Personal book-bound script for To Kill a Mockingbird (Universal, 1962)....

Description

Personal book-bound script for To Kill a Mockingbird (Universal, 1962). Vintage original 129-page final screenplay, undated, with blue and pink revision pages dated to April 3, 1962. Screenplay by Horton Foote, based on the novel by Harper Lee. The present script was custom-bound for Mr. Peck's personal library in dark green leatherette with title and Mr. Peck's name stamped in gilt on the front board. Spine stamped in gilt with five raised bands. Marbled endpapers. With 38 gelatin silver glossy 7" x 9" production stills from the film tipped to pages bound-in. Some tiny chips to the corner and edges of the binding, with light scuffs to the boards. Fine.

Mr. Peck first met Harper Lee shortly after he accepted the role of portraying "Atticus Finch" in the film adapted from Ms. Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name and the two worked constantly together during the production. The character of "Atticus Finch" was inspired by Ms. Lee's father, Amasa Coleman Lee, and Peck went to great lengths to make sure his portrayal was accurate and did justice to Lee's work.

She was one of the actor's biggest supporters when he was nominated for an Academy Award, and was overjoyed when he won the award for Actor in a Leading Role, and in turn, Mr. Peck shared the recognition, writing in a March 1963 letter to her: "Congratulations on your eight nominations for the Academy Award."

The film also won Oscars for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on material from Another Medium, Horton Foote, and Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, B&W. It received Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress, Best Director, Best Cinematography, B&W, and Best Music, Score-Substantially Original.

Like the book it was based on, the film was incredibly well-received, grossing a reported six times its budget. The film was selected in 1995 for preservation by the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress and the American Film Institute named Atticus Finch the greatest movie hero of the 20th Century.

As a result of their collaboration on the film, Lee and Peck remained lifelong friends and Mr. Peck's grandson is named after her.

Please note that while not a studio presentation script, the present script was custom bound for Mr. Peck's personal library and features his name stamped in gilt on the front board.

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