Would You Rather Read A Book Or A Screenplay

How do I write a screenplay?

I already written this for another questionFollow these websites1.Nofilmschool2.Indiwire3.Lightfilmschool4.FilmmakingHQ5.dvxuser.net6.Cinemababu/filmmakingFREE Screenplay Archive and CommunityMovie Scripts and ScreenplaysThe Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb).Syd field books on screen writingWhen I first read these books I really very confident that I can write a script , It is both technical and have lots of insight on how to write characters and how certain scenes should be written2.Story by Robert mckeyGreat book lots of Info.Actually it will take a while to digest whole information present in the book3.The writers journeyWow .This book must be in writers shelf based on Hero -A 1000 faces by Joseph campbell about mythological stories and how all mythologies have similar break down.This book severs everyone and the info is great that you won’t need any film course if you apply his logic step by step with your own unique writing skills.If you are still dint read this book check this outWhile story writing is a more narrating experience while film scripts are more visual experience.You must have understand your character thoughts,actions ,behavior very thoroughly and have to use this in scripts instead of explaining everything o viewer .So dialogue writing is a great skill that must to be learned by every aspiring screen writer.Online so many templates are there for screenwriting and you can read those examples for technical ,at first its very confusing but you have to practice everyday a page so that you can learn script writingSources - google imagesNo Film SchoolHow to Write a Script: 7 Ways Writing a Screenplay is Different Than Writing a Novel——————————————————————————————————Follow my other answers on writingAshok Kumar's answer to What are some great writing exercises for screenwriters?Ashok Kumar's answer to I joined the creative writing club but I am not very good at writing, only coming up with ideas. How should I get over this problem?Ashok Kumar's answer to I want to be a screenwriter. What should I start doing and how should I lead my life in order to succeed in the field?

Would you rather read the book or watch the movie?

Thank you for the A2A!I love this question! It really depends. If it is an author I am familiar with, I tend to read the book first, then go and see the movie to compare the adaptation. Throughout the years I can only name a handful of movies where the script and the movie were close to 90% of being the same (The Exorcist is one of those book to film movies that is a 90% to me). I think most book authors who get a movie option are happy if they can see 70% of their vision on the screen as there are SO many hands in it making decisions on how things need to get done. I also think that is why in some cases Director’s Cut was formed as an option.What has happened is that I find in recent times is a movie will come out and THEN a book is written. I am not a fan of that. I think the movie has more substance in that case than the book because it makes me feel as if they’re trying to get more traction from the film, and I figured I’ve gotten the gist of it enough.Then there are the comic book adaptations. It has been a 50/50 prospect for me and not in a bad way. There are those I know like the back of my hand like Superman, Batman, Spider-man, Iron Man, The Hulk, X-Men, Black Panther and their nemeses; and then those that I never read by “heard” about like “Wonder Woman”, “Guardians of the Galaxy”, “Dr. Strange” and just go to the film to enjoy it and never pick up the comic.

Would you rather read the screenplay of your favorite movie or watch a movie based on your favorite book? Why? What is the best movie you've seen that is based on a book you’ve read?

I’m going to split up the question and answer it in parts ^_^Would you rather read the screenplay of your favorite movie or watch a movie based on your favorite book?I would rather read the screenplay of my favorite movie any day.Why?Till date, I have not seen a single movie that has been able to do justice to a book that it has been based on. If it is one of my favorite books, then I would love every aspect of the book… from the protagonists to the antagonists and from the locales to the dialogues and punchlines. Any omission will cause me a lot of pain… like how I still haven’t gotten over how so much could have been omitted in the Lord of the Rings movies. Ah! That’s a long and sad story and I’ll not go there.On the contrary, if I’m reading the screenplay of my favorite movie, I’d be able to read even those lines that I may have missed while watching the movie… which is like watching the movie with a richer experience al over again.What is the best movie you've seen that is based on a book you’ve read?With all its ‘how could they leave THAT out’ omissions, I daresay that the Harry Potter movie franchise was the closest it came to a movie series being able to do at least some justice to the book series. The casting was near perfect, with the occasional mess up here and there, but that’s okay. Everything and everyone blended in quite well when one looks at the whole picture. When it comes to a movie doing justice to the book it was based on, I’d cast my vote for Harry Potter… all the movies.

Would you rather read a book first and then watch the movie or vice versa?

It very much depends on the book.Any story with a twist or puzzle is better seen first as a movie. I think the reveal of what’s really going on can be made much more dramatic in the visual medium. I’m forever grateful that I saw The Prestige before reading the book. I’m still kicking myself for thumbing through Gone Girl in the supermarket, when I knew I was planning to see the film, and giving myself a medium spoiler.Stories with tense, edge-of your-seat moments can also be better seen first than read. Not only did I not read Room before I saw it, I closed my eyes and put my fingers in my ears when I saw the trailer (several times), and I’m tremendously grateful that I did. OTOH, one of my favorite reading memories is finishing The Silence of the Lambs and being literally unable to put it down — I tried and failed to prepare dinner one-handed, and had to wait another hour to eat. So I think this works either way.Finally, stories with dense world-building, where lots of good stuff will need to be cut, are better as books first, then movies. I got into Harry Potter because I adored a film called Y Tu Mama Tambien by a Mexican director, Alfonso Cuaron, and vowed that I would see his next film, whatever it was. It turned out to be The Prisoner of Azkaban, so I read three H.P. books before seeing it (and all the others before the movies). I was so taken by the ending of the second Hunger Games movie that I immediately went and bought the box set of the trilogy and read them all (apparently I wasn’t the only one, as both Costco and Amazon were sold out!). I’m glad I did.

