Professional Screenwriter
20 Produced Screenplays, Many More Sold.
"William C. Martell is the Robert Towne of made for cable movies," The Washington Post.
William C. Martell has written 20 films that were carelessly slapped onto celluloid: 3 for HBO, 2 for Showtime, 2 for USA Net, and a whole bunch of CineMax Originals (which is what happens when an HBO movie goes really, really wrong), plus a Tubi Original. He has been on some film festival juries, including Raindance in London (five times - once with Mike Figgis and Saffron Burrows, once with Lennie James and Edgar Wright, plus 2009 and 2012 and in 2013 with Julian Assange and back in 2016). The late Roger Ebert discussed his work with Gene Siskel on his 1997 "If We Picked The Winners" Oscar show. He’s quoted a few times in Bordwell's great book "The Way Hollywood tells It". His USA Net flick HARD EVIDENCE was released on video the same day as the Julia Roberts' film Something To Talk About and out-rented it in the USA. In 2009 had two films released on DVD on the same day and both made the top 10 rentals. Recently wrote the remake of a hit 1980s horror flick for a minimajor, and should have a family film shooting soon.
Birth Place: Concord, CA USA
Accomplishments: "SECRETS OF ACTION SCREENWRITING is the best book on the practical nuts-and-bolts mechanics of writing a screenplay I've ever read." - Ted Elliott, co-writer "The Mask Of Zorro", "Shrek" and "Pirates Of The Caribbean".
"William C. Martell knows the action genre inside out. Read and learn from an expert!" - Mark Verheiden, screenwriter, "Time Cop" and "The Mask", "Smallville".
"This book is dangerous. I feel threatened by it." -Roger Avary, Oscar winning screenwriter, "Pulp Fiction"
"Bill Martell is one of Hollywood's best action-adventure writers, with 17 produced films to his credit. His "little blue books" on the art of screenplay writing are legendary and "Secrets of Action Screenwriting" is the best." - Best selling novelist Dale Brown.
"My only complaint with SECRETS OF ACTION SCREENWRITING is that it wasn't around when I was starting out. The damned thing would have saved me years of trial and error!" - Ken Wheat, screenwriter, "Pitch Black" and "The Fly 2"
"There's an art to writing for guys like Chuck Norris -- thanks to Bill Martell's book, I was prepared." - Genia Shipman, screenwriter, "Walker: Sons of Thunder"
"Finally a screenwriting book written by a working professional screenwriter. Bill Martell really knows his stuff, showing you how to write a tight, fast screenplay." - John Hill, screenwriter, "Quigley Down Under"
Books
Through The Ringer (Mitch Robertson #1) by William C Martell The first Mitch Robertson Mysetery novelette! Hollywood screenwriter solves mysteries behind the scenes!...
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The Family's Jewel (Mitch Robertson #2) by William C Martell Screenwriter Mitch Robertson must find an $18.7 million necklace after a wild Hollywood Awards after-party... with a cast of movie star suspects....
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$2.99
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Unhappy Medium (Mitch Robertson #3) by William C Martell When the "Psychic To The Stars" private files, with dirt on everyone in Hollywood, are stolen, Mitch must find them before the blackmail begins! The Psychic? His wife? His mistress? One of his famous clients?...
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A Fine Upstanding Citizen by William C Martell Senator Edward Milano has a secret: 25 years ago he murdered a man. Now he is one of twelve suspects in an information leak, will they discover his secret?...
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The Shotgun Approach by William C Martell SFPD Inspector Shelly Steele solves a rock star's murder on the VIP floor of a San Francisco Luxury Hotel. The ex-wife? The ex-partner? The ex-Record Label owner?...
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$0.99
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Amazon.com,
Dialogue Blue Book by William C Martell The secrets of great dialogue! From subtext to exposition to banter!...
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$4.99
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Hook 'Em In 10 Blue Book by William C Martell How to hook readers in the first ten pages! From late starts to the Golfing Goat Rule!...
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$4.99
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Protagonist Blue Book by William C Martell From deep characterization to contrast, how to create strong protagonists....
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$4.99
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Secrets Of Story: Well Told by William C Martell It's not just the story, it's how you tell it... This Blue Book will guide you through the *best* way to tell your story....
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$4.99
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Hitchcock's Most Daring Story And Cinema Experiments Exposed!...
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$5.99
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The Bourne Movies by William C Martell An inside look at all five "Bourne Identity" movies, how they work (or don't) and how paranoid thriller stories work. All the facts and stats for each movie plus behind the scenes info!...
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$3.99
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Hiitchcock: Mastering Suspense by William C Martell A look at the different ways that suspense is generated in 17 films by Alfred Hitchcock....
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$5.99
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The Terminator Movies by William C Martell The story secrets behind all five "Terminator" films! How they work (or don't), complete analysis and all of the details and statistics for the films!...
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$3.99
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Followed Home by William C Martell Crime Time Thriller #1 - A woman is carjacked and kidnapped by an armed stranger and must outsmart him before they get to her house....
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Visual Storytelling by William C Martell From "Sunrise" (Oscar Winner 1927) to "The Artist" (Oscar Winner 2012), from Visual Characterization to Symbolism....
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$3.99
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Act Two Secrets by William C Martell Stuck In The Middle Of Your Story? This Blue Book Will Help!...
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$3.99
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Scenes Blue Book by William C Martell The secrets of Scenes revealed, from how many you will need to transitions....
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$3.99
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Breaking In Blue Book by William C Martell How To Break Into Hollywood As A Screenwriter: from selling a screenplay to writing the next superhero movie....
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$3.99
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The Secrets Of Action Screenwriting by William C Martell Write a Hollywood screenplay! Professional screenwriter William C. Martell takes you step-by-step through the process of writing an action, adventure, or thriller script!...
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$9.99
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Articles ( View all 10 articles ) REAR WINDOW and Noir Fiction by William C Martell In my book HITCHCOCK: EXPERIMENTS IN TERROR we look at Hitch's most daring story and cinema experiments. Here's a quick look at one of my favorite Hitch films - and its roots in Noir fiction. <... How To Land A Writing Gig by William C Martell Several different methods to land a screenwriting job.... My First Pitch by William C Martell Pitching a screenplay: the three types of pitches and more! ... Writing On Deadline by William C Martell Writing A Movie Script Means Writing On Deadline! ... The 100 Idea Theory by William C Martell Don't Write The First Idea You Come Up With, Write The BEST Idea You Come Up With.... Writing On Deadline by William C Martell Writers often work on deadlines, here are two methods (and a video) with tips!... The Story Behind THE TERMINATOR's Story! by William C Martell What's up with that acknowledgment to the works of Harlan Ellison credit at the end of THE TERMINATOR?
Let's find out in this excerpt from my book THE TERMINATOR MOVIES!
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