Every day writers give up on their dreams. What can The Imperfectionist teach us about minimizing that possibility? Genre: Comedy/Drama Premise: (my best interpretation of it) A loser husband lies to his adoring mother, telling her he sold a manuscript. When the lie spreads beyond the family, he plays along, not realizing the devastating effects [...]
This project is bursting with backstory to the point where you don’t know what to focus on. Maybe we’ll start here: Is “What Makes Sammy Run” the next Citizen Kane? Genre: Comedy-Drama Premise: In the 1930s, energizer-bunny producer Sammy Glick became one of the biggest producers in Hollywood. But even with all his success, he [...]
Can a screenplay from a New Zealander prove this week’s Scriptshadow theme wrong? Or do I still stick by my guns and say: “Stay away from quirky character pieces when writing a spec?” Amateur Friday Submission Process: To submit your script for an Amateur Review, send in a PDF of your script, a PDF of [...]
Today’s screenplay has been gaining a lot of heat lately since the attachment of Bill Murray. But is the main character too unlikable to save the sweet character piece? Genre: Dramedy Premise: When a struggling single mother and her oddball son move next door to an aging angry neighbor, the son and the neighbor form [...]
Genre: DramedyPremise: Blockhead explores what it would it be like if the real-world Peanuts Gang grew up and lived together in New York City.About: This script got a ton of recognition about ten years ago. Just about everyone who read it loved it. For obvious copyright reasons, it never got purchased. But it ended up [...]
Genre: DramedyPremise: An ex-inventor tries to reconnect with his daughter after a 12 year jail sentence.About: Kevin Spacey, Camille Bell, Heather Graham, Virginia Madsen, and Johnny Knoxville to star. Pic will be produced by Krane Films and Trigger Street Productions, Kevin Spacey and Dana Brunetti plus Jonathan Krane, Anthony Cohen, and Ken Barbet. Father of [...]
Genre: DramedyPremise: In the vein of “The Breakfast Club,” A group of strangers wait all night in zero degree weather for concert tickets.About: Written all the way back in 1996, this is one of the John Hughes’ projects that never got made. The movie was said to be close to production, then delayed because a [...]
Genre: DramedySynopsis: A professor at a small liberal arts college is up for tenure.About: Tenure was on the 2005 Black List and will be hitting theaters this year.Writer: Mike Million What is the single most important tool you can use to connect with the reader? What is the one thing above all others that gives [...]
Genre: Indy DramedySynopsis: A lovestruck nerd learns you have 500,000 chances to live a fulfilled life or you go to hell. He’s only got 2 chances left.About: Blacklist 08.Writer: Sam Esmail “Sequels” wants you to know that it’s different. No, I mean it really wants you to know that it’s different. The writer/main character (as [...]
Genre: Sci-fi DramedySynopsis: A secret supercollider underneath Sparkle Creek, Wisconsin starts wreaking havoc on the town.About: This sold back in 2001. Koepp alone made $2.5 million dollars off the deal that also included future script commitments. He was supposed to direct it as well, but it never (or has not yet) came to be.Writers: David [...]
Genre: DramedySynopsis: 5 strangers get stuck at the airport together.About: Yes, this is the infamous “remake” of The Breakfast ClubWriter: Lizzy Weiss Okay I have a suggestion to the people realeasing this film. Do not, under any circumstances, let any media print that this is in any way related to The Breakfast Club. Like me. [...]
