33 Real Page-Turner Facts About the Screenplays of Your Favorite Movies

The words that launched a thousand ships
33 Real Page-Turner Facts About the Screenplays of Your Favorite Movies
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If you like seeing how movies are made, what better place to start than, well, the start? Way before there were any behind-the-scenes facts, there were just words on a page. Some creative little wordsmiths drummed up some action and dialogue, and bingo bango, millions of dollars were spent to bring all that to life. 

Here are a bunch of facts about the very earliest stages of some the biggest and best movies of all time…

Big

Big ANNE SPIELBERG & GARY ROSS GRACKED.COM Steven Spielberg's sister Anne Spielberg and her then neighbor Gary Ross wrote the 1988 Tom Hanks classic Big. The screenplay was nominated for an Oscar, and Ross went on to write Pleasantville, Seabiscuit and The Hunger Games.

Legally Blonde

Legally Blonde KRISTIN SMITH & KAREN MCCULLAH - Siie very U GRACKED COM and Amanda Brown's 2001 novel is based on her experiences at Stanford and screenwriters Kristin Smith & Karen McCullah adapted the screenplay. McCullah had previously written 10 Things I Hate About You, and the two went on to write House Bunny.

Zoolander

Zoolander DRAKE SATHER CRACKED.COM Comedian Drake Sather created (and named) Derek Zoolander, and wrote sketches that he and Ben Stiller molded into the screenplay. Не sadly killed himself in 2004, and Stiller dedicated the 2016 sequel to him.

Old School

Old School COURT CRANDALL & SCOT ARMSTRONG CRACKED.COM Old School writer/director Todd Phillips got the idea from his advertiser friend Court Crandall. Crandall loved Phillips' film Frat House and told him, You know what would be funny is a movie about older guys who start a fraternity of their own.

The Mask

The Mask MICHAEL FALLON & MARK VERHEIDEN CRACKED COM Unknowns Michael Fallon & Mark Verheiden had the original concept for 1994's The Mask. Fallon didn't write much after this, but Verheiden went on to write for Smallville, Battlestar Galactica, and Heroes.

Trading Places

Trading Places TIMOTHY HARRIS & HERSCHEL WEINGROD CRACKED COM Screenwriting partners Timothy Harris & Herschel Weingrod found success with 1983's Trading Places, then went on to write Twins, Kindergarten Cop, and Space Jam.

Groundhog Day

Groundhog Day DANNY RUBIN CRACKED.COM Writer Danny Rubin had the original concept for Groundhog Day, which he and Harold Ramis molded into the BAFTA award winning screenplay.

Tommy Boy

Tommy Boy FRED WOLF & JIM DOWNEY CRACKED.COM Although the film credits Bonnie & Terry Turner, they wrote a very skeletal initial draft that was barely used. SNL writers Fred Wolf & Jim Downey worked tirelessly with director Peter Segal, but still go uncredited.

There’s Something About Mary

There's Something About Mary ED DECTOR AND JOHN J. STRAUSS CRACKED COM Number 18 on The Writer's Guild's Funniest Screenplays list, Ed Dector and John J. Strauss had the original idea for There's Something About Mary, and wrote the screenplay with Peter Farrelly.

Animal House

Animal House DOUGLAS KENNY & CHRIS MILLER LAMPOOS COLLEGE - CRACKED.COM Alongside Harold Ramis, 1978's Animal House was written by Chris Miller, and National Lampoon magazine co-founder Douglas Kenney. Kenney wrote Caddy Shack two years later but sadly passed away a month after its release.

Billy Madison

Billy Madison TIM HERLIHY CRACKED COM Like Evan Goldberg is to Seth Rogen, Tim Herlihy is the man behind Adam Sandler. They were college roommates, and Herlihy co-wrote Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore, and almost every Sandler movie since.

Mrs. Doubtfire

Mrs. Doubtfire LESLIE DIXON & RANDI MAYEM SINGER GRACKED.COM English author Anne Fine wrote the 1987 novel Alias Madame Doubtfire, which screenwriters Leslie Dixon & Randi Mayem Singer adapted into the screenplay. The film is Mayem Singer's first writing credit.

Meet the Parents

Meet The Parents GREG GLIENNA & MARY RUTH CLARKE CRACKED.COM The 2000 hit movie was a remake of Greg Glienna's independent film from 1992. Written with Mary Ruth Clarke, Greg originally played Greg (but the last name Focker was added for Ben Stiller). They get story credit for it and all sequels.

Wayne’s World

Wayne's World BONNIE & TERRY TURNER HATELY PERIO RCD S CRACKED COM Brought to SNL as a married couple, the Wayne's World screenplay was Bonnie & Terry Turner's big break. They went on to create shows like 3rd Rock From The Sun and That '70s Show.

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective

Ace Ventura Pet Detective JACK BERNSTEIN CRACKED COM The concept originated with Vancouver born Jack Bernstein, who is credited with the story itself. Не then wrote the screenplay alongside the film's director Tom Shadyac and Jim Carrey.

The Godfather (Again)

WE'RE A FAMILY! INT. h LIVING ROOM EVENTN - photograph of a pretty hand. MAN في It happened - happen 0912 Godfather' was disrupted by actual and In 1971, production of'The embraces. A MOUN I sat on a E TTS g) pan wor removed the word Mafia from the mob boss Joe Colombo, who ms.c Piece by script, or replaced it with family or But the the MAN GRACKED COM = S family business.

Avengers: Infinity War

In an early draft of Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos himself was the narrator. And the movie was actually non-linear - it had backstories for the Black Order, and they were all introduced in very cool sequences, according to co-director Joe Russo. CRACKED.COM

Source

Captain America: The First Avenger

Captain America: The First Avenger nearly ended with a big robot fight. In that early draft, Cap fought a huge Nazi robot, called Panzer Max, controlled by Red Skull< but the scene turned out to be too expensive and time-consuming. CRACKED.COM

Source: SlashFilm

The Godfather

The Godfather was almost set in Kansas City. M That's where the first draft of the script was set, and the studio even took Francis Ford Coppola on a tour of the Italian neighborhoods in Kansas City.

Source: NPR

Love & Basketball

LOVE & BASKETBALL An original draft of the script had Quincy break up Monica's wedding. When the script made it to Sundance, Prince-Bythewood was told that the first three quarters of the film was SO progressive, it would make more sense to let Monica fight for Quincy, instead of going

BBC

Saw II

GRAGKEDCOT Saw II from was adapted a completely different movie's screenplay that had been widely rejected. SAWJ With no time to write screenplay, a t

Dragon Ball Evolution

Dragon Ball Evolution is probably the worst ive-action adaptation ever, and the writer isn't exactly happy with himself either. During an interview, w

Gremlins

Gizmo from Gremlins is adorably sweet. In the original script, he was also evil. The first draft of Gremlins was considerably darker than the final mo

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