Page One: ‘Diner’ (1982)

Written by Barry Levinson

A trailer for the movie:

I guess we have to cut the trailer some slack seeing as it was produced nearly four decades ago, but it’s so obvious that the marketing crew at MGM was desperate to pitch the movie as a comedy. Just listen to the tone of the announcer’s voice! Yes, Diner is funny, but not *that* kind of funny. It’s more of a dramedy, although that terminology wasn’t in vogue back then.

The cast is amazing: Mickey Rourke, Kevin Bacon, Daniel Stern, Steve Guttenberg, Paul Reiser, Tim Daly, Ellen Barkin.

I’ve always thought of it as Barry Levinson’s homage to his youth in Baltimore akin to what George Lucas did with American Graffiti growing up in central California in the early 60s.

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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