According to a statement posted by the Raindance Film Festival, Syd Field has died. If you never heard of Syd Field, he was an influential screenwriting teacher who taught a who’s who of the top hollywood writers. Syd died Sunday at his home in Beverly Hills at the age of 77. Syd got his stat working for Wolper Prods. But what put Fields on the map was his book “Screenplay: The Basics of Film Writing”. The 1979 milestone book outlining the classic three-act structure was/is a must read to anyone wanting to learn the craft of screenwriting. This is the first book I read on screenwriting and found it insightful and revolutionary. I still lean on it from time to time.
According to the BBC, he had been due to take part in a screenwriter’s summit organized by the Raindance Festival last weekend in London, but was too ill to attend. Details of a memorial service will be announced soon.
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