6. "o so no post mentioning........." In response to In response to 0 Sun Feb-12-12 02:23 AM by Sponge
Thompson's "Storytelling in the New Hollywood" (she argues that Hollywood narrative has 4 acts instead of the widely viewed 3) and Bordwell's "The Way Hollywood Tells It"???
They're not formal script manuals but perceptively analyze the characteristics of contemporary Hollywood screnplays/narrative.
And to further trace the tradition of the dominant Hollywood screenwriting/narrative (1960s to its formation in the teens), check out their (written along with Janet Staiger) older but ridiculously thorough "The Classical Hollywood Cinema."
Bordwell and Thompson have the best film analysis blog (see the following screenwriting focused entries to get a taste of their in-depth writing):
Also, Lajos Egri's "The Art of Dramatic Writing" is a major book for screenwriters.
Since Syd Field and Robert McKee's script manuals are the most widely read, you kind of have to read them. Same goes for Christopher Volger.
2 other books worth reading:
"Me and You and Memento and Fargo: How Independent Screenplays Work" by J.J. Murphy
"Understanding Screenwriting: Learning from Good, Not-Quite-So-Good, and Bad Screenplays" by Tom Stempel. Stempel also has a screenplay series at the House Next Door blog.