The Final Piece (4 pages in pdf format) by Ryan Lee

A lonely old woman loves nothing more than completing her jigsaw puzzles. But when a mysterious box arrives on her doorstep one night, her life is about to take a horrifying turn.

The “final piece” referred to in the title of this chilling screenplay is a simple jigsaw puzzle piece. Or so we think, as this unsettling tale unfolds…

The creepiness starts early as we meet 67-year-old Margot who lives by herself in a “lonely domicile that sits at the edge of a thick forest.” It’s the dead of night, and gusts of wind sway the trees in the dark woods outside her window.

An eerie, foreboding setting; yet inside the house all seems cheery. Margot sits in her kitchen finishing her latest jigsaw puzzle: a charming and colorful French garden scene. She pops in the final piece and sighs, “So easy. Where’s the challenge?”

Where, indeed?

And as she puts the dissembled puzzle away, we begin to understand the old woman’s disappointment — her cabinet is filled with dozens and dozens of puzzles. Remnants of a passion gone on too long. Margot needs something – some excitement – to take its place.

All she can do is wait. But not very long.

Later – as she prepares for bed – Margot hears a thump downstairs. She creeps down, turns on the light… to find a mysterious package near her front door. No return address. No writing at all. She opens it: it’s a jigsaw puzzle. A temptation she can’t resist; Margot starts on it immediately.

But as puzzle pieces fall into place, she sees a strange scene take shape. It’s her kitchen. All the familiar things are there. She adds more pieces to the puzzle, and curiosity turns to terror. In the puzzle, she sees herself at the table. She’s being watched – in some eerie way.

The last two pieces reveal the most shocking detail of all – the silhouette of a man in the window behind her, holding an axe. She snaps around just in time to see a glimpse of something. But it fades away into the shadows before Margot can get a better view.

Which is when the lights go out.

Blinded by darkness, Margot hears creaking footsteps on the porch. The front door opens. Followed by heavy breathing.

So what does the title really refer to? Perhaps a puzzle of a different sort. Has Margot put together her last picture? Or found a challenge truly worth her while?

Budget: Low. A few rooms in a modest house. Two actors. And lots of creepiness. Perfect for a filmmaker with a limited budget.

About the Writer: Living in CA, Ryan Lee can be contacted via ryanlee1800 AT yahoo. His IMDB credits can be viewed here.

About the Guest Reviewer: Helen Magellan (a pseudonym) is a successful screenwriter with several produced short scripts under her belt.

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Dixie Gash Bandits (8 pages in pdf format) by C.J. Walley

When they stop to fix their get-a-way vehicle, two runaway sisters must tackle both love at first sight and the bounty hunters hot on their tail.

I believe Mr. Torrance said it best when he tapped: “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” Pulling for good to triumph over evil is human nature. Rooting for and wanting to be the bad guys once in awhile – it’s just fun. Especially when they’re on the run.

Butch and Sundance riding from state to state. Bonnie and Clyde driving from bank to bank. Thelma and Louise flying in their T-Bird to a better life. We all have an inner want to be the one pushing the pedal to the floor, thumbing authority as we streak down the highway.

In the opening scene of CJ Walley’s “Dixie Gash Bandits,” a Mustang blazes down said highway through the night and we know we’re in for a helluva ride. The car is being pushed to the limit by Savannah, whose sister Ginger implores her to ease up on the gas and give their stallion a break. No way Savannah’s giving in. And no way these women are going back or stopping for whatever’s chasing.

The stage is set for the entire story in less than half a page. Brilliant.

            GINGER
You’re pushin’ too hard.

            SAVANNAH
Baby, you run fast enough for long
enough, people have to stop chasin’.

            GINGER
Yeah, and if you run too fast or push too hard,
you crash and burn. You’re burnin’ us up.
They’re running on empty and troubles a comin’.

Savannah spots a lonely and much-needed gas station “with small store and a rusting hut workshop” and pulls the tired ‘Stang into its lot. Is this gas station an oasis or their final resting place? Or neither?

