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Monday, October 24, 2016

Allured – Short Script Review (Available for Production) - post author Rustom Irani

Allured (pdf format) by Pii (Π) Anttonen

An eerie castle, dribbling candles, a lost officer and a bunch of ghosts. You know… the usual stuff.

“What is a ghost? A tragedy condemned to repeat itself time and again?” – From Guillermo Del Torro’s “El Espinazo Del Diablo”

There’s something truly tragic about Ghosts. More than zombies, monsters and human serial kllers, ghosts feed on a viewer’s empathy. Phantasms that were once human… now condemned to suffer in eternity. When faced with a creature such as this, how can one not feel sympathy?

Especially with classic ghost tales, like Allured. Set in an Austrian castle, the script opens as Sergeant Franz stumbles to the door, battle beaten and weary. Although Franz is a stranger to the household, old servant Frederich lets him in – offering shelter from the war. The caretaker leads Franz towards an upstairs bedroom. He’s watching it for his master’s return, he tells his guest. They’re the sole inhabitants of the castle: Franz is sure to get some uninterrupted sleep.

Or will he?

Shortly after turning in for the night, Franz encounters a strange woman in his bed.* When he attempts to wake her, his hand goes through her body! He races to Frederich’s quarters to inform him of the intruder. But Frederich insists it was a dream – and implores the sergeant to go back to sleep. Needless to say, sleep proves to be… elusive. When Franz returns to his room, the woman is gone. But children’s footsteps echo in the hall. And then there are the sounds downstairs. Almost like a – party? Franz heads for the dining room to confront his fears, unsure what he’ll find…

Though once a staple of the horror genre, ghost stories have become a rare breed. Stylishly written with a touch of humor, Allured harkens back to a classier time in movies. When films were shot in black and white… and curtains blowing in the breeze brought a tingle to one’s spine. Perhaps that time has come again: in a cinematic world filled with slasher and torture porn shorts, Allured would be sure to stand out in festivals!

* Sleeping. That’s it! This is a classic ghost tale, folks – get your minds out of the gutter!

Pages: 8

Budget: Not quite as impossible as it seems. While the castle location, costumes and extras may seem daunting for production purposes, there are plenty of possible “cheats.” If skillfully applied, stock footage, generic “stone wall” spaces and just a touch of camera tricks could be all the set you need!

About the writer: Pii Anttonen (first name pronounced like Π, not like the bathroom activity) was previously known by some other name and while being being busy with that, edited the Voice Over online scriptwriting magazine, worked on several virtual shows, won a Simply Scripts One Week Challenge once and had some shorts produced. These days her writing duties consist mainly of writing on commission for production companies and groups, knowing full well that it’s unlikely that anything will see the light of day, but accepts that that kind of is what the scriptwriting job is. She can be reached at pii.anttonen (a) gmail.com!

About the reviewer: A film and video aficionado based in Mumbai, Rustom Irani works as a freelance editor and screenwriter for projects ranging from narratives, commercials, and documentaries to corporate and music videos. His website is available at PlanetRusty.com, and he can be reached at rustyirani “AT” gmail.com!

Read Allured (pdf format)

Find other scipts available for production

This screenplay may not be used or reproduced for any purpose including educational purposes without the expressed written permission of the author.

Sunday, October 23, 2016

Original Script Sunday for October 23rd - post author Don

Over on the Unproduced Scripts page are twenty four original script for your reading pleasure.

On the discussion board, Readers Choice voting has opened up, so if you’ve finished reading most (if not all) the excellent scripts of the October One Week Challenge you may select which one or more scripts you found enjoyable.

– Don

Happy Halloween from Dena and Pia – Pumpkin Nightmare II - post author Don

Pumpkin Nightmare II from Indie Me on Vimeo.

Saturday, October 22, 2016

Til Death – Short Script Review (Available for Production) - post author The Merrows

’Til Death (pdf format) by Rick Hansberry

A marital tiff erupts to epic proportions…

Married couples can find s-o-o-o many things to bicker about. Toilet seat up, toilet seat down, stop hogging the covers, I-don’t-like-the-panties-drying-on-the-rod*. You know, that sort of thing.

For Paul and Jenna, it’s the fancy towels — specifically, how could Paul have had the audacity to actually use them, when he knows damn well they were Jenna’s favorite wedding gift!

In this wildly humorous short, award winning screenwriter Rick Hansberry zeroes in on just how crazy domestic skirmishes can get. As the battle lines in this tale are drawn, Paul and Jenna find every possible way to push each others’ buttons: power tools, flushing the toilet while the shower’s being used, and multiple viewings of Sex and the City (oh, the Humanity!) Reminiscent of Woody Allen or Neil Simon, the snarky, quick witted dialogue escalates to def-con four quickly. It begins with a raging thunderstorm – and ends with a wild-west shootout. Including cleavage. And power tools.

A sneering, jeering bundle of fun, ‘Til Death is totally character driven, and super simple to produce. Did we mention relatable? Well, for some of us it is… 🙂

Pages: 5

Budget: Micro.

About the writer: Rick Hansberry has written/produced several short films, including the SAG Foundation award-winning Branches. He teaches screenwriting seminars and workshops in the Central Pennsylvania area and is presently available for hire for new story ideas, rewrites and adaptations. He can be reached at djrickhansberry – AT – msn, (cell phone 717-682-8618). IMDB credits.

