Go Into The Story Resource: Page One
A daily series featuring the first page of notable movie scripts from all eras.
A daily series featuring the first page of notable movie scripts from all eras.
On May 16, 2021, Go Into The Story turned 13 years old — you can read the very first blog post here. I led with this paragraph:
Welcome to Go Into The Story! Right now, it’s nothing but a humble, threadbare blog, but I hope it will evolve into an active resource for aspiring screenwriters, as well as a community for anyone interested in storytelling and the creative life.
And evolve it did! To the point where it was recently named “Best of the Best” Scriptwriting Website in the 20th Annual Writer’s Digest Best Websites for Writers list.
To celebrate 13 years of blogging about screenwriting, writing, Hollywood, movies, TV, and the creative life, each day in May, I’m going to feature a piece of Go Into The Story trivia, plus a writing resource you can find in the site’s archives. This is not an exercise in self-congratulations so much as I figured readers could use some tips about how to best use the site. With — to date — over 100 archive topics, there is a LOT of content here. Hopefully, these posts this month will clue in more recent followers and remind long-time readers about resources you can use to facilitate deepening your understanding of the writing craft.
Today’s Go Into The Story resource: Page One. For the first twelve years of my blog’s existence, I ran a series called Daily Dialogue. It was exactly like it sounds: Each day, feature dialogue from notable movie scenes. When I was forced to take a break from blogging due to shoulder surgery, I had an inspiration: Why not start a new daily series called Page One? The concept is simple: Feature the first page of a movie script every day. Different genres, different eras, give readers a small taste of hundreds of screenplay styles. It’s proved to be a popular series and spawned a bunch of helpful online discussions about screenplay format, style, narrative voice, and much more.
Here are links to all of the Page One posts, a series which began last August.
10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
12 Monkeys (1995)
12 Years a Slave (2013)
3:10 to Yuma (2007)
The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005)
48 Hrs. (1982)
(500) Days of Summer (2009)
1917 (2019)
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
The Abyss (1989)
Ace in the Hole (1951)
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994)
Adaptation. (2002)
Adventureland (2009)
An Affair to Remember (1957)
Aladdin (1992)
Aliens (1986)
All About Eve (1950)
All the President’s Men (1976)
Almost Famous (2000)
Amadeus (1984)
Amélie (2001)
American Beauty (1999)
American Graffiti (1973)
The American President (1995)
American Psycho (2000)
Annette (2021)
The Apartment (1960)
Apocalypse Now (1979)
Apollo 13 (1995)
Argo (2012)
Armageddon (1998)
Arrival (2016)
As Good As It Gets (1997)
Atonement (2007)
Attack the Block (2011)
August: Osage County (2013)
Avatar (2009)
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Awakenings (1990)
The Babadook (2014)
Babel (2006)
Baby Driver (2017)
Back to the Future (1985)
Bad Boys (1995)
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)
Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar (2021)
Barbershop (2002)
Barton Fink (1991)
Basic Instinct (1992)
Batman Begins (2005)
Battle of the Sexes (2017)
Beaches (1988)
Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)
A Beautiful Mind (2001)
Beetlejuice (1988)
Before Midnight (2013)
Before Sunset (2004)
Being John Malkovich (1999)
Being There (1979)
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011)
Big (1988)
The Big Chill (1983)
Big Fish (2003)
The Big Lebowski (1998)
The Big Short (2015)
The Big Sick (2017)
Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989)
Bill & Ted Face the Music (2020)
Billy Elliot (2000)
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)
The Birds (1963)
Black Swan (2010)
BlacKkKlansman (2018)
Blade Runner (1982)
Blazing Saddles (1974)
The Blind Side (2009)
Blood Simple. (1984)
Blue Valentine (2010)
Blue Velvet (1986)
The Blues Brothers (1980)
Body Heat (1981)
The Bodyguard (1992)
Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
Boogie Nights (1997)
Booksmart (2019)
Bottle Rocket (1996)
The Bourne Identity (2002)
Boyhood (2014)
Braveheart (1995)
Brazil (1985)
Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961)
The Breakfast Club (1985)
Breaking Away (1979)
Brick (2005)
Bridesmaids (2011)
Bridge of Spies (2015)
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
Bring It On (2000)
Broadcast News (1987)
Brokeback Mountain (2005)
Broken Arrow (1996)
Brooklyn (2015)
The Brothers Bloom (2008)
The Bucket List (2007)
Bull Durham (1988)
Buried (2010)
Burn After Reading (2008)
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
The Cabin in the Woods (2011)
