Writing the Character-Centered Screenplay, Updated and Expanded Edition

by Andrew Horton

Book Overview

"We need good screenwriters who understand character." Everywhere Andrew Horton traveled in researching this book--from Hollywood to Hungary--he heard the same refrain. Yet most of the standard how-to books on screenwriting follow the film industry's earlier lead in focusing almost exclusively on plot and formulaic structures.

With this book, Horton, a film scholar and successful screenwriter, provides the definitive work on the character-based...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0520221656
• ISBN13: 9780520221659
• Release Date: February 2000
• Publisher: University of California Press
• Length: 249 Pages
• Weight: 0.82 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

A UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE

You never know where you'll find good humor. One of the reviews panned this book because it would not help him wrtie movies like "Terminator". THANK GOD! I have found that it's beneficial for me to read a variety of screenplay books, to get different perspectives on the craft. The great thing about Mr. Horton's book is that it offers a very unique perspective of screenwriting, differentfrom anything else I've read. If you're concerned with depth of character and variety of character, the perspective that Horton offers is invaluable.

Syd Field, You Lose

Don't waste any time like I did reading catchy titles like "Writing Screenplays That Sell." If you are serious about writing screenplays, you MUST read "Writing the Character-Centered Screenplay." It is the BEST book out there. It may be difficult to get through, only because it's so thick with good information, but it will give you a solid understanding of how to write great characters. I have serveral books on screenwriting, but this is the only one that has any real value. Sorry Syd.

Delightful!

I couldn't put this book down. If I thought this book was boring (as one reader claims), I wouldn't be able to finish reading it, much less finish it in one sitting! Horton delves into subject matter that every screenwriting class I've taken seems to skip. These classes (mostly plot-centered) teach that the "Hollywood" script should have a theme, but that theme is usually the main character's transformation from one end of the spectrum to the complete opposite. Horton assures us that this does not have to be the case for a well-written, character-centered screenplay. Rather, different aspects of a character appear at different times, under different circumstances, much like real life! In other words, the protagonist does not need to be "transformed" in order to be dimensional. Horton's examples are wonderful and he is inspiring.

Tremendous!

Horton's well-thought-out book is more than a simple "how-to," or list of "tricks of the trade," it is an exciting blend of theory and instruction. Building on Aristotle's classic three-sided definition of drama, Horton defines the "character-centered" screenplay and leads the reader through a thought-provoking analysis of the workings of this sub-genre. He goes on to explain structure, give tips and even a writing schedule that is adaptable to the aspiring screenwriter's needs. Critics have long lamented the lack of believable characters in American film; Andrew Horton is doing something about it. For me personally, it redefined how I watch movies.

Spice up your screen stories with some character gumbo!

You're as likely to discover memorable charactersin most scripts as you are to discover gold dustin the L.A. riverbed. Everyone reverentlypitches "strong characters" as essential to astrong story, but no one tells you how to do this.Andrew Horton eloquently demystifies the processof character creation. Having a MFA in screenwriting, I was familiar with some of thematerial, but I found a lot of the book, includingthe approach, fresh, inventive and inspired