Genre: ComedyPremise: A group of 20-somethings must deal with the ever-complicated logistics of commitment. About: Are We Officially Dating made the 2010 Black List, landing somewhere near the middle of the pack. Thomas Gormican, the writer, graduated from Brown University. He began his career at GreeneStreet Films in New York City. Afterwards, he partnered with [...]

Genre: WesternPremise: Appalled by the lack of concern following a brothel worker’s murder, a young prostitute in the Old West sets out to find the killer while searching for her own escape from the world’s oldest profession.About: Iris Of The Garden is a 2010 Nicholl Quarter-Finalist. That tag has gotten Shaarawi some requests for her [...]

Genre: Dark ComedyPremise: A pharmacist whose wife regularly questions his masculinity starts an affair with a tortured trophy wife, who encourages him to explore the “fruits” of his profession. About: This one was on the Black List this year and will star Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker) and Jennifer Garner (13 Going on 30). The [...]

Genre: Sci-FiPremise: In a world where families are allowed only one child due to overpopulation, a resourceful set of identical septuplets must avoid governmental execution and dangerous infighting while investigating the disappearance of one of their own.About: This spec script sold to Vendome Pictures after it landed on the 2010 Black List. Vendome Pictures is [...]

Hip Hip Hooray! Oscar nominations day. Maybe I’ll get to my thoughts on that later in the week. As of now, Article Thursday has been moved up to today, and Thursday will become a review day. Also, I found a new draft of Dibbuk Box, so I decided to do something unprecedented: go back and [...]

Genre: HorrorPremise: Dibbuk Box is apparently based on the real-life events of people tracking and buying some box on ebay that was haunted. Every recipient of the box would have strange and/or terrible things happen to them. To show you just how spooky and haunted this box is, since I posted this review, the real [...]

On a day where they’ve announced that they’re remaking Lethal Weapon (remaking Lethal Weapon?? Really?) you’re probably wondering why I’m writing yet another article telling you what you SHOULDN’T do. But here’s the thing. I was reading away last weekend, burning through script after script, each one in a different genre, becoming more and more [...]

Genre: ActionPremise: A woman must fight off hundreds of yakuzas all sent to do one thing – kill her. The hook? The entire battle takes place in her apartment. About: Yale Hannon spent ten years as a script coordinator on TV shows, working on such series as Parenthood, In Treatment, Vanished, and Big Love. What [...]

Genre: High School Premise: Two best friends at Providence high school, Gabriel and Kayla, find themselves preparing for their lives after graduation. But when their relationship becomes more than friends, all of their plans will have to be reevaluated. About: Another “write what you know” tale. (from Wikipedia) In his sophomore year at USC, Schwartz [...]

Genre: ComedyPremise: Four best friends in their 70 head to Vegas for a bachelor party. About: Dan Fogelman, screenwriter of Scriptshadow favorite Crazy Stuipid Love and recent Black List entry, Imagine, sold Last Vegas earlier in the year. In related news, Fogelman also sold his Wednesday Jack In The Box receipt for high six figures [...]

Genre: Horror-ThrillerPremise: (from writers) After a member of their expedition sustains an open flesh wound, a group of mountaineers find themselves being stalked by a vicious high-altitude Snow Beast.About: Every Friday, I review a script from the readers of the site. If you’re interested in submitting your script for an Amateur Review, send it in [...]

The other day I was exchanging e-mails with a writer about a couple of scripts of his I had read, which had some good things about them but ultimately weren’t where they needed to be. He was really upset about it, and after hearing his side, I understood why. He had spent the last two [...]

Genre: Indie DramedyPremise: After sabotaging another family vacation, a travel agent who’s afraid to fly battles his irrational phobias in order to win back his wife and daughter.About: Paper Airplane landed in the middle of the pack of the 2010 Black List. Karger has written and directed a few shorts over the last five years, [...]

Genre: Rom-ComPremise: A news anchor who idolizes Audrey Hepburn gets left at the altar, then starts a friendship with her ex-fiancé’s best friend. About: Ryan Murphy is one of the biggest names in the business right now. The public at large first came to know his work as the series creator of the trashy but [...]

I know this is a weird post, but I’m making a call out to all you Scriptshadow readers to answer a question I’m dying to know.  Last night I was watching Risky Business and realizing what a great movie it was.  Not only is the screenplay incredibly tight but the directing is unique and inventive [...]

Genre: Horror/Sci-FiPremise: Jurassic Park meets Michael Bay via Jerry Bruckheimer. A team of scientists study what could be Noah’s Ark, trapped underneath a mountain of ice. But this is not the same ark we’ve been told about in stories. About: The 2005 sci-fi script “The Ark” is what got Holly Brix her agent. This later [...]

**************************************************NOTE: Scroll down for Walt Disney biopic – The Imagineer!************************************************** Hey guys.  As a lot of you know, I’m a big fan of The Tracking Board website.  For those not aware of what a tracking board is, it’s a site that tracks spec scripts as well as writing assignments in the industry and lets you [...]

Genre: Biopic/Drama/FantasyPremise: The life story of one of the most creative minds of all time, Walt Disney.About: For one of my favorite books about Disney, check out Disney War – a backroom expose of Michael Eisner’s tenure at the company. Some nice juicy stuff. — Every Friday, I review a script from the readers of [...]

When you read a ton of scripts, patterns start emerging. Little things occur here and there – red flags if you will – that indicate you’re dealing with an amateur. This article is not meant to attack these mistakes, but rather highlight them so that anyone writing a script can try and avoid them. I [...]