Shaula Evans at 2012-07-18 23:13:34:
Hey, lovely GITS readers. I've offered to Scott to try to track down free online sources for the scripts that make the final cut. The final list-of-10 will be limited to films we can find scripts for. I want to start out this thread with a personal request: when you suggest a script to analyze, if you happen to have a link for the screen and you could include it, it would be a huge help. (And if you can't find it, I'll still go looking, don't worry.) Thank you! Shaula
Joan Adamaitis Agerholm at 2012-07-19 01:31:19:
Dear Scott, Shaula, and fellow GITSonians, We were just reading a shooting draft the other day that was fabulous: "Major League" (by David S. Ward - 1989). A baseball comedy that really works. If you watch the film while reading the script, it's the popular ORIGINAL with Charlie Sheen and Wesley Snipes. (Forget the two sequels - - not of the same quality). Great narrative drive. Unique, memorable, funny characters. Different voices. The romantic interest works. Tension. Great Nemesis. Subplots. You can absolutely root for the Protagonist; in fact, we pulled for several of the characters. Has Montages that handle "Time' very well. It's FUNNY immediately - right from the opening (fake) song about Cleveland ("city of magic") while you're looking at smoke stacks. The script really flys right along. What's not to like? Try this link: "scripts for you": http://sfy.ru/?script=major_league_1989 Enjoy! John A + Joan A
Joan Adamaitis Agerholm at 2012-07-19 04:35:54:
Please don't think that I'm "a seamhead" or anything (okay, I confess - I am. But I blame my father, who took me to Fenway as a child on a regular basis - 1st base side, reserved grandstand, about halfway up) but there are a lot of really great baseball comedies out there. For example, "Bull Durham" (Ron Shelton - 1988) is an excellent read, and an excellent movie. In fact, it's about America's 2 favorite pasttimes . . . When you read about Protagonist "Crash" Davis, you can absolutely imagine the passion just dripping out of him. Excellent screenplay. "Crash" just jumps off of the pages. Please check out: www.awesomefilm.com Enjoy! John A
LaFamiliaFilm at 2012-07-19 09:58:10:
"Groundhog Day," brilliantly imaginative, wildly funny movie. "On the surface,it might look like a silly comedy. But a closer look, reveals a beauty easily not seen. With all of the formula-driven, painfully unfunny comedies available today, it's a pleasure to uncover something as unique as Groundhog Day." Original Scan PDF: http://screenplayexplorer.com/wp-content/scripts/Groundhog-Day.pdf @Shaula The ultimate screenwriting guide to finding scripts online: http://cinephilearchive.tumblr.com/post/27547430693/the-screenwriting-guide-to-finding-scripts-online
Traci Nell Peterson at 2012-07-19 10:07:46:
I'll toss in some Rom-Coms-- When Harry Met Sally http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/whenharrymesally.pdf His Girl Friday http://sfy.ru/?script=his_girl_friday_1940 As Good As it Gets http://sfy.ru/?script=as_good_as_it_gets The Princess Bride http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/princess_bride.html
LaFamiliaFilm at 2012-07-19 10:40:35:
"I usually look for screenplays in PDF format so that I can study and break them down by page or print them, so transcripts, HTML and text files greatly annoy me. In fact, I loathe scripts in those formats, but have read and studied them when no other versions were available." -Sheridan Cleland Guys, you should read a properly formatted screenplays (in PDF format).
Shaula Evans at 2012-07-19 20:18:46:
I wish more PDFs were available. I'll still go for a non-pdf version over no script at all. When I really want to study a script properly, if I can only find it in txt or html, I'll retype it into screenwriting software myself--which is a good exercise and a good way to internalize someone else's style. Do I have to be highly motivated? Yes. I'm just grateful that people are coming up with script links at all (thanks, folks!), and if non-PDF links come in, don't worry: I'll unleash some search-fu and see if I can't find a PDF version for the final list. If anyone else wants to try to find PDF version of the scrip suggestions here, Jump In! There's room for everyone!
