Writing the Comedy Film: Make ’Em Laugh

In Writing the Comedy Film, you will take a journey into the world of laughter and discover what makes us laugh and how we can craft better comedy. Using concise examples from our comedy masters from Preston Sturges to the Farrelly Brothers, from Duck Soup to Shrek, Voytilla and Petri show you how to apply the “tenets of laughter” to your comedy writing. With easy-to-use guidelines, learn the successful mechanics and characteristics of various comic story forms (including farce, the gender-bender, fish-out-of-water, parody, ensemble comedy, military comedy, sports comedy and more).

Other topics include: using myth and archetype to help build your comic world and define memorable comic characters, planting effective comic setups and payoffs and understanding comedy’s many forms of visual and verbal bits and gags.

A writer and literary consultant, Stuart Voytilla also teaches screenwriting and film aesthetics at San Diego University. Voytilla is also author of the best-selling Myth & The Movies.

Scott Petri is an award-winning humorist who has authored or co-authored 12 screenplays. He resides in Los Angeles.

Author: Stuart Voytilla and Scott Petri
ISBN: 0941188418