Shaula Evans at 2012-08-14 18:48:14:
Here's a small request from your personal script link researcher: if I can't find a link for your suggestion, it won't make the final cut. So if you have a link for the script at hand, or you have a second to look up the link, please include it! You can include up to about 10 links in a comment before it gets eaten by the spam filter.
swinefever at 2012-08-15 13:32:32:
IMHO the list of great fantasy films is very, very small. Probably because often they are adaptated from successful novels and to fully realise them as a film requires a massive budget that the studio is nervous about spending. Obviously the exceptions such as the LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy and the HARRY POTTER films are there for all to see but for every PRISONER OF AZKABAN there's a CIRQUE DU FREAK and for every RETURN OF THE KING there's a SEEKER: THE DARK IS RISING. Having said that, it doesn't have to be this way. ONCE UPON A TIME makes a good fist of weaving A fantasy story into a modern world, as does GRIMM and the success of GAME OF THRONES proves that epic fantasy, done well, will find an audience beyond the hardcore genre fans. But fantasy, much like sci-fi, is a very broad church so know what kind of fantasy you're aiming for would be my advice. If you want whimsical, I'd go with BIG or BIG FISH in movies and for TV I'd try PUSHING DAISIES which was romantic and funny and hugely underrated. If you want epic then I'd look for any of the LOTR or CHRONICLES OF NARNIA films or you could watch STARDUST (transcript) which was fun, but if you're after heroic fantasy try THE 13TH WARRIOR (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=T_J2UywDr9o) which is loveably as bad as everyone says or if you want to look further afield maybe the russian film WOLFHOUND (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6b-aIAW8U0) or THE GOBLIN WARS (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hdk9_fPdzo0) from Japan. For out and out laughs I'd go with GROUNDHOG DAY, for strange and magical try French films VIDOCQ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRhGMy7E_CU) or BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Feh8Eqh4nWU) and if you want found footage there's TROLL HUNTER (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9dgeYkYOZA). For kids look no further than perrenial favourites THE DARK CRYSTAL (transcript) or LABRYNTH but for something equally as good the French animated film DRAGON HUNTERS (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92DSWORGKnU) is worth seeing or the superb HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON. If you're after something new then read A KILLING ON CARNIVAL ROW by Travis Beacham. A gritty, tense, noir detective story based in a fantasy world and an excellent example of what a fantasy script can be if you try a bit harder. There's also OH NEVER, SPECTRE LEAF! by C. Ryan Kirkpatrick and Chad Musick, a very funny, very irreverant comedy fantasy story where the fantasy elements cross over into the modern world. I might as well mention, while I'm at it, that there is a book - Writing The Fantasy Film by Sable Jak - I have it and it's very good. If you want some (fairly) recent fantasy novels to read then I'd go with any of: The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch The First Law trilogy by Joe Abercrombie Shadows of the Apt series by Adrian Tchaikovsky A Song of Ice and Fire series by George RR Martin I could go on, but I'd be here all night.
Teddy Pasternak at 2012-08-15 22:50:52:
Trollhunter was awesome. Possibly the only found footage movie that I've liked.
Christina Sekeris at 2012-08-16 04:53:02:
Hi everyone, Thanks for sharing those scripts swinefever. I will give them a read for sure!!!! I want to suggest Tim Burton's recent rendition of a vampire story starring Johnny Depp in 'Dark Shadows". While I have not seen it and have too, does it make the list here? Doubtful that it doesn't, it's a Tim Burton film. Also, if anyone has a copy of the script, would you send it on? Thanks
Ken Glover at 2012-08-16 17:04:58:
@swinefever - Do you know what I had to go through to find that script "A Killing On Carnival Road"????? Everyone needs to download that one for sure!
Ken Glover at 2012-08-16 17:05:31:
ROW...I meant Row..
