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Writing the Comedy Blockbuster: The Inappropriate Goal
Dying is easy, comedy is hard. So keep your comedy blockbuster alive and well and buy this book. Comedy has always been the backbone of the film business. In an age of sequels and brand-name movies based on established properties, the original comedy screenplay still delivers high profits. "Writing the Comedy Blockbuster" guides the writer as they learn what goes into writing the next comedy classic.
249 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
April 20, 2012
Don't let the cheesy title throw you off, this is a really good book. The author seems to be knowledgeable about the subject of comedy screenwriting. In the last part of the book he uses & transforms the sequence approach to lay out the road map -specifically- for the comedy screenplay. I haven't seen such study of the comedic film structure before & I really found it useful.
October 21, 2023
A very breezy read, perhaps not entirely suitable to me as I have no sense of humour. Nor do I have much sense of screenplay. However the book can be adapted to those who wish to write stories, and, interestingly, to those who want to write outside comedy.
There are plenty of references to films in the book, however some I found mystifying. While there's lots of references to one of my fave comedies - When Harry Met Sally - as no film comedy book should be without - there are also plenty of references to films that I would think hardly sneak in as comedies, while ignoring plenty of other fantastic comedies.
There's a lot of references to films that are more like romances that have comedic moments - for instance, Pretty Woman. I would hardly watch that if I were looking for a good laugh though.
The book is short and tries to balance the process of writing a screenplay and a bit of analysis of comedy and how to write it. However it's rather short on technicalities ("read some screenplays and find out" - the problem is how do you find such things? It's actually rather hard to find screenplays. It's easy enough to recommend people read novels and non-fiction when discussing technical detail of writing one - everyone knows where to buy them. Short fiction is often a bit harder but there are anthologies in bookstores. Recommendations of good magazines are often helpful. Plays you can find sometimes on shelves but screenplays are really rare. I have only ever read one - Pulp Fiction - and I suspect it was heavily edited to make it easy to read. I don't know if it was exactly how Tarantino submitted it with all the technical formatting.)
There are some useful tips like setting up scenes using indexing and breaking a script down, looking for certain action points but it's all a bit light on.
The book may seem a bit haphazard at times, throwing examples every which way but I guess it's better than just taking 3 films and studying them in depth as if you are fans of those films that's great, if you haven't you're lost. So for a mainstream audience, this wasn't a bad idea.
I felt some of the examples of comic cliches and devices etc were oddly specific, others broad and if they were so specific like "Runaway Bride" then there were so many missed. What about the obsessive nerds, or fat guys or whatever?
Also this might same picky but there are quite a few typos and mistakes in this book that ought to be checked - for instance in Clueless, the main character isn't Claire, it's Cher. That's one of the jokes.
Perhaps this book is a little too old (2012?) - I can't remember what the vibe was around that time. Comedy is always subjective but I think any book on comedy blockbuster writing now would include something now about audience and how sensitive people are to certain themes, and walking that fine line of offence and comedy. Not that this can be taught.
This was a courageous effort as comedy is not something easy to do, let alone teach. I might use some of the devices in writing non-comedy so it has been some help.
There are plenty of references to films in the book, however some I found mystifying. While there's lots of references to one of my fave comedies - When Harry Met Sally - as no film comedy book should be without - there are also plenty of references to films that I would think hardly sneak in as comedies, while ignoring plenty of other fantastic comedies.
There's a lot of references to films that are more like romances that have comedic moments - for instance, Pretty Woman. I would hardly watch that if I were looking for a good laugh though.
The book is short and tries to balance the process of writing a screenplay and a bit of analysis of comedy and how to write it. However it's rather short on technicalities ("read some screenplays and find out" - the problem is how do you find such things? It's actually rather hard to find screenplays. It's easy enough to recommend people read novels and non-fiction when discussing technical detail of writing one - everyone knows where to buy them. Short fiction is often a bit harder but there are anthologies in bookstores. Recommendations of good magazines are often helpful. Plays you can find sometimes on shelves but screenplays are really rare. I have only ever read one - Pulp Fiction - and I suspect it was heavily edited to make it easy to read. I don't know if it was exactly how Tarantino submitted it with all the technical formatting.)
There are some useful tips like setting up scenes using indexing and breaking a script down, looking for certain action points but it's all a bit light on.
The book may seem a bit haphazard at times, throwing examples every which way but I guess it's better than just taking 3 films and studying them in depth as if you are fans of those films that's great, if you haven't you're lost. So for a mainstream audience, this wasn't a bad idea.
I felt some of the examples of comic cliches and devices etc were oddly specific, others broad and if they were so specific like "Runaway Bride" then there were so many missed. What about the obsessive nerds, or fat guys or whatever?
Also this might same picky but there are quite a few typos and mistakes in this book that ought to be checked - for instance in Clueless, the main character isn't Claire, it's Cher. That's one of the jokes.