A mechanic, Bobby, saunters out. He stares a little too long at Savannah. Instant connection.

            BOBBY
What can I do you for?

The Mustang hisses, steam erupts, a definite foreshadowing of the steam to come after Savannah admits “we got cash flow problems.” Soon after, she and Bobby crash as one into the workshop, kissing, groping and unbuttoning.

Not too far off in the horizon, relentless and ruthless bounty hunters Colt (what an awesome name for a “suited and booted” good old boy) and Jessie are hot on the sisters’ trail, questioning a man about Savannah and Ginger’s whereabouts when…BANG! Question time is over. Man slumps.

            COLT
Now that was an overreaction.

            JESSIE
No, that was a waste of time. Now
what? I’m getting impatient.

You won’t lose patience racing through the rest of this tightly-woven tale as Jessie and Colt catch up to the runaways at their gas station. The story ends with multiple bangs as all five characters find themselves in a bloody shootout leaving just two survivors.

Do Savannah and Ginger go down in a blaze of glory a la Butch and Sundance? Do they go out on their own terms like Thelma and Louise? Or, do they write their own classic ending? I’m guessing you know which and you also know this superbly-written story will find a director faster then you can type “All work and no play….”

Budget: Find a kick-ass Mustang and a rusty old gas station and call ‘er a day, partner.

About the writer, C.J. Walley: I began writing in 2012 and I’m pleased to say it’s been very exciting so far. I have been fortunate enough to have a short produced by a director in London and Amazon Studios have spotlighted one of my features as a notable project. My scripts place within the top 10% of various major screenwriting competitions and, as I continue to write new specs, I am remotely collaborating with a producers, directors, and actors in LA, NYC, New Orleans, Atlanta, Washington DC, Zurich, Amsterdam, Sydney, and Dallas while occasionally blogging for Stage 32. If you’re an aspiring filmmaker, then I’d love to join forces with you whatever the scale, do not hesitate to reach out and drop me a line. CJ “AT” CJwalley DOT COM; http://www.cjwalley.com

About the reviewer: Zack Zupke is a writer in Los Angeles. Zack was a latch-key kid (insert “awww” here) whose best friend was a 19-inch color television (horrific, he knows). His early education (1st grade on) included watching countless hours of shows like “M*A*S*H,” “Star Trek” and “The Odd Couple” and movies like “The Godfather,” “Rocky” and “Annie Hall.” Flash forward to present day and his short “The Confession” was recently produced by Trident Technical College in Charleston, SC. He’s currently working on a futuristic hitman thriller with a partner and refining a dramedy pilot perfect for the likes of FX. You can reach Zack at zzupke “at” yahoo.

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The Relief 10 pages in pdf format by Jean-Pierre Chapoteau

A sick woman reaches out to a wealthy man to negotiate a few terms for the cure to her “disease”.

If you’ve studied film, or have a great love of it, you will be well versed in the five elements required to create a visual masterpiece – narrative, cinematography, sound, editing, and mise-en-scene – that all important collaboration between director, actors, cinematographer, design, sound, lighting, make up, set builders etc.

Now, you can recruit all the experts on board you like, employ fancy jump-cuts, overlay a heart thumping soundtrack, color your film palette in post, but if it’s not happening on the page it’s likely all that is going to result is style over substance.

I can assure you it’s all happening on the page in Jean-Pierre Chapoteau’s screenplay, The Relief, starting with an opening scene which sets the tone in terms of that intangible element we call ‘atmosphere’, along with some very nasty creep factor.

Crisolla, a woman in her thirties, stands in front of a mirror in the bathroom of a Chinese restaurant, a picture of herself on the countertop.

What follows is unsettling, intriguing, and quite a bit urgh…

Hunched over the sink, Crisolla holds a thin, straw-like tube underneath her shirt.

The tube is attached to a small box on the sink. The box PUTTERS.

The putter slows. Crisolla removes the tube, which has a sharp end.

