The Nines, scripted
I promised that as soon as The Nines had reached its widest U.S. opening, I’d be putting the script up in the Downloads section. That time has come.
You can find a .pdf of the screenplay here.
johnaugust.com
(a ton of useful information about screenwriting)
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This site is run by screenwriter John August. Mostly, he answers reader-submitted questions about the craft, but occasionally he goes on tangents that run far afield of writing and filmmaking. You'll also find info on past, present and future projects.
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October 9th, 2007 at 1:18 pm
Now THIS is a dream come true. Thanks for that, John!
October 9th, 2007 at 1:19 pm
To add a question: is Final Draft still your program of choice? So - is this written with Final Draft?
Cheers, Jason
October 9th, 2007 at 2:08 pm
I’m going to resist peeking for now. Just got into Austin and have to see if the movie is still showing here. Hope to catch it tonight before the festival proper begins.
October 9th, 2007 at 3:26 pm
You’re a really great guy, you know that, John.
Since there’s little to no chance I’ll see this movie in less than a year’s time, I decided to read the script and…
Oh boy.
I haven’t had that feeling since Ronnie Rocket.
On a lighter note, I assume you’re familiar with the work of Theodore Sturgeon. Am I right?
October 10th, 2007 at 12:40 am
Superior lifeform that lives off Catalina goes to experience 90 versions of life in the world it(s species?) created, got it! Buuut… why did he leave the house after hurting his toe in the rat trap? P.S. I’m with you on the Koala thing… with nature providing every species on the planet with a purpose, there must be more to this one than sitting in a tree munching eucalyptus - something arcane, something… beyond human perception. My best guess was that they’re alien observers, here to, well, observe us. That’s why they look so cute and cuddly, so no one would harm them. Clever aliens! But the weather, wow, I had no idea.
October 10th, 2007 at 2:55 am
Thanks John, can’t wait to have a read!
October 10th, 2007 at 6:21 am
Thanks so much for posting the script John. I’ve been very excited about this movie for so long now, but unfortunately will not be able to see it in theatres in Canada. I will watch it ASAP once it is on DVD….however would you recommend reading the script prior to seeing the film, or just waiting for the DVD release? I usually don’t like reading scripts before seeing the film, but in this case I almost have no choice
October 10th, 2007 at 6:30 am
This is with mixed emotions. 1) Woohoo! Script! 2) Not going to see a wider release.
October 10th, 2007 at 9:45 am
Just when I thought my “to read” pile couldn’t get any higher. It’s a pleasure to add this.
And to the frickin top of the pile it goes!
October 10th, 2007 at 8:28 pm
Thank you John. I’m looking forward to reading this. Also, I appreciate the fact you put your screenplays on line for us to read.
Mark
October 10th, 2007 at 8:50 pm
God, John. That was a great read.
October 11th, 2007 at 5:15 pm
I was wondering about those omitted scenes.. they were cut out before the shooting began, right? Was that a choice of yours, or your producers..? And what were the reasons? Were they darlings you had to kill? Or did anyone else kill them for you?
October 16th, 2007 at 8:45 pm
I was disappointed by the story. I don’t think it ever quite escapes the realm of the “Big Twist” plots which are, unfortunately (in my mind), such a fad lately.
Examples would include the the “It’s all in your mind” Plot which usually plays out as either the “It was all a dream” Plot or the closely related “Split Personality/Figment of My Imagination” Plot. A newer but already tired variation that mixes the two gives us an elaborate plot full of strange twists and characters which gives way in the last five minutes of the film to the revelation that everything has been the protagonist’s muddled dream as he lays dying (November, Stay).
And of course there are the supernatural explanations - the main character is an angel, a god, The God, or maybe he’s an alien. What about the explanations which pit the protagonist against the state vis a vis some monolithic oft-unnamed governmental agency. The revelation being that he’s brainwashed, or that he’s really an incredible multi-talented uber agent or perhaps it’s all a giant psychological experiment and he’s at the mercy of evil scientists.
