Warning: this post may contain spoilers for Damien Chazelle's First Man.
Frequent Birth.Movies.Death. readers know that I'm a sucker for screenplays. Whereas some folks can't be bothered to read 'em (or shy away at the idea of reading one, gasp, before seeing the movie!), I simply cannot get enough. Reading a script reveals all kinds of things about a film, and frequently paints a portrait that's very different from the final product. I find all of this to be quite fascinating, and...well, I've been collecting 'em for years.
As such, you can imagine how intrigued I was when Titan Books' First Man: The Annotated Screenplay showed up on my porch. This hefty, hardback, beautiful tome takes Josh Singer and James R. Hansen's First Man script and layers it atop all manner of images (some from Chazelle's film, some from NASA itself) while also providing commentary from the authors. It's a gorgeously-produced piece of work, and today we're excited to be giving all of you an exclusive look inside.
Here, check these out:
(Note: all photos in this post come from First Man: The Annotated Screenplay by Josh Singer and James R. Hansen, copyright ©2018 Universal Studios. All rights reserved. Unit photography by Daniel McFadden. NASA images courtesy of NASA.)
Pretty cool, right? I'm excited to dig into this one...just as soon as I've seen the movie.
I know, I know - I already mildly dragged the idea of not reading a screenplay before seeing a movie in the intro, but this one's an exception: I'm a huge Chazelle fan, and my understanding is that First Man mostly succeeds in the procedural scenes showing us how Neil Armstrong's historic trip to the moon unfolded. I think I'd prefer seeing all that in action rather than reading it in screenplay form (even if it's in a top-shelf, annotated version like this one). Now I just gotta make time to hit a theater.
Anyway, if you're into screenplays, a Damien Chazelle fan, or if you're just into space stuff, First Man: The Annotated Screenplay seems like it'd be a solid buy. It's available via Amazon as we speak.
Now, if you'll excuse me: I need to go buy some movie tickets.