She tucks her equipment in her purse.

What the hell just happened? And, what is this woman doing? At this point there’s a temptation to look away, and that’s just from the written word… Just imagine what you could do with a camera and… Sorry, I’m getting ahead of myself.

Crisolla joins her boyfriend Leon back at the table and they sit down to a nice dinner.

Thank God, everything’s back to normal…

A discussion ensues between the two, there’s talk of their four month anniversary. Leon is a man of means, his watch cost more than most people’s cars. He’d very much like to cement his union with Crisolla and have her move in with him. But Crisolla has other things on her mind – actually, she seems more preoccupied with her appetite – than she is with any potential carnal desires.

She’s just hoeing into a nice juicy steak, right? Okay, it’s a little on the blue side but there’s nothing wrong with that; everyone likes it rare these days, don’t they?

Upon leaving the restaurant, however, we are now suddenly plunged into a world of:

Soldiers, barricades and checkpoints – there’s an immediate sense of dread, a dystopian feel to this world. A surreal tone is evoked and the temperature has just dropped to chill factor.

When Leon questions a guard’s apparent lax attitude towards Crisolla’s ID papers:

            SOLDIER
We know each other from mutual
acquaintances.

            LEON
…oh. My apologies. I’m a primary
donor to the cause, so you can see
where my concern lies.

We immediately wonder, whose side are you on Leon?

And, ‘primary donor’ of what? What’s the cause Leon speaks of?

My immediate reaction is: What the high hell is going on here?

There are more questions posed too, and they’re all of a very dark nature.

Crisolla is still hungry, but not for what you might imagine. Poor old Leon’s had his offer of cohabitation turned down and now he’s left begging for a good night kiss. He leaves, or rather he’s given short shrift and sent packing.

Alone now in her apartment, the tension ramps up further with the reappearance of the ‘box’, the ‘tube’, and the ‘brown’ sludge. Not only that, but what’s with Crisolla’s weird pre-bedtime ritual of slathering herself from head to foot in some very weird gunk and then lowering herself into a bath of…

Okay, I’ll leave it right there, if you want to know more you’re just going to have to delve deeper yourself.

Filmmakers: Are you a fan of television show, Black Mirror, and of movies Under The Skin and Fight Club? Are you searching for gritty, dark and edgy? Do you want to create atmospheric magic on screen? Look no further.

Take a walk on the dark side with: The Relief.

Budget: Moderate. A few scenes/settings. But nothing unreasonable.

About the writer: Jean-Pierre Chapoteau started writing feature length scripts in 2005 then focused on shorts in 2009. Since then he’s had three scripts produced and two more optioned. He has won several awards for his shorts and has become a moderator at the site MoviePoet, who specialize in the craft of the short scripts. Jean-Pierre was a finalist in the RAW TALENT Competition for his faith based feature length script: ‘Far From Perfect.’ And was also a semi-finalist in the SLAMDANCE teleplay competition and a finalist in the OBSWRITER teleplay contest for his adapted teleplay, Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Guardian. You can contact Jean-Pierre Chapoteau at: jeanpierre425 (a) gmail.com

About the reviewer: L. Chambers has been writing all her life – especially in her head, and on scraps of paper. It’s only in the last few years she began to get serious about screen-writing. Prior to this she worked in the Features Department for ABC TV as a Program Assistant, and trained as a FAD. She currently works as a freelance web-content editor and lives with her husband (also a screenwriter) in Sydney, Australia.

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On The Job Training 1 page in pdf format by Tim Westland

Two grave diggers bond over their work

In its entirety, the world’s shortest novel runs just six words. SIX WORDS; words that relay so much – in so short a span – that more story’s simply not needed. Granted, the details are left to the reader. But six words paint the broad picture. Though not entirely accurate, the tale’s often attributed to Ernest Hemingway. And the novel itself reads like a lesson in brevity:

“For Sale: Baby Shoes, never worn.”

