Adaptation for Screenwriters

Develop the critical and creative skills to 'translate' a story from page to screen with this step-by-step guide to the process of screen adaptation you'll learn to: - interrogate a novel or short story to release its 'inner film' - convert fictional prose into visual drama - overcome the obstacles presented by different media 'languages' - approach key strategic decisions - both technical and interpretive - draft and re-draft your plot, characters and dialogue - professionally format and submit your finished script In addition to examples taken from 'literary classics', contemporary novels, genre fiction, short stories, and biographical material, Marland and Edgar embrace the wider phenomenon of re-telling and updating existing stories, such as the 'appropriation' of popular figures, inter-film adaptation (sequels and 'reboots'), and development into other visual forms including graphic fiction and video games. Whether you are producing a faithful adaptation of Tolstoy's War and Peace, or planning to pair up the crime-fighting duo of Sherlock Holmes and Batman, Adaptation for Screenwriters will be your guide.

Table of Contents:
Introduction PART 1 - THEORY 1. Different Languages Approaching Adaptation Issues of Form Channels of Communication Case Study: Enduring Love, High-Rise Exercises 2. The Challenge of Translation Being Faithful Finding the Film in the Book Dramatizing the Page Case Study: Kiss of the Spider Woman, Fight Club Exercises PART 2 - ADAPTATION 3. Narrative Re/Construction Story and Structure Culture and Context Adapting to Genre Case Study: The English Patient, No Country for Old Men Exercises 4. Faithful Invention Acts of Interpretation Reframing - Prologues and Codas Expanding the Short Story Case Study: Don't Look Now, The Shawshank Redemption Exercises 5. The Human Subject Character – Surface and Depth Screening Psychology Capturing Conflict Case Study: The Great Gatsby, The Talented Mr Ripley Exercises PART 3 – APPROPRIATION 6. Texts Unbound Intertextuality Customizing the Classic Text Weaving Fact and Fiction Case Study: Regeneration, The Hours Exercises 7. Textual Play Hypotextuality Twelve Strategies Fan Film Case Study: Dr Frankenstein, Sherlock Holmes Exercises 8. Other Forms Stage to Screen The Graphic Novel Video Game to Film Case Study: Alan Moore, Alien vs. Predator Exercises PART 4 – PRACTICE 9. Process Assessing the Material Centre and Circumference Concept, Treatment and Pitch Case Study: Original Material Exercises 10. The Script First Draft - Dialogue Redrafting – From Scene to Scene Final Draft - Self-Reflection Case Study: Original Material Exercises

About the Author :
Robert Edgar is a Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing in the School of Humanities, Religion and Philosophy at York St John University, UK, with research interests and publications in screenwriting, prose fiction, radio drama, popular music memoir , the practice of film production, short film production and distribution, narratology and the theory and practice of comedy. John Marland is a Senior Lecturer in Literature Studies at York St John University, UK, with twenty years of experience using adaptation as an educational tool across a range of the arts and humanities subjects including Literature, Creative Writing and Film & TV Production.

Review :
Marland and Edgar make a strong case for adaptation as the fundamental principle of screenwriting, and offer readers a practical framework for achieving it.