Someone's taken their love of Scream one step too far... and written a book about it! Having earned the respect and accolades of critics and audiences, generated more than half a billion dollars in revenue, and inspired a gaggle of imitators, it's safe to say Scream is millions of people's favorite scary movie. While the Scream films have scared and entertained moviegoers worldwide, they've also invited us to more closely examine the movies we watc...

From the author of the highly acclaimed heavy metal memoir, Fargo Rock City, comes another hilarious and discerning take on massively popular culture—set in Chuck Klosterman’s den and your own—covering everything from the effect of John Cusack flicks to the crucial role of breakfast cereal to the awesome power of the Dixie Chicks.Countless writers and artists have spoken for a generation, but no one has done it quite like Chuck Klosterman. With an exhausti...

The Pulitzer Prize–winning film critics offers up more reviews of horrible films.Roger Ebert awards at least two out of four stars to most of the more than 150 movies he reviews each year. But when the noted film critic does pan a movie, the result is a humorous, scathing critique far more entertaining than the movie itself.I Hated, Hated, Hated This Movie is a collection of more than 200 of Ebert's most biting and entertaining reviews of fi...

Is The Wire better than Breaking Bad? Is Cheers better than Seinfeld? What's the best high school show ever made? Why did Moonlighting really fall apart? Was the Arrested Development Netflix season brilliant or terrible?For twenty years-since they shared a TV column at Tony Soprano's hometown newspaper-critics Alan Sepinwall and Matt Zoller Seitz have been debating these questions and many more, but it all ultimately boils down ...

More of the Pulitzer Prize–winning film critic's most scathing reviews.A Horrible Experience of Unbearable Length collects more than 200 of his reviews from 2006 to 2012 in which he gave movies two stars or fewer. Known for his fair-minded and well-written film reviews, Roger is at his razor-sharp humorous best when skewering bad movies. Consider this opener for the one-star Your Highness:" Your Highness is a juvenile excrescence th...

In the dark underbelly of 1970s cinema, an unlikely group of directors rewrote the rules of horror, breathing new life into the genre and captivating audiences like never beforeMuch has been written about the storied New Hollywood of the 1970s, but while Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorcese were producing their first classic movies, a parallel universe of directors gave birth to the modern horror film. Shock Value tells the unlikely story of how directors ...

While other books give you tips on how to “write funny,” this book offers a paradigm shift in understanding the mechanics and art of comedy, and the proven, practical tools that help writers translate that understanding into successful, commercial scripts. The Hidden Tools of Comedy unlocks the unique secrets and techniques of writing comedy. Kaplan deconstructs sequences in popular films and TV that work and don’t work, and explains what tools were used (or should have been used).

Pick your next movie to watch with this collection of four decades of 4-star reviews from the Pulitzer Prize–winning film critic.Spanning the length of Roger Ebert's career as the leading American movie critic, this book contains all of his four-star reviews written during that time from About Last Night . . . to You Can Count on Me. A great guide for movie watching.

See Your Favorite Stars in a Whole New Light Whether you are a movie lover, aspiring actor, storyteller, student of psychology or Enneagram enthusiast, this spirited and original book will alter the way you see movies forever. From classics to independent films to mega-hits, personality types are everywhere in the movies - if you know how to see them. The Enneagram is a fascinating and popular system that describes nine personality types that human beings most favor. It is used in communic...

The Worst. Movie. Ever. is a masterpiece. Seriously.Enough time has passed since Showgirls flopped spectacularly that it’s time for a good, hard look back at the sequined spectacle. A salvage operation on a very public, very expensive train wreck, It Doesn’t Suck argues that Showgirls is much smarter and deeper than it is given credit for. In an accessible and entertaining voice, the book encourages a shift in critical perspective on Paul...

From a longtime script consultant, "a vital aid to all writers, novelists, and screenwriters . . . invaluable" (Gale Anne Hurd, producer, The Walking Dead and Aliens).In this book, Linda Seger, author of Making a Good Script Great, shows how to create strong, multidimensional characters in fiction, covering everything from research to character block. She introduces concepts designed to stimulate the creative process, combining them with p...

Dying is easy, comedy is hard. So keep your comedy blockbuster alive and well and buy this book. Comedy has always been the backbone of the film business. In an age of sequels and brand-name movies based on established properties, the original comedy screenplay still delivers high profits. "Writing the Comedy Blockbuster" guides the writer as they learn what goes into writing the next comedy classic.