Movie News for the week of Feb. 27, 2010

For this weeks movie news, check out scriptshadows blog. Very worth it.

NEW SCREENPLAY! COP OUT!

Here is the link to the new script, COP OUT, by Kevin Smith. Enjoy.
LINK

OSCAR WNNING SCREENPLAYS! The 80'S ARE HERE!

1989
DEAD POET'S SOCIETY

DRIVING MISS DAISY

1988
RAIN MAN

DEADLY LIASON

1987
MOON STRUCK

THE LAST EMPEROR

1986
HANNAH AND HER SISTERS

A ROOM WITH A VIEW

1985
WITNESS

OUT OF AFRICA

1984
PLACES IN THE HEART

AMADEUS

1983
TENDER MERCIES

TERMS OF ENDEARMENT

1982
GHANDI

MISSING

1981
CHARIOTS OF FIRE

ON GOLDEN POND

1980
MELVIN AND HOWARD

ORDINARY PEOPLE

ENJOY.

Screenplay for the new movie, THE CRAZIES!

Here is the screenplay for the new movie, The Crazies. Enjoy.
LINK

OSCAR WNNING SCREENPLAYS! The 90's!

1999
AMERICAN BEAUTY

CIDER HOUSE RULES

1998
SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE

GODS AND MONSTERS

1997
GOOD WILL HUNTING

L.A. CONFIDENTIAL

1996
FARGO

SLING BLADE

1995
THE USUAL SUSPECTS

SENSE AND SENSIBILITY

1994
PULP FICTION

FOREST GUMP

1993
THE PIANO

SCHINDLER'S LIST

1992
THE CRYING GAME

HOWARD'S END

1991
THELMA AND LOUISE

SILENCE OF THE LAMBS

1990
GHOST

DANCES WITH WOLVES

ENJOY! COME BACK TOMORROW FOR THE BEST OF THE 80'S!

The OSCAR AWARD WINNING scripts are here!

2008
MILK

Slumdog Millionaire

2007
JUNO

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN

2006
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE

THE DEPARTED

2005
CRASH

BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN

2004
ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND

SIDEWAYS

2003
LOST IN TRANSLATION

LORD OF THE RINGS: RETURN OF THE KING

2002
TALK TO HER

THE PIANIST

2001
GUSFORD PARK

A BEAUTIFUL MIND

2000
ALMOST FAMOUS

TRAFFIC


Sorry about the ones without links. Enjoy the rest! Come back tomorrow for more! We'll be doing the 90's!

L.A. Confidential Screenplay

Here is the Academy Award winning script for best adapted screenplay, L.A. Confidential.

Enjoy

L.A. Confidential
LINK PDF

TEXT

Law Abiding Citizen Script!

Last week I reviewed the movie Law Abiding Citizen. Anyone who read the post knows that I loved the screenplay ten times better than the movie. I got swamped though and forgot to post the script. Here is the script for Law Abiding Citizen. Enjoy

Law Abiding Citizen
LINK

SCRIPT SUGGESTIONS!

If you have a certain script that you are dying to read, or one that you think would be interesting, leave me a comment or shoot me an email. ddigerol@clunet.edu

This is your chance to read whatever you want!

Academy Awards 2010 Screenplays!

Inglorious Basterds
LINK

A Serious Man
LINK

The Hurt Locker
LINK



Up in The Air
LINK

Precious
LINK

An Education
LINK


The Messenger
LINK-Don't have it yet

UP
LINK-Dont have it yet

Loop
LINK-Don't have it yet

District 9
LINK-Don't have it yet

*IF ANYONE HAS THE SCREENPLAY FOR UP, LOOP, DISTRICT 9, OR THE MESSENGER PLEASE PASS THEM ALONG!*

SHUTTER ISLAND SCREENPLAY!!!!! GET IT NOW!

That's right people, I have the script for the much anticipated movie Shutter Island! Get it now!

