40 Days of Screenplays, Day 1: "Back to the Future"

What is "40 Days of Screenplays"?

It's simple. Members of the GITS community, myself included, are going to read, analyze, and comment on 40 scripts in 40 days, one great screenplay from a notable movie per day.

Why?

Here is my most basic mantra about learning the craft of screenwriting:

Read scripts.
Watch movies.
Write pages.

Those are the three single most important things you can do to learn how to write screenplays. And right there at the top is "read scripts."

Hence "40 Days of Screenplays."

DAY 1

Title: Back to the Future
Writing credits: Written by Robert Zemeckis & Bob Gale
Year: 1985
Studio: Universal Pictures
Domestic Box Office: $210M

Plot summary: In 1985, Doc Brown invents time travel; in 1955, Marty McFly accidentally prevents his parents from meeting, putting his own existence at stake.

Tagline: He's the only kid ever to get into trouble before he was born.

Awards: Nominated for WGA Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen Award, nominated for 4 Academy Awards, winning 1

Trivia: The time machine has been through several variations. In the first draft of the screenplay the time machine was a laser device that was housed in a room. At the end of the first draft the device was attached to a refrigerator and taken to an atomic bomb test. Robert Zemeckis said in an interview that the idea was scrapped because he and Steven Spielberg did not want children to start climbing into refrigerators and getting trapped inside. (See also Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008).) The Nevada desert bomb test was left out in order to reduce the budget. In the third draft of the film the time machine was a DeLorean, but in order to send Marty back to the future the vehicle had to drive the DeLorean into an atomic bomb test.

You may download an early version of the script here.

Date: 10/21/84 (revised 4th draft)
Pages: 95

You may download the shooting script here.

Date: 2/28/85
Pages: 147

These are two good scripts to commence our "40 Day" challenge. They're fun, funny, and really quick reads. The scripts also do something important: They introduce you to the fact that many of the scripts available online are not actual shooting scripts. In fact, there are numerous differences between early draft of Back to the Future and the shooting script.

I prefer to look at this as a positive because it's always a good learning experience to consider why the screenwriters added, omitted, or changed scenes and/or sequences -- a great way to get into the filmmaking mindset.

As an example, I posted this yesterday -- a comparison of the opening scenes in the 84 draft and the 85 draft -- to show how the screenwriters Zemeckis & Gale wanted to introduce Doctor Brown early, show Marty as a musician, not just a music fan, and mostly to jump-start the plot by introducing a number of key points of exposition right upfront.

Let's note in comments the most significant changes between the 10/21/84 draft and the movie. Indeed it would be great to create a comprehensive list of those differences as part of our discussion.

Enjoy reading Back to the Future! I look forward to reviewing your comments. I'll add some of my thoughts later in the day to give you a chance to dive in first.

NOTE: If anybody has a better version of any of the scripts we'll be reading during the "40 Days" challenge, please email me.

UPDATE: This is great news. The folks at tracking-board.com have graciously offered to host all the scripts in the "40 Days" challenge as well. That link is here. What's cool about this link is there are multiple drafts of many of the titles we'll be reading. So check it out. And thanks to TB!

OBSERVATIONS: First, let me echo the sentiment in comments about what a good read the scripts were, especially the 85 draft which is sharply superior to the 84 draft. In comments, someone mentioned the tone and style of the scene description. That's what I call "narrative voice," basically this: Genre + Style = Narrative Voice. BTTF is a comedy with a lot of action to it and the script's scene description reflects that.

Second, there are a couple of comments about how many set-ups & payoffs there are in the script. I was struck by that this time, too. Dozens and dozens of what I call "Bits Of Business" (BOBs). For example in the Present (P. 8), a "Re-Elect Mayor Goldie Wilson" truck blares by; in the past (P. 46), Marty runs into Goldie, who's working as a busboy in the cafe, and gives him the idea about running for Mayor ("That's right--he's gonna be Mayor someday"). So you not only have a BOB, you reverse the dynamic: The set-up occurs after the payoff.

