by John | May 5, 2017 | Studio Consulting, Trainees' Examples
An example script consultancy on a reading of GONE GIRL script, a film that starred Ben Affleck and Rosalind Pike.
“The script is long, but tightly constructed and there is no superfluous detail…” Extracts from a script report by our trainee Sandy chapman, based on a reading of the GONE GIRL script: If you want to learn more about the internship, too, just email info@writemovies.com.
To see the full industry-standard format we use for Studio Coverage, purchase The Confidential Studio Manual to get the inside track on how the industry will really assess and process your script (CLICK HERE)!
WRITEMOVIES STORY DEPARTMENT COVERAGE
TITLE: GONE GIRL LOCALE: Missouri
AUTHOR: Gillian Flynn SETTING: Urban
PERIOD: Modern FORM: SP
PRODUCER: N/A BUDGET: Medium
SYNOPSIS
Sinister voice over suggests Nick is a threat to Amy, but also that she is guilty of something. This is a tense relationship. Nick drives to the bar he runs with his sister, Go. It’s his fifth wedding anniversary. Flashback/Amy’s diary entry of when she met Nick at a party. There was an instant connection between them.
Present day, and Nick complains to Go that Amy’s anniversary treasure hunt will reveal all his shortcomings. Back home, Nick finds the front door open, the living room wrecked and no sign of Amy. Boney and Gilpin arrive. Boney recognises the ‘Amazing Amy’ books – her disappearance will grab the media spotlight. Gilpin questions Nick, who comes across as remote, detached. Police teams find ‘Clue One’ of the anniversary trail and evidence that Amy paid for everything the Dunnes own.
Nick heads to a press conference with Amy’s parents. He appears uncaring, is photographed smiling. Her parents have a big campaign launched. Boney wants Nick to solve the anniversary treasure hunt, to retrace Amy’s steps. They get as far as Nick’s office, where Boney finds a red lacy thong. Flashback/diary entry: Amy has given her parents most of her trust fund. Nick is unhappy as they’re both unemployed, but accepts the situation…
COMMENTS:
Amy’s disappearance, the inciting incident, occurs early in the script and is an immediate hook: will Nick be charged with murder? It’s already been revealed that their relationship had soured, and this, combined with a series of media gaffs, points the finger firmly at Nick’s guilt. Yet the opening voice over has already alerted us that things will not be as they seem in this script: we might suspect Nick isn’t guilty, but have no idea how he will prove his innocence. The script drips mounting evidence against him carefully throughout act one and the beginning of act two, from money worries to violent behaviour. The most damning evidence is his affection for Andie. Her appearance urges the audience to think that perhaps Nick is guilty after all, he’s certainly less likeable, and that perhaps we were wrong to be rooting for him thus far.
The audience are thrown another twist at the mid-point. Even if we weren’t convinced of Nick’s guilt, the extreme measures Amy took to frame him are incredible and the initial hook remains intact. The shift is that we are no longer in any doubt that Amy is the driving force behind this story, and behind Nick’s future. Her motives and actions are believable: she may act beyond the boundaries of ‘normal’ behaviour, but she is disturbingly real. Nick is forced to play by her rules, and in a last-ditch attempt to save himself appeals to any vestiges of love she may have for him. Amy responds, but in true Amy fashion her plans require more extreme action that will keep the audience enthralled. Nick may have proved his innocence, but he is, in effect, sentenced to a lifetime with Amy. The ending avoids the cliches and neatness that one might expect from the genre, but is completely fitting for the characters, adding depth to the story and drawing greater empathy from the audience.
The script is long, but tightly constructed and there is no superfluous detail. It retains the feel and the drive of the bestselling novel on which it is based and has the advantage of having been written by the same author…
To see the full industry-standard format we use for Studio Coverage, purchase The Confidential Studio Manual to get the inside track on how the industry will really assess and process your script (CLICK HERE)!
by John | Apr 27, 2017 | Studio Consulting, Trainees' Examples
An example script consultancy on a reading of MOONLIGHT script, winner of Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay at the 2017 Oscars.
