Short Cuts: the screenplay

by Robert Altman, Frank Barhydt, Raymond Carver

Published to coincide with the release of Altman's film based on nine interlocking stories by Raymond Carver, this screenplay weaves dramatic themes together without affecting the integrity of the stories. Color portraits of the 22 main characters, played by actors including Tim Robbins, Lily Tomlin, and Jack Lemmon.

Genres: Film

224 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1993

About the author

Noted American filmmaker and screenwriter Robert Altman directed such satires as M*A*S*H (1970) and The Player (1992).

People knew Robert Bernard Altman for a stylized but highly naturalistic perspective. In 2006, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognized his body of work with an Academy Honorary Award.

The national registry selected Nashville for preservation.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_...

Reviews

[Gianna Kelliher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this yesterday in the WGA library, I need to read a good screenplay to use as a crutch as I write mine. This was basically unhelpful as the form is so specific and I was looking for something narrower, cleaner, less people, but regardless a good reminder the screenplays are usually boring and unremarkable like a pile of logs and the color lies in the imagination

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This screenplay read fairly well, and is a good example of adapting an author's short stories for a film. The screenwriters took a lot of liberties with Carver's work. They intercut a bunch of his stories, made the characters lives overlap, and added some new material, usually stuff to make it more dramatic. The setting moves from Oregon to the L.A. suburbs, and the characters seem younger and better off. The movie is actually pretty good, and it works as a collaboration between Altman and Carver. However, there is one unforgivable incident at the end, when one character kills a teenage girl during an earthquake for no apparent reason, and then just gets away with it. Huh? What the #$%# is Altman trying to say? The movie is still worth watching though, for the portrayals of relationships by actors like Tom Waits and Lily Tomlin, Julianne Moore and Matthew Modine, and others.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

The screenplay from one of my favorite movies. It actually takes a while to get ahold of the story when you're just seeing names instead of actors, since there are so many people in this.

Also, there are a set of paintings of most of the stars, plus Altman, interspersed throughout the book that are worth finding the book to see.

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining characters and situations. Based on stories by Raymond Carver, this play is a good choice.

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

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