Ever watch a movie, and despite great production value, fantastic action sequences, a great cast, etc, you come away thinking-I just didn't buy it. Chances are it was because you didn't care about the characters. Screenwriter's Compass presents a new way of approaching screenwriting, examining how effective screen storytelling must be grounded in the vivid imagining and presentation of character.
Screenwriter's Compass will not offer formulas to follow but instead will give you the tools needed to chart your own path to screenwriting success. It details useful ways of thinking about writing, as well as practical ideas and concepts to help you discover the unique geography of your own imagination and navigate the problems posed by the struggle to express vision, agenda, and story. You'll learn how to root your writing in motivation and voice, to create screenplays that seduce and make your reader lean forward, and, most importantly, identify with your characters.
FIRST THINGS
Screenwriter's Compass
Big Deal-You're Writing a Screenplay
Gear Up
Screenwriting Is Writing
Craftsmanship
GROUNDWORK
Reading Theory
Upsetting Aristotle
Putting Aristotle to Work
Character-Driven versus Plot-Driven
Fable and Construct
Turning Theory to Task
GETTING READY
Master Shot Screenplay
Reading Screenplays
Composition Creates Story
On Outlines
On Character Histories
On Treatments
On Adaptation
FIRST DRAFT
The Blank Page
Scene and Action Description
Camera Gestures and Paragraphing
Being God
Character Logic
Hearing Voices
Empathy
Thinking of Structure
Breaking a Block
REVISION
First Reader
Looking Again for Logic
Questions
Challenges and Pitfalls
On Expectation
FINISHING
Wrighting a Screenplay
Screenplay Format
Series of Shots
Proofreading
Submission
GETTING READY AGAIN
Passion and Purpose
Happy Accident
Intuition and Analysis
Lessons
Biography
Guy Gallo's first produced screenplay (Under the Volcano) was directed by John Huston and released in 1984. Since then he has written over a dozen feature screenplays, with four others produced. He has over 20 years of teaching experience at the Columbia University's School of the Arts, New York University, and Barnard College, his students including James Mangold (Girl Interrupted, 3:10 to Yuma, Walk the Line), and Greg Mottola (Superbad, Adventureland).
"More than just the compass..this is the whole ship. Designed to safely navigate a screenwriter's journey to safe harbor, it's a virtual mega-yacht of a book: swift, secure, beautifully detailed...and above all, fun. Guy Gallo is one of the very few practitioners of the art who can show you how to chart your own course...and survive." --Tony Bill, producer The Sting (1973)
"I now have a screenwriting bible. As a working screenwriter, Gallo's words serve as a fantastic check-list for producing quality work. As a teacher of filmmaking, Gallo has provided my students and I with an incredibly useful and lucid set of tools. Gallo is a generous man for sharing his screenwriting genius." -- Emily Abt, writer, director, film professor, Princeton University
"Guy Gallo celebrates the adventure of writing a screenplay. He encourages writers to end up with 'a surprise that wasn't what you sat down to write.' It's simply the best book about writing for the screen I've read." -- Terry Jones, screenwriter, Monty Python and the Holy Grail; Life of Brian; Labyrinth
"...Gallo offers readers clear, concise tips on and examples of screenwriting techniques, liberally sprinkled with his personal experiences as a screenwriter. Accessible and engaging, Gallo's book makes an excellent resource and guide for both novices and professionals looking to add another tool to their screenwriting toolbox. Summing Up: Recommended." -- A. F. Winstead, Our Lady of the Lake University, CHOICE