Shutter Island
LINK

MOVIE REVIEW: Law Abiding Citizen

(SPOILERS)

Like usual before I saw the movie, I read the script. Now let me say that when I read this script, I was blown away. It was like reading the Matrix for the first time (just not as symbolic). I remember turning the page, waiting to see what Gerard Butler's character Clive, would do next....The movie was not that way for me.

Now a lot of the time when I talk with people they say, "you ruined it for yourself, you read the thing so you know what was going to happen!". And I always simply respond by telling them that by the time the script hits the screen, the version that I read is long gone.

Now for this script in particular they cut out several scenes that I thought were the coolest. I won't say which ones (cough cough, Jamie Fox's boss being killed, cough cough) and that kind of ruined the movie for me. When I read the script it was one of those 1 in 20 where you hooked from beginning to end and you just cant put it down. For me, the movie started to become a bore close to the middle of the second act.

I will admit that when the Judge is killed it shook me. I completely forgot about that and the second it happened I literally jumped (as did most of you).

Some of the things that I loved from script to screen were the gadgets Clive used. It was brilliant the way Kurt Wimmer (writer) researched these things and was able to incorporate them into the film. That is why I go to see movies, to learn about things I never knew existed. Like that killing neck tie they mention, that's just brilliant! Although in the script they have Jamie Fox's character come home and start cutting all his ties which was hilarious, but they cut that.

I have to give credit t the special and visual effects teams on that last scene when Clive is blown up, that was one of the coolest shots as the flames just engulf him. That's up there along with the Matrix bullet dodge scene for me.

Overall the movie was good and I can see why so many people liked it. For me it got hard to believe this guy had that much hate over ten years to do all this. But then you can argue that his family is killed and that would stick with anyone. In the end I felt that if can feel for Gerard Butler and not make him out to be the bad guy, then you're hooked.

For me Gerard Butler went from the good helpless father to the bad ruthless killer, making me lose empathy for him. But that's just me. Overall it was good.

*** 3 out of 5.

Who likes The Terminator series? Scripts for all 4!

I hope you like the Terminator series as much as me. Below are the links to all four! Enjoy and leave me a comment if you like them!

The Terminator
PDF

TEXT

Terminator 2
PDF

TEXT

Terminator 3: Rise of The Machines
PDF

Terminator Salvation
PDF


ENJOY!

True Romance Script!

For those who don't have it, links for the True Romance script are below.

PDF
True Romance

TEXT
True Romance

Enjoy.

SCRIPT REVIEW: True Romance

(SPOILERS)

First off I can't wait to see this movie. From everyone I've talked to who have seen it, say it is a must see. So I decided to read the script to see what all the hype was about.

OMG! This script was so cool! I loved it for several reasons, but mainly because of the fact that they we both truly in love so much! In the end neither could live without each other.

Now as for action, there wasn't as much as I would have liked to read. I loved the ending how it was just an overall blood bath, and how all the characters were put into the one situation with each other. If you haven't guessed yet, I love movies that intertwine several story lines and or characters.

As for the Quentin Tarantino writing style, it wasn't too bad for me in this one. Now I know that in past reads I've had of his, I began to get bored because of bulks of dialogue, or not enough action, but I truly felt like this one held my interest great.

As for character development, I felt like after it was established that Clarence and Alabama were in love with each other, he truly stressed this point to the extreme. By the end of the script we knew that neither one was about to leave the other. If they had to, they'd die for one another.

I remember seeing an interview with Tarantino just last week where he discussed this script. You can check out the interview on Go Into The Story. But he was talking about how he was a late bloomer for dating and didn't have a girlfriend till he was 25. He wrote this script or at least the concept while he was still working as a video store clerk.

He said he wrote it because at the time he would have loved to have a girlfriend like Alabama. Someone who loved you for everything you were and had all the same interests you had. And that's why this script works so well! Writers are always being told, write something that means something to you, that you feel for. I believe this script is a perfect example of that.

Clarence from the very beginning is willing to risk his life for this woman who he just met and had sex with. Alabama is ready to risk her life for Clarence when Virgil comes to the hotel to get back the cocaine. Throughout the entire script, one thing laid the foundation for everything else that tok place, and that was the love those two had for one another.

I think deep down this is something that all human beings want, whether they'd like to admit it or not. We all want someone who will be there for us no matter what, risk all they have, and in the end love us for who we are. This is why this script and movie are so big. They resonates with each and every one of us and that's what it takes to write a successful script.

SCRIPT RATING:
**** 4 out of 5.

Box Office Total for the weekend of February 12, 2010.

1. Valentine's Day - $66.9 Million

2. Percy Jackson - $38.8 Million

3. The Wolfman - $36.5 Million

4. Avatar - $30 Million

5. Dear John - $18.8 Million

6. Tooth Fairy - $7.7 Million

7. From Paris with Love - $6.8 Million

8. Edge of Darkness - $5.7 Million

9. Crazy Heart - $5 Million

10. When in Rome - $4.21 Million

Movie Review: Valentine's Day

So today I went to see Valentine's Day. Even though I heard some of the critics didn't appreciate the movie, I overall thought it was good.

I felt like the writers, Katherine Fugate, Abby Kohn, Marc Silverstein, did a very good job of connecting all the characters to each other throughout the story. Towards the middle of act two, the story became pretty predictable.

Usually when a story contains this many characters, there are bound to be holes. From what I saw, they covered everything from beginning to end.

Earlier this week a review on Taylor Swift's performance came out. From what I remember they criticized her acting. I personally thought it was good for the ditsy role she was given. As for the rest of the cast, they had good performances as well.

So down to the main interest for me: the comedy. This is listed as a romantic comedy. While it has its moments, I could not call this a comedy. For me I find almost anything funny, but this just didn't cut it.

Overall I loved how the writers pieced together all the characters into one story, and how each was connected. This was a good movie to go and see as a date movie or Valentine's Day movie, but other than that, wait for it on DVD.

***3 out of 5

This Week's News

This past week has featured some big moves in the film industry. Here is a list of some of them:

1. The spec script, Safe House, by David Guggenheim, has sold to Universal. The script is said to be of a junior CIA agent who must find a way to transport a dangerous prisoner to a safe house, outmaneuvering various forces that want them both dead.

2. The movie, I'm with Cancer, starring Seth Rogen has been picked up for U.S. distribution by Summit Entertainment.

3. It's been confirmed, Tom Cruise will return for a Mission Impossible 4. He is set to star and produce with J.J. Abrams.

4. Fox has begun planning a feature adaptation of their show, 24. They are waiting on this week's ratings to make their decision.

5. Shauna Cross best known for Whip It! is set to adapt Heist Society for Warner Brothers.

6. The unofficial sequel to this weekened's new release, Valentine's Day, is already in the works. Gary Marshall is set to return to the director's chair. As of now it is titled, New Year's Eve.

And in the lighter side of the film industry, Kevin Smith tweeted that he was told by Southwest Officials that he was too big to fly, and was marked a "safety risk", Twitter has been exploding with response to these allegations.

NEW SCREENPLAYS!

Here are links for the following screenplays:

When in Rome

Percy Jackson

Valentine's Day

Enjoy!

SCRIPT REVIEW: Ordinary People

Ordinary People Script Review

(SPOILERS)

Ordinary People is the Academy Award winning screenplay by Alvin Sargent that deals with an upper class family, and the effects post traumatic stress has on them.

This screenplay is hailed as one of the best all time, and for could reason. From the first ten pages we know exactly what the entire movie will be about. Conrad's mother, Beth, is a woman who wants everything a certain way, but is very particular about the way they are done. Conrad's father, Calvin, is there to try and ease the tension in the family. He throughout the script he tries to play both sides of the family. In one scene he's consoling Conrad, in another he's doing the same for Beth. From first impressions he looks as though he has no spine, always happy, trying to make everything better.

As the script starts to unfold, we learn that something is wrong with Conrad. We don't know what, but by his actions and the way he holds himself, we can be sure something isn't right. We get the first glimpse of what this may be about around 20 or 30 pages in when in the middle of the night, he calls out his brothers name, "Buck."

