Five keys to creating authentic, distinctive work, whether you are a student, professional or simply love making films on your ownFor Creative Filmmaking from the Inside Out, three professors at the renowned University of Southern California School of Cinema-Television interviewed fifteen outstanding filmmakers, then distilled their insights into the "Five I's" of creativity. Learn how to: Uncover your unique creative voice (Introspection)...

Few movie stars made as great an impact as Marilyn Monroe. Although she died in 1962, a half century later she remains vivid in popular culture, even to those who have never seen her films. Two of the men she married, Joe DiMaggio and Arthur Miller, themselves made a powerful cultural impact. In this moving essay, David Morrell analyses Monroe's poignant life, which had more significance than any movie in which she appeared. Even her most knowledgeable fans will find something new ...

Demonstrates what constitutes a good performance, what actors want from a director, what directors do wrong and more.

Twenty of America's bestselling authors share tricks, tips, and secrets of the successful writing life.Anyone who's ever sat down to write a novel or even a story knows how exhilarating and heartbreaking writing can be. So what makes writers stick with it? In Why We Write, twenty well-known authors candidly share what keeps them going and what they love most—and least—about their vocation.Contributing authors include:Isabel ...

An essential handbook featuring never-before-published writing exercises from the acclaimed screenwriters of Raging Bull, Ali, Terminator 2, Fame, Groundhog Day, Cape Fear, "Lost", "True Blood", "The Shield", and many other hit films and television shows.Now Write! Screenwriting-the latest addition to the Now Write! writing guide series-brings together the acclaimed screenwriters of films like the Oscar-winning Raging Bull, Oscar- nominat...

Where do you get your ideas?Its a question that plagues every writer. And once youve got an idea, what then? Ideas without a plan, without a purpose, are no more than pleasant thoughts. So how do you come up with those ideas, and how do you turn them into writing that will engage your reader?The Writers Idea Book is here to help you find the answers. Utilizing more than 400 prompts and exercises, youll generate intriguing ideas and plumb their ...

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 comic book naratives of superheroes wrestle with profound and disturbing issues in original ways: the definitions of good and evil, the limits of violence as an effective means, the perils of enforcing justice outside the law, the metaphysics of personal identity, and the definition of humanity.Superheroes and Philosophy tackles these and other philosophical questions in an intellectual yet engaging way suitable for any comic book fan.

The Maestros of Celluloid Terror The lights dim. The giant screen flickers. And suddenly our most gruesome and ghastly nightmares come to blood-chilling life before our eyes. From filmmakers whose macabre images haunt our dreams to actors and make-up artists who conspire to create monsters, twenty-two brilliant purveyors of cinematic dread usher into their unique world of shadows and terror - sharing with us the secrets of their remarkable craft: the visual art of fear. Featuring in-depth ...

A longtime industry insider and acclaimed Hollywood historian goes behind the scenes to tell the stories of 15 of the most spectacular movie megaflops of the past 50 years, such as Cleopatra, The Cotton Club, and Waterworld. He recounts, in every gory detail, how enormous hubris, unbridled ambition, artistic hauteur, and bad business sense on the parts of Tinsel Town wheeler-dealers and superstars such as Elizabeth Taylor, Clint Eastwood, and Francis Ford Coppola, conspired to engender som...

Great dialogue attracts great actors. This books gives screenwriters and playwrights an easy to use training manual for improving dialogue writing skills

From one of the most admired critics of our time, brilliant insights into the act of watching movies and an enlightening discussion about how to derive more from any film experience.Since first publishing his landmark Biographical Dictionary of Film in 1975 (recently released in its sixth edition), David Thomson has been one of our most provocative authorities on all things cinema. Now he offers his most inventive exploration of the medium yet: guiding us through each elem...