It appears I’ve been meme-d by Chip here to recommend any useful film books hmmmm. Not sure about useful but here’s the list of what I’ve currently got on my desk :
Misogyny in the Movies by Mackinnon – interesting book about gender politics mainly in the 70s. Particularly interesting about de Palma works. Found this one when researching my Valley of the Dolls’ essay;
Feminism and Film by Mumm – this one also found during the VOTD research. Threw up a few interesting questions;
The Ode Less Travelled by Stephen Fry – Still to finish this, but it’s both intriguing and like sticking your head into a wonderful swirl of words;
101 Habits of Highly Successful Screenwriters – this was a Christmas present, and a useful prop when you’ve got a block;
Teach Yourself Screenwriting by Raymond Frensham – this one was recommended by the MA course and it’s proved really useful on the basic principles of writing – especially if you have any little niggles about something like structure or plot;
Writing Screenplays That Sell by Hauge – the first screenwriting book I ever bought. Scared the crap out of me at the time but also let me see for the first time that once you had your ideas, there was a ‘way’ to shoogle it into something resembling a script;
The Art of Dramatic Writing by Lajos Egri – hard going but rather deep. I read it when I’m feeling cerebral. Useful;
Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman – intriguing book that isn’t about screenwriting but certainly pertains to character work and how you structure a convincing inner life for your puppets;
Story by Robert McKee – the infamous one! I actually rather like it – it talks a lot of sense, and was certainly a bit of a stalwart when I was getting restarted into this screenwriting lark again. Bit dry, but useful and I do still occasionally refer to it;
The Devil’s Guide to Hollywood by Joe Eszterhas – if you want a macho expose – this is it, though perhaps ‘macho’ is me being a bit disingenuous as it’s actually quite a revealing and honest book. Funny too. A great irreverent read;
The Screenwriter’s Bible by Trottier – now this was one of my first ever Screenwriting books. I still remember feeling embarrassed buying it. Got me started though and it lays out all the things you need to know clearly and with numerous examples to follow.
mandy lee 