Film and Media Arts: Screenplays & Shooting Scripts
Film Scripts in Print
Published Scripts
Searching the Usearch library catalog for the Subject Keyword phrase "motion picture plays" will retrieve books about the process of writing screenplays, and also published copies of the actual film scripts.
- To refine the results by year, use the "Creation Date" links in the left-hand column.
- To locate a specific screenwriter, type in the last name and click "Search."
Unpublished Scripts
Many shooting scripts--as well as earlier drafts--are housed in "manuscript" collections at university, museum, and film industry archives. That institution may be willing to scan a digital copy for you, or you may have to make a trip to the institution to view materials in person.
- Search for the name of a film, screen writer, director, cinematographer, designer, or actor in Worldcat.org, using the "Everything" search box. (e.g. Cecil B. DeMille). Limit the results to "Archival Materials" using the Results by Format choices in the left column.
- Look for results that indicate "Collection" or "Papers" followed by a range of years. (e.g. Cecil B. DeMille collection, 1927-1960s.)
- Click on any result's title link for more details:
- Scroll down to "Find a Copy in a Library" to see where the collection is located. Click on that link to go to the library's catalog. But then look for that institution's Special Collections or Archives site. There, you'll have a chance to view "Finding Aids" or "EADs" which will list the contents within their manuscripts and media archives.
Film Scripts Online
- Film Scripts OnlineThis database makes available over 1,100 full-text film scripts (with 400 more scripts yet to be added). Many films are represented by final scripts and continuity scripts, allowing scholars to compare the writer’s vision with the producers' and directors' interpretations from page to screen.
Script Archives
- Motion Picture Scripts DatabaseThis database details the film script holdings of six Los Angeles area collections: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the American Film Institute, the Frances Howard Goldwyn Hollywood Regional Library, the University of California, Los Angeles, the University of Southern California, and the Writers Guild of America, West.
- Writers Guild Foundation LibraryLocated in Los Angeles, this library contains personal papers of prominent writers, early WGA periodicals, photographs, vintage scripts, rare books, and other ephemera including typewriters, awards, scrapbooks and strike realia.
Screenplays on the Internet
Books about Screenwriting
Below is a sampling of the books about screenwriting available at Marriott Library. If you'd like to see more, search the Usearch library catalog for the Subject Keyword phrase "motion picture authorship".
The screenplay: authorship, theory and criticism by Marriott Library, Level 2, General Collection: PN1996.P75 2010
Redefining Adaptation Studies by Marriott Library, Level 2, General Collection: PN1997.85.R43 2010
The screenwriting formula: why it works and how to use it by Marriott Library, Level 2, General Collection: PN1996.T59 2007
The art and craft of screenwriting: fundamentals, methods and advice from insiders by Marriott Library, Level 2, General Collection: PN1996.F765 2009
Raindance writer's lab: write + sell the hot screenplay by Marriott Library, Level 2, General Collection: PN1996.G76 2009
Writing for the screen: creative and critical approaches by Marriott Library, Level 2, General Collection: PN1996.B38 2008
