quality, to make sure the script is good. Everyone talks it over, and they agree to hire Frank Darabont (Chuck's buddy) to do a rewrite.

4) The studio loves the new Darabont draft (even though nobody has actually read it) but Ah-nuld is worried about his dialogue. All actors are worried about their dialogue, but stars are really worried. Romeo in the Darabont draft doesn't sound like Ah-nuld, he sounds like someone who wears frilly shirts. You'd never catch Ah-nuld in a frilly shirt - his audience would never come to see him if he was in a frilly shirt movie! So Ah-nuld gets the studio to hire Steven DeSouza to punch up the dialogue - give Ah-nuld those one-liners he's famous for like "Stick around" after he stabs a Capulet or a Montague or whatever. The Darabont script with the new DeSouza dialogue revisions is approved by everyone (basically, if Ah-nuld's happy, everyone else is happy).

5) Now they look for an alien Juliet... and get Sharon Stone. She's trying to restart her career after BASIC INSTINCT 2 flopped, and she worked with Ah-nuld in TOTAL RECALL. Everybody thinks Sharon + Ah-nuld = Big Hit. But Sharon thinks Juliet's dialogue isn't realistic or edgy enough - so she brings in Barbara Benedek to work on her dialogue. Juliet becomes a "no make up role" for Stone - a chance to show that she can act. Barbara rewrites the role to be raw, dangerous, edgy. This is an alien woman that sleeps with a the wrong man - a man her family hates - and she falls for him. Even though she knows that loving this guy may cause a war of the worlds, she still falls for him. Falls hard. The new draft of Shakespeare's script, rewritten by Walon Green and Chuck Russell and Frank Darabont and Steven DeSouza and Barbara Benedict and maybe a handful of other writers is ready to shoot, except for one little problem...

6) The film has been delayed so long, they lose Chuck Russell to THE MASK 3 (Eric Stoltz AND Jim Carrey!). They scramble to find another director and end up with veteran Bill Friedkin (THE EXORCIST, THE HUNTED). Friedkin DEMANDS Robert DeNiro play one of those Montagues-from-outer-space. The studio doesn't argue with him because they are going to end up with a movie that stars Ah-nuld and Sharon Stone and Robert DeNiro (TOTAL RECALL meets CASINO?).

7) You know how actors are concerned about their dialogue? DeNiro brings in David Mamet to rewrite his dialogue, but Mamet rewrites ALL of the dialogue... Aliens are using the F-word like it's going out of style and speaking in two word sentences.

8) On and on into the night. Each person hired brings in a screenwriter who completely changes the character, story, and plot of the script. When the film finally gets made, it has been 'improved' so much that it no longer resemble the script that Shakespeare guy wrote that everybody loved. It might even suck... but they've spent so much money on the project, and the film is ready to shoot - so they film a script that everyone might agree is crappy before the money floats away.

Then we pay $10 to see it and wonder why Hollywood makes crap like this.

Now here's OUR problem as screenwriters: We can't write the crappy script that ROMEO & JULIET ends up as... we have to write the brilliant script that it started out as. You can't judge a script by the movie they make of it. Our scripts have to be good enough so that even when they run them through the big sausage machine of Hollywood what comes out is something people might want to eat - something they'd pay $10 to see and think was okay. That's the hard part!

Note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases made from this website.

BRAND NEW!

How Do I do That?

101 SCREENWRITING ANSWERS Blue Book!

New to screenwriting? You probably have questions! How do I get an Agent? How do I write a phone conversation? Do I need a Mentor? What’s does VO and OC and OS mean? What is proper screenplay format? Should I use a pen name? Do I need to movie to Hollywood? What’s the difference between a Producer and a Production Manager, and which should I sell my script to? How do I write a Text Message? Should I Copyright or WGA register my script? Can I Direct or Star? How do I write an Improvised scene? Overcoming Writer’s Block? How do I write a Sex Scene? And many many more! This book has the answers to the 101 Most Asked Questions from new screenwriters! Plus a Glossary of terms so that you can sound like a pro! Everything you need to know to begin writing your screenplay!

