Shakespeare References in The Filmmaker's Book Of The Dead

The Filmmaker's Book Of The Dead: A Mortal's Guide To Making Horror Movies, written by Danny Draven, contains a few Shakespeare references. The first is a reference to Hamlet, with Draven writing, "William Shakespeare once said, 'There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy'" (p. 5). That line is delivered by Hamlet in the first act after he has spoken with the Ghost of his father. Draven then writes, "This type of thinking is what keeps the horror movie industry in business" (p. 5). Soon after that there is a reference to Macbeth. Actually, the reference is in the title of a movie that Draven recommends viewing: Something Wicked This Way Comes (p. 6). That movie title is a line spoken by one of the weird sisters. Actually, the next reference in the book also comes in a movie title, with Draven writing, "Kaufman's TROMEO AND JULIET, written with James Gunn, became a theatrical and critican hit" (p. 351). That movie is mentioned again: "or they may never forget TROMEO & JULIET (1996)" (p. 352). There is also a reference to Hamlet in the interview with Lloyd Kaufman, with Kaufman saying, "You should do what you believe in and what is in your heart: 'To thine own self be true.' The mistake most filmmakers encounter is not abiding by the 'To thine own self be true' maxim, which as you know was coined by the great William Shakespeare who wrote the best-selling book, 101 Money-Making Screenplay Ideas, otherwise known as Hamlet" (p. 352). The line "to thine own self be true" is spoken by Polonius to his son Laertes in Act I Scene iii. Tromeo And Juliet is mentioned again in that interview, with Kaufman saying: "In the case of TROMEO AND JULIET (1996), we mixed eroticism and Shakespeare, horror and slapstick satire" (p. 354).

The Filmmaker's Book Of The Dead was originally published in 2010. The copy I read was from the Second Edition, published in 2016.