Perhaps this book is a little too old (2012?) - I can't remember what the vibe was around that time. Comedy is always subjective but I think any book on comedy blockbuster writing now would include something now about audience and how sensitive people are to certain themes, and walking that fine line of offence and comedy. Not that this can be taught.
This was a courageous effort as comedy is not something easy to do, let alone teach. I might use some of the devices in writing non-comedy so it has been some help.
November 5, 2019
I have no interest in writing a comedy blockbuster or any movie script for that matter. I read this instead to glean any tips on plain ol' writing. And it works.
At first glance, this looks like a fun book with jokes and surface-level study of the screenwriting process. But, Keith Giglio offers tons of examples that are pretty clear. He references several movies and breaks them down, creating a mosaic pattern that most movies use. It gets detailed. There's Act 1, Act 2-A, Act 2-B and Act 3. In each movie, something happens in each of the acts that help drive the film forward, and he backs that up, referring often to such movies as "There's Something About Marry," "Wedding Crashers" and "The Hangover."
He also offers scores of writing assignments and urges people to buy note cards and instructs readers in filling them out. Those who do the assignments should have the basis for a screenplay when finishing the book.
I read this strictly for writing comedy novels rather than movies. His ideas can be adapted easily from the screen to the print form and the book serves as a decent blueprint for writing a comedy novel.
Again, at first read, Giglio appears to be writing a light, funny, flippant book. But once you get into it, you see this guy knows his stuff. This should be required reading for any film making class, along with anyone interested in bettering his or her writing skills.
At first glance, this looks like a fun book with jokes and surface-level study of the screenwriting process. But, Keith Giglio offers tons of examples that are pretty clear. He references several movies and breaks them down, creating a mosaic pattern that most movies use. It gets detailed. There's Act 1, Act 2-A, Act 2-B and Act 3. In each movie, something happens in each of the acts that help drive the film forward, and he backs that up, referring often to such movies as "There's Something About Marry," "Wedding Crashers" and "The Hangover."
He also offers scores of writing assignments and urges people to buy note cards and instructs readers in filling them out. Those who do the assignments should have the basis for a screenplay when finishing the book.
I read this strictly for writing comedy novels rather than movies. His ideas can be adapted easily from the screen to the print form and the book serves as a decent blueprint for writing a comedy novel.
Again, at first read, Giglio appears to be writing a light, funny, flippant book. But once you get into it, you see this guy knows his stuff. This should be required reading for any film making class, along with anyone interested in bettering his or her writing skills.
February 9, 2024
This is not a book about how to be funny, or how to come up with a series of jokes. This magnificent book is about how to come up with a good script, that happens to be funny. I already knew how to write a script, but all the tips, suggestions and exercises from this book are so clear and helpful, I didn't mind reading the whole thing and putting it to practice.
There's a lot of humor in Giglio's writing, so reading through the 200+ pages is a joy. And there's a real step-by-step to create a screenplay! Whether you have zero experience or you're a professional, this book will definitely be very useful and practical. It's so easy to understand and follow, there are specific things to do in order to build the story characters and conflicts... What more could you want?
There's a lot of humor in Giglio's writing, so reading through the 200+ pages is a joy. And there's a real step-by-step to create a screenplay! Whether you have zero experience or you're a professional, this book will definitely be very useful and practical. It's so easy to understand and follow, there are specific things to do in order to build the story characters and conflicts... What more could you want?
December 18, 2019
Love the approach to writing that they focus on— you’re working with your whole story from the beginning. Great, and current, movie examples used, too.
October 26, 2021
Found this book helpful when I was first starting out in my comedy writing journey for film/TV. Not sure if it's still up to date/relevant. Been a hot minute since I read it.
September 13, 2015
A very loose and easy guide to writing a comedy is the result in Keith Giglio's book. Prepare to get a list of movie watching done, because it references a whole lot.
But ultimately at its core, it tells you bare bones of what you need to make a successful comedy. Whether you just came up with the idea and need structure, or you've written it and need to re-visit it to change some stuff, its a handy book that I visit time and time again to help me write comedies, which are hard.
But ultimately at its core, it tells you bare bones of what you need to make a successful comedy. Whether you just came up with the idea and need structure, or you've written it and need to re-visit it to change some stuff, its a handy book that I visit time and time again to help me write comedies, which are hard.
August 16, 2012
An outstanding analytically structured approach to writing commercial comedy screenplays. Yet it's also a breezy read. Using examples both classic ("It Happened One Night") and current ("No Strings Attached"), Giglio breaks the daunting tasks of writing a movie script into easy steps, and has a great plan for getting your first draft done in six weeks. Now to buy some index cards...
October 12, 2012
Fun and accessible, and it gives me someone to blame if the screenplay I'm going to write after following his exercises doesn't sell!
January 5, 2017
This book is just a huge collection of references to movies.
If you have never read abook about writing screenplays, you may get something out of it, but felt it wa too unfocused.
If you have never read abook about writing screenplays, you may get something out of it, but felt it wa too unfocused.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews