The First Time I Got Paid for It
Author: Peter Lefcourt, Laura J. Shapiro, William Goldman
List Price: $15.00
Our Price: Click to see the latest and low price
ISBN: 0306810972
Publisher: DaCapo Press (March, 2002)
Sales Rank: 350,808
Average Customer Rating: 4 out of 5
Customer Reviews
Rating: 3 out of 5
Not what I was expecting
Maybe I missed the fine-print or something, but this book isn't what I was expecting, really, or what I was looking for. The book doesn't get three stars because it's bad -- it's not a bad book -- but because I think, well, the title is a sort of false advertising. When I picked up the book, I was expecting essays by successful writers about how they broke into the business of screenwriting ... inspirational-type stuff. Instead, what the book contains are stories about:"The first time I ...
"... sold a tv-pilot after working for fifteen years as a staff-writer for a highly successful television show."
Or ...
"The first time I ...
"... adapted one of my highly sucessful stage plays into a screenplay."
And so on.
Many of the personal essays are interesting, some are funny, and the book is worth reading, if what you want to read are the kind of mildly amusing, sometimes hopeful essays contained in this book. If what you want is a book of essays by highly successful screenwriters about how the broke into the business, you'll find little (although some) of that here.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Hope for us all
One of the things I'd like to do in my life is write a screenplay. I haven't actually done it yet, and I have no idea what the process is like. But this book was a very interesting read. It has given me a renewed sense of hope. Some of the writers' stories in this book are like fairy tales to the hopeful screenwriters, and some of the stories show the reality to us. Reading these has helped me learn what to expect--because I understand that most of these writers were lucky, and that's a lot of what it takes to make it in Hollywood. Let's hope I have it.Also, I must point out that the forward by William Goldman was worth the price of the book all by itself. I thought I was going to die laughing. I think I read the whole thing out loud to my roommate.
All in all, this is a wonderful book, with many memorable and hopeful stories.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Inspiring in an offbeat way ...
For anyone who's ever wanted to get paid for it, you ought to read this book. Especially wonderful for those who follow the Who's Who of Hollywood writers, and how they struggled. The foreword by William Goldman is especially charming as is the closing anecdote by Steve Zaillian, which I found touching. Audrey Wells' tale is flippant and funny as is Pamela Gray's.
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