Click the links that pertain to your questions:
- Formatting
- Treatments and Show Bibles
- Pitching
- Obtaining Copies of Scripts
- Script Libraries
- Writer Oriented Magazines
- Copyright
- Screenwriting Contests
- Agents
- Writing Classes and Writing Groups
- Other Useful Resources
The library's resources on formatting of film and television scripts
include books, periodical articles, and online resources.
Although script formats follow complex guidelines and conventions,
there is no single or official WGA format template.
The Screenwriter's Bible by David Trottier
(Silman James Press, c1988) 3rd rev. and exp.ed.
Professional Writer's Teleplay/Screenplay Format Guide
(WGA east, c2000) millennium ed.
Tools of the Screenwriter Trade by Esther Luttrell
(Broadcasting Club of America, c1998) rev. ed.
The Academy of Motion Pictures website has a free
downloadable feature film format guide
www.oscars.org/awards/nicholl/resources.html
BBC "writersroom" page, includes US and UK script
formats.
PDF files of format samples for screen, television, radio, and stage
http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/insight/scriptsmart_formats.shtml
How To Format Your Screenplay Like A Pro
by Robert Gregory-Browne (c.1996-2000)
Available for purchase online at
http://www.scribd.com/doc/5992684/-writing-how-to-write-scripts
The Hollywood Standard; The Complete And Authoritative Guide To
Script Format And Style 2nd edition 2009
by Christopher Riley (Studio City CA: Michael Wiese Productions, c2005)
The library does not collect treatments in the same way that it collects
scripts and books.
Our resources on treatments include books on the subject, periodical articles,
and a
somewhat unsystematic cumulation of advice, overviews, and actual examples
we come upon in our collections.
Some good treatment resources:
Writing Treatments That Sell by Kenneth Atchity and
Chi-Li Wong (Henry Holt, c.2003) second edition
Writing The Killer Treatment: Selling Your Story Without A Script
by Michael Halperin (Michael Wiese, c.2002)
Treatment Pack by David S. Freeman
This workbook includes advice and tips on treatment writing.
It is available at The Writers Store
www.writersstore.com
The following website has information about many screenwriting subjects.
"Select Archives" and then "Outlines and Treatments".
www.wordplayer.com
Screenwriter John August provides a wealth of answers to questions about
treatments.
www.johnaugust.com
Writer Jane Espenson discusses Show bibles on her website; look for her
article How To Give Maris Hives, Alphabetized
from April 2008.
www.janeespenson.com
The library collection contains several show bibles; you can find them in the catalog using “show bible” as a title search
Some good resources:Ten
Minutes To The Pitch
by Chris Abbott (Tallfellow Press, c.2005)
The Perfect Pitch: How To Sell Yourself and Your Movie Idea To Hollywood
by Ken Rotcop (Michael Wiese Productions, c2001)
How To Pitch and Sell Your TV Script by David Silver
(Writers Digest Books, c1991)
Freelance Writing For Hollywood: How To Pitch, Write, and Sell Your
Work
by Scott Essman (Michael Wiese Productions, c2000)
Written By - Magazine July 1998
"Pitching In The Big Leagues"
Right Across the Plate; Pitching In The Big Leagues
Words Into Pictures 1997 (audiotape #14)
Words Into Pictures seminars on tape are available for purchase at www.wordsintopictures.org
Taped pitching seminars include:
Pitching Workshop with David Dworski (WGA 4/8/89)
Pitching Seminar with Barbara Corday (WGA 10/7/83)
The library's collection is non-circulating and not for reproduction. A script's
copyright
is typically owned by the production company or studio. Published screenplays
are
available through the following companies:
www.samuelfrench.com
www.amazon.com
www.bn.com
www.newmarketpress.com
None of these institutions permit loans or photocopying of their script
collections.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Margaret Herrick Library
maintains
an index of screenplays held in the collections of 6 libraries in the metropolitan
Los Angeles area.
