ABSTRACT
Are screenplays really literature? And do they actually raise any interesting philosophical questions? My aim in this chapter is twofold. First, I want to make a case that many, if not all, screenplays are plausibly literature. Second, I want to show that debates about the screenplay’s literary status have opened up a host of substantive philosophical questions—specifically questions about the ontology of the screenplay: What is the screenplay’s relationship to the finished screen work? Is it a constituent part of that work or is it an autonomous work? Is a screenplay ever complete and, if so, under what conditions? Is there ever a definitive version of a screenplay and, if so, which?