All of the answers you need to know, from a working professional screenwriter with 20 produced films and a new movie made for a major streaming service in 2023! 

Only $4.99

NO KINDLE REQUIRED! Get the *free* app (any device, except your Mr. Coffee) on the order page on Amazon!

Making Your Own Movie?

WRITE IT: FILM IT BOOK!

Making Your Own Movie?
Writing An Indie Film?
Writing A Low Budget Genre Script To Sell?
Writing A Made For TV Holiday Movie?

You will be writing for BUDGET. On a standard spec screenplay, you don’t have to think about budget, but these types of screenplays writing with budget in mind is critical!

If you are making your own movie, budget, is even more important - and you need to think about budget *before* you write your screenplay... or you will end up with a script that you can’t afford to make (or is a struggle to make). Everyone is making their own films these days, and even if you have done it before there are lots of great techniques in this book to get more money on screen - for less money! You can make a film that looks like it cost millions for pocket change.

344 Pages - ONLY: $7.99!

THE BOOK THAT STARTED IT ALL!

*** THE SECRETS OF ACTION SCREENWRITING *** - For Kindle!

*** THE SECRETS OF ACTION SCREENWRITING *** - For Nook!

Why pay $510 for a used version of the 240 page 2000 version that used to retail for $21.95? (check it out!) when you can get the NEW EXPANDED VERSION - over 500 pages - for just $9.99? New chapters, New examples, New techniques!

"SECRETS OF ACTION SCREENWRITING is the best book on the practical nuts-and-bolts mechanics of writing a screenplay I've ever read." - Ted Elliott, co-writer of MASK OF ZORRO, SHREK, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN and the sequels (with Terry Rossio). (ie; 4 of the top 20 Box Office Hits Of ALL TIME.)

Only $9.99 - and no postage!

Tips FAQ

THE BLUE BOOKS!

FIND A GREAT IDEA!

*** YOUR IDEA MACHINE ***

Expanded version with more ways to find great ideas! Your screenplay is going to begin with an idea. There are good ideas and bad ideas and commercial ideas and personal ideas. But where do you find ideas in the first place? This handbook explores different methods for finding or generating ideas, and combining those ideas into concepts that sell. The Idea Bank, Fifteen Places To Find Ideas, Good Ideas And Bad Ideas, Ideas From Locations And Elements, Keeping Track Of Your Ideas, Idea Theft - What Can You Do? Weird Ways To Connect Ideas, Combing Ideas To Create Concepts, High Concepts - What Are They? Creating The Killer Concept, Substitution - Lion Tamers & Hitmen, Creating Blockbuster Concepts, Magnification And The Matrix, Conflict Within Concept, Concepts With Visual Conflict, Avoiding Episodic Concepts, much more! Print version is 48 pages, Kindle version is over 175 pages!

Only $4.99 - Kindle Version

FIGURE OUT YOUR STORY!

*** OUTLINES & THE THEMATIC ***

Your story is like a road trip... but where are you going? What's the best route to get there? What are the best sights to see along the way? Just as you plan a vacation instead of just jump in the car and start driving, it's a good idea to plan your story. An artist does sketches before breaking out the oils, so why shouldn't a writer do the same? This Blue Book looks at various outlining methods used by professional screenwriters like Wesley Strick, Paul Schrader, John August, and others... as well as a guest chapter on novel outlines. Plus a whole section on the Thematic Method of generating scenes and characters and other elements that will be part of your outline. The three stages of writing are: Pre-writing, Writing, and Rewriting... this book looks at that first stage and how to use it to improve your screenplays and novels.

Only $4.99 - Kindle Version

GOT STRUCTURE?!

