Let’s look at another great example of how to open a script – both in terms of character and also in terms of location, setting the world. I loved the opening of this script and actually loved the film as well because it paints an immediate, thrilling, chilling, palpable world for us. <\/p>\n

In this script, by page 3, we know exactly where we are, what the world is like, and exactly who these guys are. You feel like you could just reach out and touch them. And we like<\/em> them. <\/p>\n

“The Hurt Locker” By Mark Boal; Story by Mark Boal & Kathryn Bigelow<\/p>\n

NOTE: This excerpt is intended for educational purposes only.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

SEVERAL U.S. INFANTRY SOLDIERS are moving PEDESTRIANS away
\nfrom the bag. Another group of SOLDIERS is clearing out all
\nthe shops: bakery, sandwich shop, and a butcher shop.<\/p>\n

Next to a parked Humvee, THREE EOD (Explosive Ordinance
\nDisposal, aka Bomb Squad) SOLDIERS are crouched over a laptop
\ncomputer, looking at the screen and the same image of the
\nmetal artillery shell inside the fluttering plastic.<\/p>\n

SERGEANT MATT THOMPSON wipes at the sweat on his forehead.
\nThis is summer in the desert and the median temperature on
\nthis bright clear morning is 110 degrees.<\/p>\n

THOMPSON
\nIt\u2019s to the left.<\/p>\n

Thompson tears open a mushy Snicker\u2019s. He is fleshy around
\nthe arms and middle, but there\u2019s real muscle underneath the
\nflab and truth be told, after so many years in EOD, he\u2019s lost
\nthe need to have a show-off build.<\/p>\n

SANBORN
\nGoing left.<\/p>\n

SERGEANT J. T. SANBORN works the joystick on the laptop. He
\nis a strapping Iowa farm boy, with a thick back from bailing
\nhay. In contrast to his bulky frame, his face is soft, open,
\nkind. He has a relaxed demeanor. Which might lead you to
\nthink nothing ever bothers Sanborn. But if you thought that,
\nyou\u2019d be mistaken. Before joining EOD, Sanborn was in
\nMilitary Intelligence. He quit. Military Intel was too easy.<\/p>\n

THOMPSON
\nUp a little.<\/p>\n

LAPTOP SCREEN
\nRusty artillery shell now almost full frame.<\/p>\n

SANBORN
\nThere?<\/p>\n

THOMPSON
\nCloser. I want to see the ojive.<\/p>\n

Zoom on the nose cone of the shell.
\nThe third soldier leans in for a better look.<\/p>\n

SPECIALIST OWEN ELDRIDGE is a tall, lanky young man, the
\nyoungest of the group. He\u2019s a fighter like the others but
\nalso a reader, and something of a thinker. Eldridge crouches
\nbehind the other two soldiers, sipping a bottle of water,
\neyes never leaving the screen.<\/p>\n

THOMPSON
\nPush it in.<\/p>\n

SANBORN
\nI can\u2019t get it inside.<\/p>\n

THOMPSON
\nPretend it\u2019s your dick.<\/p>\n

SANBORN
\n(smiles)
\nI\u2019m pretending it\u2019s your dick.<\/p>\n

Eldridge laughs. He clearly likes the two men he\u2019s with.<\/p>\n

To download The Hurt Locker<\/em> script pdf and other Academy Award nominated screenplays, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For more on Character, read Introduce Your Character to the Reader<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Let’s look at another great example of how to open a script – both in terms of character and also in terms of location, setting the world. I loved the opening of this script and actually loved the film as well because it paints an immediate, thrilling, chilling, palpable world for us. In this script, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,12,6,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-747","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-character","category-location","category-story","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.screenwriter-to-screenwriter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/747","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.screenwriter-to-screenwriter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.screenwriter-to-screenwriter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.screenwriter-to-screenwriter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.screenwriter-to-screenwriter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=747"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/www.screenwriter-to-screenwriter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/747\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":769,"href":"http:\/\/www.screenwriter-to-screenwriter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/747\/revisions\/769"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.screenwriter-to-screenwriter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.screenwriter-to-screenwriter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=747"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.screenwriter-to-screenwriter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}