Genre: Drama/Period/ThrillerPremise: November 1944, Strasbourg, France. A Solider wakes up with amnesia in “La Zone Occupée”. The only thing he remembers is his duty to deliver a package on the corner of Rue St. Aloise and Rue Du Cheval at 10:30pm. No name, no date, and under no circumstances is the package to be opened. [...]

Yeah yeah yeah, I fully own up to having a few “pretentious film snob” entries on my list – trendy little cinematic morsels that made a lot of noise on the indie circuit but which the majority of America could care less about. But I stand by my entries because I’m a dancing fool and [...]

Genre: ComedyPremise: A human teenager, a vampire, and a zombie must save their town from an alien invasion.About: Oren wrote one of my favorites scripts from last year, Shimmer Lake, about the aftermath of a bank robbery except told backwards. The script won the Austin screenwriting contest. Kitchen Sink is, from my understanding, his follow-up [...]

Genre: ComedyPremise: 13 year old Miles Calhoun excels in…just about everything. So when his parents continue to hold him back, Miles decides to do what any exceptional 13 year old boy would do – file for legal separation.About: History of Fools finished in the Top 13 of the Scriptapalooza contest back in 2005. The notoriety [...]

Turns out I’m more hungover from sugar plums and eggnog than I thought I’d be.  Plus, let’s face it, does anybody actually work this week?  I mean please.  They should make the week between Christmas and New Years an official holiday.  Anyway, start prepping those New Years’ lists.  And get ready for my Thursday Top [...]

Genre: Christmas ComedyPremise: A disenchanted hotel executive’s life is turned upside down after he drops a Dear Santa letter in a mysterious “Letters to Santa” sack — then must live with the consequences when his wishes come true.About: Every Friday, I review a script from the readers of the site. If you’re interested in submitting [...]

Okay now for those of you who read the site every day, these choices probably won’t be that surprising to you. But if you’re only an occasional stop-buyer of Scriptshadow (and if you are, shame on you), then there may be a few succulent chunks of screenplay goodness for you to munch on. Now unlike [...]

Last year’s Top 10 Black List script, Cedar Rapids, debuts its trailer.  I have to say, this looks pretty damn good.

Get ready for my Top 10 scripts of the year post on Thursday. Also, I somehow dug up yet another forgotten impressive script, which I’ll review Wednesday. Right now, it’s time to tackle the number 1 script on The Black List, College Republicans! Genre: Political Drama/BiopicPremise: Aspiring politician Karl Rove runs a dirty campaign for [...]

First of all, I know this has already made its way through the screenwriting community, but I still thought I should post it.  Some of the jokes here are misses but there are a couple of really good ones.  My favorite by far is “Escalation.”  Basically, if you’re sick of all these end-of-the-year screenwriting lists, [...]

Genre: ComedyPremise: When the wealthy owner of a fast food chicken franchise learns that his bitchy wife wants a divorce and is therefore entitled to half his money, he decides to spend it all so that she doesn’t get a dime.About: Here was Kevin’s e-mail to me: “The main reason I want you to read [...]

Genre: Multi-character DramaPremise: A young Latino man with a gambling addiction starts receiving letters in the mail informing him that if certain people die, he’ll be awarded thousands of dollars. About: Out of Breath won the 2008 Nicholl Fellowship. The writers, Kristensen and Marshall, co-wrote the script in a master’s class at Columbia. Prior to [...]

Genre: ComedyPremise: A “For Dummies” book author is approached by God and told he has to build an Ark.About: Passion of The Ark sold for 1.5 million against 2.5 million back in 2004. When Universal wanted to explore a sequel for its Bruce Almighty “franchise,” they decided to rewrite this script as a vehicle for [...]

Hey, what do you know? It’s December 14, which means a new BLACK LIST is upon us. For those new to the site and new to the list, it’s basically a compilation of the best unproduced screenplays of the year (or as they like to put it – the “most liked”). There’s discussion every year [...]

Hey guys.  Just a heads up that the 2010 Black List has finally arrived.  I’m unfortunately slammed today so I won’t be able to post anything about it but expect a full rundown first thing tomorrow morning!  Go check out the list at the official Black List site.

Genre: Multi-character DramaPremise: A mysterious college girl, a pack of Princeton frat boys, a reformed gangster, and a mob boss come crashing together in one unpredictable 72 hour period. About: We’re going back to a Black List script from yesteryear – 2006 to be exact. Frank Baldwin’s Crash-like tale finished with 7 votes on the [...]

Genre: HeistPremise: (from writer) A Detroit bank thief accidentally steals from the Canadian mob and is forced to lift a rare painting from the Detroit mob to pay them back.About: Served Cold made it to the semi-finals of the Screenwriting Expo competition but that’s where it topped out. Pryor, who’s about as far out of [...]

What?  You can’t stand waiting for the 2010 Black List?  Me neither.  Which is why I present to you The Hit List!  What is this “hit” list you ask?  I’ll let the guys over at The Tracking Board give you the in-depth breakdown.  But basically they realized that one of the biggest weaknesses of The [...]

When you decide to jump into this unpredictable chaotic world of screenwriting, the first thing you’ll want to do is write some scripts. Bust out that copy of Final Draft and write whatever story pops into that dysfunctional little noggin of yours. Doesn’t matter if it’s not commercial. Doesn’t matter if the idea gives your [...]