Favorite screenplay and why?

Hi all,

I'm new to this board and have been enjoying reading old posts. One piece of advice is to read scripts, so I thought I'd ask what everyone's favorite script is and why it's a favorite. I'm hoping to not only get recommendations on which scripts to get first, but also gain insight into the craft of screenwriting.

If this should be a poll question, or has been done before, I'd be happy to either move or withdraw the question.

Thanks very much,

Steve in Oakland, CA

Hey Steve,

At this moment I'd have to say L.A. Confidential, but ask me again next month and I might have a different answer!

Recent reads have been TROY which I enjoyed lots (haven't seen the film yet), and STATE & MAIN which had me smiling all the way, the characters were so likeable. I started reading SPARTAN but let it go halfway through, it just didn't demand I read on.

-Derek
My Home Page

Thanks for the reply, Derek. I'm late getting back to this board due to some technical difficulties.

I also liked LA Confidential. State and Main was quite a departure for Mamet but it worked for me too ("Does it have to be an old mill?"). House of Games is another one of my favorites. I recently read Mumford by Lawrence Kasdan and The Zero Effect by his son Jake and found them both interesting and pretty funny. Haven't seen Troy yet.

Just curious: did you see Adaptation and/or Lost in Translation? I absolutely loved the first half or so of Adaptaton, up until the story veered into the chase/guns sequences. While I think I understood the irony of it all, it bored me to death. I really liked Lost in Translation, one of my favorite movies last year along with In America.

One reason I asked this question is because the movies I like tend to do relatively poorly at the box office. I suppose a screenwriter has to stick to his or her guns and just write the story they want to write, without considering its commercial potential?

Thanks again,

Steve

my recommendation...

I like "Notting Hill" by Richard Curtis -- it has lean elegant descriptions which contribute to a tremendous read and can be downloaded for free from sites like

screentalk.biz/moviescripts.htm

One reason I asked this question is because the movies I like tend to do relatively poorly at the box office. I suppose a screenwriter has to stick to his or her guns and just write the story they want to write, without considering its commercial potential?

the indy market has been growing in the last 10 years and is now huge. the smaller indy flicks may not make as much money as the studio blockbusters but, they're the ones that get most of the oscar nominations for quality. you just need to decide which is most important. you can be proud with either: mass appeal moneymaker or quality character driven indy - they both have merit.

write on!

Thanks for the link, xtz. I haven't seen or read Notting Hill, but I'll check it out.

NikeeGoddess, you make some good points. I appreciate the encouragement also.

Steve

I suppose a screenwriter has to stick to his or her guns and just write the story they want to write, without considering its commercial potential?

Click to expand...

This thought comes up with relative frequency on various screenwriting boards. It's not a bad idea to consider your story's commercial potential, at least if you're hoping to sell the script.

There's no reason a screenwriter can't be passionate about a commercial idea and write a great script based on it.

That said, if you want to go the indy route, I wish you the best of luck. I think the important thing is to know your goal and work to reach it.

Hey Ravenlock,

If I could think of an idea with commercial potential, I'm sure I could get passionate about it, but so far I haven't. I'm drawn to movies like You Can Count On Me. So I suppose I'll keep writing about things that I find interesting and see where it leads.

Thanks for the reply,

Steve

Screenplay

Citizen Kane is a landmark in screenwriting and has always been one of my favorites...