screenplay

[skreen-pley]

noun

1. a motion-picture or television scenario.

2. Older Use.,  a motion picture.

screenplay

/ ˈskriːnˌpleɪ /

noun

1. the script for a film, including instructions for sets and camera work

Word History and Origins

Origin of screenplay¹

First recorded in 1915–20; screen + play

Example Sentences

It’s at this impasse that Freyne and Cunnane’s screenplay starts to spin its wheels trying to find the right intersection between comedy and romance.

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As directed by James Griffiths, Mr. Basden and Mr. Key’s screenplay hearkened back to “Local Hero” with its warm glow of appreciation for U.K. oddballs.

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Even more heartbreaking is who constructs the road itself: “The captured animals are now being forced to work slave labor,” said Winnie Holzman, who wrote the screenplay with Dana Fox.

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His writing process always begins with talking to people, he says — in this case those involved in politics and governance at varying levels — and eventually a screenplay emerges.

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He added that Dahl's inventiveness came up in his children's books and the Bond screenplay.

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Related Words

• cinema 
• feature 
• film 
• flick 
• motion picture 
• picture 
• show 
• videotape