Reader Question: Which movie scripts do you recommend for a beginning screenwriter to read?
A few scripts to give someone a basic level of awareness about what’s involved in the screenwriting craft.
A reader question via Twitter:
This is in reference to this:
It’s a good question, James. When I read my first screenplays in 1986 — Back to the Future, Breaking Away, and Witness — actual movie scripts were a challenge to come by, procuring hard copies, xeroxing them, returning the original to its owner. Your basic Mom and Pop operation.
Nowadays, it’s like Costco! There are dozens of sites where you can download hundreds, if not thousands of scripts as PDFs. Of course, almost all of those sites host scripts illegally, but only rarely does that become an issue.
So, James, in response to your inquiry, I’ll restrict myself to the legal script links provided by movie studios and production companies which I’ve aggregated here on the blog.
99 Homes
A Monster Calls
A Most Violent Year
American Hustle
American Sniper
Amour
Animal Kingdom
Another Year
Anthropoid
Arrival
Battle of the Sexes
Beauty and the Beast
Before Midnight
Beginners
The Beguiled
The Big Short
The Big Sick
The Boxtrolls
Brad’s Status
Breathe
Bridget Jones’s Baby
Bridge of Spies
Captain Fantastic
Celeste and Jesse Forever
The Comedian
Dallas Buyers Club
The Danish Girl
Danny Collins
Deadpool
Dear White People
Denial
The Diary of a Teenage Girl
Elizabeth Blue
Elle
Equity
Eye in the Sky
Fences
First They Killed My Father
Flight
The Founder
Foxcatcher
The Gambler
Get Low
The Girl on the Train
Gold
Grandma
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Hail, Caesar!
The Hateful Eight
Hell or High Water
Hidden Figures
The Hollars
Hyde Park on Hudson
I Saw the Light
I Smile Back
I, Tonya
I’ll See You In My Dreams
Infinitely Polar Bear
Inherent Vice
Inside Job
The Invisible Woman
The Invitation
Julieta
Kill Your Darlings
Kubo and the Two Strings
La La Land
Labor Day
The Lady in the Van
Land of Mine
Last Flag Flying
Learning to Drive
Legend
Leviathan
Lion
Locke
Logan
The Lost City of Z
Love Is Strange
Loving
Made in Dagenham
Maggie’s Plan
The Man Who Invented Christmas
Man Up
The Martian
The Meddler
The Meyerowitz Stories
Middle of Nowhere
Miles Ahead
mother!
Mother and Child
Mr. Turner
Mudbound
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2
My Week with Marilyn
Nebraska
Nocturnal Animals
Okja
Paranorman
The Past
Pawn Sacrifice
The Place Beyond the Pines
Please Give
The Red Turtle
Rust and Bone
Savage Tales
The Secret Life of Pets
Short Term 12
Silence
Sing
Sing Street
Smashed
The Social Network
The Son of Saul
Steve Jobs
Still Alice
Straight Outta Compton
Suffragette
Testament of Youth
The Theory of Everything
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Toni Erdmann
Trumbo
Truth
Victor Frankenstein
Wadjda
War for the Planet of the Apes
Whiplash
The Wolf of Wall Street
Woman in Gold
Wonderstruck
My initial instinct is to say, “Read ’em all!” Reading scripts is such a critical aspect of learning the craft, if one is serious about it, they should get in the habit of reading 1–2 movie scripts per week.
But I get the gist of your question, you want to dip your toe in the Sea of Screenplays to give you a basic sense of what’s what, so let me provide a few different takes for you.
If you’re not sure what particular genre you want to write, here are three suggestions from major studios which cover wide terrain:
Arrival
The Big Short
Logan
If your interests run to independent fare, how about these three:
The Big Sick
Hell or High Water
Whiplash
If you want to write and direct low-budget movies:
Dear White People
The Invitation
Short Term 12
If you interested in writing period pieces:
Hidden Figures
Mr. Turner
Mudbound
If foreign movies are your thing:
Amour
Toni Erdmann
Wadjda
Honestly, you could pick any three of the movie scripts linked above and get a pretty good sense of screenplay format and style, as well some idea of how to approach writing scenes, pace, tone, voice, and so on.
Caveat: If you read The Social Network and Hateful Eight, both of which are great scripts, beware that there is only one Aaron Sorkin and one Quentin Tarantino, each a master at what they do. Perhaps you have the chops to write page after page of dialogue which is both entertaining and works on the page. Please understand, this is not typical. Most movie scripts have a balance between action and dialogue.
Push come to shove, I’d recommend the first three: Arrival, The Big Short, Logan. Arrival is a drama wrapped up as a science fiction movie. The Big Short is a drama wrapped up as a comedy. And Logan is a western wrapped up as a superhero movie. Each is an excellent read.
GITS readers, what three would YOU recommend?
