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SimplyScripts Screenwriting Discussion Board  /  Things you are looking for  /  Into the Deep
Posted by: Sham, March 19th, 2016, 11:14pm
Does anyone have this script by Anthony (Tony) Jaswinski? It's the Blacklist script that they've filmed as The Shallows. Thank you in advance! :)
Posted by: LC, March 19th, 2016, 11:33pm; Reply: 1
Yep, I've got it. Ooh, I didn't realize they'd filmed this already.

Chris, PM me your email I'll send it over. :)
Posted by: Grandma Bear, March 20th, 2016, 8:23am; Reply: 2
Posted by: James McClung, March 20th, 2016, 10:17am; Reply: 3
Ooh! Just caught the trailer for this. In desperate need of a halfway decent shark flick (or a non self-aware bad one). Looking to check this out. Thanks for the link, Pia!
Posted by: stevie, March 21st, 2016, 1:08am; Reply: 4
Saw the trailer yesty. Read the script just now. Pretty good though these type of scripts are very skimmable when there's only one main char.
Posted by: Sham, April 3rd, 2016, 3:22pm; Reply: 5
Casting a wider net here, but does anyone have the Bloodlist scripts from previous years? I have the scripts from 2013 and would like to check out the others, especially 2014/2015.

(I can share the ones from 2013 if anyone wants them. Just PM your email address.)
Posted by: James McClung, April 7th, 2016, 11:49am; Reply: 6
Finished the script. Not bad. Would definitely watch the film. Lots of intense sequences that would look great on film and a surprising amount of gore. I previously got the impression somehow that they might be shooting for a PG-13.

Not without flaws. There are two major overarching issues of believability in a script that seems to be after realism, some of the action gets repetitive at times, both in terms of the plot and the writing itself, and there's a subplot I was never able to fully wrap my head around. The script also relies way too much on asides and unfilmables, even for a pro script. Not trying to start another decrepit (not to mention tedious) argument about "rules." They often work, but at times, I felt bogged down by them, and a lot of them tease at information that you would really want to have as an audience member but which is never actually provided.

Definitely kept me reading, though, and is indeed the halfway decent shark flick I hoped it would be. Perhaps more, given that I wasn't expecting really any real carnage to speak of. I'd give it a light recommend.
Posted by: Sham, April 7th, 2016, 9:13pm; Reply: 7
I agree, James.

It's a solid timewaster, but I think it could've been really great in the hands of a better writer. I really like the director, (Jaume Collet-Serra, who did the very underrated Orphan) so I'm hoping he'll elevate the suspense and tension for the film in a way the script never could.

I'm curious which subplot you couldn't wrap your head around, as there was moment or two I didn't buy into as well.
Posted by: James McClung, April 8th, 2016, 9:01am; Reply: 8

Quoted from Sham
I'm curious which subplot you couldn't wrap your head around, as their was moment or two I didn't buy into as well.


SPOILERS!!!

The scenes with Nancy's mother at the carnival left me somewhat perplexed. I think I got the gist: they were hallucinations Nancy was having near death, and her mother had died of cancer, obviously. I guess the carnival was supposed to be some kind of limbo. At the same time, the writer flat out tells you they're hallucinations. I expect I would've drawn similar conclusions had they not, but I can't be sure.

Then there's a scene where her mother says "You weren't there" and Nancy starts apologizing profusely. Did something happen in the past between them? If so, it's not clear and the information is too sparse to really mean anything. If not, I don't know what's going on. Earlier, her mother says, "Drowning," which is referring to the present, so perhaps the past isn't even a factor.

In any case, I don't think it's clear enough what's going on in these scenes for them to have the impact they're intended to. They sorta break up the mostly breakneck pace, which could work well in the film, and the imagery is eerie, but they feel like padding more than anything. Unfortunately, the script ends with one of these scenes. I honestly didn't think it was that bad and sorta took the opportunity to draw my own conclusions, as it seemed like they wanted to leave things sorta open-ended, but the lack of clarity makes it feel sorta anticlimactic, which is a shame because the closing of the narrative loop from the beginning worked quite well.

END SPOILERS

Honestly, these scenes took up a really small part of the plot and were the least of my reservations. Certainly not the most effective in the script, though. We'll see how they handle things in the film.
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