Page One: “Shrek” (2001)

Written by Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio and Joe Stillman & Roger S.H. Schulman, based on the book by William Steig

The movie version of the opening scene:

This is a great example of ending Page One with a punch, something to get the script reader to turn the page. This is a habit you want your script to instill in the reader and what a better way for Shrek to do that than the juxtaposition between a classic fairy tale and an ogre having a bowel movement, then wiping his ass with a page from the fairy tale book.

Clearly, this is not your typical fairy tale!

And so… we turn the page.

You may download 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.

You may follow the daily conversation on Twitter as I cross-post there: @GoIntoTheStory.