Script To Screen
One of the single best things you can do to learn the craft of screenwriting is to read the script while watching the movie. After all a screenplay is a blueprint to make a movie and it’s that magic of what happens between printed page and final print that can inform how you approach writing scenes. That is the purpose of Script to Screen, a series on where we analyze a memorable movie scene and the script pages that inspired it.
10 Things I Hate About You: Kat’s poem.
12 Monkeys: Cole meets Jeffrey in the asylum.
12 Years a Slave: A drunk Epps chases Solomon.
2001: A Space Odyssey: Dave deactivates H.A.L.
48 Hrs.: The ‘Black Russian’ scene.
(500) Days of Summer: Tom’s fantasy “greatest morning of all time” sequence.
A Quiet Place: The horrifying opening incident.
A Serious Man: The enigmatic ending.
The Abyss: Coming back to life.
Adaptation: Robert McKee rips Charlie at a McKee seminar.
Air Force One: The President fights the Bad Guys in climactic sequence.
Airplane!: “I can speak jive.”
Alien: Alien kills Dallas in the air tunnels.
Aliens: The final struggle — between two ‘mothers’.
All About Eve: “Fasten your seat belts. It’s going to be a bumpy night.”
Almost Famous: The near plane crash.
Amadeus: Mozart dictates the “Requiem” to Salieri.
The American: An assassin who thinks he is out of harm’s way discovers otherwise.
American Beauty: A plastic bag dances in the wind.
American Pie: Jim has a ‘date’ with an apple pie.
American Psycho: It’s ‘Hip To Be Square’.
The Apartment: A revelation via a broken mirror.
Argo: The crew goes on a ‘location scout’.
Army of Darkness: “This is my boomstick!”
The Artist: A cute dance scene turns into a major plot point.
As Good As It Gets: Melvin gives a compliment, a kiss … then another kiss.
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery: Dr. Evil’s therapy session with his son Scott.
Badlands: Kit and Holly dance to “A Blossom Fell”.
Barton Fink: The opening scene establishes Barton’s ‘ordinary’ world.
Basic Instinct: Is she or isn’t she a psycho killer?
Batman: The Final Struggle between Batman and Joker.
Beavis and Butt-Head Do America: The guys escape from the trunk of a moving car.
Beetlejuice: Dancing around the dining room table.
Before Midnight: The ending.
Being John Malkovich: The 7 1/2 floor introduction.
Big Fish: Edward woos Sandra by taking a beating.
The Big Lebowski: A case of mistaken identity.
Birdman: Or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance): Sam goes off on her father.
The Birds: It’s the birds vs. school children.
Black Swan: The final scene in which Nina’s performance is “perfect.”
BlacKkKlansman: Ron attempts to prevent a bombing by the KKK.
Blade Runner: Like “tears in the rain.”
Blood Simple: Ray buries Julian.
Blue Velvet: Frank and crew take Jeffrey on a joyride.
Bonnie and Clyde: The bloody ending which is radically different than what is depicted in the script.
The Bourne Identity: Bourne discovers he has assault capabilities.
Boyhood: Mason and Nicole reflect on moments in the movie’s final scene.
Braveheart: The burial of young William’s father… and a flower.
Bull Durham: A meeting at the mound.
Carrie: Carrie tries to convince her mother to let her go to the prom.
Cast Away: “I’m sorry, Wilson. I’m sorry.”
Celeste & Jess Forever: Celeste uses her trend reading skills on a guy.
Charade: Dyle vs. Scobie on a rooftop.
Chinatown: “Forget it, Jake. It’s Chinatown.”
The Cider House Rules: Homer returns to the orphange.
Cinema Paradiso: Salvatore ‘confesses’ his love for Elena.
Citizen Kane: Kane destroys Susan’s room, then discovers a snow globe.
Clerks: Jay introduces his Russian friend who belts out “Berserker”.
Collateral: “That my briefcase?”
