This page contains .pdf versions of various projects I’ve written over the years. The best way to learn screenwriting is to read a bunch of scripts, so these are intended for educational purposes only. Obviously, don’t try to sell/stage/pilfer any of the material you find here, or the studios involved will send scary lawyer types after you. It’s not pleasant for anyone.
Important: If you want to link to any of the scripts here, please link to this page. Everything else you see here will inevitably move, and broken links suck.
Chernobyl NEW!
The acclaimed HBO/Sky miniseries written, created and produced by Scriptnotes co-host Craig Mazin debuted May 6, 2019. As promised, here are Craig’s scripts for the five episodes.
You should also listen to the excellent companion podcast co-hosted by Peter Sagal.
- Episode 1 – “1:23:45”
- Episode 2 – “Please Remain Calm”
- Episode 3 – “Open Wide, O Earth”
- Episode 4 – “The Happiness Of All Mankind”
- Episode 5 – “Vichnaya Pamyat”
Frankenweenie
- Production Draft. The original draft from July 2010 isn’t vastly different.
- Final Conformed Script. This draft reflects changes made during storyboarding, production and editing. In particular, notice how much the third act has been tightened.
The Nines
- Final shooting script. The original draft isn’t vastly different, save for two scenes added in reshoots.
- Shooting schedule. Pretty close to our final shooting schedule.
- Visual FX breakdown. Boards and descriptions for two of the more complicated sections.
- The audience questionnaire we used for our second test screening.
Go
Big Fish
- Original one-page outline
- Revised full outline after first draft
- Final shooting script
- Introduction to paperback version
The Remnants
This is the web pilot I shot in February 2008. You can find it here.
- The Remnants (character bios and shooting script)
- Additional audition scenes for Chas, Mia and Wallace
God
This is the short film I made in 1998, a prequel to The Nines. You can find it here.
How to Eat Fried Worms
Note that this is not the script for the 2006 movie. It predates it by almost a decade. You can read more about the backstory here.
D.C.
- Pilot script
- Episode 2: Truth
- Episode 3: Justice
- The initial pitch I made to the WB
- The outline for the pilot
- A template for a “normal” episode
- And an exercise in which I look at God from each character’s perspective
- The pilot presentation script
In order to save money, the WB asked all its drama pilots to shoot a 30-minute “pilot presentation” of the show, rather than the whole hour. To do this, I had to omit a bunch of scenes, and rewrite some others so that it would all make sense.
Yes, if I had written Episode 4, it was supposed to titled, “The American Way.”
The Circle (a.k.a. Alaska)
Casting sides:
More information about The Circle is here.
Ops
There are three versions of the pilot. The first is set in Afghanistan and Venezuela. The second, in Afghanistan and Iraq. The third, in Brazil and Uzbekistan. Since the first two pilots were both called “Blood and Oil,” they’ve been labeled here as “Venezuela,” “Iraq,” and “Uzbekistan.”