About the Book:

Do you have the drive to write a 90-page script? If so, you read Screenplay because it addresses the three-act structure clearly. Universally considered to be "the Bible" of screenwriting, this legendary how-to guide revolutionized how screenwriters and filmmakers approached story and the art of filmmaking. It has been published in 23 languages and is used in over 400 colleges and universities around the world.

Acclaimed by CNN as the "guru of all screenwriters," and by The Hollywood Reporter as "the most sought after screenwriting teacher in the world," several generations of screenwriters have used Syd Field's bestselling books to ignite successful careers in film. From concept to character, from opening scene to finished script, the celebrated lecturer, teacher, and bestselling author takes you "by-the-hand" and "spells-out" the steps without fancy language or intellectual pretence. Written in a conversational tone, here are easily understood guidelines to help aspiring screenwriters – from novices to practiced writers – hone their craft. Filled with updated material – including all-new personal anecdotes and insights, guidelines on marketing and collaboration, plus analysis of successful films, from American Beauty to Lord of the Rings – with this revised and updated edition of his bestselling classic, Syd Field proves yet again why he is revered as the master of the screenplay – and why his celebrated guide has become the industry's gold standard for successful screenwriting.

Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting presents a step-by-step, comprehensive technique for writing the screenplay that will succeed in Hollywood. You will discover:

• Why the first ten pages of your script are crucially important
• How to visually "grab" the reader from page one, word one
• Why structure and character are the essential foundation of your screenplay
• How to adapt a novel, a play, or an article into a screenplay
• Tips on protecting your work – three legal ways to claim ownership of your screenplay
• The essentials of writing great dialogue, creating character, building a story line, overcoming writer's block, getting an agent, and much more.

What people say:

"If I were writing screenplays ... I would carry Syd Field around in my back pocket wherever I went." — Steven Bochco, writer/producer/director, L.A. Law, Hill Street Blues, NYPD Blue, Doogie Howser, M.D.

"Screenplay has sold millions of copies; been translated into more than a dozen languages; served as a reference for James Cameron, Judd Apatow, Tina Fey, Frank Darabont and scores of other successful screenwriters." — The New York Times

"Screenplay is one of the bibles of the film trade and has launched many a would-be screenwriter on the road to Hollywood." — Library Journal

"Syd Field is the preeminent analyzer in the study of American Screenplays…." — James L. Brooks, multi-award-winning Director, Writer, Producer

About the Author:

Syd Field (1935-2013) was an internationally acclaimed teacher, lecturer, and popular speaker who held workshops and seminars for writers hoping to grasp Hollywood's magic formula. Writers who learned from Field – including Tina Fey, Alfonso Cuaron, Judd Apatow, John Singleton, and Frank Darabont – worked in all genres of film and television. Born in Hollywood, he grew up immersed in the film world. He attended Hollywood High School and UC Berkeley, where he received a degree in English literature in 1960. He began his career at Wolper Productions in the shipping department before writing for the original Biography TV series. He was also a script consultant for 20th Century Fox, Disney, Universal and TriStar Pictures. In the mid-1970s he began teaching screenwriting at Sherwood Oaks Experimental College on Hollywood Boulevard and went on to became a lecturer at USC and the American Film Institute. He was the American Screenwriting Association's first inductee into the Screenwriting Hall of Fame.