How to Buy a Film Script

Last Updated: February 14, 2022

Both movie buffs and film-making students want to find out where to buy scripts. While movie buffs may simply enjoy collecting memorabilia from their favorite movies, film-making students use movie scripts to help them learn their craft. Movie scripts provide valuable insight in how to write a movie script, how the director translates the page content to the screen, how the script is changed before filming to accommodate the director's vision, and how the film is edited to make the finished movie. You can buy a film script online and in stores.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Types of Movie Scripts

1
Buy the spec script if you want to study how a screenwriter wrote a screenplay that was sold to movie studio. A spec (speculation) script does not contain any scene numbers or camera directions and very few cues for sounds or music. It usually undergoes considerable revision before the film is made.
2
Purchase a shooting script if you want to see what the director used to make the movie. It will include scene numbers, camera directions, and cues for sound effects and music. It may include scenes that were cut in post-production.

Advertisement
3
Look for a continuity script if you want a script from an older movie. A continuity script is one that was written after watching the movie, and it is formatted in a different manner from other scripts. These are usually the only kind of script still available for older movies.
4
Consider buying drafts. These are the revisions made by the writer at the request of the director or the studio to bring the spec script closer to the movie the studio wants to make. The later the draft, the closer the script is to the movie.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Buying Movie Scripts Online

1
Look for scripts at online auction sites and online Hollywood memorabilia stores. You may be able to find scripts that were actually used by the cast and crew. They will have colored pages indicating revisions, and may have hand-written notes on the pages. They may also be autographed.
2
Buy scripts from online script sellers. These are usually stored in electronic form and will be printed, bound with covers and brads, and mailed to you. They may also be available for download for a reduced price.
3
Check online bookstores. Some movie scripts are incorporated into books and offered for sale.
4
Visit the movie's official website to see if scripts are being offered.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Finding Scripts in Stores

1
Look in bookstores when buying film scripts. Larger stores will have a section devoted to scripts and books about movies. Smaller stores will shelves scripts by genre with the books.
2
Buy scripts in Hollywood memorabilia stores in Los Angeles or in memorabilia stores in cities where films are made, such as Vancouver or New York.

Community Q&A

Question

How may I purchase the film script for "The Hero," directed by Brett Haley?

Community Answer

Download the app "Print Script." When you open the app you can search the name of the movie you want and it will give you options to either print the script or purchase it.

Warnings

Take care when buying autographed scripts. Ask whether the autograph is an original or a reprint and check for proof of authenticity before buying an autographed script.

⧼thumbs_response⧽
Helpful 3 Not Helpful 0