Succinct writing isn’t a gift, or just a useful trick of the literary trade. No – it’s an absolute must when writing for the screen. And good screenwriters learn the ropes quickly: de-flower your adjectives, obliterate your “wrylies.” As an art form, scriptwriting requires a scribe to be dead-on point at all times; strategically detailed in each word they write. And that’s what separates screenwriters from authors. You see, screenwriters don’t need three hundred pages to tell a tale. In fact, in the case of “On The Job Training”, Tim Westland needed only one.

You got that right. A single page. Top to bottom, left to right. Start to Fade Out and Finish. The whole script – in one page. As it opens, Westland’s story follows two men toiling away in a cemetery… absorbed in the task of digging a grave. We quickly learn their names, and ages. And dialogue fills in missing pieces. More aspects are quickly implied: one man is clearly more experienced at this work. His younger successor frets about performing well on the job. Yet it’s what hides in the shadows of sentences that really matters in the end. Resulting in a story that starts long before FADE IN, and lingers on a reader’s mind after Westland’s world FADES TO BLACK. A truly great story – and a prime example of a writer’s craft.

Production: Cast 3 – two grave diggers and one corpse. Location – Dirt. Budget: Minimal.

About the writer Tim Westland is an award winning writer whose many scripts have consistently place in the Semi/Quarter finals in Page, Bluecat, and Screencraft. His screenplay, OBeast, co-authored with frequent writing partner Rod Thompson, finished in the Top 10 of ScreenCraft’s 2017 Horror contest. OBeast is also a 2017 iHorror.com finalist. Tim is also the co-author of the acclaimed horror comic/graphic novel (and screenplay), Chasing the Dead, published by IDW.

About the reviewer: Rod Thompson is an award winning, produced screenwriter of both shorts and features. His tally includes one produced feature length film, four produced short films, a Table Read My Screenplay genre win for Best Drama, a BlueCat Quarter-finalist placing, two NAFF Quarter-finalists and one Semi-finalist placing.”Contact Rod at RodThompson1980 “AT” gmail.com

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Go Fish (9 pages in pdf format) by Kirsten James

Two young boys play cards and drink a beer in their father’s hunting cabin until the reality of their day unexpectedly catches up with them.

It’s the 1930’s, but it could be any time. Two young boys, Samuel and Henry, best friends, play Go Fish to pass the time. The winner of a hand gets a pull on a bottle of beer. Who’s going to know? Just the two of them alone in a cabin. Or are they alone?

*Spoilers*

Grandpa is in the cellar and Grandpa ain’t Grandpa anymore. Grandpa is a werewolf and he’s very angry. As you progress through the story you realize this isn’t two boys hanging out in Dad’s hunting cabin. There is a deeper story and threat that they must deal with or wait out before they can leave.

Production: Budget: Medium to Low depending on how creative you are with the werewolf; Location: One – hunting cabin; Cast: Two young boys, one werewolf.

About the Writer: Kirsten James is an aspiring screenwriter in her early 40’s, originally from NZ, living in the USA. She started writing short stories 2 years ago, and after a year learned that she was more geared to writing scripts. Kirsten has a degree in psychology and finds this a great asset to her writing.

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Marguerite (17 pages in PDF format) by John P. Dowgin

An aging diva finds her cherished voice failing her – with a treacherous understudy waiting in the wings. But she has a few magical tricks up her sleeve…

“The devil’s voice is sweet to hear.” — Stephen King, Needful Things, 1991.

But it’s not the devil’s voice that takes center stage in “Marguerite,” a short script by John P. Dowgin — it’s Marguerite’s own voice, although there’s clearly some devilry going on behind the scenes. “Marguerite” is a modern Gothic horror tale rife with jealousy and treachery and the lust for fame and fortune. And voodoo.

