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Elizabethtown
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.
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.
160 pages, Paperback
First published October 12, 2005
129 people want to read
About the author
Cameron Crowe
35 books247 followersCameron Bruce Crowe is an Academy Award winning American writer and film director. Before moving into the film industry, Crowe was contributing editor at Rolling Stone magazine, for which he still frequently writes.
Crowe has made his mark with character-driven, personal films that have been generally hailed as refreshingly original and void of cynicism. Michael Walker in the New York Times called Crowe "something of a cinematic spokesman for the post-baby boom generation" because his first few films focused on that specific age group, first as high schoolers and then as young adults making their way in the world.
Crowe's debut screenwriting effort, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, grew out of a novel he wrote while posing for one year undercover as a student at Clairemont High School in San Diego, California, USA. Later, he wrote and directed one more high school saga, Say Anything, and then Singles, a story of Seattle twentysomethings that was woven together by a soundtrack centering on that city's burgeoning grunge music scene. Crowe landed his biggest hit, though, with the feel-good Jerry Maguire. After this, he was given a green light to go ahead with a pet project, the autobiographical effort Almost Famous. Centering on a teenage music journalist on tour with an up-and-coming band, it gave insight to his life as a 15-year-old writer for Rolling Stone. Also, in late 1999, Crowe released his second book, Conversations with Billy Wilder, a question and answer session with the legendary director.
Crowe has made his mark with character-driven, personal films that have been generally hailed as refreshingly original and void of cynicism. Michael Walker in the New York Times called Crowe "something of a cinematic spokesman for the post-baby boom generation" because his first few films focused on that specific age group, first as high schoolers and then as young adults making their way in the world.
Crowe's debut screenwriting effort, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, grew out of a novel he wrote while posing for one year undercover as a student at Clairemont High School in San Diego, California, USA. Later, he wrote and directed one more high school saga, Say Anything, and then Singles, a story of Seattle twentysomethings that was woven together by a soundtrack centering on that city's burgeoning grunge music scene. Crowe landed his biggest hit, though, with the feel-good Jerry Maguire. After this, he was given a green light to go ahead with a pet project, the autobiographical effort Almost Famous. Centering on a teenage music journalist on tour with an up-and-coming band, it gave insight to his life as a 15-year-old writer for Rolling Stone. Also, in late 1999, Crowe released his second book, Conversations with Billy Wilder, a question and answer session with the legendary director.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 24, 2025
I always hate it when people reference films in book reviews, but alas, I can't rail against it or even feel a hypocrite here as this is a screenplay, not a novel.
It is delightful. Delightful in the same way as the film. It is completely harmless and inoffensive. The screenplay's bareness and short stage directions, in place of flowing descriptive prose, make the thoughts and words so much more intense. Yes, having seen the film, it is hard not to visualise Kirsten Dunst and Orlando Bloom, but it is so much richer and personal filling in the background and creating the imagery oneself.
Somehow, on paper, the characters are more alive and vibrant and perhaps believable. Claire will forever be Kirsten Dunst, but, as I read on, Drew became less and less Orlando Bloom. Thank God!
There are parts of the screenplay not in the film and parts of the film not printed here. I can not say it really matters or does any harm to the reading experience. If anything, it improves it.
The inclusion of photographs at the end is a nice touch but not necessary. I want the characters I read to be mine, not someone else's interpretation. I did, however, enjoy the excerpt from Cameron Crowe's diary of making the film, like a bonus feature and a teaser for another book.
It is delightful. Delightful in the same way as the film. It is completely harmless and inoffensive. The screenplay's bareness and short stage directions, in place of flowing descriptive prose, make the thoughts and words so much more intense. Yes, having seen the film, it is hard not to visualise Kirsten Dunst and Orlando Bloom, but it is so much richer and personal filling in the background and creating the imagery oneself.
Somehow, on paper, the characters are more alive and vibrant and perhaps believable. Claire will forever be Kirsten Dunst, but, as I read on, Drew became less and less Orlando Bloom. Thank God!
There are parts of the screenplay not in the film and parts of the film not printed here. I can not say it really matters or does any harm to the reading experience. If anything, it improves it.
The inclusion of photographs at the end is a nice touch but not necessary. I want the characters I read to be mine, not someone else's interpretation. I did, however, enjoy the excerpt from Cameron Crowe's diary of making the film, like a bonus feature and a teaser for another book.
June 25, 2022
Mostly 3.5...this is not a novelization, simply a script. And it makes sense because as I was reading this I felt in my being that important core elements were missing (i.e. ambience, crucial dialogue, pacing) and it struck me....this is meant to be watched more so than read. It is not a bad experience however I am so grateful that some of the dialogue and actions in this version of the script were edited out because some of the dialogue felt so uncharacteristic and actions that take place also are just unnecessary. All in all it was a nice day's reading, it's only 140 pages so I can't recommend reading it or not reading it. Thank you for reading.