Conrad reunites with a friend he made while in the mental hospital. We can tell this is his last string of sanity. They talk for a while and we learn she tried to kill herself as well.

The farther into the script we get, the more we can tell that Beth has not been connecting with Conrad. He often scares her and every time he tries to get close she backs away or makes an excuse why she has to leave. We still don't understand why though, and we feel as though she is just full of hatred towards Conrad.

Conrad continues to progress with his therapist, but soon everything spirals out of control. Before we know it, Conrad has quit the swim team, gotten into a fight, and lied to his parents. His life is spinning out of control and although he doesn't exactly see it yet, he knows something is wrong.

The one hope in Conrad's life rests on a new friend he makes in Jeannine. Although nervous, he asks her out. When she says yes, his whole life seems to take off for him. Soon he is happy and living life like before the "accident" that we have yet to find out about.

But this doesn't last long. Soon Conrad finds out his friend from the hospital killed he self and his life starts to crumble all over again. This is when we find out exactly what happened to Conrad's brother, Buck. I'll leave it to you to read and find out.

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

Conrad

Conrad progresses through the story the most, and he is our protagonist. At the beginning he portrays a kid who suffers from post traumatic stress syndrome and constantly tries to hide himself from the real world. Because of the isolation caused from the lack of attention that Beth gives him, Conrad has no self esteem or the motherly support he yearns for. By the end of the screenplay Conrad has changed to the point where he no longer blames his mother for the isolation, but embraces it. In a final attempt to reach out, he hugs his mother, getting no reaction in return.

Beth

Beth's character is much more complex than what we see at first glance. She holds in a hatred for Conrad and shows no emotion towards him. She often tries to avoid him, and when they do come into conflict she makes a point to quickly leave. She is in denial when it comes to the fact that she shows no love for Conrad. In fact, she is the one who suffers from depression. Although she masks this with tennis, parties, and friends, deep down we see that she is still suffering from the death of Buck.

Calvin

Calvin is the glue that holds the family together. He tries to avoid confrontations and tries to bring the family closer, failing at every attempt. Even when he agrees to go on another vacation towards the end, we see that he still wants Conrad to be involved. But like throughout most of the movie, is immediately shot down by Beth. By the end of the movie, the only thing he resolved between Beth and Conrad, is the destruction of the family, when Beth leaves Calvin and Conrad.

SCRIPT RATING

**** 4 out of 5.

Ordinary People Screenplay

Here is the screenplay for the perfectly written and academy award winning script Ordinary People. A review will follow shortly. Enjoy.

LINK:

Ordinary People

Movie and Script Reviews.

I had originally made this blog to talk with writers and discuss movies and scripts. I feel though instead of discussing scripts I've just been posting them (with the exception of American Beauty). So I'm going to start from the beginning and start with the first script I posted, Edge of Darkness.

EDGE OF DARKNESS SCRIPT.

The link above should take you to the script. Now to get into my review.

Edge of Darkness Review:

I read this script probably two weeks ago or so right before the movie came out. I've got to say, I was pretty excited to read it. The second I got it and I began to blaze through it.

The opening was ok for me. Nothing too special. I liked how they set up the character for 15 pages or so because it helps to give us the reader a sense of understand so we can see how far he progresses through is journey.

I did feel however that they could have hooked us a little better by page 5. That's what us writers are always told, if you don't have them by page 5 or so, you've got problems. But I kept with it because judging by the previews and William Monahan being one of the writers, I knew it had to be badass.

So we're at the part when his daughter is killed and I keep reading, just waiting for him to snap and go crazy. That unfortanety never came. Instead of running out and killing everybody who was involved with the case, he takes the slow steady approach to try and gather the pieces.

So now that I realize what this script is becoming, I keep on reading to see when Craven turns into the all out killer that we want.

He spends the next sixty pages or so of gather evidence, trying to connect the dots, and persuade people to help him. Now by this point I was thinking to myself, God who cares! They killed your daughter, go kill them! But sadly he doesn't. He drags out the research and looking for clues for the next fifteen pages or so.

