For this unit Refers to Student’s Book pages Writing headlines

 screenwriters
, and the process is called 
screenwriting
 (and not screenplay writing). 
The first part of the unit focuses on the screenplay of an actual film, 
Adaptation
, which 
is itself a story revolving around a screenwriter. The screenwriter is attempting to 
write an adaptation of a novel, 
The Orchid Thief
, but suffers from 
writer’s block
 = a 
psychological barrier preventing a writer from making progress. The screenplay closely 
echoes the real-life experiences of the screenwriter as he was writing the screenplay, and 
both the real writer and the writer character are called Charlie Kaufmann. The extracts 
in this unit are from the second draft of this screenplay, not the final version, as this is 
the version which most closely corresponds to the screenwriter’s (and not the director’s) 
ideas, and also the version which is available on his website.
Pitching
 is the process where a screenwriter (or sometimes a director) tries to sell an 
idea for a film to a producer. If the pitch is successful, the producer may agree to finance 
the writing of a full screenplay and perhaps the production of the film. Pitches are 
typically presented orally. A key feature of a pitch is the 
logline
 (log line), which is a one-
sentence summary of the pitch. Other elements of the pitch include: 
the premise
 = the fundamental that drives the plot
the hook
 = the techniques for grabbing and keeping the audience’s attention