Elizabethtown (Screenplay) [Paperback]

Cameron Crowe (Author)

Book Description

Series: Screenplay | Publication Date: October 12, 2005

The screenplay to the latest film from the Oscar-winning writer/ director of Jerry Maguire and
Almost Famous

Drew Baylor (Orlando Bloom) was the wunderkind of Mercury Shoes: the hot industrial designer who'd dreamed up the powerhouse athletic-wear company's next revolutionary shoe concept-the Spasmotica-upon which Mercury's hopes of global domination were pinned. That is until eight years of development--including a research and promotion outlay equal to the operating costs of a small nation--went up in smoke as the extensively hyped and highly anticipated Spasmotica premiered to colossal failure. Suddenly the laughingstock of the industry, dumped by his boss and his girl, things can't seem to get worse--until Drew gets word of his father's death. With his mother grief-stricken and his sister needed by her side, Drew must travel to his father's provincial hometown of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, to attend the memorial on his family's behalf. On the flight, Drew meets Claire (Kirsten Dunst), a witty and charming flight attendant, who helps him navigate the rough waters ahead and proves that even in our darkest hour love and redemption are never out of reach.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"As a screenwriter, Mr. Crowe is an unmatched comic portraitist . . . and as a director he has an extraordinary gift for drawing out rounded, complex performances . . . and for indicating the fine emotional shadings in the relationships among his characters." -A. O. Scott, The New York Times

About the Author

Cameron Crowe is among the most successful writer/directors in Hollywood today. In addition to his films, he is also the author of the critically acclaimed portrait of the director Billy Wilder, Conversations with Wilder, that was published last year. He lives in California.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Faber & Faber; 1st edition (October 12, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 057122881X
• ISBN-13: 978-0571228812
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 4.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,073,861 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good screenplay, May 21, 2007

By 

Marisol Genoud Muro "Books M" (Argentina) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Elizabethtown (Screenplay) (Paperback)

Although i realized i've had purchased a screenplay when i recieved it i thought is was good and it is nice to see pictures and read the director's notes about making the movie, really interesting

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reading this makes the movie better., May 4, 2007

By 

Ahmad Jordan "Ahmad Jordan" (Bufalo, NY United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Elizabethtown (Screenplay) (Paperback)

"sadness and dissapointment are really a personal victory in disguise."

Those lines in the foreward by Crowe made me buy the book. That and just how much the movie striked my curiousity. Even though the movie had a lukewarm affect on me, its intent resonated with me. Especially after I had a chance to read some of Crowe's interviews online. He's a brave man who refuses to shade his stubborn optimism in a world where cynicism is strangely fashionable. Crowe is smart enough to know that cynicism is really just a defense mechanism for souls as vulnerable as the characters he creates. Of all his movies, Elizabethtown has the most vulnerable souls bumping into each other. They are all guarded, but their defense is more transparent.

This comes through more when you read the screenplay than seeing the actual movie. While most Hollywood movies move at the speed of light, The movie for E-Town moves at the speed of life. It takes it time to work things out, just as life really does. Appropriately, the movie tests the patience of a person who is accostomed to fast moving, quick-cut dialouge and action. In the screenplay, you are invited to peel back the layers of the characters -- especially Claire -- by disceting their dialouge and looking between and behind words. For this reason, reading this movie is actually more enjoyable than watching it.

I've met "a Claire" before, and Crowe captures her perfectly in the script. She's good at playing the hot-potato with one-liners, and you realize it's a slight of hand to throw your attention off from the "real her." In the screenplay you're perfectly cued to recognize her real self breaking through when her and Drew have their TRUE breakthrough after their romantic breakthrough, and she says "You're an artist, man. Your job is to break barriers." Suddenly the fatigue of her sometimes overwhelming energy pays off.

I actually found myself getting emotional while reading the speech made by Hollie at the funeral. The best parts are, unfortunately, edited out of the movie. One in particular is when Hollie advises her once skeptic audience to "Give your gifts to the living," even if it means being embarrassing. This scene works so much better on the page than it did on the screen. In the screenplay, it reaches beyond a self-indulgence and into her audience. You get the message: She waited until her partner died before she discovered and shared her gifts.

Crowe definitely has a writers-wisdom about life and people. Most good writers do, but they don't often make it to the big screen. I look forward to his movies because I know he's willing to share that wisdom with his audience. Apparently there is even more of it to be found in his screenplays.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a great movie, November 19, 2006

By 

Victor V. Popov "Sinnister" (Silver Spring, Md) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Elizabethtown (Screenplay) (Paperback)

I'm sorry but this movie was absolutely awesome. What I loved most was that there wasnt a picture perfect romance it had all the insecurity and realness that can happen between two people. I really loved it and Im a guy that istens to gangster rap. If anyone knows who sings the song "I can turn a green sky blue" like he had on his ringtone please email me at [...] I came here looking for that but decided to post a review great great movie.