Su-City Pictures East - The Savvy Screenwriter Description by Susan Kouguell




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Description of The Savvy Screenwriter

"Kouguell has given it to us straight. The Savvy Screenwriter lays out a detailed plan. It first explains how to fine-tune your work. It then demonstrates how to promote an interest in, and ultimately sell, your script. The book is concise, well structured, objective – and a bit humbling."

MovieMaker Magazine

We all know how formidable the movie business can seem. After all, the motion picture industry is more than just a place in California or the face of an ephemeral star. It is, as its name admits, an "INDUSTRY," an intimidating entity that seems to consist of invisible walls and barriers keeping the least connected out while constantly reshuffling the main players. Breaking in would be an option if we could only see a door!

Now, for the first time ever, the entire process is demystified, undressed, and explained in The Savvy Screenwriter: How to Sell Your Screenplay (and Yourself) Without Selling Out! (Revised and Updated.) (Published by St. Martin’s Griffin 2006. ISBN: 0-312-35575-0. Available at all bookstores. $14.95 paper). Award-winning screenwriter/filmmaker Susan Kouguell not only provides that much-needed door, but also opens it wide as she takes us on a dazzling tour of the world of screenwriting, effortlessly removing the mystery of finishing a screenplay and selling it.

The Savvy Screenwriter provides a step-by-step guide to the evolution of a finished screenplay – helping screenwriters make that difficult transition from a screenplay on the desk to a screenplay in the film industry. With great specificity and style, Kouguell anticipates every question a novice screenwriter could ever have, providing detailed information from the first stop at the WGA registration to the "holy grail" of the Development Deal. Full of candor and wit, the book integrates personal anecdotes from Kouguell’s lively film past, (written in dual formats—on an old-fashioned typewriter and movie scenes in screenplay format) juxtaposed by point-by-point advice regarding the nitty-gritty of getting a script into the right hands.

Methodically organized, clear, concise and easy to follow, Kouguell begins the tour at the beginning: telling what a story analyst is looking for in a new script. From there, Kouguell explains the ins-and-outs of query letters, script synopsis, pitching, targeting production companies, finding the elusive agent, script competitions, the boons/drawbacks of obtaining an entertainment lawyer, psychoanalyzing movie executives, option agreements and much, much more!

Original and thorough beyond compare, The Savvy Screenwriter – and Kouguell herself – is the answer to every screenwriter’s prayers. Destined to be assigned in every film program across America, this is one book that’s begging to be dog-eared for a lifetime. Kouguell’s book is a "must-read" for all screenwriters young and old, and will also interest and intrigue all movie buffs, industry executives, and anyone else related to the movie biz.