This is your chance to discuss the week’s amateur scripts, offered originally in the Scriptshadow newsletter. The primary goal for this discussion is to find out which script(s) is the best candidate for a future Amateur Friday review. The secondary goal is to keep things positive in the comments with constructive criticism.
Below are the scripts up for review, along with the download links. Want to receive the scripts early? Head over to the Contact page, e-mail us, and “Opt In” to the newsletter.
Happy reading!
TITLE: Far End of the Black
GENRE: Horror
LOGLINE: Their compound under attack, a soldier finds his faith put to the test when his scientist wife saves years of progress toward a zombie pandemic cure by infecting herself with an incomplete vaccination – sending their family of survivors in a race against time to find the missing antigen as the only thing to prevent her from turning is the sacrifice of their own blood.
WHY YOU SHOULD READ: “If you recall some time ago, you posted this article featuring the trailer for Dead Island video game (http://scriptshadow.blogspot.com/2011/02/island-of-originality.html). During the course of discussions there, I came up with the concept and posted about it (since removed) and had comments telling me to stop talking about it and go write the thing and that several other writers were probably already firing Final Draft while another said they’d see that movie tomorrow.
So, had I not read that particular article, I never would have come up with the idea which I finally wrote late this past summer. While some may lament that it’s a zombie script (or even a quintessential zombie script), I do believe it really does have its own bit of a unique take on it as the zombies here are merely the context for which the theme, I think, really resonates within. It’s dark, but there’s a reason for that which becomes all the more evident when you reach the end.
And… it’s got a wicked GSU. I could elaborate, but don’t want to ruin the experience.”
TITLE: Dirty Tricks
GENRE: R-rated Buddy Action/Comedy
LOGLINE: A compulsive detective must protect the footloose gangster involved in his partner’s death from dysfunctional thugs, crooked cops… and filthy germs.
WHY YOU SHOULD READ: “It’s an action-packed, irreverent and fun-filled script with very colorful characters and a number of scenes I guarantee you haven’t read or seen anywhere before. I have tried really hard to deviate from the usual action/comedy staples and write something that’s familiar, yet new and exciting at the same time.”
TITLE: The Liger Atlas
GENRE: Action/Fantasy
LOGLINE: To reverse a disease affecting one of their partners, hiding Alchemists must retrieve the powerful artifact of a hidden valley before their rivals uncover it first.
WHY YOU SHOULD READ: “I’ve written several scripts in college and after, as screenwriting continues to be my passion. I think it was my uncle, a raging novelist and playwright, who first inspired me to write seriously when I was convinced dreaming images was a hobby at best. I majored in film and television, and though I’ve only made several, short student films from my scripts, a feature is something I remain adamant about. Liger has been the most meaningful to me. Having spent so much time with the characters and lived in the world for so long, I’ve cared about the integrity of the story through countless rewrites and review. More than anything, it’s been a labor of love.”
TITLE: LEGENDARY
GENRE: Comedy/Action/Fantasy
LOGLINE: The Sock Gnome aspires to be promoted withing Legendary Inc to respected positions, like Santa or the Tooth Fairy, but compromises this when he accidentally steals money from a bellicose Drug Dealer and must bring him down to save his life.
WHY YOU SHOULD READ: “I’m Freddy and I’ve been doing stand-up for years… mostly in Minneapolis, but really all around. If I can find an open mic, I’ll grab it and talk and hope people giggle. It started as a way to hook up with girls (obviously) but then I really fell in love with it.
One of my buddies suggested I take my humor and give screenplays a shot. He told me they were a hundred pages and things needed to be spelled write so I of course said no. But he insisted I try and I’m glad he did. Since then I’ve written two. This is the second and I find it delightful (so does this bum I paid $15 dollars to say so). I’d be thrilled if you gave it a shot.”
TITLE: Memories of a Distant Utopia.pdf)
GENRE: Sci-fi, Mystery
LOGLINE: In the faraway future, a young astronaut — the sole human survivor on an experimental ship — searches space in a desperate effort to find life. As he battles loneliness and isolation, he finally receives a signal from an unknown source, helping him unlock a terrifying secret about the origins of his supposed ship.
WHY YOU SHOULD READ: “For years, I had always wanted to write a story about humanity, and how far one would go in search for the truth, even when everything is stacked against them. And eventually, that morphed into a question, what would you do, if for all you knew, you were the last surviving human in the nearby Universe? Would you try and find Earth? Would you… Just send messages across the galaxy in search of something – anything really. Just one man against the whole Universe.
So when I finished writing it, I thought it was amazing, pure genius but obviously, it wasn’t – and I got a good internet slap across face for thinking it was. I worked on a few other drafts, spent months trying to perfect it, and again, comments from readers told me to keep working on it. After all the time I put into the script, I was ready to quit screenwriting, but I give it one last shot and receive some very helpful notes. Finally, after all this work, I finish a draft I’m happy with, but I still know it needs work. And rather than keep annoying my writer’s circle, I decided I’ll annoy SS.”
