I can’t count the times an aspiring writer complained to me, “But I read a script by So-and-So Famous Writer and they did that! And now you’re telling me I can’t?”
Yes, they did break so-called sacrosanct screenwriting rules. But you can’t break conventions until you have mastered them.
These conversations inspired my last three ScriptMag columns on Breaking The Rules, particularly the dictatorial “Show, Not Tell.” Each explores a different type of masterfully breaking the rules, and offers examples from screenplays and teleplays by revered writers across genres and decades:
Breaking & Entering: Secrets Only the Pros Know – When to Break the Rules focuses on creating memorable character introductions.
Breaking & Entering: Seize the Reader – Pro Secrets to Creating Unforgettable Script Openings delves into electrifying openings that hook readers from page one and set the stage for the entire story.
And, possibly my favorite, Breaking The Rules Part 3: Pro Secrets – The Deft Cheat, explores techniques to create memorable scenes, evoke mood, and reveal unspoken character dynamics in engaging, cinematic, magical moments.
These articles showcase how A-List writers, having mastered the fundamentals, skillfully bend, break, and reinvent the rules with intention and finesse. Once your storytelling reaches that level, you can, too.
Read, Read, and Read
Rather than feeling frustrated, see these scripts as opportunities to learn. The great writers who came before you left a roadmap – scripts that demonstrate what they did and how they did it.
Aspiring writers no longer have to visit a museum to study the masters. While you can make an appointment at the Writers Guild Foundation Shavelson-Webb Library, or travel to the AMPAS Margaret Herrick Library, now thousands of scripts – dating back to the early decades of film – are readily available for free online, with just a little bit of sleuthing.
Search for:
[TITLE] screenplay OR teleplay PDF download free
While some sites feel shady or host useless transcripts, award-nominated scripts are often officially released by the studios to promote them to the industry. Ignoring these resources is like trying to become a surgeon without studying anatomy or observing live surgeries.
Learning from the Masters
Throughout history, mastery required apprenticeship and often hardship. Michelangelo began apprenticing at 13. He studied the masters. He dissected cadavers to grasp the underlying musculature of the body before turning to sculpture. By 24 he had completed the Pietà. Michelangelo wanted to create a work he described as “the heart’s image.” His most famous sculpture, David, was completely when he was he was 29.
Studying and mastering the skills of the experts is your opportunity to dissect and examine what is beneath the surface of human emotion before you become a renowned sculptor.
As a writer, you don’t need to cut up bodies or clean paint brushes, but you should study the master writers to grasp how they reveal what lies beneath the surface.
Essential Reading: Career-Launching Spec Scripts
To inspire your reading list, I’ve selected some of my favorite scripts by first-time screenwriters, whose debuts led to box office success, critical acclaim and even Academy Awards® for nominations for Best Original Screenplay.
Before the 1990s, many nominees had extensive experience in theatre or television. But the 90s were a Golden Era for spec scripts as studios were still eager to buy them in the 80s, leading an abundance of unique, original works. Bygone days for the industry, I’m afraid.
- 12 Angry Men (1957) – Reginald Rose technically this won Best Adapted Screenplay, but it was based on Rose’s own original teleplay, so it’s my call to put him on this list
- The Producers (1968) – Mel Brooks (Won) (What arena hadn’t Mel Brooks notched impressive achievements prior to this, with a career that started on the Borsht Belt just after WWII and flourished in television and theatre in the 1950s. Nevertheless, this was his first feature film, beating 2001: A Space Odyssey by Stanley Kubrick and Faces by John Cassavetes.)
- Breaking Away (1979) – Steve Tesich (Won)
- Moonstruck (1987) – John Patrick Shanley (Won) (note he had written and continues to write numerous successful plays)
- Thelma & Louise (1991) – Callie Khouri (Won)
- The Fisher King (1991) – Richard LaGravenese (Won)
- The Sixth Sense (1999) – M. Night Shyamalan
- American Beauty (1999) – Alan Ball (Won)
- Being John Malkovich (1999) – Charlie Kaufman
- Gosford Park (2001) – Julian Fellowes (won)
- My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) – Nia Vardalos
- Little Miss Sunshine (2006) – Michael Arndt (won)
- Juno (2007) – Diablo Cody (Won)
- The Big Sick (2017) – Emily V. Gordon & Kumail Nanjiani
- Get Out (2017) – Jordan Peele (Won)
- Promising Young Woman (2020) – Emerald Fennell (Won)
In The Beginning
What fascinates me most is each writer’s origin story: Each “in the beginning” is different. Some writers were ready to quit – just one more idea that they simply had to write. Others were just starting out. Some wrote a first draft in days, others went through hundreds of versions.
As a special treat, here are some enlightening interviews with the writers on how these specs came into being, their writing, and what they want to say with their stories:
John Patrick Shanley by Craig Gholson for BOMB
Callie Khouri on Creating Character: Thelma & Louise interview with Syd Field
Richard LaGravenese and The Fisher King by Christopher McKittrick in Creative Screenwriting
M. Night Shyamalan on Screenwriting by Daniel Argent in Creative Screenwriting
Interview with Alan Ball on American Beauty in Spiritual Teachers via Amazon.com
Charlie Kaufman: why I wrote Being John Malkovich by Charlie Kaufman in The Guardian
Interview: Julian Fellowes: Actor, writer by Ashley Coates in How Did They Do It
Nia Vardalos on My Big Fat Greek Wedding’s Slow Burn, Rising Before 4 A.M., and the Very Real Merits of Windex by Elizabeth Logan in Glamour
‘Closet Screenwriter’ Arndt comes into the light by Anne Thompson in The Hollywood Reporter
Ex-stripper beats odds with ‘Juno’ by Jeff Baenen in Cape Cod Times
The Big Sick’s Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V Gordon: ‘In America, the idea of a cross-cultural relationship is still controversial’ by Tim Lewis in The Guardian
‘Get Out’ Sprang From An Effort To Master Fear, Says Director Jordan Peele transcript via Fresh Air with Terry Gross and Tonya Mosley on NPR
Emerald Fennell’s ‘Promising Young Woman’ Doesn’t Let Anyone Off The Hook transcript via Fresh Air with Sam Briger on NPR
Learn from the Good and the Bad
While I urge you to consume a steady diet of good scripts, don’t shy away from the bad ones. Analyzing where and why they fall short will sharpen your skills and strengthen your storytelling techniques. Growing up, once in the theatre, I never walked out of a bad film; there was always something to learn.
Your best education is right at your fingertips! Start reading, studying, and dissecting.
Master the rules.
Then break them with style.