If you are anything like me, then you have more than a
passing interest in filmmaking. I am amazed at how complicated the filmmaking
process is, how many steps there are along the way, how many people are
involved, and just how much talent is required to make a great film. If one
person anywhere along that chain does their job poorly, then the whole film can
fall apart.
It all starts with the screenplay. An engaging, exciting
screenplay that develops great characters can provide a solid foundation for a
good film. Without a solid screenplay, there is little hope of a successful
film. Sometimes an exceptional directing or acting job can salvage a bad
screenplay, but that is rare.
Among this year’s Academy Award nominations for Best
Original Screenplay is Django Unchained,
the amazing western written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, Just last week,
it picked up a Golden Globe for Best Screenplay – Motion Picture. It’s an
amazing film (#3 in my Top 10 of 2012), it has already won a ton of awards this
season, and it’s primed to pick up more hardware come Oscar night. The
Weinstein Company has been promoting Django
Unchained, and several of their other films, over the past few weeks with
“For Your Consideration” campaigns. As part of that campaign, they have made available the screenplay for Django Unchained and three other films as
pdf files you can download and read for yourself.
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| Click for pdf |
That’s right, the entire 170-page screenplay for Django Unchained is available for
download.
It’s fascinating to read the screenplay and compare it to the final film. Many of the changes from script to screen were made for
the better, and it is cool to see what Tarantino did to improve the final
product.
But, Django Unchained
isn’t the only screenplay being pushed by The Weinstein Company for awards
consideration. David O. Russell adapted Silver Linings Playbook for the screen and directed the film too. He received an Academy
Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay for his efforts and a Golden Globe
nomination for Best Screenplay - Motion Picture. In fact, the Academy apparently
liked the film a lot, nominating the film for Lead Actor, Lead Actress,
Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Best Director, Best Editing, and Best
Picture in addition to Best Adapted Screenplay. That’s a lot of potential
golden statues. The Weinstein Company put together a pretty successful "For Your Consideration" campaign, I'd say.
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| Click for pdf |
In addition to getting your hands on those Academy and
Golden Globe nominated screenplays, you can also download two other screenplays that were pushed for awards by The Weinstein Company.
There’s Quartet, the comedy/drama
about old people living in an opera-themed nursing home, if you feel so
inclined. Sure, why not?
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| Click for pdf |
Finally, you can also get the screenplay for Paul Thomas
Anderson’s The Master. This one is
fascinating. I loved the acting in The
Master, but I didn’t really like the story. I found it to be a muddled,
confusing mess. There was good stuff in there, individual scenes that were
intense, powerful, and mesmerizing, but as a whole, I didn’t think it all fit
together. Here is my chance (and yours) to read what writer/director Paul
Thomas Anderson intended before he got into the editing room. As excited as I
am to dive into the craziness of Django Unchained, I
am equally excited to clarify Anderson’s vision.
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| Click for pdf |
It’s really great that The Weinstein Company has made these available. I will definitely give Django
Unchained and The Master thorough
reads, and I will probably take a peek at Silver
Linings Playbook and even Quartet.
It’s not every day that such quality screenplays are made freely
available.
Will you be editing your own spec script after reading
Tarantino’s excellent Django Unchained?
Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter!
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