Shaula Evans at 2012-07-19 20:20:19:
Again, Traci--I'm filing these right away so they don't get lost before Rom-Com Week (when I have a feeling we'll be leaning on you for a lot of contributions--sounds like it's a genre close to your heart).
Shaula Evans at 2012-07-19 20:21:55:
Thanks for the (PDF) script link, and that master list, LaFamiliaFilm, it's fantastic. If I come across other good script sources in my hunts, shall I pass them along to you? Off the top of my head, scribd.com has a lot of scripts, although I usually arrive there through a search engine, not by looking on the site itself.
Shaula Evans at 2012-07-19 20:22:56:
Thank you for the links and suggestions, John + Joan--and for introducing me to the word seamhead!
Shaula Evans at 2012-07-19 20:24:06:
I hope I haven't scared anyone off with a request for links: if you have a suggestion but don't have the link for it, please pipe up!
Shaula Evans at 2012-07-19 22:55:24:
My own picks so far, for A) high-quality comedies; B) taken from the AFI top 100 comedies and London Time Out 100 Best Comedy Movies lists; C) where I could find a PDF version of the script online: *The Big Lebowski (1998) by Joel & Ethan Coen *Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) by Stanley Kubrick, Terry Southern & Peter George *Duck Soup (1933) by Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby, Arthur Sheekman & Nat Perrin *Groundhog Day (1993) by Danny Rubin & Harold Ramis *The Lady Eve (1941) by Preston Sturges *Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) by Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones & Michael Palin *Rushmore (1998) by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson *Tootsie (1982) by Don McGuire, Larry Gelbart & Murray Schisgal
Shaula Evans at 2012-07-21 19:41:43:
I looked up top-grossing comedies (domestic and international, all-time and recent) and came up with PDF scripts for these: Bridesmaids - http://www.universalpicturesawards.com/assets/bridesmaids/pdf/BridesmaidsScreenplay.Final.pdf Ghostbusters - http://www.theraffon.net/~spookcentral/gb1_script_1983-10-07_pdftext.pdf The Hangover - http://www.roteirodecinema.com.br/scripts/reader/files/The_Hangover.pdf Mr. & Mrs. Smith - http://www.awesomefilm.com/script/mr_and_mrs_smith.pdf Ocean's 11 - http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/oceans_11.pdf And, looking for scripts for recent Academy award nominated or winning comedy films, I found these: Juno - http://cinemascopian.com/pics/2008oscars/juno.pdf Little Miss Sunshine - http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/LITTLE_MISS_SUNSHINE.pdf Vicky Christina Barcelona - http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/vicky-cristina-barcelona-script.pdf
Shaula Evans at 2012-07-27 19:41:26:
PS Hey, seamhead! ;) Have you two ever seen a 1992 US-Japan co-production comedy by Fred Schepisi with Tom Selleck called Mr. Baseball? I saw it while working in Japan (so the Japanese dialogue was subtitled and the English wasn't!)--a funny and sweet movie that deals pretty evenly with Japanese and Americans alike. I recommend it for your Baseball Movie collection if you're not already familiar with it.
