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Screen Plays: How 25 Scripts Made It to a Theater Near You—for Better or Worse
In this fascinating survey of contemporary screen craft, David Cohen of Script and Variety magazines leads readers down the long and harrowing road every screenplay takes from idea to script to screen. In interviews with Hollywood screenwriters from across the board—Oscar winners and novices alike—Cohen explores what sets apart the blockbuster successes from the downright disasters.
Tracing the fortunes of twenty-five films, including Troy, Erin Brockovich, Lost in Translation, and The Aviator, Cohen offers insider access to back lots and boardrooms, to studio heads, directors, and to the over-caffeinated screenwriters themselves. As the story of each film evolves from the drawing board to the big screen, Cohen proves that how a script is written, sold, developed, and filmed can be just as dramatic and intriguing as the movie itself—especially when the resulting movie is a fiasco.
Covering films of all kinds—from tongue-in-cheek romps like John Waters's A Dirty Shame to Oscar winners like Monster's Ball and The Hours—Screen Plays is an anecdote-filled, often inspiring, always revealing look at the alchemy of the movie business. With Cohen as your expert guide, Screen Plays exposes how and why certain films (such as Gladiator) become "tent poles," those runaway successes every studio needs to survive, and others become train wrecks. Full of critical clues on how to sell a script—and avoid seeing it destroyed before the director calls Action!—it's the one book every aspiring screenwriter will find irresistible.
Tracing the fortunes of twenty-five films, including Troy, Erin Brockovich, Lost in Translation, and The Aviator, Cohen offers insider access to back lots and boardrooms, to studio heads, directors, and to the over-caffeinated screenwriters themselves. As the story of each film evolves from the drawing board to the big screen, Cohen proves that how a script is written, sold, developed, and filmed can be just as dramatic and intriguing as the movie itself—especially when the resulting movie is a fiasco.
Covering films of all kinds—from tongue-in-cheek romps like John Waters's A Dirty Shame to Oscar winners like Monster's Ball and The Hours—Screen Plays is an anecdote-filled, often inspiring, always revealing look at the alchemy of the movie business. With Cohen as your expert guide, Screen Plays exposes how and why certain films (such as Gladiator) become "tent poles," those runaway successes every studio needs to survive, and others become train wrecks. Full of critical clues on how to sell a script—and avoid seeing it destroyed before the director calls Action!—it's the one book every aspiring screenwriter will find irresistible.
342 pages, Hardcover
First published February 5, 2008
About the author
David S. Cohen
9 books5 followersDavid S. Cohen is an entertainment and business reporter as well as a writer and producer for film and television. During his thirty years in show business, he has acted and directed off-off Broadway plays, scripted television documentaries, and written for the syndicated series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. As a reporter, he has covered screenwriting, visual effects, and film production for Variety and Script magazines for more than a decade. He lives with his wife in Los Angeles.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
May 5, 2008
The title of the review I read of Cohen's Screen Plays was titled "How Does this Crap Get Made?" and I thought "HA! This is a question I ask myself ALL THE TIME." So, thanks to the joys of ILL, I got to find out. Cohen, a writer turned journalist for Variety and Script (the introductory story about his own foray into writing Star Trek episodes sets the story perfectly) takes a look at how 25 movies went from first draft to the actual movie. He writes about big hits and Oscar winners(Gladiator, The Aviator, Erin Brokovich, Witness), indies (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Lost in Translation) and movies that just didn't turn out right, often despite A list casts (Evening - Meryl Streep, Glenn Close, Vanessa Redgrave, Claire Danes, Toni Collette).
Each chapter is relatively short, and Cohen interviews each of the writers from the perspective of someone who is a writer, a journalist, and movie fan. He's a good writer himself, and uses each film to illustrate something new about screenwriting and how movies get made. It's filled with insider drama -writers getting hired, fired, and rehired, scripts being rewritten and then changed back to the original versions, directors and A list actors being "attached," and screenplays changing hands as studio fortunes rise and fall.
Most interesting chapters? The ones on American Beauty (minor changes suggested to writer Allan Ball changed the whole tone of the film, and for the better), My Best Friend's Wedding (more anti-Hollywood ending than I'd ever considered) and Pay it Forward (because, really, how did that crap get made?).