Call Me by Your Name (2017)
Call Northside 777 (1948)
Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018)
Captain Fantastic (2016)
Captain Phillips (2013)
Carol (2015)
Casablanca (1942)
Cast Away (2000)
Children of Men (2006)
Chinatown (1974)
Chocolat (2000)
A Christmas Story (1983)
Citizen Kane (1941)
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
Cloud Atlas (2012)
Cloverfield (2008)
Clue (1985)
Coal Miner’s Daughter (1980)
Coco (2017)
CODA (2021)
Collateral (2004)
Cool Hand Luke (1967)
Con Air (1997)
The Conjuring (2013)
Constantine (2005)
Contact (1997)
Coraline (2009)
Courage Under Fire (1996)
Crazy Heart (2009)
Crazy Rich Asians (2018)
Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011)
The Crying Game (1992)
Da 5 Bloods (2020)
Dallas Buyers Club (2013)
Dances with Wolves (1990)
The Dark Knight (2008)
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Dave (1993)
Days of Heaven (1978)
Dazed and Confused (1993)
Deadpool (2016)
Dead Poets Society (1989)
Dear White People (2014)
The Deer Hunter (1978)
Deliverance (1972)
The Departed (2006)
The Descendants (2011)
Despicable Me (2010)
Destroyer (2018)
Devil in a Blue Dress (1995)
The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
The Devil’s Advocate (1997)
Die Hard (1988)
Diner (1982)
The Disaster Artist (2017)
Disturbia (2007)
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007)
Django Unchained (2012)
Doctor Zhivago (1965)
Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
Dogma (1999)
Dolemite Is My Name (2019)
Donnie Darko (2001)
Don’t Look Now (1973)
Double Indemnity (1944)
Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986)
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941)
Drive (2011)
The Driver (1978)
A Dry White Season (1989)
Dune (2021)
Dunkirk (2017)
Easy A (2010)
Ed Wood (1994)
Edward Scissorhands (1990)
Election (1999)
The Electric Horseman (1979)
The Elephant Man (1980)
Elizabethtown (2005)
Elle (2016)
Empire of the Sun (1987)
The End of the Tour (2015)
The English Patient (1996)
Enough Said (2013)
Erin Brockovich (2000)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
Ex Machina (2014)
Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989)
Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
The Farewell (2019)
Fargo (1996)
The Father (2020)
The Fault in Our Stars (2014)
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)
Field of Dreams’ (1989)
Fight Club (1999)
Finding Nemo (2003)
First Man (2018)
Flight (2012)
The Florida Project (2017)
Forbidden Planet (1956)
Forrest Gump (1994)
The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005)
Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)
Foxcatcher (2014)
Frances Ha (2012)
Frankenweenie (2012)
The French Connection (1971)
Friday the 13th (1980)
Fried Green Tomatoes (1991)
Frost/Nixon (2008)
Frozen (2013)
The Fugitive (1993)
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
Fury (2014)
Galaxy Quest (1999)
Garden State (2004)
Gattaca (1997)
Get Him to the Greek (2010)
The Getaway (1972)
Get Out (2017)
Get Shorty (1995)
Ghost (1990)
Ghostbusters (1984)
Giant (1956)
Go (1999)
The Godfather (1972)
The Godfather: Part II (1974)
Godzilla (2014)
Gone Girl (2014)
Gone with the Wind (1939)
The Goodbye Girl (1977)
Goodfellas (1990)
Good Night, and Good Luck (2005)
Good Will Hunting (1997)
The Goonies (1985)
The Graduate (1967)
Gran Torino (2008)
The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
Gravity (2013)
The Great Gatsby (2013)
The Greatest Showman (2017)
Green Book (2018)
Gremlins (1984)
Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)
Groundhog Day (1993)
Hail, Caesar! (2016)
Halloween (1978)
The Hangover (2009)
Hanna (2011)
Hard Times (1975)
Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004)
Harold and Maude (1971)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban (2004)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001)
The Hateful Eight (2015)
Heat (1995)
The Heat (2013)
Heist (2001)
Hell or High Water (2016)
The Help (2011)
Hidden Figures (2016)
High Noon (1952)
His Girl Friday (1940)
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (2005)
Hotel Rwanda (2004)
The Hours (2002)
Hudson Hawk (1991)
The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)
The Hunt for Red October (1990)
The Hurt Locker (2008)
Hustle & Flow (2005)
Hustlers (2019)
I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)
I, Robot (2004)
I, Tonya (2017)
If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)
I’m Thinking of Ending Things (2020)
The Imitation Game (2014)
In the Heat of the Night (1967)
Inception (2010)
The Incredibles (2004)
Indecent Proposal (1993)
The Informant (1997)
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Inherent Vice (2014)
Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)
Inside Out (2015)
Insomnia (2002)
Interview with the Vampire (1994)
Into the Wild (2007)
Into the Woods (2014)
The Invitation (2015)
The Irishman (2019)
