Synopsis: Guy with amnesia wakes up on a train. The train may or may not be a target in a terrorist attack. Sci-fi.
About: Source Code is very much like the Denzel Washington vehicle "Deja-Vu". But, you know, actually good.
Writer: Ben Ripley
Wow. Wow wow wow wow wow. I absolutely freaking LOVED this script. Loved it x a million. I'm a sucker for sci-fi. But sci-fi that makes you *feel*? I'm so down.
Source Code is about a guy who wakes up on a train, having no memory or idea how he got there. He stumbles around, observes the other passengers, trying to find something, anything, to remind him why he's here. And then...the train BLOWS UP. Our main character is dead. Boom. Welcome to Source Code.
Moments later we wake up in a strange lab only to realize that, a la Deja Vu (a way inferior movie), our main character is actually being sent back in time digitally 3 hours prior to find out who blew up the train. Before he can process this, he's sent back again, to the exact same moment where the movie started. He has 17 minutes to find out who's responsible before the train blows up again. Confused and disoriented he starts to study the passengers one more time. Which ones look suspicious, which ones look innocent, all the while trying to figure out what the hell he's doing on this train. 17 minutes later - BOOM! The train blows up. Time to start over again.
Obviously, we've seen this structure before in movies like Vantage Point and Run Lola Run. You know, where you keep going back to the beginning of the same experience. I've come to dislike this structure and here's why: The story's never moving forward. You're stuck in neutral. I tolerated it with Run Lola Run because it was a visual experience. And even though Vantage Point introduces you to a new character every time we back up, it still feels like we're going nowhere. I remember the groans from the audience the third, fourth, and fifth time we went backwards in that movie.
But Source Code never gets old. There are a couple of key devices the writer uses to keep us interested. First, he creates an extremely likable female character. She sits across from the seat our hero is always warped into. And so amidst all this terrorism chaos, you're intrigued by their relationship. Each time, he learns a little bit more about her. And the more we learn about her, the more we like her. It gets to the point where he actually reveals to her what's going on. She, of course, thinks he's crazy (wouldn't you?). But because of the incremental information he gains each time through, he's eventually able to convince her. And yet each time, she dies, so when he goes back in again, he has to start all over again. A "serious" take on the Groundhog Day premise. And because you know that this moment doesn't exist anymore, that she's already dead no matter what he does, it becomes this tragic love story. How can he save someone who's already dead? His orders are to look for evidence so they can stop the terrorists. But all he wants to do is save this girl. To save everyone on this doomed train. He simply refuses to accept that he can't do anything.
The second thing the writer does that Deja Vu did NOT do (a great screenwriting tip to keep in mind), is create a story outside the virtual train ride whereby the terrorists who struck the train (that morning) promised to strike 3 more times throughout New York that day. Which puts an amazing amount of pressure on our protag to find out who did this so they can prevent the subsequent terrorist attacks from happening. This works great. I thought about the movie had this device not been used and realized it wouldn't have been nearly as exciting (if at all).
I can't stress how perfectly executed this script was. No scene was wasted. Everything was go go go. I have no doubt that the similarities to Deja Vu have thrown the chances of this thing ever getting into production into jeopardy. But let me make a plea to whoever owns this property: MAKE THIS MOVIE. Cast an up and coming actor. There are only a few locations. Very cheap to make. Then spend a ton on marketing. It will open with 10 mil but word of mouth will carry it. This can be a sci-fi classic.
script link: Source Code
[ ] trash
[ ] barely kept my interest
[ ] worth the read
[ ] impressive
[x] genius
What I learned from Source Code: Increase the tension and stakes of your action script by adding an impending "time bomb" (in this case three potentially devastating terrorist attacks). The critical difference between what made Deja Vu stupid, and Source Code awesome.
Pirates Loved Star Trek in 2009
1 hour ago
Loved this read. I feel that it's just one rewrite away from being great. Several things must be addressed first. I had a problem with the arbitrary 17 minute thing. A single line explaining it a little would ground the ability in reality a bit more and make it believable. I also didn't understand how one second of real-time equals 17 minutes of "source code" time. I just had no idea what the rules of this world were and it called attention to itself because there was no exposition about it.
-Ryan
This came very highly recommended to me a year or two ago. The guy who suggested it said it was one of the best scripts he'd ever covered.
I like it well enough and I think it's very impressive from a craft standpoint, but I didn't get the ZOMG! experience from it. If it ever gets made, I suspect it will be kind of a cult classic like Memento, but not a major hit. Its strengths are also its weaknesses: it's complex and unfamiliar (not to mention utterly ridiculous from a hard science standpoint).
Good script. If I were a studio head I'm not sure that I'd greenlight it though.
sounds interesting
but I really liked Deja Vu
Yes, Anon, I think you make it for 20-30 million then spend the money on the marketing. 90% of the movie is two locations.
The link isn't working.
Has this been taken down?
What a GREAT script! Really one of the most impressive I've read so far.
I'm glad I discovered it.
And this is MUCH better than dejavu if you ask me.
It grabs you from page one....and NEVER gets uninteresting.
I can't belive this hasn't been made into a movie yet.
As you said, you only need a few locations and some CGI-effects.
By the way....am I wrong or did Colter/the writer confused the names at page 81?
This script is amazingly tight and paced like a fast drum. My feeling, it may actually be Terminator-range (the first one)---a story that elevates the genre. I found myself reading and re-reading the thing, amazed that the adrenaline charge was still there after the fifth time. And the theme of a man with nothing to gain who does the right thing is well-executed... affecting in a way that's almost elemental.
