Screenwriter Syd Field dies at age 77

Syd Field, one of the most influential teachers of screenwriting, died on Sunday at his home in Beverly Hills from hemolytic anemia at age 77.

Field was known for his 1979 book Screenplay, among many others, and had spent years helping others writers to breakdown and understand the art of storytelling for the screen. His work has been used as textbooks for film classes at universities, and he taught writing courses at Harvard, Stanford, UCLA, Berkley and USC. In addition to teaching he was a special script consultant to the Disney Studios, Universal, Tristar Pictures and 20^th Century Fox.

The Raindance Film Festival website released the press release sharing the news of the writers death. The festival hosted a screenwriters event in London last week, which Field had been too ill to attend. The release highlights the impact Field had in the community:

"Acclaimed by CNN as the 'guru of all screenwriters,' and by The Hollywood Reporter as 'the most sought after screenwriting teacher in the world,' Field is celebrated as the first writer to outline the paradigm that most screenplays follow, which is the classic three-act structure. Syd Field was inducted into the Final Draft Hall of Fame in 2006 and was the first inductee into the Screenwriting Hall of Fame of the American Screenwriting Association. He was also a special consultant to the Film Preservation Project for the famed Getty Center."

Comedy writer and director Judd Apatow is quoted in the release saying: "What I learned in Syd Field's class was here's how Annie Hall works, and here's how Witness works, and then I begin to think, 'OK now how would I do it differently than that?' That concept of 'Always being in learning mode' has stuck with me to this day..."

Field is survived by his wife, Aviva, and his daughter, Lisa Arcos. A memorial service will take place soon.