The Iron Giant (1999)
The Iron Lady (2011)
It Follows (2014)
It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
It’s Complicated (2009)
The Italian Job (2003)
Jackie (2016)
Jackie Brown (1997)
Jacob’s Ladder (1990)
Jade (1995)
Jane Eyre (2011)
Jaws (1975)
Jennifer’s Body (2009)
Jeremiah Johnson (1972)
The Jerk (1979)
Jerry Maguire (1996)
John Wick (2014)
Jojo Rabbit (2019)
Joker (2019)
Judas and the Black Messiah (2021)
Julia (1977)
Juno (2007)
Kajillionaire (2020)
Kick-Ass (2010)
Kids (1995)
The Kids Are All Right (2010)
King Kong (2005)
King Richard (2021)
The King of Staten Island (2020)
The King’s Speech (2010)
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)
Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985)
Klute (1971)
Knives Out (2019)
Knocked Up (2007)
Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)
Kubo and the Two Strings (2016)
Kung Fu Panda (2008)
L.A. Confidential (1997)
La La Land (2016)
Labyrinth (1986)
Lady Bird (2017)
The Lady Eve (1941)
Lars and the Real Girl (2007)
The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019)
The Last Boy Scout (1991)
Last Night in Soho (2021)
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
Lee Daniels’ The Butler (2013)
The Lego Movie (2014)
Legally Blonde (2001)
Les Misérables (2012)
Let Me In (2010)
Lethal Weapon (1987)
Lethal Weapon 2 (1989)
Liar Liar (1997)
License to Drive (1988)
The Life Aquatic of Steve Zissou (2004)
Life Is Beautiful (1997)
Life of Pi (2012)
The Lighthouse (2019)
The Limey (1999)
Lincoln (2012)
The Lion in Winter (1968)
The Lion King (1994)
The Little Mermaid (1989)
Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
Little Women (2019)
The Lobster (2015)
Local Hero (1983)
Locke (2013)
Logan (2017)
The Lovely Bones (2009)
The Long Goodbye (1973)
The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)
Looper (2012)
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
The Lost Boys (1987)
The Lost Daughter (2021)
Lost in Translation (2003)
The Lost Weekend (1945)
The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)
Love Actually (2003)
Loving (2016)
Luca (2021)
Lucy (2014)
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020)
MacGruber (2010)
Magnolia (1999)
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Man on Fire (2004)
Man Up (2015)
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)
Manchester by the Sea (2016)
Manhunter (1986)
Mank (2020)
Marathon Man (1976)
Margin Call (2011)
Maria Full of Grace (2004)
Marriage Story (2019)
The Martian (2015)
Mary Queen of Scots (2018)
M*A*S*H (1970)
The Mask of Zorro (1998)
The Master (2012)
Matchstick Men (2003)
The Matrix (1999)
Mary Poppins Returns (2018)
McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)
Mean Girls (2004)
Memento (2000)
Men In Black (1997)
Michael Clayton (2007)
Midnight Cowboy (1969)
Midnight Run (1988)
Midsommar (2019)
Milk (2008)
Miller’s Crossing (1990)
Minari (2020)
Minions (2015)
Minority Report (2002)
Misery (1990)
The Mist (2007)
The Mitchells vs the Machines (2021)
Moon (2009)
Moonlight (2016)
Moonrise Kingdom (2012)
Moonstruck (1987)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
Mud (2012)
Mulan (1998)
National Treasure (2004)
Natural Born Killers (1994)
Nebraska (2013)
Network (1976)
The Nice Guys (2016)
Nightcrawler (2014)
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
No Country for Old Men (2007)
Nomadland (2020)
Norma Rae (1979)
North By Northwest (1959)
Notting Hill (1999)
O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
An Officer and a Gentleman (1982)
On the Waterfront (1954)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
One Night in Miami… (2020)
Ordinary People (1980)
Out of Africa (1985)
Out of Sight (1998)
Palm Springs (2020)
Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)
Panic Room (2002)
Parasite (2019)
Parenthood (1989)
Patton (1970)
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)
Philomena (2013)
Pineapple Express (2008)
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
Pitch Perfect (2012)
The Place Beyond the Pines (2012)
Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987)
Platoon (1986)
The Player (1992)
Pleasantville (1998)
Point Blank (1967)
The Prestige (2006)
Pretty in Pink (1986)
Pretty Woman (1990)
The Princess Bride (1987)
Prisoners (2013)
Prometheus (2012)
Promising Young Woman (2020)
The Queen (2006)
A Quiet Place (2018)
Rachel Getting Married (2008)
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Raising Arizona (1987)
Rear Window (1954)
Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
Repo Man (1984)
Reservoir Dogs (1992)
The Revenant (2015)
The Rider (2017)
RoboCop (1987)
Rocky (1976)
Roma (2018)
Romancing the Stone (1984)
The Room (2003)
Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
Roxanne (1987)
Each day this month, I featured a blog resource as a way of celebrating Go Into The Story’s 13th birthday. I hope you’ve enjoyed this series!