Connie's Warwick Davis Fanpage and Leprechaun Center

Leprechaun Script

Preproduction script by Mark Jones (Four-Leaf Productions/Purple Tree Productions) dated August 23, 1991 (Full Run):

  • Part 1 - The Beginning through Ozzie's Discovery of the Leprechaun
  • Part 2 - No One Believes Ozzie through Coming Home to a Messy House
  • Part 3 - Cleaning Up through Skateboarding Lep
  • Part 4 - The Fight Continues through The End
The more interesting variations from the movie are marked in red, but I recommend that you read the whole thing!

This is an original pre-production draft of the Lep 1 screenplay that was previously part of the personal collection of Dave Tripet, the movie's executive in charge of production, who did all the things a producer would do and served as liaison between the studio and the production. This was the script that got the ball rolling! This is a rare item - these usually get tossed out as as different-colored pages containing revisions are added to the script as shooting progresses. It's clear that this one got a lot of use - the lime green cover has some writing in the corner, some small smudges and stains, a crease along the side, and 'Leprechaun 1' written on the spine in black marker - but it's still in remarkably good condition.

In addition to his importance behind the scenes, Dave Tripet had a rather surprising influence in front of the camera as well. The cop who meets his demise at the Leprechaun's hands is named Deputy Tripet. The character was named after Dave as a matter of convenience when it was time to get legal clearance for the script; they wanted to avoid accidentally naming him after any actual law enforcement officers, and it appears that there isn't a 'Deputy Tripet' in the real world. There also isn't a 'Deputy Tripet' in this version of the script. It looks like maybe the character was in an earlier script with a different name, then was cut in this version and added back later. There's a 'Deputy Perillo' who's briefly introduced in Scene 60 but doesn't do anything except for very brief and incomprehensible appearances in Scenes 73 and 77 that look like an error in the script.

Dave Tripet as the Security Guard

Dave also had an unplanned and uncredited role in the movie as the sleeping security guard at the nursing home. During the filming of pickup scenes and reshoots, it was decided to put someone in the nursing home that Tory would have to sneak past. The actor who was hired for the job didn't show up, and Dave was the only person on the set who could fit into the uniform. They liked his boots, too!

According to GoreZone #24, Trimark insisted on taking some of the comedy out of the movie to make sure that it would get an R rating. Scenes that were filmed and later cut included the Leprechaun driving the police car, wearing the cop's hat and eating donuts, and a scene where the Leprechaun has treadmarks on his body after being run over. The cop isn't in this version of the script so you won't find the Police Lep here, but the treadmark scene is present along with a number of other little humorous moments.

In this version of the script, Tory is a pretty bland character; her spoiled Valley Girl act wears off after about five minutes and she's all sweetness and light after that. Her crankiness in the movie isn't exactly appealing, but it's an improvement over her niceness here!

When I marked variations from the movie in red, I mainly confined myself to humorous moments that I especially liked and deleted scenes that didn't have any parallel in the movie. But the group's battles with the Leprechaun make for entertaining reading - although the overall flavor is the same as the movie, many of the details are quite different!