The screenplay you wish you had written thread

[MrWrite]

Ok I have a thread idea. I don't know if it's been done before but I am at work so don't have time to check!

If you could have written the screenplay for ONE movie, it could be any movie since films began what would you like to have written and why?

I'll start..

I would like to have been the one to write Close Encounters of the Third Kind as it's one of my all time fav movies!

Next?

[dpaterso]

If I'd written the screenplay for my favorite movie, wouldn't it have been disasterously different? :)

But that's not what you mean... hmm...

I'd like to have penned L.A. Confidential, I thought that was a smart, sharply written script.

Ask me again in 5 minutes and I'll probably pick something else.

-Derek

[Stargazer]

I'd give up vital parts of my anatomy to be the person responsible for either:-

Empire of the Sun for its spectacular depth and shockingly absorbing atmosphere

...or...

The Right Stuff for its excellent approach of documenting many years of mankind's need to go just that bit better, just that bit faster than somebody else, in just two hours.

[Silver King]

This thread might generate more discussion in Script Writing, so we'll move it there now.

ETA: I tweaked the thread title to help better reveal the topic.

[William Haskins]

caddyshack 2.

[preyer]

'the empire strikes back' for making it better than the first movie, for its humour and having the 'second act' be the best of the lot.

hell, i'd die happy if i'd done the first ten minutes or so of 'double indemnity.'

[RylenolFlu]

hmm, interesting, I'd have to say Saving Private Ryan, brilliant title as well.

[Plot Device]

I have fanatsized about getting in a time machine and going back to the 1930's and then producing those scripts that were hits made in the 1950's.

I especially like the idea of doing Citizen Kane-like camera work BEFORE the 1940's. And slow-motion! Gotta show those 1930's people the purpose and productive employment of slow motion!

To me the original Star Wars is an ideal candidate for my time machine thievery, just because it was meant to be a deliberate throwback to the old serials from that era. Ditto for Raiders of the Lost Ark.

[otterman]

The Matrix and I would have stopped there (no part 2 and 3)

[Plot Device]

The Matrix and I would have stopped there (no part 2 and 3)


Yes! And I would have FORBIDDEN for that revolutionary camera technology to have been sold and utilized by car commercials two friggin years BEFORE the film came out!

[Perks]

I would like to have been the one to write Close Encounters of the Third Kind as it's one of my all time fav movies!

I know nothing about screenplays and have to really try to envision the end result as an infant-font-upon-the-page, but I thought this thread would be interesting to watch.

But you picked Close Encounters! It's one film where I absolutely noticed the brilliant flow of the script.

Recently, (and if I were to ever get a yen and a talent for screenwriting) I'd have to say The Prestige. It one of the few movies I've watched multiple times in short order and the craftiness of the script is really impressive.

[clockwork]

Network.

[Smiling Ted]

Sunset Boulevard.

I still look at that one when I want a refresher course.

[MrWrite]

The Matrix and I would have stopped there (no part 2 and 3)

I agree about shelving Matrix 2 and 3. The first one was excellent but the other two were terrible especially the last one. I also blame the Matrix for a whole bunch of copy cat films that tried and failed to duplicate it including Charlies Angels! Although I admit the scene in Shrek with Fiona kicking the Robin Hood bunches butts was funny!

[Silver King]

Someone should mention Citizen Kane. Oh, and Blue Velvet (not to be confused with, Black Velvet).

[El Mariachi]

The Breakfast Club. It was a great movie when I was a teenager, and probably the movie I have seen most in my life.

[zebedee]

Aliens. A great Action/Horror movie on it's own, but also an excellent example of how to move on a sequel from the first film.

Plus it's got THAT line.

[Kosh]

It's not a big hit, but I would have loved to have written Anything Else.

[preyer]

now that i think about it again, 'the producers' was brilliant. not the new version, that blows, but the one with gene wilder and zero martell (?).

i'm surprised no one has said 'the godfather.'

[nielsty]

I would love to have written ANY film which actually got produced. But if I have to choose it must be either Trainspotting or Amelie. Or Dr. Strangelove. Or...

[razormoney]

THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION!

Not only was it one of the greatest movies ever made -- it violated several so-called "no-nos" of screenwriting. All the "how to" books and articles tell you to stay away from narration/voice over and avoid flashbacks. Shawshank is a clinic on how to do both successfully and proves that some stories need those dynamics to function properly.

Of course, most of thhose "how to" books are geared twoard beginners, but the fact remains that there is a lot of literature that frowns on narration and flashbacks.

Do a little test -- pick your 5 favorite movies and determine how many of them have either or both. I'll bet at least 3 have either narration or flashbacks and at least 2 have both.