About the reviewers: Scott & Paula Merrow are a husband and wife screenwriting team. Since 2006, they’ve written over 50 short screenplays, several of which have been produced. They tend toward family-friendly scripts, but they’ve written a little bit of everything: horror, fantasy, sci-fi, comedy,… the whole nine yards. They’re reachable at scott-paula “AT” comcast.net

* Especially during that time of month, when my friends are coming over for the game.

Read ‘Til Death (pdf format)

Find other scipts available for production

This screenplay may not be used or reproduced for any purpose including educational purposes without the expressed written permission of the author.

Friday, October 21, 2016

Award season continues with “Manchester By The Sea” and “Love and Friendship” - post author Don

Amazon Studios is next out the gate with:

Manchester By The Sea – March 10, 2015 final draft script by Kenneth Lonergan

Love and Friendship – May 22, 2015 Partially conformed shooting script by Whit Stillman (adapted from Jane Austen’s Love & Friendship -or- The Spirit of Jealousy & Perversity of Malice)

You will find these and more on the Scripts Studios are Posting for 2016 – 2017 Script Award Consideration page.

Congratulations to Sean Chipman – Christmas Story to be filmed - post author Don

Christmas Story by Sean Chipman

To be filmed as Christmas Eve between December 2nd through December 14th.

Christmas Story (pdf) started out as a 7 Week Challenge Script* written by Sean & Robert Chipman

A botched Christmas Eve liquor store robbery leads down a destructive path for a cop trying to reconcile with his estranged mother, an alcoholic mall Santa, a mentally unhinged man, his vindictive fiancé and her secret lover.

A few years later it was revised as Christmas Story (pdf)

Be sure and like the Facebook page and talk about it on the Discussion Board

*The 7 Week Challenge is a writing challenge wherein writers come up with a feature script in 7 weeks.

Frankenstein screenplay by Max Landis - post author Don

On the lookout for Horror Scripts over on the Movie Scripts page. First off we have:

Frankenstein – May 23, 2015, second draft script by Max Landis – hosted by: Frankenstein – in pdf format

Radical scientist Victor Frankenstein and his equally brilliant protégé Igor Strausman share a noble vision of aiding humanity through their groundbreaking research into immortality. But Victor’s experiments go too far, and his obsession has horrifying consequences. Only Igor can bring his friend back from the brink of madness and save him from his monstrous creation.

Information courtesy of imdb.com

Thursday, October 20, 2016

Award season continues with Zootopia - post author Don

Award Season Continues…

We continue posting links to the scripts that the studios are posting for award consideration. Award season continues with Disney Studios.

Zootopia – June 21, 2016 unspecified draft script by Jared Bush & Phil Johnston

You will find this and more on the Scripts Studios are Posting for 2016 – 2017 Script Award Consideration page.

Mendelevium – Short Script Review (Available for Production) - post author The Merrows

Mendelevium (pdf format) by Erich VonHeeder

A “Battle of the Bands” helps two lead singers find love.

Mendelevium. It’s a synthetic element on the Periodic Table. Atomic Number: 101.

Don’t let the title lead you astray. There’s little science in Erich Von Heeder’s script, Mendelevium.

But tons of chemistry.

Incredibly engaging, Mendelevium is totally character-driven: an interview of Delores and Levi, two lead singers in rival punk rock bands.

When the couple first meet, it’s hate at first sight – an animosity of biblical proportions. As Delores articulates: “I was overcome with hatred for him. Like deep, blinding…” A helpful Levi completes the thought: “Murderous. Murderous hatred.”

…a hatred which escalates to an on-stage scuffle, after Delores throws a pound of cocaine at Levi. Followed by a night in jail. Talk about auspicious first dates!

“Where did you get a pound of cocaine?” their puzzled interviewer queries.

“Where do fish get scales?” Delores replies. “I don’t know. I’m a rock star, dude.”

Holding hands, the couple reminisce about their whirlwind romance, shortly after making bail. Delores: “We were hotter than a pequin pepper. A rare pepper that grows in the remote Andes Mountains of Chile, and if you even touch it to your mouth you die.”

Levi rolls his eyes. “Doesn’t exist,” he confides to the camera.

Imagine a punk rock reboot of When Harry Met Sally… that’s Mendelevium in a nutshell. Packed with witty dialogue, the script is funny, fresh – a standout vignette of two non-conformists in love. As Levi says, “Love’s a jester, man.” And a script like this is bound to shine.

Pages: 5

Budget: Low-medium. All that’s needed is an interview room, an indie rock “stage”, a handful of crowd extras – and a couple with great chemistry.

About the writer: A humble denizen of Seattle (home of some amazing rock bands) talented writer Erich VonHeeder can be reached at erich_vonheeder(a)yahoo.com

About the reviewers: Scott & Paula Merrow are a husband and wife screenwriting team. Since 2006, they’ve written over 50 short screenplays, several of which have been produced. They tend toward family-friendly scripts, but they’ve written a little bit of everything: horror, fantasy, sci-fi, comedy,… the whole nine yards. They’re reachable at scott-paula(a)comcast.net

Read Mendelevium (pdf format)

Find more scripts available for production

This screenplay may not be used or reproduced for any purpose including educational purposes without the expressed written permission of the author.

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