Script To Screen: “Scream”

Part of the memorable opening sequence in the 1996 horror movie Scream, written by Kevin Williamson.

Setup: Casey is home alone about to watch a movie at home when she gets a phone call…

Here is the script version of the scene:

Here is the scene from the movie:

What a gutsy way to begin a movie: An 18 page, 12 minute opening scene. And it’s all right there in the script.

One of the single best things you can do to learn the craft of screenwriting is to read the script while watching the movie. After all a screenplay is a blueprint to make a movie and it’s that magic of what happens between printed page and final print that can inform how you approach writing scenes. That is the purpose of Script to Screen, a Go Into The Story series where we analyze a memorable movie scene and the script pages that inspired it.

For more Script To Screen articles, go here.