“A first-rate analysis of why good screenplays work: a virtual must for aspiring screenwriters.” —Lynda Obst, producer, How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days, Sleepless in Seattle
“One of the very best books I have read on movies or screenplays. Syd writes both with passion and an astute understanding.” —Hans Zimmer, film composer, Inception, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, The Da Vinci Code, The Dark Knight, Gladiator (Won Golden Globe), The Lion King (Won Oscar, Golden Globe), Thelma & Louise
Technology is transforming the art and craft of screenwriting. How does the writer find new ways to tell a story with pictures, to create a truly outstanding film? Syd Field shows what works, why, and how in four films: Thelma & Louise, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, The Silence of the Lambs, and Dances with Wolves.
Journey with Syd Field through these extraordinary scripts, and learn how:
- Callie Khouri, in her first movie script, Thelma & Louise, rewrote the rules for good road movies and played against type to create a new American classic.
- James Cameron, writer/director of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, created a sequel integrating spectacular special effects and a storyline that transformed the Terminator, the quintessential killing machine, into a sympathetic character.
- Ted Talley adapted Thomas Harris’ chilling 350-page novel, The Silence of the Lambs, into a riveting 120-page script-a lesson in the art and craft of adapting novels into film.
- Michael Blake, author of Dances with Wolves, achieved every writer’s dream as he translated his novel into an uncompromising film. Learn how he used transformation as a spiritual dynamic in this work of mythic sweep.
Informative and utterly engrossing, Four Screenplays belongs in every writer’s library, next to Field’s highly acclaimed companion volumes, Screenplay, The Screenwriter’s Workbook, and Selling a Screenplay.