The Hollywood Standard: The Complete and Authoritative Guide to Script Format and Style

This is a rare book. I hate style and grammar books in general. But this book flows; it made me aware of repeated questions I have in mind when writing and just as quickly answered those questions. The voice the book is written in demonstrates a mastery of, but also a humble reverence for the subject. I was taken aback by the emotion I felt by what is essentially a textbook. That’s not quite a first for me, but unusual. There are some books I don’t want to be far from, because they do feel like dear friends, and this is one of them. In terms of a stylebook what I like most about this book is the way it demonstrates how not to do something, followed by the how-to-do something using the same example. There are many single pages in this book with demonstrations that I believe are worth the cost of the book alone. Even if not script writing, there are matters here about punctuation that are presented in ways I have not seen before, that seen in this format make perfect sense and give me confidence in my writing. The large format of the book is also helpful. It is script-like and feels generous to the mind and in the hand, and so mimics it’s many lessons about what makes for quick reading and a sense of fluid absorption of the material.

Format standards in scriptwriting are essential to being taken seriously at all in this industry and the standards evolve. This edition of this book brings us right up-to-date and gives us the ability to fashion really professional-looking scripts. This can't be done by screenwriting software. More, the book is like a screenwriting course, even though it is not necessarily intended to be. Suddenly, while learning the DOs and DON'Ts, the writer understands why those things are in place and and tighten and strengthen their work. The example script pages are a great resource and he even tells us which brads to use and how many. Finally! The definitive word on brads!! (Yes, it's actually important.) Don't even think about it. If you want to write a film or TV script, buy this.

This book is all you will ever need on formating, it is like mathimatics, completely explainable and spelt out clearly. Also the book shows the diffrent ways you can create and express your own style, what is ok to copy from the big stars and whats not. Buy the book, then re-read it FIVE TIMES.

The index could be better; it isn't even accurate. And that's the best thing for this book, the only thing it's got going for it: it feels like a good flip-to reference guide. A lot of byzantine questions are answered here. There is, however, some problems. He gives advice that's wonky, like CAPITALIZING ALL SOUND EFFECTS, which is being phased out and has been for a long time. Also, two spaces after a period, always? Bro, most software by DEFAULT does one, as does the rest of the world. He has rules I agree with but for instance Aaron Sorkin breaks, like using -- inside a parenthetical. (I agree with Mr. Riley; a semicolon is always better.) It's still leagues better than almost all screenplay books. It's up there with most writing books. Riley is there with Syd Field, Lajos Egri, Anne Lamott, in the world of writing books--a quality one that's well-written, informative, and has easy-to-find-information.

Within the first five pages, I knew that The Hollywood Standard was a great investment. The details on script writing for Hollywood have been invaluable in helping me clean up scripts I have already been working on. I knew immediately that I need to change some things within my script. It's clearly written, with a bevy of easy-to-understand examples. It details every question I had on how to properly write a Hollywood-worthy script. With the help of this terrific book, I was able to bring my script to a professional level. If you are interested in writing professional scripts, this book will help make it happen. So you probably shouldn't buy it. I don't need any more competition!

This was a very well written and informative book and truly guides the average writer in the art of scripting while doing it the right way. It points out all the pros and cons of tackling this heavily competitive field and guides the reader through many options for avoiding the most common pitfalls of first time writers. Written by those in the know it covers every aspect in screenplays from formatting to pitching your idea to a producer. This book should be in every script writer's library as a valid resource to be used time and again.

Another writer recommended this book as I was struggling to write my TV pilot. This is a book that works along with Final Draft , this books teaches you what and when toindent or capitalize, it’s not something Final Draft can teach you. I highly recommend this book. It’s under 200 pages and you learn from a seasoned former executive about the what nots and what to do. You don’t want to get your great story idea thrown out due to bad formatting. This book is totally affordable!

I am constantly referring to this book as I write my screenplays. (This and The Screenwriter's Bible, 6th Edition: A Complete Guide to Writing, Formatting, and Selling Your Script (Expanded & Updated) This is not a thick book (like Trottier's) so it gets straight to the point and almost any situation you run into with screenwriting, you can find an answer in here. Note: I said AN answer, and not THE answer. I say this because some screenplay formatting books differ on what you should and shouldn't do. Some say don't use BEAT or VOCE SOTTO .... others say do.

Hay muchas maneras de escribir un guion pero solo unas pocas que son aceptadas por la industria. Este libro te da justo esto: las pautas que la industria va a seguir para acceder a tu guion y para comprobar si es válido o no. Siguiendo sus pautas ya tienes un trecho del camino andado. Sin ellas, si quieres acceder a la industria, y por mucha voluntad que tengas, seguirás andando por el desierto.

Esté libro es esencial para quién quiere escribir un guión y aún no entiende el formato de escritura.

If you're serious about screenwriting, you need to own this book. I recommend the ebook so it's easy to search.

This is of course the last word in how to structure a movie script and touches on shooting scripts and other topics. As such, it is invaluable, as long as you are working to the 'Hollywood' norm. I suppose that my only gripe is that the books nails down the absolute rules and standards in an industry that is conservative enough! Getting the movie industry to adopt a new technology is sometimes like drawing teeth. Imagine trying to get a LA-based team to NOT use Media Composer, ProTools and Maya! The answer is, that outside of Hollywood (and with Hollywood, I mean all the satellites of Hollywood in NY, the UK, New Zealand, Berlin and, well anywhere, where they hope or aspire to achieve Hollywood status, or are working with Hollywood studios) we/they are using anything and everything - the latest Bond was edited on Premier and CGI was Cinema 4D. (And if you don't know what any of that means, trust me, movie makers do!) But the use of a standard script form does have its advantages - at least, everybody knows, by looking at the words on the page, what the words are, i.e. dialogue, business, whatever. As a work, setting the standard is what this book does brilliantly. If you are making movies, you need this book, so that either what you write translates into a film, or what you read reflects the intentions of the writer. If you come from radio or theatre, some of this strict formatting may baffle you - but trust me, it's worth while learning. And like any set of rules and standards, sometimes we just go bonkers and break them - but you have to know the rules, if you are going to break them successfully!

Questo libro contiene davvero tutte le regole della sceneggiatura e soprattutto i casi nei quali applicarle. Una piccola pecca che gli si può fare è che le diverse parti del testo della sceneggiatura sono analizzate in capitoli diversi del libro, il che richiede di doverlo scorrere più volte, anche se l'indice per argomenti in fondo al libro aiuta parecchio penso comunque che questo "problema" sia dovuto dalla struttura stessa della sceneggiatura. Si può avere un'anteprima del libro [ ... ]