“This screenplay is beautifully written, the central theme elegantly expressed in an almost poetic style…” Extracts from a script report by our trainee Edward Smith, based on a reading of the MOONLIGHT script.
This example report was completed by Edward Smith as part of his internship with us, which has recently been successfully completed.
To see the full industry-standard format we use for Studio Coverage, purchase The Confidential Studio Manual to get the inside track on how the industry will really assess and process your script (CLICK HERE)!
WRITEMOVIES STORY DEPARTMENT COVERAGE
TITLE: MOONLIGHT LOCALE: Miami, Atlanta
AUTHOR: Barry Jenkins SETTING: Urban U.S.
PERIOD: Present FORM: SP
PRODUCER: N/A BUDGET: Low
SYNOPSIS
This screenplay is divided into three chapters, each focusing on a different stage of the protagonist’s life and titled after the name he is currently using; in the first part, aged twelve, he goes by the name LITTLE. Chased by a gang of bullies, he takes refuge in an abandoned crackhouse, where he is found by the drug dealer, JUAN. Little spends the night with Juan and his girlfriend, TERESA, and starts to become close to them because his own mother, PAULA, is neglectful of him.
When Juan discovers Paula doing drugs, they argue about raising Little, with Paula implying that he is gay. That night, having been confronted by Paula, Little goes to speak to Juan, asking him what the word “faggot” means and whether he is himself gay. Juan reassures him, but is then forced to admit, to his shame, that he is a drug dealer and that he has sold Paula drugs.
In the second chapter, the protagonist, now sixteen-years-old, goes by his real name, CHIRON. In the intervening years, Juan has died and Paula has become even more abusive, but Chiron still regularly visits Teresa. He is now struggling with his attraction to his friend, KEVIN, while also still coping with bullies – particularly his classmate, TERRELL…
COMMENTS:
This screenplay is beautifully written, the central theme elegantly expressed in an almost poetic style. It deals with an oft-overlooked issue, studying what it is like to be a gay black man, charting the struggles the protagonist faces in establishing his own identity in a culture that is hostile to his sexuality; this is dealt with both delicately and realistically thanks to the high quality of the writing…
By portraying three distinct stages of Chiron’s life, we are able to see the intricacies of his situation and better understand how he develops as a character. He is forced to change because of the physical and emotional abuse he suffers, with very few nurturing figures to help him. From being a gentle, vulnerable child, he violently lashes out against his bullies and eventually reinvents himself as a drug dealer to hide who he truly is. In the end, he is only able to come to terms with his sexuality because of Kevin’s influence, bringing him full circle back to his true self after all the challenges he has faced.
Each chapter also has its own, miniature three act structure. For example, the first chapter has an inciting incident when Little meets Juan; the first act sees them become attached to one another, the second develops their relationship, and the third deals with the conversation between them when Little asks about being gay. Similarly, the other two chapters also have a three act structure, allowing each one to stand on its own as an independent story – albeit strengthened and given context by the others.
To see the full industry-standard format we use for Studio Coverage, purchase The Confidential Studio Manual to get the inside track on how the industry will really assess and process your script (CLICK HERE)!
by WriteMovies | Jan 19, 2017 | Studio Consulting, Trainees' Examples
An example script consultancy on a reading of the A MOST VIOLENT YEAR script:
“A gritty crime drama with many familiar beats of the gangster genre that also refreshingly subverts it, exploring a protagonist trying to expand his business empire whilst fighting not to be drawn into the gangster world…” Extracts from a script report by our trainee Adam Yee, based on a reading of the A MOST VIOLENT YEAR script: CLICK HERE to read the script online from Gointothestory.
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by John | Aug 4, 2016 | Competition Offers, Studio Consulting
Our Studio Coverages are the kind of verdict your script would currently get from the analysts at major studios and gives you the opportunity to get professional feedback on your script before you send it out.
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Shrek 5 script is complete – http://www.denofgeek.com/uk/movies/shrek/48433/shrek-5-script-is-complete
