Inception (2010) - Shooting Script and Nolan’s hand-drawn plot map - Syncopy

Inception (2010) Movie script (Copy)

Complete Shooting Screenplay with 182 pages and Nolan’s hand-drawn plot map
Directed and written by Christopher Nolan

Christopher Nolan’s hand-drawn plot map for Inception is an extraordinary artifact that offers a rare glimpse into the meticulous, almost architectural way he structures his films. Is presented as a two-page, diptych-style layout, giving a clear, side-by-side view of the film’s intricate structure.

Nolan included a copy in the final Inception shooting script to help the actors understand where their characters were within the film’s complex dream layers. By seeing the map alongside the script, the cast could track the timing, spatial relationships and emotional stakes of each scene across multiple dream levels.

Known for crafting narratives with multiple layers of time, memory and perspective, Nolan used this map to organize the complex dream-within-a-dream structure of Inception (2010). Each layer, character arc and temporal shift is plotted visually, allowing him to track how events in one dream level affect the others—a method that highlights his precision and clarity as a storyteller.

Inception is a 2010 science fiction action film written and directed by Christopher Nolan, who also produced the film with Emma Thomas, his wife. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a professional thief who steals information by infiltrating the subconscious of his targets. He is offered a chance to have his criminal history erased, as payment for the implantation of another person's idea into a target's subconscious. The ensemble cast includes Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Elliot Page, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Tom Berenger, Dileep Rao and Michael Caine.

Did you know?

Our scripts come directly from the USA. They are easy to recognize because they have the standard U.S. paper size. Typically, people use A4-sized paper (297mm in height) to make fan copies of scripts. This paper size is not used in the United States; they use letter-sized paper (279mm in height). This is noticeable because this scripts usually have black lines at the top and bottom, showing that the original paper size used to copy (any American script) is smaller than A4.

Also, our scripts have been preserved under the strictest climate control standards in HVAC-R conditions, both during storage and throughout the packaging process. As a result, a label is applied after sealing them, as shown in the photos. They are bound in the same way that vault copies of scripts are preserved, without any oxidizable materials that could damage the paper. They are carefully packed in bubble wrap and placed in a cardboard box to ensure they arrive in the best possible condition.