By Joshua Kazemi
It just takes one great, undeniable screenplay to launch a screenwriter’s career. It doesn’t matter if that script is their first or their fortieth – all that matters is that the script is captivating and filled with great characters.
There’s no telling if you’ll land that plane on your first try or if it will take some trial and error first. This is also an industry that’s just as much about who you know, being in the right place at the right time, and being prepared when an opportunity arises. So the best thing any aspiring writer can do is just to keep writing, as these three writers did.
JUNO by Diablo Cody
Before the titular Juno’s eggo got preggo in the 2007 cult classic, Diablo Cody was a popular blogger. She started writing fictional accounts of events from her life and presented them as a blog. Eventually, her writing started to lean more into the adult space when she started writing about the goings on at strip clubs. The popularity that followed encouraged Cody to explore that space even further, becoming a full-time stripper herself. This led to the writing of her breakout memoir, Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper. After the success of the book, Cody’s manager encouraged her to write a screenplay.
A few months later, she presented her manager the first draft of a semi-autobiographical script about a suburban teen dealing with her unplanned pregnancy. The film would go on to critical acclaim and commercial success, and was specifically lauded for its script, which won the Academy Award that year for Best Original Screenplay.
Diablo Cody is a prime example of someone who understands the value of your individual voice. While JUNO might have been her first screenplay, it was not the first vehicle for her voice. It’s clear as day and has been present in everything she’s written. It’s no wonder a script like JUNO went on to such success. It’s impossible to watch that movie and ignore the sharp and specific writing behind each and every scene. Since her debut screenplay, Cody has written YOUNG ADULT, UNITED STATES OF TARA, LISA FRANKENSTEIN, and more.
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE by Michael Arndt
The story of Michael Arndt’s breakout script embodies the idea that good writing requires rewriting. Before Ardnt had a manager or an agent, he sat down to write a script without any guarantee that it would lead to anything. The first draft of LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE was written on spec in just a few days, but Ardnt then spent the next year rewriting it and produced one hundred drafts. The initial idea was there, but Arndt was committed to improving it and making sure the story really worked. And that commitment eventually paid off big time.
The finished draft of LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE eventually made its way to the right producers, who found the right directors in Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. They had made a name for themselves directing music videos and commercials. So much so, the directing duo could afford to wait for the perfect script that they could fall in love with before making their feature film debut. LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE proved to be the script they were waiting for.
It also proved to be the right version of the script after attempts from the studio to alter the script for broader appeal. As opposed to the ensemble piece we all know and love today, there was a thought that a stronger lead character could help sell the movie to audiences. Thankfully, Ardnt stuck to the version of the script he had spent a whole year writing and ultimately didn’t make those changes to the script.
One firing and rehiring later, the movie got made and dazzled critics and audiences alike, just the way it was. Ardnt’s testament to the rewriting process earned him an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 2007. Ardnt then went on to write TOY STORY 3, STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS, THE HUNGER GAMES: THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS & SNAKES, and more.
LETHAL WEAPON by Shane Black
Before Shane Black was a successful writer/director, he just wanted to be an actor. But after graduating from the theater-arts program at UCLA, Black realized he was too insecure to become an actor. Instead, he wanted to try his hand at writing. So he negotiated with his parents, who agreed to pay his bills for six months while he worked on his screenplay. In that time, he wrote a supernatural war thriller called “Shadow Company.” The script got him an agent, meetings around town, and a job at Fox working on assignments as a script doctor.
But for Black, the idea of working on other properties with a strict deadline terrified him. So he left Fox and set out to write a new script. In about six weeks, he wrote the first draft of LETHAL WEAPON. Interest in this buddy cop action thriller led Warner Bros. to purchase the script for $250,000. The film went on to launch a successful franchise and created a hunger for Black’s specific style. After writing several more movies, he eventually found himself directing his own movies like KISS KISS BANG BANG, IRON MAN 3, THE NICE GUYS, and more.
In the face of insecurities, uncertainty, and multiple rewrites, these three writers never stopped writing. They knew what every writer needs to internalize: if you don’t give up and you keep writing, your next script just might be the one that breaks through. Until then, write the next script!
All three of these scripts are available to download from the Scrybe script database.
TAKE THE NEXT STEP
Have you written your breakout screenplay? Enter it into the 2026 Shore Scripts Feature Contest! It has a proven track record of helping emerging writers achieve their goals of becoming full-time working screenwriters.
The Grand Prize Winner will receive a $5,000 cash prize, mentorship with a Marvel filmmaker, development with our writer development manager, script circulation to our Industry Roster, industry mentorship, and guaranteed meetings.
Ready to get your script in front of the film industry and launch your feature screenwriting career? Enter today before the May 29th early deadline!