*** STRUCTURING YOUR STORY ***

William Goldman says the most important single element of any screenplay is structure. It’s the skeleton under the flesh and blood of your story. Without it, you have a spineless, formless, mess... a slug! How do you make sure your structure is strong enough to support your story? How do you prevent your story from becoming a slug? This Blue Book explores different types of popular structures from the basic three act structure to more obscure methods like leap-frogging. We also look at structure as a verb as well as a noun, and techniques for structuring your story for maximum emotional impact. Most of the other books just look at *structure* and ignore the art of *structuring* your story. Techniques to make your story a page turner... instead of a slug!

Only $4.99 - Kindle Version

STORY: WELL TOLD!

*** STORY: WELL TOLD ***

This book takes you step-by-step through the construction of a story... and how to tell a story well, why Story always starts with character... but ISN'T character, Breaking Your Story, Irony, Planting Information, Evolving Story, Leaving No Dramatic Stone Unturned, The Three Greek Unities, The Importance Of Stakes, The Thematic Method, and how to create personal stories with blockbuster potential. Ready to tell a story? Print version was 48 pages, Kindle version is over 85,000 words - 251 pages!

Only $4.99 - Kindle Version

HOW DO I DO THAT?

*** 101 SCREENWRITING ANSWERS ***

New to screenwriting? You probably have questions! How do I get an Agent? How do I write a phone conversation? Do I need a Mentor? What’s does VO and OC and OS mean? What is proper screenplay format? Should I use a pen name? Do I need to movie to Hollywood? What’s the difference between a Producer and a Production Manager, and which should I sell my script to? How do I write a Text Message? Should I Copyright or WGA register my script? Can I Direct or Star? How do I write an Improvised scene? Overcoming Writer’s Block? How do I write a Sex Scene? And many many more! This book has the answers to the 101 Most Asked Questions from new screenwriters! Plus a Glossary of terms so that you can sound like a pro! Everything you need to know to begin writing your screenplay!

Only $4.99 - Kindle Version

NO KINDLE REQUIRED! Get the *free* app (any device, except your Mr. Coffee) on the order page on Amazon!

START STRONG!

*** HOOK 'EM IN TEN ***

Your story doesn't get a second chance to make a great first impression, and this book shows you a bunch of techniques on how to do that. From the 12 Basic Ways To Begin Your Story, to the 3 Stars Of Your First Scene (at least one must be present) to World Building, Title Crawls, Backstory, Starting Late, Teasers and Pre Title Sequences, Establishing Theme & Motifs (using GODFATHER PART 2), Five Critical Elements, Setting Up The Rest Of The Story (with GODFATHER), and much more! With hundreds of examples ranging from Oscar winners to classic films like CASABLANCA to some of my produced films (because I know exactly why I wrote the scripts that way). Biggest Blue Book yet! Print version was 48 pages, Kindle version is over 100,000 words - 312 pages!

Only $4.99 - Kindle Version

MOVIES ARE CHARACTERS!

*** CREATING STRONG PROTAGONISTS ***

Expanded version with more ways to create interesting protagonists! A step-by-step guide to creating "take charge" protagonists. Screenplays are about characters in conflict... characters in emotional turmoil... Strong three dimensional protagonists who can find solutions to their problems in 110 pages. But how do you create characters like this? How do you turn words into flesh and blood? Character issues, Knowing Who Is The Boss, Tapping into YOUR fears, The Naked Character, Pulp Friction, Man With A Plan, Character Arcs, Avoiding Cliche People, Deep Characterization, Problem Protagonists, 12 Ways To Create Likable Protagonists (even if they are criminals), Active vs. Reactive, The Third Dimension In Character, Relationships, Ensemble Scripts, and much, much more. Print version is 48 pages, Kindle version is once again around 205 pages!

ONLY $4.99 - Kindle Version

I WRITE PICTURES!

*** VISUAL STORYTELLING *** - For Kindle! (exclusive)

Show Don't Tell - but *how* do you do that? Here are techniques to tell stories visually! Using Oscar Winning Films and Oscar Nominated Films as our primary examples: from the first Best Picture Winner "Sunrise" (1927) to the Oscar Nominated "The Artist" (which takes place in 1927) with stops along the way Pixar's "Up" and Best Original Screenplay Winner "Breaking Away" (a small indie style drama - told visually) as well as "Witness" and other Oscar Winners as examples... plus RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES. Print version is 48 pages, Kindle version is over 200 pages!

