Paper Towns

Synopsis: Adapted from the bestselling novel by author John Green, PAPER TOWNS is a coming-of-age story centering on Quentin and his enigmatic neighbor Margo, who loved mysteries so much she became one. After taking him on an all-night adventure through their hometown, Margo suddenly disappears - leaving behind cryptic clues for Quentin to decipher. The search leads Quentin and his quick-witted friends on an exhilarating adventure that is equal parts hilarious and moving. Ultimately, to track down Margo, Quentin must find a deeper understanding of true friendship - and true love.
Director(s): Jake Schreier
Production: 20th Century Fox
  4 wins & 3 nominations.
 
IMDB:
6.3
Metacritic:
56
Rotten Tomatoes:
56%
PG-13
Year:
2015
109 min
Website
7,218 Views


The way I figure it,

everyone gets a miracle.

Like, maybe you hit

the Powerball jackpot.

Or a last-second jumper

in the NBA Finals.

Maybe you make it

to outer space...

or marry the Queen of England,

or something.

If you consider

all the unlikely things

that happen

in all the world...

you gotta think

at least one of them

will happen to each of us.

Turns out,

my miracle was different.

Of all the houses

in all the subdivisions

in all the state of Florida...

I wound up living

across the street...

from Margo Roth Spiegelman.

Bring your own lampshade,

somewhere there's a party

Here it's never endin',

can't remember when it started

Pass around the lampshade,

There'll be plenty enough

room in jail

From the

moment I saw her...

I was hopelessly,

madly in love.

If bein' wrong's a crime,

I'm serving forever

If bein' strong's your kind

Then I need help here

with this feather

Due to our

close proximity

in both age and location...

and for no other reason

I could ever discern...

we soon became friends.

If bein' afraid is a crime

we hang side by side

At the swingin' party

down the line

Look.

Quentin.

He's dead.

We should get out

of here, Margo.

I thought you closed

your eyes when you died.

The truth is...

at the time,

it didn't feel like

that big a deal to me.

It's not like I knew the guy.

If I had a panic attack

every time someone

I didn't know died...

I'd go insane.

It was a much

bigger deal to Margo.

I figured it out.

His name is Robert Joyner.

He was 36.

Apparently he was

getting divorced

and he was sad about it.

How do you know all this?

I'm doing an investigation.

Are you in?

Sure.

Great. Come on.

Wait, what?

His wife works at SeaWorld.

I bet there's a clue.

Margo...

we can't go to SeaWorld.

It's almost 11:
00.

I can get us in.

Come on!

I don't wanna

get in trouble.

It's a shame,

don't you think?

All those strings

inside him broke.

Margo always

loved mysteries.

And in everything

that came after,

I could never stop thinking...

maybe she

loved them so much...

she became one.

But I'm getting

ahead of myself.

A lot changed

in the years that followed.

Margo and I sort of...

drifted apart.

But I never stopped

thinking about her...

I'll get it! I'll get it.

...and hoping

I'd get a second chance.

Trick or treat!

Yeah.

- Happy Halloween, guys.

It wasn't just me.

Pretty much

everyone recognized...

Margo was different.

Margo was...

special.

Her life had become a series

of unbelievably

epic adventures.

Each one

too insane to be true.

Like the time

she spent three weeks

traveling with the circus.

Or the time she toured

with the Mallionaires

up and down the East Coast.

Look, if you ask

the bassist...

he's either gonna say

I'm his girlfriend

or he wants me to be...

Either way

I'm going back there...

so you might as well

make it easier for yourself

and just let me in.

And wherever she went...

she always left clues behind

for her little sister, Ruthie.

Or anyone else

she deemed worthy.

I was never

one of those people.

As senior year

drew to a close,

Margo and I

barely talked at all.

It's your senior prom.

I don't understand

the objection.

I have so many

objections, Mom.

Like slow dancing.

And fast dancing.

Any kind of dancing.

And wearing a rented tux.

You could take Suzie Chung.

No, we're not

a thing anymore.

