From Script To Screen: A Guide To The Deleted/Missing Scenes In ‘The Master'

I've been meaning to dig into this for quite some time and thanks to our friends at The Playlist, found a larger venue for this project which we're excited to finally unveil for you guys. From Script To Screen: Your Guide To All The Deleted/Missing Scenes In ‘The Master' is exactly what it sounds like, an overview of many differences between the screenplay and final film. In an effort to keep it at a manageable length, this is really just a primer for the many differences between the two versions and a perfect companion piece to Our Guide To The Deleted Scenes From 'The Master' Teasers & Trailers. The Weinstein Company recently posted the WGA nominated screenplay on their website so this seemed like as good a time as any to dive in. I had refrained from reading the screenplay until after seeing the film but when I finally did, found it fascinating to see how "The Master" evolved from the version on the page.  

Joaquin Phoenix described PTA's process back in September, "Paul will write many, many scenes that won’t make it into the movie," saying that PTA doesn't worry about continuity, is open to improvisation and often scenes that might take up one-eighth of a page can shoot for a day and a half. Though we already noted how much of the footage from the teasers & trailers didn’t make it into the final film -- an intentional move by PTA and editor Leslie Jones to give of the flavor of the film without actually spoiling it -- the screenplay also takes significant detours from the final film with entire deleted sequences, subplots and dialogue that radically alter the DNA of the piece. While some moments in the screenplay now seem extraneous, by excising certain scenes PTA has changed the nature of various relationships between the characters and obscured certain aspects of the story that were made clearer in the text as you’ll see below. It should go without saying but this contains major spoilers and should only be read after you've seen the film.

Read it here.

Have you read the screenplay? Which deleted scene would you most like to have seen included in the film? Sound off in the comments.

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Diving Deep Into ‘The Master' Trailer; Megan Ellison Says The Film 'Changed Her Life'; Screening At Fantastic Fest?

Today we have a big round-up of news for you. So if you were busy watching the trailer all weekend as we were, you may have missed a few exciting (if less seismic) developments. First off, in my other life over at The Playlist, I posted a somewhat lengthy trailer breakdown for those who might not be as up on the film as Cigs & Vines readers. I wanted to give a big thank you to our commenters (Tyler, anonymous, etc.) for all their help fleshing out the article. If you havent' read it yet, head on over and take a look and if there's anything else I left out, please let me know kindly in the comments.

Financier/patron saint of cinema Megan Ellison tweeted the following heartfelt thank you to Paul but since he doesn't have Twitter, we'll repost it here in hopes that it gets back to him.

Paul Thomas Anderson and The Master have changed my life in such a deeply profound way forever that all I can really say is, thank you.

Kirsten Dunst, who's dying to get into a PTA movie, also tweeted, "I'd give Joaquin Phoenix an oscar based on the trailer for "The Master."" to which Ellison responded "and you wouldn't be wrong to." A few other famous friends expressed their admiration of the trailer over the weekend as well including "LOST" co-creator Damon Lindelof ("I just watched THE MASTER trailer and I think it made me crazy.") and "Brick" writer/director Rian Johnson ("Dude I just watched THE MASTER trailer like 138 times in a row dude dude DUDE")

In other news, we recently heard whispers that a couple weeks ago Paul was in Austin testing the sound for "The Master" at the Alamo Drafthouse. Our sources say he had a soundboard set up testing levels and at the top of this post there's a picture (via Tumblr) to prove it. You can see Paul standing alongside his composer Jonny Greenwood, Alamo Drafthouse owner Tim League and a mysterious blue canister that may or may not contain the greatest film of 2012. Rumors are flying of a possible Fantastic Fest premiere as you'll remember "There Will Be Blood" had a secret screening/premiere there back in 2007.

Update 7/23: A commenter with the inside track says, "It was more than just sound tests. The finished film was screened for League weeks ago. It is already booked to play Fantastic Fest. Take that to the bank." Fantastic Fest runs September 20-27.

The Master: Amanda Seyfried, Emma Stone, Deborah Ann Woll

The latest rumors regarding The Master are that Emma Stone (banner photo competition winner) Amanda Seyfried and Deborah Ann Woll have been offered roles in the film. And yes, it is taken from The Playlist:

More details on the potential cast for Paul Thomas Anderson's forthcoming untitled Scientology drama are surfacing as it gears up for a shoot this summer. Last week we reported that Reese Witherspoon had been offered the role of the Master's wife Mary-Sue, who acts as his caretaker and vigilant lieutenant. This week, the print edition of Production Weekly reveals that Amanda Seyfried, Emma Stone and Deborah Ann Woll are all being considered for the role of Elizabeth, The Master and Mary-Sue's daughter.

