15 Disaster Film/TV Scripts to Download and Study
It's the end of the world as we know it...or at least it is in this curated tour through onscreen climate, cosmic, and meteorological catastrophes
On irregular Monday mornings (PST), 5AM StoryTalk will share “educational resources” to help you in your creative journey. From curated screenplay collections, to curated film compilations you can watch for free, to advice and other wisdom I’ve collected over my years pursuing the arts — and much more. This is one of them.
This past weekend, I wrote about the film Armageddon, which sees Earth nearly destroyed by an asteroid the size of Texas. This inspired me to curate the following collection of screenplays and teleplays about disasters and the characters who have to confront them to stave off mass death or even global annihilation.
A disaster film is unique in my mind, in that it’s not necessarily about the disaster itself - though it provides the plot and the thrills. What it’s really about is how human beings either work together or don’t to save the day. Think of them as tests of who we are. And historically, we always survive them despite the casualties we took along the way. That is, until Adam McKay co-wrote and directed Don’t Look Up (2021), which features the most plausible disaster film finale I’ve ever seen.
The collection I’ve put together is slightly hobbled by a lot of the titles I wanted to include not being available online, but I think what I’ve come up with is a pretty damn thorough exploration of the genre. I’ve even included three episodes of television, from “ER” and “Chernobyl”, that I think exemplify it. You’ll find everything from aliens and asteroids, to twisters and oceanic catastrophes, to viruses and kaiju, and much more here.
All of these screenplays tend to vanish, as all things do on the Internet. Download ASAP for your personal study. And if you want more resources like this one, be sure to check out my other articles:
“Read the 10 Feature Screenplays the WGA Thinks Are the Best of 2023”
“10 Screenplays by the Great Walter Hill to Download and Study”
“15 Iconic '90s Pilot Scripts to Download and Study”
“20 Christmas Movie Screenplays to Download and Study for Free”
“25 Time-Bending Scripts to Download and Study”
“30 Brilliant BBC Drama Scripts to Download and Study for Free”
"35 Coming-of-Age Scripts to Download and Study”
“40 Great Action Screenplays to Download and Study for Free”
“50 Essential 21st-Century One-Hour Pilot Scripts to Download and Study for Free”
“50 Great Screenplays by Women to Download and Study for Free”
“50 Great Screenplays by People of Color to Download and Study for Free”
“60 Great Comedy Screenplays to Download and Study for Free”
“60 Screenplays About Love and Heartbreak to Download and Study for Free”
“100 Horror Screenplays to Download and Study for Free”
Enjoy the reads!
