The Way of the Screenwriter

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House of Anansi, Sep 7, 2005 - Performing Arts - 304 pages

A story is a living thing. And you don't work on a living thing, you work with it. This is the way of the screenwriter, and it is something that writer and director Amnon Buchbinder believes all masterful screenwriters understand intuitively: learning how to work with story through a painstaking process of trial, error, and self exploration.

Amnon Buchbinder draws on his knowledge as a teacher and his experience as a script doctor and a story editor to explore this creative process. Along the way he illustrates principles often inspired by the philosophy of Laozi (Lao Tze) with examples drawn from major motion pictures such as Memento and The Piano.

For the beginning or seasoned screenwriter who aspires to more than mere competence, Buchbinder illuminates a path towards mastery of the craft. For the lover of the cinematic experience, he opens a curtain to reveal a rarely seen world behind the big screen.

 

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Contents

Introduction
The Way 3
The Screenwriter 70
9
Plot 38
Working with Time 68
Working with Credibility
Theme 754
Form 171
Style 192
Process 206
The Masters Way 278
A Living Motion Picture 247
The Evolution of Story 279
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About the author (2005)

Amnon Buchbinder is a film director and Associate Professor at York University. He lives with his family in Toronto. Visit Amnon Buchbinder's website: http://www.amnon.ca/

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