Brooke A. Wharton

A book for would-be screen writers, to help them navigate the shark-infested waters of the film industry. I read it as a playwright, so there were a great many things that did not apply to me, but the first few chapters, especially on copyright and protecting your work, can be important for any writer. The author, an entertainment lawyer, avoids the language of legalese,and in fact, translates some standard industry contracts into English for the rest of us, with her tongue pressed tightly into her cheek and more than a small bit of humor. The interviews with professionals, however, are not particularly helpful and appear to have been tacked into a short book to give it some heft and get it to full book size. The final chapter, on writing for cyberspace, is hopelessly out of date, since the book was released in 1996, and the industry has had some seismic shifts since that time. All in all, a valuable work, at least in parts, and while the list of contacts she gives at the end are also out of date, they do help by giving you some sort of idea what you should be looking for.… (més)

This book is now joined by Wharton's website/blog: brookewharton.com(rated in top 10 for film blogs). Entertainment lawyer Brooke A. Wharton provides an authoritative and entertaining primer for the beginning entertainment writer not just on the legal and business issues of writing for the industry, but also on how to get a career jump-started. The first section covers copyright, libel, and contracts. The following section delineates the murky differences between the roles of agent, lawyer, and manager. The next section has a series of interviews with writers, agents, and a producer, all of whom help to enlighten us about the various writing jobs the industry offers, from film to television to cyberspace. Finally, there are lists of competitions, fellowships, internships, and agencies.… (més)