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In this fascinating survey of contemporary screen craft, David Cohen of Script and Variety magazines leads readers down the long and harrowing road every screenplay takes from idea to script to screen. In interviews with Hollywood screenwriters from across the board—Oscar winners and novices alike — Cohen explores what sets apart the blockbuster successes from the downright disasters.
Tracing the fortunes of twenty-five films, including Troy, Erin Brockovich, Lost in Translation, and The Aviator, Cohen offers insider access to back lots and boardrooms, to studio heads, directors, and to the over-caffeinated screenwriters themselves. As the story of each film evolves from the drawing board to the big screen, Cohen proves that how a script is written, sold, developed, and filmed can be just as dramatic and intriguing as the movie itself—especially when the resulting movie is a fiasco.
Covering films of all kinds—from tongue-in-cheek romps like John Waters's A Dirty Shame to Oscar winners like Monster's Ball and The Hours — Screen Plays is an anecdote-filled, often inspiring, always revealing look at the alchemy of the movie business. With Cohen as your expert guide, Screen Plays exposes how and why certain films (such as Gladiator) become "tent poles," those runaway successes every studio needs to survive, and others become train wrecks. Full of critical clues on how to sell a script—and avoid seeing it destroyed before the director calls Action!—it's the one book every aspiring screenwriter will find irresistible.
Praise for Screen Plays:
"A great read for screenwriters, for anyone with screenwriting ambitions, or for anyone who has sat in a theater wondering, 'How did this piece of crap get made?'" -- Jim Windolf, Contributing Editor, vanityfair.com
"Nowhere is Cohen’s understanding of the tempestuous film industry more apparent than in the compelling account of Black Hawk Down screenwriter Ken Nolan, who was terminated from that project only to get himself re-hired and, ultimately, sole writing credit. Cohen’s is a surefire crowd-pleaser for casual movie fans and true cineastes." -- Publishers Weekly
"Perhaps you can't even count the number of times you've been sitting in a movie theater, thinking of all the other things you'll never buy with your misspent money, and you turn and say to your equally dismayed companion, 'How did this piece of crap ever get made?'
A fascinating, detailed dissection of the screenwriting process, David S. Cohen's Screen Plays explores exactly that question .... There are roughly eight million "how to write a hit screenplay" books littering bookstore shelves. Avoid them all. Get your expertise from the mouths of those who have been through the process; learn from their mistakes and take their successes to heart. Screen Plays is a fascinating book that will inspire any screenwriter, professional or otherwise, and help guide him/her through the tangled morass of the modern film industry." -- Chris Bolton, Powell's Books
"Most books on screenwriting focus on the craft of writing, but Cohen shows us what happens to the script after it’s written. For people who want to get into the screenwriting trade, it is a valuable look at what can and will happen to them and their scripts as the scripts turn into films." -- Tom Stempel, screenwriting teacher and author
"I just finished reading your Screen Plays book and I have to say it was the most enjoyable and informative book I have read about the art of screenwriting in years. It is so refreshing to get into the back story of how movies were put together, how the writers tick, that I am already wanting "How 25 More Scripts Made It To A Theatre Near You" and after that, "Yet Even More Scripts"
"Basically I am begging you to keep this going, make it into a regular series." -- Todd Gordon, Moviequill blog
"A must-read for any movie lover." -- Little Apple Bookworm blog
