The Aspiring Screenwriter's Dirty Lowdown Guide to Fame and Fortune: Tough Lessons You Need to Know to Take Your Script from Premise to Premiere

by Andy Rose

This will be a humorous and pithy guide to the craft of writing a screenplay and the business of being a screenwriter.

The stage at Hollywood's Dolby Theater is lit. Movie stars abound in tuxes and gowns, and Bradley Cooper slowly opens the sealed envelope, glances to the audience, and reads "And the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay goes to...." You kiss your guest on the cheek, shake hands with Spielberg, and head for the stage.

Winning an Oscar is a moment that most writers only dream of. But for those daring and talented few brave enough to take their hopes to Hollywood, there are clear and tangible steps to take if one knows the path. The Aspiring Screenwriter's Dirty Lowdown Guide to Fame and Fortune provides that path. And Andy Rose has walked it.

With years of experience with every major film studio and network, dozens of successful screenplays including feature films McHale's Navy and Splash 2; the TV movie Richest Cat in the World; and TV shows Life With Louie and UC: Undercover, Andy knows the business. He's here to debunk the big screen and teach you how to write a blockbuster screenplay and equally important, how to sell it.

Andy has worked with the best: Ron Howard, Tom Hanks, David Geffen, and Harvey Weinstein to name a few. He has filled this book with real life examples to learn from including contracts, screenplays, treatments, press, and more. For anyone who's ever dreamed of writing a screenplay, for anyone who's wondered how to sell one, this is a must read.

Genres: Writing

304 pages, Paperback

Published February 6, 2018

Reviews

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic and informative book with real life applicable information about the side of the industry you don’t really get to learn about in such a concise way. Most screen writing books are about the actual structure and cracked her screen writing but this really digs deep into the business side of it along with a few tips about the writing process.

He can be a bit blunt... not to a fault, because I’d rather learn about it now then in an actual situation, but sometimes it’s frustrating. But as he says, that’s the nature of the business.

My only negative about this book is that the title is gaudy as hell. But that probably wasn’t the writer’s fault...

[Gregory Butera · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a practical and humorous take on the process a talented writer might successfully sell something to television or film. The advice in this book, plus a ton of hard work and gobs and gobs of luck and maybe you could earn a living as a writer in show biz. At least it is a fun read. I’ve read a few screenwriting how-to books over the years and they’ve all taught me something new about the behind the scenes in the industry. This one was enjoyable and has a lot of practical advice if you ever decide something you write might be good enough to attempt that type of career.

[Alyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exactly what I was looking for. Straight to the point with clear examples, instructions and ideas. Also a very easy read. My one criticism is that author clearly has an ego and it takes away a bit from the advice.

[piratesPencil · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a pretty clear and effective guide to screenwriting, though it’s not especially different from a lot of other screenwriting how-tos that I’ve read. It also
suffers a bit from that sort of smarmy Hollywood tone that most screenwriting books have.

[Pepper · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad read, but really basic stuff. This isn’t a book for someone who has been writing for a while. I was hoping for more. The sections in lawyers & contracts was the most helpful in my opinion.