ONLY $4.99 - Kindle Version

*** DESCRIPTION & VOICE ***

IS HALF OF YOUR STORY IN TROUBLE?

Most screenplays are about a 50/50 split between dialogue and description - which means your description is just as important as your dialogue. It just gets less press because the audience never sees it, the same reason why screenwriters get less press than movie stars. But your story will never get to the audience until readers and development executives read your script... so it is a very important factor. Until the movie is made the screenplay is the movie and must be just as exciting as the movie. So how do you make your screenplay exciting to read? Description is important in a novel as well, and the “audience” does read it... how do we write riveting description?

Only $4.99 Kindle version

PRO DIALOGUE TECHNIQUES!

*** DIALOGUE SECRETS ***

Expanded version with more ways to create interesting dialogue! How to remove bad dialogue (and what *is* bad dialogue), First Hand Dialogue, Awful Exposition, Realism, 50 Professional Dialogue Techniques you can use *today*, Subtext, Subtitles, Humor, Sizzling Banter, *Anti-Dialogue*, Speeches, and more. Tools you can use to make your dialogue sizzle! Special sections that use dialogue examples from movies as diverse as "Bringing Up Baby", "Psycho", "Double Indemnity", "Notorious", the Oscar nominated "You Can Count On Me", "His Girl Friday", and many more! Print version is 48 pages, Kindle version is over 175 pages!

Only $4.99 - Kindle Version

NO KINDLE REQUIRED! Get the *free* app (any device, except your Mr. Coffee) on the order page on Amazon!

WHAT IS A SCENE?

*** SCENE SECRETS ***

What is a scene and how many you will need? The difference between scenes and sluglines. Put your scenes on trial for their lives! Using "Jaws" we'll look at beats within a scene. Scene DNA. Creating set pieces and high concept scenes. A famous director talks about creating memorable scenes. 12 ways to create new scenes. Creating unexpected scenes. Use dramatic tension to supercharge your scenes. Plants and payoffs in scenes. Plus transitions and buttons and the all important "flow"... and more! Over 65,000 words! Print version was 48 pages, Kindle version is around 210 pages!

Only $4.99 - Kindle version

SUBPLOTS?

*** SUPPORTING CHARACTER SECRETS ***

Expanded version with more techniques to flesh out your Supporting Characters and make them individuals. Using the hit movie BRIDESMAIDS as well as other comedies like THE HANGOVER and TED and HIGH FIDELITY and 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN and many other examples we look at ways to make your Supporting Characters come alive on the page. Print version was 48 pages, Kindle version is around 170 pages!

ONLY $4.99 - Kindle version

ACT TWO SOLUTIONS!

*** ACT TWO SECRETS ***

Expanded version with more techniques to help you through the desert of Act Two! Subjects Include: What Is Act Two? Inside Moves, The 2 Ps: Purpose & Pacing, The 4Ds: Dilemma, Denial, Drama and Decision, Momentum, the Two Act Twos, Subplot Prisms, Deadlines, Drive, Levels Of Conflict, Escalation, When Act Two Begins and When Act Two Ends, Scene Order, Bite Sized Pieces, Common Act Two Issues, Plot Devices For Act Two, and dozens of others. Over 67,000 words (that’s well over 200 pages) of tools and techniques to get you through the desert of Act Two alive! Print version was 48 pages, Kindle version is well over 200 pages!

ONLY $4.99 - Kindle version

Can You Make It bigger?

***BLOCKBUSTERS (and BEACH READS) ***

Thinking about writing a big Disaster Movie? An Historical Epic? An Epic Adventure Film? Or maybe you like Gladiator Movies? This book looks at writing Blockbusters and those Big Fat Beach Read novels - anything epic! Usng movies like JAWS, POSEIDON ADVENTURE, LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, THE GUNS OF NAVARONE, and those MARVEL and FAST & FURIOUS flicks as examples. What *is* a Blockbuster? 107 years of Blockbuster history! Blockbuster Characters. Blockbuster Story Types! Why modern Blockbusters are soap operas! Social Issues in Blcokbusters? Big Emotions! Keeping All Of Those Characters Distinctive! How to avoid the Big problems found in Big Movies and books! More! If you are writing a Big Event Movie or a Big Fat Novel, there are tips and techniques to help you!