Shaula Evans at 2012-07-30 18:14:28:
Here's a recap of the suggestions for comedy scripts plus what else I could find; I went digging through some award lists to try to round out our collection. As always, I've pulled the actual links so this doesn't jam up in your spam filters, but I have emailed a file to Scott with all the links included. An asterisk (*) indicates the script listed is a PDF. AFI# refers to the ranking on the AFI 100 Best Comedies list - http://www.afi.com/100years/laughs.aspx LTO# refers to the ranking on the Time Out Londong 100 Best Comedy Movies list - http://www.timeout.com/london/feature/1502/100-best-comedy-movies-the-full-list . . . *The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005) by Judd Apatow & Steve Carrel - script *Adaptation (2002) by Charlie Kaufman & Donald Kaufman – script 1, script 2 Airplane! (1980) by Jim Abrahams, David Zucker & Jerry Zucker – AFI #10 / LTO #2 *Analyze This (1999) by Peter Tolan, Harold Ramis & Kenneth Lonergan - script *Annie Hall (1977) by Woody Allen & Marshall Brickman– AFI #4 / LTO #4 The Apartment (1960) by Billy Wilder & I.A.L. Diamond – AFI #20 / LTO #47 / *Barbershop (2002) by Mark Brown & Don D. Scott - script Being There (1979) – AFI #26 *Bridesmaids (2011) by Kristen Wiig & Annie Mumolo – script Bull Durham (1988) by Ron Shelton - *The Big Lebowski (1998) by Joel & Ethan Coen – LTO #13 script *Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) by Stanley Kubrick, Terry Southern & Peter George - AFI #3 / LTO #14 script *Duck Soup (1933) by Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby, Arthur Sheekman & Nat Perrin- AFI #5 / LTO #17 script *Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind by (2004) Charlie Kaufman - script *Fun with Dick and Jane (1977) by Mordecai Richler – script part 1 & script part 2 *Ghostbusters (1984) by Dan Aykroyd & Harold Ramis - AFI #28 / LTO #23 http script The Graduate (1967) - AFI #9 *Groundhog Day (1993) by Danny Rubin & Harold Ramis – AFI #34 / LTO #8 script * The Hangover (2009) by Jon Lucas & Scott Moore - Harvey (1950) – AFI #35 His Girl Friday (1940) - AFI #19 It Happened One Night (1934) – AFI #8 /?script=it_happened_one_night_1934 *Juno (2007) by Diablo Cody – script *The Lady Eve (1941) by Preston Sturges – AFI# 55 script *Legally Blonde (2001) by Karen McCullah Lutz & Kirsten Smith - script *Little Miss Sunshine (2006) by Michael Arndt – *LITTLE_MISS_SUNSHINE.pdf (**SPEC SCRIPT SALE) M*A*S*H (1970) – AFI #7 Major League (1989) by David S. Ward - h *Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) by Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones & Michael Palin – LTO #5 script Moonstruck (1987) – AFI #40 The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek (1944) - AFI #54 *Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005) by Simon Kinberg – script Ninotchka (1939) – AFI #52 *Ocean’s Eleven (2001) by Harry Brown, Charles Lederer & Ted Griffin - script *Office Space (1999) by Mike Judge - script The Palm Beach Story (1942) – AFI #77 *The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970) by Billy Wilder & I.A.L. Diamond - script The Producers (1967) - AFI #11 / LTO #30 *Raising Arizona (1987)by Ethan Coen & Joel Coen – AFI #31 script *Rushmore (1998) by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson – LTO #29 script Shampoo (1975) – AFI #47 *Some Like it Hot (1959) by Billy Wilder & I.A.L. Diamond – AFI #1 / LTO #9 script Sullivan’s Travels (1941) – AFI #39 The Thin Man (1934) – AFI #32 This is Spinal Tap (1984) / LTO #1 ˇThree Amigos! (1986) – LTO #40 *Three Men and a Baby (1987) by by Jim Cruickshank, James Orr, and Coline Serreau - script *Tootsie (1982) by Don McGuire, Larry Gelbart & Murray Schisgal - AFI #2 / LTO #43 script *Vicky Christina Barcelona (2008) by Woody Allen – script Withnail & I (1987) – LTO #7 Young Frankenstein (1974) - AFI #13 Romantic Comedies – I pulled out that titles that jumped out at me. Shall we keep these aside for Romantic Comedy week? Any suggestions for films on the comedy list that would work better as Romantic Comedies?
Shaula Evans at 2012-08-03 00:34:15:
If you were kind enough to help compile our script list (or if you're coming late to this discussion), please remember to come on over to the Comedy Essential Voting List and make your votes for the top 10 scripts and top 10 films count.