The 3rd Act: Writing a Great Ending to Your Screenplay
by Drew Yanno
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Book Summary Information
Author: Drew YannoEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2006-09-01
ISBN: 0826418783
Number of pages: 176
Publisher: Continuum
Book Reviews of The 3rd Act: Writing a Great Ending to Your Screenplay
Book Review: Resolving and tying up loose ends...
Summary: 5 Stars
I've been aware for a long time how each element of a screenplay is interconnected, I've read enough books and screenplays to have at least gleaned that fact but including this into your own screenplay writing derives from knowledge and experience of which is generally obtained from at least a few years study and indulgence within this craft.
In "The 3rd Act Writing a Great Ending to Your Screenplay" the author Drew Yanno brings those years of study and experience to bear and stresses how important a logical and powerful ending works to lift up a screenplay to a higher level of writing and narrative experience for the reader/audience.
According to Yanno, a good ending is directly related to the protagonist character, the conflict he or she experiences and how he or she reacts to that conflict and how he or she resolves those conflicts. A good story should strive to show resolves of any conflict an audience expects it so. But a good ending also considers how those characters, subplots, main plot and theme drive the screenplay narrative beat by beat, scene by scene, and sequence by sequence through conflict, reaction and resolve and any ending is no different. In fact the 3rd act is not only the place within the screen story where the protagonist battles and resolves with the major antagonist but it is the place where all those subplots and the character conflicts merge, loose ends are tied up, they are eventually resolved. Good or bad, up or down, happy ending or down ending, if it is logical where all roads merge into one then, like discussed in the book, you'll produce a sound, logical and aesthetic and emotionally satisfying ending for your screenplay.
There are many examples culled from produced movies, some which are considered very successful because of their successful 3rd act and subsequent ending and where others are considered not so successful because they fail to deal with the original premise and do not tie up any loose ends and as a result seem less satisfying to movie audiences.
"The 3rd Act Writing a Great Ending to Your Screenplay" is a well researched and written book which discusses the merits of what constitutes good and bad endings from an aesthetic point of view and from an audience perspective and how you the screenwriter can use this knowledge to craft endings which mean something to the reader and or audience because the last thing any reader remembers from a script or movie audience remembers from a movie is the ending and this book illustrates by examples how to avoid the pitfalls and how to elevate your story idea into something with heart and meaning which not only satisfies a reader/audience but which lifts the screenplay from the mundane and average to those great heights of storytelling by the masters we all strive toward.
"The 3rd Act Writing a Great Ending to Your Screenplay" is well-worth the investment and a worthy inclusion for any screenwriter's reference library. I intend to return to this book each time before I begin to write a screenplay just to remind myself how important the ideas about the 3rd act and the ending are to any well crafted screenplay just so I don't forget that everything is interconnected which then resolves at the end together with the importance of tying up any loose ends. Because the ending is a conclusion derived from the established theme through the protagonist character and how conflict is dealt with and resolved from interaction with other characters, subplots, the main plot to provide a satisfying but logical conclusion. A good ending will not only be remembered but could be the very thing which helps to sell your screenplay in an already overcrowded commercial marketplace.
There are a lot of books on screenwriting in the marketplace but this book examines perfectly what it proclaims on the cover. Definitely worth the investment!
Summary of The 3rd Act: Writing a Great Ending to Your Screenplay
A film's ending is crucial. It is the last thing an audience sees, and often the last thing it remembers, before leaving the theatre. Indeed, it is no stretch to suggest that, more than any other part of the film, the ending determines whether the audience likes a film or not. By extension, the ending of a script is probably the last thing the reader will remember when they put it down An otherwise great script will likely be passed on if it does not end well. "The Third Act" is the first screenwriting instructional book to focus entirely on that most important part of a script - the ending. Like the three-act paradigm for the entire screenplay, "The Third Act" offers a unique structure for the writer to follow when writing the last act of their script. No other screenwriting book offers this simple structural approach to endings in a three-act story. Additionally, "The Third Act" provides suggestions as to which type of ending writers should consider for their particular story. The book features detailed examinations of the endings of many memorable films, including "Rocky", "Rain Man"; "Good Will Hunting", "Saving Private Ryan", "Casablanca", "The Breakfast Club", "Se7en", "Lost in Translation", and "Gladiator". A check is provided at the end of each chapter, giving the reader some suggestions to apply in their writing based on the structural element being explored in that chapter. A longer and more comprehensive list of suggestions appears in an appendix.Movies Books
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