How to Write Groundhog Day
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4.3 • 26 Ratings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Did screenwriter Danny Rubin know what he was doing when he invented Groundhog Day? Or was he merely “the luckiest blind centerfielder ever to catch a fly ball out of the sun.”? In How to Write Groundhog Day the popular Harvard lecturer takes you on an entertaining tour of his most famous screenplay, revealing the creative impulses and Hollywood pressures that together forged one of the most delightful and profoundly affecting comedies of all time.
From Pre-Hog through Hog to Post-Hog, How To Write Groundhog Day is the only book to give you the Whole Hog.
Customer Reviews
Love the movie, loved the book!
This was my first ebook, and I was unsure how it would be to read, with little to compare it to. But fears went away once I opened it up and began to play. The book is a perfectly designed for nonlinear reading -- using hyperlinks to pop here and there to enjoy tidbits and footnotes (is that the right word?) throughout. Of course the author is an engaging and funny guy, the movie is a classic, and reading the original story is almost like seeing a sequel to a movie you know well -- all voices and images of the characters from the film, but often in new or different scenes. Anyway, lots of fun. Great for movie fans. An easy read!
Great for fans, writers, humans
I completely enjoyed this book. If you like to "go deep" on favorite movies--and I hope "Groundhog Day is one of your favorites--this provides a wealth of information and insight.
As the original writer of the screenplay, the author tells the story of the project's evolution, lets us read the draft which sold, then shows how and why it changed and evolved on its way to becoming a classic. He is humble in acknowledging the contributions of Harold Ramis and Bill Murray. He also shares insights into the business and craft of screenwriting. Clean prose and a good sense of humor make it a pleasure.
Tedious and a cash grab
I was hoping that this book would give some insights into the changes and compromises that movies go through on their way to being filmed, but it offers very little insight. Half of the book is reprint of the first draft of the movie, which, if you’re not an uber fan of the movie, has little interest. I know for me, I was not interest in reading the screenplay. The rest of the book details changes made to the script, but in very superficial terms; the book essentially just listed the changes that were made, without going in to much detail about why, or how it improved the movie, or not.
For a comparable — and far superior — book, read Chris Nashawaty’s book about the making of CaddyShack, which has much more insight into the process of making movies.
This book? A hard no.