300 Movie Script & Screenplay

The movie 300 was adapted from the graphic novel that was written by Frank Miller. Frank Miller’s fictional re-telling of the Battle of Thermopylae first came out in 1998 but it was not until 2006 that director Zack Snyder first started working on the movie and later released it in 2007. Zack Snyder also directed movies such as Watchmen and Dawn of the Dead and is currently working on an as yet untitled sequel to 300 that is due to be released in 2011.

The movie 300 did indeed find its origins in Frank Millers graphic novel but adaptations were made along the way to make it more suited to a cinematic performance. The screenplay for the movie 300 was put together by Zack Snyder, Kurt Johnstad (True Vengeance, 1997), and Michael B. Gordon (G. I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, 2009 and the upcoming To Live and Drive in LA, 2010). The three screen writers worked side by side to make this as closely representative of Frank Miller’s graphic novel as possible but of course changes needed to be made. Action scenes were magnified and some of the less relevant details removed. Seeing as the original book was a graphic novel though, there was already a focus on visual, which allow Snyder, Kurt, and Gordon to be more literal in their translation from novel to screenplay.

The script was classified as a historical fantasy; however, the movie 300 has many aspects of the war genre and the action genre as well. There is indeed plenty of action with great battle scenes and the costumes worn by the actors had a large part of the drama. Including aspects like costume in the script was an integral part of making this movie a success.

The script for the movie 300 is 117 minutes in length and was rate R for graphic violence and some sexuality and nudity. This historical fantasy was put out by Warner Brothers Company and was mostly filmed at the Icestorm Studios in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. After filming the actors in battle, digital backdrops were used to complete the scenes.

The screenplay for the movie 300 takes place in 480 BC and details the Battle of Thermopylae. The battle was named for the location, which was at the foot of the mountain pass of Thermopylae where the Greek armies fought the invading Persian armies. The Persians had already taken over several of the Hellenic states and were now aiming for Sparta and Athens. The script for the movie 300 does make an attempt to be historical and some of the data is indeed as close as we can get to knowing what really happened in history; however, adaptations were made to battles and attitudes to ensure that it had a greater cinematic appeal.

The script and screenplay for the movie 300 is indeed something interesting to look at. The movie is what most people see and the only thing they remember but the script for the movie 300 involved the genius of three great writers – Snyder, Johnstad, and Gordon.