I have a copy of both Drive and Fargo on my computer. Though, I'm not sure where I found them online... I can upload them to sendspace or something if needed.

Also, I would love to do this week's reading on Drive. That movie is also on Netflix instant streaming.

http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Drive.html

I'd personally prefer NCFOM. I liked Drive, but found it to be more or less an exercise in style over substance. People might say the same re: NCFOM, but I've come to greatly appreciate the film's ending, finding it to fit perfectly. There's just more there for making interesting discussions, whether it's the ending, who's the main character, does Chigurh represent something thematically, or just breaking down a scene such as his "friend-o" flip-a-coin scene. Then again, perhaps I'd gain a new appreciation for Drive after discussing it further.

I'm in for NO COUNTRY.

Fargo or no country.

I found a copy of Drive online: http://www.imsdb.com/Movie%20Scripts/Drive%20Script.html Not saying I vote for this, but it is an option.

All are great suggestions, IMHO. I vote for NCFOM though. There is a script at http://www.youknow-forkids.com/No_Country_For_Old_Men_2.pdf

Jordan, thanks. I've got all three scripts myself, I just prefer for some other site to host them for legal reasons.

I vote for Drive. Have wanted to see it for awhile and am very interested in reading the script.

Not Drive or No Country, as the first step toward writing something along those lines is 'secure the rights to the book.' Is it true that it's much, much more helpful for an aspiring screenwriter to read scripts than to watch movies?

Jay, I'm not sure there's a right or wrong answer to your question. Every writer is different. Perhaps Writer A has watched 10,000 movies but only read a handful of scripts. Well, probably a good idea for him/her to put more emphasis on scripts. Writer B may have the equation flipped [although I've yet to meet anybody who has read more scripts than watched movies]. I guess my point would be we should do both. And I know for a fact that most writers read far too few screenplays. Indeed many just give it lip service. That is wrong in so many ways I can't even begin to explain. We used to do this thing on GITS: 14 Days of Screenplays. A script a day for two weeks. I am a huge proponent of that because the sum of immersing oneself in that many scripts in that compressed amount of time is enormous, it's like 1+1=3. Or in this case 1x14=??? There is a Gestalt type of thing that goes on where you just start to 'get' intangible aspects of screenwriting like pace and flow and the look of a page. Plus the broad exposure to multiple styles can help inform and stretch your own sense of writing style. I feel a sermon coming on about this subject, so thanks for poking me. We all need to be reminded to read scripts. It's THAT important [IMHO].

I vote for Drive if someone can find the link mainly because I've never seen the film. For future script analysis, I have a couple of suggestions: Little Miss Sunshine by Michael Arndt http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/LITTLE_MISS_SUNSHINE.pdf The Savages by Tamara Jenkins (not to be confused with a different movie called Savages coming out in a few weeks) http://cinemascopian.com/pics/2008oscars/savages.pdf BTW, No Film School directed me to this site due to the Quest. I've been checking back everyday. There's so much content here that it's like trying to take a drink from a fire hose at full blast but I'm loving it. Thanks for all you do.

I would love to read all three of these. Fargo would be my top choice. I am vowing to participate in the Script Reading & Analysis more regularly, even if it's just the reading part! I got spoiled for awhile because one of my best friends worked for a product placement company and all of the scripts she was supposed to shred somehow ended up on my desk! Hard copies as opposed to staring at a computer screen was awesome. I would like to request an Action Comedy for the series. You have been predicting a comeback...would love to read one of your favorites in the genre.

That's a great idea, Summer. We should read an action comedy script, maybe even go back to the granddaddy of them all "48 Hrs." But there are so many. That's something we can discuss down the road, but good suggestion!

Lynelle, good suggestions, both. I'm a huge fan of LMS and Tamara Jenkins is a talent. "fire hose at full blast." Yep, that's pretty much GITS! It takes a while to get used to, but that was part of the initial vision of the site, a place a writer could visit a couple of times a day when they needed a break to catch up writerly stuff. Glad you're here!

Hey Scott. I'd love to see one of your comprehensive reviews of the screenplay "The Road" based on Cormac McCarthy's best seller. Script by Joe Penhall. I love the misery captured in the movie and even though it is so depressing I couldn't help but feel it broke so many rules. The characters had no names, simply The Man and The Boy. There was no background as to what caused this catastrophic post apocalyptic world, the filmmakers "trusting" that the audience would simply buy it. But for me I'd love to get someones insight into the end of the movie. The film does follow the book very closely and stays true to the end, but anyone that's read a Cormac McCarthy novel will know the guy loves to depress the hell out of his readers. I personally would have loved to have seen a better ending, one that delivered hope. But because it didn't I struggled to find the theme of this movie. Anyway, that's my suggestion. Norman

Fargo can be found online here: http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Fargo.html

Drive please. I'm more than happy to be a dissenting voice and cite NCFOM as the most overrated film of the last decade. Bardem was brilliant and it looked beautiful, but that's all I can give it.

Scott - would you say it's more helpful to read recent spec scripts than older, produced scripts? Being someone who reads more than enough on the computer in my daily life, I've started taking to getting published screenplays out in hard copy from my city library. Of course, these are mostly much older scripts, and few (if any) were spec scripts.

Darren, I would say both. Older scripts [let's say anything before 2000], if they are great, offer excellent stories to break down and analyze. They don't call them "classic movies" for nothing! But it's imperative to read current spec scripts for numerous reasons: * You get a cross-section of what current screenplay style is. * You get a cross-section of what current story sensibilities are. * You can track hot trends such as contained thrillers or found footage. * By staying on top of recent spec sales, you make sure not to work on something that just got set up. And just generally, this prepares you for when you break into the business: you will know what has been selling, who among screenwriters is hot, what each studio is buying and producing, and so forth. How to access current spec scripts? There are all sorts of private networks of people who pass around scripts. One paid service is Tracking Board. They have a forum for scripts, but you have to abide by their terms of service, using them only for your own educational benefit, no sharing.

Thanks, Scott! That's kind of what I figured -- both have benefits for different reasons.

This is my first time posting and I have to ask: Will I never be a screenwriter because I can't stand physical violence? I could hardly read the first pages of NCFOM. I love this site and think it's The Best. But yikes!

Sure, Debra. If you write rom-coms, other than verbal blasts back and forth, they can be violence free. Family movies. Some dramas. Thrillers often rely on implied violence or the threat of violence. Comedies. What's your favorite genre to write? If you were an action writer who didn't like to include violence in your scripts, that could be an issue. But there are lots of stories that don't require violence to work as movies.

Hi, Scott -- Someone may have found better sources above, but ... Fargo and Drive scripts are available at the Internet Movie Script Database - though not in pdf format. I don't know what version either is. A Tweet-fest sounds great. It will be my first. http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Fargo.html http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Drive.html

I guess I should have asked, "Will I never be able to analyze all the scripts?" I am learning SO much reading and analyzing these scripts even though I've been too chicken to comment. (I'm working with my Inner Chicken.) I like writing drama/comedies, things that are funny and sharp. You know that I, too have a spiritual bent, so I like films that make me ponder--and laugh. Like Summer I'd love to read/analyze an action comedy.