Advice on sci-fi screenplays to read

[SkyPolynomial]

Re: Advice on sci-fi screenplays to read

Roger that.

[Dr. Vergerus]

Re: Advice on sci-fi screenplays to read

Thanks all for the advice so far.

[Biohazard]

Re: Advice on sci-fi screenplays to read

Source Code

[ATB]

Re: Advice on sci-fi screenplays to read

Passengers by Jon Spaihts.

I got a special kinda love for that script.

[christopher jon]

Re: Advice on sci-fi screenplays to read

Minority Report
I Robot
Dark City
Robocop
Empire Strikes Back

[Dan]

Re: Advice on sci-fi screenplays to read

Passengers by Jon Spaihts.

I got a special kinda love for that script.

Agreed. 'Passengers' is definitely the best (unproduced) of the genre I've read - v strong characterisation.

It's pretty much the only sci-fi script not affiliated with an existing property that I could see getting made and doing well (if, obviously, done well...)

For sci-fi terminology, you're really best off with a Star Trek series (I'd suggest Voyager as a personal fave, but they all have their strengths).

Also, once you get a feel for the language etc., trust your instincts to develop it in your own unique way - if English is your second language, this may turn out to be a great advantage here, as you'll have an innately different way of putting those aspects together.

Good luck.

[christopher jon]

Re: Advice on sci-fi screenplays to read

Agreed. 'Passengers' is definitely the best (unproduced) of the genre I've read - v strong characterisation.

Is that the one that's been around for years and had most of it's good ideas pillaged by other movies?

[Margie Kaptanoglu]

Re: Advice on sci-fi screenplays to read

Gattaca is a great sci-fi film. The script can be found by Googling it, and probably has a good amount of technobabble.

[ATB]

Re: Advice on sci-fi screenplays to read

Is that the one that's been around for years and had most of it's good ideas pillaged by other movies?

You might be thinking of Killing on Carnival Row.

Passengers is relatively recent.

[Recreant]

Re: Advice on sci-fi screenplays to read

Passengers remains the only script to leave me a little misty-eyed by the end.

[christopher jon]

Re: Advice on sci-fi screenplays to read

You might be thinking of Killing on Carnival Row.

I couldn't get into that screenplay. I might have been in a weird mood at the time since everybody else seems to love it. I'll have to give it another try.

[Development Hell]

Re: Advice on sci-fi screenplays to read

Fahrenheit 451 - Frank Darabont
Logan's Run - Christopher McQuarrie

[christopher jon]

Re: Advice on sci-fi screenplays to read

read an early George Lucas draft of The Star Wars from 1974.

And people wonder why every studio passed on it.

[jdef75]

Re: Advice on sci-fi screenplays to read

@ Dr Vergerus:

Well I think you're on the right track with the scripts you've mentioned:
Alien, Aliens, Starship Troopers etc...

And the other screenplays mentioned in this thread are all excellent sci fi works.

But don't worry so much about techno babble, instead look for the ways in which the writers elevated the material through theme, satire (Starship Troopers is so much more than Soldiers versus Bugs) and the creative subversion of genre conventions.

James Cameron in particular has a special genius that allows him to capture the contemporary zeitgeist in his films. Unlike many other filmmakers, no matter how old he gets, Cameron always seems to have his finger on the collective pulse of the movie going public. Aliens was written with a very distinct motif that resonated in the 80s.

BTW I think your english is great, you express yourself well, especially given that english is your second language. But I understand your need to read more to gain confidence.

[Dr. Vergerus]

Re: Advice on sci-fi screenplays to read

Well... thanks! I worked in England for a couple of years, and I try to watch American films and tv in English as much as I can -here in Spain it's usually dubbed- so I can keep improving. But I know that I still lack vocabulary to craft vivid visual descriptions and striking dialogue. I'll keep working at it.

Thank you all for your suggestions, guys! I think it's enough for now; I'm actually working on a concept that has nothing to do with my initial monsters in space aim, but ideas have that funny way to show up when you're taking a shower or washing the car. It's more of a hard sci-fi idea, up to a point where it becomes...something else. It's the kind of idea that would drag me to the theater even if the weather that night was lousy and I had to wait in line while it rained, so I'm quite pleased with it. Now, a great concept doesn't mean necessarily a great story, so that's the point where I'm at: figuring out what the story is. Ah...exciting days.

Cheers!