It just proves my theory that as long as you write well -- meaning writing so the audience can understand what the hell's going on -- you can do just about anything you want in a screenplay.

Here are some of my faves:

Memento - narration and flashbacks
Gladiator - flashbacks
Usual Suspects - flashbacks and (narration if you count Verbal's stories)
Snatch - narration

You get the point.

I think I got off topic -- but hey, I really wish I'd written Shawshank Redemption. Back on topic. Frank Darabont's a genius.

By the way, I also agree with the person above who mentioned "Aliens." Still, in my opinion, the best sequel (especially considering the quality of the original), ever made. Both movies solidified two of the greatest directors of our time.

Razor

[zagoraz]

...The Royal Tenenbaums...

...American Psycho....

...Ferris Bueller's Day Off...

[tomvolz]

Agree on Shawshank - it's one of the few movies I've enjoyed more than the book (or novella in this case).

My pick: Lucky Number Slevin. Followed closely by The Bourne Identity, Snatch and Ocean's Eleven.

[ImagineAZ]

"Adaptation"

I would love to be hired to write an adaptation to "The Orchid Thief" and hand over THAT script with no warning or explanation whatsoever.

[KTC]

WAYDOWNTOWN

[l.stormgaye]

"There Will Be Blood"

[tammieofmi]

As a current pic I'd have to say Signs - had humor, suspense, okay maybe some corny parts but still loved how it rolled all together.

Then there is always Wizard of Oz.

[Ron Maiden]

Predator, Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead, Near Dark, Mad Max.

and loads more, to be honest!

[ricetalks]

Three of the greatest scripts? in my mind--
1. Chinatown
nothing beats it for its brilliant complexity.

2. Cool Hand Luke.
3. American Beauty.

4. Pulp Fiction

[WriteKnight]

Well, Shawshank is taken, so I'll say I was completely blown away by "No Country for Old Men."

[Dale Emery]

Red (Keislowsky)
Oleana (Mamet)
Any of the Decalogue films (Keislowsky)

Dale

[triceretops]

Logun's Run

The Road Warrior

I. Robot

Bicentenial Man (Actually wrote a short story that got published called The Incredible Mr. Dandy in tribute to BM.

A.I.

I wrote a contempory Journey to the Center of the Earth, because I loved that move so much as a kid.

Ooooooh...Can't forget Jurassic Park.

Tri

[Dale Emery]

I. Robot

Which? The one that was filmed, or Harlan Ellison's? ;-)

Dale

[nielsty]

Any episode of Seinfeld

[DWSTXS]

Movie: Jaws

TV: Deadwood (C***S**ker!)

[nmstevens]

I have fanatsized about getting in a time machine and going back to the 1930's and then producing those scripts that were hits made in the 1950's.

I especially like the idea of doing Citizen Kane-like camera work BEFORE the 1940's. And slow-motion! Gotta show those 1930's people the purpose and productive employment of slow motion!

To me the original Star Wars is an ideal candidate for my time machine thievery, just because it was meant to be a deliberate throwback to the old serials from that era. Ditto for Raiders of the Lost Ark.


Oh, PD, you've got to go further back in film history. Most of what they were doing in Kane in the forties they were doing in the silents in the twenties.

Those movies from the thirties, many of them, just seem so much more technically primitive because they were saddled with the limitations of early sound technology which required them to lock the previously free-roving camera inside a heavy sound-muffling booth.

But watch the great late sound films -- and you need to find high quality restored prints -- and you will see the heights that medium achieved both technically and artistically.

NMS

[Joe Unidos]

I would ask all those (seems like at least 50%) that selected adaptations if they are saying that they wish they had written it as an original work, or if they only mean that they wish they had written the adaptation? Are you praising the screenplay for the brilliance of the underlying story or for the brilliance of the way that original story was adapted into a screenplay?

[williemeikle]

If it's only one, I'd go for "Some Like it Hot"

As a bonus, I might even get to meet Marilyn Monroe :)

"Look how she moves! It's like Jell-O on springs. Must have some sort of built-in motor or something. I tell you, it's a whole different sex!"


Willie

[Okieslims]

Taxi

The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

Good Fellas

American Beauty - though I didnt understand the wierd kids dad kissing Kevin Spacey at the end, this movie still delivered. I wanted to slap my boss, ask out the girl I had been afraid to speak to, and basically do everything that I had not done for the sake of keeping my life on a level I could be content with.

Seven

Psycho - I love boring slow paced scary movies that lull you into a sense of security and then hit you with a fast paced murder scene. 28 days later is a good example of this old school style. Most movies today seem to value a mediocre thrill a minute over scaring the pee out of you once every 30 minutes or so.

