Product Description

Published for the first time in the UK, Syd Field, acclaimed writer and director, tells you step-by-step how to identify and fix common screenwriting problems, providing the professional secrets that make films brilliant - secrets that can make your screenplay a success. He provides easily understood guidelines for writing a screenplay, from concept to finished product. The art of film-writing is made accessible to novices and helps practiced writers improve their scripts, as the author pinpoints stylistic and structural elements such as characterisation and plot. Tips and techniques on what to do after your screenplay has been completed and much more are all here. There are also practical examples from films which Syd Field has collaborated on such as Lord of the Rings, American Beauty and The Pianist. Written for all levels of screenwriters, this is an indispensable reference book for anyone who wants to make money as a great screenwriter.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #62595 in Books
• Published on: 2003-08-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 416 pages

Review
'The most sought after screenwriting teacher in the world', Hollywood Reporter .'Impressive...His easy-to-follow, step-by-step approaches are comforting and his emphasis on right attitude and motivation is uplifting', LA Times Book Review

Steven Bocho, writer/producer/director LA Law and NYPD Blue
"If I were writing screenplays...I would carry Syd Field around in my back pocket wherever I went"

Los Angeles Times Book Review
"Impressive...his easy-to-follow, step-by-step approaches are comforting and his emphasis on right attitude and motivation is uplifting"

Customer Reviews

The best screenwriting book I have read yet!
Syd Field is a respected individual in Hollywood - His knowledge is indespensible for people who want to break into this type of work - If you're a writer who wants to write great stuff but also want to correct any past errors or bad writing habbits then this is a great book - Its completely in depth and covers the screenwriting process from start to finish - Syd writes in an easy informative way while also being very entertaining and giving classic Hollywood movie examples - The book is nearly 400 pages long and a worthy purchase for any screenwriter (Amateur or professional.). Its like a complete screenwriting course in book format.

The definitive guide to writing cliches
After hearing about Syd Field, I read "The Definitive Guide", and feel compelled to warn people away.

While at times some the advice he offers is useful, such as the "After it's written" chapter, other's reduce the art of screenwriting to an ill-thought out formula. His whole notion of "Plot Points", and the delusion they always occur at two places is ridiculuous.

But the worst thing about the book is that it will force its readers to produce cliches; example: I couldn't believe it when he advised giving your protagonist a pet to make them a more interesting character. Other parts of the book are mildly interesting, but he neither truly understands the art nor knows how to teach its principles.

How on earth Syd Field has gained such a reputation is beyond me. In my opinion, next to Aristotle's Poetics, the truly definitive duide to Screenwriting is a book which recognises not only the Art of Screenwriting, but also the wonders that are stories in general - Robert McKee's "Story".

Proof in the pudding!
Syd Field's book contains some usefull pointers, however you could outline the jist of this in ten pages. His rules are there to be broken, yeah its good to know them but sticking rigidly to them makes for a formulaic movie.
After reading this book I wondered about Syd Field's credentials so I looked him up on the internet. Turns out Syd has "Collaborated" on two movies; White Palace and City of Joy. I can't comment on them as I have never seen either but Its hardly a prolific or particularly succesful output from the supposed "guru of screenwriters".