Time for Love

An elderly lady discovers an old flame in her shed

Sometimes, a script engages you from the first couple of sentences; usually for a combination of reasons. Its introduction piques your interest.. hinting at mysteries to come. Its story beats stimulate an easy empathy – compelling one to root for a character, even before you know their name. Such tales flow from simple beginnings, weaving a subtle narrative that never lets one disengage. Cracking stuff. When done just right.

Time for Love is such a script. A super-short four page piece, TFL follows Marjorie Flanagan (86), confronting an interloper in her shed. Armed with a stick, she prepares for battle – only to be hit with the shock of her life instead. Sitting in the middle of the barn is her husband, George; a time-traveling inventor who disappeared sixty years ago – vanishing into thin air, without a trace. But now he’s back. And he’s hasn’t aged. A twenty seven year old wanderer, tethered to a tempermental steam-punk time machine (a huge jerry-rigged kings wing chair). It’s a moment of sweet reconciliation for two long lost lovers. But with a caveat that threatens to ruin all. You see, George can’t stay in one place for very long. If he does, he ages. Badly. After decades of trying, he’s finally found Marjorie. And has only minutes to make up for a lifetime of lost memories.

Science fiction at it’s finest, Time for Love isn’t about gadgets or FX.   It’s a psalm to love, aging and loss, and the fragility of the human condition. Mixing in echoes of Dr. Who and classic literature, Bowcott infuses TFL with a real sense of poignancy… one that resonates on a universal level. A limited location classic, TFL has only one setting – a shed – two actors and a time machine. It’s sure to be a festival favorite – grab this one before the flow of time snatches it away!

Budget: Low. And designing that time machine is going to be fun in and of itself!

About the reviewer:  Anthony Cawood is an award winning screenwriter from the UK with a bunch of short scripts produced, optioned and/or purchased. He is currently trying to get someone to make one of his three feature scripts. Links to his films, scripts and other goodies can be found at www.anthonycawood.co.uk

About the writer: Dustin Bowcott is a self employed microbe retailer and father of four boys. He has enjoyed writing since the day he read his first novel. For Dustin, writing is something he has to do, when not writing, he’s thinking about writing and will absorb himself into multiple projects at one time. When he gets tired of writing one thing he moves onto another and has been known to work on three different stories in one day, writing for sometimes 12 hours straight and, on occasion, even longer. Dustin can turn his hand to any genre and has just finished first draft of a new children’s novel. Dustin is a BBC Writer’s Room finalist and a Shore Scripts finalist both in 2014. He is a produced and optioned writer, and has recently turned his hand to production, having produced his first short film with another in the pipeline that should be completed this year. Want to see what else he has in store? Give him a shout-out at dustin7375 “AT” gmail.

READ THE SCRIPT HERE – AND DON’T FORGET TO COMMENT!!

FOR YET MORE SCRIPTS AVAILABLE FOR PRODUCTION:

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All screenplays are copyrighted to their respective authors. All rights reserved. The screenplays may not be used without the expressed written permission of the author.

A Face in the Crowd — Review

An analyst at an intelligence agency is horrified when his subject starts to follow him…

“Paranoia strikes deep. Into your life it will creep.” – Stephen Stills, For What It’s Worth

“Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t after you.” – Joseph Heller, Catch-22.

There’s plenty to be paranoid about these days, isn’t there? Drones watching us from above, the IRS targeting us, NSA listening to us. But what if you are the NSA? Nothing for you to worry about, right?

Or is there?

In the eerie psycho-sci-fi screenplay A Face in the Crowd, writer Anthony Cawood tells the tale of Derin, a 26-year-old analyst for the NSA who abruptly finds the paranoia tables turned.

As Derin runs a face-recognition program on his PC to analyze photographs of a riot, a man in one of the shots turns and looks out through the computer screen into Derin’s office. A short time later, Derin discovers the man has disappeared from the photo completely.

Time to be paranoid? (Did I mention it’s a still photograph?)

From that moment on, Derin has a series of real-world encounters with the mysterious man. Or at least it seems. A reflection here, a shadowy glimpse there… but are they real? Or just a figment of Derin’s panicked imagination? Or – perhaps – some strange blend of the two? Because, as Aldous Huxley once said, “There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception.”

