Babz mentioned this in her show and I was wondering if anyone had gotten it. Looks interesting but the fact that it's not available on Amazon makes me hesitant. Let me know what you guys think.

http://www.hollywoodcheatbook.com/

There's a cheat book? Is it possible to cheat in writing? It states no newbies so that rules me out! I didn't want to buy it anyway :(

Steve

It's not a book on the basic of writing but how to get your script read and sold I believe.

Quoted from Felipe Babz mentioned this in her show and I was wondering if anyone had gotten it. Looks interesting but the fact that it's not available on Amazon makes me hesitant. Let me know what you guys think. http://www.hollywoodcheatbook.com/

The book isn't available on Amazon because the author sells it through his site.
Brian O'Malley is a good bloke and Screenplay Readers is typically a good value.
My experiences with the guy have been amicable and professional.
Though I know some folks that feel differently here on SS.

E.D.

Did you dela with him directly relates with the book, or by usina his reader service?

Quoted from Felipe Did you dela with him directly relates with the book, or by usina his reader service?

I've met Brian once, good chap, motivated.
And I used their coverage service in the past.
I found the service worth the cost much more often than not.

In the interest of fairness, there are those here that would disagree about the service.

E.D.

Sorry for the awful spelling. My iPad was set to another language so the auto-correct killed me. Hehe

If you're interested in learning a bit more about Brian O'Malley, here's a podcast SimplyRadio did with him as the guest.

http://www.simplyscripts.com/2011/02/06/simplyscripts-radio-the-hidden-prize-inside-edition-interview-with-brian-omalley-b-scott-omalley/

Thanks for the link. I was hoping to find more people who actually ready the book, but it doesn't seem like there are too many out there. I couldn't even find a review online.

I read a very early version of the book, called specifically "The Hollywood Cheat Book".  It might be all of those books in one.  It was amusing and insightful.  The version I read had 229 pages and 123 cheats.  Some are clever, some you probably already know, some would help getting read, some probably wouldn't hurt and others weren't about screenwriting at all.   (Now that I've looked at the site, I'm sure it was all of those books combined).

He does know what he's talking about, however.      

Cool. Might check it out. Not all that expensive. Thanks again.

Just to let you guys know, I bit the bullet last night and have read some of. I am a little disappointed.

Some of these "secrets" he uses are along the lines of saying "if you want people to read your script you have to write an amazing script..." thanks Einstein.

I am exaggerating a little but some of the secrets just feel like fluff. Parts of the book just have unfinished sentences. Like it's an early draft or something.

I'm not expecting this guy to have the secret to writing a great movie, but when you claim to have secrets to share, you have to back it up. Especially when the collection of "books" costs 40 dollars at the current discount.

I will have a fully fleshed out opinion later, but for now this is what I've gotten from it.

I always get disappointed when I see the craft of screenwriting boiled down to a science.

True, the formatting is a science, but the actual telling of the story is an art form. There should be no "cheat" for that.

I've always said to fellow writers that if your project begins with "I had an idea for a movie!" then you're writing for the wrong reason.

If you start with "what do I want to SAY in this film?" In other words, what message or theme do I want to impart to an audience? What burns inside me that must come out in the form of visual media?

Then you're doing the right thing - love to see a book that tells you how to do that...

Well the point of this book is not to teach you how to write, but it's meant to help you get your script read. Writing a great script is your job. I just thought it was cheap to use the whole "if you want your script to get read, you have to write a great script" as a "secret" that you can only get in this book.

I was expecting more little tricks to getting your script on top of a producer's stack of scripts to read.

It's not even that there is nothing remotely interesting in this book. It's just that most books you buy at an actual bookstore contain more information and are about $25 cheaper than this bundle of PDF files.