Each chapter is relatively short, and Cohen interviews each of the writers from the perspective of someone who is a writer, a journalist, and movie fan. He's a good writer himself, and uses each film to illustrate something new about screenwriting and how movies get made. It's filled with insider drama -writers getting hired, fired, and rehired, scripts being rewritten and then changed back to the original versions, directors and A list actors being "attached," and screenplays changing hands as studio fortunes rise and fall.
Most interesting chapters? The ones on American Beauty (minor changes suggested to writer Allan Ball changed the whole tone of the film, and for the better), My Best Friend's Wedding (more anti-Hollywood ending than I'd ever considered) and Pay it Forward (because, really, how did that crap get made?).
November 15, 2008
I can't resist behind the scenes books and especially ones that focus on writers. This one is a decent effort into that category. It tells the story behind a bunch of film scripts of the last eight years or so. One of my favorites, Lost in Translation is profiled, but I also find it's fun to read about the genesis of movies that I would never ever see like Pay It Forward. Movies that I haven't seen that I might after reading this include Bounce and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.
"She started with the suggestion from her brother Roman, who told her to write in the style of beat poet Richard Brautigan. "He writes these little paragraphs. It's easier to write a paragraph than a whole scene or a whole page." So she wrote down her memories of Toyko, not worrying about how they'd fit together. "I find that helpful. It takes the pressure off to say I'm just going to write a couple of sentences about what I want the scene to be like."
"The thing you need to avoid when writing is that initial glance at a work. If I reread the previous day's output, I may never get over my feeling of disgust. I just have to soldier on and not be diverted by my own disgust at what I've managed to achieve. I'm a very self-critical person. My job is to spend that two hours a day, and eventually to type 'The End.' Then I let it sit, and then I reread it, and that's a very painful day." For Roos, that day rarely comes less than two weeks after writing a new passage. "I very often don't even get through it the first time. I get to page thirty and I think, Oh man, I'm in such fuckin' trouble here. Maybe I have to re-outline I don't know. That first encounter with your own work of art -- I find [it] very tough."
"She started with the suggestion from her brother Roman, who told her to write in the style of beat poet Richard Brautigan. "He writes these little paragraphs. It's easier to write a paragraph than a whole scene or a whole page." So she wrote down her memories of Toyko, not worrying about how they'd fit together. "I find that helpful. It takes the pressure off to say I'm just going to write a couple of sentences about what I want the scene to be like."
"The thing you need to avoid when writing is that initial glance at a work. If I reread the previous day's output, I may never get over my feeling of disgust. I just have to soldier on and not be diverted by my own disgust at what I've managed to achieve. I'm a very self-critical person. My job is to spend that two hours a day, and eventually to type 'The End.' Then I let it sit, and then I reread it, and that's a very painful day." For Roos, that day rarely comes less than two weeks after writing a new passage. "I very often don't even get through it the first time. I get to page thirty and I think, Oh man, I'm in such fuckin' trouble here. Maybe I have to re-outline I don't know. That first encounter with your own work of art -- I find [it] very tough."
February 11, 2010
wish this book were thousands of pages. The reason it has a 7.8 is because some of the stories were not as interesting and the writer is problematic at times. However, this is a fascinating look at how screenplays go from page to screen, telling the story of 25 films and what they began as and what they evolved into. Some have heavy studio involvement and the script ends up being a mere shell of what it once was. Some have authors adapting their own work. One has an author writing an adaptation of a book he did not write. Some have the screenwriter getting replaced by several other people who came in to do rewrites. Some have independent filmmakers trying to explore something meaningful and get it to the screen in good condition. Not only is this an incredible look into how the industry works but it goes into all the different reasons scripts may change. It has in depth interviews with every screenwriter discussing their process, what they wanted to do, their troubles and whether or not it was successful. My favorite stories were The Hours, Happiness, A Dirty Shame, Mona Lisa Smile, Evening, American Beauty, Random Hearts, Pay it Forward, Erin Brockovich, Monster's Ball, A Simple Plan and basically all the others. This was endlessly fascinating.
July 1, 2008
Author Cohen combs through twenty five screenplays and dissects their sometimes serpentine paths from the page to the screen, including interviews with the authors about their creative process. I enjoyed the candid nature of many of the chapters- often the parties involved don't mince words about what was and what was not a successful film and I appreciated the fact that this book didn't become an asskissing festival. In particular, I found the chapter on Mona Lisa Smile quite compelling as an example of Hollywood polishing off the edges of a screenplay to the point where the story becomes so inoffensive and bland, nobody cares.
