This is very late, but ...

Maurice may truly love Barney Lichtenstein's course in screenplay analysis, which is offered through UCLA extension's writers program.

Barney is a super teacher and a longtime script analyst who sometimes trains readers for studios. Students break down and analyze a script a week -- and, boy, is it eye opening!

Scott, thanks for answering my question. The advice was dead on especially about the Scene-by-Scene, Scene Sequences & the Subplot Breakdown. And I agree, reading a script through in one seating is beneficial as well. Thanks.

Maurice Vaughan

Thanks Judy. I will check into that.

Some great ways of looking at a screenplay there!

Wonderful info here, agreed, thanks!

i really pay very close attention to character introductions. a good dramatist can tell you everything you need to know about a person in one moment, with one small visual detail.

I pay attention to the character & scene description. Observe the choices made and ask myself what if character B made another choice.

One thing I believe is very important is to read film criticism.

Rotten Tomatoes is a temple for me. After watching every movie or reading a script I go and read the critics words. They let you see the movie from a whole new perspective.

I tend to take a more intuitive approach when I read scripts. I like to think that well-drawn, interesting characters can make just about any scene interesting. In other words, you can put Gandhi in an office or a minivan and it'll probably be interesting.

So I look at how character comes to life in dialogue and action. That tends to drive my interest more than narrative. And plot points are only compelling to me if I feel vested in the dilemma it puts characters in.

A great example from a script I read recently: Richard Shepard's The Matador. His professional assassin character is such a refreshing take on the archtype (and has some really great lines of dialogue), that it strengthened what could have been a thin plot.

I agree with Scott about subplots, probably the hardest for me to write well. Because these dig a little deeper in ways that's not as expected, and yet (in good ones) stay true to the main story and to the characters. Few things make a script grind to a halt for me than a dull subplot (or two, or three...)