Crafty Screenwriting is the first book not only to offer a successful screenwriters tricks of the trade but to explain what development executives really mean when they complain that the dialogue is flat or the hero isnt likable. Smart, provocative, and funny, Hollywood insider Alex Epstein diagnoses problems that other screenwriting books barely address and answers questions that they rarely ask, like Why is it sometimes dangerous to know your characters too well before you start writing, or Why does your script have to be so much better than the awful pictures that get made every day? And as both a development executive who has accepted and rejected countless screenplays and a produced screenwriter, Epstein can take you into the heart of the most important question of all: Is this a movie? Crafty Screenwriting is a crucial book for anyone who has ever wondered what it takes to get their movie made.