Friday, July 17, 2009

My Top Screenplays.

To some people, I have a reputation for being...a little hard to please when it comes to film. I do indeed set my standards very high and I'm not afraid to say exactly what I think of a less than favorable script or film. However, contrary to popular belief, it is not impossible to please me.

As proof, I will now attempt to compile a short list of unproduced screenplays that I very much enjoyed. Hopefully I will expand the list in the future, but for now, here's a few scripts that come with my fabled official seal of approval. These aren't really my 'top whatever', they are simply among my top screenplays. Enjoy.

----------------------------

SOURCE CODE - Can't say enough about this one. Stellar writing all around. I'm a huge sucker for stories where a character is forced into a situation and is pushed far past his/her limits in order to escape and/or survive. Source Code is that kind of story. Similar to Deja Vu, only much better. I won't give anything away. Just read it. It's not flawless by any means, but then again, what is? I guess you can say it's "flawed-less".

THE F-WORD - A common story told uncommonly well, The F-Word sounds about as generic as saying it's a movie where people do stuff. Yes, it's about people doing stuff, but those people, the characters, are so likable and interesting, you can't help but go along for the ride. Another "flawed-less" script that has some minor quibbles which are fairly easy to overlook. I can practically count my favorite rom-coms just by giving the peace sign, so needless to say, one would have to be pretty awesome for me to enjoy it, and I enjoyed The F-Word.

ARMORED - The movie isn't out yet, so this still counts. Written by former DoneDealer and present TwoAdverbian James Simpson, Armored is the script every spec writer needs to read when contemplating the phrase "high concept". Armored's story centers around the concept of an armored car guard trapped inside the car with millions of dollars and his partners stuck on the outside. Thing is, the guards on the outside want the money that's inside. Great premise. Armored is also the script everyone should read to see very effective use of "white space" and how is can be used to craft a quick and intense read.

GALAHAD - Ryan Condal's Galahad comes with my highest recommendation. Characterization, dialogue...everything is top-tier. It's also one of the first scripts that made me realize how important depth of story is. Depth of story is my way of saying that the story seems as though it's part of a larger world, and not just a screenplay or a movie. While reading it, I sensed that everything that was happening was part of a larger paradigm, a larger world, and that really helped suck me in. The characters, the locations, everything seemed to have some kind of history. More-so than most scripts I've read. Definitely check this one out.

BURIED - The whole story takes place inside a coffin. Okay, I'm sold. When I read that, I just had to read the script to find out just how the hell the author made that work...or if it didn't work. Typically, when I read an awesome logline where the premise sounds as though it could never work, it doesn't. Buried is an exception - it actually works, for the most part. Buried has it's fair share of flaws, but most are easily overlooked since they can very easily be fixed in a simple rewrite. It will be quite interesting to see how this plays out if/when it every hits theaters. All I know is that I'll be there.

----------------------------

More to come at a later date. If you would like to read any of the scripts mentioned above, drop me an e-mail.

1 comment:

  1. Seriously, if you thought some of those scripts were great, then your standards are not very high. Either that or there is such a thing as subjective quality ;)

    ReplyDelete