ACTING & FILM SCHOOL

Reading Screenplays to Write Screenplays

I’m surprised how many students want to be screenwriters but how few of them actually READ screenplays. Of course, your story needs to be compelling but beyond that, it’s important to know how to use screenplay form to enhance your storytelling. This is best done by reading, especially screenplays in your genre. How does action look on the page? What about comedy? Or romance? Developing an authoritative knowledge of your genre is invaluable. And so simply done. In the old days, one had to go to the bookstore and hope that the script had been published. Or buy a bootleg copy off the street from an illegal vendor. Today, all you have to do is visit one of the many, many free screenplay websites and download the script of your choice. Here’s a few of my favorites:

Drew’s Script-O-Rama
SimplyScripts
ScriptCrawler
Script P.I.M.P

By Claude Kerven, Chair of The New York Film Academy Filmmaking Program