ONLY $4.99 - Kindle Version

NO KINDLE REQUIRED! Get the *free* app (any device, except your Mr. Coffee) on the order page on Amazon!

All About Rewrites!

*** REWRITES Blue Book! ***

When You Finish Your Screenplay Or Novel...
The Rewrites Begin!

The end is just the beginning! You’ve finished your story, but now the rewriting begins! This 405 page book shows you how to rewrite your screenplay or novel to perfection. Everything from Character Consistency to Shoeboxing to How To Give And Receive Notes to 15 Solutions If Your Script’s Too Long! and 15 Solutions If Your Script’s Too Short! to Finding The Cause Of A Story Problem to Good Notes Vs. Bad Notes to Finding Beta Readers to Avoiding Predictability to Learning To Be Objective About Your Work to Script Killer Notes and Notes From Idiots to Production Rewrites and What The Page Colors Mean? and a Complete Rewrite Checklist! The complete book on Rewriting Your Story!

Only $4.99 - Kindle Version

Want To Look Like An Expert?

*** RESEARCH & WORLD BUILDING BUILDING! ***

Using movie examples like TOP GUN, HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER, BLUE CRUSH, ADVENTURE LAND, several of my produced films, JOHN WICK, the novels of Donald E. Westlake and Thomas B. Dewey, SPY KIDS, the LORD OF THE RINGS movies, SOYLENT GREEN (which takes place in the far off future of 2022), and many others we will look at researching stories and creating worlds. The 8 Types Of Research, the 10 Types Of Information To Look For, 12 Important Elements Of World Building. Plus chapters on How To Rob A Bank and Commit Murder And Get Away With It for those of you interested in crime fiction, and Researching The Future for those writing science fiction, and Levels Of Reality if you are writing about a version of the real world.

Only $4.99 - Kindle Version

All About LOGLINES, TREATMENTS, and PITCHING!

*** LOGLINES, TREATMENTS, and PITCHING! ***

You have written a brilliant 110 page screenplay, but how do you get anyone to read it? You need to distill it down into some form of verbal moonshine or story rocket fuel that will ignite that bored development executive or manager or agent and get them to request your screenplay. But how do you shrink those 110 pages into a 25 word logline or a 2 minute elevator pitch or a one page synopsis or a short paragraph? This 100,000 word book shows you how! Everything you need to know! From common logline mistakes (and how to solve them) to how your pitch can reveal story problems to the 4 types of pitches!

ONLY $4.99! - Kindle version.

READY TO BREAK IN?

*** BREAKING IN BLUE BOOK ***

Should really be called the BUSINESS BLUE BOOK because it covers almost everything you will need to know for your screenwriting career: from thinking like a producer and learning to speak their language, to query letters and finding a manager or agent, to making connections (at home and in Hollywood) and networking, to the different kinds of meetings you are will have at Studios, to the difference between a producer and a studio, to landing an assignment at that meeting and what is required of you when you are working under contract, to contracts and options and lawyers and... when to run from a deal! Information you can use *now* to move your career forward! It's all here in the Biggest Blue Book yet!

Only $4.99 - Kindle version.

STORY IN ACTION SERIES!

THE MISSION IMPOSSIBLE MOVIES

NEW: Updates On Films 7 & 8 Casting!

The First Six Movies analyzed! All of the mission tapes, all of the “that’s impossible!” set pieces and stunts, the cons and capers - and how these scenes work, the twists and double crosses, the tension and suspense (and how to generate it), the concept of each film as a stand alone with a different director calling the shots (broken in the sixth film), the gadgets, the masks, the stories, the co-stars and team members (one team member has been in every film), the stunts Tom Cruise actually did (and the ones he didn’t), and so much more! Over 120,000 words of fun info!

