Ever read movie scripts? I love ’em. Whether you’ve seen the movie or not, the scripts give you a glimpse into the movie-making process by letting you see what was on the paper before the director and actors got hold of it. It can be fascinating to see how much of a character’s personality came from the script and how much came from the actor. Sometimes you can even get “deleted scenes” by finding passages in the script that were never used, or earlier versions than the ones that were filmed that might provide some extra plot or backstory.
There are plenty of places to find scripts online, although the legality of downloading them may be somewhat questionable (Google “movie scripts” to find bunches of them if that doesn’t bother you). But many screenwriters post copies on their own Web sites — try John August (“The Nines,” “Go,” “Big Fish”) for example, or Terry Rossio and Ted Elliott (“Godzilla,” “The Mask of Zorro,” the Pirates of the Caribbean movies) — and the studios themselves post scripts of movies they wish to have considered for Academy Awards, starting right about… now.
Head to Disney for “Wall-E,” Warner Brothers for “The Dark Knight,” Universal for “Changeling” and “Frost/Nixon,” and Paramount for “The Duchess” and “Defiance.” More to come as we get closer to awards time.
Do you read movie scripts? Let us know!