Beginning screenwriters and cinephiles, come on in.
As I prepare to teach a class in screenwriting, and also begin work on another script of my own, this is a place to help me think about films and people who inspire, and for beginning scriptwriters to get inspired, too.
Required films for beginning screenwriters
- Chinatown
- Network
- Breaking Away
- Wages of Fear
(to learn about action and suspense) - Young Frankenstein
Rent these films on GreenCine!
- GreenCine | Chinatown - Special Colllectors Edition
- andmark movie in the film noir tradition, Roman Polanski's Chinatown stands as a true screen classic. Jack Nicholson is private eye Jake Gittes, living off the murky moral climate of sunbaked, pre-war Southern California. Hired by a beautiful socialite (Faye Dunaway) to investigate her husband's extra-marital affair, Gittes is swept into a maelstrom of double dealings and deadly deceits, uncovering a web of personal and political scandals that come crashing together for one, unforgettable night in...Chinatown. Co-starring film legend John Huston and featuring an Academy Award®-winning script by Robert Towne, Chinatown captures a lost era in a masterfully woven movie that remains a timeless gem.
- Network
- Paddy Chayefsky's scathing script for Network continues to amaze 30 years after its release; it's as pertinent and sharp as ever. The new 2-disc set finally gives the the black comedy (which was directed crisply by Sidney Lumet) the home release it deserves: besides the film itself, there are a few nice extras, including a new documentary, commentary by director Sidney Lumet, and a vintage interview with Chayefsky, but more importantly, the transfer looks and sounds terrific. An amazing cast (three of whom won Oscars) bring the script to life, with some of the more memorable dialogue - including Peter Finch's famous speech where he flips out on national television, a scene which has yet to lose its potency. See the film, then try watching the news with a straight face.
- Breaking Away
- One of my favorite scripts, to read and to enjoy as a film. A great coming of age story that manages to be funny and heartwarming (but never maudlin), and rousing, too.
- Lone Star
- A good counterbalance to No Country for Old Men in a way, a nuanced, multi-layered story that works as a mystery and as a character drama. "Reminiscent of a fine novel in depth and complexity, writer-director John Sayles' acclaimed drama uses the investigation of a 25-year-old murder as the framework for a detailed exploration of life in a Texas border town."
- Young Frankenstein
- Only one of the greatest comedy scripts ever. Great story, a satire of, of course, the old Frankenstein films, filled with affection for those films as well as with genius dialogue. Classic.
- Wages of Fear
- One of the best suspense films ever made, and remade once in the 70s. It takes awhile to build but then it's just relentless. Existential action movie, one of a kind!
Favorite Original Screenplay of 2007
From the Oscar-nominated scripts, which was your favorite?
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Great Screenplays on Amazon
Read these and weep (or laugh) and learn.
Ethan Coen and Joel Coen: Collected Screenplays 1: Blood Simple, Raising Arizona, Miller's Crossing, Barton Fink
Amazon Price: $13.60 (as of 07/26/2008)
The Collected Works of Paddy Chayefsky: The Screenplays Volume 2 (Collected Works of Paddy Chayefsky)
Amazon Price: $13.56 (as of 07/26/2008)
Chinatown and the Last Detail: Two Screenplays
Amazon Price: $11.20 (as of 07/26/2008)
Four Films: Annie Hall, Interiors, Manhattan, Stardust Memories
Amazon Price: $23.00 (as of 07/26/2008)
William Goldman: Four Screenplays with Essays
Amazon Price: $14.21 (as of 07/26/2008)
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Notes from Underdog
A blog on screenwriting, films, DVDs, TV, and the political landscape.
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