Gone Baby Gone - This movie left me in deep thought. I love movies like that.



I could go on and on.

[ricetalks]

Psycho!
Now there's a film that defies traditional Hollywood story structure wisdoms.

The film starts out about a woman stealing money from the bank where she works to run away with her married lover and then, 30 minutes into the film, she, being the main character gets bumped off! And then, finally, 30 minutes into the film we meet our main character, Anthony Perkins.

Think about that next time you think these Hollywood wisdoms are absolutes. They are generalities that work in general but when you look at the BEST films ever made, they really don't fit very well.

[WriteKnight]

I am praising the screenplay "No Country" because it's an excellent screenplay. The underlying novel is fantastic as well, but quite a daunting piece to turn into a screenplay. There is not one extraneous shot, not one wasted word in the whole script. Lean, mean, and a killing machine.

[ricetalks]

Taxi

The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

Good Fellas

American Beauty - though I didnt understand the wierd kids dad kissing Kevin Spacey at the end, this movie still delivered. I wanted to slap my boss, ask out the girl I had been afraid to speak to, and basically do everything that I had not done for the sake of keeping my life on a level I could be content with.

Seven

Psycho - I love boring slow paced scary movies that lull you into a sense of security and then hit you with a fast paced murder scene. 28 days later is a good example of this old school style. Most movies today seem to value a mediocre thrill a minute over scaring the pee out of you once every 30 minutes or so.

Gone Baby Gone - This movie left me in deep thought. I love movies like that.



I could go on and on.

American Beauty - The reason he kisses Kevin Spacey is because he is gay and has been hiding it for all of his life. In fact , he has been reacting against it in order to hide it all of his life. It is why he hates his gay ex-neighbours. It is why he is so hard on his son. His whole life is about maintaining control. Because he is afraid that if he doesn't keep in control it willl come out.

The reason he kisses Kevin Spacey is because he thinks he sees his son engaged in a homosexual act with Kevin Spacey and, therefore, he feels safe in letting his secret come out with Kevin Spacey's character. When he discovers that he is wrong, that he made a mistake, that he lost control, that he was rejected, he shoots Kevin Spacey through the head in order to keep his secret intact and hide his shame. Again, in keeping with the theme of everything in the movie, this is a character who has made choices in life that has denied him the fundemental enjoyment of just simply living his life. Keep in touch with your bliss.

[FTL]

Just to name a few

Angels With Dirty Faces
From Here to Eternity
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein
Return of the Living Dead
Goodfellas
Casino

[Silapa Jarun]

Ok the question in the thread the screenplay I *wish* I could have written but how about a movie I'd like to rewrite with minor changes?

Then it would be Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence for sure....some stuff could have been edited better and mixed with scenes out of the short story. The movie deserves to be remade.

[shattered-minds]

Donnie Darko or Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind for me I think.

[mommyjo2]

Wizard of Oz. So fun, and so cutting edge at the time... plus I love the series.

A Christmas Story. Cracks me up every time and gets better every time you see it.

Back to the Future. More fun.

Bedknobs and Broomsticks - because my uncle won an Oscar for working on that film and I would have loved to work with him!

[Okieslims]

American Beauty - The reason he kisses Kevin Spacey is because he is gay and has been hiding it for all of his life. In fact , he has been reacting against it in order to hide it all of his life. It is why he hates his gay ex-neighbours. It is why he is so hard on his son. His whole life is about maintaining control. Because he is afraid that if he doesn't keep in control it willl come out.

The reason he kisses Kevin Spacey is because he thinks he sees his son engaged in a homosexual act with Kevin Spacey and, therefore, he feels safe in letting his secret come out with Kevin Spacey's character. When he discovers that he is wrong, that he made a mistake, that he lost control, that he was rejected, he shoots Kevin Spacey through the head in order to keep his secret intact and hide his shame. Again, in keeping with the theme of everything in the movie, this is a character who has made choices in life that has denied him the fundemental enjoyment of just simply living his life. Keep in touch with your bliss.

Thanks for explaining it. I guess that adds a whole new layer..lol. I thought he was just trying to understand his son or something.

[Ian.Fraser]

In no particular order - and although each of these were smash hits and remain cult titles (in Asia), I'm picking them because they're each some of the best films/film scripts I've ever seen - often with utterly unpredictable stories..

Old Boy
Joint Security Area
A World Without Thieves
Bungee Jumping of Their Own
Bad Guy
Samaritan Girl
Chaos
Unlucky Monkey
Sonatine
Audition
The Bird People of China

[Manderley]

Donnie Darko
Big Fish (although I haven't read the novel, so it's hard so say if it's the screenplay or the original novel I'd rather have liked to write ...)
Memento