from an email with a friend taking screenwriting in london

i don't like syd field much. read him and then forget
about him. it's important theory to know and use at
first but it's too pedantic. i've skimmed the robert
mckee book story that every one talks about...i think
it's a bit better, but similar in its all knowing
tone. joseph campbell the hero with a thousand faces
is good. myth structure, hero's journey, etc..
our "text" for much of the course is alexander
mckendrick's book on filmmaking. pretty good. for film
theory, film art by david bordwell and kristen
thompson has been one of the best i have seen. i wish
i had more time to do more than skim through these
books myself.