So right as I'm about to say screw it, the action comes. Craven kicks ass against all odds.

So the idea for the script was great, the execution however I did not like. I personally would have gone with Craven becoming a badass right from when his daughter is killed, but then again I'm not an Academy Award Winning screenwriter.

So for me I'm giving it a three, only because it took way too long for any action, in my opinion. Now before people crucify me for saying this let me state that I have not seen the movie yet. From what I've heard, they did a lot of reshoots to try and turn the pick into more of an action movie. But judging by the script, it's far from that.

*** 3 out of 5

Scripts for the MATRIX TRILOGY!

Here are the scripts for the Matrix trilogy. Personally after the first one they went down hill but I'll let you be the judge of that.

The Matrix

The Matrix Reloaded

The Matrix Revolutions

NEW LINK FOR THE ORIGINAL MATRIX:

MATRIX

Buried Screenplay

Here is the screenplay for the Sundance Film, Buried. I loved this script and it showed that scripts that are very minimal in scenes and settings should be short and good, and that's exactly what writer Chris Sparling accomplished with this screenplay. Enjoy.

BURIED

Avatar dethroned!

As of today, sunday night, Avatar's reign at number 1 domestically was crushed. Newcomer Dear John ruled through Super Bowl Sunday. According to The Wrap, Dear John racked up approximately 32.4 million domestically. Although this slowed Avatar's pace, it still ruled number 1 at the foreign box office, taking in an estimated 76 million dollars. Avatar's pace should be significantly slowed by next week's openers, Valentine's Day and The Wolfman. Avatar is expected to drop to third place next week. Projected top five, (1)Valentine's Day, (2)The Wolfman, (3) Dear John, (4) Avatar, (5) Percy Jackson and the Olympian's.

Go deeper into your characters.

Go into the story blog had a good question the other day. They asked how to make your protagonist flawed. Check out the article, it's very informative and should help you aspiring writers.

GO INTO THE STORY

Industry News

Flashforward co-creator David S. Goyer is stepping down from his position of showrunner. He has decided to pursue more writing and directing along the feature side of the industry. I wish the best of luck to him.

Henry Winkler most known for his Fonzie days will be the newest edition the the cast of Royal Pains. He will be playing a swindling widowed father.

Sony has thrown its hat into the ring for the rights to the Terminator franchise. Lion's Gate was previously bidding for the rights. The total numbers are due Friday.

Sequels have begun to get underway for Enchanted, Fast and the Furious, and Angels and Demons.

The Weinstein Co. have acquired the rights to "The Tillman Story" based off the famous football player who left his rich lifestyle behind to go and fight for his country.

Chris Sparling, scribe of Buried, sold another spec titled ATM. This will be about three friends who go to the ATM and end up in a fight for their lives.

Movie Review: Se7en.

SCRIPT LINK: Se7en-PDF, Se7en-TEXT

Not only is this one of my favorite movies of all time, it is also one of the greatest. Se7en is the the story of two cops, one getting ready to retire, and one a hotshot transfer.

As the story begins to unravel we truly begin to see the colors of ours characters. Somerset played Morgan Freeman wants nothing more than to get out of the job. He wants to retire and go somewhere where there is no harsh crimes. Mills wants nothing more than to prove that he knows what he's doing.

From the beginning we can see the horror that went on in screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker's head. Mills and Somerset are called in on a murder. Mills thinks the bastard just ate himself to death, Somerset thinks differently.

This is our story until Somerset agrees to stay on just until the case is completed. The two join forces and work to solve the murders of John Doe.

The directing by David Fincher was nothing short of amazing. By him adding the the darkness and gloominess to the movie, it gave a sense of evil. I have to say this is one of those movies that have you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end.

As a writer, our jobs our to lead the audience into thinking one thing and then leading them into a completely different direction. That's exactly what Walker did with this phenomenal screenplay.

In my opinion the ending of the screenplay was better than the ending of the movie, but I'll leave that up to you to decide. If you have time check out the script. It's a great read and a perfect example of how to keep the audience guessing.

