User:Stc2009/Blake Snyder

Blake Snyder is an American screenwriter based in Los Angeles, who has become one of the most popular writing mentors in the film industry. The author of several books on screenwriting and story structure, Snyder also leads international seminars and workshops for writers in various disciplines. His system of screenwriting principles is used by many of Hollywood’s leading agents, development executives and studios.

Childhood

Snyder began his Hollywood career early in life. His father, Kenneth C.T. Snyder, was an Emmy-winning TV producer of many children’s shows in the ‘60s and ‘70s. Among them were The Funny Company, Hot Wheels, animated segments on Sesame Street, Big Blue Marble and the cult classic Roger Ramjet.

At the age of eight, Snyder was hired by his father as a voice talent for an animated special starring Sterling Holloway. Snyder continued doing kids’ voices alongside Gary Owens, June Foray and others until his voice changed. He was promptly fired by his producer father.

Early Career

Snyder went on to earn a B.A. degree in English from Georgetown University, and returned to Los Angeles where he began his career writing for the Disney TV series Kids Incorporated. Snyder began writing fulltime as a screenwriter in 1987. He has been a member of the Writers Guild of America for over 20 years.

First Spec Sale

Snyder’s first spec screenplay sale was in 1989 for the script Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot, which sold for $500,000 in a bidding war . Since then, he has sold 12 more original screenplays and was named “one of Hollywood’s most successful spec screenwriters” by Hollywoodlitsales.com. Million dollar script sales include Blank Check, co-written with Colby Carr for Walt Disney Pictures, and Nuclear Family, co-written with James Haggin for Steven Spielberg/Amblin Entertainment .

Publications

Snyder began to write the book Save the Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You’ll Ever Need in 2003 as a means to share his experiences and success with other screenwriters. Snyder’s no-nonsense and conversational approach in the book resonates with both seasoned and novice screenwriters.

The title Save the Cat! is a term coined by Snyder and describes the scene where the audience meets the hero of a movie for the first time. The hero does something nice -- like saving a cat -- that makes the audience like the hero and root for him. According to Snyder, it is a simple scene that helps the audience invest themselves in the character and the story, but is often lacking in many of today’s movies.

In his book, Snyder gives greatest emphasis on the importance of structure through his Blake Snyder Beat Sheet or the “BS2” which includes the 15 essential “beats” or plot points that all stories should contain.

Snyder’s method expands the 15 beats further into 40 beats, which are laid out on “The Board.” The Board is divided into 4 rows, with each row representing a quarter of the story, namely the 1st Act, the 1st half of the 2nd Act, the 2nd half of the 2nd Act, and the 3rd Act.

Snyder also introduces 10 genres in his book that distinguish how stories are structured. According to Snyder, standard genre types such as Romantic Comedy, Epic or Biography do not say much about the story, only the type of movie it is. Snyder’s system explores genre more fully, with categories such as “Monster in the House”, “Golden Fleece”, “Buddy Love” and others.

Save the Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You’ll Ever Need is currently on its fourteenth printing run in the United States.

Other Publications

In 2007, Snyder wrote a follow-up, Save the Cat!® Goes to the Movies. The second book takes 50 landmark movies and breaks them down into the 15 beats of the BS2.

Currently, Snyder is writing the third book of the series, Save the Cat!® Strikes Back: More Trouble For Screenwriters To Get Into… and Out Of, expected to be released in spring 2009.

Going Beyond the Written Page

Workshops

Snyder has developed two weekend workshops for writers, filmmakers and executives. The introductory class, The Beat Sheet Workshop, helps participants come up with the solid structure of the 15 beats, before they embark on the actual writing of the script.

The second workshop, a continuation of the first, called The Board Workshop, has participants take their 15 beats and expand them into 40 cards for a more detailed story structure.

Snyder leads these workshops all over the United States, Europe and Asia. The workshops are run year round.

Snyder has also taught his method in such universities as UCLA, Chapman University, Vanderbilt University and the Beijing Film Academy.

Script Development

Since the release of his first book, Snyder has provided script analysis to studios such as Disney, Laika and Nelvana.

Software

As a companion to his books, Snyder has also developed a story structure software called Save the Cat!® The Last Story Structure Software You’ll Ever Need. The software places Snyder's Beat Sheet and Board on an end users virtual desktop. In 2008, Snyder and script formatting company Final Draft, Inc. became software development partners by building import/export functions between the two programs.

Online School

In 2009, Snyder will launch the Save the Cat! University, an online school that makes his workshops available year round to writers around the globe.

Filmography

• Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot (1992)
  
• Blank Check (1994)

Published Works

• Save the Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You’ll Ever Need (2005)
  
• Save the Cat! Goes to the Movies: The Screenwriter’s Guide to Every Story Ever Told (2007)

External Links

• www.blakesnyder.com
• Blake Snyder and Final Draft, Inc. Software Development Partnership Announced at Final Draft, Inc. Press Release
• Blake Snyder interview by Ari Eisner at Creative Screenwriting, The Cat With the Golden Fleece: Save the Cat! Goes to the Movies', October 5, 2007
• Blake Snyder interview by Jenna Glatzer at www.absolutewrite.com
• Blake Snyder interview at www.Hollywoodlitsales.com
• Nuclear Family spec sale report at www.Hollywoodlitsales.com
• Blake Snyder at www.IMDB.com