John August

Go

Go scripts added

Go, Projects

go_logoAlthough 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.

GO at Arclight tickets available

Go, News

Tickets for the special screening of GO at Arclight in Hollywood on November 25th are now available for sale. The movie starts at 7:00 p.m., followed by a Q&A with John, hosted by MENACE II SOCIETY screenwriter Tyger Williams.

A couple of nice coincidences: the Arclight is just down the street from the supermarket that served as the inspiration for the movie, and GO’s premiere was held in Arclight’s Cineramadome.

Special GO screening Nov. 25th at the ArcLight

Go, News

story to glory logoOn Tuesday, November 25th, GO is being screened as part of the “Story to Glory” series at the ArcLight Cinema in Hollywood, followed by a Q&A with me. Will I say something profound and brilliant? No. But I’ll hopefully be coherent.

I haven’t seen GO on a big screen since 1999, so I’ll probably just watch it beforehand so I remember the plot. Plus, the ArcLight is by far my favorite movie theater in Los Angeles, since they let you reserve your individual seat. Along with my TiVo and my Prius, the ArcLight is one of my favorite modern conveniences.

The ArcLight theaters are big, so I’m not expecting it to sell out. But as soon as there is ticket information, I’ll put it up.

This film series began in September 2002, and is held every second Tuesday, screening a different movie and interviewing its screenwriter afterwards. It’s run by the Scriptwriters Network.

Was Go written on-the-fly?

Go, QandA

While listening to Doug Liman and Steven Mirrione’s
commentary track on the GO DVD,
they went through numerous scenes that weren’t in your original screenplay,
but rather scenes they had you write in production.
I was wondering what percentage of a film would you say is original material,
and what percentage is threaded during the filming process? Have you ever had
to rewrite a scene you loved with something you felt was lesser for the purpose?

–Brian

This is yet another example of why writers should always be on the commentary
track.

What’s unusual about GO is how little did change from the first script to
the final movie. It’s pretty easy to see what scenes were
new and old by looking at the deleted scenes on the DVD. We went back and reshot
several parts, including
the "branching-off" scene at the supermarket and the finale in Gaines’
apartment. On paper, I much prefer the Gaines’ apartment sequence as
originally scripted. I thought it was smarter and much more in keeping with
the spirit of the movie.
Unfortunately, it just didn’t turn out very well when we filmed it, which is
why we went back and did the simpler version that’s in the movie now.

The other
changes made during filming mostly involved production issues, such as
the names of the hotels we were using, or legal clearance problems. (For
example, Confederated Products was originally American Products, but we
couldn’t get permission to use that name.)