Cut to the Chase

Millions of people dream of writing a screenplay but don't know how to begin, or are already working on a script but are stuck and need some targeted advice. Or maybe they have a great script, but no clue about how to navigate the choppy waters of show business. Enter Cut To The Chase, written by professional writers who teach in UCLA Extension Writers' Programme, whose alumni's many credits include Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl; Twilight; and the Academy Award nominated Letters from Iwo Juima. From learning how to identify story ideas that make a good movie to opening career doors and keeping them open, this authoritative, comprehensive, and entertaining book, edited by Writers' Program Director Linda Venis, will be the film-writing bible for decades to come. "A well-organized soup-to-nuts manual for aspiring Nora Ephrons and Charlie Kaufmans, from the faculty of a notable screenwriting program. . . . A readable writer's how-to that goes down smoothly

This groundbreaking book takes the reader behind the closed doors of the editing room where Sam O’Steen along with some of the world’s top directors controlled the fate of many legendary films. Editors don’t usually sit on movie sets, but Sam was there through the entire shoot and his editing tales are spiced with juicy anecdotes about exotic locations and colorful producers, directors, and stars. The book shares his editing tales spiced with juicy anecdotes about exotic locations, colorful producers, dynamic directors and Hollywood’s biggest stars such as Nicholson, Paul Newman and Liz Taylor. As told to Bobbie O’Steen (Sam’s wife and assistant editor), who works in New York as a successful writer and editor.