Writing Movies for Fun and Profit: How We Made a Billion Dollars at the Box Office and You Can, Too! - Hardcover

"Some screenwriters have a knack for capturing the heart and soul of characters, the nuance of themes, the richness of the human experience. And some are like Tom and Ben." -Shawn Levy, Film Director & Producer "Ben and Tom are a great fit for me. I love working with talented writers and then telling people everything was my idea. This is a great book, that I pitched to them a while back... I'm thrilled that they finally got around to writing it." -Danny DeVito "Tom and Ben's valuable insight into writing for a Volkswagen bug and creating the `Lawrence of Arabia of Ping Pong films' make this book far more informative to the young dramatist than the vastly over-rated `Aristotle's Poetics.'" -Jonathan Glickman, Film Producer, President of MGM, Motion Picture Group "Tom and Ben are two of the writers currently working in Hollywood. I can add they make a `profit' on each of their writing jobs, as I believe they have very little overhead. Therefore, they are clearly qualified to write this book. Having not read it, I can tell you that it is uproariously funny, perhaps the best book on writing ever." -Zak Penn, Film Screenwriter & Director "These guys probably ripped off everything in this book just like they do in all their screenplays. That would explain why it's actually kind of good." -Ed Helms "These guys are proof that with no training and little education, ANYONE can make it as a screenwriter." -Paul Rudd "These two guys are the reason Night at the Museum won so many Oscars" -Ben Stiller

WRITING MOVIES FOR [FUN AND] PROFIT is a hilarious insider's look at the world of big ticket commercial movie making. Written by two screenwriters whose movies have earned over a billion dollars combined at the box office, this book is full of juicy insider knowledge as well as practical information like how to survive and conquer the Hollywood studio system. By now, you've noticed that the words "fun and" have been crossed out from this edition of the book -- and for good reason: this is not some fruity William McKee screenwriting guide that's going to help you "crack" your story. This book is not about screenwriting "theory." Part one introduces the reader on how to get started, the art of pitching and simple things like making sure you've spell checked your script before sending. Part two focuses on writing the script, from how to form a character down to book rights.