Screenplay 101: DO THE RIGHT THING

DO THE RIGHT THING wasn't Spike Lee's first movie - it was preceded by the almost-as-excellent SCHOOL DAZE and SHE'S GOTTA HAVE IT, as well as some student work - but it's Spike's only appearance on the WGA 101 list, and an incisive, entertaining slice of racial tensions in immediately-post-Reagan America.

These pages, from a March 1, 1988 draft,  detail the film's inciting incident - a conflict between Buggin' Out (played by Giancarlo Esposito - yes, that Giancarlo Esposito) and pizzeria owner Sal Fragione (played by Danny Aiello). The two drag Mookie (played by Lee) into it, setting the stage for Mookie's internal conflict throughout the film.

Here’s the deal: Throughout 2014, we’re posting pages from every script on the WGA’s list of the 101 Greatest Screenplays, as chosen by Guild membership, because we have every one in our library. Sure, we have other scripts that didn’t make it onto the list, either because they didn’t make the cut or because they were produced after the list was generated (presumably SHARKNADO, which we totally have a copy of, is only in the latter category).