It’s a new year. A new 365 days of possibility (well, 361 now). And what better way to break through than being endorsed by your own peers!? It’s the first Amateur Offerings of 2019, a bi-monthly tournament whereby five screenwriters square off against each other in a good old fashioned writing brawl. You, the readers, download and read as much of each script as possible, then vote for your favorite in the comments section. Whoever receives the most votes gets a review next Friday.
If you’d like to submit your own script to compete in a future Amateur Offerings, send a PDF of your script to carsonreeves3@gmail.com with the title, genre, logline, and why you think your script should get a shot.
Good luck to this week’s contestants!
Title: Insectum
Genre: Horror (subgenre: Slasher)
Logline: A group of high school girls and their teacher are taken in by twins with an obsession for insects after they are unexpectedly stranded on the way to an overnight field trip. There, they must fight for their lives as their teacher attempts to atone for a sin from her past.
Why You Should Read: Prom Night. The Prowler. Class Reunion Massacre. Tenebrae. City of the Living Dead. Old school slashers, giallo. Are you someone who wants to see more of a renaissance of these horror subgenres from the 1970s and early 80s, but with a sick feminine twist? We were influenced by these movies, and also wanted to write about people on the fringe…people whose inner secrets and desires and losses drive them in unexpected directions, both positive and negative. Insectum could be produced on a minimum budget, but to maximum effect, creating a unique female-centric slasher. Stephen King says to write the story you want to read. That’s exactly what we’ve done with Insectum.
Title: Rat Bastards
Genre: Crime
Logline: A mob enforcer escorts a nameless corpse to its final resting place with the help of a young recruit, tasked with eliminating the older mobster turned informant once the job’s done.
Why You Should Read: Earlier this year, the news dropped that the “company” I work for is being absorbed by the succubus of children’s programming. It got me thinking of some of my co-workers’ situations… Middle aged and suddenly without work once the guillotine falls. There’s an inherent terror in that idea, situation. And, like every writer, I thought about how I can exploit their impending misfortune for a story.
“RAT BASTARDS” is the product of that mental trek and a simple question – how the fuck would the mob lay you off? Well, they kill you, spoiler alert. At a certain age, that is what being fired/laid off becomes… Murder. Murdering whatever life you had known or future you had planned out. You’re too old to be desirable and too young/poor to retire. This script is my way of exercising that anxiety in a genre vein that hopefully comes off as entertaining.
The script is a smaller addition to the gangster genre; indie in scope and, as it currently exists, something within reach of getting made on the cheap. I like writing that kind of script. I feel like it gives me a fighter’s chance of reaching the screen.
I appreciate all notes, good and bad and everything in-between. Thank you for giving “RAT BASTARDS” the time of day.
Title: No Man’s Land
Genre: Drama
Logline: Disgraced tennis player Izzy Vardi must pause his comeback and move back to his homeland of Israel to take care of his catatonic father after a vicious suicide bombing.
Why You Should Read: There have been movies that involve tennis and there have been movies set in the Middle East, but there has never been a sports drama that looks into the tumultuous Israeli/Palestinian conflict while showcasing the struggle and loneliness that is tennis. I grew up both in Israel and America and played tennis at a high level in college and professional tournaments. The relationship between an athlete and tennis is a cinematic one that I look forward to sharing with readers while also painting a picture of the frustrating standstill happening in my homeland.
Title: Rival Cities
Genre: Adventure/Giant Monster
Logline: A young couple’s dreams to make it in the big city are put on hold when New York City literally stands and crosses the country to pick a fight with Los Angeles.
Why Should You Read: In the January 1st post “2019 is here!!! YAHOOOOOOO!!!”, Carson listed three problems on the way to a good screenplay, which led me to question if Rival Cities is a good screenplay or not. Let’s see. First, effort. Research was a problem, as I couldn’t find any city that has risen from the ground to kick another city’s ass, but that doesn’t mean there was no research, like the countless hours measuring stuff on Google Maps. Then, there’s the hard work in outlining, writing, rewriting. The struggle to find the perfect balance of how serious the story should be. Too serious and no one gets on board with the preposterous premise. Too goofy and people forget it as soon as the story is over. Second, “Is this a movie people would actually pay to see?” Hell yeah! Larger than life? Check! Heavy conflict? Check! Clever? Check, I guess! Ironic? Alanis would check! Taps into the zeitgeist? I don’t know! Controversial? Hardly! Finally, execution. Everyone who reads this not only “gets it,” but also enjoys it. It even got to the second round in the Austin Film Festival screenplay competition, which is a feat for an outrageous popcorn movie like this one. I tell ya, that’s not what a badly executed screenplay looks like. So. Is Rival Cities a good screenplay? I’m too biased to say. So crack it open and find out for yourself.
Title: Blood Hound
Genre: Horror
Logline: Trapped in a strange house, a young woman with a fear of dogs must escape the jaws of a bloodsucking hound and its master.
Why You Should Read: I find phobias fascinating. The crippling impact they can have on a person’s life. I wanted to take that fear to an extreme level. There seems to be room in the horror universe for an update on Cujo (other than a remake), pitting a protagonist against a vicious, bloodthirsty beast. I set out to write something simpler and more contained than my last work with 100x more blood. Hope you enjoy sinking your teeth into this one!
