Laughing Out Loud: Writing the Comedy-Centered Screenplay
Editorial Reviews
Book Description
Whoever wrote "Make 'em laugh!" knew that it's easier said than done. But people love to laugh, and good comedy will always sell. With the help of this complete and entertaining guide, writers and would-be writers for film and television can look forward to writing comedy that goes far beyond stereotypic jokes and characters. In Laughing Out Loud, award-winning screenwriter and author Andrew Horton blends history, theory, and analysis of comedy with invaluable advice. Using examples from Chaplin to Seinfeld, Aristophanes to Woody Allen, Horton describes comedy as a perspective rather than merely as a genre and then goes on to identify the essential elements of comedy. His lively overview of comedy's history traces its two main branchesanarchistic comedy and romantic comedyfrom ancient Greece through contemporary Hollywood, by way of commedia dell'arte, vaudeville, and silent movies. Television and international cinema are included in Horton's analysis, which leads into an up-close review of the comedy chemistry in a number of specific films and television shows. The rest of the book is a practical guide to writing feature comedy and episodic TV comedy, complete with schedules and exercises designed to unblock any writer's comic potential. The appendices offer tips on networking, marketing, and even producing comedies, and are followed by a list of recommended comedies and a bibliography.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
From the Back Cover
"Andy Horton's latest book is not only refreshing, insightful, and effortlessly scholarly; it's also imbued with that rare quality so lacking in its field (a shameless sense of fun." (Herschel Weingrod, screenwriter (Trading Places, Twins, Space Jam, Kindergarten Cop))
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
Laughing Out Loud: Writing the Comedy-Centered Screenplay
Laughing Out Loud: Writing the Comedy-Centered Screenplay,Andrew Horton,University of California Press,0520220153,Authorship,Comedy films,Composition & Creative Writing - Play/Scriptwriting,Film & Video - Screenwriting,Language,Performing Arts,Pop Arts / Pop Culture
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