On Screen Writing

With On Screen Writing, director Edward Dmytryk offers a clear, methodical overview of the needs, practices, and problems of screenwriting, including extensive coverage of adaptation. Written In an informal, anecdotal style and using script examples from Hollywood classics, Dmytryk presents a practical set of principles for writing engaging, filmable screenplays.

Originally published in 1985, this reissue of Dmytryk’s classic screenwriting book includes a new critical introduction by Mick Hurbis-Cherrier, as well as chapter lessons, discussion questions, exercises, and a glossary.

Edward Dmytryk (1908-1999) was an Oscar-nominated American filmmaker, educator, and writer. Over an acclaimed forty-year filmmaking career, Dmytryk directed over fifty award-winning films, including Crossfire (1947), The Caine Mutiny (1954), Raintree County (1957), and The Young Lions (1958). Entering academic in the 1970s, Dmytryk lectured on both film and directing, first at the University of Texas at Austin and later at the University of Southern California. He is the author of several classic books on the art of filmmaking, including On Film Editing, On Screen Directing, On Screen Writing, On Screen Acting, and Cinema: Concept & Practice, all published by Focal Press/Routledge.

Mick Hurbis-Cherrier (contributor) is a working screenwriter and filmmaker and has been a professor of screenwriting and film production for many years. He has taught at New York University, The University of Michigan, and is currently at Hunter College of the City University of New York. He is the author of Voice & Vision: A Creative Approach to Narrative Filmmaking, the co-author of Directing: Film Techniques and Aesthetics, 5th Edition (with Michael Rabiger), and a contributing author for Documentary Voice & Vision: A Creative Approach to Non-Fiction Media Production, all published by Focal Press/Routledge.