Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Review: Writing Movies for Fun and Profit by Robert B. Garant and Thomas Lennon



Title:Writing Movies for Fun and Profit
Author:Robert B. Garant and Thomas Lennon
Publisher:Simon & Schuster
Imprint:Touchstone
Pub. Date:07/05/2011
ISBN:9781439186756
Pages:336


A hilarious and revealing guide to the movie industry by two writers whose movies have made over a billion dollars.



(Summary and cover via Goodreads)

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I should start by mentioning that I have no interest in writing a screenplay. I do however love The State, Viva Variety, and Reno 911!, so I was very familiar with the authors of this book. Naturally I was dying to read it. It was everything I expected and more. There was tons of humor mixed with some really useful information. My favorite section was probably the chapter on determining if you had made it in Hollywood by where the different studios sent you to park.

Through all the humor, you get a real sense of passion for writing. They don't just do this for money; they write because they feel compelled to. They go through their process of writing an outline, pitching to studios, and then writing the screenplay. There is also a lot of useful information about how the studio system works and what to expect from the entire movie making process. I also learned a lot about all the different writing and production credits and the arbitration system with the writing guild. It's all very complex and fascinating.

Clearly if you are interested in writing screenplays, there is a lot of useful information here. Even for us non-writers though, there is so much stuff to learn from this book. Naturally, it's all relayed with tons of humor. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I would recommend it to anyone with even a passing interest in movies. It is sure to entertain!

Galley provided by publisher for review.

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