A good writer reads scripts, watches movies, and as the title would suggests, writes.

Dear John Screenplay.

Click the link for the screenplay to Relativity Media's new movie, Dear John.

AVATAR COULD LOSE ITS NUMBER 1 SPOT THIS WEEKEND!

As of Friday, Avatar registered an estimated 6.5 million dollars. Its biggest competitor, Dear John, looks to claim the number 1 title this weekend though. It's estimated to reach 35 million, which is higher than what was expected by Relativity Media. It took in approximately 13.6 million as of Friday. Keep a lookout through Monday morning, this could be the end of Avatar's reign at number 1.

INTERVIEW WITH THE WRITER OF BURIED!!!

Check out this interview with the scribe from Buried over in scriptshadow's blog.

Jackie Brown.

So I just finished watching Jackie Brown for the first time. Let me start off by saying I have great respect for Tarantino because he knows how to create characters. He can truly bring them to life. Now this was based off a book I believe so he didn't have to really mold them as much as he did for say Pulp Fiction, but you could still see his style throughout the entire movie.

My thoughts, eh. It was good, I liked. But like with most of his movies it begins to drag in act 2. I got interested in act 3 when everything was playing out but like I said in act 2 it dragged for me.

In my opinion Quentin Tarantino does one thing extremely well, he writes scenes. Unlike us other screenwriters, he doesn't follow the conventional way of writing a scene. Most scenes as we're told in school or classes, should go no longer than 2 pages unless it is filled with emotion.

The opening of Reservoir Dogs was roughly seven pages. Now some will argue that this was to introduce all the characters for the story, but the way I see it, it was just another example of how he writes his scenes. If you watch the rest of Reservoir Dogs and you hadn't had the intro, you'd still begin to understand where each character was coming from, because we see their action, we hear their dialogue. I don't know what others think, but in my opinion Tarantino knows how to write a scene that is nothing more than brilliant, while breaking all the rules along the way. What do you think?

My Favorite Films

A list of my favorite movies in no particular order:

Taken

American Beauty

Pulp Fiction

Crash

Superbad

I Love You, Man

The Hurt Locker

The Godfather

Lethal Weapon

The Matrix

Se7en

Reservoir Dogs

District 9

Mystic River

Adaptation.

I have the scripts for all of these if any one is interested. Just shoot me a comment or message. My email is as always ddigerol@clunet.edu.

American Beauty

Ok so last night I saw American beauty for the first time. Let me start off by saying wow. Allan Ball, the screenwriter did such a great job in writing that screenplay. He was able to capture the lives of these people so perfectly I couldnt help but smile when it was all over.

As usual Kevin Spacey was superb. His character arc was easy to follow and it all comes full circle when he realizes what he’s been striving for this whole time.

(SPOILER)

When he meets his doom its perfect because we realize that he is for the first time, in a long time, actually happy. The ending in its self threw me off for a second. It was excellent though.

We know from the first couple of lies in the movie that Spacey is going to die. SO through the whole movie we’re sitting there wondering, when is this going to happen?

Towards the end of ACT TWO when we realize the day that he dies has arrived, you get ready for it to happen. You dont know when, all you know is its going to. I was on the edge of my seat.

Overall this was the exact movie that us young filmmakers strive for. This was an almost perfect movie and I would have to give it two thumbs up.

If you want to be good at screenwriting read the script. See how the subtext is near perfect and the writing just flows. If you are interested in the script, shoot me an email.

Hello Filmmakers

Hello. My name is Dylan. I am an aspiring filmmaker at callutheran and figured why not make a blog that talks about films, scripts, and everything else going on in the industry. This is my first one so sorry if its a little rusty. If interested shoot me a comment. I will begin posting things that I collect from the web tomorrow. Hope someone out there is reading this, otherwise, I’m talking to a computer all day.

I figured to start it of I’d post the script for the new movie EDGE OF DARKNESS featuring Mel Gibson. If any executive or writer is reading this and would like the link taken down, shoot me an email at ddigerol@clunet.edu and I will do so.