Announcement: 14 Days of Screenplays, Version 3.0

Thanks for all your suggestions, literally hundreds of titles posted on the blog and sent to me via email. I've gone through them and tried to emulate the first two versions of 14 days challenge, putting together a list of scripts that covers different genres, eras, and writing styles.

Per the previous 14 Days of Screenplays challenges, the idea is simple: Read 1 script per day for 14 days. Reading scripts is one of the single best ways you can increase your understanding of the craft of screenwriting. And reading 14 scripts in 14 days multiplies the benefit as you begin to intuit things, I guess you could say. You pick up pacing and tone, style and scene transitions, and on and on and on.

So here are the fourteen scripts with links where you can download a PDF version for your files. Starting Monday, November 9th at 4PM EST / 1PM PST (United States), I'll post my comments on the first script American Beauty and invite your reactions to reading the screenplay as well. Then each successive day at the same time, we'll go through each script on the list, one by one, day after day, for two solid weeks.

As you read each script, you might jot down some notes - what you notice about style or how the writer successfully pulled off a set-up and payoff or a great bit of subtext in dialogue. Whatever strikes you, especially something you learned about the craft, please post your thoughts as I'm sure everyone - myself included - would welcome sharing those insights.

Without further ado, here is the list of 14 Days of Screenplays, Version 3.0!

Day 1 -- Monday, November 9: American Beauty

Day 2 -- Tuesday, November 10: The Crying Game

Day 3 -- Wednesday, November 11: The Apartment

Day 4 -- Thursday, November 12: The Sixth Sense

Day 5 -- Friday, November 13: (500) Days of Summer

Day 6 -- Saturday, November 14: Chinatown

Day 7 -- Sunday, November 15: Wall*E

Day 8 -- Monday, November 16: Tootsie

Day 9 -- Tuesday, November 17: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Day 10 -- Wednesday, November 18: Aliens

Day 11 -- Thursday, November 19: Little Miss Sunshine

Day 12 -- Friday, November 20: Psycho

Day 13 -- Saturday, November 21: Crash

Day 14 -- Sunday, November 22: The Wild Bunch

There were several titles for which I couldn't find PDFs online which is much preferred to HTML or text versions because you can download and add PDFs to your file of screenplays.

You do have a file for screenplays, right?

I also wanted to include more international movies like Cinema Paradiso and Seven Samurai, but again I couldn't find PDFs for them. So I'm afraid The Diving Bell and the Butterfly will have to suffice this time around. But I definitely hope to find more PDFs of international movies in the future.

Finally several suggestions -- Broadcast News, Pulp Fiction, Die Hard, The Shawshank Redemption -- were included in Version 1.0 or Version 2.0, so if you feel like reading those scripts, they're available under List.

Okay, we start with American Beauty on Monday, November 9th! It's an Academy Award-winning original screenplay by Alan Ball, a great script to kick off the proceedings.

Happy reading!

UPDATE: Talked with Sheridan at MyPDFscripts.com and he graciously did some of his quick voodoo, so that every one of our scripts will be hosted by their site. And while you're there, check out the hundreds of other PDF scripts they have on file. Also we may have a surprise in store for you. But let's see how many folks take up the 14 day challenge!

UPDATE #2: Changed the link for American Beauty as of Sunday, November 8, 11:15AM to reflect the latest draft available at mypdfscripts.com.