GITS Script Reading & Analysis: “Raiders of the Lost Ark”
I am going all-out this month to compel you to read a script. The September screenplay is Raiders of the Lost Ark, 1981 action-adventure movie [screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan, story by George Lucas & Philip Kaufman]. If the possibility of reading this script isn’t motivation enough, I don’t know what is!
You can download a copy of the script here.
What’s more, you can download a copy of a story conference transcript with Kasdan, Lucas and Steven Spielberg here.
Our schedule for discussion:
Monday, September 24: General comments
Tuesday, September 25: Structure
Wednesday, September 26: Characters
Thursday, September 27: Themes
Friday, September 28: Dialogue
We will have another live TweetCast on Wednesday, September 26 at 8PM Pacific. What’s a TweetCast? Everybody lines up a DVD, Netflix, or whatever version of the movie, then hits “Play” precisely at the top of the hour. During the movie, we comment on it real time on Twitter. Check out the transcripts of some of the past TweetCasts:
We generally have a group of professional screenwriters participate including Tom Benedek, Scott Frazier, John Gary and myself, and anyone is invited to drop by. It’s a lot of fun, but as you can see from the transcripts, also a great way to break down and analyze a movie. Hashtag: #ROLATC
In addition John Gary has a unique analysis of the Raiders which I hope he will be able to share with us over the course of our week long analysis.
Here is the movie trailer:
If you know of any great behind-the-scenes videos or interviews about Raiders, please post them in comments.
Remember: Reading scripts is one of the most important single things you can do to enhance your understanding of the craft of screenwriting. So download Raiders of the Lost Ark and join us the last week of September to analyze the script.
For all of the other screenplays and commentary in the GITS Script Reading & Analysis series, go here.
NOTE: THE USE OF THESE SCREENPLAYS IS FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY.
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