Cool Hand Luke: Eggs. Fifty of them. And Luke eats them all.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Jen Yu and Yu Shu Lien fight each other.
The Crying Game: Jody’s escape attempt.
Dallas Buyers Club: Ron encourages a guy to shake hands with Rayon.
Dark Star: Bomb uses logic to figure out an existential crisis… with explosive results.
The Day The Earth Stood Still: The appearance of Gort.
Dead Poets Society: “O Captain, my captain!”
The Deerhunter: God Bless America.
The Departed: The dramatic elevator scene.
The Devil Wears Prada: Miranda arrives at the office.
Do the Right Thing: Sal destroys Radio Rahim’s box.
Dog Day Afternoon: “Attica!”
Donnie Darko: Donnie deconstructs “Watership Down”.
Double Indemnity: Keyes puts Neff in a sticky spot.
Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb: The President calls Dmitri.
Election: Jim meets up with voter suppression.
The Elephant Man: Merrick surprises everyone by reciting Psalm 23.
The English Patient: Almásy desperate in his obsessive love for Katherine.
Erin Brockovich: The “waste of our time” legal meeting.
Excalibur: Arthur gets knighted and named King.
The Fabulous Baker Boys: “Makin’ Whooppee”.
Fargo: Carl and Grimsrud are stopped by a state trooper.
Fast Times at Ridgemont High: Spicoli vs Mr. Hands about a sausage pizza.
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off: Ferris takes a shower and breaks the 4th wall.
A Few Good Men: The arrest of Colonel Jessep.
Field of Dreams: “You wanna have a catch?”
Fight Club: Jack finally figures out a way to ‘terminate’ Tyler.
The Fisher King: Parry has a showdown with the Red Knight.
Five Easy Pieces: The ‘hold the chicken’ scene.
Flight: The final scene where his son asks Whip, “Who are you?”
Frozen: Elisa’s secret revealed.
Galaxy Quest: The cast meets the fans.
Get Shorty: Chili gets a quick lesson in how easy it is to write a screenplay.
Ghostbusters: The Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man scene.
The Godfather: The horse head scene.
The Graduate: The musical montage (Sounds of Silence | April, Comes She Will) with a masterful use of juxtaposition and visual-to-visual transitions.
Grosse Pointe Blank: Martin and Grocer meet in a diner.
Halloween: The Final Struggle between Laurie and Michael Myers.
Hanna: Hanna responds to questioning, then begins her escape from custody.
Hannah and Her Sisters: Mickey describes his suicidal encounter with a rifle.
Harold and Maude: Harold has a date.
Heat: The diner scene.
Heathers: The ending.
Her: Samantha tells Theodore she is leaving.
High Fidelity: A cold open amidst a couple breaking up.
The Insider: Bergman finds himself at a crossroads with his cohorts at CBS.
The Iron Giant: When the Giant becomes “Superman”.
It’s A Wonderful Life: George asks God to “live again”.
Jackie Brown: With a gun as reinforcement, Jackie negotiates a deal with Ordell.
Jacob’s Ladder: An emergency visit to the hospital transforms into a nightmare.
Jaws: Chrissie goes swimming… for the last time.
Jerry Maguire: Dorothy joins Jerry in leaving the office.
Joe Versus the Volcano: After learning he has terminal cancer, Joe quits his job.
Joker: Arthur’s memorable appearance on The Murray Franklin Show.
The Kids Are All Right: Laser reveals something to his mothers.
Kill Bill: Vol. 1: Bride vs. Housewife in a domestic ‘dispute’.
L.A. Confidential: The Christmas beat-down.
The Last of the Mohicans: Heyward’s sacrifice.
Leaving Las Vegas: Ben’s ‘date’ with a prostitute who steals his wedding ring.
Lethal Weapon: Riggs has a unique way to handle a ‘jumper’.
The Limey: “You tell him I’m coming!”
Lincoln: Mary has a message for the President: “Woe unto you.”
Little Miss Sunshine: Olive finally gets a chance to do her dance number.