That being said, I felt like the choices of movies here were rather scattershot... but that's really my only complaint, and even that could be viewed as a plus. You don't often get to hear about films like A Simple Plan as in depth as you do here.
That being said, I felt like the choices of movies here were rather scattershot... but that's really my only complaint, and even that could be viewed as a plus. You don't often get to hear about films like A Simple Plan as in depth as you do here.
January 26, 2012
This book was good and had something interesting insight and little pointers from the writers interviewed in it. Both informational as well as engaging. However, I wish the interviews with the screenwriters were a little more in depth. Most of the chapters in this book were only about 10 pages long and that included a summary of the film so I felt like Cohen just glazed the surface of the creation of these films. This book also mostly covered a small time frame of films between 1998-2004 . Likewise there was a good bit of repetition; 2 films directed by Steven Sodeberg, 2 films starring Julia Roberts, and 2 films based on books by MIchael Cunningham. I did enjoy the book and there are a lot of really good films that they talk about in it, but with 25 screenplays I would have liked to see a bit less overlap and a wider scope as far as when the films were produced.
September 1, 2018
This is a collection of the author's Script Magazine interviews with with screen writers. It's a fascinating look into the writing process. When adapting a novel, what do you leave in? What do you take out? Do you add characters that never appeared in the book? How do you take pages of talky narrative and turn it into scenes?
Cohen's book covers twenty-five movies, only one of which I might have seen. Some of them were hits. Others simply baffled audiences. Some of the screenwriters, I might add, were baffling. To read about a man defending the humanity and relevance of his NC-17-rated screenplay is to witness an expert round of self-justification.
Cohen's book covers twenty-five movies, only one of which I might have seen. Some of them were hits. Others simply baffled audiences. Some of the screenwriters, I might add, were baffling. To read about a man defending the humanity and relevance of his NC-17-rated screenplay is to witness an expert round of self-justification.
February 28, 2008
A fascinating look at the development of feature films focusing on the screenwriter, as opposed to the actors or directors, and I would think a good reference for someone looking to navigate the writing/pitching/selling process in Hollywood. The book includes a good mix of types of films, films with different development issues, and films with differing degrees of success or failure. My only complaint would be the number of editing mistakes - typos, missing words, etc. (I stopped counting at 10) Mistakes in books drive me nuts and are inexcusable in a book ABOUT writing.
June 29, 2019
The stories of the creation and implementations of these scripts, including the nightmares of working with some directors, is fascinating. The only reason that this is a 4-star book instead of a 5-star book is the fact that some of the chapters can be better or at least more consistently arranged.
October 23, 2022
wow this guy really likes julia roberts films
November 4, 2015
SCREEN PLAYS takes a seemingly random sampling of 25 different movies and explains the process by which they were made, paying particular attention to the evolution of the scripts.
The book is at its best when it focuses on the practical, business-oriented aspects of movie-making, and the manner in which artists are constantly pressured to compromise their creative visions. In certain sections, this book really shines a light on the various legal, logistical, and budgetary concerns that plague the productions of most Hollywood films. The book's Introduction entertainingly describes the author's own experience with selling a STAR TREK: DS9 script, only to be asked to change and re-write it to the point that it lost all its original appeal. The sections on BLACK HAWK DOWN and THE AVIATOR explore the difficulties of adapting real-life events to the big screen, and chapters on THE HOURS, THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY, and PAY IT FORWARD give you an idea of the headaches involved with basing your script on problematic source material. The stories behind such films as MONA LISA SMILE and WITNESS illustrate the changes that scripts must undergo in order to cater to the larger-than-life personae of their lead actors.
Although reading about the "big Hollywood machine" is always interesting, regardless of the movie being discussed, SCREEN PLAYS all-too-often switches focus to how the screenwriters developed their ideas, which is a hit-or-miss approach depending on your interest (or lack thereof) in a given film. Personally, I couldn't care less how John Waters came up with the idea for DIRTY SHAME, or how Todd Solondz worked out the plot for HAPPINESS--those are two movies I'd rather claw my eyes out than watch. In fact, out of the 25 movies profiled here, only three or four are of any serious interest to me. Therefore, whenever the book spent a lot of time on the writers' creative process rather than on the business of filmmaking, I got bored. People who enjoyed a greater percentage of these movies will get more out of the book than I did.
