7 SCRIPT IDEAS THAT
CHANGED
(DRAMATICALLY) ON
THE WAY TO THE
SCREEN!
BROUGHT TO YOU BY…
#1: BACK TO THE FUTURE
In the original draft, Marty and the Professor
manage a video bootleg operation together.
That's right, in the
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY,
Marty's world is heavy on the
cynicism-- with corruption,
boarded storefronts, and the
inevitable threat of nuclear
Holocaust.
Oh, and the MAGIC
INGREDIENT that powers
the time machine in the
original spec is none other
than good ol' American Coca
Cola. Seriously.
Lifetime Gross: $210,609,762
#2: TOY STORY
Pixar's initial plans for Toy Story involved an evil,
bullying Woody who abuses Slinky the Dog.
Aiming to be more EDGY and
DARK, the original plan for
Toy Story was to make
Woody a terrorizing doll.
(Yikes!)
How edgy? Woody was to be
a character who’ll stop at
NOTHING to stay Andy's
favorite - even if it involves
murdering Buzz by tossing
him out a window.
Lifetime Gross: $191,796,233
#3: ROCKY
In the original script for Rocky, the Italian Stallion
throws the big fight.
In Stallone's original draft,
the fight that Rocky spends
the entire movie preparing
for, ends not in a satisfying
loss because he tried his
hardest and held his own…
…but in unemotional demise
when he throws the fight on
purpose and decides to get
rich by opening a pet store
instead.
Lifetime Gross: $117,235,147
#4: INTERSTELLAR
In Interstellar’s original script, Coop and the gang
encounter evil Chinese robots instead of Matt
Damon.
Back when Spielberg held the
reins on the Interstellar
script, the crew comes across
a Chinese base camp still
roamed by Chinese Robots
who beat them there by 50
years.
Unhappy with their visitors,
the Chinese robots will stop
at nothing to keep the
Americans from stealing their
research and reporting back
to the states.
Lifetime Gross: $188,020,017
#5: TWILIGHT
Forget tween romance…in the original script they
were going for a Blade-like gore trilogy!
Initially aiming to attract a
male audience, Paramount
wanted to forgo the lovey-
dovey romance and instead
focus on fight scenes.
In this draft, Bella actually
does something useful, and
Edward has a Korean FBI-
agent nemesis who knows
karate.
And there is definitely NO
“vampires play baseball!”
Lifetime Gross: $192,769,854
#6: GHOSTBUSTERS
In an early draft of Ghostbusters, the ghost hunters
called themselves Ghost Smashers and they could
time travel!
In Dan Aykroyd's early draft,
the Ghost Smashers travel
through space and time to fight
ghosts.
The Marshmallow Man is only
one of many monsters and
doesn't appear until half-way
through the film.
To combat the supernatural, the
Ghostbusters wore SWAT-like
uniforms and used wands
instead of proton packs.
Lifetime Gross: $242,212,467
#7: SHREK
Originally, Chris Farley was chosen to be the voice
of Shrek and the plot of the Dreamwork's classic
was totally different.
Before Chris Farley's
untimely death, Dreamworks
started work on Shrek with
every intention of casting
Farley as its lead voice-actor
in a bawdy, edgy animated
comedy.
In the orginal script, Shrek is
a teenager who doesn't want
to join the family business
and instead dreams of
becoming a knight.
Lifetime Gross: $267,655,011
NEED A SCRIPT IDEA?
GRAB YOUR SEAT TO
THE (TOTALLY-FREE)
SEMINAR:
“5 SECRETS TO A
MOVIE IDEA THAT
DOESN’T SUCK (AND
WILL ACTUALLY
SELL)”
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“If there’s a story you want to read, and it has not yet been
written, then you MUST write it.” –Toni Morrison

7 Script ideas That Changed (Dramatically) on the Way to the Screen

  • 1.
    7 SCRIPT IDEASTHAT CHANGED (DRAMATICALLY) ON THE WAY TO THE SCREEN! BROUGHT TO YOU BY…
  • 2.
    #1: BACK TOTHE FUTURE In the original draft, Marty and the Professor manage a video bootleg operation together. That's right, in the ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY, Marty's world is heavy on the cynicism-- with corruption, boarded storefronts, and the inevitable threat of nuclear Holocaust. Oh, and the MAGIC INGREDIENT that powers the time machine in the original spec is none other than good ol' American Coca Cola. Seriously. Lifetime Gross: $210,609,762
  • 3.
    #2: TOY STORY Pixar'sinitial plans for Toy Story involved an evil, bullying Woody who abuses Slinky the Dog. Aiming to be more EDGY and DARK, the original plan for Toy Story was to make Woody a terrorizing doll. (Yikes!) How edgy? Woody was to be a character who’ll stop at NOTHING to stay Andy's favorite - even if it involves murdering Buzz by tossing him out a window. Lifetime Gross: $191,796,233
  • 4.
    #3: ROCKY In theoriginal script for Rocky, the Italian Stallion throws the big fight. In Stallone's original draft, the fight that Rocky spends the entire movie preparing for, ends not in a satisfying loss because he tried his hardest and held his own… …but in unemotional demise when he throws the fight on purpose and decides to get rich by opening a pet store instead. Lifetime Gross: $117,235,147
  • 5.
    #4: INTERSTELLAR In Interstellar’soriginal script, Coop and the gang encounter evil Chinese robots instead of Matt Damon. Back when Spielberg held the reins on the Interstellar script, the crew comes across a Chinese base camp still roamed by Chinese Robots who beat them there by 50 years. Unhappy with their visitors, the Chinese robots will stop at nothing to keep the Americans from stealing their research and reporting back to the states. Lifetime Gross: $188,020,017
  • 6.
    #5: TWILIGHT Forget tweenromance…in the original script they were going for a Blade-like gore trilogy! Initially aiming to attract a male audience, Paramount wanted to forgo the lovey- dovey romance and instead focus on fight scenes. In this draft, Bella actually does something useful, and Edward has a Korean FBI- agent nemesis who knows karate. And there is definitely NO “vampires play baseball!” Lifetime Gross: $192,769,854
  • 7.
    #6: GHOSTBUSTERS In anearly draft of Ghostbusters, the ghost hunters called themselves Ghost Smashers and they could time travel! In Dan Aykroyd's early draft, the Ghost Smashers travel through space and time to fight ghosts. The Marshmallow Man is only one of many monsters and doesn't appear until half-way through the film. To combat the supernatural, the Ghostbusters wore SWAT-like uniforms and used wands instead of proton packs. Lifetime Gross: $242,212,467
  • 8.
    #7: SHREK Originally, ChrisFarley was chosen to be the voice of Shrek and the plot of the Dreamwork's classic was totally different. Before Chris Farley's untimely death, Dreamworks started work on Shrek with every intention of casting Farley as its lead voice-actor in a bawdy, edgy animated comedy. In the orginal script, Shrek is a teenager who doesn't want to join the family business and instead dreams of becoming a knight. Lifetime Gross: $267,655,011
  • 9.
    NEED A SCRIPTIDEA? GRAB YOUR SEAT TO THE (TOTALLY-FREE) SEMINAR: “5 SECRETS TO A MOVIE IDEA THAT DOESN’T SUCK (AND WILL ACTUALLY SELL)” Did we mention it’s FREE?!!
  • 10.
  • 11.
    “If there’s astory you want to read, and it has not yet been written, then you MUST write it.” –Toni Morrison