Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting

A generation of screenwriters has used Syd Field’s bestselling books to ignite successful careers in film. Now the celebrated producer, lecturer, teacher, and bestselling author has updated his classic guide for a new generation of filmmakers, offering a fresh insider’s perspective on the film industry today. From concept to character, from opening scene to finished script, here are easily understood guidelines to help aspiring screenwriters—from novices to practiced writers—hone their craft. Filled with updated material—including all-new personal anecdotes and insights, guidelines on marketing and collaboration, plus analyses of recent films, from American Beauty to Lord of the Rings —Screenplay presents a step-by-step, comprehensive technique for writing the screenplay that will succeed in Hollywood. Discover: •Why the first ten pages of your script are crucially important •How to visually “grab” the reader from page one, word one •Why structure and character are the essential foundation of your screenplay •How to adapt a novel, a play, or an article into a screenplay •Tips on protecting your work—three legal ways to claim ownership of your screenplay •The essentials of writing great dialogue, creating character, building a story line, overcoming writer’s block, getting an agent, and much more. With this newly updated edition of his bestselling classic, Syd Field proves yet again why he is revered as the master of the screenplay—and why his celebrated guide has become the industry’s gold standard for successful screenwriting.