Stories in Pictures

<p> Charlie Kaufman had it right in <em>Adaptation</em>: many screenwriters, like the high-priced professional spoofed in the film, have it down to a rigid, unimaginative format. If you're that kind of aspiring writer, you might benefit from reading Joseph McBride's <em>Writing in Pictures: Screenwriting Made (Mostly) Painless </em>(published by Vintage).</p> <p> Along with authoring several excellent biographies of important figures in cinema history, McBride co-wrote <em>Rock'n'Roll High School</em>, earned a Writers Guild of America award and had his in hand in the industry for many years. His goal is to encourage creativity, even within the increasingly narrow commercial confines of Hollywood. <em>Writing in Pictures</em> is also a call to arms against what's wrong in the movie industry's slavish adherence to formula: “You find to your distress that most of the coming attractions look alike,” he comments, “… cars flipping over and exploding, maniacs chasing victims through shadowy houses and alleyways, slobby guys making fools of themselves pursuing impossibly pretty girls…” </p> <p>You can guess the rest. McBride is a sharp writer, an astute critic and has some stories to tell from his own career. Not incidentally, <em>Writing in Pictures </em>elucidates much about the art and meaning of film, because a wannabe screenwriter who approaches the craft as if composing a novel or even a stage play will almost certainly fumble. Mastering the particular language of cinema, a visual medium comprised of discrete shots edited or juxtaposed into a story, is absolutely necessary. McBride's specific tips are priceless: a good screenplay is more like a sketch than an oil painting, allowing plenty of white space to be colored in by the inevitable collaboratorsthe editors and cinematographers as well as directors and actors. </p>