The Craft of the Screenwriter

by John Brady

Filled with fascinating and revealing interviews from six of America’s best screenwriters, The Craft of the Screenwriter is a first-rate source for students, writers, filmmakers, and movie enthusiasts.

Interviews with some of America’s top screenwriters, including perennially funny and hit writer Neil Simon, novelist and screenwriter William Goldman, and the late Paddy Chayefskey in his longest and last interview, The Craft of the Screenwriter is entertaining and essential reading for movie professionals and enthusiasts alike.

The in-depth interviews that make up this book show the screenwriters in the midst of their lives and careers as they answer questions about films they’ve made and people they’ve worked with. Additionally, each screenwriter shares how they got into the movie business, why they stayed, and the experiences that led to perfecting their techniques as they provide clear and sound advice for screenwriters trying to break into the business.

Described by Rex Reed as “a ‘must’ for the film library shelf,” John Brady’s peak into the life of screenwriters gives a fascinating look at a powerful element of the movie industry.

Genres: Writing, Film, Nonfiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

John Brady was raised in Liberty, New York, and educated at King's College (BA) and Bradley University (MA) before pursuing a career in teaching, writing, and editing. He taught magazine writing at Indiana State University for eight years, and his articles have appeared in The New York Times, New York magazine, and numerous other periodicals. The author of five books including The Craft of Interviewing, The Craft of the Screenwriter, and Frank & Ava: In Love and War, Brady served as editor-in-chief of Writer's Digest and Boston magazine, as well as founding editor of The Artist's Magazine. His work has also appeared in New York magazine, Esquire, and The Sunday New York Times.

Reviews

[Angel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is very much of its era: to talk about the craft of screenwriting, the author interviews six male writers. And curiously, with the possible exception of William Goldman, who would go on to write a few more great scripts (The Princess Bride!!), all of them past their prime. Paddy Chayefsky would die before the book was even published, and, sadly, Lehman, Schrader, Simon and Towne had all already -arguably- written their most substantial works, those that will be surely cited in the first line of their obituaries. So there's a strong element of dramatic irony in their talk about future projects...

Goldman's interview is the most entertaining and enlightening, and one feels it may have been the spark that would lead him to write soon after Adventures in the Screen Trade. Of the others, the interest in the artistic insights they share varies considerably, and sometimes the interviews slowly devolve into portraits of egotism.

Personally I always wince when acclaimed writers say they can't write good female characters -and in some cases they sound as though they really don't care-, and at least a couple of the interviewees confess that much here. It goes a long way in explaining the kind of stories that characterize Hollywood since the 1960s to this day. At least in classic Hollywood Studios made an active effort in catering to a female audience; whether one likes those products or not is another matter, but at least they tried. I wonder when exactly Hollywood gave up on women? Was it the women's liberation activism of the 60s that scared so much filmmakers that they retreated to an all-male territory for their stories, full of sound, fury, easy riders and raging bulls?

All in all, it's definitely worth the reading.

[antoniomorales · Rating 2 out of 5]

'La tele está muy bien para empezar pero luego hay que salir de allí cuanto antes.'
Neil Simon

John Brady entrevista a cuatro reputados guionistas y dramaturgos de Broadway y Hollywood a finales de los setenta, la mayoría de gran éxito en su momento pero con los que el paso del tiempo se ha portado realmente mal, a excepción quizá de Simon. Muchas anécdotas personales, reiteraciones, obviedades y un título en castellano, 'El oficio del guionista', elegido con más picardía que tino.

[Rodrigo Cazaux · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un muy buen libro para todos los que les gusta saber del proceso de escritura en el cine

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a hugely influential book for people serious about film in the 1980s. It was required reading for film students and it played a big part in creating the boom in screenwriting that got started around then. Before that, screenwriters were mostly figures whose names appeared in movie credits, but who were not known to people outside the business. Reading this had a big impact on my life and played a part in turning me into an aspiring screenwriter. I read and reread it with great interest, because the talents on display here frequently speak with remarkable frankness about their work and their careers. It seems that in today's anxious and political environment, they would probably be more circumspect.

This book is also a barometer of how the output of the movie industry has changed in the last couple of decades. The screenwriters presented here - Chayefsky, Goldman, Lehman, Schrader, Simon, and Towne - are (for the most part) more than just capable craftsman, they are interesting artists who have done some of the most impressive and original work that has made its way onto the screens of American movie theatres. The number of screenwriters that you can say that about has not been growing in recent years. Of course there still are a few, like Charlie Kauffman and Noah Baumbach for example, but overall Hollywood has moved away from challenging, witty, script-driven work aimed at adult viewers. But I am not giving up on that kind of movie, and I also hope this book goes back into print someday - my copy has now fallen to pieces and will be retired - it would be nice to know I could still get it someplace.

[Dante · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book I found on eBay while searching for used books on screenwriting. Published in 1980, shortly after the appearance of Syd Field's "Screenplay" (the first book to "codify" the craft of screenwriting). The title of Brady's book is a bit misleading as the six screenwriters interviewed don't go in-depth into the actual craft of screenwriting; rather, they discuss the background of various scripts they'd worked on, and talk a little bit about their work process. Be that as it may, any time you can get a 90+ page interview with the great William Goldman, you're bound to learn *something* useful.

There are some decent insights about screenwriting to be found throughout the book, though as a whole it's is more interesting as an oral history of screenwriting by some of the greatest writers bet. 1955-1980 than as a nuts & bolts method for how to write a screenplay (i.e., the method outlined by Syd Field and others).

[Tajma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interviews with 6 of the best screenwriters of all time, very frank discussions about a business that be can catastrophically humiliating and breathtakingly rewarding.