Our buds at ScriptReadPro.Com have done it again. Or, as one of the original commenters on the article below said, “Who really needs film school when you have an amazing library of scripts [like this]?”
via Script Reader Pro.Com
Looking for the best screenplays to read? You’re in the right place. We’ve been strong advocates for the benefits of reading screenplays for a long time as it’s one of the simplest ways to learn how to write.
With that in mind, we’ve put together a mega list of the fifty best screenplays to read for aspiring screenwriters.
This list of the best screenplays to read is grouped into the five main genres you’ll find in Hollywood today: drama, comedy, action/adventure, thriller and horror. (We prefer to call sci-fi, western, romance, etc. sub-genres of these five and you’ll find examples of these in the lists below too.)
A quick note on spec scripts vs. shooting scripts.
Both “shooting” movie scripts and “spec” movie scripts are included in this list.
If you’re an aspiring screenwriter trying to break into the industry with a spec, it’s important to ignore all the little formatting quirks that often come with shooting movie scripts. Sluglines with periods instead of dashes, large chunks of descriptive text, excessive use of camera angles and so on, are all expressions of writers who’ve made it.
If you haven’t yet, keep things simple by sticking to regular spec script formatting. So, without further ado, it’s time to get to the first best screenplay in our list…
Best screenplays to read: drama.
1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
screenplay by Charlie Kaufmann.
Boy meets girl. Boy loses girl. Boy erases memories of being with girl. This typically Kaufman-esque story could arguably be called best screenplay he’s ever written. Watch out for the long chunks of description, though, as this style isn’t recommended in spec movie scripts.
