Blog spotlight: MYPDFscripts.com

Some times, it almost makes me sick how easy it is nowadays to access screenplays online. Old movies, new movies, movies that aren't even in theaters yet -- almost all of them hosted on this site or that. When I think back on all those times I had to sweet talk an assistant so I could borrow a script, Xerox a copy, then return the script to said assistant. Now you click your cursor and voila -- a PDF version of the script gets downloaded onto your hard drive.

In other words...
You don't know how easy you have it!

For example, take this website: MYPDFscripts.com. I go to sites like these, my first thought is, "I've struck the motherload." My second thought is, "Who in the world are the type of people who would host such a site?"

Well, I contacted the folks at MYPDFscripts.com and they agreed to do a Q&A about the site, their inspiration for it, and their vision of its future:

* Who are the Zen Masters behind MyPDFScripts.com?

Sheridan Cleland (pronounced Clel-lund and not Clee-land) and J.C. Holsapple. Although J.C. is taking a hiatus for a bit because he just bought a house and is getting married. Plus, he's the administrator of the PDFscreenplays Forum and that's more his domain than mine, so really, I guess it's just me, Sheridan, behind myPDFscripts... alone and forsaken.

* When you're not careeing around the Internet searching for screenplays, where is the underground bunker you call home located and how do you make actual money?

In May I moved cross-country to Florida from Burbank, CA. A lot of people may see and have seen that as a rather strange move, especially since my end-goal is to make films, but living in L.A. made me realize very quickly that I want to be a filmmaker on my own terms. I've always kind of done things my own way anyway, so to me it doesn't seem all that strange. Plus, my non-film commute-by-flying day job affords me the opportunity to live anywhere I want, which is nice, but oh how I do miss the IMAX theater at City Walk.

* What's the inspiration behind MyPDFScripts.com? And how much beer did you consume in order to get inspired in the first place?

Not beer. Coffee. Lots and lots and lots of coffee. And the inspiration for myPDFscripts was the failure of the original version(s) of PDFscreenplays. After the last version drowned in bandwith consumption, I seriously spent a year tinkering and redesigning the site from the ground up and inside out, implementing all of the lessons I learned and also several of the ideas I had to make what will hopefully become the go-to online script database for burgeoning writers.

But the real inspiration behind starting a script site dedicated to PDF only files was really borne out of my frustration in the lack of screenplays available online with their original page structure intact. When I started to really study the craft of screenwriting, everything I read or anyone I talked to put so much emphasis on structure in regards to page count, so I began to search out the great scripts to study and much to my chagrin all I could find were text or html files, you know, just one continuos script without any pages. And I had the thought then that there had to be other people out there looking for scripts of a quality and standard that I was seeking out, so that's how it all started. I figured since there wasn't a site dedicated to such scripts, well, then, I'd just have to make my own.

* How many scripts do you currently have available on the site? And how long does it take to use Windex to hand clean all of those PDFs?

Currently there are around 350 scripts available, which pales greatly in comparison to my personal collection of around 3000+/- scripts that I'm slowly but surely adding to the site every week. And essentially what I've been doing with each script is wiping them of all metadata, deleting blank pages, rotating or correcting odd page orientations, resizing pages for uniformity in scripts with varying page sizes, and reducing overall file sizes. It's slow, tedious work, but what you're seeing on the site is really my personal collection and I can be a bit picky, especially about quality, so I've personally looked at each PDF file. I may not read each one from start to finish, but I do open each file and give it a quick perusal to see if it meets the standards. And it really just depends on a script and its origin when it comes to correcting those elements. A digital file is obviously much easier to work with than a 50 MB scan done by someone with little regard toward quality and readability.

* In order to get access to some of the scripts for your site, is it kind of like a whole Mission Impossible drop down through the ceiling hanging by wires thing or do you just bribe assistants?

Actually, and very surprisingly, it's neither. Ever since I first started the site I've been quite surprised at the number of people who have sent scripts to me. Genuine students of the craft seem to really appreciate what it is that I'm trying to do and have graciously donated or passed along their scripts with a note that usually says something to the effect, "I spent years looking for this script and I know there are other people out there doing the same..." and that's how I've been able to accumulate so many scripts in just a year. And I wanted a way to promote those community contributions even more, so J.C. mentioned we should have a "submit a script" page on the site, which I thought was a great idea, so I spent about a month working out the nuts and bolts of how that was going to work. So now people can submit a script directly to the site and have their name attributed to the post.

