Page One: ‘Bull Durham’ (1988)

Written by Ron Shelton

To provide the full effect of the movie’s opening, here are Pages 2 and 3:

The movie version of the scene:

It’s a wonderful piece of writing which accomplishes several things:

• We get a specific sense of Annie’s persona and voice.
• It sets into motion the central premise of the movie: Annie sleeps with minor league baseball players to improve their game.
• It introduces us to a kind of reverence for the sport of baseball.

The movie iteration works hand in (baseball) glove to visualize the dialogue and scene description. Note how it is on the exact last words of Annie’s monologue — “Church of Baseball” —that we first see the baseball diamond at the Durham Bulls stadium. Heck, even the scene heading reads:

EXT. THE CHURCH — DURHAM BASEBALL PARK — DUSK

The Church. Great stuff. And the movie only gets better!

To may read the screenplay here.

FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY!

Page One is a daily Go Into The Story series featuring the first page of notable movie 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.

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