Judy Potocki at 2012-08-17 16:29:23:
BIG (3rd revised draft) http://www.awesomefilm.com/script/Big.pdf The Lord of The Rings – Fellowship of the Rings http://www.fempiror.com/otherscripts/LordoftheRings1-FOTR.pdf The Lord of The Rings – The Two Towers http://www.fempiror.com/otherscripts/LordoftheRings2-TTT.pdf The Lord of The Rings – The Return of the King http://www.weeklyscript.com/TLOTR%20-%20The%20Return%20Of%20The%20King.txt Pan’s Labyrinth (English) - http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/PansLabyrinthEnglishScreenplay.pdf The Princess Bride http://www.weeklyscript.com/Princess%20Bride,%20The.txt Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl http://www.weeklyscript.com/Pirates%20Of%20The%20Caribbean.txt The Mummy http://www.weeklyscript.com/Mummy,%20The.txt The Sixth Sense http://themovieguy.110mb.com/6thult.pdf Jurassic Park (first draft rewrite) http://scifiscripts.com/scripts/JurassicPark_1stDraft.txt Alice in Wonderland http://moviecultists.com/wp-content/uploads/screenplays/alice-in-wonderland.pdf Hellboy http://www.weeklyscript.com/Hellboy.txt E.T. http://sfy.ru/?script=et_c The Wizard of Oz http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Wizard-of-Oz,-The.html Liar, Liar (rough draft) http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Liar-Liar.html Being John Malkovich http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Being-John-Malkovich.html Big Fish http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Big-Fish.html Ghostbusters http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Ghostbusters.html Men in Black http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Men-in-Black.html
Shaula Evans at 2012-08-17 17:09:13:
Judy, you are a GODDESS. Thank you for the scripts and all the links!
Shaula Evans at 2012-08-21 03:14:44:
What a treasure trove of recommendations, swinefever. Thank you. I've copied some of your recommendations to the film, fiction, and non-fiction lists. You're welcome to double-check and make sure I've put them all in the right categories.
Shaula Evans at 2012-08-21 04:02:38:
Our list to date (without links; I'll send links to Scott separately once this list has closed): A Killing On Carnival Row Alice in Wonderland Being John Malkovich Big (3rd revised draft) Big Fish Chronicles Of Narnia Dark Shadows E.T. Game Of Thrones Ghostbusters Grimm Groundhog Day, Hellboy Jurassic Park (first draft rewrite) Labrynth Liar, Liar (rough draft) Lotr Men in Black Oh Never, Spectre Leaf! by C. Ryan Kirkpatrick and Chad Musick Once Upon A Time Pan’s Labyrinth (English) Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl Pushing Daisies The Lord of The Rings – Fellowship of the Rings The Lord of The Rings – The Return of the King The Lord of The Rings – The Two Towers The Mummy The Princess Bride The Sixth Sense The Wizard of Oz Hmmm. A few in there that I'd consider sci fi, not fantasy, but we'll leave that to the voters. PLEASE take a look and make sure that your suggestions haven't been overlooked. And please keep the suggestions coming.
Shaula Evans at 2012-08-21 22:19:26:
I looked around for more script links, but our list of Fantasy scripts only comes to 39, our puniest list to date. If you have other script links to suggest, please keep them coming. 1. A Killing On Carnival Row 2. Alice in Wonderland 3. An Andalusian Dog (Un Chien Andalou) by Luis Bunel & Salvador Dali 4. Beauty and the Beast by Jean Cocteau 5. Beetle Juice 6. Being John Malkovich 7. Beowulf & Grendal by Andrew Rai Berzins (based on the epic poem Beowulf ) 8. Big 9. Big Fish 10. Brazil by Terry Gilliam & Charles McKeown 11. Chronicles Of Narnia 12. Dark Shadows 13. E.T. 14. Game Of Thrones 15. Ghostbusters 16. Grimm 17. Groundhog Day, 18. Hellboy 19. Highlander by Gregory Widen, Peter Bellwood & Larry Ferguson 20. Hook (part 1) & Hook (part 2) by James V. Hart (story by James V. Hart & Nick Castle based on characters created by J.M. Barrie) 21. Jurassic Park (first draft rewrite) 22. Labrynth 23. Legend by William Hjortsberg 24. Liar, Liar (rough draft) 25. Lost Horizon by Robert Riskin 26. Men in Black 27. Oh Never, Spectre Leaf! by C. Ryan Kirkpatrick and Chad Musick 28. Once Upon A Time 29. Pan’s Labyrinth (English) 30. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl 31. Pushing Daisies 32. The Lord of The Rings – Fellowship of the Rings 33. The Lord of The Rings – The Return of the King 34. The Lord of The Rings – The Two Towers 35. The Lost World (1925) by Arthur Conan Doyle & Marion Fairfax 36. The Mummy 37. The Princess Bride 38. The Sixth Sense 39. The Wizard of Oz by Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson & Edgar Allen Woolf
Sign Off | Jerod Brennen – Multiplatform Storyteller at 2012-10-18 00:02:01:
[...] Genre Essentials: Fantasy – 10 Fantasy Scripts You Must Analyze [...]