* You have something called "Exclusives" on your site. Is that about screenplays or can I use it to get a discount at Taco Bell?

Our "Exclusives" section is now serving two purposes: the first is that it features scanned scripts from my own personal, tangible script collection. And the second, and original purpose, is that it features scripts that a dedicated few with knowledge of, and respect for, proper script formatting have painstakingly converted with care via Final Draft or Movie Magic Screenwriter. It goes back to the standards and quality thing and being able to really study a script.

* You've done 15 podcasts. What are your plans in the area of new media and should we expect to see a MyPDFScripts reality show on Fox any time soon?

A reality show? God, wouldn't that be boring. It would probably just amount to several pots of coffee and a few thousand mouse clicks per episode. Haha. And as far as new media is concerned, I'd love to figure out a way to make scripts directly available to the iPhone and Amazon Kindle users of the world either with an App or portal of some kind. For now, though, I think I'll just focus on making the website the best that it can be.

* What scripts are you currently desperate to find? And if I have one, would you be willing to courier a bag full of unmarked bills to my vacation home in the Grand Cayman islands?

Hmmm... how much we talkin' here? "Husbands" by John Cassavetes is one that I would definitely kill to have. I'd love to see just how much changed from script to screen. Leigh Brackett's draft of "The Empire Strikes Back" would definitely be an interesting read. And "Mothman" by Douglas TenNapel, I think, would be an interesting read and an interesting watch as well. I hope it eventually sees some kind of release because I'm originally from Point Pleasant, West Virginia, and I can remember standing on a street corner across from the Harris Steak House on Main Street watching them film some scenes. That was my first real exposure to filmmaking and a film set. I can remember standing there bumbling on like Woody Allen, "My God, that generator is huge... do they really need a generator that big just for the lights? Look at that generator..."

* Under threat of virtual water-boarding, will you finally come clean about about the whole Frank Darabont "Indiana Jones V" fracas?

Sheesh. What a fiasco that was. That was my lesson in hotlinking or how Ain't It Cool News can kill a website and feel no remorse or regret about it whatsoever. Drew McWeeny (aka Moriarty) was the one responsible for bringing it to the masses and I really wish I would have known that that script was going to blow up like that. I was busy holding auditions for a film at the time and someone sent me the Darabont draft and I can remember thinking, "Oh, wow, cool. Everyone on the site will love this." And since I was busy with other things at the time I just very quickly and very naively uploaded it to my server and posted it online without a second thought. It wasn't even 24 hours later when my hosting company called me and said, "Look, we have a problem here..." That's why we're now utilizing file hosting websites such as SendSpace for the scripts. I don't want to do it that way, and I'd really prefer not to do it that way, but it's what we have to do to curb the bandwith problem.

* What's your vision for the future of MyPDFScripts.com? And does that vision require hallucinogens?

Hallucinogens could definitely make it fun, especially if you're attempting to read a David Lynch script. But as far as my vision for the future goes... I'd like to expand the Reviews section to cover filmmaking and screenwriting books and other film-related multimedia. And I want to continue growing our "CUT TO:" column because I love to talk film with people and I think to hear about the importance (or non-importance) that a script or screenplay has from a wide variety of people on their given profession (composers, cinematographers, set designers, prop masters, producers, et al.) is a great learning experience and could really become an invaluable resource to a lot of students of the craft. I mean, yes, it's important that a writer writes, but I find it fascinating to learn what it is these people actually end up doing because of the words we've written on a page.

* Finally, you're stranded on a desert island. Which would you choose: A copy of Christopher Nolan's impossible to get script for his upcoming movie "Inception" or Megan Fox wearing nothing but a "Michael Bay is God" pajama top?

Michael Bay... ugh... *shudders* I think I threw up a little in my mouth just now. Sigh. What a choice... I'm gonna say "Inception" and hope that it's a damn good read that will provide me with hours/days/years of entertainment.

Okay, yet another great website where you can access great screenplays to read: MYPDFscripts.com.