If you want to write movie scripts, you need to read movie scripts – it’s just as essential as batting practice for professional baseball players. As you read scripts, you’ll start to remember subtle connections between language and storytelling and see proper formatting in action. For aspiring screenwriters who want to learn how to write their own movie scripts, it’s vital to see the difference between how scenes play out on the page and how they play out on the screen.
Reading Movie Scripts: The Benefits for Screenwriters
You need to watch movies to make movies. However, for aspiring screenwriters, reading screenplay after screenplay is also incredibly beneficial. By reading through scripts from various writers, you can get a sense of how you want to write your own screenplays. While proper screenwriting adheres to a very rigid format, it’s beneficial to see how various writers work within those rules and even use them to their advantage.
Here are ten websites that allow you to download professional movie scripts to review.
1. IMSDB – Internet Movie Screenplay Database
IMDB has proven a valuable resource for researching movie crews, casts, and trivia. IMSDB is just as useful for screenplays of all genres.
2. Go Into the Story
http://gointothestory.blcklst.com/free-script-downloads/
Go Into the Story is the official blog for The Blacklist, the screenwriting community famous for its annual top ten list of unproduced scripts. One helpful feature of Go Into the Story is its bank of downloadable movie scripts.
3. Drew’s Script-o-Rama
http://www.script-o-rama.com/snazzy/table.html
The titular Drew has been sharing scripts with curious readers and writers for almost two decades now and has a vast library from which to choose. A great benefit of Script-O-Rama is that it holds several drafts of certain movies, an invaluable resource for those who want to see how a Hollywood film evolves in the writing process.
4. Simply Scripts
http://www.simplyscripts.com/movie.html
Simply Scripts has a wide, diverse library, including plays and non-English screenplays. It’s also constantly updated, providing scripts for great movies such as Interstellar and Foxcatcher.
5. AwesomeFilm
AwesomeFilm is another resource with dozens of scripts you can download with a single click, alphabetized for easy searching. If you’re looking for a screenplay to read, this site is, well, awesome.
6. Screenplays For You
Screenplays For You is a clean, smooth website with hundreds of scripts. You’re likely to find something from the genre you need—its library boasts everything from low-key award-winning dramas like Sideways to action blockbusters like Avatar.
7. The Daily Script
http://www.dailyscript.com/movie.html
The Daily Script offers a ton of screenplays in a straightforward, easy-to-navigate layout. It keeps things homey for the typical screenwriter, even using Courier New as its primary font.
8. The Screenplay Database
http://www.screenplaydb.com/film/all
The Screenplay Database is another useful resource with many scripts to choose from. If you’re interested in a certain type of film, the website also allows you to search its library by genre to allow you to find something you didn’t even know you were looking for.
9. The Script Lab
The Script Lab is handy if you’re looking for more recent screenplays. Its front page divides its library into the three most recent years of releases, so if there’s something from 2014 you’d like, for instance, Birdman or Boyhood, this is the website for you.
10. Movie Scripts and Screenplays
http://www.moviescriptsandscreenplays.com/
You’ve got to love the straightforward title. Movie Scripts and Screenplays gives you exactly what it says, with a long list of manuscripts that you can also directly find with its search function.
Learn How to Write Your Own Movie Scripts
If you’re ready to learn how to write your own screenplays, reading through movie scripts is a great place to start. Example scripts can provide crucial direction in terms of formatting, plot, character development, and more. For screenwriters who want to take the next step and develop their screenplay, request more information about NYFA’s workshops about writing for film.