We had a writing challenge on the discussion board.

Create a realistic world where a certain major world event never happened. At the same time, the altered event is not your story, your story simply takes place in the altered world.

This was a difficult challenge. I think we had more people drop out then entered. This topic engendered quite the lively discussion.

Thanks to Sean “Mr. Blonde” Chipman (writer of Christmas Crime Story for leading the challenge and coming up with a stumper of a theme.

Signal Fire by Neil Percival Young – How will anyone find their way in a brave new world? 13 pages (Short, Adventure)

A New Plan For Fat Man by Ny Name Here – Leaders of the United States Armed Forces debate whether they should declare war with Germany or stay home and savor their victory in the Pacific. 11 pages (Short, Drama)

Fire and Water by Deep Throat – Ben Bradlee’s decision to ignore the Watergate break-in comes back to haunt him four years later as Woodward & Bernstein try to prevent the Presidency of E. Howard Hunt. 15 pages (Short, Crime, Thriller, Drama, Political, Historical Fiction)

Sapere Aude by Kant – The leader of a boys’ club for troubled teens finds himself in a war with the most powerful, corrupt, cruel entity in the world, the unchecked Catholic Church. 12 pages (Short, Adventure, War, Religion)

Miss Yemmie by Hollis Brown – The Soviet Union’s plan to restart its failed Sputnik Program prompts the United States to build a new space center at the remote home of an aging prostitute. 11 pages (Short, Drama)

Not Even God Himself by Buckwheat – When a travel agency undertakes the most ambitious voyage into space in the history of mankind, the men responsible are faced with the consequences of endangering a hundred thousand lives. 13 pages (Short, Sci Fi, Drama)

Operation Downfall by Night Train – The atomic bombings against Japan never happened. The invasion of Japan did. 15 pages (Short, Action)

The Broken Kingdom by Some Guy – Set in an alternate timeline in which Guy Fawkes and his co-conspirators blew up parliament and overthrew the monarchy. On the 513th anniversary of this historical event, a French-American businessman, on his first visit to Great Britain, finds himself on the run and embroiled with terrorists after he inadvertently commits an act of heresy. 14 pages (Short, Fantasy, Historical)

The 13th Generation by E Pluribus Unum – Texting obsessions takes over a company’s communication as a car designer gets a promotion. 15 pages (Short, Comedy, Satire)

Full Circle by Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Logline – {no logline} 11 pages (Short, Drama)

Olympic by The Sullivan Brothers – Two US marines and two young schoolgirls must find a way to survive the American invasion of Japan. 14 pages (Short, War)

I will clean this up later, but I wanted to get it posted now. Molly’s Game and Call Me By Your Name have yet to be posted by the studios. I’m sure they will soon. Of course, you can find other scripts studios are posting for award cosideration here.

Best Adapted Screenplay

Call Me By Your Name (broken link) – Undated, unspecified draft script by James Ivory (Based on the novel by André Aciman) – hosted by: Sony Classics – in pdf format

In Northern Italy in 1983, seventeen year-old Elio begins a relationship with visiting Oliver, his father’s research assistant, with whom he bonds over his emerging sexuality, their Jewish heritage, and the beguiling Italian landscape.

Information courtesy of imdb.com
The Disaster Artist – Undated, unspecified draft script by Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber (Based on the book by Greg Sestero and Tom Bissell) – hosted by: A24 – in pdf format

When Greg Sestero, an aspiring film actor, meets the weird and mysterious Tommy Wiseau in an acting class, they form a unique friendship and travel to Hollywood to make their dreams come true.

Information courtesy of imdb.com
Logan – undated final shooting draft script by Scott Frank & James Mangold and Michael Green (Story by James Mangold) – hosted by: CinephiliaBeyond.org – in pdf format

In the near future, a weary Logan cares for an ailing Professor X, somewhere on the Mexican border. However, Logan’s attempts to hide from the world, and his legacy, are upended when a young mutant arrives, pursued by dark forces.

Information courtesy of imdb.com
Molly’s Game – Not yet posted

Mudbound – Undated, unspecified draft script by Virgil Williams and Dee Rees (Based on the novel by Hillary Jordan) – hosted by: Netflix – in pdf format

Two men return home from World War II to work on a farm in rural Mississippi, where they struggle to deal with racism and adjusting to life after war.

Information courtesy of imdb.com

Best Original Screenplay

The Big Sick – Undated, unspecified draft script by Emily V. Gordon & Kumail Nanjiani – hosted by: Amazon – in pdf format

Kumail, in the middle of becoming a budding stand-up comedian, meets Emily. Meanwhile, a sudden illness sets in forcing Emily to be put into a medically-induced coma. Kumail must navigate being a comedian, dealing with tragic illness, and placating his family’s desire to let them fix him up with a spouse, while contemplating and figuring out who he really is and what he truly believes

Information courtesy of imdb.com
Get Out – Undated, unspecified draft script by Jordan Peele – hosted by: Universal – in pdf format

It’s time for a young African American to meet with his white girlfriend’s parents for a weekend in their secluded estate in the woods, but before long, the friendly and polite ambience will give way to a nightmare.

