Learn how to write a screenplay through detailed beat sheets of your favorite movies!
Being John Malkovich Written by Charlie KaufmanDirected by Spike JonzeRunning time: 107 minutesYear: 1999 BASIC STORY MAP PROTAGONIST: Craig Schwartz, 30-something struggling puppeteerCHARACTERIZATION/MAIN MISBEHAVIOR: Narcissist / Disenchanted with realityEXTERNAL GOAL: To be a famous puppeteer / To be with…
Man of Steel Screenplay by David S. GoyerStory by David S. Goyer & Christopher NolanDirected by Zack SnyderRunning time: 133 minutesYear: 2013 MAN OF STEEL BEAT SHEET ACT I Sequence I: KAL-EL’S BIRTH AND ESCAPE FROM KRYPTON. 1-2 OPENING: LARA…
Memento Screenplay by Christopher NolanBased on the short story, Memento Mori, by Jonathan NolanDirected by Christopher NolanRunning Time: 110 minutesYear: 2001 For a thorough analysis of Memento, including two detailed story maps (both narrative and chronological) please support this site…
Casablanca Based on the play Everybody Goes To Rick’s by Murray Burnett and Joan AlisonWritten by Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein, and Howard KochDirected by Michael CurtizRunning time: 103 minutesYear: 1942 STORY MAP PROTAGONIST: Rick Blaine, 37, owner…
The Shawshank Redemption Written and Directed by Frank DarabontBased on Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption by Stephen KingRunning time: 139 minutesYear: 1994 BASIC STORY MAP PROTAGONIST: Andy Dufresne, a banker wrongly imprisoned for the murder of his wife.CHARACTERIZATION/MAIN MISBEHAVIOR: Guilt-ridden;…
Looper Written and Directed by Rian JohnsonRunning time: 111 minutesYear: 2012 Click here to download the Looper script Lessons From Looper: The Difference Between World-Building and Story BASIC STORY MAP PROTAGONIST: Joe, mid-20s, a specialized assassin for the mob known…
Fight Club Screenplay by Jim OhlsBased on the novel by Chuck PalahnuikDirected by David FincherRunning time: 137 minutesYear: 1999 BASIC STORY MAP PROTAGONIST: Narrator, 30s, recall coordinator for a large automobile companyCHARACTERIZATION/MAIN MISBEHAVIOR: Suffers from dissociative identity disorder / Materialist…
Back to the Future Written by Robert Zemeckis & Bob GaleDirected by Robert ZemeckisRunning time: 112 minutesYear: 1985 ACT I Sequence I: Marty is late for school when one of Doc Brown’s time experiments sets all of his clocks twenty-five…
Midnight in Paris Written and Directed by Woody AllenRunning time: 91 minutesYear: 2011 Midnight in Paris: Basic Beat Sheet PROTAGONIST: Gil Pender, 40, screenwriter and aspiring novelistCHARACTERIZATION/MAIN MISBEHAVIOR: Naive & neurotic / Golden-aged thinkingEXTERNAL GOAL: To live in ParisINTERNAL GOAL:…
