Saturday Night Live did a skit about Ninja scenes in movies - how silly it is that if ten
Ninjas surround the hero, they fight him one at a time instead of gang up on him. By
fighting him one at a time the hero has a chance - and always wins. The skit was funny
because it's true - cheesy martial arts movies always have the Ninjas fight the hero one
at a time.
So when I wrote my first Don "The Dragon" Wilson movie, GRID RUNNERS, and I
came to a scene where the hero was surrounded by badguys, I decided they wouldn't
fight him one at a time... in fact, the hero would make the first move and fight all of them
at once. I carefully figured out how the fight scene would work - actually drew a little
diagram - and wrote out the scene. It was a cool scene, and made it through every
single draft of that script. But just as HBO would change my title from GRID RUNNERS
to VIRTUAL COMBAT, the fight choreographer changed the fight scene... Now the
badguys would attack the hero one at a time. There was a practical reason for the
change - it would require fewer set ups and take less time to shoot - but I still hated that
scene. The fight choreographer ruined that film - not just for me, but for all of action film fans who watched it on HBO.
One of the reasons why I love Jackie Chan movies is the amazing fight scenes,
and my film was going to have silly, boring fight scenes.
If the fight choreographer or the director or even the star is going to throw out the fight
scene in the script and come up with their own fight scene, what's the point in writing
out the fight scene in the first place? Why not just write "They fight. The Hero wins."?
Here are three reasons:
1) If you go to Drew's and read a stack of
action scripts you'll notice that they don't say "they fight" - they tell you what happens in
the fight in the most exciting way possible. The car chase in the script for BULLITT runs
7.5 pages... the actual scene runs almost ten minutes on screen. The Page-A-Minute
thing is only a guideline, but when they schedule a film they schedule BY THE PAGE
(and 1/8th of a page). On a big film they may shoot one or two pages a day, on a cable film
they may shoot 5 pages a day.
When they break down a script to schedule the number of shooting days at each
location "They fight" takes up less than 1/8th of a page, and they might only schedule a
half hour to shoot that scene. Unfortunately, that fight scene may take a couple of days to
shoot! Guess what? They just cut your fight scene because they didn't schedule
enough time to shoot it. If all of your action scenes are only a sentence or two, they
won't end up with time to shoot any of them and you'll end up with an action film without
a single action scene!
Which is one reason why you'll want to write out the scene - for scheduling.
2) Another reason is STORY, because any good action scene is telling the story and
REQUIRES enough information to get that story to the audience/reader. An action
scene is just like any other scene - if it isn't telling us the story and exploring character,
it's outta there.
Look at any of the action scenes in THE MATRIX (the good one) - they are all
CRITICAL to the story. You could not remove them from the script and still have a story.
They also explore character (because story IS character). Let's take the scene where
Neo is at his office and Agent Smith and a dozen cops show up to arrest him. Neo
races to the empty office, goes out the window to that ledge, starts climbing around the
building... but reaches a point where it becomes difficult and just quits. Folks - that's
CHARACTER!
We learn from that action scene that Neo doesn't believe in himself and
when the going gets rough he quits. That is Neo's character arc in THE MATRIX, he
must learn to believe in himself. This action scene is critical to the character, to the
story, to the character arc and emotional conflict, and it shows the theme. Without that
action scene we don't get any of that information! Cut out the action scene and the
story makes no sense.
Later there's a scene where Morpheus fights an army of cops while Neo and the others
crawl through the inside of the walls to escape. It's a long fight scene - and every
minute is critical. Because this is the scene where we SEE how much Morpheus
believes in Neo - he sacrifices himself. He must keep getting back on his feet and
getting knocked down until Neo is safely away...
But Neo hesitates. Neo knows he's not the Chosen One - he knows that Morpheus is
going to be killed for no reason - because Neo is a fraud and wasn't strong enough to
tell Morpheus what the Oracle said. But when Neo hesitates inside the wall... Morpheus
has to get back on his feet and get pummeled even more! So Morpheus believes in
Neo, but Neo's lack of belief in himself is getting his friend hurt. The more Neo
hesitates, the more Morpheus gets beaten up. That's all story! You can't remove that
without losing critical information that the audience needs. And it's also critical character
information. It shows us how much Morpheus believes in Neo.
Good action scenes show character, move the story forward, explore theme in an
exciting a dramatic way, and are an integral part of the story itself.
3) The third reason why you'll want to write out your fight scenes - You want the script
to give the reader the same experience as watching the movie. If you're looking to sell
the script - that's critical. If you're giving the script to a distrib for funding, it's critical. If
you're looking for funding, that's critical. At this stage, the script IS the movie - so you
want it to represent the movie - be as exciting to read as the film will be to see. Even if
you're making the film yourself, if you're looking for crew or actors to work for free you'll
want the script to read the same way the movie will look so that these people get an
idea of what you're doing (and give up their free time to help you). Before the film is
made the script IS the movie.
