Riding the Alligator: Strategies for a Career in Screenplay Writing and Not getting Eaten

by Pen Densham, Jay Roach (Foreword)

A bestseller that is the first artist-friendly screenwriting guide to success by an Oscar nominated Hollywood insider whose productions have grossed more than a billion dollars.
 
Riding the Alligator is different from other screenwriting books in that it takes a non-dogmatic approach to finding your own personal creative process, and shares Pen’s best kept secrets for selling your creations and yourself.
 
Pen is your own, warm, funny, personal mentor as you read this book.  Actress Robin Wright says: “It is like getting a UC screenwriting course for under $30!!!”. 
 
Pen draws from his own extremely simple breakthrough techniques, shares his inspiring philosophy of finding a personal well of creativity from your inner voice, to overcoming the many challenges in a unique business, managing stress, the real secrets to selling your work, finding the right agent and being true to one's nature to create a lasting and passion filled career.
 
The book is hailed by Hollywood luminaries like Ron Howard, Paul Haggis, Jeff Bridges, Morgan Freeman, as well as heads of major motion picture studios and academics from top film schools including USC, UCLA, NYU and AFI.
 
Also included are short, personal essays by A-List Hollywood scripters such as Shane Black (Lethal Weapon, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang), Nia Vardalos (My Big Fat Greek Wedding), Eric Roth (Forrest Gump), Robin Swicord (Memoirs of a Geisha), Ron Shelton (Bull Durham/White Men Can't Jump), Laeta Kalogridis (Shutter Island/Avatar), Todd Robinson (White Squall/Phantom), Andrea Berloff (World Trade Center), Anthony Peckham (Sherlock Holmes) and more.
 
Additionally, Pen provides an ‘Instant Library’ summarizing 10 other popular books on Hollywood, as reviewed by his USC Film Students.

Genres: Writing

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

Reviews

[Till Noever · Rating 3 out of 5]

Has its weak spots, but provides a nice alternative perspective, especially on the "writing process" than your usual screen-writing guru mumpitz. On the downside, the writer firmly believes in the Syd Field three-act structure and doesn't make allowances for the real complexities of story and story-structure. He also, like almost all screenwriting gurus (most of whom—unlike Densham!—actually don't have any worthwhile writing or production credits to their names) he presents a simplistic set of story-rules and tropes. Maybe they worked for him, but generalizing does a disservice to the craft and new writers, who end up regurgitating what amounts to cookie-cutter plots, no matter how 'high concept' they may appear.

Still, worthwhile reading, and with some very good advice on the how-to of inserting yourself and surviving Hollywood.

[Alex Daltas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having grown up reading book after book about screenwriting and being lucky to have attended one of the very best film schools in America, this is the first book on the craft that made me feel truly good after reading it. Not only is it written from an unusual wealth of real-world experience and success, it's also very inspiring and very down-to-earth at the same time. It's a marvelous and entertaining read, and is chock-full of advice from other major, A-List writers, to help give a wider perspective. Unlock yourself with a ride on the "alligator", if you have any interest in screenplay writing - or being creative in general.

[Mati Roy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book I've read to learn to do movie scripts, and it was a very good first book because it explains basic concepts, and at the end there are good summaries of other screenwriting books: so it helps in picking other books to deepen our knowledge of the subject.

[Daniel]

Writing (and life) advice.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

it's not Save the Cat, but it'll do...

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Plenty of good things here. Motivation among them.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book.

[Jessie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great introductory book about a variety of screenwriting aspects.