Discover the secrets of Hollywood storytelling in this fascinating collection, in which fifty screenwriters share the inside scoop about how they surmounted incredible odds to break into the business, how they transformed their ideas into box-office blockbusters, how their words helped launch the careers of major stars, and how they earned accolades and Academy Awards.

Entertaining, informative, and sometimes startling, Tales from the Script features exclusive interviews with film's top wordsmiths, including John Carpenter (Halloween), Nora Ephron (Julie & Julia), John August (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), and David hayter (Watchmen). Read along as:

Frank Darabont explains why he sacrificed his salary to preserve the integrity of his hard-hitting adapta-tion of Stephen King's novella The Mist.

William Goldman reveals why he's never had any interest in directing movies, despite having won Oscars for writing All the President's Men and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

Ron Shelton explains why he nearly cut the spectacular speech that helped cement Kevin Costner's stardom in Bull Durham.

Josh Friedman describes the bizarre experience of getting hired by Steven Spielberg to adapt H. G. Wells's classic novel War of the Worlds--even though Spielberg hated Friedman's take on the material.

Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver) analyzes his legendary relationship with Martin Scorsese.

Shane Black (Lethal Weapon) reveals why the unrelenting hype around his multimillion-dollar script sales caused him to retreat from public life for several years.

Tales from the Script is a must for movie buffs who savor behind-the-scenes stories--and a master class for all those who dream of writing the Great American Screenplay, taught by those who made that dream come true.

As a screenwriter, novelist, and political activist, Dalton Trumbo stands among the key American literary figures of the 20th century - he wrote the classic antiwar novel ""Johnny Got His Gun"", and his credits for ""Spartacus"" and ""Exodus"" broke the anticommunist blacklist that infected the movie industry for more than a decade. By defining connections between Trumbo's most highly acclaimed films (including ""Kitty Foyle"", ""Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo"", and ""Roman Holiday"") and his important but lesser-known movies (""The Remarkable Andrew"", ""He Ran All the Way"", and ""The Boss""), the author identifies how for nearly four decades Trumbo used the archetype of the rebel hero to inject social consciousness into mainstream films. This new critical survey - the first book-length work on Trumbo's screenwriting career - examines the scores of films on which Trumbo worked and explores the techniques that made him, at the time he was blacklisted in 1947, Hollywood's highest-paid writer. Hanson reveals how Trumbo dealt with major themes including rebellion, radical politics, and individualism - while also detailing lesser-known areas of Trumbo's screenwriting, such as his troubling portrayal of women, the dichotomy between his proletarian attitude and bourgeois lifestyle, and the almost surreptitious manner in which he included antiestablishment rhetoric in seemingly innocuous scripts. An extensive filmography is included.

Too Weak to Govern investigates the power of the majority party in the United States Senate through a study of the appropriations process over a period of nearly four decades. It uses quantitative analysis, case studies, and interviews with policy makers to show that the majority party is more likely to abandon routine procedures for passing spending bills in favor of creating massive 'omnibus' spending bills when it is small, divided, and ideologically distant from the minority. This book demonstrates that the majority party's ability to influence legislative outcomes is greater than previously understood but that it operates under important constraints. However, the majority generally cannot use its power to push its preferred policies through to approval. Overall, the weakness of the Senate majority party is a major reason for the breakdown of the congressional appropriations process over the past forty years.

Too Weak to Govern investigates the power of the majority party in the United States Senate through a study of the appropriations process over a period of nearly four decades. It uses quantitative analysis, case studies, and interviews with policy makers to show that the majority party is more likely to abandon routine procedures for passing spending bills in favor of creating massive 'omnibus' spending bills when it is small, divided, and ideologically distant from the minority. This book demonstrates that the majority party's ability to influence legislative outcomes is greater than previously understood but that it operates under important constraints. However, the majority generally cannot use its power to push its preferred policies through to approval. Overall, the weakness of the Senate majority party is a major reason for the breakdown of the congressional appropriations process over the past forty years.

When Steven Soderbergh exploded onto movie screens with sex, lies, and videotape in 1989, it represented more than the arrival of an important new director--it heralded the arrival of an entire generation of important new directors. Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction), Kevin Smith (Dogma), David Fincher (Fight Club), M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense), Ben Stiller (Reality Bites), Michael Bay (Pearl Harbor), and dozens of others are all members of Generation X, the much talked about but much misunderstood successors to baby boomers. This book is a critical study of the films directed by Gen Xers and how those directors have been influenced by their generational identity. While Generation X as a whole sometimes seems to lack direction, its filmmakers have devoted their careers to making powerful statements about contemporary society and their generations role in it. Each section of the book deals with an aspect of Gen X filmmaking, including the influence of popular culture, postmodern narrative devices, "slackerdom" and the lack of direction, disenfranchisement and nihilism, the ever-evolving role of technology, gender issues and sexuality, the question of race, the influence of older filmmakers, and visions of the future.

Winner of the 2013 eLit Silver Award in Biography for books published in 2012 Remembering John Hanson" re-illuminates the key Revolutionary War figure and Founding Father to whom George Washington reported when Hanson served as the first president of the original United States government. The first John Hanson biography in over seventy years and the best documentation ever on him, Remembering John Hanson" spells out Hanson s two nation-saving triumphs which kept the nation whole on the eve of independence and again as it struggled to form a government. Remembering John Hanson" tells the astounding and tragic story of the destruction of Hanson's tomb and the author's rediscovery of its site in researching the book. Also covered are current efforts to rekindle the nation's memory of Hanson and Internet myths that have arisen about him in recent years. The first comprehensive biography of "the most forgotten major figure in American history," reading this volume is enriching. Michael's narrative presents . . . a torrent of information in fine detail . . . a rich trove about a major historical figure. Kirkus Reviews " Some of the best information on Hanson I have ever seen. Edward Edelen, Founder, The John Hanson Institute " A must read book, extremely well written, easy to follow and well documented. The "go to" book for anyone reseaching John Hanson and his life. Mary Jo Pundt, John Hanson genealogist" This work represents the most comprehensive and - equally important - extensively documented exploration of the life and contributions of John Hanson. It provides the context and critical analysis to properly elevate Hanson to the pantheon of the fathers of our nation. Aldan Weinberg, Professor of Journalism and Director of the Communications Arts Program, Hood College " You contribute greatly to our understanding of Hanson, his times, and why he became largely forgotten. Remembering John Hanson is also clearly and engagingly written, with excellent illustrations. Ralph Levering, Hanson scholar and Professor of History, Davidson College " I have found your information to confirm my arguments why Hanson was the most significant first president of the United States. The story of John Hanson is much greater than previous authors have given credit to. John Cummings, John Hanson author"