The Megahit Movies

Rating:
Summary: Empty
Review: I'm stunned by all the people that recommend this book. Yes, it doesn't talk about formatting, or the three act structure, or snappy dialog. But it says almost nothing valuable about what it professes to educate on. It's a constant reminder, near dogmatic, of simple statements: "Your audience must like the protagonist." "You should have a payoff at the end of the script." Well, no kidding.

The other flaw of this book is how little it takes into account of why these megahit films TRULY succeeded. A huge rash of them were surrounded by enormous hype and marketing. Sometimes upwards of $100 million alone in advertising. Independence Day was sold on the concept of the trailer alone, and went into production before even one word was typed on a page. What are the chances that the rules that applied to those films, will apply to the spec script you are trying to break in with? Even if he did clearly explain those rules, which I felt he did not.

Skip this book. I won't recommend any other books, but I'll recommend something else. I'll recommend to you what Mike Rich did before he came out of nowhere to win the Nicholl's and sell his first script, Finding Forrester: Read scripts. Read spec scritps and early drafts if possible. And read the scripts that not only succeed, but succeeded not on raw financing power, but on merit.

Rating:
Summary: Training Manger of Television Station: Hot Stuff.
Review: Richard Michaels Stefanik uses The Megahit Movies book, combined with videos of the Megahit Movies listed in his book, to teach an incredibly successful screenwriting class. This book is the key to successful story design whether it be for the big screen, television or your first novel. This book is hot stuff!

Rating:
Summary: Lone dissenter
Review: The author's analysis of these hit movies is thin at best, frequently misleading, and often just plain wrong.

Your money would be better spent on "Secrets of Screenplay Structure : How to Recognize and Emulate the Structural Frameworks of Great Films" by Linda Cowgill or even "Good Scripts, Bad Scripts : Learning the Craft of Screenwriting Through 25 of the Best and Worst Films in History" by Thomas Pope (although that one's not all that insightful, either). Better yet, save your money and put it towards John Truby's "Great Screenwriting" audio course.

Rating:
Summary: A Brilliant Book
Review: The MEGAHIT MOVIES book is probably the most brilliant book ever written on Story Design, and will outlast the books written by Robert McKee, Syd Field and Linda Seger. Stefanik breaks new ground by focusing on the psychology of the audience and arguing for the position that movies are popular because they create an "emotionally satisfying experience" for the audience. But he gives so much more in this book: by applying the cognitive theory of emotions to popular movies, he gives the writer concrete techniques for placing characters into situations that will elicit specific emotions in the audience. This is something that McKee, Seger or Field never discuss.

Stefanik also introduces the importance of SUBGOALS in the creation of PLOT TWISTS as a tool for creating unpredictable stories, a topic not even discussed in any previous screenwriting text.

Then there is Stefanik's theory of humor in which he provides writers with specific instructions on how to create humorous dialogue, characters, and scenes, topics not included in the books by the above mentioned story gurus. It should also be mentioned that THE MEGAHIT MOVIES book is an expanded version of Stefanik's book, STRUCTURES OF FANTASY, in which he published all of these ideas in 1992, five years before Robert McKee published his book STORY, in 1997.

Stefanik's THE MEGAHIT MOVIES book is destined to become a classic text on the craft of story design, comparable in influence to Lajos Egri's THE ART OF DRAMATIC WRITING.

Buy the book. It is great!

Rating:
Summary: The Alternative
Review: The Megahit Movies by Richard M. Stefanik is the alternative to the traditionally structured screenplay. If you are interested in the principles of story design and construction, the Megahit Movies is the book to read. I found it to be interesting how he structured his book because I have actually seen movies that complied to a similar pattern. Stefanik starts off the body of his book by introducing the protagonist-the hero, the antagonist-the villain and then the love interest-the girl. Once he establishes who the major players are, he begins to expound on audience empathy. He is detailed in expressing that the filmmaker must get the audience to love the protagonist and absolutely loathe the antagonist. Although the villain is shown as having more power than the hero and as the one who creates dangerous obstacles, Stefanik alerts the reader to the importance of establishing supportive emotions in the audience for the protagonist. He touches on the motivation, objectives, decisions, codes of behavior and personality of each character. The Megahit Movies teaches you how to establish plot, subplot, events, action and scene structure. He substantiates his argument by making reference to the blockbuster movies such as Batman, The Wizard of Oz, Star Wars, Jurassic Park and Forrest Gump, which seem to employ this particular method. I highly recommend this book to all filmmakers, screenwriters and novelists. It is a healthy alternative the the Three Act structure. Megahit Movies is indeed a megahit. Kudos!

