Script
Definition
The dialog and instructions for a play, film (see screenplay), or comic book or strip; or, without dialog, the instructions for a dance routine (such as for a musical, or the ballet) --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Script [Nov 2004]
Script-writers underwent a change in status with the early 1970s advent of the New Hollywood. The ascension of Movie Brat directors, 'blockbuster' and 'high-concept' marketing strategies, and changing media ownership and post-Taylorist studio management (Elsaesser, 1998: 191) defined New Hollywood's post-industrial structure. American commercial films, from Bonnie and Clyde (1967) to Chinatown (1975) were suddenly "embraced by overseas audiences despite (or because of) their sharpened, more contemporary point of view." (Bart, 1999: 216).--Alex Burns, Auteur wars: how the godfather script battle changed new hollywood, Alex Burns (alex@disinfo.com) - October 30, 2001
Auteur [...]
Screenwriter
Screenwriters, or script writers, are authors who write the screenplays from which movies are made. Many of them also work as "script doctors," attempting to change scripts to suit directors or studios; for instance, studio management may have a complaint that the motivations of the characters are unclear or that the dialogue is weak.
Script-doctoring can be quite lucrative, especially for the better known writers. David Mamet and John Sayles, for instance, fund the movies they direct themselves, usually from their own screenplays, by writing and doctoring scripts for others. In fact, some writers make very profitable careers out of the script doctoring food chain, being the ninth or tenth writer to work on a piece. In many cases, working on projects that never see exposure to an audience of any size.
Most professional screenwriters are unionized and are represented by organisations such as the Writers Guild of America. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screenwriter [Nov 2004]
Scenario
A Scenario (from the Italian, that which is pinned to the scenery) is a brief description of an event. In the Commedia dell'arte it was an outline of entrances, exits, and action describing the plot of a play that was literally pinned to the back of the scenery. It is also known as canovaccio or "that which is pinned to the canvas" of which the scenery was constructed.
Surviving scenari from the renaissance contain little other than character names, brief descriptions of action, and references to specific lazzi with no further explanation. It is believed that a scenario forms the basis of a fully improvisational performance though it is also likely that they were simple reminders of the plot for those members of the cast who were literate. Modern commedia troupes most often make use of a script with varying degrees of additional improvisation. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scenario [Dec 2004]
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a blueprint for producing a motion picture. It can be adapted from a previous work such as a novel, play or short story, or it may be an original work in and of itself. Every year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences hands out Oscars in both Original Screenplay and Adapted Screenplay categories.
A script for a television program is sometimes called a teleplay.
Someone who writes screenplays is a screenwriter. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screenplay [Dec 2004]
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