The book is at its best when it focuses on the practical, business-oriented aspects of movie-making, and the manner in which artists are constantly pressured to compromise their creative visions. In certain sections, this book really shines a light on the various legal, logistical, and budgetary concerns that plague the productions of most Hollywood films. The book's Introduction entertainingly describes the author's own experience with selling a STAR TREK: DS9 script, only to be asked to change and re-write it to the point that it lost all its original appeal. The sections on BLACK HAWK DOWN and THE AVIATOR explore the difficulties of adapting real-life events to the big screen, and chapters on THE HOURS, THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY, and PAY IT FORWARD give you an idea of the headaches involved with basing your script on problematic source material. The stories behind such films as MONA LISA SMILE and WITNESS illustrate the changes that scripts must undergo in order to cater to the larger-than-life personae of their lead actors.
Although reading about the "big Hollywood machine" is always interesting, regardless of the movie being discussed, SCREEN PLAYS all-too-often switches focus to how the screenwriters developed their ideas, which is a hit-or-miss approach depending on your interest (or lack thereof) in a given film. Personally, I couldn't care less how John Waters came up with the idea for DIRTY SHAME, or how Todd Solondz worked out the plot for HAPPINESS--those are two movies I'd rather claw my eyes out than watch. In fact, out of the 25 movies profiled here, only three or four are of any serious interest to me. Therefore, whenever the book spent a lot of time on the writers' creative process rather than on the business of filmmaking, I got bored. People who enjoyed a greater percentage of these movies will get more out of the book than I did.
April 10, 2013
Everybody with a job wishes, at some point, to be a fly on the wall during an important conversation between masters in their field, and listen in to the important negotiations, discussions and decision-making.
But in the elusive world of writing, master craftsmen become hermits and useful information from successful people actually making a living by crafting stories is hard to come by. Enter SCREEN PLAYS. Read it and find yourself in awe.
But to be clear: they're not all stories of success. Some illustrate bad choices and career-ending decisions. But learn from it, we will. No matter if you're wanting to be a screenwriter yourself, a novelist, a children's author - whatever - if your craft involves plot, characters, and dialogue, you can learn something from this book.
Moreover, SCREEN PLAYS is also entertaining. Because you've seen most of the movies the book discusses, you can compare the final product with the work that went into the creation - and you'll find yourself nodding your head in agreement, reading with your mouth open in an O of wonder, and laughing at the events that unfold in this biography of sorts.
I read this over a 6-week period; one movie discussion at a time as a break between other reading. This is a keeper for me and something I highly recommend to anyone interested in any kind of behind-the-scenes dirt on the business of writing.
But in the elusive world of writing, master craftsmen become hermits and useful information from successful people actually making a living by crafting stories is hard to come by. Enter SCREEN PLAYS. Read it and find yourself in awe.
But to be clear: they're not all stories of success. Some illustrate bad choices and career-ending decisions. But learn from it, we will. No matter if you're wanting to be a screenwriter yourself, a novelist, a children's author - whatever - if your craft involves plot, characters, and dialogue, you can learn something from this book.
Moreover, SCREEN PLAYS is also entertaining. Because you've seen most of the movies the book discusses, you can compare the final product with the work that went into the creation - and you'll find yourself nodding your head in agreement, reading with your mouth open in an O of wonder, and laughing at the events that unfold in this biography of sorts.
I read this over a 6-week period; one movie discussion at a time as a break between other reading. This is a keeper for me and something I highly recommend to anyone interested in any kind of behind-the-scenes dirt on the business of writing.
January 13, 2020
Whether you’re a film buff, or film buff/struggling writer, Cohen’s Screen Plays covers a broad scope of the finesse and foibles of some blockbuster hits and misses.
Taking an analytical approach to dissect the development of story and characters, Cohen uses examples from well-known films to illustrate the techniques, and how they were used effectively (or not).
Like all arts, there is no “right” or “wrong” way of doing things, but there are several formulas which have proven effective for various purposes in telling stories or developing characters. As far as film critique goes, Screen Plays covers a satisfying collection of them.
Whether you write for film or print, this may prove to be thoughtful insight on things to watch out for, and give you ideas on how to tie sub-plot into dialogue to create more depth in your scenes and in the believability of your characters.
Even if you don’t write, it’s an interesting cross-section of how stories are made to film, freckled with interesting highlights from the productions, and various lesser-known glimpses at the processes of creation.
Taking an analytical approach to dissect the development of story and characters, Cohen uses examples from well-known films to illustrate the techniques, and how they were used effectively (or not).
Like all arts, there is no “right” or “wrong” way of doing things, but there are several formulas which have proven effective for various purposes in telling stories or developing characters. As far as film critique goes, Screen Plays covers a satisfying collection of them.
Whether you write for film or print, this may prove to be thoughtful insight on things to watch out for, and give you ideas on how to tie sub-plot into dialogue to create more depth in your scenes and in the believability of your characters.
Even if you don’t write, it’s an interesting cross-section of how stories are made to film, freckled with interesting highlights from the productions, and various lesser-known glimpses at the processes of creation.
June 11, 2012
Lives up to what was mentioned in the introduction, it's a "how I did it" book rather than a "how to do it" book. Some interesting anecdotes and life lessons. A good variety of tales. Some wonderful, some not so wonderful. I was able to pinch out a few tips here and there but overall, it's a good library loan. I don't see myself coming back to this book any time soon. Also, for each movie they give a quick summary of the story. So if you're a bit anal on spoilers, either watch before, forget what you read, or skip chapter/book entirely.
March 12, 2009
Like The Big Picture, this book paints a pretty unflattering picture of the creative process in Hollywood. Once you get past that, though, it's interesting to see how and why different story and character decisions were made in the movies discussed. The book forces you to think about the constraints and opportunities of film as a medium in a way that people rarely do, especially in the chapters that cover adaptations of novels. Recommended for movie buffs.
July 25, 2008
I like movies. I like books. I like behind-the-scenes details. I have vague aspirations to write a screenplay. This books combines all of these interests of mine into one lovely package. I always love to learn how writers approach their craft and the process they take to write. A quick and fascinating read.
June 19, 2009
This is a highly interesting book on how various screen plays eventually became films. Some of the movies ended up making a lot of money and some of them did not, but all of them traveled an intriguing path. One can learn insiders' perspectives from those who have worked in the movie industry by reading this book. Cohen's smooth writing skills make this a pleasure to read.
July 6, 2009
One of the better behind-the-scenes books I've read in some time. This doesn't take the best recent screenplays; instead, we have a hodgepodge from the award-winning ("Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind") to the mediocre ("Mona Lisa Smile," although I quite liked it - but knowing what should've been there, now I'm disappointed) to the ghastly ("Pay it Forward").
March 2, 2010
This book would be great for any novelist to read. I think as writers, we become accustomed to having a great amount of creative control over our stories. In Screen Plays, it really opened my eyes to see how the control aspect could vary so greatly from film to film, and also to see where collaboration made some stories stronger, while diluting and distorting others.
January 1, 2011
Very interesting read. I got some brilliant advice from many of the most talented people in Hollywood (and elsewhere) as well as a frighteningly lengthy list of movies I should definitely watch.
Cohen never dulls, even when he's talking about things I find painfully boring. It was also easy to read, not because it was simple, but because it was enjoyable.
Cohen never dulls, even when he's talking about things I find painfully boring. It was also easy to read, not because it was simple, but because it was enjoyable.
May 19, 2012
Overall it was an interesting look at the relationship between writing the script and actually producing the script. At times it became repetitive or shallow in its analysis, but at least it was a fairly unbiased in its tone compared to the scathing cynicism it could have exhibited.
June 29, 2008
The story behind the stories. A look behind the scenes of 25 of the most and least successful screenplays ever to make it to the big screen. So much fun.
March 23, 2011
Really good, informative write ups. Could have been just a bit more in depth, but then I'm a film scholar, and in depth is what I do. I found this very worthwhile and interesting.
November 9, 2011
Flippantly written. I can't stand it and I can't get through it.
February 21, 2012
Honestly was a great read, I had to skip like 7 chapters since I hadn't seen the movie...
May 4, 2012
I really liked it. I want to see 'The Caveman's Valentine'.
May 26, 2012
Sometimes the writer gets a bit overly wordy but I did truly enjoy the stories that made some of these films happen. I really appreciate the screenwriters more now than before.
December 23, 2014
For the "behind the scenes" look at good and bad movies.
January 4, 2015
A look at 25 films and their gestation from script to finished product (GLADIATOR, AMERICAN BEAUTY, THE AVIATOR, WITNESS among them), with emphasis on the writer. Recommended for screenwriters.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews