Writing the comedy blockbuster : the inappropriate goal

Writing the comedy blockbuster The inappropriate goal

Keith Giglio, 1963-

Book - 2012

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Subjects
Comedy films > Authorship.
Motion picture authorship.
Published
Studio City, Calif. : Michael Wiese Productions [2012]
Language
English
Main Author
Keith Giglio, 1963- (-)
Physical Description
xxvii, 215 pages ; 23 cm
Bibliography
Includes filmography.
ISBN
9781615930852
  • Dedication and Thank Yous
  • Introduction
  • Foreplay, Or How Tina Fey Can Kick Bruce Willis' Ass
  • Part 1. How to Use this Book
  • Chapter 1. How to Bust a Gut
  • Or Comedy College 101
  • A Criminally Brief History of Film Comedy
  • Yes, But What Kind of Comedy?
  • Exercise: Beg, Steal, or Borrow
  • Chapter 2. The Comedic Idea
  • A.K.A. The Importance of Being Inappropriate A.K.A. The Blues Brothers are Not Role Models
  • The Inappropriate Goal
  • The Comedic Logline A.K.A. The Pitch
  • Uniquely Familiar
  • Exercise: Twenty Uniquely Familiar Ideas
  • The Fill-in-the Blanks Elevator Pitch
  • Exercise: The Poster
  • Part 2. Plot Vs. Character: Who Will Win?
  • Chapter 3. Comedic Character
  • A.K.A. A Fool's Journey A.K.A. I Know A Guy Just Like That
  • The Importance of Character
  • A Fool's Journey
  • Take Your Silliness Seriously
  • Characters Change
  • The Rock and Roll School of Screenwriting
  • Plot vs. Character
  • Building the Comic Character
  • Exercise: The Comedic Character Worksheet
  • What I Really Want To Do Is Direct
  • Comic Vision
  • Inappropriate Behavior
  • Inappropriate Dialogue
  • Unity of Opposites
  • Rowing a Sinking Boat
  • Funny People
  • Exercise: Character Work
  • Chapter 4. Hilarity and Heart
  • A.K.A. It's All About the Wolf Pack
  • The "Classic" and Still Modern Three-Act Structure
  • Exercise: Question Everything
  • The Comedic Sequence Approach
  • Scene Study
  • Putting Scenes to Work in Events
  • Exercise: Funny Scenes
  • The Secret Ingredients of Comedic Scenes
  • Part 3. The Comedic Roadmap - The Eight Comic Sequences
  • Chapter 5. Comic Sequence (A)
  • A.K.A. The Comedic World
  • A.K.A. Well Begun is Half Done
  • Setting Up the Comedic World
  • Exercise: Comedy Calisthenics
  • What is the Tone of Your Story?
  • The Prestory
  • Open With a Hook - First Impressions
  • Denning Action
  • Status Quo-Something's Missing
  • Exposition
  • Point of Attack - Opportunity Knocks
  • Exercise: Rewrite Your Favorite Movie
  • Chapter 6. Comic Sequence (B)
  • Setting up the Inappropriate Goal A.K.A. "You're Going to Do What?" or Why Crashing A Wedding is a Good Idea
  • What the Hell Happened to Me?
  • The Buddy
  • Meet the Bad Guy A.K.A. The Dick
  • The Dramatic Question - Oh, That's What it's About
  • End of the First Act - Protagonist and Objective
  • Exercise: Change the Point of View
  • Chapter 7. Act Two!
  • A.K.A. Where Scripts Go to Die
  • Comic Sequence (C)
  • The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World A.K.A. Sometimes Girls Throw up on You
  • Oh Yes, Oh No!
  • Start Small and Go Big
  • The Promise of the Premise
  • The Main Events of Sequence C
  • The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
  • Establish the Initial Goal
  • Learning New Rules / Taking on Appearances
  • Friends and Enemies
  • Subplots
  • Subplots and Themes
  • First Attempt Fails - Maybe
  • Exercise in Conflict: The Agitator
  • Chapter 8. Comic Sequence (D)
  • It Just Keeps Getting Worse a.k.a. How Much Pain Can Ben Stiller Take?
  • Five Events to the Midpoint
  • Anticipation and Reaction Scenes
  • Reaction Scenes
  • Ramping Up
  • Backward from the Midpoint
  • The Midpoint Hints at the Ending
  • Importance of Location
  • Chapter 9. Comic Sequence (E)
  • Love in the Air A.K.A. Why Andy Chooses Love over Sex
  • Reaction to the Midpoint
  • Major Character Shift
  • Develop the Theme
  • Upping the Stakes
  • The Jolt
  • Comic Exercise: The Soundtrack
  • Chapter 10. Comic Sequence (F)
  • What Was I Thinking? a.k.a. Yes, I'm a Liar But
  • A Final Push
  • Good Times Never Last
  • Expose the Character's Weakness
  • The Calm Before the Storm
  • End of Act Two: Bad Things Happen
  • Other Ways to End Act Two
  • Chapter 11. Act Three
  • Comic Sequence (G)
  • Time to Grow Up A.K.A. Why Are Ashton and Natalie So Sad Even Though They Said No Strings Attached?
  • So What Is Act Three?
  • What Else Should Happen In My Act Three?
  • Singing the Blues
  • Who Am I?
  • Help from the Mentor
  • The Last Great Decision
  • Chapter 12. Comic Sequence (H)
  • The New Me A.K.A. Why Ben Stiller, Jim Carrey, Hugh Grant, Natalie Portman are Running at the End of the Movie
  • The Battle
  • Convergence
  • Sacrifice
  • Resurrection
  • Epiphany
  • The Final Race
  • The New Me
  • Take a Breath at the End
  • A Word About Satisfying Endings
  • Chapter 13. Writing the Screenplay
  • Writing the Screenplay
  • Turning the Scriptment into the Script
  • Why Do Screenplays Fail?
  • The Writing Begins
  • Some Words about Dialogue
  • Trust the Work You Have Done
  • How Do I Know when It's Done?
  • The Business of Writing
  • Funny Is Money
  • Filmography
  • About the Author
Review by Library Journal Review

Giglio (screenwriting, S.I. Newhouse Sch. of Public Communications, Syracuse Univ.) presents an informative book on how to write comedy screenplays. He discusses the importance of being inappropriate, how to figure out what kind of comedy makes you laugh, how to create and write comedic characters, finding the turning point of the scene, and how to get your protagonists to achieve their goals. The author illustrates each section with specific examples from comedies such as The Hangover, This Is Spinal Tap, There's Something About Mary, and When Harry Met Sally. There are a lot of exercises in the book to help readers improve their writing and get their comedy screenplay flowing as it should. VERDICT Giglio's tone is light in this funny, easy read. Highly recommended for screenwriters interested in writing comedies. [Consider also Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon's recent Writing Movies for Fun and Profit, a broader survey that may have wider appeal.-Ed.]-Sally Bryant, Pepperdine Univ. Lib., Malibu, CA (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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