Motion Picture Scripts: A Union List is found online at
http://scriptlist.oscars.org/
and is updated monthly. The Writers Guild Foundation
Library collection is included in this union list, and the other
institutions are:
Academy Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences
Margaret Herrick Library
333 S. La Cienega Blvd.
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
Main number 310.247.3000
Reference number 310.247.3020
http://www.oscars.org/library
University of California, Los Angeles
Arts Library Special Collection
Young Research Library
405 Hilgard Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90024
By appointment only
310.825.7253
http://www.cinema.ucla.edu
University of Southern California (USC)
Cinematic Arts Library
Doheny Library
University Park
Los Angeles, CA 90089-0182
213.740.3994
Research and Reference:
Phone: (213) 740 8906
Email: ctvref@usc.edu
www.usc.edu/isd/libraries/locations/cinema_tv/
American Film Institute (AFI)
Louis B. Mayer Library
2021 N. Western Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90027
323.856.7654
www.afi.com/about/library.aspx
Frances Howard Goldwyn Hollywood Regional Library (HRL)
Los Angeles Public Library
1623 N. Ivar Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90028
323.856.8260
www.lapl.org/branches/11.html
Other archiving institutions
American Heritage Center
2111 Willett Drive
Centennial Complex
University of Wyoming
Laramie, WY 82071-3924
ahc.uwyo.edu
The Lilly Library
Indiana University
1200 E. Seventh St.
Bloomington, IN 47405-5500
www.indiana.edu/~liblilly/
New York Public Library
Billy Rose Theatre Collection
40 Lincoln Center Plaza
New York, NY 10023-7498
http://www.nypl.org/locations/lpa/billy-rose-theatre-division
S.I. Newhouse School of Publication
Bleier Center for Television & Popular Culture
Syracuse University
Syracuse, NY 13244
http://tvcenter.syr.edu
Brigham Young University
Harold B. Lee Library
L. Tom Perry Special Collections
2060 HBLL
Provo, UT 84602
http://www.lib.byu.sites/artcomm/artscom
Harry Ransom Center
The University of Texas at Austin
21st and Guadalupe Streets
Austin, Texas 78712
http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/collections/guide/film/
The Wisconsin Center For Film and Theater Research
Wisconsin Historical Society
816 State Street
Madison, WI 53706
608.264.6466
www.wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu
The Library has a comprehensive periodical collection focused on screenwriting.
These publications have their own websites with links to a wealth of well-organized
information about writing contests, events and festivals, discussion boards,
online classes,
script formatting, query letters, free advice and fee-based script analysis:
Canadian Screenwriting
www.wgc.ca/magazine/index.html
Creative Screenwriting
www.creativescreenwriting.com
Fade In
www.fadeinmag.com
Hollywood Scriptwriter
www.hollywoodscriptwriter.com
Script
www.scriptmag.com
Scriptwriters Network Newsletter
www.scriptwritersnetwork.org
The library collection includes books on basic legal issues of copyright
for writers in the entertainment industry.
Clearance and Copyright: Everything the Independent Filmmaker Needs
To Know
by Michael C. Donaldson (Silman James, c2003) second edition
The Writer Got Screwed But Didn't Have To: A Guide to the Legal and
Business
Practices of Writing For The Entertainment Industry by Brooke A.
