INTERVIEW: Real Audio Interview with Syd Field
Welcome to our Syd Field real audio interview, part one in a five part series totaling over 75 minutes. It's been awhile since our last real audio interview, and to get things rolling again we're restarting with a great one. I found Syd to be down to earth, but also a very passionate person. He truly loves screenwriting and movies in general. His insights are thought provoking and invaluable.
It seems that writers either love Syd Field, or hate him. There always are those who talk about Syd Field and his views of the Three-Act-Structure incorrectly. His message, if you want to call it that, has never been about breaking screenwriting down to a "formula." Syd is one of those writers who is often quoted, but rarely read. But, too, it is simpleminded to not ponder some of Syd's comments in the interview, he almost seems to back himself into a philosophical corner that he can't get out of. He relies on a very simplistic presentation of his views, one that offers him protection and you the screenwriter very little to go on.
MARKET: Pitch Perfect - NEW!
Each year, thousands of spec scripts are written. Many of these scripts are written by established screenwriters who have agents and/or managers and an existing track record, all of which aids in actually getting someone to read the script.
MARKET: You’re an Idiot: Making Value from Reaction to your Screenwriting
If you’re like me, if someone doesn’t like something about my screenplay, my very first reaction is always the same.
MARKET: The Construction of a Pitch
It seems a cruel irony, after months and months of carefully plotting story, creating vivid characters and structuring a hundred and twenty pages in such a way for maximum dramatic impact, that screenwriters must become orators if they are to convince anyone to read their screenplay.
CRAFT: Understanding Spec Scripts A number of readers responded to my last column on Verticality and raised several interesting issues, most of which relate to a confusion about the nature of spec scripts.
Call in and pitch your story to Executive Story Editor at William Morris Endeavor Entertainment Christopher Lockhart, where he looks for potential projects for a small roster of "A" list clients including Mel Gibson, Denzel Washington and Steve Martin.
Call-in Number: (646) 716-5193
Date: January 27, 2010 Time: 6 PM LA Time (PST)
To just listen to the show, tune in then using receiver below!
Michigan native Peter Hanson studied film and screenwriting at New York University. He has written, directed and produced numerous films. Recently Peter, director and co-writer of Tales From the Script, along with creator/producer Paul Robert Herman, put together perhaps the most definitive and informative documentary on the not just the art and craft of screenwriting, but the business of the Hollywood scribe. In this insightful DVD and book, Peter and Paul have gathered 50 screenwriters who trade war stories.
Call-in Number (To ask question): (646) 716-5193 Listen BELOW:
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