The Script's The Thing

The Writers Guild of America announced late last week their picks for 101 greatest screenplays ever written.

The top spot was given to the 1942 classic Casablanca, by Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein and Howard Koch. The rest of the top 10 looks like this:

2. The Godfather, by Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola; 3. Chinatown, by Robert Towne; 4. Citizen Kane, by Herman Mankiewicz and Orson Welles; 5. All About Eve, by Joseph Mankiewicz; 6. Annie Hall, by Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman; 7. Sunset Boulevard, by Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder and D.M. Marshman Jr.; 8. Network, by Paddy Chayefsky; 9. Some Like It Hot, by Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond; 10. The Godfather Part II, by Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola.

From the WGA website:

The guilds' historic 101 Greatest Screenplays list, spotlighting those enduring films that have captured the imagination of generations of moviegoers, will be featured in Premiere's upcoming May special issue, hitting newsstands April 18, and slated to appear on [the mag's website] later this month.

Here's the complete list...

As I've said before, lists like this are made to stir up debate among the masses, as well as touting those who made the list.

A few things that jumped out at me...

-The original Star Wars from 1977 made the cut--but Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back from 1980 didn't. What Gives?

-Both Psycho (92), from 1960, and To Kill a Mockingbird, (19) from '62 made the list--but should have been planted higher on the list than they ended up.

-I'm very happy to see that Memento (100) made the list period.

The debate rages on...