Most would-be film and TV scribblers know it’s nearly impossible to boost your ability to write screenplays without an accompanying commitment to read screenplays.
And this isn’t just about reading Tootsie and Dog Day Afternoon.
Even screenplays that are…ummm….less than stellar — Flintstones 2 comes to mind — can provide nuts-and-bolts intel on how to turn the abstract images in your head into something tangible and entertaining. (And perhaps more importantly how NOT to do it.)
But how do you find those screenplays online, those hidden gems — and screenplay clunkers — without forking over the 12 or so dollars on Amazon.
Here are five go-to places to build your archive and help you read screenplays like a frickin’ pro:
5 Locations to Read Screenplays (On the Cheap)
#1: Internet Movie Script Database
Don’t let the (slightly) old-school, early 90s web design fool you. This is a powerful tool with tons of screenplays on its shelves.
I especially like the way they organize by genre — not just alphabetically — and the minimal, text-focused layout. (Not a bunch of annoying pop-up ads to get in your way.)
Though their TV script selection is rather small — and very little in the way of international scripts — if you’re looking for an easy-to-use screenplay database, this is a great first stop.
Link to Read Screenplays at IMSDB
#2 : Simply Scripts
I love Simply Scripts. My only complaint is that there is so much to look at; each time I go there I go down a rabbit hole and end up spending an hour looking through all the cool stuff.
Constantly updated with new stuff — want the revised 5th draft script of Dune by David Lynch? They got it!; Want the un-produced 4th draft script of Wonder Woman by Laeta Kalogordis (creator of Altered Carbon)? They got it! — and a visually-based front page that makes it easy to go looking for the latest PDF screenplay to download. (Maybe a little too easy.)
Link to Read Screenplays at Simply Scripts
#3: Daily Script
There are minimal, no-frills websites…and then there is Daily Script. With its stripped-down design — just text and links — it’s easy to navigate for that script that you want. (They’ve even got a decent selection of TV Scripts.)
Click to Read Screenplays at Daily Script
#4: Screenwriting Sub Reddit
If you’re not familiar with Reddit, and the screenwriting sub-reddit in partiuclar, then you are missing out on a treasure trove of screenplay resources, rants, gossip and tips. Part-forum, part-bitchfest, the Screenwriting Sub-Reddit is a great place to find obscure screenplays you can’t find anywhere else. (Such as all the Black List screenplays or Oscar nominated scripts for a given year.)
Be forewarned though: many links to personal script collections tend to get pulled down, due to copyright reasons, so if you see something you want — be sure to take advantage of it. It may not be there the next time you cruise by.
Click to Read Screenplays at the Screenwriting Sub-Reddit
#5: The University of Google
If you’re looking for a specific screenplay,and can’t seem to find in the sources mentioned above — or don’t want to navigate through every page of a specific site — then here are a couple of Google search tricks to find the screenplay you want.
To find a screenplay that seems to have eluded you, just put the following into your Google search bar: “PDF” AND “(SCREENPLAY TITLE)” — The quotation marks and the AND (in all caps) are important
To comb through an existing database, without clicking on every single page on a site, put the following into your Google search bar: Site:nameofwebsite.com — This will bring up every page on their website, and let you quickly look around for what you want.
“Kid, You Don’t Know How Good You Got It”
Back when I started in the Pre-Internet, Mesozoic era if you wanted a screenplay you had to buy it a bookstore — remember those? — or you had to special-order from a place like Larry Edmund’s Bookstore. (Still one of the best places to check out in LA.)
Today, to read screenplays on a regular basis, just requires a bit of cyber-sleuthing. And a willingness to grab anything — even Flintstones 2 — that catches your eye.