We reviewed the script for the film that was floating around earlier this year and while the role of the daughter is a small one (though that could've changed), it also does have some pretty salacious bits (that we won't spoil here) which will be an eye opener for any fans of the actress who lands the role.

So who will land it? It's hard to say. Seyfried seems like least likely candidate only because she is set to shoot Catherine Hardwicke's "Girl With The Riding Hood" this summer and depending on when Anderson's film goes in front of cameras, scheduling alone could take her out of the running. Emma Stone has been looking to break out of comedic roles, most recently adding the period based, racial drama "The Help" to her upcoming slate. She would be an interesting fit for the role and it would definitely add something very different to her resumé. Finally, there's Deborah Ann Woll, best known for her role as Jessica on "True Blood." She doesn't have much feature film experience (well, she has roles in three films that are awaiting release) but she's capable, and from a purely financial aspect, probably the most budget friendly to join the $35 million dollar picture.

All this said, while the actresses are said to be "choices" for the role its unclear at this time if any offers have been made. Our guess would be they've all read or tested in some capacity but obviously, decisions are still pending. For now, the only confirmed cast members remain Philip Seymour Hoffman in the role of The Master and Jeremy Renner as Freddie Sutton, his troubled protegé. Frankly, those two could could go on screen and re-enact "Baby Geniuses" and we'd watch it, so whoever Anderson gets to surround them is icing on the cake. 

Mary-Sue played by Reese Witherspoon

Bam. The Playlist has another interesting rumor regarding The Master now saying an offer has been made to Reese Witherspoon to play Phil Hoffman's wife. Blockquotes:

Things have been pretty quiet on the Paul Thomas Anderson front and his new untitled religion picture, affectionately known as "The Master" by fans.

 

Loosely -- or not so loosely -- based on the life of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard (read our review of a very early draft of the script), we know that Philip Seymour Hoffman will play the messianic lead, Jeremy Renner will play Freddie Sutton, the drifter character that becomes The Master's right hand man, and we know that Universal passed on the project and River Road is footing the bill (the company that produced Terrence Malick's "Tree Of Life" and Doug Liman's "Fair Game"; Honcho Bill Pohlad is also an investor in distributor Apparition, so don't be surprised if the film ends up there).



Now comes a few more details from the latest issue of Production Weekly. According to their intel, Reese Witherspoon has been offered a role in the picture and the production is eyeing a June start date. 

Producing is John Lesher, Pohlad and Jo Anne Sellar.

 June is next week if it actually starts on the first. Could the production really be this ready to go and no one's really reported that yet? 

Zero further details are given, but we would assume that if Witherspoon takes a role, it's that of the Master's daughter wife Mary-Sue, who acts as his caretakers and vigilant lieutenant. 

Witherspoon is also attached to McG's "This Means War," which is supposed to start shooting in July, so that could be a potential conflict if she even agrees to the role (she's also currently shooting "Water For Elephants"). However, all of the daughters' roles in the draft that floated around earlier this year were pretty tiny. 

Sure, it was an early script and things must have certainly changed, but we can't imagine it's been completely deconstructed.

There is one small role of a prostitute who also hooks up with Renner's character, but that role, while reoccurring throughout, does feel pretty small too. 

Witherspoon can be pretty commanding when she needs to be -- her company is called Type A productions after all -- and some have joked she's not that far removed from the Tracy Flick character she portrayed in "Election," so we think she would be pretty good for the key daughter who oversees her father's business and best interests.

 

But again, it is just an offer. She could easily turn it down, there were some salacious bits with the daughter in that early draft, we'll just have to wait and see and hope this report uncovers more info.

"Renner 100% locked" into The Master

The Playlist - your primary source for all breaking news updates regarding The Master - is now reporting that Jeremy Renner is going to play Freddie Sutton. The score is now 3-1. In their words:

So one could argue that THR already confirmed this — and sites like us and Vulture were confused with their weird verbiage — and we'd be fine with that, but we've been told by a couple very good sources, what you've probably figured out already: Jeremy Renner is now 100% locked in to take the role of the drunken, existentially lost drifter, Freddie Sutton in Paul Thomas Anderson's take down of Scientology religion in a currently untitled film project, affectionately known to fans as "The Master."

