I'm obsessed with reading movie scripts thanks to this Instagram account
My marker of a fantastic film is when I leave the theater without any clue of the current time of day or what responsibilities I left behind when I walked into the building three hours prior. Lately I've been obsessed with the process of getting to that point—starting with the script.
The Instagram account @script.to.screen is to blame for my recent fascination with finding scripts and following along with my favorite films or television shows. It's a straightforward account that shows iconic scenes from the vast canon of film—but with the script scrolling below.
At first, it feels a bit distracting to read a script while watching a clip. But the split screen forces you to watch the Instagram videos a few times and hone in on different aspects of each scene. The way an actor makes dialogue their own is riveting. The body language played out based on a few short and simple action lines is mind-blowing. And the work that it takes to really piece the elements together is apparent with each video the account posts.
A stand out for me was a pivotal scene from Get Out in which Chris, our protagonist, falls under Missy's hypnosis. It's one thing to read the script on its own and appreciate it for the good writing. It's another to watch the movie and enjoy getting lost in the world Jordan Peele brought to life. But it's entirely something else when you realize how exactly actor Daniel Kaluuya took the words of the movie's director and screenwriter and made it into something that evokes so much emotion, no matter how many times you've seen the film. The isolated clip shown on the @script.to.screen account highlights that even more.
In The Shape of Water, the main character Elisa has no speaking lines, which makes this exercise of watching her breathe life into Guillermo del Toro's script even more engrossing.
Heath Ledger's performance in The Dark Knight will go down in history books, and in this scene, virtually no lines are changed—but witnessing the Joker leap off the page in the hands of the late Ledger is unlike anything else.
And the same goes for Samuel L. Jackson's legendary role in Pulp Fiction. It's an electrifying monologue, and everyone knows at least one line by heart. But it's enjoyable to witness it in a new light with the script and directions right there. This reveals what Jackson brought to the table that no one else could.
The account also credits the director, writer and cinematographer for each film—a great entry point for someone (ahem, me) who is woefully ignorant to these facts but always wanting to learn more. The tidbits about each movie provided in the captions are fun as well, and provide even more context to the filmmaking process.
For a film noob like myself, @script.to.screen is a thrilling find. I've begun searching online data bases for scripts and reading them casually, or as I watch television shows. Experiencing the magic of movies in an accessible and different way that still manages to enthrall and transport me like a great film is my new favorite pastime—and it's made the experience of kicking back in a theater even more enjoyable.
