Crafty Screenwriting

Writing Movies That Get Made

Alex Epstein

Holt Paperbacks

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The most innovative and creative screenwriting book yet, from an author who knows first-hand what it takes to get a movie made.

Based on an award-winning website hailed as "smart enough for professional screenwriters and accessible enough for aspiring screenwriters", Crafty Screenwriting is the first book not only to offer a successful screenwriter's tricks of the trade, but to explain what development executives really mean when they complain that the "dialogue is flat," or "the hero isn't likeable." Fresh, provocative, and funny, Alex Epstein diagnoses problem that other screenwriting books barely address, and answers questions they rarely ask, like "Why is it sometimes dangerous to know your characters too well before you start writing," or "Why does your script have to be so much better than the awful pictures that get made every day?" As a development executive who has accepted and rejected countless screenplays, and a produced screenwriter himself, Epstein can take you into the heart of the most important question of all: "Is this a movie?" A crucial book for anyone who has ever wondered what it takes to get their movie made.

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Book Excerpts

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Crafty Screenwriting
1HOOKWhat's a screenplay? Good question. After all, if you're going to write one, you ought to know the answer. Right?You probably already know an answer. A screenplay is writing intended to be turned into film. It's a hundred-odd pages held together by brass brads, in which you have written down whatever you want the audience to see and hear in your movie.If it gets made, the director will come up with a whole new vision, the actors will change your dialogue, the editor will concoct another way to order the scenes, and it won't be "your movie" anymore.

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Reviews

Praise for Crafty Screenwriting

"Alex Epstein brings a screenwriting pro's honesty, skill, and expertise to a field otherwise crowded with how-to-write quacks." --John Badham, director of Saturday Night Fever

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About the Author

Alex Epstein

Alex Epstein has worked as a development executive, screenwriter, and television story editor for more than a decade. He has helped develop projects with directors such as Richard Attenborough and John Badham. A graduate of Yale University and the UCLA School of Film and Television, he is the creator of the popular website www.craftyscreenwriting.com.

Alex Epstein

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Available Formats and Book Details

Crafty Screenwriting
Writing Movies That Get Made
Alex Epstein

Trade Paperback

Trade Paperback
Henry Holt and Co.
Holt Paperbacks
October 2002
Trade Paperback
ISBN: 9780805069921
ISBN10: 0805069925
5 1/2 x 8 1/4 inches, 288 pages
$16.99

e-Book Agency

e-Book Agency
Henry Holt and Co.
Holt Paperbacks
October 2002
e-Book Agency
ISBN: 9781466824720
ISBN10: 1466824727
288 pages
$9.99
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Holt Paperbacks

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