This year’s TOP 10 SCREENPLAYS list is all over the place! We’ve got biopics, tearjerkers, high concept, low concept, horror, thrillers, you name it, it’s here. As I put this list together, I was trying to find a theme, and something surprising stuck out to me. The top two scripts are all about amazing characters. But many of the scripts resonated because of their concepts and crafty plotting. Here are my favorite scripts of the year (tomorrow I’m posting my favorite amateur scripts of the year). Make sure to share your own favorites in the comments section!
Number Ten – “The Dirt”
Logline: An in-depth look at one of the craziest rock bands ever to grace the stage – Motley Crue.
Writer: Rich Wilkes (based on the book by Neil Strauss)
Why: Despite what I wrote above, this script was, surprisingly, as much about flawed characters as it was about their insane excursions as rock stars. As the #MeToo era was ushered in, it looked like this would never get made (it’s basically the operator’s guide for toxic masculinity). But Netflix is supposedly making the film. Which is great. This was a kick-ass script.
Number Nine – “Newsflash”
Logline: The Kennedy assassination told in real-time through the eyes of CBS news anchor Walter Cronkite.
Writer: Ben Jacoby
Why: Sometimes, the thing that sets a script apart is the approach the writer took to the story. You can tell the story about the Kennedy Assassination in a million different ways. To tell it through the eyes of a reporter in real-time was a genius way to turn an overplayed topic into something fresh and new.
Number Eight – “Triple Frontier”
Logline: A group of ex-special forces come together to steal 90 million dollars from a drug lord in the most criminally potent area of the world, the Triple Frontier.
Writer: Mark Boal
Why: Same lesson as Newsflash. The trick with writing a great heist flick is coming up with an angle we haven’t seen before. Not only is stealing from a drug kingpin a cool heist idea. But the aftermath to the heist is the best action sequence I’ve read all year.
Number Seven – “Heart of the Beast”
Logline: A former Navy SEAL and his retired combat dog attempt to return to civilization after a catastrophic accident deep in the Alaskan wilderness.
Writer: Cameron Alexander
Why: Pretty simple why this one made it. It had me weeping harder than Niagara Falls by the end. No script hit me harder on an emotional level than this one. It’s quite the screenwriting lesson, actually. The majority of this script was average to above-average. But if you hit us with a whopper of an ending, it deodorizes everything we read before it. I still think about this ending every once in awhile. That’s how powerful it is.
Number Six – “Beast” (no link – this was a Newsletter review)
Logline: The lone survivor of a plane crash finds her way to a small island where a monstrous beast lives and becomes intent on killing her.
Writer: Aaron W. Sala
Why: This was such a fun script. It’s one of those ideas where you say, “I wish I would’ve thought of that.” I love that it’s high concept but wouldn’t cost a ton of money. And I like that the writer did the opposite of what most people do with monster-in-a-box stories. They usually put them in a house or dark contained area. The contrast of this monster against this paradise island gave the situation a nice touch of irony.
Number Five – “I’m Proud of You”
Logline: A married news columnist who’s checked out of life finds his way back into it when he does a story on Mister Rogers.
Writers: Micha Fitzerman-Blue & Noah Harpster (based on Tim Madigan’s memoir)
Why: I don’t have any big screenwriting reason for liking this script. It made the list because it’s a reminder that there are good people in the world who genuinely care. And that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. We could all learn a few human being lessons from Mr. Rogers.
Number Four – “Antlers”
Logline: A young teacher who’s recently moved into a small blue collar town tries to help a lonely boy, only to find out that he’s harboring something terrible in his home.
Writers: Henry Chaisson & Nick Antosca (based on the short story by Nick Antosca)
Why: This script was damn spooky. When our hero breaks into her student’s house and finds two crumpled up burnt corpses tangled together on the floor, I was in it for the long haul. The looming presence of the script’s monster gave me nightmares, which doesn’t happen often for me in screenplay form.
Number Three – “Shadow in the Cloud” (no link – this was a Newsletter review)
Logline: A mysterious female Air Force trainee is stuck inside the gun turret of a B-17 bomber during the tail end of World War 2.
Writer: Max Landis
Why: The plotting in this script is amazing. Each new development comes at just the right moment. The second we’re on the verge of relaxing, there’s something new to jolt us. It’s one hell of a crazy idea which led to one of the most enjoyable reads I had all year.
Number Two – “Blonde Ambition”
Logline: Set in New York in the 80s, Blonde Ambition tells the story of how Madonna hustled her way to stardom.
Writer: Elyse Hollander
Why: The thing I remember most about this script is how the pacing was so different from every other biopic I read. Most biopics are slow and plodding. But this starts and never stops. Madonna is a tour-de-force. And this is coming from someone who doesn’t like her. Unfortunately, they’ll never make this. Madonna comes off looking horrible. So the only way to experience it is to read the script, which I recommend you do. Especially if you want to learn how to write a compelling main character.
Number One – “JoJo Rabbit”
Logline: In 1944, a 10-year old Hitler fanatic whose only goal in life is to become the best Nazi he can possibly be, discovers a secret in his home that will challenge everything he was brought up to believe.
Writer: Taika Waititi
Why: The negative comments to my script review is exactly why I love this script so much. It takes the most horrifying subject matter, Hitler, and couples it with a ten year-old boy who adores him. This is where great scripts are born, when you slam together two things that shouldn’t be together. I mean could you have made a movie about a ten year old boy who loves Elmo? Sure. But which one of those ideas sounds more interesting to you? None of this is as relevant as the emotional punch that this script hits you with. It’s superb writing from one of the most interesting artists working today.
