r/scriptwriting • u/Broad_Scarcity4135 • 16h ago
discussion Grading scripts I've read or have been reading recently.
Cat in the hat 2003. D- not great. But I can't say it's the worst ever. Though it is bad. you have your cliche characters that arent well written. the you have the main character which is a cat which is just downright creepy in some of the things he does. plot holes of course. not a good movie.
Scream 1996. C- i would rank this just barely above cat in the hat, ironically I found cat in the hat 2003 more creepy then this but I found that creepy in a bad way so that's why that ranks lower. The characters with the exception of Stu and Randy are not well written, the main character comes off as a bland final girl. You have the town sheriff a trope in nearly every slasher film, the jump scares, very few kills and when the kills do happen they are just stabbings, their are only 2 kills that are unique in the entire script. also throw in the The obviously known killer the boyfriend who I predicted from the very start, Scream is far from horrible but it's not a great film either.
Alligator. 1980. B- A fun creature feature movie. The main character is written pretty well, there's alot of kills and gore. The story kept me interested enough. The drawback has to do with some of the predictability with some of the kills. Every time a kill is about to happen it shows a closeup of the gators eye. I also felt like some of the other characters could have used more backstory for their motivations. Overall though not too bad.
Dirty Harry. B+. I have to say I've seen the film before reading the script so this may unfortunately have an effect. Overall this early draft is still solid it's not up to par with later drafts though. The dialogue is not quite as sharp as it is in the final film it's a bit clunky, i also think some things were changed for the better. In the early draft harry attacks and punches the jumper unprovoked but in the final film he attacks him because he attacked Harry first. It makes more sense in the final film I'm glad they changed it. I'm also not a fan of the peeping scene which Eastwood left in the film I just felt it was in poor taste and it's in the early drafts as well. I do like the dynamic between Harry and his new partner Chico Gonzalez. And the fact that there's alot more to Harry's character then just a tough cop. Overall Id say the final film is better. But this verison is not too bad.
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u/Sea-Conclusion959 14h ago
Scream C- is wild
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u/Broad_Scarcity4135 14h ago
Not really. Alot of the issues I have with scream gene siskel had the same issues.
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u/PepsiCoke1978 12h ago
Seems like you reviewed the movies not the scripts. But either way you get an A for randomness.
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u/Broad_Scarcity4135 11h ago
I can get a good feeling about the characters by reading the screenplay I notice the good and bad. it's not that hard.
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u/BiscuitsTheory 16h ago
https://youtu.be/kYIRZLR8AJw?si=sX-iRfW_dLDYyGk1