Writers on Screenwriting

February 22, 2008 7:48 AM

Word Into Image: Writers on Screenwriting {youtube}
William Goldman (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) (1 2 3)
Robert Towne (Chinatown) (1 2 3)
Carl Foreman (High Noon) (1 2 3)
Neil Simon (The Odd Couple) (1 2 3)
Paul Mazursky (An Unmarried Woman) (1 2 3)
Eleanor Perry (The Swimmer) (1 2 3)
posted by dobbs (9 comments total)

Nice collection. Thanks.
posted by adgnyc at 9:13 AM on February 22, 2008

Thanks for the post dobbs, I watched william goldman and will check out the rest when I get home.
posted by Pastabagel at 10:32 AM on February 22, 2008

I'll be wallowing in this when I'm a little less busy; great one.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 10:38 AM on February 22, 2008

These are compelling both for what they reveal about the writers' process as well as the writers themselves. They also cover such a golden age of American film...Nicely found.
posted by dickyvibe at 10:57 AM on February 22, 2008

I just finished reading Mamet's Bambi vs. Godzilla. The rant at the end of the William Goldman video summarizes pretty well much of the wisdom contained in that book.
posted by Sys Rq at 11:37 AM on February 22, 2008

Better times... it's all just coked up producers with copies of Story now.
posted by Artw at 12:38 PM on February 22, 2008

My favorite author, Richard Price, (who speaks from experience) says that writing a screenplay based on your own novel is 'like doing root canal on yourself.'
posted by jonmc at 5:33 PM on February 22, 2008

Hmm. Literary integrity versus the need to concede to what sells. Actual control of your work vs the realization that the collaboration process can be destructive. One thing that is peculiar it seems the only thing that really draws these guys to screenwriting is a love for movies. You'd probably be hard pressed to round up the qualities that make a screenwriter a screenwriter.
posted by Student of Man at 6:26 PM on February 22, 2008

hell of a post dobbsy.
posted by vronsky at 7:59 PM on February 22, 2008