Would you cut all of the funny lines out of your comedy script because Will Ferrell
may decide to improvise funny stuff? The problem is - they won't hire Will Ferrell
until AFTER they buy your comedy script. If the comedy script has no funny lines, it's
not going to be funny and they aren't going to buy it in the first place! Your script IS the
movie, and needs to provide the same emotional experience to the reader that the
finished film will give to the audience. When people read a comedy script, they expect
to laugh. When people read an action script, they expect there will be some really
exciting and inventive action in it. The reason why Shane Black scripts sell for a huge
chunk of change is that he writes amazing action scenes.
When I was on a panel with
Shane Black and a bunch of other action writers at the Las Vegas Screenwriting
Conference a few years ago, everyone on the panel said they learned how to
write action from reading Walter Hill scripts - man that guy can write an exciting action
scene! You feel like you're right there in the middle of the shoot out!
The awesome fight scene from JOHN WICK...
Will the fight scenes be exactly as you've written them when this thing goes to screen?
Probably not. Just like any other scene - things change. The location and cast and
direction changes things when you get out into the real world. But if you don't have a
good idea of what the scene is supposed to be, you'll definitely end up with some
generic fight scene that has nothing to do with the story or exploring character.
Here is a post from my blog that compares the car chase from BLACK THUNDER from page to screen:
BLACK THUNDER - Script To Screen. - you can see how action scenes change, but also how important it is to have the action scene on paper.
Remember - film is a VISUAL medium... stories are told through the actions of the
characters. Action scenes are part of the actions of the characters. The visual
information is usually more important than the dialogue - so make sure you have it on
the page!
If it ain't on the page, it ain't on the stage.
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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.)
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.
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!
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!
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.
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.
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!
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.
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!
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!
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!
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!
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!
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!
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?
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!
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!
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!
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!
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!
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!
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.
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!
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!
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.
*** 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!
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!
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!
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?
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?
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.
"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?"
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?
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!
The Blue Book Series!
20 Books On Writing (screenplays and novels) with in depth information and pro techniques
on specific elements of writing. From Creating Compelling Characters to Your Idea Machine to Reseach & World Building to Marketing.
Each book is packed with actionable information to imrove your writing!
"Bill's little blue books on the art of screenplay writing are legendary," Best Selling novelist Dale Brown.
The Book That Started It All!
My Best Selling Screenwriting Book, recommended by Oscar Winners and Top Box Office Screenwriters
and just about everyone else!
Plus WRITE IT FILM IT - my book on how to write low budget screenplays to sell to others... or make yourself! Filled with great techniques to
keep your budgets low without sacrificing excitement!
Plus the VINTAGE SCREENWRITING SERIES - early books on screenwriting (1912-1925) expanded with commentary and some history on early Hollywood... and New Jersey!
NOVELS & SHORT FICTION
From bodyguard Jackson Bolt to screenwriting detective Mitch Robertson to badass
violent cop Shelly Steele to the Crime Time Thriller series, my transition from professional screenwriter to prose is in full swing.
See what's new and exciting on the page!
"Bill's little blue books on the art of screenplay writing are legendary," Best Selling novelist Dale Brown.
HITCHCOCK BOOKS
Three books looking at Hitchcock's films and how to apply the techniques to writing and film making.
Each book focuses on 17-20 of his 50 films, with an in depth essay on each examining the Mastrer Of Suspense's methods to create edge of your seat
suspense or groundbreaking narrative experiments or looking at the importance of each element of story.
STORY IN ACTION
Each book looks at a popular film franchise with a detailed analysis of each of the films,
complete with box office, budget, RT scores, and behind the scenes information. Why was this entry a hit and that entry in
the franchise a flop? Every film is broken down and examined... what did it do right? Do wrong? What can we learn from
these films to help our own writing?
CLASSES ON MP3! Take a class on MP3! GUERRILLA MARKETING - NO AGENT? NO PROBLEM! and WRITING THRILLERS (2 MP3s). Full length classes on MP3. Now Available: IDEAS & CREATIVITY, WRITING HORROR, WRITING INDIE FILMS, more!
Take classes on MP3!
THE BLOG!
A Whole Week Of Programming! SEX IN A SUBMARINE (no actual sex is involved) From Trailer Tuesday to Film Courage Plus to THRILLER
Thursday to Fridays With Hitchcock and more! My blog has all kinds
of great stuff! Check it out! Lots of cool stuff every day!