Read
November 18, 2008its such a funny book "did i miss 60b? did i miss 60 b he honked the horn and pounded his fists and then he looked discouragingly accross the road elizabeth town elizabeth town were in oh ya"
December 6, 2013
It's an excellent story that I think requires some empathy from the reader to fully appreciate. Maybe you have to walk a little in the shoes of Drew to care about his predicament.
Is it too ... cheesy, too schmaltzy, too cute? I don't think so. Not if you've had some of these experiences.
You have to have had some big first-hand losses or failures? Maybe you have to spend enough time leading product development, out on a limb, to feel Drew's pain over his failed shoe design. Maybe you have to lose your dad and help your family grieve. Maybe you have to fall in love with a stranger when you don't expect it. Maybe you have to take a road trip before you know what you're talking about. Maybe you have to have been to Kentucky. Maybe you have to spend enough time on airplanes and wheeling a bag through airports to empathize. Maybe you have to love music like Cameron Crowe to appreciate the soundtrack. Maybe you have to have rural-type relatives like these Drew has before you're to merely poke fun at them.
I get that the movie has mixed reviews. I loved it (and saw it before I read the screenplay). I get that there is some legit criticism to stick to this screenplay. For me its ambitious subject matter rules the day and merits the higher score. After all, it's a story about the biggest stuff there is: death, family, estrangement, fathers and sons, American geography, love, marriage, grief, manhood, business, adventure. The themes are giant and combined elegantly. You might miss that due to the lack of sweeping orchestral soundtrack. Any one of these themes could fill up a great film. Taken together, the challenge is to make them all deep enough and not just skim them. When it clicks, it's downright poignant.
Speaking of skimming, the character of Claire leaves you wondering. There's just enough mystery about her that you could imagine wanting a sequel to follow Claire and Drew after the end of the story --I want a book as richly about her as this one is about Drew.
This book also has an excerpt from Cameron Crowe's diary from his making of the film which is a great little read for anyone in the biz.
Is it too ... cheesy, too schmaltzy, too cute? I don't think so. Not if you've had some of these experiences.
You have to have had some big first-hand losses or failures? Maybe you have to spend enough time leading product development, out on a limb, to feel Drew's pain over his failed shoe design. Maybe you have to lose your dad and help your family grieve. Maybe you have to fall in love with a stranger when you don't expect it. Maybe you have to take a road trip before you know what you're talking about. Maybe you have to have been to Kentucky. Maybe you have to spend enough time on airplanes and wheeling a bag through airports to empathize. Maybe you have to love music like Cameron Crowe to appreciate the soundtrack. Maybe you have to have rural-type relatives like these Drew has before you're to merely poke fun at them.
I get that the movie has mixed reviews. I loved it (and saw it before I read the screenplay). I get that there is some legit criticism to stick to this screenplay. For me its ambitious subject matter rules the day and merits the higher score. After all, it's a story about the biggest stuff there is: death, family, estrangement, fathers and sons, American geography, love, marriage, grief, manhood, business, adventure. The themes are giant and combined elegantly. You might miss that due to the lack of sweeping orchestral soundtrack. Any one of these themes could fill up a great film. Taken together, the challenge is to make them all deep enough and not just skim them. When it clicks, it's downright poignant.
Speaking of skimming, the character of Claire leaves you wondering. There's just enough mystery about her that you could imagine wanting a sequel to follow Claire and Drew after the end of the story --I want a book as richly about her as this one is about Drew.
This book also has an excerpt from Cameron Crowe's diary from his making of the film which is a great little read for anyone in the biz.
April 5, 2015
I came across this script while looking for some background information on the movie "Elizabethtown".
I enjoyed reading it, perhaps as much as I would enjoy reading a play. (This means: If you detest reading plays, back off.)
This book helped me to realize three things.
~ First, there are a LOT of sets over the course of one movie. And since every new one is detailed here, that gets quite difficult to read. Thankfully though, not every new shot was described.
~ Second, that I really didn't like the beginning of the movie; I had to fight through the first few pages as well.
~ And third, while the travelling sequence at the end is probably one of my favourite scenes ever, I don't got as much out of the script. Even with pictures attached. I don't think I will become an actor then ;).
If you loved the movie and want to experience the story again in a different form, go ahead and do so but I don't promise you will like it. If you haven't seen the movie, go watch it first. If you didn't like the movie, why in the world would you want to read the screenplay? ;)
I enjoyed reading it, perhaps as much as I would enjoy reading a play. (This means: If you detest reading plays, back off.)
This book helped me to realize three things.
~ First, there are a LOT of sets over the course of one movie. And since every new one is detailed here, that gets quite difficult to read. Thankfully though, not every new shot was described.
~ Second, that I really didn't like the beginning of the movie; I had to fight through the first few pages as well.
~ And third, while the travelling sequence at the end is probably one of my favourite scenes ever, I don't got as much out of the script. Even with pictures attached. I don't think I will become an actor then ;).
If you loved the movie and want to experience the story again in a different form, go ahead and do so but I don't promise you will like it. If you haven't seen the movie, go watch it first. If you didn't like the movie, why in the world would you want to read the screenplay? ;)
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews