Page One: “The Thin Red Line” (1998)

Screenplay by Terrence Malick, novel by James Jones

A trailer for the movie:

Eighteen (18) lines. That’s how long the opening paragraph of scene description is in the screenplay. Should YOU open YOUR spec script with an eighteen line paragraph of scene description?

Probably not.

There are no rules which prohibit you from doing that … but there is common sense. And if one of your goals is to make your script as readable as possible, you will be wise to break up your scene description into short paragraphs.

One way to do that: Think of each paragraph as its own “camera shot.” You don’t use camera language … just describe what the viewer will see.

By approaching scene description in this manner, you will naturally break up scene description into short paragraph.

Learn more by reading my article: Action Writing in a Screenplay.

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.