Rating:
Summary: Lone dissenter
Review: The Megahit Movies
By Richard Michaels Stefanik

If you're looking for an analytical approach to screenwriting, Richard Michaels Stefanik's book delivers. If you're looking for a compendium of character psychology on everything from humor to hate, his book delivers. If you're looking for a step-by-step approach to screenwriting with hundreds of concrete examples, Stefanik's book delivers and then some.

In addition, Stefanik's Web site,... provides an excellent adjunct to the text for any new screenwriter.

Two thumbs up with a snap!

Steve Gladis

Rating:
Summary: Two Thumbs Up and a Snap!
Review: The Megahit Movies
By Richard Michaels Stefanik

If you're looking for an analytical approach to screenwriting, Richard Michaels Stefanik's book delivers. If you're looking for a compendium of character psychology on everything from humor to hate, his book delivers. If you're looking for a step-by-step approach to screenwriting with hundreds of concrete examples, Stefanik's book delivers and then some.

In addition, Stefanik's Web site,... provides an excellent adjunct to the text for any new screenwriter.

Two thumbs up with a snap!

Steve Gladis

Rating:
Summary: HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS OUTSTANDING BOOK, THE FIRST REVIEW.
Review: This book is a treasure of information on Story Design and Screenwriting, which is easy to use and can help anyone who is interested in writing. Teachers, writers, directors, producers, and students will appreciate the easy to use, concise and clear information.

One of my favorite sections, of this book, is the presentation of the different Theories of Humor. Richard Michaels explains that anyone can learn the formula for being funny, and compares the relationship of math, humor and logic. If a logical sequence is presented in an out of order pattern, then the reader, or audience laughs. Anyone can learn these simple rules of humor, and improve their comic writing.

The Megahit Movies are analyzed, showing the Antagonist, Protagonist, and Love Interests, their obstacles, timelocks and crisis resolutions for each of the major conflicts in the stories. This is also a great gift for any writer, professional, or beginner who is striving to create popular movies or just improve their writing skills.

This book is a must have for any writer or library.

Rating:
Summary: HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS OUTSTANDING BOOK, THE FIRST REVIEW.
Review: This book is a treasure of information on Story Design and Screenwriting, which is easy to use and can help anyone who is interested in writing. Teachers, writers, directors, producers, and students will appreciate the easy to use, concise and clear information.

One of my favorite sections, of this book, is the presentation of the different Theories of Humor. Richard Michaels explains that anyone can learn the formula for being funny, and compares the relationship of math, humor and logic. If a logical sequence is presented in an out of order pattern, then the reader, or audience laughs. Anyone can learn these simple rules of humor, and improve their comic writing.

The Megahit Movies are analyzed, showing the Antagonist, Protagonist, and Love Interests, their obstacles, timelocks and crisis resolutions for each of the major conflicts in the stories. This is also a great gift for any writer, professional, or beginner who is striving to create popular movies or just improve their writing skills.

This book is a must have for any writer or library.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent guide for novice AND experienced screenwriters
Review: _The Megahit Movies_ is very easy to understand, straightforward, full of really valuable details and examples. Many of the books about writing screenplays out there (and there are certainly many) may make a good point here or there, but I often find myself wondering, "Well, what does he really mean by that?" This book never has that problem. The author is so generous with examples that the connection between theory and practice is always clear.
This makes it so much easier for someone just learning the
craft, to really get a handle on what works and what doesn't.

The depth of the book is only enhanced by its simplicity of design and language. Again, many of the books I've read seem to want to rely on some razzle-dazzle new formula or philosophy which will then be the "guarantee of success" for the person who
follows the guru. Stefanik doesn't try to sell anything fancy and his approach has tremendous credibility as a result.