texts

All required books are available at Huntley Bookstore.
David Trottier, The Screenwriter’s Bible
Robert McKee, Story
Linda Seger, Creating Unforgettable Characters
Michael Halperin, Writing the Second Act
Recommended:
Syd Field, Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting
William Goldman, Adventures in the Screen Trade
Richard Walters, The Art, Craft, and Business of Film and Television Writing
Many, many screenplays are available online at Script-o-rama.com; you should read as many as you can get your hands on, and particularly those for which we’re watching the film. (Films incidentally, should be watched on your own; there is no scheduled screening time for this class. What you can’t find on the network [ahem] can be checked out from the Media Studies library.)
There is also a software requirement for this class: The English department owns a limited number of copies of Final Draft, which you should use to write your script. You can check one of these copies out from the department office for the semester. At the end of the semester, you must return the software intact, in the original packaging, with the instruction guide; failure to do so will result in your Pomona account being charged a $100 replacement fee.