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If Shane Black’s specialty of broken heroes breaking bones and falling short to make a friend and save the day, lights you up, then here’s a gas-soaked match.
Setups, Payoffs and Reversals is an obsessive, genre-savvy deep dive into the filmography of Shane Black, the screenwriting master of punchy dialogue, Christmas-time carnage, and emotionally wrecked men trying their damnedest to be heroes.
Across ten movies and thirty years, Jake Jabbour dissects Black’s signature storytelling recipe. From Lethal Weapon to Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, The Nice Guys, and Iron Man 3, this book breaks down the hidden machinery behind the jokes, gunfights, mysteries, and heartbreak.
Part film analysis, part personal odyssey, and part fan-letter written in blood, sweat, and exploding helicopters, Jabbour brings humor, heart, and perhaps a little too much nerdy analysis to the school of Shane Black. Each chapter pairs a sharp essay with fun, superhero “stat sheets” that celebrate Black’s tropes: male friendship, cheap tricks, cheesy one-liners, Christmas chaos, spunky kids, henchmen, Los Angeles grime, and neck snapping reversals.
This book is a loving, knowledgeable, and downright addictive celebration of a filmmaker who shaped the entire action genre… even when Hollywood wasn’t sure what to do with him. Every bloody setup deserves an explosive payoff.
Available Late December 2025/Early January 2026
Pre-order Price: $9.99
General: $14.95
If Shane Black’s specialty of broken heroes breaking bones and falling short to make a friend and save the day, lights you up, then here’s a gas-soaked match.
Setups, Payoffs and Reversals is an obsessive, genre-savvy deep dive into the filmography of Shane Black, the screenwriting master of punchy dialogue, Christmas-time carnage, and emotionally wrecked men trying their damnedest to be heroes.
Across ten movies and thirty years, Jake Jabbour dissects Black’s signature storytelling recipe. From Lethal Weapon to Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, The Nice Guys, and Iron Man 3, this book breaks down the hidden machinery behind the jokes, gunfights, mysteries, and heartbreak.
Part film analysis, part personal odyssey, and part fan-letter written in blood, sweat, and exploding helicopters, Jabbour brings humor, heart, and perhaps a little too much nerdy analysis to the school of Shane Black. Each chapter pairs a sharp essay with fun, superhero “stat sheets” that celebrate Black’s tropes: male friendship, cheap tricks, cheesy one-liners, Christmas chaos, spunky kids, henchmen, Los Angeles grime, and neck snapping reversals.
This book is a loving, knowledgeable, and downright addictive celebration of a filmmaker who shaped the entire action genre… even when Hollywood wasn’t sure what to do with him. Every bloody setup deserves an explosive payoff.
Available Late December 2025/Early January 2026
Pre-order Price: $9.99
General: $14.95