- The Invitation
I finished this on 2018-12-31, so technically it should not be on this list of 2019 scripts, but I plan to reread it again. Written by Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi and the film was released 2015. It is creepy and scary. For several nights in a row, I fell asleep (or more precisely, tried to) meditating on it's very eerie tone. The story is about a religious cult which preys on those who have lost a loved one. I'll see the film eventually, but I've been too scared to finish it so far. The script is, however, highly recommended.
- The Shining
I finished this on 2019-01-04. The script is by Stanley Kubrick and Diane Johnson, based on the Stephen King novel. The script I read was a production script, with lots of camera directions, but better than nothing. It moves well but it was Jack Nicholson's great performance that made the film scary. Still, the script is highly recommended.
- Mr and Mrs Smith
I finished this on 2019-01-12, but I've read it at least twice before. Excellent script by Simon Kinberg. The 2005 movie is also excellent (but unrelated to the equally good but completely different 1941 Hitchcock movie of the same name). Highly recommended.
- American Ultra
I finished this on 2019-01-18, but I've read it before. Excellent "Stoner Borne" script by Max Landis. He has a very engaging but non-standard, writing style, with liberal use of bold font, engaging the reader directly (breaking the 4th wall type thing), and occasional very large font sizes (eg, CRASH). Highly recommended.
- Villians
I finished this on 2019-01-22. (This is not a produced movie, as far as I can tell, although the script was a "blue copy", so I assume it was purchased and maybe be in "development hell.") This is an adaption by Max Landis of a comic book (of the same name) by Adam Cogan. According to imdb.com it is "in development", so there is no produced film to link to (not that I know of, anyway). The idea is that there are scientists with super-powers called "gimmicks", some bad and some good. The story follows Abigail Barnes, whose father was a gimmick. It is his death that is the inciting incident for Abby to start her adventure. Written (2013-ish?) with Max Landis' trademarked energy and enthusiasm. Recommended.
- Mr Right
I finished this on 2019-01-24. Excellent crime/rom-com script by Max Landis. Written with Max Landis' unique style of comic action sequences and lots of bold face. Highly recommended.
- Vice
I finished this on 2019-01-27. Excellent dramedy/biopic written by Adam McKay. He uses VT for "video tape" (eg, archival footage) and SOT for "sound on tape", which usually means O.C. (off camera) but might also mean archival audio. Highly recommended.
- Get Out
I finished reading this on 2019-02-03, but I think I read in 2 or 3 times before. Horror movie written by Jordan Peele (who also directed the movie). Very highly recommended.
- Crazy Rich Asians
I finished reading this on 2019-02-09, but haven't yet seen the movie. Very well-written, enjoyable script by Peter Chiarelli and Adele Lim. Highly recommended.
- Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
I finished reading this on 2019-02-14. Written (and the film directed) by Shane Black, this is one of my favorite scripts and favorite films. The script is well-written, with Black's chatty, clever style. Very highly recommended.
- The Long Kiss Goodnight
I finished reading this on 2019-02-23. Written by Shane Black, this is heavy on action, with the theme of a mother's love for her daughter. Very entertaining and written in Black's characteristic clever style. The movie changed or deleted some of the stunts. The script I read ("REVISED DRAFT February 24, 1995") had quite a few typos starting around page 116. Very highly recommended.
- Serenity
I finished reading this on 2019-03-04, though I've read it before. Written by Joss Whedon (who also directed the film), this is another of my favorite scripts and films and writer/directors. Very highly recommended.
- Maverick
I finished reading this on 2019-03-13. It's a William Goldman script, made into a 1994 film starring Mel Gibson. The script I read was a production script and was rather long. Maybe 160 pages or so. One part in the script that I liked was the story of how Maverick escapes the noose he's hanging from in the desert. In the movie, the bad guys leave him to die then as soon as they are out of sight the branch breaks and he falls to the ground. In the script there is a long couple of scenes where he's saved by a rattle snake-loving old lady and Maverick charms her with a card trick which she thinks is magic. There is an allusion to the scene at the end of the film when Maverick tells his father Coop that he won the final poker game by magic, but it seems like an odd line without these scenes with the old lady. Still, very well written and very highly recommended.
- Blood Simple
I finished reading this on 2019-03-25. This is the script for the Coen Brothers' first movie, a neonoirish crime drama, where Frances McDormand (Joel Coen's wife in her feature debut) stars as the femme fatale. The script is easy to read but does not use standard screenplay formatting. Very highly recommended.
- Chinatown
I finished reading this on 2019-03-31. This is Robert Towne's Oscar-winning script for the 1974 Roman Polanski noir-ish mystery movie starring Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway. It has a few typos but is written and formatted very smoothly. Very highly recommended.
- Some Like It Hot
I finished reading this on 2019-04-07. This is Billy Wilder's 1959 film, co-written with I. A. L. Diamond and based on the French film Fanfare of Love. The film stars Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, and Jack Lemmon. It's comedy is mostly based on situational humor and word puns. The version I read had only one typo (that I saw), and is written very smoothly, with standard formatting. Very highly recommended.
- Spy
I finished reading this on 2019-04-13. This is written (and directed) by Paul Feig. Funny, well-written. Highly recommended.
- Inherent Vice
I finished reading this on 2019-04-13. This is written (and directed) by Paul Thomas Anderson, based on the novel by Thomas Pynchon. A fun bizarre detective film. Very highly recommended.
- Blood Work
I finished reading this on 2019-04-26. This is a crime/mystery film written by Brian Helgeland based on a 1998 novel by Michael Connelly. Directed by and starring Clint Eastwood, this is a fast-paced script that moves the reader through the story smoothly. Very well-written and very highly recommended.
