false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170356268m/48654.jpg 48654 9 Writing for the screen is quirky business. A writer must labor meticulously over his or her prose, yet very little of that prose is ever heard by filmgoers. The few words that do reach the audience, in the form of the characters' dialogue, are, according to Robert McKee, best left to last in the writing process. ("As Alfred Hitchcock once remarked, 'When the screenplay has been written and the dialogue has been added, we're ready to shoot.' ") In <i>Story</i>, McKee puts into book form what he has been teaching screenwriters for years in his seminar on story structure, which is considered by many to be a prerequisite to the film biz. (The long list of film and television projects that McKee's students have written, directed, or produced includes <I>Air Force One</I>, <I>The Deer Hunter</I>, <I>E.R.</I>, <I>A Fish Called Wanda</I>, <I>Forrest Gump</I>, <I>NYPD Blue</I>, and <I>Sleepless in Seattle</I>.) Legions of writers flock to Hollywood in search of easy money, calculating the best way to get rich quick. This book is not for them. McKee is passionate about the art of screenwriting. "No one needs yet another recipe book on how to reheat Hollywood leftovers," he writes. "We need a rediscovery of the underlying tenets of our art, the guiding principles that liberate talent." <i>Story</i> is a true path to just such a rediscovery. In it, McKee offers so much sound advice, drawing from sources as wide ranging as Aristotle and <I>Casablanca</I>, Stanislavski and <I>Chinatown</I>, that it is impossible not to come away feeling immeasurably better equipped to write a screenplay and infinitely more inspired to write a brilliant one.<I>--Jane Steinberg</I> 47598 17 12 1997 Story: Substance, Structure, Style and The Principles of Screenwriting total:587|5:254|4:208|3:90|2:22|1:13| 587 2429 974 133 3 3 false false Wed Oct 15 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Sep 08 12:00:58 -0700 2008 Wed Oct 15 14:46:55 -0700 2008 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VseQe4TF...

Lines like, "You cannot have a protagonist without desire! It doesn't make sense! ANY. F****NG. SENSE!" and "WHY ...more...]]> 4 2 false false Tue May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon May 07 15:58:04 -0700 2007 Tue Jun 05 21:45:05 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5 2 false false Fri May 30 00:39:16 -0700 2008 Fri May 30 00:41:06 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 2 false false Thu Jun 19 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Feb 21 00:48:16 -0800 2008 Thu Jun 19 16:45:10 -0700 2008
The reason it took me six months was that Story is incredibly dense, and in the best possible way. If you want to understand what makes for a good story, and how and why they work, this is the book to read. But you'll need t...more...]]> 4 1 false false Thu Jul 26 11:05:26 -0700 2007 Wed Dec 03 14:46:38 -0800 2008
M...more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Jan 30 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Jul 09 14:32:42 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 09 14:32:42 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 1 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Wed Mar 11 09:54:43 -0700 2009 Wed Mar 11 12:07:05 -0700 2009 3 more...]]> 2 1 false false Tue May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Jun 18 14:49:55 -0700 2008 Wed Jun 18 14:53:11 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Jan 30 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 10 21:55:00 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 31 11:52:20 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Jun 23 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 11 01:17:55 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 03 19:01:43 -0700 2009 1 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Mar 02 14:11:52 -0800 2009 Mon Mar 02 14:15:52 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Aug 08 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 16 10:02:40 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 16 10:03:30 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Apr 25 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Oct 21 06:02:17 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 21 06:02:37 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Jul 01 11:23:55 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 01 11:29:15 -0700 2009 But see Yves Lavandier and William Goldman.
I've read the book twice and was less impressed the second time. I don't like mathematical, algebraic, geometric illustrations of how a story is constructed. But you will still learn m...more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Dec 30 20:33:37 -0800 2008 Fri Dec 26 22:42:50 -0800 2008 Tue Dec 30 20:33:37 -0800 2008
finished skimming through the volume - de...more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Apr 08 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Feb 01 13:21:08 -0800 2009 Wed Apr 08 16:59:37 -0700 2009 Story plainly shows why. Having thought of these ideas very little, or even at all, I have discovered there is so much more about the craft. And in no way is the discovery of such ignorance discouraging, but rather emboldening to realize ...more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Oct 26 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Oct 26 07:10:44 -0700 2008 Sun Oct 26 07:50:25 -0700 2008 1 more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Feb 18 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Tue Apr 08 11:36:28 -0700 2008 Tue Apr 08 11:36:28 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Mar 06 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Mar 13 14:01:30 -0700 2008 Sun Mar 23 14:34:44 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Oct 09 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Jan 31 06:42:53 -0800 2008 Sat Oct 10 07:39:05 -0700 2009 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=48654