Oscar-Winning Screenwriters on Screenwriting: The Award-Winning Best in the Business Discuss Their Craft

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All film jobs, says Joel Engel, "depend on the script." It remains a mystery, then, that so many in the film biz consider a script to be "little more than typing." Strangely enough, everyone, it seems, wants to be a screenwriter. In Screenwriters on Screenwriting, Engel has shaped interviews with 11 Oscar-winning screenwriters into chapterlong monologues. These writers provide companionship for the aspiring screenwriter, but their tales should appeal equally to any film lover interested in the stories behind the stories. William Goldman (All the President's Men) laments the current state of cinematic storytelling; Ron Bass describes how My Best Friend's Wedding and Rain Man evolved; Stephen Gaghan (Traffic) talks about completely revamping his work process after giving up drugs and alcohol. And Marc Norman (Shakespeare in Love) claims that his best writing "has been on the scripts I wrote as suicide notes to the industry--sort of, 'F--- you, guys, I'm outta here. This is the last script you'll ever get from me.'" --Jane Steinberg


Book Description
Hollywood's most respected screenwriters tell intriguing and instructive tales of their successes, failures, aspirations and inspirations in the movie business. Academy Award-winning movies such as American Beauty, Shakespeare in Love, and Forrest Gump are remembered, long after Oscar® night, for their stellar performances, their breathtaking beauty, and their transcendent scenes. But before any of these films were directed, lit, performed, or edited, they needed to be written. Screenwriting is, arguably, the most important and underrated role in Hollywood. Now Joel Engel brings together interviews with the best screenwriters working today, each of whom has won an Academy Award for his or her work, and each of whom shares a wealth of knowledge, insight, and experience about this little understood facet of moviemaking. In each essay, writers such as Alan Ball (American Beauty), Eric Roth (Forrest Gump), Marc Norman (Shakespeare in Love), Tom Schulman (Dead Poet's Society), Kurt Luedtke (Out of Africa), John Irving (The Cider House Rules), and many others explore and explain their craft and technique. Anyone interested in writing, making, or learning about movies will enjoy this behind-the-scenes compilation of wisdom and advice from Hollywood's natural-born storytellers.


About the Author
Joel Engel is an entertainment journalist and a frequent contributor to the New York Times. He is the author of Screenwriters on Screenwriting and several other books. He lives near Los Angeles.


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After interviewing 11 screenwriters who have won Oscars, the author edited their thoughts into a series of monologues that are presented in this little book. Each screenwriter recalls the evolution of past projects, and shares his approach to the writing process. No index. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)


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