5 Must Read Scripts for Wannabe Screenwriters
Not all great scripts are focused on white men
One of my rituals every day is to check my two favourite websites. To start my day on a positive note I go to Cracked — which in spite of buzzfeed’s ubiquity is still the best humour website around — and to stay up to date on the best film writing I go to The Film Experience. Every few days, Nathaniel (the Editor and Owner of TFE, @nathanielr) posts a group of links with relevant writings on film and television. Today’s group included a link to an article for wannabe screenwriters listing 18 scripts to read to understand the craft.
The list is good, it spans genre effectively and covers a lot of very influential films from the past 40 years. However, it has a problem and Nathaniel points this out. All but one of the scripts were written by men (the exception being Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation) and all of them were written by white people. The content of the films are mostly similarly white-bred and it reflects a common problem in the industry.
With that, here are five films either written by or focusing on women and people of colour and their scripts. This is in no way comprehensive and is limited to the films that I’ve seen that fit the description. I’ve tried to keep however we have to start recognizing that films written about or by groups other than white men are important to the art of screenwriting.
Do the Right Thing (1989) — Spike Lee
Films that take place all in one day are hard to pull off. When done right you get an American Grafiti or a Dazed and Confuzed. When not, you get a Project X or a Valentine’s Day. Spike Lee, I would argue did it best with Do The Right Thing. While much of the film’s style is focused around the use of colour, this script should be read by anyone who wants to write about issues of race explicitly. Lee pulls no punches and from page 77 on are pure brilliance in terms of writing chaos. It is referential and striking and it refuses to do the right thing.
Best Line
“No. I’m just a struggling Black man trying to keep my dick hard in a cruel and harsh world.” — Buggin’ Out (played by Giancarlo Esposito)
You can find Spike Lee’s script here
The Piano (1993) — Jane Campion
What makes The Piano stand out as a remarkable script is its heavy use of narration. Ada is mute and thus her narration is in the voice of the last time she heard her self speak, as a six year old girl. Through the script her voice is consistently identified with Ada’s experience but this is also done through her daughter’s voice. The combination of their voices and the similarities theirein give Ada one of the greatest characterizations ever. This characterization eventually leads to the brutally intense sequence when Ada loses her fingers. The Piano is incredibly effective as a subjectively realist film and is a must-read screenplay for that reason.
Best Line
“One day when my mother and father were singing together in the forest, a great storm blew up out of nowhere. But so passionate was their singing that they did not notice, nor did they stop as the rain began to fall, and when their voices rose for the final bars of the duet a great bolt of lighting came out of the sky and struck my father so that he lit up like a torch. And at the same moment my father was struck dead my mother was struck dumb! She never spoke another word.” — Flora McGrath (played by Anna Paquin).
You can find Jane Campion’s script here
The Sixth Sense (1999) — M. Night Shyamalan
There were a couple other films I thought of before The Sixth Sense but because I couldn't find a script for one and the other was another romance (of which there are three on this list) this came to mind as a particularly interesting script from a person of colour. Just on the diversity aspect, it is a film that does not make race an issue, a common criticism for writers and directors of colour. However it is an incredibly effective psychological thriller and that is apparent even when reading the screenplay. While “I see dead people,” has become more parody than anything lately, that scene is one of the best examples of intensity in film. His use of elipsis and pause is stunning and makes for an intense read. In spite of his more recent efforts, Shyamalan had the touch for horror and The Sixth Sense is the perfect example.
Best Line
“I want to tell you my secret now… I see people… I see dead people.”
You can find M. Night Shyamalan’s script here
Love and Basketball (2000) — Gina Prince-Bythewood
This is the best rom-com sports film ever. I know thats pretty specific and does not actually put it up against many great movies, but Love and Basketball knows exactly what it is and does it spectacularly. Omar Epps and Sanaa Lathan anchor the film with incredible chemistry but the key is Gina Prince-Bythewood’s script which is equally sweet and real, fulfilling both genre conventions of the rom-com and the sports film while keeping the film feeling fresh. As an exersize in genre this is a brilliant script to read.
Best Line
“All’s fair in love and basketball.”
You can find Gina Prince-Bythewood’s script here
Enough Said (2013) — Nicole Holofcener
Of the modern female writer-directors none have done more for the “chick flick” than Nicole Holofcener. Witty dialogue and unnervingly real relationships have brought her to the attention of a lot of critical love and Enough Said is probably her biggest hit. Gandolfini and Dreyfuss have a lot to do with that but it is Catherine Keener’s character that makes this script important. If you watch all of Holofcener’s films and then read this script you can see how Holofcener wrote the character for her. The understanding of a specific actor’s style in reference to other actors is incredibly important to writing dialogue and fostering chemistry between nuanced characters.
Best Line
“Excuse me, Chloe, but can I have my mom back.” — Ellen (played by Tracey Fairaway)
You can find Nicole Holofcener’s script here
Other Films to Look At
Either because I have not seen these films or I was not able to find a script for them online, here are other films you should look for with an interest in writing.
- Medicine for Melancholy — Barry Jenkins
- Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain — Jean Pierre Jeunet
- Le Bonheur — Agnes Varda
- Happy Together — Wong Kar-wai
- All About Eve — Joseph L. Mankewicz
- A Separation — Asghar Farhadi
