Adventures in the Screen Trade

To give you an idea how good I think this book is, I had read Stephen Kings Needful Things (app. 800 pages) in five days and that was at that point my quickest pace. Well, I read Adventures in the Screen Trade (including the full script of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid--a terrific read in itself, and alone worth the price of the book--a total of 600 pages) in two days. I just couldnt put the thing down, and I find that phrase to be a cliche of the most odious order. I was reading it at breakfast, on my commute in, at lunch, the commute out, all evening, and before bed. Goldman writes such a gripping story of his experiences in Tinseltown, that I was drawn in, always wondering what was going to happen next.

Only once did my interest flag, and that was halfway through a screen adaptation of a story presented in the book just beforehand. The story was ten pages, the adaptation forty, so I simply felt at that point that I was reading the story over, it was just longer. However, once I got over that and realized that the point of the exercise was to illustrate the differences in form, I read again with relish.

Goldman writes with a nicely conversational style--but not overtly so--that draws you in to his world. I think that this book would be especially of interest to anyone who wants to write for Hollywood (although you may not wish to continue with that dream after reading this), or any writers in general (as he goes over form and structure that is relevant to all writing), or to a fan of the behind-the-scenes workings of Hollywood.

Goldman is alternately self-congratulatory and self deprecating, proud and humble, excited and blase. His prose reflects his love for telling a good story with good reversals, and his screenwriting technique becomes apparent throughout the book. What also becomes apparent is Goldmans genius, and the precarious balance between success and selling out inherent in the screenwriting trade.

I learned about filmmaking in a way I never have, and got the opinion and perspective of a true veteran in the field. And, this book is a great read by a gifted author!

This book contains a general history of Goldman in Hollywood, as well as a rundown of all his scripts and the experiences he had writing them and seeing them come into maturity as films (or not). It also contains the full screenplay for "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" as well as a screenplay written from one of Goldmans old short stories which is especially interesting because it comes with critiques from an art director, editor, cameraperson, and director. Intertwined within this framework is Goldmans philosophy on writing as well as dozens of lessons on how to improve as a writer.

I enjoyed this book greatly, and look forward to reading his follow-up to it, "Which Lies Did I Tell." Without a doubt, this book is required reading for ANYONE who wishes to be a screenwriter, and probably also for anyone who is remotely interested in Hollywood and the movies.