Best Screenplays to Learn FromÂ
If you’re looking for free movie scripts you’re in the right place. We’ve been strong advocates for the benefits of reading screenplays for a long time as it’s one of the simplest ways to learn how to write.
With that in mind, we’ve put together a mega list of the fifty best screenplays to read for aspiring screenwriters.
This list of the best screenplays to read is grouped into the five main genres you’ll find in Hollywood today: Drama, Comedy, Action/Adventure, Thriller and Horror. (We prefer to call Sci-Fi, Western, Romance, etc. sub-genres of these five and you’ll find examples of these in the lists below too.)
Both “shooting†movie scripts and “spec†movie scripts are included in this list. If you’re an aspiring screenwriter trying to break into the industry with a spec, it’s important to ignore all the little formatting quirks that often come with shooting movie scripts. Sluglines with periods instead of dashes, large chunks of descriptive text, excessive use of camera angles and so on, are all expressions of writers who’ve made it.
If you haven’t yet, keep things simple by sticking to regular spec . So, without further ado, it’s time to get to the first best screenplay in our list…
Best Screenplays To Read – DramaÂ
1. Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
screenplay by Charlie Kaufmann
Boy meets girl. Boy loses girl. Boy erases memories of being with girl. This typically Kaufmanesque story could arguably be called best screenplay he’s ever written. Watch out for the long chunks of description, though, as this style isn’t recommended in spec movie scripts.
2. Good Will Hunting
screenplay by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck
This best screenplay winner began life as Damon’s final assignment for his Harvard playwriting class before he asked Affleck to help turn it into a script. They then set about developing the story into a thriller about a young man targeted by the FBI. It was Rob Reiner who persuaded them to turn it into a drama and focus on the relationship between Will and his psychologist.
3. Jerry Maguire
screenplay by Cameron Crowe
Easily the best of Crowe’s screenplays to date and the one that broke him into the Hollywood A-list. Earned a Best Screenplay nomination and is a personal favorite of screenwriter Craig Mazin.
4. Little Children
screenplay by Todd Field and Tom Perrotta
Based on the novel by Tom Perrotta, this is a skillfully woven tale of suburban angst that retains a very novelistic feel. An excellent case study in how to make Voice Over work for and not against your script.
5. Lost In Translation
screenplay by Sofia Coppola
Coppola spent six months writing a series of short stories and “impressions of Tokyo†that went on to become a seventy-page script. As understated as the movie itself, this screenplay is a real lesson in how to construct “small†scenes that move the story forward and keep the reader interested.
6. Straight Outta Compton
screenplay by Johnathan Herman and Andrea Berloff
Unsure of what direction the script should take, a first draft arose out of ten months of research, interviewing as many people associated with rap group NWA as possible. The result was this blistering account of the group’s rise and fall, and was only Berloff’s second produced feature and Herman’s first.
7. The Truman Show
screenplay by Andrew M. Niccol
Originally a dark sci-fi thriller set in New York City and titled “The Malcolm Show,†Niccol’s one-page treatment would go on to become one of the greatest screenplay high concepts in movie history. Nominated for the best screenplay Oscar but lost out to the schmaltzy Shakespeare In Love.
8. Up In The Air
screenplay by Jason Reitman
Like The Truman Show, this is another screenplay that expertly weaves comedy into its overall drama. Adapted from the novel by Walter Kirn, this is a modern classic and definitely one of the best screenplays to read for aspiring screenwriters, no matter what their genre preference.
9. The Visitor
screenplay by Tom McCarthy
This is arguably a better script than the one McCarthy won the best screenplay Oscar for:Â Spotlight. Beautifully tight and sparse writing about a lonely professor learning to loosen up after discovering an immigrant couple living in his New York apartment.
10. Whiplash
screenplay by Damien Chazelle
Having already won acclaim as a short film of the same title, Chazelle decided to adapt it into a feature and the result is one of the best screenplays to read in recent years. You can really feel Andrew’s torment and passion in these pages.
best screenplays to read comedy
1. (500) Days Of Summer
screenplay by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber
Neustadter and Weber began this screenplay by simply writing down on index cards all of the most painful relationship experiences they’d ever had. Many of them wound up in the final draft and it’s this mixing of realism with its avant-garde structure that makes it one of the best screenplays to read for the aspiring writer.
