(23 December 2015, Alexandria, VA) – Today Alexander Street announced the release of a new film scripts collection entitled Film Scripts Online, Volume II. It has been nearly 15 years since the organization first embarked on digitizing and publishing 1,000 of Hollywood’s previously unpublished feature film scripts with the first volume, American Film Scripts Online. The new volume contains 500 additional scripts, with content focused on more contemporary and international films. The release coincides with a platform upgrade of the original American Film Scripts Online collection.
Alexander Street developed these collections through arrangements with Warner Bros., Sony, RKO, MGM, and other major film studios; rights holders such as Faber & Faber, Newmarket Press, Penguin Putnam, StudioCanal, and Vintage Anchor; and the writers themselves, including Paul Schrader, Lawrence Kasdan, Gus Van Sant, Neil LaBute, Oliver Stone, and many others. Scripts that had previously been sitting inaccessible in archives—such as Singin’ in the Rain, Casablanca, and Raging Bull—can now be examined and studied in ways never before possible. For the first time, film scholars can compare the writer’s vision with the producer’s and director’s interpretations from page to screen.
The new, expanded release takes a look inside more contemporary and international films than its predecessor, and has made notable additions of 37 of the British Film Institute’s Film Classics monographs. Initially, many of the scripts will come from Studio Canal’s archive. This includes Embassy Pictures, Ealing Studios, EMI Films, and others. Original typescript screenplays include titles like Leaving Las Vegas, Tender Mercies, Jazz Singer, The Lavender Hill Mob, Deer Hunter, and U.K. titles by Peter Hall, Ken Loach, Michael Powell, adaptations by Olivier, early Hitchcock and Carol Reed.
“Authoritative film scripts are among the most difficult primary literary documents to acquire. They are rare globally,” said Will Whalen, Vice President of Licensing for Alexander Street, and editor of the series. “These collections will provide a great resource of scripts and the works of widely-studied filmmakers to libraries and academic institutions around the world.”
American Film Scripts Online, Volume 1 and Film Scripts Online, Volume II are available for purchase or annual subscription. Librarians and faculty may request a free 30-day trial at http://www.alexanderstreet.com/film-scripts-online.
