EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW

When you’re planning out your next visual storytelling project, creating the
treatment, or writing the actual script, you can refer to screenplay examples
to guide you. These examples are fully written scripts that have been
produced in the industry, and many developing screenwriters, directors,
actors, and other filmmaking professionals read scripts to improve their
skills.
Here, we cover some of the most instructive screenplay examples in each
genre from some of the industry’s best writers and filmmakers.

ACTION/ADVENTURE
THE DARK KNIGHT
This grim superhero film is not only one of director Christopher Nolan’s
most notable films, but it also established one of the most intriguing villains,
thanks to The Joker’s mixture of sinister and goofy characterization. Nolan
and the other writers combine the comic book hero action with dark, crime-
thriller choices for the protagonist, Bruce Wayne/Batman.
OCEAN’S ELEVEN
With sequels and a spin-off film, this movie is a modern remake that follows
a motley crew of skilled but quirky “professionals” in a fun, twisting heist
adventure. It covers exposition in a skillful way to let the audience in on the
plan without over-explaining, and readers and watchers alike invest quickly
in the suave protagonist Danny Ocean as he leads his team through
hiccups, improvisations, and terrific comedy riffs.
DIE HARD
An oldie but a goodie, this Bruce Willis-lead film pits his rough-around-the-
edges cop against a story-driving villain. With the tower as such a limited
location, the action is contained and the tension of every scene carries over
and builds, increasing suspense.
Other examples include:

● 300
● Aliens
● Inglorious Basterds
● The Bourne Ultimatum
● The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
 ● Inside Out
● Lone Survivor
● Looper
● The Matrix
● Zombieland

COMEDY
JUNO
Diablo Cody’s Oscar-winning script weaves quirky teenage humor, quick
flashbacks, and high emotional stakes to tell a story about family, love, and
motherhood. It uses the conventions of romantic comedies, like boy and girl
getting together at the end, as well as memorable lines, props, and
characters that make it just plain funny.
(500) DAYS OF SUMMER
This script uses a nonlinear structure that bounces around the 500 days of
the protagonist Tom’s relationship with the hard-to-pin-down Summer and
the funny, odd, and sad impacts on his life during and after their
relationship.
PLANES, TRAINS & AUTOMOBILES
This ’80s comedy uses the road movie structure and conventions to show a
straight-laced family man who just wants to get home, Neal, played by
Steve Martin, traveling with the bumbling and well-meaning Del, played by
John Candy. With great physical comedy, comedic tension, and a lot of
heart, this script is a great example of playing up the hilarity of two very
different characters.
Other examples include:

● The Disaster Artist

● Election
● The Way, Way Back
● Bridesmaids
● The Hangover
● Hannah and Her Sisters
● Mean Girls
● Sideways
● Stranger than Fiction
● There’s Something About Mary
● When Harry Met Sally
DRAMA
STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON
This script is a terrific lesson in writing biopics, which are films based on the
lives of real people. Read to see the themes and struggles represented in
N.W.A’s music first-hand through the characters’ experiences as they
create music, navigate the industry, and take their own paths.
THE TRUMAN SHOW
Combining a high concept with a down-to-earth protagonist, this script
follows a man who is unknowingly living inside a reality TV show about his
life. It features meta elements that set up a whole world within another
world that resembles but isn’t quite the same as our own.
AMERICAN BEAUTY
This script actually starts at the end of the story with the protagonist Lester
telling us what would be the big reveal. Then, the story restarts at the
beginning to show how Lester, his family, and his neighbors got there. In
available versions of the script, you’ll notice early scenes covering more of
the story’s end that were cut from the final film.
Other notable films include:

● Boogie Nights
● Forrest Gump
● Her
● Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
● Good Will Hunting
● Jerry Maguire
● Little Children
● Lost in Translation
● Up In the Air
● The Visitor
● Whiplash

HORROR
ALIEN
This sci-fi/horror script uses a very minimal style, with short, punchy action
lines that rarely go over one line long. The tension builds quickly, and we
learn only what we need to know about each character and event of the
film, creating hyper-focus on the terror.
THE CONJURING
This script uses precise visuals, emphasizes sounds, and characterizes the
house where the paranormal activity takes place to fully set the scene and
create an eerie atmosphere from beginning to end. The formatting of the
script itself, with the use of all caps sounds and actions as well as double
dashes, creates a fast and tense pace that’s captured in the film itself.
SAW
Ticking clocks are great storytelling devices to amplify stakes and create
intense pacing. Combined with the story itself, this script becomes a tense,
horrifying lesson in creating obstacles, establishing vivid scenes, and
keeping the audience guessing.
Other examples include:

● Let Me In
● A Quiet Place
● Us
● The Babadook
● Dawn of the Dead
● Final Destination
● Hereditary
● Insidious
● Jennifer’s Body
● The Omen
● The Sixth Sense

THRILLER
GET OUT
This Oscar-winning script by Jordan Peele blends comedy into this satirical
thriller/horror story that sheds light on topics like race and class distinction.
The visuals and the creation of “the sunken place” amplifies the unsettling
nature of the white, upper-class setting and teases out the big, dangerous
reveal of what the protagonist’s hosts are really up to.
TRAINING DAY
As a first-day-on-the-job movie meets hectic crime thriller, the script follows
a clean-cut rookie detective riding with his new, more seasoned partner to
learn the ropes. Slowly, small choices become large hurdles as this
experienced cop tests the protagonist’s values and traps him in impossible
situations, revealing that he’s in some bad business himself.
THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS
Another Academy Award winner, this screenplay is a great lesson in
adaptation writing. It follows an ambitious FBI trainee on a mission to catch
a serial killer. This script features gripping interactions between Clarice and
Hannibal Lecter, unnerving scenes with the killer on the loose, and a heart-
pounding final sequence where Clarice meets her target face-to-face.
Other examples include:

● Flightplan
● Pulp Fiction
● Shutter Island
● Thriller
● The Departed
● The Girl on the Train
● Nightcrawler
● No Country for Old Men
● Prisoners
● Reservoir Dogs
● The Usual Suspects

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN SCREENPLAY

EXAMPLES
There are many lessons to learn from reading professional scripts and
even comparing them to their filmed counterparts. Some of those lessons
include:

● Inspiring character development: Look out for memorable

introductions, clear goals, unique quirks, and life-like personalities.
Use the hero’s journey structure to track your protagonist’s growth in
the film.
● Realistic dialogue: What your characters say should feel natural to
the world they’re in and to the audience watching. Find lines that
bring out character personalities and show, not tell, the story.
 Consider also using localized slang or affectations to really bring
people and places to life.
● Great scene description: Scripts can really show readers what they
can expect from a scene’s setting by choosing unique locales, using
precise language and visuals, and integrating thematic settings,
objects, and colors.
● Well-executed plot points: Review both chronological and more
complex or non-chronological structures that complement or improve
the story. For example, Quentin Tarantino chose a structure of three
interrelated stories for Pulp Fiction.
● Engaging scenes: Many script-to-film examples demonstrate how
strong tension is built into scenes that keep readers and audiences
on the edge of their seats. Scenes with clear obstacles and
protagonist motivations keep eyes on the page and screen.
● Twists on genre conventions: Writers can subvert reader and
audience expectations by making deliberate choices that go against
the norm for a specific genre, such as in Cabin in the Woods. Others
choose to blend genres together. Looney Tunes: Back in Action is a
lesson in covering the whole gamut, including spy thriller, Western,
sci-fi, and Indiana Jones-style adventure, not to mention the
screwball comedy of the Looney Tunes.

WHERE TO FIND SCREENPLAY

EXAMPLES
There are many trusted sites that provide links to PDF files of scripts for
you to download, read, and analyze. Some great sources include:

● The Script Lab

● The Internet Movie Script Database
● Simply Scripts
● The Black List’s “Go Into the Story”
● Daily Script
Reviewing scripts and produced films helps you develop as a filmmaker
and visual storyteller. You can learn other techniques in cinematography,
production design, and directing when comparing scripts to their final films.
A professional filmmaking program like NFI’s Cinema Production Program
can provide you the resources to study films and produce your own stories.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. The Dark Knight
2. Ocean’s Eleven
3. Die Hard
4. Juno
5. (500) Days of Summer
6. Planes, Trains & Automobiles
7. Straight Outta Compton
8. The Truman Show
9. American Beauty
10. Alien
11. The Conjuring
12. Saw
13. Get Out
14. Training Day
15. The Silence of the Lambs
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