Do you prefer to read a book or watch a movie? Why?

Books, without a doubt.Whenever you watch a movie, you are watching someone else’s interpretation of what was written. Hopefully the author of the book has been involved in the screenplay, but not always. There are always bits left out of the book and bits added in to fit the narrative purpose.Where was Tom Bombadil in the Fellowship of the Ring?Why did they change the ending in Deathly Hallows?When you read a book, you can get engrossed in it, and let your imagination soar, and take you away. The number of dragons I have slain, damsels I have rescued, spells I have cast, fights I have won, armies I have defeated, worlds I have visited, women I have loved…I just wish my real life was that exciting!

When actors are portraying characters from books, is it better to read the original book first and then read the screenplay?

I've played a central role in a TV show based on a popular book which was based on semi-true stories. Having read the book, screenplay and met the person it’s based on, I'm not sure I agree with the other answers.First thing I did after getting the call was go out and buy the book. Started reading it before I even got the final scripts, feverently skipping ahead to "my" scenes. But the second I got the screenplays in the mail, I switched. Read and scrutinised over it as much as I could. The next thing I did was go and experience the life of my character. He was a security guard at an infamously violent night club, so I actually went there and spent a few shifts with the real guards as one of them. Then I went over the screenplay again and started to build him through rehearsals and my own analysis. The book I only finished long after we wrapped the shooting.Here’s how I see it. The book is not screenplay, and the screenplay is not the show. When you’re portraying a character you’re always striking a balance between the text and yourself. One of the first things they teach actors is that the lines don’t matter. The intention, the action, the inner monologue of the character does. It’s the duty of an actor to bring something personal from themselves that fuses with the text and the intention of the director to create something unique. And I did that. I built a background and an inner psyche for the guy that’s based in many places on my own. It’s not 100% the book or the screenplay, but I think it fit the show well.  So, of course, reading the book and getting a deeper background is a good thing, but doing it first might muddle and stunt the development of the unique character you’re about to portray. It can help, but it can also do harm. After the fact I view the guy in the book, and my guy as pretty different takes on the same idea.

Which is better: watch the movie first, then read the book, or read the book, and then watch the movie?

Thanks for A2A. I would definitely suggest — perusing the novel before watching the movie. I have no shame in admitting this that I always used to do the reverse and then someone advised me not to.Often the Literary works are extremely well written, exhaustively detailed and consists of very well-written characters.The movie script is a sub-sub-set of the theme of the book. In most cases, key developments to the characters and scenes are left out.In every novel that I have read which has a corresponding Superhit Block-Buster Hollywood movie — the experience of perusal of the novel was infinitely more pleasing than watching it on-screen.E.g. The Lord of the Rings trilogy, I recently finished reading. It is a million times better to read the three novels and a detailed Appendices rather than simply watching the movie. The movie script of all the 3 movies combined would be less than 40% of the actual novel in terms of depth, interactions and dialogues.Same goes for Stephen King’s IT and The Shawshank Redemption. Same applies to Che Guevara’s The Motorcycle Diaries. Same goes for all the Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park novels. Same goes for Jumpa Lahiri’s Namesake. And a few dozen others I could think of.In short, the following I loved reading; some of them made into really famous movies as well:The Lords of the RingsITThe Shawshank RedemptionJawsThe Pelican BriefA Time to KillJurassic ParkThe Lost World: Jurassic ParkBram Stoker’s DraculaThe Silence of the LambsReading the original novel before watching the movie is infinitely times better than watching a movie and then deciding to read the novel.

Would you rather be the author of a culturally phenomenal book or the director of a moderately successful movie?

I don’t a real answer for that, but a couple of suggestions to think about.Everyone in the end wants to write/direct something ending up being worldwide known and IMMORTAL, like Dracula or Frankenstein, that are so well worldwide-known fictional characters that even those who has never seen the movies nor read the books knows VERY well about these characters.The point is that no worldwide bestseller novel will ever reach the kind of worldwide popularty of movie sagas like DA VINCI’S CODE, TWILIGHT or STAR WARS has.You need both… Both the besteller novel and then the bestseller movie.Then, if your work also has some cultural value too, it won’t be forgotten neither (twilight will be forgotten. Uh… And hunger games too. On the contrary, Harry Potter will stay).That’s the reason I prefer writers, of course.They are in the position to have a wonderful book and movie too.