Greatest Biopic Film Scripts

It is said that truth is stranger than fiction, which is why cinema owes a lot of its greatest accomplishments to reality. Biographical films are a special breed among movies based in true events, because they try to portray the evolution of real life characters through the most important events of their lives.

It’s a daunting task for the screenwriter, sometimes hard-pressed to fit decades of life into roughly 100-120 pages. That is probably why biopics often become monumental projects that bring the audience to a fast paced journey across a bunch of dissimilar environments.

But they are often the stories of those who shaped the world- for better or worse. And well written biopics seem to generally succeed in fulfilling the demands of reviewers and audiences alike. They are a challenge for the performer as well, compelled to carry most of the narrative weight through the whole shooting process. However, those efforts are often rewarded with wide recognition, and the Academy seems to have a certain weakness for biographical dramas.

A lot of moviegoers feel an inherent curiosity about watching the tale of a notorious figure in the big screen, and the list of famous –or infamous- individuals whose life has been adapted into a film keeps growing.

Here are some of the most acclaimed biopic film scripts of all time:

(1960) Spartacus

(1962) Lawrence of Arabia

(1967) Bonnie and Clyde

(1972) Lady Sings the Blues

(1980) Raging Bull

(1980) The Elephant Man

(1982) Gandhi

(1984) Amadeus

(1987) The Last Emperor

(1990) Goodfellas

(1992) Malcolm X

(1992) Chaplin

(1994) Ed Wood

(1995) Braveheart

(2001) A Beautiful Mind

(2002) Catch me if you Can

(2005) Walk the Line

(2010) The Social Network

(2014) The Theory of Everything

The Social Network

The Social Network poster thumbnail
Year:2010
Director:David Fincher
Written by:Aaron Sorkin (Screenplay), Ben Mezrich (Novel)

Script Synopsis:On a fall night in 2003, Harvard undergrad and computer programming genius Mark Zuckerberg sits down at his computer and heatedly begins working on a new idea. In a fury of blogging and programming, what begins in his dorm room as a small site among friends soon becomes a global social network and a revolution in communication. A mere six years and 500 million friends later, Mark Zuckerberg is the youngest billionaire in history... but for this entrepreneur, success leads to both personal and legal complications.
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Links to 2011 Oscar Nominee Scripts

‘Tis Oscar season and for those of us looking for scripts on the internet it’s a bonanza.  The studios, in their quest for nominations and awards, made their candidates’ scripts available (and in PDF no less !)  This year’s list of screenplay  candidates (original and adapted) almost matches the Best Picture nominee list. The exceptions are Black Swan which did not get a screenplay nod and Another Year which didn’t make it on the best picture list.

Original Screenplay

Adapted Screenplay

Best Motion Picture of the Year

David Fincher Movie Scripts


David Fincher may not be as popular a household name as other directors like Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola, but his growing portfolio of works puts him well on his way.

With Social Network (2010) stealing a lot of last year’s cinematic thunder, audiences wait with baited breath on what he’ll be releasing next.

Check out the complete collection of David Fincher’s feature length scripts.

1. The Social Network Script (2010)
2. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Script (2008)
3. Zodiac Script (2007)
4. Panic Room Script (2002)
5. Fight Club Script (1999)
6. The Game Script (1997)
7. Seven Script (1995)
8. Alien 3 Script (1992)