Page One: “First Man” (2018)

Screenplay by Josh Singer, based on a book by James R. Hansen

The movie version of the opening:

Here screenwriter Singer pulls out all the screenplay format and style tricks to create a visually arresting opening: bold and underlines to emphasize specific action; ellipses to suggest continuous action; dual dialogue to convey clipped nature of conversation. And yes, the use of “we hear” and “we note” to pull the reader as much into the scene as possible.

These tools are available to us. Depending upon what type of scene, sequence, or movie genre we are writing, such as action, we do well to use them.

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 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.