Your twist fits somewhere in there with the rest of them, I think. It’s definitely one of the lesser offenders, and yet, like all of these twisty puzzle flicks, it ends up being about the head and not the heart. The story is more concerned with tricking the viewer then engaging with them and for that reason, none of it connected with me.
Thanks again for making this available on your blog. I check here at least every day. Corpse Bride and Big Fish are two of my very favorite movies!
Keep up the good work!
October 18th, 2007 at 11:37 am
Wow. What a fantastic screenplay. Can’t wait to see the movie (on DVD). It’s sad that Balls of Fury will hit theaters nation-wide, but The Nines is deemed not worthy of spending national marketing dollars on. Thanks for the great work.
October 19th, 2007 at 1:12 pm
Anonymous wrote:
Wow, anonymous, that is one searing flash of insight there. You must be the first person to point out the Big Twist “fad.” And your deconstruction of the Big Twist genre is a real eye-opener too; if only August and others had read this before, they might have realized that Having A Big Twist was something that was not completely new, and they could have saved themselves years of futile effort.
I also admire the way you delved not only into the fact that the script has a big twist, but also into many other areas, such as the characters, plot, structure, dialogue, etc. And maintained a pleasant, non-patronizing tone!
Have you thought of becoming a film critic? Because this one would melt the face of Gene Shalit and Elvis Mitchell’s love child.
October 19th, 2007 at 11:06 pm
Hey Bag -
You are absolutely right. My post was not a very good one. It was late when I wrote it and everything I was trying to say just spilled out sloppily.
I promise I didn’t mean to come off as patronizing. At all. John is an incredible writer, far better than I could ever hope to be. Obviously. I can barely convey what I mean properly in a blog comment, as evidenced above.
I was really disappointed with the twisty ending and wrote a comment in reaction to it after reading the script. I should definitely have read through my comment before posting it, because I didn’t mean for it to sound preachy or snide or snarky. And I didn’t think I was bringing fresh insight, just my own thoughts. I am no critic and had nothing to add except the gut reaction that I, as a reader/viewer am really tired of twist endings. That was it. I was just trying to put that into words but I guess from your reaction that I probably ended up with a really crappy comment that made me sound rude and plebeian.
Bummer. I’m not like that, I promise.
October 20th, 2007 at 9:58 pm
Anonymous the Plebian,
Actually I should apologize for way too harsh a post. (Here it comes: I apologize.) You got to the end and didn’t like where it went. Your reaction is legit.
However, I disagree with your criticism of the Big Twist as a device generally. (A Big Twist is, to me, a twist that is actually a concealed part of the movie’s premise - as in The Sixth Sense, Fight Club or Open Your Eyes/Vanilla Sky). Like any other part of a movie’s premise, it can turn out good or bad depending on how it’s handled.
That’s what I should have written in the first place. Sorry for being an ass instead.
October 22nd, 2007 at 4:50 pm
Bag, you didn’t need to apologize, but thank you.
True, it has to be about the way the Twist is handled, i.e., both in its hiding and its revelation. A movie’s not necessarily bad just because it has a giant twist at the end. My first post did sorta seem to imply that, unfortunately.
Perhaps a trait of the well-employed twist is that an astute member of the audience actually has a shot at figuring everything out before the end? The Prestige and The Sixth Sense come to mind, with subtle clues scattered throughout. It took a repeat viewing for each, for me to glean everything I could from the story-lines, but boy was it fun to see all the pieces fit together.
Maybe what I was trying to rail against was the plot that is so twisty and confusing that at some point into the movie you KNOW, like the back of your hand, the only places the writer can go with it. When you look at the guy in the seat next to you and say, well, he’s either an alien or he’s a character in the computer game or he’s delusional or… And it doesn’t really matter, because any of them would work. I dunno. Maybe it’s just me. Maybe I’m wrong and it’s not nearly as much about the ending as it is about the characters and dialogue and the way they connect with you, which Mr. August’s G’s and M’s and S’s definitely did.
On a side note, I feel the same way about Lost. The writers have worked themselves up into a frenzy of twistiness, so will the big reveal have something to do with the after-life? and electromagnetism? and time travel? Obviously. And at this point I don’t really care which combination it is.