Suggestions...

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  • Suggestions...

    So I'm told to read movie scripts. Any suggestions? As a playwright, you're required to read Shakespeare, Arthur Miller, ect... Does screenwriting have it's great master-minds that have to be read? Please give me your "must-read" scripts. Also, is it better to read movie scripts that you have or haven't seen? Or does it matter?

    Thanks for your help!

  • #2
    No read them all, good, bad, or ugly you will discover for yourself.

    Be careful with produced scripts, some are transcripts which are pretty much worthless, and also shooting scripts are hard to drudge through but it can be done.

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    • #3
      Writers to Read:

      Shane Black
      Ron Bass
      William Goldman
      Steve Zaillian
      Joe Esterhaus
      Paddy Chayefsky

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      • #4
        butte, what are your favorite movies, what's your favorite genres? Read these screenplays, see how they were written and do what they did.

        -Derek
        My Web Page - naked women, bestial sex, and whopping big lies.

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        • #5
          dpaterso's advice is good. If a movie was particularly memorable to you, there's probably a few good reasons why.

          The best storytelling ever done onscreen that demonstrates all the lessons of good screenwriting teachers and would make a great screenplay to study is, "To Kill a Mockingbird." I purchased it in a book of three screenplays by Horton Foote. The other two were, "Tender Mercies" and, "A Trip to Bountiful."

          EDITED TO ADD: "To Kill a Mockingbird" was released cerca 1961 (I'm sure somebody can do an IMDb search if they feel so motivated). So, it might seem odd to suggest reading a screenplay that's more than forty years old but I suggest it for its storytelling merits. Horton Foote wasn't exactly sure how to go about it because he was outside the Hollywood machine so he more or less did his own thing. You'll see if you ever read the screenplay. His storytelling was flawless and that's why I suggest it.

          But, it pays to keep current, as well. Don't forget to look around at current popular movies or movies that have intrigued you and study their screenplays, too.

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          • #6
            "Horton Foote wasn't exactly sure how to go about it because he was outside the Hollywood machine so he more or less did his own thing. You'll see if you ever read the screenplay. His storytelling was flawless and that's why I suggest it"

            Your Honor, the prosecution's case against Hollywood rests.

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