2. Bridesmaids
screenplay by Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig
This best screenplay choice broke new ground by having female characters indulge in moments of “poop humor†in a way not seen before on screen. But beyond the infamous wedding dress scene, there’s a heart to this script and a vulnerable protagonist with whom we can all identify.
3. The Hangover
screenplay by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore
Written on spec by writing team Lucas and Moore (Four Christmases, Ghosts Of Girlfriends Past), this script is a near-perfect execution of a very high concept, original idea. Along with (500) Days of Summer, this is probably the best screenplay to come out of 2009 when it comes to comedies.
4. Hannah And Her Sisters
screenplay by Woody Allen
Bookended by Thanksgiving dinner parties and with a novelistic feel, this best screenplay Oscar winner is a perfect blend of comedy with weighty themes about the meaning of life. While Allen himself may remain dissatisfied with the ending, this is, without doubt, one of his best screenplays to read.
5. Mean Girls
screenplay by Tina Fey
Saturday Night Live queen, Tina Fey, turned her hand to feature writing with this adaptation from a book by Rosalind Wiseman. The writing is just as smart, funny and relevant as when the movie first came out over ten years ago.
6. Planes, Trains & Automobiles
screenplay by John Hughes
Some may put a movie like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off or The Breakfast Club as their choice for quintessential John Hughes comedy but, for us, it’s this Steve Martin/John Candy two-hander. Without a doubt, the best screenplay to read if you’re writing a comedy road trip movie. Or any comedy for that matter.
7. Sideways
screenplay by Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor
Rex Pickett’s novel begins with Miles at home and takes a while before he hits the road with Jack. Payne and Taylor, however, get the story moving right off the bat by opening with Miles getting ready for the trip, and the pace doesn’t let up in this darkly funny story of middle-aged angst.
8. Stranger Than Fiction
screenplay by Zach Helm
Dismissed by some as Charlie Kaufman-lite, this is the best screenplay to read to get your creative juices flowing if you write dark comedy. Imaginative, thought-provoking, high concept and, best of all, extremely funny.
9. There’s Something About Mary
screenplay by Peter Farrelly, Bobby Farrelly, John J. Strauss, and Ed Decter
One thing many aspiring comedy screenwriters fail to do is add set pieces to their spec screenplays. From Ted picking Mary up for prom, to getting arrested for cruising, this is the best screenplay to learn how to elevate a simple situation into a big comedic set piece.
10. When Harry Met Sally
screenplay by Nora Ephron
Heavily influenced by Woody Allen, this screenplay grew out of a simple conversation between Ephron and the movie’s director, Rob Reiner: can a man and woman ever remain just platonic friends? The result was this best screenplay Oscar nominee and classic of the Romantic Comedy genre.
Best Screenplays To Read – Action/Adventure
1. The Bourne Ultimatum
screenplay by Tony Gilroy, Scott Z. Burns, and George Nolfi
Reading this script feels like you’re watching Peter Greengrass’ choppy, frenetic direction. It’s all right there on the page and studying this script will really show you how to give action scenes a sense of urgency.
2. The Dark Knight
screenplay by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan
Christopher Nolan helped bring a much darker edge to the Batman franchise with Batman Begins, and this collaboration with his brother is an even better screenplay. Absorb all you can from this exceptional piece of work.
3. Die Hard
screenplay by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. DeSouza
De Souza reportedly wrote the script to this seminal action movie as if the antagonist, Gruber, were the protagonist. He said, “If he had not planned the robbery and put it together, Bruce Willis would have just gone to the party and reconciled or not with his wife. You should sometimes think about looking at your movie through the point of view of the villain who is really driving the narrative.†Wise words indeed.
4. Ocean’s Eleven
screenplay by Ted Griffin
Griffin took the story and script from the 1960 version and, with the help of Steven Soderbergh’s direction, created one the coolest heist movies of all time. Definitely one of the best movie scripts to read and study if you’re an Acton writer.
5. The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring
screenplay by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and Peter Jackson
Adapted of course from J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel, Walsh, Boyens, and Jackson approached writing the screenplay by making significant edits and zeroing in on much more on Frodo’s story with the ring. Absolute required reading for any aspiring fantasy/adventure writers.
