Speaker 1: Hey guys, how's it going? Julian here at Script Reader Pro. Today we're going to look at five of the best screenplays to learn from in each major genre. Coming up. In this video, we break down five of the best screenplays to read in each major genre. Drama, comedy, action, thriller, and why you need to read them. One of the best drama film scripts you should read is American Beauty. Alan Ball graduated from Florida State University with a degree in theater arts. He went on to write for the theater and then television, writing Grace Under Fire and Sybil. Although there are elements of comedy in American Beauty, for which he won the Oscar for best screenplay in 2000, it is overall a drama, and in our opinion, a modern masterpiece of screenwriting. The script opens with Jane staring into the camera, a handheld device operated by an unseen man, casually discussing killing her father. Then we cut to said father, a supposed loser named Lester Burnham, and follow him as he begins another miserable day at the office. All the while, we hear his voiceover from beyond the grave. In fact, the opening 25 pages are a masterclass on how to establish character, stakes, and genre, as the script pulls you in a web of lies set in suburban hell. There are some great examples of how to write a scene in the script. One of our favorites is the cute meet between Lester and his daughter's best friend, Angela. Ball has an amazing visual style, which you'll pick up and bring into your own writing while reading and studying the script. There are no major formatting quirks in Ball's writing, but the first thing you may notice is that he likes to underline his slug lines. Like we always say, there are no rules when it comes to movie script format. However, there are differences between spec script style and a pro script style. Overall, it's best to keep things simple. This means not underlying slug lines in your spec script, as Ball does here. He can do it, because he's Alan Ball. You're not. And so why give a potentially grumpy script reader even the slightest reason to reject your spec? We could have picked any number of comedy script classics for this section. Groundhog Day, Annie Hall, Some Like It Hot, etc. But we thought we'd go with a little underrated comedy gem by the name of Youth and Revolt. Guston Nash's writing in this screenplay is funny as hell. He broke onto the scene after writing nine spec screenplays with a comedy hero in four weeks called Charlie Bartlett. Then, after reading C.D. Payne's novel Youth and Revolt, Nash decided to adapt it into a screenplay. If you write comedy movie scripts, you've probably already been told to include more jokes and generally pack in as much humor in every line as possible. From the opening page, Nash has us laughing. Look at how he introduces protagonist Nick Twisp. He's clearly identifiable from his dialogue and actions, and funny. From there on in, the script is a riot of teenage angst and sexual yearning with a bit of surrealism thrown in for good measure. Lawrence Kasdan was commissioned by George Lucas to write Raiders of the Lost Ark. How it all came together was very much a group effort between Kasdan, Lucas, and Spielberg. All three worked on fleshing out the script during a series of now infamous story meetings in January 1978, the result of which was one of the best action movie scripts ever written. Action scripts are notorious for having great concepts but thin characters. This screenplay, however, is a great example of how to elevate a protagonist's personality above a paper-thin cutout. Making Indy a compelling hero was the first thing Lucas concentrated on in those early story meetings, and by reading the script you get a great sense of how this was achieved. For example, see how the writers give a personal motivation to his quest in The Shape of Marion. The Raiders of the Lost Ark screenplay is also a fantastic tool for learning how to create all those twists and turns required in any action movie script. Kasdan achieves this by utilizing a script structure composed of seven specific sequences. Each one takes Indiana Jones alternately closer and further away from his goal, the Ark of the Covenant. When you read the script, you'll also have the chance to observe Indy's scene with the army intelligence guys, which is also one of the best exposition scenes in history. The other best screenplay Oscar winner on our list is crime thriller masterpiece Fargo. In 2006, the film was preserved by the Library of Congress as culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant. You can't go wrong by studying movie scripts of this caliber. Much of the Coen brothers work is described as genre-bending, and the script for Fargo is no exception, mixing elements of a thriller and comedy to wonderful effect. From Jerry's magnificent bumbling, to Marge's routine police work, to Carl and Gare's squabbling, the characterization all make great sense of humor to elevate the screenplay above the average thriller. Another factor that helps with this is the screenplay theme. It shines through just as well in the screenplay as in the movie. The writing is terse but incredibly evocative. Check this description of Gare's execution of some innocent passerby to see how to convey so much with such a few words. The Conjuring, written by Chad and Carrie Hayes, was something of a sleeper hit when it was released in 2013. The specific horror screenplay is great because of the way the Hayes brothers make us feel the tension, the mood, and the pacing throughout the script. By the end we're gripping the edge of our seats and don't even realize it. This is something that's particularly hard to do with today's seeing-it-all-before-a-horror audiences. The Conjuring also makes use of some interesting formatting using all caps, bold, and underlining in ways that are so subtle and yet so manipulative. You feel the dread in your chest with whatever's standing behind the door telling the young girls it's going to kill her family. And the writing style pulls our eyes along at such a frantic pace that you just can't look away. Once you've read our selection of the best movie scripts, you should then go watch the movies. Then the most important thing is to actually study the movie screenplays. Take a detective at a crime scene. He doesn't just take a cursory look around, make a few notes, and go back to the station. No, they dig in deep, analyze the scene with a fine-toothed comb, and go over every possible angle. This is what you should be doing with movie scripts. Yes, there are many screenwriting books out there on the craft which can add layers of knowledge into your screenwriting, but the best movie scripts themselves have everything right there on the page. So read all of these film scripts, reverse engineer them, break them down, and then use what you learned and apply it to your own writing. Alright guys, that's it for today. In the comments section, let us know what are your favorite movie scripts. Also, if you'd like your script read by a professional screenwriter, check out the link in the description below. And don't forget to subscribe to be kept up to date with our best screenwriting strategies. See you next time.