Overview

"""Nobody Knows Anything"" and ""Structure is Everything."" In two pithy statements, screenwriting legend William Goldman (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid; Misery; The Princess Bride; Marathon Man), brilliantly encapsulates the essence of the film industry. With Screenwriting Unchained, Emmanuel Oberg navigates a perilous journey between these two islands of truth. His refreshingly new approach to story structure leads to a powerful yet flexible way to handle the script development process: the Story-Type Method(TM). Having identified three main story-types - plot-led, character-led, theme-led - he explains how each of these impacts on the structure of any screenplay, and how we can use a single set of tools to develop any story. Crucially, he also looks at hybrids and exceptions, those unique gems that don't fit any of the story-types but still work beautifully because they follow the same principles, just in a less classical way.This truly innovative book is aimed at screenwriters of all levels of experience as well as anyone involved creatively in the Film and TV development process: directors, producers, development executives, show runners, story editors and more generally, storytellers keen to reach a wide audience at home and abroad without compromising their emotional, cultural or intellectual integrity. If you've ever questioned why all screenplays have to be written in three acts, eight sequences, fifteen beats or twenty-two steps then this book was written for you. And if you never have, well...no time like the present! Using many case studies including films as diverse as Gravity, Silver Linings Playbook, Crash, Billy Elliot, The Intouchables, Birdman, Alien, Groundhog Day, Misery, Edge of Tomorrow, The Secret in Their Eyes, Cloud Atlas, L.A. Confidential and The Lives of Others, Screenwriting Unchained will transform the way you write, read, pitch, design, assess and develop screenplays. Guaranteed!"

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9780995498129

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Reviews

Without question the most useful book in the marketplace on the writing and development process. Eschewing a dogmatic approach to structure, Oberg allows for a methodology which embraces the diversity of stories that writers wish to tell and comes up with clear and practical approaches to developing narratives. This is a highly refreshing approach to the subject and one highly recommended to everyone from the aspiring screenwriter to the overburdened development exec. --Dan MacRae, Head of UK Development, StudioCanal Screenwriting Unchained is an incredibly comprehensive book and an impressive achievement indeed. In particular, the way Oberg devises a properly 'unified theory' that is creatively rather than orthodoxy led makes it a fabulous one-stop, practical tool box for writers and developers. I for one will be recommending it heartily (and using it in my writing no doubt!) --E. J. Clarke, Head of Film and TV at Shoebox Films and author of the Rowan Oakwing Series Whenever I worked with Emmanuel, I was always blown away by his razorsharp insight on how to construct and structure screenplays. Now he's collated all his insights into a book that should be required reading for any writer/director, writer or anyone dealing with the script development process. Screenwriting Unchained is the lightsabre of screenwriting books: the Story-Type Method cuts through to the essence and guides you when you are lost. --Matthias Hoene, Writer/director (Cockneys vs Zombies, Warrior's Gate) Screenwriters tend to rely too heavily on formula, as if there is a plug-and-play recipe for creating art. What Oberg does with this Screenwriting Unchained book is offer a background on what he calls logistical structure and why it has worked for so long, but then focuses the writer on dramatic structure which instead allows the writer to breathe, present emotion on the page in a more fluid manner, and concentrate on the most important element of storytelling; presenting an emotional experience to an audience. A refreshing new book all writers should consider studying. --Max Timm, Int'l Screenwriters Assoc (ISA) and author of YA fantasy novel, The WishKeeper This is a really clear and intelligently laid out book. Each section flows logically and easily into the next. It is very accessible and the principles are quick to grasp. It has some truly inspired chapters, use of Maslow, break down of types of story and above/below line requirements. There are proper workable tools to use when approaching rewriting too which is so often overlooked in other books. Just when I thought there couldn't possibly be anything more to add on the subject of screenwriting, this book finds it. --Simon Bovey FHEA, Screenwriting Lecturer at Worcester University

Author Information

Emmanuel Oberg is a screenwriter, author and script consultant with more than twenty years of experience in the Film and TV industry. After selling a first project to Warner Bros as a co-writer, he went on to be commissioned by StudioCanal and Gold Circle before writing solo for Working Title / Universal and Film4. He has also designed an internationally acclaimed 3-day Advanced Development Workshop - based on the Story-Type Method(R) - which he delivers with passion to filmmakers all over the world. Emmanuel lives in the UK with his wife and his two daughters. His film agent is Rachel Holroyd at Casarotto in London.

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