Writing with Hitchcock: The Collaboration of Alfred Hitchcock and John Michael Hayes [Paperback]

An 'A+' for accuracy - something that is often lacking in so many books about our industry.

'With diamond clarity, Steven DeRosa defines the art, the joy, the rewards - and the hazards - of screenwriting for a cinematic genius like Alfred Hitchcock.' Joseph Stefano, screenwriter of Psycho

"DeRosa has soundly researched his subject and brings convincing drama to Hayes and Hitchcock's breakup."

"DeRosa chose a number of great script development examples from the avalanche of research that will impact many screenwriters."

A godsend. Combining biography, cinema history and screenplay analysis in one book, DeRosa truly leaves no stone unturned.

"…peppered with the kind of detail that a film anorak like me gets off on."

DeRosa's research is impeccable... he charts the genesis of each of the projects with style and wit. Subperbly insightful portrait.

Vivid detail, telling anecdotes and incisive analysis.

In spring 1953, Hitchcock decided to take a chance and work with the young writer John Michael Hayes. The four movies on which they collaborated over the next 3 years - Rear Window, To Catch a Thief, The Trouble with Harry, and The Man Who Knew Too Much - marked a sophisticated change in style for Hitchcock, inspired by Hayes's exceptional scripts.

Steven DeRosa follows Hitchcock and Hayes through each film, from initial discussions to completed picture. He also reveals the personal story - laced with humour, jealousy and frustration - of how these two very different men worked together in harmony until their relationship abruptly fell apart. This is an entertaining, in-depth look at one of Alfred Hitchcock's most fruitful creative collaborations.

"The four films that John Michael Hayes wrote for Hitchcock, were made during the richest and most complex period in the director's career. As Steven DeRosa writes, Hitchcock was most comfortable working with younger, untried writers to whom he could be a mentor; the films he made with Hayes are ample testimony to the success of that strategy. DeRosa describes the relationship in meticulous detail, providing fascinating evidence of the extreme care with which Hitchcock chose and worked with his writers."

- The New York Times Book Review

"Steven DeRosa's book eloquently reminds us, someone actually had to sit down and write the scripts. Writing With Hitchcock offers not only entertaining biographical sketches of both men, chockful of anecdotes, but a thorough illumination of the Hitchcock/Hayes collaboration: how it worked, who contributed what, and how it ended."

- Variety

Steven DeRosa is a screenwriter and former film archivist. He at one time managed the MGM and Warner Brothers outtake collections for an archival footage library and also edited movie theater previews.