But she was such a nice girl.

What happened with you two?

I don't know, it just...

Just didn't work out.

Hi, Ben. Hi, Radar.

Hi, Mrs. Jacobsen.

Hey, Mrs. Jacobsen.

I would hit that so hard.

I don't see it.

What? Q!

I'm not saying

I just wanna bang your mom.

She should be respected.

Stop.

Admired. You know,

she's a real lady.

Yeah, she's my mom.

I wanna ride bikes with her.

What?

I'd feed her grapes,

take her to Paris.

Treat her like the princess

she is. What, is that wrong?

It's weird.

It's always weird.

I wanna give her a bath.

That's gonna be so...

Oh! Hold on.

Uh-oh.

Hey, honey bunny.

How's prom looking for you?

Not a chance, Bloody Ben.

No.

No!

Freshmen know that story?

When Ben was 12...

he got a kidney infection

and started literally

pissing blood. Oh, God.

By the time he came

back from the hospital...

a rumor had spread through

the entire school...

that his condition

was the result

of chronic masturbation.

I'm never gonna

get a prom date, am I?

Don't worry about it.

Prom is a waste of time

and a waste of money.

Radar's going to prom.

Radar has a girlfriend,

so he has to go to prom.

Lame.

Radar, has she

been to your house yet?

Oh, yeah. Has your girlfriend

come to your house yet?

Stop. Isn't there a certain reason

why she doesn't

come to your house?

Radar, what up with that?

You know very well

"what up with that".

We just like

to hear you say it.

Could you tell us again?

Because of what?

I cannot hear you.

Can you project?

My parents own

the world's largest collection

of black Santas!

Oh, yeah.

You heard that correctly.

Radar's parents

were trying to get into

The Guinness Book

of World Records...

for the largest collection

of black Santas in one house.

There were over a thousand.

And they were everywhere.

And not just at Christmas.

Even so, Radar was

the first one of us

to get a serious girlfriend.

You need a prom date.

Why don't you ask that girl

you slept with at summer camp?

Oh. She's made up.

No, she's not.

But you can ask the girl

from Saskatchewan.

Oh, yeah, you could ask...

Oh, no, she's also made up.

No, they are both real.

Not made up.

Define "real".

- I don't know.

Gotta go.

Hi.

- Hey.

Hey. Let's go.

We have 10 minutes.

No, we're fine. Let's go.

Hi, Angela.

Bye, Angela.

It was nice

talking to you, Angela.

Oh, God. She's great.

Glad we can

have these chats.

So most of my days

were exactly like this.

I threw myself

into my classes...

SATs, extracurriculars.

By the end of high school...

I barely

thought of her at all.

I just had to graduate,

go off to college,

find someone new.

And forget the miracle

ever happened.

And it almost

worked out that way.

Until this one night.

Margo?

Shh.

Margo, hey.

I need to borrow your car.

What?

Your car.

I don't have a car.

I mean your mom's car.

Why can't you use your car?

My parents locked

the keys in the safe

beneath their bed.

And while I'm sure

I could go in there

and crack the combo...

it just so happens that

Myrna Mountweazel's

in there...

and that goddamn dog

despises me.

Anyway, so like I said,

I need to borrow your car.

Mmm-mmm.

Also, I need you

to drive the car...

because I have nine things

I need to do tonight...

and more than half of them

require a getaway driver.

What, are you

committing felonies?

Ooh. Remind me, is breaking

and entering a felony?

Yes. What?

Well.

Margo!

Okay.

I gotta go,

so are you in or out?

Why can't you just get

one of your underlings

to help you out?

Like Jase,

or Lacey, or Becca?

Rate this script:2.0 / 2 votes

Scott Neustadter

Scott Eric Neustadter is an American screenwriter and producer. He often works with his writing partner, Michael H. Weber. The two writers wrote the original screenplays for Days of Summer and The Pink Panther 2. Days of Summer is based on two real relationships Neustadter had. more…

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Submitted on August 05, 2018

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