Page One: “Alien” (1979)

Screenplay by Dan O’Bannon, story by Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett, uncredited Walter Hill & David Giler

The Hill & Giler draft (seen here) is written in what Hill called a “haiku-style.” The script is an excellent read.

A trailer for the movie:

Absolutely one of the greatest movie trailers of all time.

You may read the screenplay here.

FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY!

Page One is a daily Go Into The Story series featuring the first page of movie and TV scripts from the classic era to contemporary times. Comparing them is an excellent way to study a variety of writing styles and see how professional writers start a story.

For more Page One posts, go here.