What does a director see in a screenplay that makes them want to engage?
Sam Mendes is a British film and stage director, producer, and screenwriter. He made his directorial debut with the drama American Beauty, which earned him the Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Director.
He has since directed the crime film Road to Perdition, the war movie Jarhead, the period drama Revolutionary Road, and two Bond films, Skyfall and Spectre. For the World War I film 1917, Mendes received the BAFTA Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Director, as well as his second Academy Award nominations for Best Director, Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay.
It's safe to say Mendes is a director who sees a screenplay he loves and dives in. While it would be hard to pinpoint a theme he looks for in each screenplay he tackles, I think studying the films he latched onto can give you a deeper understanding of storytelling.
Check them out below.
(NOTE: For educational and research purposes only.)
Read and Download Sam Mendes-Directed Screenplays
- American Beauty (1999) - Directed by Sam Mendes, screenplay by Alan Ball
- Road To Perdition (2000) - Directed by Sam Mendes, screenplay by David Self
- Jarhead (2005) - Directed by Sam Mendes, screenplay by William Broyles Jr.
- Revolutionary Road (2008) - Directed by Sam Mendes, screenplay by Justin Haythe
- Skyfall (2012) - Directed by Sam Mendes, screenplay by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, and John Logan
- Spectre (2015) - Directed by Sam Mendes, screenplay by John Logan, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, Jez Butterworth
- 1917 (2019) - Directed by Sam Mendes, screenplay by Sam Mendes and Krysty Wilson-Cairns
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