About the Book:

Screenwriting Behind Enemy Lines: Lessons Learned from Inside the Studio Gates is a very pragmatic look at what "they" are looking for combined with techniques for delivering that. Senior studio executive and producer John Schimmel shares what you should know before you start writing, what drives a film, creating great characters, and much more. Includes "Tales from the Trenches," lessons from various sets and development situations to illustrate the points being made, from one of the legendary production and development executives.

What people say:

"Bottom line? If you dream of writing a screenplay, or want to increase the sellability of your existing screenplay, get John Schimmel's Screenwriting Behind Enemy Lines. It will be money well spent. Have a highlighter and your favorite screenwriting software in reach and ready to go... You'll need it." — Scriptmag.com

"Attention to those crazy enough to consider being a screenwriter: Save yourself some pain. Screenwriting Behind Enemy Lines is a savvy, smart insider's guide to screenwriting. John Schimmel has honestly delivered important insights showing us what it takes to connect audiences to classic stories and characters while road mapping how it is achieved with first hand intimacy." — Andrew Davis, director, The Fugitive, Collateral Damage, A Perfect Murder, Holes

"John is one of a very few people in Hollywood who really understands screenwriting on a profound level. Being a good screenwriter is not necessarily the same thing as being a successful one. If you read this book you will understand the difference." — Lionel Wigram, producer, Harry Potter and Sherlock Holmes

About the Author:

John Schimmel has more than 20 years' experience as a Hollywood studio development and production executive and producer with Warner Bros., with Michael Douglas and Steve Reuther's company Douglas-Reuther at Paramount Studios, and as President of Production at Ascendant Pictures. He has worked on such films as The Fugitive, Batman, Interview with the Vampire, Outbreak, Face/Off, Lucky Number Slevin, and Lord of War.