Book excerpt: Screenwriting looks at the foundation on which every great film is built—the script. Whether an original concept or an adaptation, the screenplay is the key to the success of a movie—good dialogue, story pacing, and character development are the framework everything else hangs on. Featuring in-depth interviews with modern masters of film including Stephen Gaghan, Guillermo Arriaga, Caroline Thompson, Hossein Amini, and Jean-Claude Carrière, this book reveals the mysteries behind how the best scripts are written and reach the screen.