Go scripts added
Although it’s available elsewhere on the net, I’ve decided to make the screenplay for Go available on the site. There are two variations to choose from. The first is the original spec script I wrote in 1997. The second is the final shooting draft, which incorporates the changes that happened during production.
As a bonus feature — because all things these days require bonus features — you can also find a longer audition scene I wrote when we were casting the Mannie character. It was never going to be included in the film, but helped us decide on Nathan Bexton for the role. For the record, the references to “Charlie’s Angels” are just coincidence (or perhaps, fate). I wasn’t involved with the Charlie’s Angels movie at all when I wrote this.
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February 3rd, 2004 at 8:37 am
Thanks for posting BOTH versions! Screenplays are easily accessible on the Web now, but a lot of them look like they’re just “transcripts” of the actual movie, written from the final film, which is not very useful for people interested in the screenwriting and directing process. It’s great to compare the writer’s intentions with the final results.
I just discovered your site (Google led me to your Glossary) and I’m delighted with the information I found on it. It’s rare to see a screenwriter who seems to be so Web savvy! Your readers would be spoiled if you were to start blogging about your daily writing work and the business in general…
February 4th, 2004 at 5:43 am
John,
This is fantastic. Thanks for showing us the evolution from spec script to shooting script and then, of course, the final product on the screen. Please, post more of your work.
Thanks,
Don
webmaster
http://www.simplyscripts.com
February 4th, 2004 at 10:40 am
Times are definitely changing. The Net has made so many things more accessible and enjoyable. Today has been a great day for me in this regard as this morning I came across a free book posted for download by the author [ Paolo says:
February 4th, 2004 at 2:29 pm
INT. MESSAGE BOX - DAY
Paolo pops his head back in the box.
I should clarify that my day isn’t “great” because these things are free. What I meant was my day is “great” because two truly great works of art are easily available and my brain is better because of them.
Goes back to writing his screenplay wondering why he’s still writing this way.
July 22nd, 2004 at 11:15 am
hey, john… i’ve recently read both versions of the Go script (actually got them from Drew’s; i didn’t know you had your own site until today), and i noticed that you’d originally written the character of Ronna as a Black female.
as i read your spec, i was trying to remember if she was African-American in the movie. when i got to the shooting script, i saw that the description had been taken out.
i went to Hollywood video to take a look at the DVD cover, and Taye Diggs was the only African-American person i saw. (didn’t rent the movie; but the script reminded me of how funny it was, so now i’m just looking to buy it!)
anyway, my questions are: when you created Ronna, was there any reason inherent to the story that made her Black? at what point in the production was the decision made to change her ethnicity? were you okay with the change or did it take debates and “persuasive” studio notes to sway you?
i know i’m way late with questions re: Go, but i actually tracked down your site because these have been bugging me since reading both scripts last week. i don’t know how else to explain it, but as i read the spec, i had a “picture” of Ronna in my mind. when i got to the shooting script, i still couldn’t get that image out of my mind, despite the omission of the “Black” description.
please DO NOT think i’m hung up on race issues. i was just wondering. as a writer, i try to choose my characters’ ethnicities by their relevance to my stories. i wanted to know if you do the same.
ps. congrats on the success of Big Fish. not sure if the DVD-residuals issue ever got worked out w/ the WGA (i’m not a member yet) but 2 mil in sales has GOT to translate into gold stars on your resume.
thanks for listening…
– carlito rodriguez
July 22nd, 2004 at 11:53 am
I originally wrote Ronna as African-American, because that was the image in my head. As we started casting, the producers asked if I would take out the description of her being black, so that we could look at a wider range of actresses. I had some trepidation, but as I read through the script, there was nothing story-wise that dictated her being black (as opposed to Marcus, who had to be, or the whole Tiny plotline wouldn’t make sense).
During casting, we met with many black actresses for the part. No one, black or white, felt like right match until we came to Sarah Polley, who kicked ass.
While I agree that a writer should consider the relevance of a character’s race — that is, ask the question, “Does it matter?” — my experience has been that unless you specifically write in that a character is a certain race (or use a surname that suggests one), the part will end up going to a white actor. (In other words, people assume characters are white unless told otherwise.) So I personally tend to write in that a character is Puerto Rican even if there’s nothing story-wise that necessarily dictates it.
July 22nd, 2004 at 1:57 pm
good money, man. (translates roughly to “good stuff…”
i hear you wholeheartedly.
on a related note, one of my complaints of A LOT of flicks that feature Latino characters is that the casting people usually can’t tell the subtle (but very REAL) differences among the different Latino nationalitities. as much as i loved De Palma’s Scarface, half the cats in the “Freedomtown” and other scenes look a lot less like Cubans (who tend to range from what Pacino looked like to straight-up Black folk) and more like Mexicans and Central Americans (who look more “Indian,” in the politically incorrect sense of the word).
and yeah, the story should dictate any ethnicity. to use the Scarface example, does it REALLY matter that all the Cubans in the detention camps and on the buses to and from the INS building don’t look Cuban? i’d say so, at the very least for achieving any sense of realism.
so here’s a kicker: in one of my stories, not only do i avoid the generic description of “MARIA, 40, LATINO…” to avoid someone getting the wrong image, but i also get down to the very specifics of the character’s nationality (i.e. “JUAN, 50, A BLACK CUBAN…”) because so much of the story depends on the nuances of these racial traits. (for all who may wonder, “Latino” is not a race, and yeah, skin-color issues are alive and well in Spanish-speaking countries.)
although i know my place as a writer (working on a SPEC, no less) i tend to do pretty much everything for a reason. in fact, i will sometimes go back and change a character’s profile in order to create even more conflict.
the Ronna character, when i finished reading the shooting script, depended more on her sharp-ass tongue than her hair texture, so i wasn’t bothered by the change (who am i, anyway?!) but i’m glad to see that the decision was based on casting a wider net and not some okey-doking…
thanks for the shout back…
July 22nd, 2004 at 9:48 pm
I’ve been wondering a long time about “God”? The short that was the inspiration for “Go”. I remembr reading about it when the “Go” dvd came out. ARe there any plans to upload it to your site ro make it available for tohers to see?
July 23rd, 2004 at 8:17 am
“God” actually came into being after GO was shot, but before it came out. I had a crazy talent-crush on Melissa McCarthy and wanted to write a movie that would showcase her.
I suspect that whenever I finally direct a movie, I’ll probably put the short film on the DVD. But if you happen to work in Hollywood, there’s a pretty good chance you’ll find somebody with a copy. It’s been floating around for years. Up until recently, Melissa used it as her audition reel.