FilmCraft: Screenwriting

by Tim Grierson (Editor)

Screenwriting looks at the foundation on which every great film is built―the script. Whether an original concept or an adaptation, the screenplay is the key to the success of a movie―good dialogue, story pacing, and character development are the framework everything else hangs on. Featuring in-depth interviews with modern masters of film including Stephen Gaghan, Guillermo Arriaga, Caroline Thompson, Hossein Amini, and Jean-Claude Carrière, this book reveals the mysteries behind how the best scripts are written and reach the screen.

Genres: Film, Writing, Nonfiction

192 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2013

About the author

Senior U.S. critic for Screen International and chief film critic for Paste, as well as contributing editor at Backstage and writer at The New Republic, Rolling Stone and The Wrap.

Reviews

[Horror DNA · Rating 5 out of 5]

FilmCraft is a continuing series from Focal Press that deconstructs the art of cinema by studying it from the inside. Each volume in the collection focuses on a different aspect of film production by gathering interviews with master craftsmen, who are able to relay a lifetime of experience in a series of intimate and informal conversations. The series provides a global perspective as the interviews are not strictly limited to American filmmakers.

In this latest installment, FilmCraft: Screenwriting, author Tim Grierson presents fifteen in-depth interviews with such notables as John August (Big Fish), David Webb Peoples (Unforgiven), Whit Stillman (Barcelona), Billy Ray (Shattered Glass), Hossein Amini (Drive), Christopher Hampton (Dangerous Liaisons) Caroline Thompson (Edward Scissorhands), Robin Swicord (Memoirs of a Geisha), Mark Bomback (Unstoppable), and many others, providing a unique look into the approach each takes when writing a screenplay.

You can read ZigZag's full review at Horror DNA by clicking here.

[Thin San · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome interviews ! Helpful for a student like me ! I have learned a lot from their experiences and hardworks.

[Erik Richvoldsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic look at how different the writing process can be (and result in Oscar winning screenplays regardless).

[Lily Mulholland · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book should be called 'On Screenwriting', rather than its given title, as it is really a collection of screenwriting anecdotes by mostly male screenwriters. It's a gentle skip through the art of being a screenwriter rather than an illumination of screenwriting. But, having said that, it's a mildly diverting read.

[Ira Livingston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great interviews and inspirational for new screenwriters. What I liked most is that every writer had different ways of approaching the craft, and that there wasn't just one way to write.

It also, pointed out the films that inspired those writers to get into the craft. Highly recommend!

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full review available at betterwithpopcorn.com.

[Radu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good for future screenwriters!