Three Act Screenplay

Death of a Screenwriting Guru

Syd Field: 1935-2013

“The most inspirational thing he ever said was, ‘Confusion always comes before clarity,'”

"Syd Field wrote screenwriting books which did exactly what they were supposed to do — they made screenwriting seem possible," Apatow, a student of Field's in the 1980s, who co-wrote and directed 2005's "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," said in a statement Monday.

"Whenever I write a screenplay, I take out his book and re-read it," Apatow said, "to see if I screwed anything up."