Marguerite Woolsley is an aging African-American diva who will stop at nothing to preserve her youth… and her voice. She’s set to make her triumphant comeback in a modern revival of Scott Joplin’s opera, “Treemonisha,” which tells the tale of slave life on a southern plantation in the 1800s. But the title character is an 18-year-old woman, and Marguerite is in her 60s. As the screenplay tells us, “Her age shows even under stage makeup, but cannot dim her presence.” More important for an opera singer, though, is her voice, and it’s not what it once was. During a dress rehearsal she tries to hit a high “C” and her voice cracks. “The note she hits is not only clearly wrong, it’s not even close.” The producers panic, but not Marguerite. A little dose of voodoo — some candles, animals skulls, a necklace made of bones, and thirteen dead crows — and voila! Her voice is sweet again. As sweet as, well… the devil’s.

But Marguerite’s understudy, Therese, has plans of her own. And some voodoo of her own, too. Like a predator sensing weakness, she strikes, sabotaging Marguerite’s voodoo talisman, her gris-gris bag, and we watch as Marguerite withers. First her voice goes, and then, when we last see Marguerite, “Her face is ancient skin stretched over bone. Her eyes have recessed into her skull.”

And Therese is set for her “triumphant debut” in “Treemonisha.”

But there’s voodoo, and there’s voodoo. And when Marguerite’s gnarled hand reaches into her hidden voodoo shrine and retrieves the ancient book, the mysterious pearl box, and the magic red powder, it can only mean one thing…

…not so fast, Therese!

Budget: Rather high, but manageable, and definitely worth every penny. Locations (e.g., the Metropolitan Opera House) and some aging effects would be the most expensive budget items. If they were simulated somehow, the overall budget would be moderate.

About the writer: John P. Dowgin is a playwright, screenwriter, director and actor, as well as a founding member of the production company The Porch Room (porchroom.com) for whom he directed the original work ‘Antony & Cleopatra: Infinite Lives” at the 2013 New York International Fringe Festival. Two of John’s plays have been published in the compilation “Accidents Happen” by Samuel French, and have been performed in New York, Los Angeles, Indianapolis, Toronto, Dublin, and Australia. A number of his screenplays are also in ‘development’, which he suspects to be a theoretical dimension like Oz. He lives in New Jersey with his wife and son.

About the guest reviewer: Helen Magellan (a pseudonym) is a successful screenwriter with several produced short scripts under her belt.

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Incident on I-95 (5 pages in PDF format) by Fred Perry

The arrival of an ominous stranger shatters the serenity of an idyllic American town.

It’s often thought Utopian societies are the way to go. In a time where the O-zone is depleted, terrorists could be living in the apartment below you, and there’s something scary on the news every day – it’s nice to imagine a world where peace, health, and tranquility reign.

One day – humanity dreams – the perfect world will exist. But is that truly possible? After all, one of the greatest contributors to Chaos is the nature of humanity itself. Humans – no matter how peaceful, clean, and healthy their environment – are at heart wild animals ready to strike. Especially when confronted with something they deem threatening.

The soul of Utopian SF is dark satire. And Fred Perry’s Incident on I-95’s got that. In spades.

Picture if you will: a man disembarks from a bus. A stranger out for an innocent walk, and on snowy peaceful night…

As Incident heads towards its crescendo, the man strolls casually through lanes and alleyways. Taking in the serenity of a small, perfect town. But his wanderings are about to take a turn for the worse – into the hands of a bloodthirsty, angry mob. As to what triggers the violence? Read the script. Because this is one satisfying twist you’ll never guess…

A simplistic story wrapped in rich, deep visuals, Incident on I-95 is a joy to read. All the way from its soothing beginnings, to the thought provoking climatic end!

Budget: Moderate. A quick shot of a bus, and small-town streets. Lots of extra for the crowd.

About the writer, Fred Perry: Fred Perry has worked as a screenwriter in Europe, Mexico and the U.S., co-authoring six feature films for Omega Entertainment, Athens, Greece, as well as collaborating on multiple projects with Alfonso Arau (director of LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE and A WALK IN THE CLOUDS).

