Read the Scripts

‘Tis the season when various academies, all the way up to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, decide which movies were most deserving of our admiration this year. The studios know this, and make a big push to win awards, which can translate into box office. For example, this being the Age of the Internet, a number of screenplays are available for download online (including some for movies that haven’t quite been released yet). Some interesting choices:

The Dark Knight

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Frost/Nixon

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

WALL•E

You might not think that the script for WALL•E would be all that fascinating, since much of the movie was free of dialogue; but you’d be wrong.

INT. ABANDONED BNL SUPERSTORE – NEXT DAY

LOUIS ARMSTRONG’S “LA VIE EN ROSE” PLAYS

Eve scans through the market.
Wally follows from a safe distance.
A stray puppy-dog.

Eve glances over at him.
Wally panics.
Bumps into a RACK OF SHOPPING CARTS.
Creates an avalanche.

They chase him down a flight of stairs.
Wally reaches the exit doors.
Won’t open!
Carts pig pile on top of him.

It’s like a little poem. I laugh just thinking about that scene.