Title: Aristotle's poetics for screenwriters : storytelling secrets from the greatest mind in western civilization /
Authors: Tierno, Michael
Publisher: Hyperion,
Year: 2002
Subjects: Aristotle.; Motion picture authorship.
Abstract: Long considered the bible for storytellers, Aristotle's Poetics is a fixture of college courses on everything from fiction writing to dramatic theory. Now story analyst Michael Tierno shows how this classic work can be an invaluable resource for beginning and advanced screenwriters, or anyone interested in studying plot structure. Tierno examines the fundamentals of screenwriting using techniques outlined in the Poetics, then applies these concepts to modern movie classics, including Citizen Kane, Rocky, Pulp Fiction, and many more. This guide covers a multitude of topics, from plotting and subplotting to dialogue and dramatic unity. Along the way, Tierno also gives tips based on his years as a story analyst, where he has learned what studios look for when they read a screenplay. His quick wit and easy-to-follow explanations of some of the Poetics' most difficult passages illuminate one of the most important books on story structure ever written.--From publisher description.
Contents: Introduction: the action-idea -- Let's start at the very beginning, middle and end -- Why you want your movie to be a bomb! -- The subject is an action ... not a person -- Forget sub-plotting-the best plots have one-track minds -- Plot is soul -- The ends are always in the means of the plot -- Why is my beautiful plot growing a hand out of its head? -- The four species of plot -- What the poetics says about epics like Lord of the Rings -- Destiny is an accident waiting to happen -- Keep it in the family ... the tragic deed -- Oops! I caused my own undeserved misfortune again -- How a little moralizing turned a gladiator gore fest into a best picture -- A movie is long enough, so it ends ... happy or sad -- If you're happy and you know it ... time for a reversal of fortune and discovery -- "It scared me because I saw it coming" ... the rolls royce of complex plots -- The devil is in the realistic details of the plot of Angel Heart -- Whatever causes the action better be up there on the screen -- A movie gave you a bad case of pity and fear? The doctor recommends a catharsis -- Action speaks louder than words, and together they can speak volumes! -- The perfect Hollywood sad/happy plot versus the perfect poetics sad plot -- Move your audience by teaching them what they already know -- The good, the bad and the intermediate hero -- It's the thought behind the action that counts: creating the tone of your screenplay -- How to cheat if you can't hire a whole chorus -- How to create characters that are really really really alive -- Dialog is a piece of the action -- If the pitch doesn't fill me with horror and pity, the movie won't either -- The non-linear soul of Quentin Tarantino -- If your story were a musical, where would the numbers be? -- History repeats itself ... real and imagined -- Aristotle's take on the importance of drama -- Aristotle took comedy seriously.