Book lists
A short list of recommended books on screenwriting, scriptwriting and film that you may find entertaining or stimulating. It is by no means exhaustive and will probably grow longer as I think of more titles to add.
ON SCREENWRITING
There are many “manuals” and self-help books on screenwriting with titles like “How to Write A Blockbuster in 21 Days”. Read them, by all means, to glean their pearls of wisdom but beware the ones selling you a prescriptive formula for success.
Writing is an occupation that requires equal parts of intuition and faith, and I’d dare to suggest that ‘good’ writing is mainly an instinctive skill. How do you hone your instincts? Well, in this case by reading actual scripts and by immersing yourself in the ‘live’ experience of watching films with a keen and observational eye so that you begin to understand how the medium works.
Nevertheless here is a short list of books that you might find stimulating to read:
William Goldman, (Abacus) 1983, “Adventures in the Screen Trade”, entertaining and educational book by a well-known Hollywood screenwriter.
David Mamet (Faber) 1991 “A Whores Profession” ; a collection of his writings which includes the lecture “On Directing Film”, an incisive master class on the craft of film-making.
Michael Tierno, (Hyperion) 2002, “Aristotle’s Poetics for Screenwriters”; core screenwriting concepts, such as the “three act structure”, are based on Aristotle’s ideas.
Robert McKee (Methuen) 1997, “Story”; a digest of this well known lecturer’s theories on why the story is the most important ingredient of a good film.
Charles Deemer(Focus) 2005, “Practical Screenwriting”; contains some clearly written and level headed advice that’s relatively free from jargon.
Eileen Quinn (Faber) 2006 “The Pitch”; a film producer’s perspective on boiling a script down to its essential ingredients for presentation. A useful guide to writing effective treatments.
Thomas Pope (Three Rivers Press) 1998, “Good Scripts, Bad Scripts”; analyses the structure of selected films to pinpoint the reasons for their success or failure. (A little harder to find than the others on this list but currently available on Amazon.)
BOOKS ON DRAMA AND DRAMATIC STORYTELLING
Don’t ignore books by dramatists and theatre practitioners, you can learn a lot from them and they are often refreshingly less obsessed with the ‘bottom line’.
Keith Johnstone (Methuen), (1981) “Impro”; a hugely influential book on acting improvisation that contains many ideas about power relationships and role-play that will stimulate your thinking.
Alan Ayckbourn (Faber) 2002, “The Crafty Art Of Playmaking”; a schoolmasterly and often dryly amusing book of hints, tips and general advice on being a scriptwriter from a highly successful playwright.
Michael Caine (Applause) 1990, “Acting in Film”; this book is a companion to Caine’s filmed masterclass on acting for the camera; a useful insight into the way good film actors think, feel and operate.
GENERAL BOOKS ON FILM
There are of course a huge number of rewarding books in this category but here are a couple of my particular favourites:
David Thomson (Allen Lane) 2008 “Have You Seen”; of all books by film critics this is one of the most readable and least elitist. Subtitled “A personal inttroduction to 1,000 films’ it contains one page essays on an eclectic selection of films that add to your knowledge and appreciation of each one.
Andrzej Wajda (Faber) 1990, “Double Vision”; a concise account of the famous Polish director’s development as a film-maker which is peppered with practical advice.
David Mamet (Pocket Books) 2007 “Bambi vs Godzilla” ; polemical essays on the screenwriter’s trade, an ‘industry’ book that casts a cool and sometimes cynical eye on the realities underpinning commercial film-making.