6. Inside Out
screenplay by Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve, and Josh Cooley
There are so many writing lessons to be learned from reading this best screenplay Oscar-nominated script: the way all the characters’ emotions are chosen for optimal conflict, the way Riley isn’t interested in stereotypically “girlie†pursuits but is a hockey enthusiast, the way the theme of emotions connecting people together is thread through her journey, etc. Yet another Pixar classic.
7. Lone Survivor
screenplay by Peter Berg
The big takeaway from reading this screenplay is the value of research. Berg met the families of the deceased, had the story’s protagonist, Luttrell, move in with him while writing the script, and embedded with Navy Seals for a month in Iraq. Now that’s dedication to the craft.
8. Looper
screenplay by Rian Johnson
Johnson has said of writing the script he wanted it to be character based rather than focus on the mechanics of time-travel, and drew inspiration from movies such as The Terminator, 12 Monkeys, and Witness. The best screenplay to read if you love mixing sci-fi with ironic humor and time-travel.
9. The Matrix
screenplay by Larry Wachowski and Andy Wachowski
The Wachowski brothers pitched the script to Warner Bros. who were initially skeptical of its philosophical musings and obviously tricky special effects for the time. The brothers then decided to bring on board underground comic book artists Steve Skroce and Geof Darrow to storyboard the entire film, shot-by-shot. Warners were impressed and the rest, as they say, is history.
10. Zombieland
screenplay by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick
Having kicked the idea around for several years, Reese and Wernick originally wrote the story as a TV spec. It was director Ruben Fleischer who helped develop it into a feature by adding in a specific destination to the characters’ road trip in the form of the amusement park.
50 Of The Best Screenplays To Read And Download In Every Genre
Best Screenplays To Read – Thriller
1. Collateral
screenplay by Stuart Beattie, Frank Darabont and Michael Mann
Beattie originally had the idea for the movie aged seventeen while riding in the back of a cab in his native Sydney. He worked up a two-page treatment called The Last Domino, which he turned into a screenplay and was later lucky enough to be put in touch with Darabont and then Mann who both contributed revisions.
2. The Departed
screenplay by William Monahan
Monahan’s reworking of the original Asian gangster movie Infernal Affairs as a fight between Boston’s police department and the Irish American crime scene is very impressive. In fact, it earned him a Best Screenplay (Adapted) award from not only the WGA but also the Academy Awards.
3. Flightplan
screenplay by Peter Dowling, Larry Cohen, Terry Hayes, and Billy Ray
This script is a great example of the “self-contained†thriller, perfect for any budding screenwriters looking to film on a low budget. Dowling’s original pitch involved an airport security guard’s son going missing on a business trip, and it was Ray’s idea to make the protagonist female and to place more emphasis on her shattered psyche in a post-9/11 world.
4. The Girl On The Train
screenplay by Erin Cressida Wilson
Yet another best screenplay nominee based on a novel. Much like the screen adaptation of Nick Hornby’s High Fidelity, this screenplay also moves the action from the UK to the US and expertly plays with the reader’s perceptions of the protagonist, Rachel.
5. Nightcrawler
screenplay by Dan Gilroy
Gilroy had the initial idea for Nightcrawler way back in 1988. He spent years developing the screenplay, playing with making Lou as a traditional “good guy†protagonist and with making the story a murder mystery. In order to break with stereotype, though, he finally hit upon the idea of creating an “anti-hero success story†and the result is this exceptional (slugline free) screenplay.
6. No Country For Old Men
screenplay by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
This Coen brothers’ adaptation from the novel of the same name by Cormac McCarthy is notable for its refusal to rely on dialogue to move the story forward. Reading the script you can see why Josh Brolin, who plays Llewelyn Moss, was initially nervous: “I mean it was a fear, for sure, because dialogue, that’s what you kind of rest upon as an actor, you know?†Won the best screenplay (adapted) category at the 80th Academy Awards.
7. Prisoners
screenplay by Aaron Guzikowski
Guzikowski based the script on his own short story, which in turn was inspired by The Tell-Tale Heart in which a father gets revenge on the man who kills his kid in a hit and run by sticking him down a well. The best screenplay we’ve read from an upcoming Thriller writer in a while.