An official announcement should be made soon. The question about funding and when this will shoot still needs clarification (River Road was last rumored to be footing the bill). We've heard the project will go in front of cameras "soon" (our guess is late summer/or the fall) but we suppose that despite Universal passing on the project, the film that now has Renner and stars Philip Seymour Hoffman as a surrogate for L. Ron Hubbard is moving forward (read more details in our thorough script review). More details as we get them 

Freddie Not Played by Jeremy Renner

Despite two posts saying he was involved, The Playlist is now saying Jeremy Renner has backed out of The Master due to scheduling conflicts. Here is what they had to report:

After his critically acclaimed turn as Sgt. William James in Kathryn Bigelow's "The Hurt Locker," Jeremy Renner has found himself an interesting bunch of projects to potentially follow up with.

The actor first joined James McTeigue's upcoming murder mystery centering on Edgar Allen Poe's last days (described as "The Raven" meets "Se7en") but has also been linked to roles in Peter Berg's film adaptation of board game "Battleship" as well as a collaboration with auteur Paul Thomas Anderson and Phillip Seymour Hoffman on their untitled Scientology drama.

However, in a sidenote to Taylor Kitsch's casting in "Battleship" today, Renner has reportedly passed on Anderson's project with "scheduling conflicts preventing his involvement" — the same conflict also caused him to pull out of Berg's film. With "Battleship" scheduled to shoot this summer, it's not known what project is causing the issue though it could very well be McTeigue's "The Raven."

But wait, does this mean Anderson's religious drama is also shooting this summer despite it's studio woes? Have River Road stepped up to the plate after Universal passed? It had been thought such backing issues would cause the film's production to be delayed and open up the calendar for Renner but all this was, of course, before the other Renner project was slated to shoot at the same time.

Renner's exclusion from PTA's film is disappointing but may ultimately make things easier. His link had stirred a little controversy as his potential role, Freddie, was written as a young, impressionable 20-something drifter in an early draft. Our original script review had actually proposed "There Will Be Blood" star Paul Dano for the role, who is 14 years younger than Renner. Of course, there's also the possibility that the religious drama had undergone rewrites, after all, Renner had reportedly taken at least five meetings with Anderson.

Either way, we're sure this is just the tip of the iceberg to the story with details surrounding what's happening with Renner, "The Raven" and PTA's religious drama likely to hit soon if both are in fact set for summer shoots.

Universal Passes On The Master

The Playlist has the latest on the Master, again. This time they are reporting that Universal has passed on the 35 million dollar budget and that Jeremy Renner is still going to play Freddie:

As we first reported a few weeks ago, Deadline Hollywood confirms that Jeremy Renner is circling a role in Paul Thomas Anderson's gestating, to-be-titled Scientology film. As we assumed, it appears that Renner is indeed being considered for the role of Freddie, the young drifter who is becomes apprentice to The Master (Philip Seymour Hoffman). In many ways it was the worst kept secret in Hollywood that Renner and PTA had been talking, but it's only now that their discussions have been confirmed.

It's an intriguing development as in the early draft of the script that's currently making the rounds, Freddie is supposed to be in his '20s and in need of guidance and direction, having hit rock bottom with wanton alcoholism. With Renner nearing 40 years old, it's anybody's guess whether or not the script will be tweaked to play closer to his age. We're curious to see how this changes the script (or not). And just remember, this isn't confirmation he's taking the role yet. There's been salient conversations that PTA was resistant to Renner at first specifically because of his age. The character is supposed to be young and impressionable, which makes him open to manipulation and following the word of this self-made godhead, but that doesn't mean it can't be tweaked. It will be interesting to see how it all turns out. After all the script that is floating out there is a very early draft.

The other major development is that Universal has gotten cold feet, passing on the project and its $35 million budget. PTA fans have no need to fear as production company River Road is in serious talks to foot the bill. The company has been a haven for auteurs of late, funding Terrence Malick's "Tree Of Life" and Doug Liman's "Fair Game." Honcho Bill Pohlad is also an investor in distributor Apparition, so don't be surprised if the film ends up there. Longtime Anderson collaborators John Lesher and JoAnne Seller are expected to come on board to produce.

Reading between the lines, it appears the film is being shopped around as package which leads us believe that once the film finds a home, Renner will officially be on board. At the very least, we hope it gets him out of starring in "Battleship."

