Dan O'Bannon's Guide to Screenplay Structure: Inside Tips from the Writer of ALIEN, TOTAL RECALL and RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD

I picked up “Dan O’Bannon’s Guide to Screenplay Structure” last week. I am a huge fan of his movies. A lot of Sci-Fi schlock braced with moments of awesome ness. Dark Star (1974), Alien (1979), Dead & Buried (1981), Blue Thunder (1983), Total Recall (1990) to name a few. By the way Blue Thunder is way underrated, love that movie, I miss Roy Scheider. What’s interesting is each one of his movies relates to an interesting time in my life and I can remember vividly the first time I watched each one.Anyways, I saw that he wrote a screenplay book and thought I would pick it up and see what one of my favorite screenplay writers has to say. I was pleasantly surprised at the oddness of this book.Mr. O’Bannon starts his book by reviewing a handful of other seminal story how-to’s. Poetics, Story, The Art of Dramatic Writing among a few others. He gives an opinionated run down of the high points of each book.He then goes into structure by conflict. Something I found refreshing and somewhat similar to the process Mr. Etheredge teaches. He also breaks down several movies using this structure technique.The most interesting point in the book is how he defines conflict as a transaction. Two characters or groups of characters who disagree on how to resolve an issue. I like this thought process and I am using it on my current story to see where it goes.The last few chapters he goes on a rant about different aspects of film production. Not sure what to make of that but it was interesting reading none the less.I am always looking to refine my writing process. I think everyone’s is different. The only way to find out what works for you is to write, read and try new things.Cheers,-Jim

Dan O'Bannon's guide to screenplay structure is an approachable and at times very funny look at the problems facing screenwriters at every level of proficiency. It examines various approaches to story structure, going all the way back to antiquity to look at Greek tragedies such as the Oedipus plays of Sophocles and then traces the evolution of writing through Shakespeare to the plays and films of the early 20th century and today.O'Bannon, who penned such popular films as Alien and Total Recall, presents what he calls "Dynamic Screenplay Structure." His deceptively simple method looks at the modern three-act structure and how it relates to "reversals" of the plot – in other words, developments which send the story in a completely new and (hopefully) surprising direction. It is his belief that this simple approach can salvage even hugely problematic scripts.Citing examples from both classic and contemporary cinema, O'Bannon and his co-author, Matt Lohr, skillfully provide an entertaining look at how both successful and unsuccessful films either use or fail to use this approach and what this means to the would-be writer. At once a witty commentary on the current state of filmmaking and a helpful tool for the writer who needs to rework a flawed script, this book is bound to be of interest to even the casual student of film theory.Dan O'Bannon tragically passed away in 2009 after a lengthy battle with Chrohn's disease, but his legacy lives on, both in his on-screen work and in this useful and engaging book that belongs in every serious film enthusiast's library.

I really enjoyed reading this book because the man summarizes and contrasts and compares all the other writer gurus before him, from Aristotle onward, with a rock solid understanding of what makes sense and what does not. He's fair to the old masters. He points out Aristotle's strengths and weaknesses and Ergi's confusion with premise and character. This man has put in his time studying the craft, as well as writing brilliant movies, and adding his own contribution to the art. I do think he spends a little too much time dissing the directors, but he's hardly the first screenwriter to do that. He's wordy, but easy to understand, which isn't always the case with screenwriter gurus. This certainly isn't the only book you need to read to become a screenwriter, but it's one of the best. And make no mistake about it, this isn't a rehash of old ideas. It shows a healthy respect for what came before as it moves the craft forward.

If you're brand new to screenwriting -- or to any form of creative writing, really -- this is a pretty simple guide to basic structure concepts. As such, it's probably a good first point for you, before potentially delving into some of the more in-depth structure 'systems' out there.I have a theory that good writers already possess a natural storytelling ability, including a subconscious feel for structure and development. Therefore, these writing books will usually reaffirm or give a name to methods and markers that a writer already had a feel for.O'Bannon's method is not really distinct from others who preach the 3 Act Structure, except that he arrived upon it naturally and only referenced other screenwriting gurus after the fact. This makes O'Bannon a naturally talented writer, and his structural system very intuitive.New writers: start here. If the concepts in this book make complete sense to you immediately, then chances are you're already a decent structural writer and need go no further down the rabbit hole. If you learn some new things here, maybe progress on to your Field, Hauge etc.Established writers or guru groupies: there's not much to see here that hasn't already been covered before.

Not only a book by a successful screenwriter that practices what he preaches, but reviews all the other popular books on the subject as well. Told in a simple conversational style with great exercises and lessons, and shows multiple ways to do it. Also doesn’t force you to follow specific old school rules, but let’s you stay creative. I’ve already learned so much that has made me grow but will also continue using this as my writing bible to keep my stories engaging all the way through.

A guide to three act structure, and why it works for narrative cinema: including the Alien screenwriter’s own variant. Completed posthumously, this is an accessible, lightly erudite and fun guide to onscreen storytelling. One third structural analysis, one third application of O’Bannon’s version of the three act template to selected movies, one third industry observations.

O'Bannon talks with his trademark intelligently sardonic style, for those who happen to have watched him in several video interviews he has given in the past, especially about Alien. The book contains good exercises and is nicely laid out. A joy to read with chapters devoted specifically to classic writers such as Aristotle and many more. I don't particularly agree here with everything 'O Bannon says but for anyone interested in writing a screenplay or is already in the process of writing in general, or wants to get more intimate with O'Bannon's very interesting thought process this book is certainly worth a try.

This is a great book that explains how Dan O'Bannon believed that certain structures of screenplay work better than others and it uses various films as examples of what works and what doesn't. It makes sense, and is very readible too.

I found this to be a useful book which re-alerted me to the importance of not losing sight of the essential elements of the story, especially the specificity of the issue to be resolved, when one is down in the trenches of the intricacies of the story, that may be developed via Dramatica. Intricacies that, when finessed into place, too quickly become an end themselves. It was interesting to note that Dan did not do an analysis of the Alien that he wrote. Which, although substantially similar to the Ridley Scott movie version, neither of them conforms to Dan's dynamic structure, as I understand Dan's dynamic structure. By contrast, the James Cameron movie sequel, Aliens, does.The Alien that Dan wrote, and the variation that Ridley Scott directed, is based on rhetorical repetitions that build to a dramatic climax of options. Dan's criticism of Dramatica (and I am not an advocate for Dramatica, even though I do use Dramatica), is somewhat cursory. The Alien that Dan wrote, is a fundamental piece of Sci-Fi, as in the literature of an idea for a monster that is distinctive and distinctively different to the Vampire, the Predator, the Werewolf, for example, that did not require much in the way of development, as per the dynamic interplay of the story and characters' dynamics. Aspects of story that Dramatica does help to develop and guide one, to keep consistent. It should be pointed out that the original Predator follows a similar form to that of Alien, which is probably why it was that Predator did not WOW the critics, on it s release.The Ridley Scott version of Alien, did try to fatten things out, beyond the appeal of a straight Sci-Fier, via an emphasis of the characters' interrelationships and their relationship to the company. I felt that this was rather overly done, via the whining of Parker and Brett, and one could conclude that Alien is akin to an industrial dispute without the option of arbitration, with the Alien acting as the company's unstoppable, union-busting enforcer.Dan's dynamic structure will help to make it more likely that the story will work. Yet the writer needs to be mindful of how their workable story, may face significant issues, when it comes to broadening the appeal of their story. A phenomenon that is a challenge for many other stories. For example: Predator, The Verdict, etc.

This arrived promptly and went down really well with the recipient. Just what i needed as it was so easy and fast.