Could It Be a Movie? : How to Get Your Ideas from Out of Your Head and Up on the Screen

by Hamlett, Christina

• ISBN13: 9780941188944
• ISBN10: 0941188949
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-01-01
• Publisher: Ingram Pub Services

Summary

How do you tell the difference between mediocre ideas and great ones? Christina Hamlett shows you how to put them to the test prior to a full-fledged commitment of time, energy, and paper. She offers invaluable advice on the business of writing, detailing the pros and cons of tackling your first script on your own, teaming up with a writing partner, or engaging the services of a seasoned professional. Offers a user-friendly primer on the ethics and legalities of the script-selling business and reveals the tandem responsibility inherent in delivering a solid story and a professional promise. Filled with interviews, story-starters, anecdotes and Hollywood insider advice to get those creative juices flowing and the cameras rolling.

Author Biography

Former actress and director Christina Hamlett is a script coverage consultant and award-winning author whose publishing credits include 18 books, 110 plays and musicals, 3 optioned films, and screenwriting columns that appear regularly throughout the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Her degree in Communications from California State University, Sacramento led to assignments in all aspects of media, cable television, and public relations, including the development of her own touring theater repertory company, which she ran for eight years. In addition to her current work as a grants consultant for Young Filmmakers Academy and as a scriptwriter for the Museums of the Arroyo/Heritage Square, she teaches online screenwriting classes, as well as regular workshops around the country for writers of all ages. She is married to insurance industry executive Mark Webb and resides in Pasadena, California. Christina can be reached for questions or script consultations via her office at [e-mail].

Table of Contents

Foreword	ix
Introduction	xi
SECTION 1: DREAMING IT UP	1	(78)
It All Begins with an Idea	3	(14)
Stage, Page, or Cinema?	17	(10)
Pre-Existing Inspirations	27	(20)
Conflict Management & the View From Here	47	(16)
The Audience Mindset: What's in it for Me?	63	(16)
SECTION 2: WRITING IT DOWN	79	(60)
Timing is Everything	81	(8)
Storytelling Structure	89	(12)
Been There, Done That	101	(8)
Are You a Solo Act, a Duet, or Just the Messenger?	109	(14)
Show us Your Specs and Shorts	123	(16)
SECTION 3: WORKING IT OUT	139	(64)
The Realities of Revision	141	(10)
Making the Most of Professional Consultation	151	(16)
The Art of Conversation	167	(8)
Verbatim AD Nauseum and the Curse of Adverbs	175	(14)
Foreign Exchange, or What Makes You Think They're Going to Like this Any Better in Canada?	189	(8)
How to Protect Your Plots	197	(6)
SECTION 4: WINNING THEM OVER	203	(52)
All About Agents	205	(14)
They Shoot Movies, Don't They?	219	(14)
Getting to Hollywood via the Indies	233	(14)
The Competitive Edge	247	(8)
Conclusion: Playing to Your Strengths	255	(4)
Filmography	259	(8)
Recommended Reading	267	(2)
About the Author	269