Books on screenwriting?
Did you already read some screenplays? Do you want books on screenwriting now?
Read this shit first:
Check out the Blogs page for online reading material.
Read those? Now go write some shit.
Wrote some shit? Messed around with it? Now read more screenplays.
Eventually, later, read this shit:
- Adventures in the Screen Trade
- Save The Cat – Be careful about this paint-by-numbers shit, this is a guide, not a template.
- Story by Robert McKee – Seriously, do not read this shit first, read screenplays.
- How Not to Write a Screenplay, AKA “101 Common Mistakes Most Screenwriters Make,” which is by the guy who co-wrote Star Trek VI. Anybody who can keep up with Nicholas Meyer is probably worth listening to.
- Who The Devil Made It
- Sculpting In Time – Fucking Tarkovsky, man. Watch his shit.
- Upright Citizens Brigade Comedy Improvisation Manual – This actually explains how comedy works.
- The Playboy Interview: The Directors – A really good collection of in-depth interviews with fantastic storytellers. The one with comedians is also quite interesting.
- Hit and Run – You won’t believe this shit.
- Harpo Speaks! – Technically, not shit. Read up and gain mad respect for this artist.
- Space Odyssey: Stanley Kubrick, Arthur C. Clarke, and the Making of a Masterpiece – Don’t let this shit happen to you.
More than any book, if you want to be writing movies and television, you should be reading screenplays (good and bad).
