Ascriptment is a written work by a movie or televisionscreenwriter that combines elements of ascript andtreatment, especially the dialogue elements, which are formatted the same as in a screenplay. It is a more elaborate document than a standard draft treatment. Some films have been shot using only a scriptment.^{[citation needed]}

The termscriptment was originally coined by filmmakerJames Cameron, possibly during his early involvement in the development of theSpider-Man film series. In that effort, after the success of his 1984 filmThe Terminator, Cameron wrote a 57-page scriptment for the first proposedSpider-Man film, which was used by screenwriterDavid Koepp to write the first draft, incorporating it nearly word for word.^[1]

Cameron's scriptment forTitanic (1997) was 131 pages.^[2] The term became more widely known when Cameron's 1994 scriptment for the 2009 filmAvatar was leaked on the internet during pre-production, although other directors, such asJohn Hughes andZak Penn, had written scriptments before. The scriptment forAvatar and its notoriety caused the spread of the term.^[3]

A scriptment borrows characteristics from both a regularscreenplay and a film treatment and is comparable to astep outline: the main text body is similar to an elaborate draft treatment, while usually only major sequences receive scene location headings (slug lines), which is different from the extensive slug line formatting in standard screenplays, where every new scene or shot begins with an INT./EXT. DAY/NIGHT slug line set above the description or dialogue. However, just as a treatment can be short or long, a scriptment can exist in various degrees of completion depending on how much time the writer has devoted to it and a more fully developed one could have all slug lines in place, a great deal of dialogue, and only require the producer's (or a writing partner's) okay on the direction the finished script should take before proceeding further.

In a scriptment, scenes and shots may be separated as paragraphs or sentences and, if it is the writer's style, can also include an occasional explanatory note, such as might be important in an adaptation or a sequel. As with standard treatments, much of the dialogue is summarized in action. The longer the scriptment, however, the more likely it contains dialog scenes that are fully developed. Single words or brief phrases of dialogue can be included within the description and lengthier exchanges are formatted exactly as a regular screenplay, which is the main reason for the "script" part of the term.

The longer the scriptment, the more likely it is written shot to shot as opposed to scene by scene; thus, a long, detailed scriptment does not necessarily equate to a longer movie, as a typical 90-120 page screenplay written with master scenes contains many more individual shots than are immediately apparent.

A scriptment can begin with FADE IN: top left and conclude with a centered THE END. It can have a title page like a script and lengthier treatment. It is written single spaced with an empty space between paragraphs and other elements and the pages are numbered in the upper right corner, just as in a screenplay.

Directors and screenwriters write scriptments as an intermediate stage in development from the draft treatment to the first draft of the screenplay. Like a draft treatment, a scriptment can be anywhere from 20 to 80 or more pages, while regular presentation treatments oroutlines only summarize the plot, typically in not more than 30 pages.

• For theBatman feature filmThe Dark Knight (2008), writerDavid S. Goyer and the film's directorChristopher Nolan wrote a scriptment that was then used by Nolan and his brotherJonathan Nolan to expand further into a finished screenplay. "I wrote what you'd call a 'scriptment' with Chris over an accelerated month long period, and then we handed it off to his brother [Jonathan], who did the first pass," explains Goyer.^[4]

• The sci-fi movieTransformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009) reportedly used a scriptment during the screenplay writing process byRoberto Orci,Alex Kurtzman,Ehren Kruger and directorMichael Bay.^[5]

• FilmmakerWayne Spitzer used a scriptment while writing the adaptation of author Algernon Blackwood's 1907 supernatural short story "The Willows".^[6]

• Comic book writerWarren Ellis has written that he sometimes works in the scriptment style.^[7]

A scriptment can also be a presentation document; that is, one that is sold or handed in as the finished work.

• Writer-director-producer James Cameron delivered a 57-page scriptment that he was contracted to write during the development phase of the firstSpider-Man (2002) theatrical movie, which he was also going to direct. When Cameron left the project, screenwriter David Koepp expanded it into a first draft script, which was later worked on by other uncredited writers.^[1]
• In 2005,Sony Pictures paid screenwriter Ken Nolan US $3 million for his 75-page scriptment that was an adaptation of the then-unpublishedWhitley Strieber novelThe Grays.^[8] Nolan had only one produced writing credit at the time, the screenplay for the military filmBlack Hawk Down, a project for which he had submitted three different scriptments to producerJerry Bruckheimer and executive producers Mike Stenson, andChad Oman for approval during the writing process.^[9]

• Filmmakers Kriv Stenders and Richard Green used the scripment format to make their 2007 filmBoxing Day.^[10]

• The 2008 movieCloverfield written byDrew Goddard, directed byMatt Reeves, and produced byJ. J. Abrams, was greenlighted for production byParamount Pictures President of Production Brad Weston andBrad Grey, Chairman, based on a 65-page scriptment.^[11] The film was also shot using the scriptment.^[12]

• The 2008 improv comedy movieThe Grand, written byZak Penn and Matt Bierman, was filmed using a scriptment.^[13] Penn said their scriptment "started at about 25 pages and it was just a document that explained who the characters were and what the scenes were."^[14]

• Also using a scriptment for filming was the 2008 comedyReno 911!: Miami,^[15] written by Robert Ben Garant,Thomas Lennon, andKerri Kenney-Silver.

• It was reported on the movie news websiteAin't It Cool News on December 1, 2008 that a scriptment was involved in developing a possible newSpeed sequel or remake: "There's a scriptment floating around that reintroduces Jack Traven. So the studios are hoping to get Keanu back on board."^[16]

• Director-producer-writerJohn Hughes wrote a 70-page scriptment for the Owen Wilson-starring comedyDrillbit Taylor (2008) that was used years later by screenwriters Kristofor Brown andSeth Rogen as the basis for a revised finished screenplay.^[17][18]

• The 2009 comedy filmI Love You, Beth Cooper, written byLarry Doyle, originated as an 85-page scriptment that was shopped around Hollywood and then subsequently turned into a book manuscript.^[19][20]

The dictionary definition ofscriptment at Wiktionary

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