THE MISSION IMPOSSIBLE MOVIES - 347 Pages - Only $3.99 ! - Kindle Version

*** THE BOURNE MOVIES

All five "Bourne" movies (including "Legacy" and it's potential sequels) - what are the techniques used to keep the characters and scenes exciting and involving? Reinventing the thriller genre... or following the "formula"? Five films - each with an interesting experiment! A detailed analysis of each of the films, the way these thrillers work... as well as a complete list of box office and critical statistics for each film. This book is great for writers, directors, and just fans of the series.

Only $3.99 - Kindle version

Over 240 pages!

*** THE TERMINATOR MOVIES ***

He's back! The release of "Terminator: Dark Fate" is set to begin a new trilogy in the Terminator story... 35 years after the first film was released. What draws us to these films about a cybernetic organism from the future sent back in time? Why is there a new proposed trilogy every few years? This book looks at all five Terminator movies from a story standpoint - what makes them work (or not)? What are the techniques used to keep the characters and scenes exciting and involving? How about those secret story details you may not have noticed? Containing a detailed analysis of each of the five films so far, this book delves into the way these stories work... as well as a complete list of box office and critical statistics for each film. This book is great for writers, directors, and just fans of the series.

ONLY $3.99 - Kindle Version

HITCHCOCK FOR WRITERS!

Strange Structures!

*** HITCHCOCK: EXPERIMENTS IN TERROR! ***

Contained Thrillers like "Buried"? Serial Protagonists like "Place Beyond The Pines"? Multiple Connecting Stories like "Pulp Fiction"? Same Story Multiple Times like "Run, Lola, Run"?
HITCHCOCK DID IT FIRST!

This book focuses on 18 of Hitchcock's 52 films with wild cinema and story experiments which paved the way for modern films. Almost one hundred different experiments that you may think are recent cinema or story inventions... but some date back to Hitchcock's *silent* films! We'll examine these experiments and how they work. Great for film makers, screenwriters, film fans, producers and directors.

Only $5.99 - Kindle Version

LEARN SUSPENSE FROM THE MASTER!

*** HITCHCOCK: MASTERING SUSPENSE ***

Alfred Hitchcock, who directed 52 movies, was known as the *Master Of Suspense*; but what exactly is suspense and how can *we* master it? How does suspense work? How can *we* create “Hitchcockian” suspense scenes in our screenplays, novels, stories and films?

This book uses seventeen of Hitchcock’s films to show the difference between suspense and surprise, how to use “focus objects” to create suspense, the 20 iconic suspense scenes and situations, how plot twists work, using secrets for suspense, how to use Dread (the cousin of suspense) in horror stories, and dozens of other amazing storytelling lessons. From classics like “Strangers On A Train” and “The Birds” and “Vertigo” and “To Catch A Thief” to older films from the British period like “The 39 Steps” and “The Man Who Knew Too Much” to his hits from the silent era like “The Lodger” (about Jack The Ripper), we’ll look at all of the techniques to create suspense!

Only $5.99 - Kindle Version

FICTION

Featuring Shelly Steele !

*** THE SHOTGUN APPROACH ***

A Pop Star is murdered on the VIP floor of a luxury hotel by a shotgun blast to the face... completely ruining an original piece of art on the wall behind him. Violent SFPD Homicide Inspector Shelly Steele must find the murderer... without killing anyone in the process. That won't be easy! A locked room, A handful of clues. A chase and shootout on the hotel's fire stairs. Who is the killer? His ex-Partner? His ex-Wife? His ex-Record Label Owner?
THE SHOTGUN APPROACH 105 pgs!

ONLY $.99 - Kindle Version

Featuring Smart & Final !

*** A FINE UPSTANDING CITIZEN ***

25 years ago Senator Milano killed a man. Now he's one of a dozen suspects in an information leak. Being interrogated in the executive boardroom on the 30th floor of an office building... The informant will not be leaving by the elevator. Can he solve the crime before they discover his secret? Fnd the rat before the trap springs on him?

