Las Vegas in Film and TV: 15 Movie & Series Scripts Worth Reading (Script Library)
Casino
1995 | Crime | Drama | True Story | Based on a Book | Feature Film
A tale of greed, deception, money, power, and murder occur between two best friends: a mafia enforcer and a casino executive compete against each other over a gambling empire, and over a fast-living and fast-loving socialite. [IMDb]
Written by Nicholas Pileggi & Martin Scorsese
Based on the book "Casino: The Rise and Fall of the Mob in Las Vegas" by Nicholas Pileggi
Script version: Photocopy, Numbered Scenes, Draft 14, dated July 28, 1994 (for educational purposes only)
Ocean's 11
2001 | Crime | Thriller | Based on a Previous Movie | Feature Film
Danny Ocean, a gangster, rounds up a gang of associates to stage a sophisticated and elaborate casino heist which involves robbing three Las Vegas casinos simultaneously during a popular boxing event. [IMDb]
Written by Ted Griffin
Based on the 1960 movie "Ocean's 11" by Harry brown and Charles Lederer, story by George Clayton Johnson & Jack Golden Russell
Script version: Late Production Draft, Buff Revisions, dated May 31, 2001 (for educational purposes only)
Leaving Las Vegas
1995 | Drama | Romance | Based on a Book | Feature Film
Ben Sanderson, a Hollywood screenwriter who lost everything because of his alcoholism, arrives in Las Vegas to drink himself to death. There, he meets and forms an uneasy friendship and non-interference pact with prostitute Sera. [IMDb]
** Oscar-Nominated Screenplay **
Written by Mike Figgis
Based on the book "Leaving Las Vegas" by John O'Brien
Script version: Photocopy, dated February 8, 1994 (for educational purposes only)
The Last Showgirl
2024 | Drama | Feature Film
A seasoned showgirl must plan for her future when her show abruptly closes after a 30-year run. [IMDb]
Written by Kate Gersten
Script version: Final Shooting Draft, dated October 25, 2024 (for educational purposes only)
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
2000-2015 | Crime | Mystery | Police Procedural | Drama | Television Series
A team of Crime Scene Investigators (CSI's) work with the Las Vegas Police Department (LVPD) to solve crimes by using advanced scientific methods and technology in Las Vegas, Nevada. [IMDb]
Scripts (for educational purposes only):
- Season 3, Episode 2: "Revenge is Best Served Cold" written by Anthony E. Zuiker & Carol Mendelsohn - Shooting Draft, dated August, 2002
- Season 4, Episode 15: "Early Rollout" written by written by Anthony E. Zuiker & Carol Mendelsohn, story by Elizabeth Devine (unknown draft & date)
- Season 7, Episode 8: "Happenstance" written by Sarah Goldfinger - Final Script, dated September 26, 2006
- Season 9, Episode 8: "Young Man with a Horn" written by David Rambo - Final Production Draft, dated September 24, 2008
- Season 9, Episode 11: "The Grave Shift" written by David Weddle & Bradley Thompson - Final Production Draft, dated October 30, 2008
- Season 12, Episode 1: "73 seconds" written by Gavin Harris - Shooting Script, dated July 19, 2011
- Season 12, Episode 2: "Tell-Talle Hearts" written by Joe Pokaski, story by Larry Mitchell - Shooting Script, dated August 1, 2011
- Season 12, Episode 3: "Bittersweet" written by Melissa R. Byer & Treena Hancock - Shooting Script, dated August 11, 2011
- Season 12, Episode 4: "Maid Man" written by Dustin Lee Abraham - Shooting Script, dated August 23, 2011
- Season 12, Episode 5: "CSI Down" written by Tom Mularz, story by Gavin Harris - Shooting Script, dated August 31, 2011
- Season 14, Episode 5: "Frame by Frame" written by Gavin Harris - Shooting Script, Yellow Revisions, dated September 4, 2013
Bugsy
1991 | Crime | Drama | Dark Comedy | True Story | Based on a Book | Feature Film
The true story of gangster Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel, his tumultuous affair with the tough-talking Virginia Hill, and how he founded the Nevada-based city that would go on to be known as Las Vegas. [IMDb]
** Oscar-Nominated Screenplay **
Written by James Toback
Based on the book "We Only Kill Each Other: The Life and Bad Times of Bugsy Siegel" by Dean Jennings
Script version: Screenplay book photocopy (for educational purposes only)
21
2008 | Crime | Thriller | Drama | True Story | Based on a Book | Feature Film