- The Devil Wears Prada
I finished reading this on 2019-05-01. This is a 2006 comedy-drama written by Aline Brosh McKenna based on (revisions of an earlier draft from) a book of the same name by Lauren Weisberger. Very well-written and very highly recommended.
- Bridesmaids
I finished reading this on 2019-05-08. This is a 2011 comedy written by Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig. What I loved about this script, besides it's so funny, is how the "large room" scenes are written. This happens to me frequently: there's a big room and different people are talking in different locations. How to you indicate in the script, you are going from one conversation to another? They do this really well. Very well-written and very highly recommended.
- Double Indemnity
I finished reading this on 2019-05-19. This is a 1944 adapted drama/crime/film noir written by Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler, based on a novella by James Cain. Very well-written, though more camera shot descriptions than one sees these days, I found only one "serious" typo (a repeated phrase). Very highly recommended.
- Leave No Trace
I finished reading this on 2019-05-30. This is a 2018 drama co-written and directed by Debra Granik. This is about an anti-social former soldier Will with PTS syndrome and his teenage daughter Tom. Homeless, they live in the woods. Soon they are arrested and relocated to a horse farm. After a short time, they run away and find another place in the woods. A few days later, Will is hurt and they are taken in by a local woman Dale. When Will recovers, he leaves to live in the wilderness but Tom decides to stay with Dale. A simple story, well-told and highly recommended.
- Chernobyl (miniseries pilot)
I finished reading this on 2019-06-21. A very well-written series by Craig Mazin. Very well-written and very highly recommended.
- Misery
I finished reading this on 2019-06-24. This is a horror film written by William Goldman, based on a book by Stephen King. Very well-written and very highly recommended.
- His Girl Friday
I finished reading this (for the 2nd or 3rd time) on 2019-07-01. This is a screwball comedy (the 1940 film directed by Howard Hawks, starring Rosalind Russell and Cary Grant), written by Charles Lederer, based on a play by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur. (I blogged about this and also converted the entire thing into fountain format.) While written in an older style (e.g., camera directions abound), it is funny and well-written and very highly recommended.
- The Hospital
I finished reading this on 2019-07-06, but to be honest I transcribed it to fountain and didn't read it as carefully as I should have. The film is a dark comedy and a satire of the hospital industry. It is extremely well-written and won the Oscar, the Golden Globe, the WGA, and the BAFTA for Best Screenplay for Paddy Chayefsky's script. Obviously, very highly recommended (but that means in particular I should re-read it more carefully next time:-).
- Marty
I finished reading this on 2019-07-21. This is a romance/drama written by Paddy Chayevsky. The 1955 feature was based on the 1953 TV drama of the same name. The script won an Oscar for Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay. Very well-written and very highly recommended.
- The Verdict
I finished reading this on 2019-08-14. This is a courtroom drama, directed by Sidney Lumet and written by David Mamet adapted from the novel of the same name. Very well-written. Nominated for an 1982 Academy award for Best Adapted Screenplay (David Mamet). Highly recommended.
- Green Lantern
I finished reading this on 2019-08-21. The June 2008 script I read was not the one filmed. It was written by Greg Berlanti, Michael Green, and Marc Guggenheim. A fun read. Recommended.
- Serial Mom
I finished reading this on 2019-09-02. A terrific script, with perfect tone and structure, written by John Waters. The film was also directed by Waters. Highly recommended.
- The Americanization of Emily
I finished reading this on 2019-09-06. A terrific script, by Paddy Chayevsky, on the craziness of war. Takes place almost entirely in London during WWII. The script was from a collection of his scripts into a book and the formatting was like that of a stage play, which was somewhat annoying. Still, highly recommended.
- Jack Reacher: One Shot
I finished reading this on 2019-09-30. A good script, by the director Christopher McQuarrie, based on Lee Child's 2005 novel One Shot. I also read the novel just before the script. There are several differences. The Ann Yanni character is essentially eliminated, as is James Barr's sister. Helen, the lawyer, is kidnapped instead of Barr's sister. We know the killer is not Barr almost immediately, whereas in the novel this is revealed towards the end. There are also some extra action scenes instead of Jack Reacher going to jail for a day. Format-wise, often off-screen characters are called "VOICE"or "MAN" and then revealed in the next scene to be a known (or new) character. I don't think this is standard, but I'm not the expert McQuarrie is, for sure. Well-written, highly recommended.
- Grosse Pointe Blank
I finished reading this on 2019-10-06. A terrific script, by Tom Jankiewicz with revisions by D. V. DeVincentis, Steve Pink, John Cusack. I see elements of Mr and Mrs Smith in here. (I think the movie diverged from the script at points.) Highly recommended.
- Drag me to hell
I finished reading this on 2019-11-10. I also "retyped" this into fountain, as the copy I found had a lot of minor errors. A terrific script, written by (director( Sam Raimi and his brother Ivan Raimi. A fun mixture of comedy and horror. Well-written and highly recommended.
- Us
I finished reading this on 2019-11-29. This is a horror script by Jordan Peele (who also directed the movie). Fewer comedic elements than Get Out, but has more scarier parts (I thought). Well-written and highly recommended.
- Annebelle
I finished reading this on 2019-12-10. I think this is a very-written horror script by Gary Dauberman, but with a somewhat goofy plot. Highly recommended.
- Take Shelter
I finished reading this on 2019-12-30. I think this script by Jeff Nichols is one of the best thriller/corror/psychological drama scripts written. The movie was directed by Nichols and starred Michael Shannon. Very hight recommended.
