By Margie Royal
I was always curious about how movies scripts are chosen and developed, so when the opportunity came to review “Creative Producing: a pitch-to-picture guide to movie development” I jumped on it. It’s written by Carol Baum, who has produced 34 movies, including hits such as “Father of the Bride”, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”, “The Good Girl” and many others. Her husband, Tom Baum, a scriptwriter, has also added to the book, giving practical and seasoned writing advice for aspiring screenwriters.
The book is very well organized, covering the whole development process, from idea to script development, pitching and packaging and more. She explains how directors, backers and actors get attached to a project. The chapters are concise and very readable, you can tell Ms. Baum really knows the industry well. She adds in healthy dollops of insider stories about stars, bosses and directors, but it’s never just gossipy: it’s always to illustrate a problem or lesson she encountered and what she learned from 
that experience.
She teaches producing in film and television at USC and has streamlined the book to engage and educate the reader.
Budgeting, editing and agents are also discussed, and she addresses how the current watch-at-home streaming market has changed the industry.
The appendix has examples of professional cover letters, script summaries, notes and more.
If you’re curious about the movie development process, you’ll come away with a better understanding of the movie-making business. If you are an aspiring screenwriter, this book is a must read. It’s published by Allworth Press and is available online