But the main takeaway I had this time around was the efficient use of subplots. Here are some of them:

* MARTY AND HIS MUSICAL ASPIRATIONS

* MARTY’S FATHER (GEORGE)

* MARTY’S MOTHER (LORRAINE)

* GEORGE AND LORRAINE’S ROMANCE

* MARTY’S FADING FAMILY

* DR. BROWN AND THE LIBYAN TERRORISTS

Each one of them is not only tied to the overall plot, but in combination they increase the tension as Marty has to handle this one, then that, then another, like a guy trying to manage a bunch of spinning plates:

Finally, writers talk about the value of having a ticking clock, some sort of narrative device that creates a deadline for the Protagonist. Well, BTTF has a number of ticking clocks:

* The exact time of the lightning strike

* The photo with the fading family

* The necessity of getting George to kiss Lorraine at the dance

* Getting back to the present in time to save Doc from the Libyan terrorists

In sum, a great script! Please keep your comments coming. And remember, the script for Day 2 is Witness. You can download a PDF of the script here.

UPDATE #2: Lots of insightful comments. Let me grab a few here to highlight some points.

Nelson said:

I love how I can hear a writer's voice in the action/description. When I write action, it's descriptive, but boring. Not this screenplay. I can feel the excitement of the screenwriter.

example: BROWN reacts with horror. He now has a useless plug in his hand. Lightning cracks even closer!

I mentioned Narrative Voice which boils down to this formula: Genre + Style = Narrative Voice. BTTF is an action-comedy. Therefore the scene description should read "action" and "comedy." Look at Nelson's example:

BROWN reacts with horror. [action]

He now has a useless plug in his hand. [comedy]

Lightning cracks even closer! [action]

A good exercise is to go through BTTF (the 85 draft) and focus strictly on the SD to zero in on the script's narrative voice.

nathanieltapley.com wrote:

I love the changes in the opening sequences. What (in the 84 script) is a fairly standard, pedestrian introduction to Marty and his world - was it just me or did it have a real John Hughes feel? - becomes one long pan that is highly visual, takes on a lot of exposition, and sets up a mystery (Who is the person who invented all of this and where are they?).

That's a great call as the 84 draft does feel like a variation of John Hughes. The 85 draft really kicks in on the action front, pulling together all the various subplots to put Marty constantly needing solve crises.

Annika W had this observation:

One of the great improvements in the 85 script is the character introductions of Doc, both young and old. There was no need to show him pulling up in an RV and a Hawaiian shirt. Like the teacher in the 85 script, it was unnecessary business at the top of the script that led nowhere. It's so much more intriguing to foreshadow Doc with the interesting Rube Goldberg alarm clock, then have him drive out of a truck in the Delorean. Much more efficient, too.

Absolutely! Typically one might think it's better to see a character as a means of their introduction, like the 84 draft did, rather than hear them (on the phone twice) before actually physically meeting them, like the 85 draft did. But as Annika points out, the approach in the movie uses foreshadowing to both inform us about Doc's personality (through all his Rube Goldberg stuff) and tease us, creating a sense of anticipation, so when we finally do meet him, it's a fulfilling moment -- especially since he makes his arrival in a time-traveling Delorean.

Finally judy said:

This time around, I was struck by the clear, clever use of all those ticking clocks and watches, the courthouse clock, plus all the precise timing requirements of the plot to reinforce the theme of Marty's life-or-death time-travel adventure: that how we use each precious minute of every day can dramatically affect our future.

Placing all those clocks in the opening scene in the final draft really impressed me as an artful benefit of purposeful rewriting.

True, and my guess is that this is an example of the writers digging deeper and deeper into the story (their first draft was in 1981!) so that by the time they did the 85 draft, they understood what was going on quite well. So for example, they knew that one major theme of the movie was time. Not just time travel, but all the various ticking clocks they set into motion through various subplots. Which is reflected in their "purposeful rewriting" and the way the script (and movie) begins: all those ticking clocks.

Great comments, folks!