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purplish4673's review against another edition
fast-paced
If this is the screenwriting bible, I’m an agnostic. The book is chock full of great writing advice which I will definitely take into my projects. It helped me realize some of the problems in my WIPs, and inspired me to keep working on them.
But I disagreed hard with him on so many points. His “my way or the highway” attitude and his one size fits all approach to writing really annoyed me, and also made his arguments and lessons weaker. He referenced “Four Christmases” as a good example, but dunked on so many beloved films such as Spiderman 1&2, Shrek 2, and the subversive masterpiece Memento. Many of his examples that went “if we changed the x to y, it wouldn’t work anymore,” but I’d kinda rather see the latter. Film is subjective so it’s ok if he has different tastes than me, but it seems he doesn’t feel the same and believes theres only one right way to make a film.
While it did feel like he cracked the code, it also feels like somewhere along the way he forgot that storytelling is art. He’s dissecting a flower, doing cold hard science to see how the thing works, but forgetting that it’s beautiful. There’s a lot more to filmmaking than having the most “demographically pleasing” characters and raking in millions. Maybe Memento was a box office flop, but it’s stood the test of time far better than Four Christmases, and it launched Nolans career to become one of the most acclaimed - and highest paid - directors of the modern era. Who cares if Spider-Man has “Double Mumbo Jumbo”? It’s fun, thrilling, and heartfelt. His rules can be very helpful in focusing the filmmaker, and making it marketable is important ti get the thing made. But adhering too strictly ti these rules, and focusing too hard in this metrics might distract the filmmaker from the more important questions: Is this a good movie? And Is this the movie I want to make?
But I disagreed hard with him on so many points. His “my way or the highway” attitude and his one size fits all approach to writing really annoyed me, and also made his arguments and lessons weaker. He referenced “Four Christmases” as a good example, but dunked on so many beloved films such as Spiderman 1&2, Shrek 2, and the subversive masterpiece Memento. Many of his examples that went “if we changed the x to y, it wouldn’t work anymore,” but I’d kinda rather see the latter. Film is subjective so it’s ok if he has different tastes than me, but it seems he doesn’t feel the same and believes theres only one right way to make a film.
While it did feel like he cracked the code, it also feels like somewhere along the way he forgot that storytelling is art. He’s dissecting a flower, doing cold hard science to see how the thing works, but forgetting that it’s beautiful. There’s a lot more to filmmaking than having the most “demographically pleasing” characters and raking in millions. Maybe Memento was a box office flop, but it’s stood the test of time far better than Four Christmases, and it launched Nolans career to become one of the most acclaimed - and highest paid - directors of the modern era. Who cares if Spider-Man has “Double Mumbo Jumbo”? It’s fun, thrilling, and heartfelt. His rules can be very helpful in focusing the filmmaker, and making it marketable is important ti get the thing made. But adhering too strictly ti these rules, and focusing too hard in this metrics might distract the filmmaker from the more important questions: Is this a good movie? And Is this the movie I want to make?
angeladaybooks's review against another edition
Great book, love how screenplay craft books are direct but have a sense of humour and candidness, and are filled with great detail on how to do it. As a novel writer, I gravitate more to these types of books these days than purely novel writing. I recommend this as a read as well as the derivative Save the Cat Writes a Novel.
cooper_michael's review against another edition
4.0
This was a great introduction to the craft of screenwriting. I definitely want to learn more and get more opinions. It is a very practical way of writing that leaves little room for creativity, but I can see how the method works to sell a product. This book definitely make the art form seem like a job, which it totally is, but I want more creative freedom to push the boundaries.
andyd95's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
4.0