8. Reservoir Dogs
screenplay by Quentin Tarantino
Sure, many of the tropes have been copied almost to the point of cliche by a generation of later writers, but this script was groundbreaking for its time and is impossible to ignore if you want to learn how to become a screenwriter.
9. Training Day
screenplay by David Ayer
When asked about whether he was surprised about the success of Training Day, Ayer replied “No. That was a shocker. I wrote that script on spec out of frustration. I was trying to make sales writing mediocre movie scripts, I guess, trying to anticipate what the studios would buy, and I wrote that for myself. I was tired of second-guessing the system and I just wanted to say something.†Great advice for any aspiring screenwriter.
10. The Usual Suspects
screenplay by Christopher McQuarrie
McQuarrie and director Bryan Singer both worked on the initial concept of five guys meeting in a police line-up, from an idea that occurred to Singer from Captain Renault’s line in Casablanca: “Round up the usual suspects.†McQuarrie then worked up this masterfully complex story from one of his own previously unproduced movie scripts.
Best Screenplays To Read – Horror
1. Alien
screenplay by Walter Hill, Dan O’Bannon, and David Giler
Famed for its minimal, vertical writing style, O’Bannan would say of his original draft, “I didn’t steal Alien from anybody. I stole it from everybody.†Classic 1950s sci-fi films such as Forbidden Planet, Thing From Another World and Planet Of The Vampires—  they’re all in here.
2. Dawn Of The Dead (Remake)
screenplay by James Gunn and Michael Tolkin
Although the screenplay only credits Gunn and Tolkin as rewriters of this George A. Romero script, in fact, Scott Frank (Out Of Sight, Minority Report) was also brought in to add some oomph to the action sequences. A worthy remake of the 1978 original and one of Stephen King’s favorite movies.
3. Final Destination
screenplay by James Wong, Glen Morgan, and Jeffrey Roddick
The origins of this screenplay — the best of the Final Destination series — are just as creepy as the film. As Reddick recounts, he was given the idea by a real-life story of a woman whose life was saved by her mom who warned her not to take a flight that wound up crashing. Reddick then wrote the script as an X-Files spec, but was advised by a friend to reshape it as a feature.
4. It Follows
screenplay by David Robert Mitchell
Not all famous movie scripts come from great loglines, as Mitchell found while writing It Follows. Realizing that the concept of a young woman being followed by a supernatural force after a sexual encounter sounded like “the worst thing ever,†he refused to discuss the story when asked about it.
5. Jennifer’s Body
screenplay by Diablo Cody
Fresh off her success with Juno, Cody originally intended to write a straight, slasher horror movie, but “the humor just kept sneaking in.†If you’re writing a horror with heavy doses of comedy involved, this is one of the best scripts to read.
6. The Omen
screenplay by David Seltzer
Seltzer was commissioned by producer, Harvey Bernhard, to write a movie about the Antichrist after Bernhard was given the idea by a friend, Bob Munger. It took Seltzer exactly one year to write the screenplay and it would go on to be one of the most iconic horror movies of all time.
7. The Ring
screenplay by Ehren Kruger and Scott Frank
Frank was brought in to do a rewrite after Kruger had penned three drafts of the script and eventually it went into production still incomplete. However, despite the inevitable complaints from fans of the original Japanese movie, Ringu, this is one of the best horror movie scripts out there—one that’s well worth breaking down and studying.
8. Saw
screenplay by Leigh Whannell and James Wan
This script was born purely out of budgetary restrictions as writers Whannell and Wan deliberately wanted to write a horror as cheaply as possible that they could finance themselves. Inspired by low-budget movies such as Pi and The Blair Witch Project, they decided on the concept of two actors, one room, and one dead body. Easily one of the best screenplays to read for horror writers.
9. Scream
screenplay by Kevin Williamson
Holed up in a hotel room in Palm Springs and desperate for a script sale, aspiring writer Williamson knocked out a draft of the then-titled “Scary Movie†in three days from a treatment he’d already written. Granted, this was in the golden age of spec sales in the 90s, but if you can write horror movie scripts as good as this, you’ll get hired.
10. The Sixth Sense
screenplay by M. Night Shyamalan
Already a working screenwriter, Shyamalan’s big breakthrough came with this best screenplay nominee that pulls the wool over the reader’s eyes until the very end. This is still one of the finest horror movie scripts ever written—if only he could stop trying to reproduce it…