Derin is stuck in between… but not for long.

A Face in the Crowd is an enjoyable, chilling read. And – given privacy concerns of the day – quite timely as well.

About the writer: Anthony Cawood is an aspiring screenwriter from the UK with a number of scripts in various stages of production, two of which have just wrapped shooting. His script, A Certain Romance, recently won in the Nashville Film Festival Screenwriting Competition (short script category). You can find out more at http://www.anthonycawood.co.uk

Pages: 7

Budget: Moderate. A handful of locations, including a high-tech office, a CCTV monitoring room, a car park, a supermarket, a cafe, and Derin’s home. Five actors with speaking parts, plus lots of extras. Some FX, but nothing unreasonable.

About the reviewer: Scott Merrow co-writes screenplays with his wife Paula. 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.

READ THE SCRIPT HERE – AND DON’T FORGET TO COMMENT!!

FOR YET MORE SCRIPTS AVAILABLE FOR PRODUCTION:

PLEASE SEARCH SIMPLYSCRIPTS.COM 

OR THE BLOG VERSION OF STS HERE.

All screenplays are copyrighted to their respective authors. All rights reserved. The screenplays may not be used without the expressed written permission of the author.

Give Me Shelter

“Divorcees Moira and James attempt survival in the wake of an apocalyptic event. From a bomb shelter deep beneath the Earth, they must find peace between themselves before facing the new, chaotic world above.”

 The daily grind. Navigating bumper-to-bumper traffic, finding a seat on the subway, racing to class, transporting kids to school. There are appointments to keep, errands to run, never-ending housework, and a flow of constant bills to pay. Ah yes; the Responsibilities of Life. Your list may vary; but it stares you in the face everyday. Insurmountable… at least without that morning Starbucks.

For a few moments, though, imagine that everything you do — that routine you rely on so intimately — is gone. In a puff of smoke. The blink of an eye. Your daily life; obliterated. All that planning and plodding, blown clear out the window. And worst of all – no Starbucks!

As Douglas Adams was fond of saying, Try Not to Panic…

Even though your life has been shattered to bits.

In Rod Thompson’s drama, Give Me Shelter, 30 something Moira and James hole up in a small bomb shelter, having barely escaped the total destruction of their house, their neighborhood, and all their friends.

The bunker contains two small cots. A single light bulb dangles overhead. Some couples might find it romantic. But Moira and James are recently divorced. Not that divorce is the end of the world. Although, perhaps, in this case it is…

Because something HUGE is wreaking havoc above ground.

The couple huddle in darkness, hoping to escape attention. James attempts to calm a hysterical Moira – and promises her they’ll be safe. Though he can’t quite convince himself.

Apocalyptic events in a contained location; that alone is enough to sell a script. Yet, Moira and James’ relationship is what truly makes GMS shine – featuring terrific lines such as these:

James (singing to distract Moira from her fears): Sorry. Old habits.

Moira: No. Keep going. You may have been a shitty husband, but you were always a good singer.

James: By the sound of things up there, I may be the last singer before this day is over…

Confronting annihilation is no vacation from the daily grind. But it can really put things in perspective. Past the panic and the urgency – the dialogue in this script rings true, depicting the familiarity of two people that have been together for a long time. Fought – but loved each other, too. And in some small way… still do.

So if you’re a director drawn to well developed characters – and catastrophe – then grab your spot on the cot. ‘Cause there’s only one slot available!

About the writer, 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 occassional 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

Pages: 5 pages

Budget: Low. A sparse interior for the bomb shelter. Equip with cots, a bare bulb, and two talented actors. Imagine the fun you’ll have creating sound effects for the end of the world!

About the reviewer for Give Me Shelter:California uber reader/reviewer KP Mackie is working hard on her animated feature. KP’s work is available at moviepoet.com!

READ THE SCRIPT HERE – AND DON’T FORGET TO COMMENT!!

FOR YET MORE SCRIPTS AVAILABLE FOR PRODUCTION:

PLEASE SEARCH SIMPLYSCRIPTS.COM 

OR THE BLOG VERSION OF STS HERE.

All screenplays are copyrighted to their respective authors. All rights reserved. The screenplays may not be used without the expressed written permission of the author.