Master Script Review From The Playlist

We have recently received and read the screenplay that has been passed around the last while and it has been summed up in the most in depth and spoiler filled review to date. Read/Highlight ahead at your own discretion:

A script purporting to be Paul Thomas Anderson's untitled new drama, which centers around religion — affectionately being dubbed "The Master" by many — has been making the rounds.

Let us reassure you. It's very real.

However, due to one relatively incoherent review on the The Cinematic Experience of Forizzer (that's since been cleaned up, but still wantonly rambles), and then the subsequent leaker (Forizzer), desperately trying to prove its authenticity on various message boards by posting pages from the script, it's legitimacy has been called into question (the whole doth protest too much catch 22). Other skeptics taking a too-literal look at the initial trade reports, are also calling his review apocryphal because the script in question was dubbed the "Untitled Scientology Project" and the trades explicitly stated in the announcement that the film wasn't about Scientology.

But let's assure you, that's a red herring. While "The Master" (as we'll call it here for the purposes of this review) is perhaps not a out-and-out screed or attack on Scientology, not recognizing the strong, strong ties, allusions and specific references to that cult religion is itself, is either blindness or ignorance (though to be fair, PTA zealots have nitpicked the hell out of Forrizer's message board defense posts — though again a doth-protest-too-much defense will backfire).

We would be worried about spoilers and revealing too much if it weren't for the fact that this version of "The Master" is a very, very early draft — there's a litany of spelling errors and abbreviated scenes with "tbd" or "etc." written in as placeholder for where more context and description will soon come.

However, so much is laid down, so much fleshed out, and all with that hurried pace that can be so compelling about Paul Thomas Anderson films. It careens a little in the beginning, wanting to establish a lot in a short amount of time (i.e. the opening of "Magnolia," though not quite as lightning fast), but it's clearly his voice and work. No other yokel out there can write a fake 124-page screenplay and be this precise or good.

As for the Scientology ties, they've been evidently brewing for quite some time now. You'll remember in August 2008, PTA put on a top secret play at Largo that starred his wife, Maya Rudolph and her SNL c0-star Fred Armisen. The play centered on a series of vignettes and one in particular focused on a couple, "getting to know each other over a complicated personality test." What many people didn't realize at the time is that personality test questions were taken from what is known as the Oxford Capacity Analysis, a free personality test that is given by the Church of Scientology (and that's been confirmed in the comments section here by someone actually in attendance at the Largo show).

While people have been ravenous for details and what the picture was exactly about, Variety spelled out the picture quite well when they first reported the story and said it, "explores the need to believe in a higher power, the choice of which to embrace, and the point at which a belief system graduates into a religion." And that's on the money with themes of sublimation of self, lack of identity and perverted ideas of solipsism.

Using their initial description, we'll give you a modified synopsis:

“The Master” is the story of a charismatic intellectual (Philip Seymour Hoffman) who hatches a faith-based organization that begins to catch on in America in 1952 called The Cause. The core dynamic centers on the relationship between The Master and Freddie Sutton, (Paul Dano) an aimless twenty-something drifter and alcoholic who eventually becomes the leader’s loyal lieutenant. As the faith begins to gain a fervent following, Freddie finds himself questioning the belief system he has embraced, and his mentor.

Here's your first clue. Scientology was founded in 1954. A significant chunk of the screenplay takes place on a boat so "The Master" is free to write his next cult tome (Book II, "The Dual Saber") and not be distracted by the outside world and the criticisms that are constantly dogging The Cause. And similarly in in the late '60s, L. Ron Hubbard also lived on a Panamanian ship for quite some time and allegedly up to four years. The references are myriad.

So "The Master" essentially starts when an aimless Freddie — an amateur moonshine alchemist who is on his way to drinking himself to an early death if he continues this way— stows away on a ship after a toxic mix of his brew accidentally blinds a Filipino migrant worker he is toiling away with on a farm. Fearing he has potentially killed the man, Freddie's instincts are nothing but basic survival (another recurring theme in the screenplay) and aggressively drunk himself, he reaches for the first form of escape.

The ship however is the aforementioned vessel of the Master and the followers of The Cause including his children Mary-Sue (the name of of one of L. Ron Hubbard's wives), Norman Conrad, Elizabeth and the faith-wavering son Val (to further the connections, L. Ron Hubbard Jr. also condemned his father and the church in a 1983 Penthouse interview, though Val is nowhere near as traitorous).

