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Action by Bassim El-Wakil

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Action

Author
Bassim El-Wakil
Narrator
Robert McKee
Publisher
Hachette Audio
Publish Date
24 January 2023
Run Time
8 hours 54 minutes
Format
Audiobook
Genre
Screenwriting techniques, Film scripts and screenplays, Creative writing and creative writing guides, Theatre direction and production, Other performing arts, Film: styles and genres, Film, television, radio genres: Action, adventure, crime and thrillers
$13.95

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What to expect

From the master of Story, Dialogue, and Character, ACTION offers writers the keys to propulsive storytelling.  

ACTION explores the ways that a modern-day writer can successfully tell an action story that not only stands apart, but wins the war on clichés. Teaming up with the former co-host of The Story Toolkit, Bassim El-Wakil, legendary story lecturer Robert McKee guides writers to award-winning originality by deconstructing the action genre, illuminating the challenges, and, more importantly, demonstrating how to master the demands of plot with surprising beats of innovation and ingenuity.

Topics include: 

  • Understanding the Four Core Elements of Action
  • Creating the Action Cast
  • Hook, Hold, Pay Off: Design in Action
  • The Action Macguffin
  • Action Set Pieces
  • The Sixteen Action Subgenres

A must-add to the McKee storytelling library, ACTION illustrates the principles of narrative drive with precision and clarity by referencing the most popular action movies of our time including: Die Hard, The Star Wars Saga, Dark Knight, The Matrix, and Avengers: Endgame.

Critics Review

  • "ACTION inspires action. McKee and El-Wakil have created the guide I’ve been looking for all my years as a professional screenwriter. ACTION helps you understand how and why the thing works—how its heart beats, how it thinks, and most importantly, what makes it move. For a professional action writer, it almost feels like cheating."—Zak Penn, American screenwriter and director
  • "Robert McKee’s books offer lucid analysis, perceptive insights and fruitful challenges to those of us who practice the magical arts of storytelling. I highly recommend his latest: ACTION—THE ART OF EXCITEMENT Buy it, read it, put it to work!"—Michael Hirst, creator, screenwriter, series producer of Vikings, and Billy the Kid
  • ACCLAIM FOR ROBERT MCKEE"Legendary."—The Washington Post
  • "Universally acclaimed."—The New York Times
See more reviews
  • "McKee is the world's best-known and most respected lecturer of Storytelling Arts."—The Wall Street Journal
  • "The ultimate master."—BBC
  • "His great insight into storytelling is unparalleled."—Los Angeles Times
  • "A not-so-secret force in the movie industry and Hollywood's most sought-after screenwriting instructor." —Vanity Fair

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Details
Author
Bassim El-Wakil
Narrator
Robert McKee
Duration
8 hours 54 minutes
Release Date
24 January 2023
ISBN
9781668628706
Format
Audiobook
Publisher
Hachette Audio
Genre
Screenwriting techniques, Film scripts and screenplays, Creative writing and creative writing guides, Theatre direction and production, Other performing arts, Film: styles and genres, Film, television, radio genres: Action, adventure, crime and thrillers

Synopsis

From the master of Story, Dialogue, and Character, ACTION offers writers the keys to propulsive storytelling.  ACTION explores the ways that a modern-day writer can successfully tell an action story that not only stands apart, but wins the war on clichés. Teaming up with the former co-host of The Story Toolkit, Bassim El-Wakil, legendary story lecturer Robert McKee guides writers to award-winning originality by deconstructing the action genre, illuminating the challenges, and, more importantly, demonstrating how to master the demands of plot with surprising beats of innovation and ingenuity.Topics include: Understanding the Four Core Elements of ActionCreating the Action CastHook, Hold, Pay Off: Design in ActionThe Action MacguffinAction Set PiecesThe Sixteen Action SubgenresA must-add to the McKee storytelling library, ACTION illustrates the principles of narrative drive with precision and clarity by referencing the most popular action movies of our time including: Die Hard, The Star Wars Saga, Dark Knight, The Matrix, and Avengers: Endgame.

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