Screenwriting is the second of the 'Behind the Silver Screen' series of ten volumes, which will together cover for the first time the full art, craft, business and history of filmmaking from inception to reality. Screenwriting is where a movie begins. Written by screenwriters and critics, this innovative book is devoted to the art of the screenwriter and the business of screenwriting from Hollywood's silent beginnings to the global multimedia marketplace. Focusing on key screenplays that changed the game in Hollywood and beyond and on films from The Birth of a Nation to Chinatown and Lost in Translation, the book reveals the profound ways in which screenwriters contribute to films, as they try to capture the hopes and dreams, the nightmares and concerns of the period in which they are writing. It is compelling reading for film lovers, screenwriters & film students, industry professionals - anyone interested in the creative collaboration that creates the movies we see on the screen.