Comments on: Writers on Screenwriting

Writers on Screenwriting

dobbs — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 07:48:26 -0800

Word Into Image: Writers on Screenwriting {youtube}
William Goldman (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) (1 2 3)
Robert Towne (Chinatown) (1 2 3)
Carl Foreman (High Noon) (1 2 3)
Neil Simon (The Odd Couple) (1 2 3)
Paul Mazursky (An Unmarried Woman) (1 2 3)
Eleanor Perry (The Swimmer) (1 2 3)

By: adgnyc

adgnyc — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 09:13:57 -0800

Nice collection. Thanks.

By: Pastabagel

Pastabagel — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 10:32:30 -0800

Thanks for the post dobbs, I watched william goldman and will check out the rest when I get home.

By: fearfulsymmetry

fearfulsymmetry — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 10:38:34 -0800

I'll be wallowing in this when I'm a little less busy; great one.

By: dickyvibe

dickyvibe — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 10:57:59 -0800

These are compelling both for what they reveal about the writers' process as well as the writers themselves. They also cover such a golden age of American film...Nicely found.

By: Sys Rq

Sys Rq — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 11:37:47 -0800

I just finished reading Mamet's Bambi vs. Godzilla. The rant at the end of the William Goldman video summarizes pretty well much of the wisdom contained in that book.

By: Artw

Artw — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 12:38:14 -0800

Better times... it's all just coked up producers with copies of Story now.

By: jonmc

jonmc — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 17:33:58 -0800

My favorite author, Richard Price, (who speaks from experience) says that writing a screenplay based on your own novel is 'like doing root canal on yourself.'

By: Student of Man

Student of Man — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 18:26:35 -0800

Hmm. Literary integrity versus the need to concede to what sells. Actual control of your work vs the realization that the collaboration process can be destructive. One thing that is peculiar it seems the only thing that really draws these guys to screenwriting is a love for movies. You'd probably be hard pressed to round up the qualities that make a screenwriter a screenwriter.

By: vronsky

vronsky — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 19:59:23 -0800

hell of a post dobbsy.