This is awful news:
Blake Snyder passed away suddenly this morning, August 4, 2009, from cardiac arrest.
There was no one like him. You all know that. No one more enthusiastic, more giving, more truly interested in you.
He will live on in his films and his books, in the advice that will never grow old, with the spirit that will continue to thrive and inspire.
His story resonates with all who loved him, and your stories will resonate thanks to his love for you.
I never met Blake, but many of my students and GITS posters sang his praises. Here are some comments from his blog:
Blake was a mentor and an inspiration. I am so glad to have known him and am so very sad and shocked to hear this news. He was always so positive and warm. I will miss him dearly. I will never forget him laughing hysterically at me and my misery and frustration in his workshop. I came in the day after we “broke” my outline saying “I’m so miserable! How could you do this to me! I liked it better before!” He laughed hysterically and made it all better. Love you, miss you, Blake. I will treasure your lessons and positive spirit always.—-
Ridiculous. Flawed. And unoriginal. that’s what Blake might say about a great character of his nature departing so suddenly and without reason.
I truly feel like I am at the all is lost moment in my screenwriting life as it was not too long ago that I entered the new world of act 2 with Blake lending several pointers and friendly gestures.
—-
Leave it to Blake to throw in an unexpected twist in act three.
Bravo, Blake. You surprised us all with your shocking ending. Congrats to you for living a successful, joyful, healthy, vibrant, passionate, enthsiastic, service-oriented life right up till the end. Perfect way to go, really. Too soon for my tastes, but otherwise perfect.
You were brilliant, one of a kind, an absolutely terrific human being and I miss you sorely already.
Rest well, my friend. And thank you.
Those of you who read Blake’s book “Save the Cat” or worked with him, I encourage you to visit his blog and offer your thoughts. We are a community of writers. When one of us dies, it’s a loss to the entire community.
Godspeed, Blake.
At a loss for words. This is a shock.
Very sad news, I exchanged a few emails with Blake a couple years ago, he was very nice.
I bought and read his book "Save the Cat" and responded to his challenge about Memento. The guy actually wrote back and we entered into a dialogue about screenwriting – how many authors would do that for an aspiring writer, even one all the over in the UK who he has never met and sadly won't this side of the great divide? This is seriously damaging news to many of us who need guidance in our art, thankfully we still have GITS – See Ya Blake, it's been a slice!
Wow. The one friend of mine (outside the industry) who "actively" keeps tabs on my writing, suggested Snyder's book to me a few weeks back. What a shocking coincidence. Forgive me for saying so bluntly, but… this sucks.
This is very sad news. I always recommend "Save the Cat" to my first-time screenwriters. Such a loss.
This is awful news. He was a very kind human being. : (