Scripts written economically or with a sparse style.

Kevan · Liger Joined: 02 Jan 2008 Posts: 951

Somebody over at the Done Deal pro forum asked questions what was some of the best scripts which are either written economically or in a very sparse writing style..

Here's some links to scripts examples you can download for yourself:

James V. Simpson's "Armored"
Armored is more about economy rather than minimalism.

Armored Sept 2006 Draft by James V. Simpson
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0913354/
http://rapidshare.com/files/304515825/Armored_by_James_Simpson_-_Sep_2006_Draft.pdf

Scripts which include minimalism and economy written by Walter Hill or co-written by Walter Hill

Hardtimes (1975)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073092/
http://rapidshare.com/files/304510715/hardtimes.pdf

Alien (1979) (Early Draft)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078748/
http://rapidshare.com/files/304510079/alien.pdf

The Warriors (1979)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080120/
http://rapidshare.com/files/304512288/The_Warriors_original_script.pdf

48 Hours (1982)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083511/
http://rapidshare.com/files/304514887/48_Hours__1982__Shooting_script.pdf

Red Heat (1988)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095963/
http://rapidshare.com/files/304514179/redheat.pdf

Alien³ (1992)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103644/
http://rapidshare.com/files/304512859/Alien__.pdf

Walter Hill's minimal screenwriting style resembles the Japanese Poetry form Haiku..

Haiku
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haiku

It's not so much the reference or similarity to the construction to the poetic structure or references but more to do with the limited amount of lines used in Walter Hill's minimalist use of text which makes his screenplay read like Haiku..

A good example of this is in his Hardtimes (1975) screenplay which he's written himself.. He also directed this movie BTW...

Once you read Hardtimes you see the idea behind minimalism and the idea of how his minimalist style resembles or looks like the Japanese Haiku form or style...

Mike Rinaldi · Posted: Tue Nov 10, 2009 5:58 pm Post subject:

Walter Hill is Shane Black's second favorite screenwriter.

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Martin Blank · Posted: Tue Nov 10, 2009 8:03 pm Post subject:

Awesome!

Thanks Kev!!!

Cheers,
Martin

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John J. Austrian · Saber Tooth Tiger Joined: 26 Feb 2007 Posts: 465

Yeah, writing a tight, sparse script is the real art.

Not sure who it was, but someone said writing a screenplay is like writing a novel via Western Union-- Every word is precious and costs you so pick your words wisely.

Another favorite "economical" script is "Road Warrior" aka Mad Max 2.

Amazing movie that doesn't waste a shot or a second. One of my all time favorites. Does what a film should do: Tells the story visually. You can turn the sound off and barely miss a beat.

http://www.scifiscripts.com/scripts/madmax2.txt

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zampana · Cougar Joined: 30 Jul 2009 Posts: 74

I just finished reading the Road, which is an excellent adaptation. The novel is a model of sparse, spare, simple declarative writing and Penhall was wise to carry that style into the script. Highly recommended for pure action writing, although much more verbose compared to the Hill examples.

j

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