Screenwriting
Getting Film Stories Told

James R. Elkins

I have searched widely in the scholarly work on film theory, film criticism, and film studies for ways of working with lawyer films that will be of use to students. The most accessible, relevant, and useful source that I have found is the work of playwrights, screenwriters, and screenwriting consultants. Screenwriting people know that films are stories. They focus on how stories work, and how they fail.

Recommended Reading

Robert McKee, Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting (New York: HarperCollins/ ReganBooks, 1997)

Christopher Vogler, The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers (Studio City, California: Michael Wiese Productions, 3rd ed., 2007)

Supplemental Reading

James Bonnet, Stealing Fire From the Gods (Studio City, California: Michael Wiese Productions, 2nd ed., 2006)

Syd Field, Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting (New York: Delta Book, rev. ed., 2005)

Howard Suber, The Power of Film (Studio City, California: Michael Weise Productions, 2006)

John Truby, The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller (New York: Faber and Faber, 2007)

YouTube videos on Screenwriting

Robert McKee

McKee's Consulting Site

YouTube Interview

Story Seminar

Story Seminar: Lifetime

Story Seminar: Story Design

Story Seminar: Setting

Christopher Vogler

The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers

Howard Suber

The Power of Film

John Truby

Disccussion with Truby

The Anatomy of Story [pt. 2] [pt. 3]

Dramatica Unplugged

Dramatica Theory Overview

Introduction to Characters

Characters in "To Kill a Mockingbird"

A Tale is a Story

Introducing the Story Mind

A Story is an Argument

Reason & Emotion Archetypes

The Four Throughlines

Character

Creating Compelling Characters for the Screen

Pamela Jaye Smith: Inner Drives

Pamela Jaye Smith: Power of the Dark Side

Story

How to Write a Script: Story Structure
three act structure

Malcolm Halperin: Screenwriting, the 2nd Act

Malcolm Halperin: Writing the Treatment

Script Structure in a Nutshell
more three act structure

Your Script Does NOT Have Three Acts

Brian Strum: Story Theory and Practice
a lecture

How to Write a Story

Film School Online: Story
audio only

Gerald Everret Jones: On Screen Storytelling

More on Screenwriting

Writing a Great Script Fast: Introduction

How to Write a Script: Basics

The Pompous Film Critic: How NOT to Write a Script

Nickolas Kazan: Tricks of Screenwriting

Julian Friedmann: Teaching Screenwriting

William C. Martell - Hollywood Screenwriter

Paul Chitlik on Reworking Screen Plays

Michael Hague: Selling Your Story in 60 Seconds

Marcie Begleiter: From Word to Image

Learning from the Masters: About Screenwriting

Sheldon Turner :: Joe Eszterhas :: Paul Haggis :: David Goyer :: Ted Griffin :: Scott Rosenberg :: Bruce Joel Rubin :: Susannah Grant :: Paul Attanasio :: Billy Ray :: Jim Uhls :: Callie Khouri :: Nia Vardalos :: Jose Riveria :: John Hamburg :: Syd Field with Stuart Beattie :: Syd Field with Michael Arndt :: Interview with David Mamet

 

Bibliography

Bob Berman, Fade In: The Screenwriting Process (Studio City, California: Michael Wiese Productions, 2000)

Marisa D'Vari, Script Magic: Subconscious Techniques to Conquer Writer's Block (Studio City, California: Michael Wiese Productions, 2000)

Lajos Egri, The Act of Dramatic Writing: Its Basis in the Creative Interpretation of Human Motives (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1977)

Syd Field, The Screenwriter's Problem Solver: How to Recognize, Identify, and Define Screenwriting Problems (New York: Dell Publishing, 1998)

Andrew Horton, Writing the Character-Centered Screenplay (University of California Press, 2000)

Lew Hunter, Lew Hunter's Screenwriting 434: The Industry's Premier Teacher Reveals the Secrets of the Successful Screenplay (Perigee Trade, rev. ed., 2004)

Karl Iglesias, The 101 Habits Of Highly Successful Screenwriters: Insider's Secrets from Hollywood's Top Writers (Adams Media, 2001)

Richard W. Krevolin, Screenwriting from the Soul: Letters to an Aspiring Screenwriter (Renaissance Books, 1998)

Linda Seger, Creating Unforgettable Characters (New York: Henry Holt, 1990)

Jennifer Van Sijll, Cinematic Storytelling: The 100 Most Powerful Film Conventions Every Filmmaker Must Know (Studio City, California: Michael Weise Productions, 2005)

Blake Snyder, Save the Cat! Goes to the Movies: The Screenwriter's Guide to Every Story Ever Told (Studio City, California: Michael Weise Productions, 2007)

___________, Save The Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need (Studio City, California: Michael Weise Productions, 2005)

Kristin Thompson, Storytelling in the New Hollywood: Understanding Classical Narrative Technique (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1999)

Michael Tierno, Aristotle's Poetics for Screenwriters: Storytelling Secrets From the Greatest Mind in Western Civilization (New York: Hyperion, 2002)

Web Resources (Misc.)

Story Structure

Screenwriting Gurus

Screenwriting Tips for Playwrights

39 Steps

Christopher Vogler

The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers
Wikipedia

Christopher Vogler's Screenwriting Workshop

Using Myth to Power Your Stories

Robert McKee

Robert McKee
Wikipedia

The Real McKee
The New Yorker

Lessons of a Screenwriting Guru
All About Jewish Theater

Screenwriting Guru Tells All
Salon.com