Instantly discovered on the ship by the close-knit cult, Freddie's drink is drugged and then he's interrogated by the highly paranoid Master who wants to know who sent him to spy on their community: The AMA? The APA? The CIA? (This paranoia would not be unfounded by L. Ron Hubbard, in 1977, Scientology offices on both coasts were raided by the agency). This tête-à-tête is one of many excellent back-and-fourths scenes between Master and Freddie. Run how we imagine a Scientology "audit" session is run — a sort of quasi psychotherapy stress test cum interrogation/ authoritative hypnosis via repetition session — the scene is a series of rapid-fire, bare bones question and answers.

Freddie, the skeptic, answers truthfully and reveals much in near grunts. The Master, establishes his dominance and genius and wields a bumbling, word-heavy, lyrical style of speaking. Anderson is so talented in building his characters through dialogue, giving them quirks of speech, misspelling words to emphasize accent. Here, Anderson, barely, if at all, writes action lines. It's all dialogue and nothing else for a few pages (this may also be because of how early a draft this is).

Freddie reveals some personal darkness from his past and the Master — perhaps sensing guinea pig possibilities — gets hooked. After making sure as best he can that the young stow-way isn't some spy or a thief after the renaissance man's secret manuscripts (he calls himself a doctor, a writer, a philosopher, apoet, etc.), he welcomes Freddie into the fold, impressed by his blunt instinct, and talents for making tasty homemade liquor. And the Master — believing they had met in a previous life — takes a shine to his "scoundrel" ways. Cynical, bemused and completely weirded-out, Freddie is introduced to the ways of the cause, the concepts of "time-holes," the interrogation-like psychotherapy sessions and regression work that's supposed to transport us back into our earliest memories of suffering in order to banish and own them (a very basic tenet of Scientology). "Shall a man be his master of his memories? Or shall his memories be the master?" Seymour Hoffman's character posits at one point.

For those that worry about spoilers that leads us up to about the end of the first act and many of these details would be in one of those detailed Apple trailer synopsis that are about three paragraphs deep.

Suffice to say, in what seems like a story that spans over a decade — though it's tough to say exactly how long — Freddie graduates from a naive dilettante to a trusted right hand man who does the Master's bidding and often uses intimidation tactics. The story, in a way, is the battle for Freddie's soul which has been seduced by the dark charms of the master, but even that is far too simple a description to this layered, mysterious and at times very ambiguous tale.

The key to "The Master," and what might make it a difficult sell, is not its story — in many ways like "There Will Be Blood" not a lot happens plot-wise, there are few "big" scenes — but its odd enigmatic tenor which are not unlike those moments in "There Will Be Blood" where mystery and purposeful uncertainty rule (think the sequences where we're unsure whether Dano has a twin or not, or whether the man claiming he is Plainview's brother is actually who he says he is). And again, like 'Blood' which used Upton Sinclair's "Oil!" as a starting off point,' "The Master' screenplay seems to use Scientology in the same manner to examine and explore cults and megalomania.

The tenebrous enigmatic story does have strange, noteworthy and twisted scenes of sex, incest, polygamy, adultery and wild flashes of rancor from the Master that Daniel Plainview himself would be proud of. PTA seems to have seized upon dark, spiritual forces at work in recent years and Messianic figures. From the plague of frogs in "Magnolia," to the raging hubris of Daniel Plainview and The Master, he is clearing exploring spiritual themes and men with a God complex. One hypnosis-like scene where a woman regresses to a pre-natal time when she is back in the womb and remembers her father having sex with her mother is particularly creepy and striking.

Universal apparently won't greenlight this approximately $35-million-dollar budgeted project until they read the script and you can see why. In many ways, it's a film with a more twisted mien than "Doubt," but just as low-ley and with small stakes. Then again 'Blood' had a similar vibe on the page, but boiled over into something much more operatic thanks to the eerie score and the volatile electricity of Daniel Day Lewis.

Still, Universal won't be greenlighting this version, but it's probable that no on was meant to see this draft yet. If intelligent dramas are being threatened with extinction of late (or at least at a certain budget), surely this could become a problem for PTA eventually. But more than just a chamber drama, the shadowy and cryptic elements of this story could be pushed in the marketing — sort of like 'TWWB' to suggest something otherworldly and not just a period piece about religion set in the '50s.

