InfoGuides: FAVS 475: Advanced Fiction Directing: Find Scripts & Screenplays. How to Write them

Find Film Scripts in the Library Catalog

The library does not currently own a large collection of scripts and screenplays. However, you can search the library collections through the Library Search by typing the name of your script and one of the following key terms:

screenplay
script
"motion picture plays" (Scripts and screenplays are often cataloged as "motion pictures plays" or "motion picture scripts")
"motion picture scripts"

E.g.) "Police" AND "motion picture plays"

Find Film Scripts in the Databases

Film Scripts Online, Volume 1 This link opens in a new window
Contains 1,009 scripts by 1,062 writers together with detailed, fielded information on the scenes, characters and people related to the scripts. In addition, the database includes facsimile images for more than 500 of these screenplays.
Film Scripts Online, Volume 2 This link opens in a new window
Collection expands beyond classic and feature films with 500 new screenplays from StudioCanal, Ealing Studios, Newmarket Press, Warner Brothers, and others. It also features the British Film Institute’s Film Classics monographs.
New Play Exchange This link opens in a new window
A cloud-based system that lets you find, read, and evaluate exactly the scripts you're looking for, leverage the expertise of literary managers and dramaturgs throughout the new play sector, and share opportunities with writers.

Scripts Outside the Library

Websites
Some of these databases are not official repositories and may contain early drafts or scripts, unpublished materials, or unclear rights ownership.

IMSDB
IMSDB is a free online database of scripts and screenplays.
*Be careful when using this resource--while it has access to thousands of free plays, it is often difficult to verify their source.*
BBC Script Library
Free downloadable scripts of BBC films, television shows, and radio shows.

Archives and Special Collections

New York State Archives Motion Picture Scripts Collection
The New York State Archives preserves the largest collection of film scripts in the world. Browse their collection and request scripts online.
UCLA Collection of Motion Picture Scripts
Finding aid for UCLA's collection of motion picture scripts dating from ca. 1921 to the present. Click to search and request scripts from their collection.
The Online Archive of California
Provides free public access to descriptions of primary resource collections maintained by more than 200 contributing institutions including the Academy of Motion Pictures and all 10 of the University of California campuses. Try searching for "motion picture play," "script," or "screenplay" in the search box.
The Script Lab

How to Write a Screenplay

Screen Writings by Scott MacDonald (Editor)
Laughing Out Loud by Andrew Horton
Publication Date: 2000-01-03
The Final Rewrite by John Rosenberg
Publication Date: 2023-04-25
Perplexing Plots by David Bordwell
Publication Date: 2023-01-17