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Inside the Cover Book
Review
Review by Marie
D.
Jones
I Liked It, Didn't Love It: Screenplay Development From
the Inside Out
Rona Edwards and Monika Skerbelis
Lone Eagle Publishing Company
2005
250 pp.
Screenwriting
Whether your goal is to become a development executive, producer, director or
screenwriter, knowing the inside scoop on how a script becomes a movie can make
your career journey a much smoother one. "Development hell" doesn't actually
seem so hellish when you understand the reasons why a particular script succeeds
or fails, and how many varied factors contribute to the final product that is
seen on the big screen.
This is why I Liked It, Didn't Love It is such a priceless book for any
aspiring moviemaker or executive. Authors Rona Edwards and Monika Skerbelis have
years and years of experience between them in the trenches of script
development, and they share everything they know and then some in this must-have
book that will no doubt help to open doors for those with enough drive and
talent.
From the vast and various ways ideas are found and developed to the actual route
a script takes from writer to agent to production company to studio, every step
of development is explained; plenty of examples of real films and inside stories
shed even more light on the somewhat mysterious process of the business of
getting a movie made. The book is written for those interested in becoming
development executives or story analysts, and offers tons of how-to advice on
learning what to look for in a script, how coverage is done, where to find entry
level opportunities, and what will be expected of you once you get your foot in
the door. Having said that, as a writer, I found this book to be chock-full of
information that anyone even thinking about writing a script must know. Think
about it. What better way for screenwriters to understand what Hollywood is
buying than to get inside the heads of those who pick and choose the scripts
that get developed in the first place?
The authors, both of whom have developed and sold screenplays for the past 15
years, really break down the entire process so that any intimidating
factors melt in the light of knowledge, empowering writers and development
executives-in-the-making with the kind of background information that can take
years off their quests for success. By showing how it is done in the "real"
world of production companies and studios, the outsider gets one giant step
closer to being on the inside, where the action is. Now that's not to say
developing a script from page to screen will be a piece of cake, but with books
like this, it won't be quite as hellish when you understand why "they do the
things they do."
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CLICK HERE TO ORDER THE BOOK.
Marie D.
Jones writes screenplays as well as fiction, articles and essays for
several national publications. Her new book is Looking for God in All
the Wrong Places (Paraview Press). She is the creator of an
award-winning children's video, Pig Tales, and has written and produced
several direct-to-video projects in national distribution. Her greatest
creation is her toddler son, Max, co-created by hubby Ron. They live in
San Marcos, California. |
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