What one comes away with during "The Master" is that PTA's a damn confident writer. He has a great deal of faith in his audience to either get-it or at least hang on for a deeper-than-usual ride the gets stranger and odder as the film comes to its conclusion. There's eloquence in the loopy metaphors of the master's monologues. It's like his determination to tell the story becomes part of the momentum or heartbeat of his films.

"You write who you are and what you know," PTA told Moviemaker magazine in 2000. "But you also cheat and you write what you want to be. It’s a little embarrassing, sometimes, to be the guy that made the movie, knowing that I’m not exactly what I want to be."

Need a little emotional and spiritual guidance in your life? "The Master" suggests that The Cause can help you help yourself. — [with additional script notes by Andrew Hart and graphics courtesy of M. Morrison]

Screenplay Review: The Master

The following review for a screenplay called "Untitled PT Anderson Scientology" was posted by someone's blog titled "The Cinematic Experience Of Forizzer" and made aware to the world via The Playlist.

The following will most certainly contain specifics. If you do not wish to have the film spoiled for you in anyway, please do not highlight the text pasted below:

Heyo, I’m back. Computer is fixed and I’ve quite a few things to review (The Last Station and some classics I caught over the past week+). I’ve also gotten into the habit of reading scripts and fortunately for me, I have connections and was able to read the Untitled Scientology script by Paul Thomas Anderson. One of the few in the world, I believe, so I’m quite content with myself.

PLOT SYNOPSIS: Freddie, a young man in his mid-20s, has his appendix burst. Not very much a man too concerned for family, he found his calling in the Navy. With a burst appendix, he can no longer handle the rigorous tasks the Navy calls upon their men. Isolated and looking for his calling, Freddie becomes an alcoholic at the snap of finger; so much so that he brews his own ale — an ale so strong that, when in southern US, a poor immigrant worker drinks ‘an unbalanced quantity’, goes into convulsions and is assumed to have died while Freddie scampers away from the site.

Afraid of being caught, Freddie hops aboard the first vessel he spots. Half drunk out of his mind, half worried for his life and half looking for work, this type of calculation indicates the mess that is Freddie. Aboard the ship, a man that goes by Master (the role Philip Seymour Hoffman is set to portray) begins to guide Freddie. He asks him odd questions and tries to rid the young man of his dependencies. Master is an allegorical L. Ron Hubbard, for the curious.

Master has a family — a wife and four children (three daughters, one about to get married, and a son) — and a group of followers that adhere to everything he says. He’s also skeptical of strangers, which allows for quite a frantic… but usually composed character. It will be vastly interesting to see what Philip Seymour Hoffman does with the role — it’s his most varied and unique to date.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: The script was mashed together rather haphazardly. There’s plentiful segments that say “Insert Dialogue at a Later Date” or varients of that. The composition of it all is rather amateur as well. If one were to pick this script up, they’d assume this person had no script writing program or spell check (there are a fair share of spelling errors). 

The story itself is very peculiar. There’s sexual perversion in parts, extreme moments of eccentricity from Master, lots of interesting theories about life and the purpose of it, and even some humor slighting Scientology. If one expects this story to completely laugh at Scientology, think again. It’s more demonstrative of loneliness and why someone would find solace in the least likely of religions as opposed to a flagrant foul against the belief. It’s partially jumbled in what it means to preach, script-wise, but I believe that this will all find further clarity with a the script revisions that follows and the inevitable direction of the feature.

For the lead role of Freddie, I imagined a Paul Dano type. Perhaps a little bit bulkier as one would imagine a slightly bloated gut to accompany alcoholism and a burst appendix. Someone mostly scrawny and who can play off drunkenness well will do favorably in this part. Hoffman as Master is a wicked choice — expect a second Oscar win for what he puts himself through. The rest of the cast is rather plain… it’s like a The Last King of Scotland in that sense: two major characters and everyone else just, well, there.

It reads at 124 pages. If you go the traditional minute per page, you get just over two hours. Of course, I think that’s too simply a strategy, so I go by what I feel it is. The first 10-15 pages are heavily descriptive, so I imagined them slightly longer. I figure this will be about 135 minutes long without credits. So perhaps 140 minutes overall.

FINAL WORD: Poorly written, but excellently constructed, Untitled Scientology is one of the better scripts I’ve ever read (not too big a feat, but…). In addition, it has an ending that will keep you thinking — I know it has for me, and I read it two days ago. So I suppose I’ll toss this script an 8/10. PTA’s assembling of it all might raise it to a 9 when all is said and done. Yeah, it’s good. And no, you may not have the script.