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Seems that there have been two threads, at least that I've seen, where people choosing their favorite writers by genre has gone sour. How bout a different approach?
What if people name their two favorite scripts for each genre?
This thread -- originally proposed by Shelton -- has since become a "sticky" thread, where you can recommend your favorite scripts for others to enjoy.
A few groundrules:
1) Try to recommend scripts with good format -- for the most part, of course. There are some pretty good stories here where the format is lacking, and it would not be right to exclude them based upon that alone.
2) Don't come on this thread to chat. There are a zillion other threads to do that. Just make recommendations. Chatter will be deleted.
3) Don't recommend your own script. That is not what this thread is for. You will look like a very silly person, and it will just be deleted anyways.
My original post was limited to the "Horror" genre, where I primarily like to hang out:
This is limited to scripts I've actually read, and what comes to mind off the top of my head. I sincerely apologize for any "slights" or "overlooks".
* #19: A nice cannibalism script. I hesitate to point people to this one because the author doesn't do squat but post on his own work -- he doesn't really deserve comments -- but it's still a nice, gruesome work. And this actually belongs in "Shorts", by the way.
* Halloween Games: A nice introduction to Ms. Keller's work, and pretty well-polished by this point. You should check it out if you haven't.
* Season of the Devil: A guilty pleasure. It's got its problems, but I really like the "trio" of monsters, and some nice gory stuff. And apparently a sequel is on the way.
* Reprisal: Ian isn't around as much anymore, but still pops up from time to time. It's been I while since I read this, but I recall that it I liked it pretty well.
* Kiss of the Locust: The first work from James. Zombie silliness. There is a new draft up, but even the one I read had its moments. It's also fun to see how he has matured as a writer in fairly short-order.
* The Cabin: Another short, but who cares where it goes. Check this out for a laugh. I swear you will laugh. Your jaw will drop. Your eyes will bleed. But please don't post on it. The author is not around to read it, and everybody is already well aware of the charms of this particular script. This script is just a crazy relic that we keep locked in the closet.
Alright, I guess I'll go with 5 features and 5 shorts, for those who are lacking in time.
1. The Scorsese Club by Greg in Comedy 2. Singles Camp by Breanne in Comedy 3. A Song in My Heart by Cindy Keller in Drama 4. Old Friends by George in Drama 5. House of God by James McClung in Horror
1. Cobb Hill Massacre by Greg 2. Be my Valentine by Thomson 3. Accidents Happen by Martin 4. Salvage by Bert 5. My Dear Loo by Helio
There are a few of the old standbys as well, like all of the simplyscripts scripts, The Farm, The Burnout, and Suicide to name a few, but I'm assuming most people have already read those.
I don't read anywhere near enough scripts but I'll have a stab at 5 features and 5 shorts in no particular order.
FEATURES
1. 'Kill the Person Next to You' by Breanne - sci-fi, action, satire, lashings of ultraviolence. This script has it all. 2. 'The Scorsese Club' by Greg - Very funny shtuff 3. 'The Soul Keeper' by George - a solid, well-paced thriller. 4. 'The Odds of Love' by Mike - I read the unformatted 200 page draft and it was hilarious. I can only assume the rewrite is even better. 5. 'The Devil in D Minor' by Breanne couldn't choose between this and KTPNTY so I have to go with both. A crazy acid trip of a screenplay.
SHORTS
1. 'The Cobb Hill Massacres' by Greg - Great atmosphere, good story. Looking forward to the feature. 2. 'Back to Shawshank' by Helio - Helio at his surreal best. It makes no sense, but who cares? 3. 'Dreams in Dust and Marble' by Phil - Great atmosphere and interesting characters. 4. 'Stoned Patriots' by Zavier - America's founding fathers travel through time with a magical talking bong. Need I say more? 5. 'Garbage' by Cindy L. Keller - Powerful little script with no dialogue and strong visuals.
I posted my top 6 in the other thing, but I'll expand here and try not to repeat. (In no particular order) FEATURE 1. Devil in D Minor by Breanne in Drama 2. Hero of Her Heart by Shelton in Comedy 3. Mercenary: Soldier of Fortune by Guy Jackson in Action 4. Wilbur's Diner by Mark(wtrailer) in Sci-Fi. The author posts once in a while, but WD is worth a gander. 5. Singles Camp by Breanne in Comedy (in no particular order as well) SHORT 1. The Pool by TJ in Short 2. Accidents Happen by Martin in Short 3. Be My Valentine by Tomson in Short 4. The Kindness of Strangers by J-Rock in Short 5. One Last Fix by Shelton in Short 6. House of Fun by Andy in Short 7. Caribal Canus Lupus Familiaris by Zavier in Short 8. Salvage by Bert in Short(Everyone's gonna say The Farm, so I figured I'd mention another title) 9. Mr. Gloom by Shelton in Short 10. The Great Brain Robbery by Martin in Western
There are plenty of other scripts out there that I loved and I wish I could mention, but I think my list is long enough. And yes, I agree that for a chuckle you should check out "The Cabin" in horror.
I think the most overlooked untapped potential on this site is Red Phoenix, I always say this script in every one of these threads and yet still nobody knows what it is.
Also I think Andrew Romance gets overlooked as a horror writer as well, I believe he's the one who wrote that horror series where the main character was basically just going through this creepy town and then into a school.
I don't remember what happened to that short series but until a certain someone spit on everything he was doing with it, I thought anyways it did what he wanted it to. (I hope that was you Andrew because it has been a year so...)
