Book Review: Writing Movies For Fun and Profit by Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon

Have you ever wondered how to make it as a Hollywood screenwriter? Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon's book Writing Movies For Fun and Profit: How We Made a Billion Dollars at the Box Office and You Can, Too! is probably not the book you've been looking for, but it is the one you will want to read. Garant and Lennon are the writers behind such films as Taxi, The Pacifier, and Herbie: Fully Loaded. You're probably already thinking “Why would I want to read a screenwriting book by these guys? Those movies sucked!” The answer is because your heart-wrenching screenplay about the human condition has about a one-in-a-million chance of being bought by a major studio. After reading this book you may not want it to be. Writing Movies For Fun and Profit is a humorous dose of reality about what it's really like for a screenwriter in the Hollywood trenches.

There is no shortage of books on the subject of crafting a screenplay. This book is not about that. The second half of the book does cover screenwriting how-to and creating a saleable script. However, if you’re looking for a book that will help you develop artistically, you might find this book to be a slap in the face. You should probably read it anyway. The authors take the reader on a journey through “development hell,” where a writer's work is chewed up and spit out in an effort to make as much money for the studio as possible. Money is what movies are all about, and Garant and Lennon make no bones about this. In addition to providing a reality check for aspiring screenwriters, the authors also explain how to make it through all the madness.

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Article Author: Sherry Lipp

Sherry writes mostly music and DVD reviews, and on occasion she gets to do an interview. She plays the guitar, loves to read, watch movies, and write. Sherry also is a gluten free food blogger, and enjoys coming up with grain and sugar free recipes.

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