Inspired by real events and people, 21 is about six MIT students who become trained to be experts in card counting in blackjack and subsequently took Vegas casinos for millions in winnings. [IMDb]
Written by Peter Steinfeld, Revisions by Allan Loeb
Based on the book" Bringing Down the House: The Inside story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions" by Ben Mezrich
Script version: Photocopy, dated January 18, 2006 (for educational purposes only)
Now You See Me
2013 | Crime | Mystery | Thriller | Feature Film
An FBI agent and an Interpol detective track a team of illusionists who pull off bank heists during their performances, and reward their audiences with the money. [IMDb]
Written by Ed Solomon and Boaz Yakin & Edward Ricourt
Story by Boaz Yakin & Edward Ricourt
Scripts (for educational purposes only):
- Draft dated May 2009 - credited to Boaz Yakin & Edwart [sic] Ricourt
- Draft dated August 26, 2011 - credited to Boaz Yakin & Edward Ricourt with revisions by Josh Appelbaum & Andre Nemec
Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas
1998 | Dark Comedy | Drama | Road Trip | Based on a Book | Feature Film
An oddball journalist and his psychopathic lawyer travel to Las Vegas for a series of psychedelic escapades. [IMDb]
Written by Terry Gilliam & Tony Grisoni and Tod Davies & Alex Cox
Based on the book "Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas" by Hunter S. Thompson
Script version: Photocopy, Third Draft, dated 1997 - credited to Alex Cox & Tod Davies (for educational purposes only)
Vegas
2012-2013 | Crime | Mystery | Modern Western | Drama | Television Series
In the 1960's, Ralph Lamb, a former MP for the US Army, becomes sheriff. His brother, Jack, and his son, Dixon, are deputized. Meanwhile, Vincent Savino comes from Chicago to Vegas to run The Savoy hotel and casino. [IMDb]
Scripts (for educational purposes only):
- Episode 1: "Pilot" written by Nicholas Pileggi & Greg Walker - Revised Network Draft, dated January 24, 2012
- Episode 11: "Paiutes" (labeled Episode 10 "TBD") written by Greg walker & Steven Levenson - Network Draft, dated October 29, 2012
- Episode 12: "From This Day Forward" (labeled Episode 11) written by Seth Hoffman, story by Nick Santora & Seth Hoffman - Production Draft, dated November 12, 2012
- Episode 15: "Two of a Kind" (labeled Episode 14) written by Jessica Queller & Steven Levenson - Production draft, dated December 17, 2012
- Episode 16: "Little Fish" (labeled Episode 15) written by Seth Hoffman - Production draft, dated January 13, 2013
Hard Eight
1996 | Crime | Drama | True Story | Based on a Short Film | Feature Film
A stranger mentors a young, troubled Reno gambler, after the younger man went bust in Las Vegas [IMDb]
Written by Paul Thomas Anderson
Based on the short film "Cigarettes & Coffee" by Paul Thomas Anderson
Script version: Final Shooting Script, Blue Revised, dated February 16, 1995 (for educational purposes only)
Honeymoon in Vegas
1992 | Comedy | Romance | Thriller | Feature Film
After Jack loses $65,000 in poker in Las Vegas, where he's marrying Betsy, the winning poker player offers to cancel the debt in exchange for the weekend with Betsy. [IMDb]
Written by Andrew Bergman
Script version: Numbered scenes, dated May 24, 1991 (for educational purposes only)
Anora
2024 | Dark Comedy | Drama | Romance | Feature Film
A young stripper from Brooklyn meets and impulsively marries the son of a Russian oligarch. Once the news reaches Russia, her fairy tale is threatened as his parents set out for New York to get the marriage annulled. [IMDb]
** Oscar-Winning Screenplay **
Written by Sean Baker
Script version: Green Draft, dated April 22, 2023 (for educational purposes only)
Showgirls
1995 | Drama | Feature Film
A mysterious young drifter who calls herself Nomi Malone hitches a ride to Las Vegas, where she finds work as a stripper and sets about clawing her way to the top of the Vegas showgirls. [IMDb]
Written by Joe Eszterhas
Script version: Photocopy, numbered scenes, dated September 30, 1994 (for educational purposes only)
3,000 Miles to Graceland
2001 | Crime | Thriller | Dark Comedy | Feature Film
A gang of ex-cons rob a casino during Elvis convention week. [IMDb]
Written by Demian Lichtenstein and Richard Recco
Script version: Double White Locked Draft, dated March 10, 2000 (for educational purposes only)