A FINE UPSTANDING CITIZEN (CRIME TIME THRILLER) 86 pgs!

ONLY $.99 - Kindle Version

Crime Time Thriller !

*** FOLLOWED HOME ***

Bowden knew the best place to find a victim is somewhere they feel safe. Diane Taylor would be his next victim...

It began with a car jacking at an upscale grocery store, but fresh out of prison Bowden decided to take everything - forcing Diane to drive him her her luxury home. Trapped in her SUV with a violent man, can she find a way to turn the tables on him and survive?

FOLLOWED HOME (CRIME TIME THRILLER)

ONLY $.99 - Kindle Version

Featuring Smart & Final !

*** PRIME RATE ***

Chuck Skinner brought his father's failing butcher shop back into the black with the help of modern day cattle rustlers. Nice story if it ends there...

But now the head of the MaryAnn Mob of cattle rustlers suspects him of cooking his books, and has brought in an "accountant" nicknamed Smart & Final... to hold him accountable. Can Chuck talk his way out of this?

PRIME RATE (CRIME TIME THRILLER)

ONLY $.99 - Kindle Version

MITCH ROBERTSON MYSTERIES

Mitch Robertson #1

*** THROUGH THE RINGER ***

Screenwriter Mitch Robertson just wants to sell a script, but ends up solving the mystery of a whiz kid writer whose new script stinks. From an upscale vodka bar in Beverly Hills to the Writer's Guild Library to an old mansion in the woodsy Brentwood district, Mitch follows the clues to uncover the secret of the hot new writer who has suddenly turned cold.

THROUGH THE RINGER

ONLY $.99 - Kindle Version

Mitch Robertson #2

*** THE FAMILY'S JEWEL ***

"The Presidential Suite of the Hollywood Hoover Hotel looked like a bloody battlefield: bodies everywhere, furniture broken, red liquid dripping from the walls, dead soldiers littering the elegant Berber rug as clouds of smoke overhead bounced between two air conditioning vents.

Mitch Robertson stepped over the body of an ex-child star turned sex tape star turned pop star and entered the room, spotted a gun on the floor and picked it up... careful not to spill his coffee with three pumps of mocha syrup from Penny’s Coffee Shop. That coffee was gold, the only thing keeping him going in this dazed state of wakefulness. The gun felt light. Holding it, he saw the silhouette of an 80s action star sitting sideways on a tipped over chair. Motionless. Was he dead? Mitch was still hung over from the Awards Party the night before, and wondered whether this was all some sort of crazy nightmare that he would wake up from... but when he tripped over the brown legs of a bottomless Superhero, flaccid junk encased in a condom but still wearing his mask, and hit the edge of the sofa, gun skittering and coffee spilling, he realized that it was all very real. What the hell had happened here?"

Short Novel. Only 99 cents! - Kindle Version

Mitch Robertson #3

*** THE UNHAPPY MEDIUM ***

When Warren Moultie, the "Psychic To The Stars", private files, with dirt on everyone in Hollywood, are stolen, Mitch must find them and the thief before the blackmail begins! But when studios and movie stars and pop music stars and TV stars begin receiving demands for millions typed by an ancient typewriter on cheap paper, the entire Entertainment Industry is depending on him. Who stole the files? The Psychic? His wife? His mistress? One of his famous clients?

Novella. Only 99 cents! - Kindle Version

FINAL DRAFT SOFTWARE

Use your creative energy to focus on the content; let Final Draft take care of the style. Final Draft is the number-one selling application specifically designed for writing movie scripts, television episodics and stage plays. Its ease-of-use and time-saving features have attracted writers for almost two decades positioning Final Draft as the Professional Screenwriters Choice. Final Draft power users include Academy, Emmy and BAFTA award winning writers like Oliver Stone, Tom Hanks, Alan Ball, J.J. Abrams, James Cameron and more. * * * Buy It!

copyright 2026 by William C. Martell