 Register now for Based on the Book: Adapting Books into Films, a free lecture by Stephen Amidon. “Based upon the book by …” How many times have you seen these words at the beginning of a film? They appear so regularly that adaptation can seem like a simple process, as if the story has merely been translated directly from page to screen. The reality, however, is much more complex. Film adaptation is a notoriously difficult art for which there are few clear rules and countless potential pitfalls. When the process fails, the result can be a bomb like Brian De Palma’s Bonfire of the Vanities or Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby. When it works, however, it can lead to masterpieces like Alfred Hitchcock’s Rebecca, David Fincher’s Fight Club and Stephen Daldry’s The Hours. In this two-hour lecture, we will look at some of the secrets behind the treacherous art of adapting books into films. In addition to examining general challenges and principles inherent in the craft, we will also look at specific adapted screenplays, such as Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather and (naturally enough) Charlie Kaufman’s Adaptation. The speaker will also discuss his own experiences, including having his novel Human Capital adapted for two different films, Italian and American. Learn more. Hosted by Scuola Holden in collaborazione con La Guraimba Film Festival. The lecture will be in English, streaming between 5 and 7 p.m. 23 June. La lezione sarà in inglese e si terrà in streaming, dalle 17 alle 19: 23 giugno. Registration is now open for my online writing class at Scuola Holden in Torino, Italy. The course will be conducted as an online workshop, during which each student’s writing will be read and analyzed, not just by the instructor, but by the entire class. We will break storytelling down to its various parts, which we will then reassemble to create a compelling whole. The importance of crisis and conflict will be explored, as will narrative techniques such as voice, backstory, foreshadowing, flashback, imagery and figures of speech. There will be a special emphasis on re-writing, an essential but often neglected part of the process. By course’s end, the new writer will have what it takes to start working.  May 21 - 30, 2016 I will be in the beautiful hills of Northern Italy, with Michel Reilhac, Nicola Tescari, Alessandro Avataneo, Glauco della Sciucca, and Luca Scarlini in a celebration of the five senses organized by Scuola Holden and Fontanafredda. Registration is now open, but there are only fifteen spots available. Click here for much more information.  |
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