Naked Screenwriting: Twenty-Two Oscar-Winning Screenwriters Bare Their Secrets to Writing

Hunter (Screenwriting 434) collects interviews with 22 prize-winning screenwriters in this top-notch volume spanning his career as a UCLA professor, revealing each artist “bar[ing] their art, soul, craft, and secrets.” The notable screenwriters range across generations: Casablanca writer Julius Epstein explains his “step outline process” in which he writes one sentence describing each scene, and Billy Wilder (Some Like it Hot) discusses whether a director must also be a writer (“Absolutely not,” he concludes). The interviews feature plenty of helpful tips, among them The Godfather’s Francis Ford Coppola’s recommendation to carry a notebook to jot down character sketches, while Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (Howard’s End) explains her choice to write in longhand so she can include drawings. Hunter writes with a playful flair in his introduction: “for the rest of this book, motion-picture yourself at UCLA at my 434 master screenwriting class.” This style carries to his interviews, which offer trivia (that Jean-Luc Godard was interested in directing Bonnie and Clyde), though some of it may be lost on those less familiar with the history of cinema, as little context is provided. Nevertheless, the volume offers unique access to a wide array of talent. It’s a treasure trove for Hollywood historians and aspiring screenwriters alike. (Mar.)