I quite liked it.
*** POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD ***
Doubts arise about the Source Code - Real World connections.
Doubts arise about the "little things" that could slip from the Source Code and change the Real World.
Another doubt rises about the permanence of the images in Colter's dead brain -- or in his perception of the afterlife.
It also reminds me too much of "Groudhog Day."
And obviously, Carson's a romantic sap.
[No offence meant of course.]
M.
I really liked this script.
One thing I did not get a feel for was an imminent deadline. It felt like he could just keep going back, with just a vague threat out there somewhere.
Maybe on one trip back, he could be told that if he doesn't find the answer this time a bomb will go off. Have him fail, and an attack occurs to up the ante.
Other than that nitpick, I liked it quite a bit.
Liked it...didn't love it. Smacked of 12 Monkeys and Memento--felt too familiar in that regard.
Also, I had a big problem buying Rutledge's switch to "asshole" at the end. Seemed unmotivated, from out of nowhere and that character shift was a major catalyst for the finale.
Wowowowowowowow
I've been putting off reading this for a while, but holy crap this was friggin good. I *like* scifi but I don't *love* scifi, but this was just fantastic. It doesn't have any of that extremely bizarre scifi crap (like brain juice). They'd probably have to get a big name to play Colter for the masses to be interested though.
-Newton
For the first 30 pages, I thought this was just okay, nice opening, but nothing special: a mish-mash of numerous films - DEJA VU, RUN LOLA RUN, MEMENTO, ETC, ETC...; Although it got better as it went on and did keep me reading, it did start to get a little tiresome. Some of the 'twists' were a little obvious, a little JACOBS'S LADDER.
It should make a fun blockbuster, but it's filled with exposition, characters telling everything, having to explain everything (that really makes no sense), that it gets a little muddled at times; and lets be honest, it is very silly in concept (and very similar to Deja Vu) which will prevent it from ever being a great film.
It's the kind of high-concept film that will be fun to watch, and better than much of the usual trash released during the holiday period, but still forgotten in a few days post viewing.
Any news? I checked it out on imdb, it's still slated for 09 but apparently they're miles away. It's not even in pre-production as of now.
What the hell are they waiting for? Given the budget this flick wouldn't be a gamble at all, plus now's the time sci-fi is making a big comeback, be it the intelligent/interesting (District 9, Knowing, Moon) or the popcorn kind (Star Trek, Transformer 2). There are lots of flicks in production right now, why the eff do they keep Source Code from happening?
I haven't read too many spec scripts, maybe 80 or so. But this is the best one I've ever read. Wow.
Great beginning. Great ending. Mushy middle. I've certainly read better.
This needs to be re-uploaded, I think; it's not working for me.
Never mind the previous comment. I got it to work.
News that this is being made with Jake Gyllenhaal to star and Duncan Jones of Moon to direct. Has potential.
Is there link to download this script?
Robert Downey Jr. absolutely must play Rutledge. No other options. Done.
OK - I know I'm late to the game on this, but that was a fantastic screenplay! Told myself I was only going to read the first 10 pages or so and found myself riveted to my chair for the next 50.
While I recognize some of the similarities with regards to the subject matter (Groundhog Day, Deja Vu, that one X-files episode with the bank), I still felt that it pushed those thematic elements into an entirely new realm and gave us some fun sci/fi elements those other films didn't have.
Spoiler alert - Goodwin's change seems to come out of nowhere for me. Structurally it's the right thing to happen, but his growth to that point seems a bit underdeveloped. Skimming back over the 2nd act I can see where it came from and why it happened, but it seemed a little light to me. Perhaps this could be developed more?
Regardless, this is one engaging story. Strangely enough I found myself slowing down while reading the last 8 pages or so, I didn't want to miss a beat.
Loved it and I'm totally inspired to write now - thanks!
eh.
The promise to "strike three more times" is vague at best. One jihadi video does not make for great "ticking bomb" escalation.
That's the problem with doing the "trapped in one location" thing. You don't get a feel for ratcheting suspense when your main character is continually being told things, rather than experiencing them for himself.
As part of my job, I read lots of scripts that are being produced. This one is filled with "un-filmable" bits like describing what's going on inside a character's head. The audience doesn't get to read the script, so they'll never know that it's strange in that opening moment for Colter (geez, look at my "hero" name) to see someone else's face in the mirror instead of his own.
This will always be a better *read* than a movie.
**Spoilers**
What I liked the best wasn't the ticking time-bomb scenario (which is pretty cliched by now), but the mid-script revelation that our hero is basically a brain in a jar. At first I thought it was unnecessary and distracting because it complicated the hero's quest to figure out the bomber's identity. But as I kept reading, the implications raised by the plot twist began to sink in, and the writer did a good job at tapping into existential questions about control, free will and medical ethics. What started out as a fun little sci-fi exercise became unexpectedly moving and profound. I'm not surprised that the script is being adapted by Duncan Jones, since his previous movie MOON showed a similarly philosophical approach to sci-fi.
In the end, the script didn't remind me of DEJA VU so much as 12 MONKEYS (and its predecessor LA JETEE) and IDENTITY, given the futility and hopelessness of the main character's plight. I also picked up similarities with the Twilight Zone episode where an astronaut hallucinates being stranded in an abandoned town after losing his mind during a sensory-deprivation experiment.
Did noone else think the ending was terrible?
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