I heard Charlize Theron gained 50 pounds to play the roll of Tully in the new Diablo Cody film, which comes out this weekend in an attempt to woo you away from your 17th viewing of Avengers Infinity War. It was a good script and the kind of movie that gets you talking afterwards. So if you’re in that chill indie-movie mood, I suggest you check it out, if only to get Hollywood to make something other than superhero movies. Cause if this trend continues, I swear to you, that might be all they make in 2019.
On to today’s scripts. An interesting batch! We’ve got the winner of the “Why Your Script Isn’t Getting Picked” post in The House on Snare Lane. A good old fashioned adventure film. And we’ve got a writer who really knows how to sell a full read (“There’s a huge twist at the end of Act 2 you’ve got to check out!”). As you guys know, the rules to Amateur Offerings are simple. Read as much as you can from each script and vote for your favorite in the comments. The script with the most votes gets a read next week!
And if you believe you have a screenplay that deserves Hollywood’s attention, submit it for a future Amateur Offerings! Send me a PDF of your script, along with the title, genre, logline, and why you think people should read it (your chance to pitch yourself or your story). All submissions should be sent to Carsonreeves3@gmail.com.
Title: Godhaus
Genre: Contained Horror/Thriller
Premise: A professional house-sitter is tormented by an omnipotent force during a week-long stay at a mountaintop chalet.
Movie Poster Tagline: VENGEANCE IS THE LORD’S, HE SHALL REPAY IT
Why You Should Read: I’m always on the lookout for odd or unique occupations, and one day I happened upon professional house-sitting. I did the research and discovered the possibilities were endless – as well as seemingly unexplored in film. So I developed the character of “Terry” but didn’t have a story to build around her… until months later, once I’d cooked up a separate idea about an Old Testament God exacting revenge on a single individual.
Then the question arose: why would our protagonist, Terry – so sweet she wouldn’t hurt a fly – be targeted for such extreme punishment?
Mix into a contained bowl, add a sprinkling of humor, a splash of twists and a dash of turns, and voilà! I’m curious to find out if Scriptshadowers enjoy the meal… or send it back to the kitchen while refusing to pay the bill and complaining to the manager about unfilmables.
Title: That House On Snare Lane
Genre: Coming of age drama
Logline: When, on the eve of its demolition, a grief-stricken boy and his friends investigate a haunted house, they discover long-buried secrets have a way of resurfacing and … just sometimes, turning a sense of loss into hope.
Why You Should Read: Last year you wrote two articles that especially struck a chord with me. The first was a list of movies that Hollywood would like to make a new version of (not a reboot, but an original new movie that captures a similar spirit to that existing movie). The second was about the power of ‘anchoring’ elements of your screenplay in your own experience. So, here’s my take on number 6 on your list – Stand By Me, anchored to an experience in my own childhood but extrapolated … and with a sprinkle of magic added because, well, the movies should be magical, right?
Title: Blood
Genre: Historical Adventure
Logline: Based on true events. After Charles II reclaimed the English throne, he confiscated the homes of his adversaries. He also pissed off the notorious Colonel Blood. Now Blood, seeking justice and reparations, leads a crew of fellow rebel activists in one of history’s most daring heists – stealing the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London.
Why You Should Read: I’ve been writing for nearly two decades, but have only been pursued it professionally in the past few years. I’m also an actor, director, and editor… it may sound silly but I love every part of the storytelling process. I don’t generally tend toward historical pieces, but the story of Colonel Blood was so compelling I couldn’t not write it. I’m rather proud of the script, but folks around town aren’t wanting to touch a period piece from an unknown writer (yet), so I’m having a hard time getting it read. And so I come to you… Thanks for the consideration!
Title: Typee
Genre: Action/Adventure
Logline: After jumping ship on a remote island, a sailor must escape from his new captors, a fabled tribe of cannibals named the Typee.
Why You Should Read: “Typee” was Herman Melville’s best-selling book in his life time, NOT Moby Dick. The story was a hit with audiences because it was written by a man who “lived with the cannibals.” Yet for some reason, Hollywood has continued to overlook this hidden gem, which has everything a big cinematic movie needs: unique setting, high stakes, lovable characters, mystery, twist and turns, and a dramatic ending. The truth is no one really knows about this book. Moby Dick will always reign supreme as the iconic Melville text, but Typee deserves some love, too. It would make a much better movie!
There was one big theme I noticed throughout the book: identity. During his adventures on the island, the main character always walks a fine line between engaging in the native cultural and rejecting it outright. He is afraid of losing his western identity, yet he is forced by his captors to participate in the rituals and ways of the Typee. I used this as a central point of conflict in the script.
One last thing. This script has a lot of what I call “Oh, shit!” moments. You know, when you’re reading a script and something crazy happens and you say “Oh, shit!” out loud. I really worked to put these moments in there because the original text didn’t have enough of them. There’s one particular “Oh, shit!” at the end of Act II that you really shouldn’t miss.
Title: Team Wild Crew
Genre: Action
Logline: A group of loyal, tight-knit MMA fighters, who train by day and rip off drug dealers by night, are charmed by a tough stranger looking to embed himself in their crew.
Why You Should Read: Three goals in mind when I was writing this: 1. I wanted it to be really, really bad ass. 2. I wanted the pace to be relentless. 3. I wanted to write an MMA script because I’m a huge fan of the sport and with Conor McGregor blowing the organization up, some writer is going to capitalize on it. So, why not have it be me? Anyway, The Fast and The Furious is essentially a remake of Point Break, right? Instead of the subculture being surfers we’ve got street racers. I thought I’d do a third reimagining, substituting surfboards and racecars for MMA and FISTS TO THE F*** FACE! Every script I write, I write for whoever’s reading it in mind. Enough of this “slow burn” crap– AIN’T NOBODY GOT TIME FOR THAT! One last thing– I got some coverage from WeScreenplay on this one. The reader ended it with, “easy recommend.”
