Save the Cat! Goes to the Movies: The Screenwriter's Guide to Every Story Ever Told

After reading the very interesting and helpful Save the Cat!, I was immediately attracted to its sequel. While complementary to its big brother, this book also stands entirely on its own. What I really like about both books is their overall tone, the easy way Mr Snyder writes about movies/screenplays. Technical terms are included but I felt more like somebody talking to me than somebody trying to teach me something the (sometimes) dry way that teachers have. Even movies that don't attract me very much reveal themselves to be a lot more appealing when broken up into all the parts a screenplay must include. As a writer and budding screenwriter, I've learned a lot from Snyder's two books and even though one system works for one person and not another, the tips he shares with readers are for just about anyone because they're all about logic. Once you have the bases down, you can fill out the blanks on your own in a much easier way which makes it all as fun as it should be. Another thing that's uplifting about these books is Mr Snyder's self confidence. I wish I had just a tenth of that but I suppose it grows over time (and successes). Still, it's also reassuring to know that even seasoned and successful writers still have downs and doubts - it's makes the rest of us feel a little less alone on those dreadful Whatever-possessed-me-to-choose-writing days. A look through one of the Cat! books and the sun shines again. So thank you, Mr Snyder, and long live the Cat! series.

You won't find the traditional genres "action-adventure" or "romantic comedy" here. Synder swaps those for genre-predicaments like "Monster in the House" and "Dude with a Problem." He identifies ten of them as the engines of all hits. He then decomposes the plots of several blockbusters in each genre to show how that engine operates. His insights are fascinating because, without the distinction of genre as he defines it, you might assume that "Three Days of the Condor" and "Sleeping with the Enemy" are fundamentally different. By traditional definitions, one is a spy thriller and the other is a woman-jeopardy thriller. But in the gospel according to Blake, those two movies are twins. Knowing why will not only make you a better screenwriter but will also give you a better appreciation of the high art of crafting the blockbusters that almost never win the snob awards. Do get this book if you are writing spec scripts. But if you are writing indies, proceed with caution--with any book of rules. Certainly the gurus will preach that the rules of structure can strengthen any story and that, at the very least, you should master the rules before you break them. True enough. But you don't want to get so locked into the box of rules that you can't think outside of it. The goal in indies, in my humble opinion, should not be to make blockbusters on the cheap but to take risks and evolve the cinematic form in ways the studios won't. Gerald Everett Jones is the author of My Inflatable Friend: The Confessions of Rollo Hemphill and several books on digital filmmaking, including 24P: Make Your Digital Movies Look Like Hollywood

I have ALL of the screenwriting books. ALL OF THEM. 95% of them are useless. If there's ONE book you need, this is it. It will inspire you to break down movies on your own to understand structure AND emotional storytelling. Obviously, this is not a PRESCRIPTIVE guide, but Blake may be the best teacher of them all. And no, it's not just for hacky screenwriters or people who want to write the next Die Hard rip-off so they can buy a big house in the Hollywood Hills. This is not a formula. There are no magic beans. This is a reference guide, an open-ended model for cataloguing different forms of storytelling. This is a book to help the artists out there ORGANIZE their thoughts and story lines. REAL SCREENWRITERS working in Hollywood do the exact same thing as Blake does for all the movies in this book, which is to break them down and EXAMINE THE FORM. ALL THREE Snyder books have a permanent place on my desk! I recommend buying SAVE THE CAT and SAVE THE CAT STRIKES BACK too, the latter being even more impressive...

I really like this book because it goes more in depth than the original on the issue of story. To illustrate his point, Blake Snyder tears a part 50 great movies using his Blake Snyder Beat Sheet. Its more of e reference guide than an actual book you read from cover to cover, but it was well worth the price.

Blake Snyder's first book, "Save the Cat," is an amazing read. You can check out my review for it... Long story short, I was starting work on a feature-length script and decided to buy the book first. One of the best decisions I had made because it has helped me in ways I didn't even imagine. Luckily for me, I also bought this one. And after I finished the first one I jumped STRAIGHT into this one. While this book is pretty standalone, its true value lies within reading it AFTER you read the first, because the first explains the terms and the methods and everything, and this is a list of examples of big, well-known movies. If after the first book you thought "Are movies really that easily categorized?" then this book will answer your question big time. So if you read the first one and are considering buying this, do it. It goes hand in hand. If you haven't bought any, I suggest you get them both and read them in order. If not, just get the first one. Maybe I'm biased but I don't think this book does that well on its own.

The book arrived on time and in perfect conditions

Awesome!!

If you thinks that Save The Cat is the only screenplay book that works for you then you should buy this book. But if are exploring all other screenplay books in the market better invest this money on a different book, coz this is book is more of an exercise book than a knowledge book

Livre très pratique, clair et concis. Une analyse des genres cinématographiques originale et plutôt pertinente. Un très bon compagnon pour orienter le visionnage de films pendant l'écriture!

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