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels: Eddy gets screwed in a fixed game of poker.
Looper: Masterful series of shots covering the passage of 22 years.
The Lost Boys: David and the Boys play a dangerous game with Michael… on the train tracks.
Lost In Translation: The final moments between Bob and Charlotte including… the whisper.
Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior: Deaths, a boomerang, and an ultimatum.
M*A*S*H: The Last Supper.
Magnolia: The frog storm.
Marty: The ending.
Midnight Cowboy: Ratso and Joe on the bus ride to Florida.
Moonrise Kingdom: The beach dance scene.
Moonstruck: The meaning of life wrapped around “get in my bed.”
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington: Lost cause.
Network: The assassination of Howard Beale.
No Country for Old Men: Chigurh makes an old man flip a coin to decide his fate.
Notting Hill: The last brownie.
O Brother, Where Art Thou?: The Sirens.
Out Of Sight: Foley and Karen in the car trunk.
Panic Room: Mother and daughter enter the ‘panic room’.
Pan’s Labyrinth: Ofelia meets Faun and moves from the Ordinary World into the Extraordinary World.
Philadelphia: Andrew meets Joe about his case.
Pi: Something about a drill…
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl: Compare endings from early draft and movie.
Planet of the Apes: The famous final scene.
Platoon: A brutal scene conveying the insanity of war.
Predator: The Final Struggle.
The Princess Bride: The “Mawidge, the bwessed awwangement” scene.
Pretty Woman: The final set of scenes to cap off the story’s romance.
Psycho: The truth about mother.
Raising Arizona: The distinctive 10-minute opening.
Rebel Without a Cause: The “chicken” scene.
Rocky: Rocky decks Apollo Creed.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let’s Do the Time Warp Again!
Rushmore: The revenge sequence.
Saving Mr. Banks: Pamela doesn’t think “responstable” is a word.
Say Anything: The boom box scene.
Schindler’s List: The girl in red sequence.
Scream: The opening.
The Searchers: Ethan returns home to a gruesome discovery.
Se7en: The climatic stand-off at the end.
Sex, Lies and Videotape: Graham tells Ann about his videotapes.
Shakespeare in Love: Will and Viola’s final moment together and the writing of “Twelfth Night”.
The Shining: Wendy discovers what Jack has been writing.
Short Term 12: Jayden tells Grace a revealing story she wrote.
Silverado: Fun establishing action scene.
The Social Network: The movie begins with Erica … and ends with Erica.
The Talented Mr. Ripley: Ripley discovers that Marge has found the rings.
The Terminator: The arrival of the cyborg from the future.
Thelma & Louise: The ending.
There’s Something About Mary: The hair gel scene.
The Thin Man: It’s Christmas morning for Nick and Nora… and an air rifle.
The Third Man: The final scene where Anna passes Martin “without a glance.”
Three Kings: Finding the bunker with the gold.
Tootsie: Michael learns no one will hire him.
Toy Story: The opening.
Traffic: An assassination in the desert.
The Truman Show: Truman talks to ‘God’.
Unforgiven: The big shootout.
Up: Carl and Ellie’s marriage sequence.
The Usual Suspects: The last sequence in which all is revealed.
V For Vendetta: V’s speech to the world.
The Verdict: Frank’s summary argument before the court.
Vertigo: Scottie’s dream.
Wag the Dog: Moss and Breane hatch a ‘war’.
Wall-E: Wall-E and Eve ‘define’ dancing.
Wall Street: “Money never sleeps, pal.”
The Way Way Back: Owen introduces Duncan to Lewis.
What About Bob?: Bob and Marvin’s bombastic ‘death therapy’ experience.
Witness: Where young Samuel witnesses a crime.
The Wizard of Oz: The demise of the Wicked Witch.
Wreck-It Ralph: Ralph meets Vanellope.
You Can Count On Me: An angry Terry tells his nephew Rudy why he’s leaving.
Young Frankenstein: Puttin’ on the Ritz.
Zombieland: Opening scene.