Information courtesy of imdb.com
Lady Bird – Undated, unspecified draft script by Greta Gerwig – hosted by: A24 – in pdf format

Christina “Lady Bird” MacPherson is a high school senior from the “wrong side of the tracks.” She longs for adventure, sophistication, and opportunity, but finds none of that in her Sacramento Catholic high school. LADY BIRD follows the title character’s senior year in high school, including her first romance, her participation in the school play, and most importantly, her applying for college. 

Information courtesy of imdb.com
The Shape of Water – Undated, unspecified draft script by Guillermo del Toro & Vanessa Taylor (Story by Guillermo del Toro) – hosted by: Fox Searchlight – in pdf format

An other-worldly fairy tale, set against the backdrop of Cold War era America circa 1962. In the hidden high-security government laboratory where she works, lonely Elisa is trapped in a life of isolation. Elisa’s life is changed forever when she and co-worker Zelda discover a secret classified experiment.

Information courtesy of imdb.com
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri – Undated, unspecified draft script by Martin McDonagh – hosted by: Fox Searchlight – in pdf format

After months have passed without a culprit in her daughter’s murder case, Mildred Hayes makes a bold move, painting three signs leading into her town with a controversial message directed at William Willoughby, the town’s revered chief of police. When his second-in-command Officer Dixon, an immature mother’s boy with a penchant for violence, gets involved, the battle between Mildred and Ebbing’s law enforcement is only exacerbated.

Information courtesy of imdb.com

We have a couple of batches of original scripts as we get back into OSS. Over on the Unproduced Scripts page are thirty scripts for your reading pleasure. And, over on the Last Weeks Unproduced Scripts page are thirty two original scripts.

There are enough scripts to keep you warm on these long, cold winter nights. Or short, hot summer nights.

– Don

Thanks to “John” for the heads up on this. I know the Wikileaks posted Sony docs isn’t new and these can all be found in an internet search, but I thought it was worth posting these links. These are screenplays and, for the most part, not shooting scripts. This is my preferred form of screenplay as they are usually devoid of camera angles and such that take the reader out of the story. Yes, you will see the use of “We see…”. It happens. And a camera angle or two. And some things that are unfilmable, “Her heart is racing…”

Market Research / Scripts is the main category that houses a mixture of scripts from released and unreleased films.

Market Research / Scripts / Released is the sub cat containing scripts from released films. There are some multiple drafts which I find useful for seeing how ideas change over time.

Market Research / Scripts / Misc

Broken link fixed….

Thank You For Your Service – Undated, unspecified draft script by Jason Hall (from the book by David Finkel) – hosted by: Universal – in pdf format

A group of U.S. soldiers returning from Iraq struggle to integrate back into family and civilian life, while living with the memory of a war that threatens to destroy them long after they’ve left the battlefield.

Information courtesy of imdb.com

Find more scripts on the scripts studios are posting for award consideration page.

I took some time off. Unannounced. I had a great time. Apologies for the delay in getting these out. I have a bunch more coming.

So, over on the Unproduced Scripts page are twenty eight original scripts for your reading pleasure.

– Don

Thanks to the Mysterious Mr. E. for the heads up on this fantastic site – ScriptSlug.com.

Check out the pilot to the Golden Globe winner for best television series, musical or comedy…

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: Pilot – October 1, 2015 Revised Writer’s Draft script by Amy Sherman-Palladino – hosted by: Script Slug – in pdf format

Set in 1950s Manhattan: Miriam “Midge” Maisel, a sunny, energetic, sharp, Jewish girl who had her life mapped out for herself: go to college, find a husband, have kids, and throw the best Yom Kippur dinners in town. Soon enough, she finds herself exactly where she had hoped to be, living happily with her husband and two children in the Upper West Side. A woman of her time, Midge is a cheerleader wife to a man who dreams of a stand-up comedy career, but her perfect life is turned upside down when her husband suddenly leaves her for another woman. Completely unprepared, Midge is left with no choice but to reevaluate what to do with her life. When she accidentally stumbles onto the stage at a comedy club, she soon discovers her own comedic skills and decides to use this newfound talent to help her rebuild a different life for herself.

Information courtesy of imdb.com

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri – Undated, unspecified draft script by Martin McDonagh – hosted by: Fox Searchlight – in pdf format

After months have passed without a culprit in her daughter’s murder case, Mildred Hayes makes a bold move, painting three signs leading into her town with a controversial message directed at William Willoughby, the town’s revered chief of police. When his second-in-command Officer Dixon, an immature mother’s boy with a penchant for violence, gets involved, the battle between Mildred and Ebbing’s law enforcement is only exacerbated.

Information courtesy of imdb.com

I’m off enjoying the holidays, but I wanted to say a brief thank you to everyone who has supported the site over the year. Particular thanks to Pia, Bert and Sean without whom the discussion board would not exist. Thank you to everyone who has run a challenge and commented on a script. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the screenwriting community. There are too many people to name so I will not try.

It has been a banner year for members getting work optioned and produced. By my best rough count, there have been over a hundred scripts optioned as a result of being on the site. This says more about us as a community helping each other out than it does about the site itself. The community is not the site, but the people who contribute to it.

Also, since the advertising on the site has been more than enough to cover hosting and bandwidth, we’ve been able to donate roughly $800 over the course of the year to film projects and writing labs.

Best wishes of the season to all, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

– Don