Other than that I think Banana Chan, Reporting Live and The Lunchroom get the shaft when it comes to respect. Especially The Lunchroom, 4 Seasons and this site maybe has 2 real reviews for about 1 or 2 episodes.
(Since Balt is gone and his work doesn't count probably one of the best "shorts" would be One Last Fix because it's got something that nothing else has.)
Also I think Andrew Romance gets overlooked as a horror writer as well, I believe he's the one who wrote that horror series where the main character was basically just going through this creepy town and then into a school.
You are talking about "Contagium", also found in horror. He was going for a trippy kinda' thing, and accomplished that for the most part. Another good one to look up.
The Arizona Monstrosity - Damien (yoursilentmassacre) - Needs work but has potential. Fun, short, and gorier than most horror scripts on SS.
The format is all over the place, amongst other problems -- but the goriest thing I can recall reading here -- which should appeal to its potential audience.
Yeah that was me. I had it as a series and after i think five episodes i put them together, added a bunch of stuff and had it as a full length script. I'm surprised no one has mentioned my other scripts.(frozen, straight to video, the recluse) and what not. I had a lot of very bad scripts but i also had some good ones.
But my favorite scripts are:
season of the devil simplynoir suicide in don we trust the box
The format is all over the place, amongst other problems -- but the goriest thing I can recall reading here -- which should appeal to its potential audience.
True. It has a lot of problems but unlike most horror writers who come and go without learning anything, this guy seems to be making an honest effort to improve. That's part of the reason why I think it deserves a recommendation.
Also, like you said, gorehounds should eat it up regardless of its flaws. It definitely goes way further than most horror scripts around here.
Here is another thread -- in a similar vein -- there have actually been several such threads (if you dig for them) where people list their favorite unproduced scripts.
I've chosen to revive this thread for a couple reasons.
I've noticed that there has been talk going around the website of lower quality screenplays and I've seen stuff like "no time was put into this" or "this is the same old stuff" or "if you don't care why should we" kind of thing. So I'm gonna post a few more screenplays that range from dates and genres that I feel demonstrate good quality, creativity and all that good stuff. You can see my first list earlier in the thread. This is not a "best scripts on the site." thing. This is more of an appreciation of some other scripts on this site that may not have received enough recognition or have fallen into oblivion among other reasons. In no specific order, here we go...
Sneak Preview(short): Gross, violent and funny. How can you go wrong?
Open Your Mind(thriller): Probably the quickest feature I've ever read on this website. A must read.
A Visit to the General Store(western): This writer has participated in a couple of the one week writing exercises but has posted once on this site. It's a shame because this is a pretty clever script if you're a fan of the spaghetti westerns.
Goonies Never Say Die(adventure): I believe this was the first feature I read on this site back when I was a retard at reviewing scripts. I should complete that one day, but if you're gonna read a fan fic please don't waste your time on Michael Myers vs. Jason part 5528423.
The Anti-Police(short): AKA the Ass Fix. The best of the bunch for the comedy one week writing exercise in my opinion.
A Very Bad Day(short): Sometimes it's fun to laugh at people's misfortunes.
The Basement(thriller): Lots of gore in here, don't bother wasting your time with Michael Myers vs. Jason part 232423423
House of God(horror): Religion+gore. How can you go wrong?
The Degenerate(short): It's a rewrite/different story from one of his earlier works that he changed for a flakey producer.
Anything For Love(short): This was "Indiana Jones getting a gift for his girlfriend."
So I hope you folks check out at least some of these 10 titles. Yeah, there are plenty of not great scripts but if you look deeper you'll find ones to your appeal.
For some reason I must have missed this thread before, but here's my recommended reading list. (and if yours is not on it, that does not mean I didn't like it)
Action - Mercenary, Soldier of Fortune by Guy Jackson, great action writing in the beginning, if I remember correctly.
Adventure - The Fempiror chronicles by George Willson. It's listed in series, but I think it belongs in adventure.
Comedy - Singles Camp by Breanne Holifield. I've read a lot of funny things here, but this one takes the cake. This one made me cramp up.
Drama - Simply the Godfather by George Willson. Not only was this funny, but I was seriously impressed (again) with how seamlessly he weaved all of us Simply Scripter people into the amazing script of the Godfather. I wish more people would read this one.
Horror - The Farm by Robert "Bert" Newcomer. It's not my favorite Bert tale, but it's still a great script and everyone else seems to love it.
Shorts - Film Noir by Phil Clarke JR. This genre was a toughy since I've read so many great ones, but Phil's shorts about Nick Branson was to me different and really nicely written and I'm waiting for the third installment if there'll ever be one.
Series - Better Days by Steven Cameron aka Wesley. I'm very well aware that I'm not the intended target audience here, but for some reason, I'm a big fan.
Sci-Fi - Starbuck Star by Robert "Bert" Newcomer. It"s probably listed under series, but I think of it as sci-fi. Waiting for the third installment.
Thriller - Open Your Mind by Martin Lancaster aka Dr. Mabuse. Fast easy read and really good and creepy too. Why wouldn't you want to read this?
Western - Paramour by Robert "Bert" Newcomer (didn't realize you wrote so many of my favorites) This one is just...well,...why would you not want to read a lesbian western? You can't say it's already been done to death.
I also noticed that my twisted short Be My Valentine was mentioned twice earlier in this thread. I appreciate that, but I asked Don to take it down. My face gets flushed just thinking about having written that one, haha, but that's how I feel about all my stuff.