One way to describe this book... If you're in a film school, the book may well be assigned reading. But if you're not in a film school, reading Screenwriting In a Nutshell, is a fast, fun and inexpensive way to take a top-notch USC film school screenwriting course. "Screenwriting In a Nutshell" combines text with cartoon illustrations. Like movie images, illustrations need no translation and are universally understandable by their very nature. These illustrations illuminate, illustrate, and reinforce the learning process we call screenwriting. This book contains screenwriting 'Checklists'. As a Navy pilot, we used checklists to avoid mental lapses that could lead to fatal mistakes. I think the book's checklists keep the writer from fatal scripting errors and omissions. A REVIEW OF THE BOOK BY THE WRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA FOUNDATION: "Drawing on decades of teaching and writing for the industry, Professor Friedman has produced a rollicking guide to writing for the screen. With funny, incisive, witty illustrations and poignant asides, his "Screenwriting in a Nutshell" does just that, simplifies the rules and guidelines that all of us who've had success in the medium have come to follow. Issued as a text for the Writers Guild of America Foundation program for veterans engrossed in learning the craft, it is a must read for both the novice and professional." Christopher Knopf Past President Writers Guild of America West A REVIEW BY A PRODUCER/WRITER: "Not only does Paul Friedman's book entertain, it informs at the same time. Read this book an you'll fine a how-to that knows what it's talking about. And in a fresh way too ." John Herman Shaner Goin' South, The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Last Married Couple in America.