This article explores academic and industry perspectives on the use of dialect, slang, and historical language in screenwriting. It offers a chronological overview of major screenwriting manuals' treatment of dialect and slang (or lack thereof) 1946-2020. It then presents survey data of 53 currently-practicing screenwriters' views on working with…

At the end of a biology course entitled Ecology, Evolution, and Genetics, students were asked to consider how their learning experience had changed their perception of either ecology or genetics. Students were asked to express their thoughts in the form of a "digital story" using readily available software to create movies for the purpose of…

Analyzes director Richard Lester's and scriptwriter Charles Wood's efforts in adapting "How I Won the War" and "Dingo" for film. (RB)

Examines similarities and differences between writing short, live-action narrative films and writing feature films. Examines market influence, budget, structure, and story factors. Describes useful procedures for inclusion in a scriptwriting class. (KEH)

Based on the Screenwriting 434 graduate-level seminar at the University of California Los Angeles, this book guides readers/students through every step of the screenwriting process by putting them through the actual writing of an original script. Chapters in the book are: (1) Ideas; (2) The Two-Minute Movie; (3) Building Your Characters; (4) The…

Defines and analyzes the ideological conditions which motivate a writer to conclude a screenplay with an open ending. Questions whether screenwriting instructors in the 1990s should encourage their students to write nonclassical Hollywood cinema endings. (KEH)

Presents a sample of college and university screenwriting programs for writers and directors. Includes opinions of faculty and professionals in the field of writing on the specific objectives of screenwriting courses, as well as methods of teaching. (JMF)

There is a fundamental division of purpose between scholarship and television. Academics deal in nuances, qualifications, and subtle distinctions, while film makers seek broad strokes, drama, and simple, vivid ideas. By accepting that difference, the two can cooperate to make good television that is good history. (MLW)

Argues that contemporary screenwriters have much to learn from journalism and from theater, especially in the move away from the linearity of the high-concept film to a richer, more complex screen story. Examines the writing skills and techniques of journalist and playwrights in developing both foreground and background stories. (KEH)

Bound in a slipcover rather than in signatures, this "book" is made up of thirteen separately bound booklets. The first booklet is an introduction to the use of film in the classroom both in teaching the filmic art and in increasing the visual literacy of students on the high school and early college levels. The twelve other booklets each treat a…