This week is a bit special: below are FOUR of the ‘almost’ picks for Amateur Friday from the last several weeks, the ones that got a lot of buzz but didn’t quite get to the review stage. I’m reposting them to see which of these can beat out the rest in an “Almost Amateur Friday Deathmatch.” The last script is a wildcard.
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: Pâtisserie
GENRE: Drama
LOGLINE: A young Jewish woman in occupied France escapes the Nazis by changing places with a shop owner. But as her love grows for the other woman’s husband and child, so does her guilt.
WHY YOU SHOULD READ (from writer): My screenplay finished in the top 6% of last year’s Nicholls, perhaps you can tell me why it didn’t crack the top 5. It was also the Screenplay of the Month on both Zoetrope and TriggerStreet.
TITLE: Ship Of The Dead
GENRE: Vampire/Thriller
LOGLINE: After their medical rescue aircraft crash lands above the Arctic Circle, a terminally ill flight navigator must lead the crew to survival in the face of plunging temperatures, the impending arrival of 6 months of permanent darkness – and a horde of vampires taking refuge in a nearby shipwreck.
WHY YOU SHOULD READ: Finalist in the Peachtree Village International Film Festival.
TITLE: Observation Car
GENRE: Sci-Fi / Suspense-Thriller
LOGLINE: After witnessing UFOs and other strange phenomena, an insomniac on a cross country train trip suspects an alien invasion is underway, beginning with his fellow passengers, but when no one believes him, he must team with a fugitive stowaway to unravel the sinister agenda.
WHY YOU SHOULD READ: In an unfortunate newsletter mixup, this one didn’t get its official Amateur Friday ‘win.’ It got a lot of attention in the comments a few weeks ago and even “Rose in the Darkness” writer Joe Marino was impressed: “Just a fun, fast read with lots of professionalism and class. Great genre piece. Brefni is a very talented, ambitious writer and this script really shows off his strengths.”
TITLE: Fortune Cookie
GENRE: Contained-Dark Comedy/Suspense
LOGLINE: A young woman opens a fortune cookie with the prophecy that she will die if anyone leaves the restaurant. When the fortunes of her dinner companions come true, she takes the restaurant hostage.
TITLE: In Lieu of Flowers
GENRE: Dark Comedy
LOGLINE: A man sets out to to plan himself an epic funeral, only to find himself falling for the woman he hires to plan it.
WHY YOU SHOULD READ (from writer): It received a couple of favorable reviews from Blacklist readers (two 8’s), and was referred by the Blacklist folks to the Sundance Institute for possible consideration in the January Screenwriter Lab. Also? There are jokes, and I’ve been told they don’t altogether suck. So that’s nice.