Wharton
(Harper Collins, c1996)
Dealmaking in the Film and Television Industry From Negotiations
Through Final
Contracts by Mark Litwak (Silman James, c2003) second edition
Contracts for the Film and Television Industry
by Mark Litwak (Silman James) second edition
NOLO Law for All
http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/patent-copyright-trademark/
Library of Congress
www.copyright.gov
Todd Rubenstein's article in Filmmaker Magazine
The legalities of securing rights to literary material:
http://www.filmmakermagazine.com/spring2002/features/between_lines.php
Screenwriting Contests and Workshops (some with Diversity emphasis)
MovieBytes - the definitive list of contests
www.moviebytes.com
Walt Disney Studios/ABC Writers Fellowship
www.abctalentdevelopment.com/
Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting
www.oscars.org/nicholl/index.html
Warner Bros. Writers Workshop
http://writersworkshop.warnerbros.com/
NBC-Universal Writers On The Verge Program
http://www.nbcunicareers.com/earlycareerprograms/writersontheverge.shtml
CBS Writers Mentoring Program
http://www.filmmakers.com/contests/screenwriting/cbs_diversity_institute.htm
Hollywood Creative Directory: Hollywood Representation Directory
Formerly Agents and Managers Directory (HCD, issued 3 times annually)
Writers Guide To Hollywood Agents
Fade In Books, annual edition
The Script is Finished, Now What Do I Do? The Scriptwriters'
Resource Book and Agent Guide
by K Callan (c2002) third edition
Literary Agents: What They Do, How Do They Do It, and How To Find
T
he Right One and Work With The Right One For You
by Michael Larsen (John Wiley and Sons, c1996)
The Screenwriters Guide To Agents and Managers
by John Scott Lewinski (Allworth Press, c2001)
Literary Agents; The Essential Guide For Writers
by Debby Mayer (Penguin, c1998)
Writing Classes & Writing Groups
Screenwriting classes are available online, at colleges, universities and
commercially-run
workshops. You can earn an academic degree in screenwriting through these
resources or
attend a "boot-camp style" weekend workshop. The Writers Guild Foundation
and Library cannot endorse, recommend, or evaluate these classes. Writer-oriented
magazines are also a good
resource for classes and groups. (See FAQ: Writer Oriented Magazines.)
The links below
can help you get started:
Degree Programs
AFI (Degree and Certificate programs)
www.afi.com/education/conservatory/screenwriting.aspx
Loyola Marymount University
www.lmu.edu
UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television
(Degree and Certificate programs)
www.tft.ucla.edu
USC School of Cinematic Arts
www-cntv.usc.edu
University of Texas at Austin
www.utexas.edu
North Carolina School of the Arts - School of Filmmaking
http://www.uncsa.edu/filmmaking/
Certificate Programs
UCLA Extension
www.uclaextension.edu
Online Classes
UCLA Extension
www.uclaextension.edu
Seminars
Robert McKee's Story Seminar
www.mckeestory.com
John Truby's Writers Studio
www.truby.com
Writing Classes
Writing Groups
The Guy Hanks and Marvin Miller Writing Program
(aka Bill Cosby Writing Program) at USC is a 15-week
television workshop for "intermediate to advanced level"
writers. For details see the program's web pages:
www-cntv.usc.edu/cosby/
Other online resources to assist you in finding everything from
writing classes to writing retreats:
MovieBytes
www.moviebytes.com
Wordplay
www.wordplayer.com
Scriptwriters Network
www.scriptwritersnetwork.com
The following film school guidebooks may also be helpful:
Film School Confidential: The Insider's Guide to Film Schools
by Karin Kelly and Tom Edgar (Perigee, c1997)
The Complete Guide to American Film Schools
by Ernest Pintoff (Penguin, c1994)
The Writers Guild of America West site contains a vast amount
of information useful
to professional and aspiring writers, students, and anyone interested in the
art, craft,
business, and history of film and television writing.
To find a Guild member's agent:
From the WGA website homepage, click on If You're An Employer,
and
select Find A Writer from the drop-down menu.
Other Areas of Special Interest
Writing and formatting software reviews
Guild-signatory agents list
Sample contracts
Schedule of minimums
Written By magazine
The Writers Guild of America East maintains its own website:
www.wgaeast.org
Story Analysts Guild is the union representing script readers:
Local #700 of IATSE
7715 Sunset Blvd. #200
Los Angeles, CA 90046
323.876.4770
www.editorsguild.com
Humanitas Prize
http://www.humanitasprize.org/OnWriting.html
Additionally, there is a helpful book included in our collection:
Reading For A Living; How To Be A Professional Story Analyst For
Film and Television
by T. L. Katahn (Los Angeles: Blue Arrow Books, c1990)
The UK group WriteWords homepage has advice and information
on submitting scripts
to the BBC for consideration, and making short films:
www.writewords.org.uk/articles/film1.asp
Radio interviews with screen and television writers: Terry Gross' NPR radio
program
Fresh
Air has archived dozens of interviews with writers on the show's website.
Follow the links Archived Shows, then Find a Show by Topic (enter search
terms
"screenwriter" or "TV writer.")