Good Scripts, Bad Scripts: Learning the Craft of Screenwriting Through 25 of the Best and Worst Films in Hi story

by Thomas Pope

In this unique volume, respected screenwriter Thomas Pope offers an innovative and practical approach to teaching the craft of screenplay writing, in the process providing an engaging, behind-the-scenes look at the way the film industry really works. Each chapter deals with a different component of the art of screenwriting, from character development, to the nurturing of subplots, to the fundamentals of good dialogue, illustrating everything through the virtues or mistakes of a particular film. The book encompasses the best and worst of films throughout the years, including Citizen Kane, Pulp Fiction, Chinatown, Singing in the Rain, Bonfire of the Vanities , and many others. With its trenchant analysis and keen insight into the reasons films succeed or fail, Good Scripts, Bad Scripts is not only an invaluable guide for potential screenwriters, but a rich resource for any student interested in film and film history.

Genres: Writing, Film, Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads data base.

Reviews

[Lisa Tangen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting and well presented. The only complaint was the author's attempt to blame Reagan for human greed.

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this book would have been more helpful with more than just the small handful of excerpts from scripts as examples. I guess the licensing of more scripts would have made this book a lot more expensive though, so there aren't many script pages in here. But this is ultimately a book about overall structure of the screenwriting form of storytelling. I found that the second section of the book, which deals with Character rather than Structure actually falls a bit flat and continues along a structural analysis rather than one of character. As a companion book to something like McKee's Story, this book reinforces structural analysis of films to see why the formula of screenwriting works. It also investigates where the rules are broken and how that worked for certain stories.

I would recommend this book to someone who has already read a bit about screenplay structure and wants solid examples from actual films.

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid read on the architecture of screenwriting, breaking down 25 scripts (half hits, half flops) in terms of both structure and characterization. I appreciated the hand drawn charts the most, as well as the author’s strong personal opinions — even when I disagreed with them (as with The Abyss), I appreciated that he didn’t sugarcoat his opinions. I appreciated too, on a deeper scriptural level, the reinforcement of why, for example, despite an amazing twist ending, I always felt like The Usual Suspects didn’t work. Or why The Verdict always came off so grittily authentic. Particularly powerful is the chapter on Casablanca, confirming its perfection on every level (despite the chaos of its creation). What keeps this book from a higher rating is that it a) get repetitive because b) some of these films aren’t given equal page time or the flaws mimic other films already covered. Made me want to read The Devil’s Candy about the making of that most notorious of flops, The Bonfire Of The Vanities.

[Colin Sinclair · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some good bits, some bad bits. Some interesting stuff. It certainly encouraged me to think more about screenwriting and also to (re)watch some movies from back in the day.

[Tim Shaw · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very out of date for 21st Century readers

[Evan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A useful resource, but due to its age it can feel dated at times. Almost all of the bad scripts come from the 80s.

[Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

*WEW* It took us a long time, but Brian and I slogged through this book, watching every movie in it before reading its chapter together.

I can say it gave me a lot to think about, besides "OMG, why did he think this was a good movie?" I mean, Brian and I had lively and thoughtful discussions of plot and structure after each reading. Mostly, though, I felt the author was clearly blinded by his own opinions too much even to pick sensible movies to critique - he will praise the structure of one movie and excoriate the structure of another with the exact same structure... I also noticed that how accurately he summarized the plot beats had a lot to do with whether he wanted the movie to look good or not. :P

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

(4.5 stars.) If you have read a couple of books on screenwriting before, this one will not teach you much as far as theory is concerned.

However, you will likely find it very useful when it comes to thinking in the real world, as Pope analyzes examples, both good and bad, of what works and doesn't. In a word, rules do not always apply, and Pope convincingly shows why and how.

On (rare) occasions, his comments are two broad to be taken straightforwardly, but this book is a precious one, if only because it makes you think about questions of structure and character, through the thorough analysis of concrete examples.

[Alison · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the idea of this book, but the execution was rather shallow. Each script Pope deems as bad does not go into as much detail as each script he says is good. I want to know why each script is bad to the level of why the good ones are good.

Some of the information was really interesting like the deeper readings into Fargo and Prizzi's Honor, but each chapter is still rather shallow in description and reasons why they are good versus bad. He could have made this 10 scripts instead of 25 and doubled the value.

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't read all the chapters because I haven't seen all the corresponding movies. (Each chapter uses one script to highlight a particular lesson about structure or character.) But for those I have read, the analysis has been superb.

[Patricia Dietz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provides a great deal of helpful, practical hands-on information on how to write great film scripts. It analyzes why films succeed and why they fail with great detail. One of the best scriptwriting books I've seen.

[Bill Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gives real, tangible, almost mathematical reasons why screenplays work (Fargo, Tender Mercies) and don't (Falling in Love, Jewel of the Nile). Has visual graphs and specific lines of dialogue as illustrations. Reading this helped me understand WHY certain scripts work and others fail.

[Harper Valentine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really great book to point out the flaws and clever parts of a script/film. Any screenwriter should get themselves a copy of Good Scripts/Bad Scripts and keep it to hand. The description of the plot graphs and character development is simple but truly effective.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thomas Pope takes 25 screenplays and delves into their development history, structures, and use of characters as a way to teach screenwriting. An interesting read for film buffs. Includes examinations of such classics as Pulp Fiction, Fargo, The Usual Suspects, Casablanca, etc.

[Marissa]

i am reading this book slowly, as each chapter is about a different movie, and i haven't seen them all.

[Eddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best series of examples of structure and characterization I've read. A great companion to any scriptwriting text.

[Rscarff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun read, but the actual script analysis for most of the case films was pretty brief.