Fred’s screenplays have won numerous awards. His dark comedy short, FIVE DAYS IN CALCUTTA, won the Grand Prize in the 2014 Palm Street Films Screenplay Competition (shorts category), 1st Place at the 2014 Richmond International Film Festival (comedy screenplay genre), 1st Place, 2013 Fresh Voices Screenplay Competition (shorts), the Grand Prize, 2014 American Movie Awards (shorts), 1st, 2013 DC Shorts Film Festival and Screenplay Competition, 1st, 82nd (2013) Annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competition (subsequently published), the Gold Prize in the 2013 Hollywood Screenplay Competition (shorts), and 1st in the 2012 PAGE International Screenplay Awards (shorts). The script will shoot this January, directed by Dawn Fields of Palm Street Films.

His feature sci-fi script, CROSSINGS won the Grand Jury Award for Best Feature Screenplay at the 2014 Richmond International Film Festival, 1st at the 2014 Omaha Film Festival, 1st in the 9th annual Filmmakers International Screenplay Competition, 1st in the 2013 Holiday Screenplay Competition, and was a semifinalist in the 2013 Academy Nicholl Fellowships.

He is a published playwright, his two-act, THE ASCENSION OF TWYLA POTTS, winning the 2013 London Film Festival (stage play category), and earning the Special Marquee Award at this year’s American Film Awards. Fred has also written and directed plays at the Colony Theatre in Los Angeles and the Carrollwood Players Theatre in Tampa Bay.

About the reviewer, Rod Thompson: I have been writing creatively since I learned how to write. There is just something about telling a story that I can never get over. Storytelling in itself is like an old flame that occasionally comes to me and just says, “Use me.” The ability to watch a movie through words, or to craft a world in such a manner is the closest to Godliness that man will ever come. True story. Contact Rod at RodThompson1980 “AT” gmail.com

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Hello (20 pages in PDF format) by Rick Hansberry

Interesting what you can find in used bookstores – and often there’s a reason it’s there.

The genre “drama”; as a classification, it tends to be simplistic. Because underneath that ever-so-wide umbrella are a multitude of shades and layers. Thriller dramas: dealing with mysteries, plot turns… the penultimate ticking clock. Sociopolitical dramas: shedding their unforgiving light on society’s often violent conflicts. Emotional crisis dramas: focusing on the impact of fate’s cruel slings and arrows – and the pain that inevitably results. Then there are Introspective dramas – examining the quirky details of Life. Hello belongs in this last category. A gentle, quiet indie script – offering a wry commentary on modern romance…

Young woman Lexi is looking for love. Her best friend is Will – a plugged in young guy, embroiled in a long-distance relationship himself. As the script opens, Lexi’s dragging Will into a used video/bookstore (the absolute last place he’d want to be.) And the last place a relationship might be kindled. But as Will flees to the store next door, Lexi reaches for a book. And finds herself face to face with Chase. A chance encounter. Is it fate?

It’s the perfect “meeting of souls”. But can it survive the cold light of reality? At first, Lexi and Chase’s relationship seems perfect. Until she senses a sea-change in his mood. Along with underlying character traits, not evident upon first meeting. Assisted by ever-supportive Chase, Lexi examines the dynamics of her new relationship. Different personalities. Different lives. A union perhaps not meant to be.

Let’s face it. Everyone’s been there. What can a girl do when faced with a relationship that clicked, then clacked? Can one ever expect a happy ending from a used bookstore called the Second Time Around? Or escape the impulses that make us love who and what we do?

Though firmly set in modern day, Hello reads like a remake of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” – enacted by the cast of Friends. Rest assured, that’s a compliment. Each character an actor’s dream role – endowed with depth and vitality. The dialog’s smart; oozing subtext like beer at a frat party.

In the hands of the right director, Hello has lots of indie potential. A short, eminantly affordable drama that awaits the proper quirky touch.

Budget: Very affordable. A handful of characters, and easily obtainable settings.

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) and IMDB credits.

About the reviewer: Michael O’Farrell is a mathematician who worked on the Space Shuttle Program and now writes fiction.

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