There ain’t any movies coming out this weekend! I guess I’ll just have to watch Free Solo again. Actually, I just found out that the mountain in Free Solo is only four and a half hours away. Can somebody say… ROAD TRIP! Story time. Since free-soloing El Cap, Alex Honnold has been approached by several producers who want to do a free solo reality show. In the proposed bonkers idea, Alex would teach them how to climb free solo for several months and the contestants would then go free solo something. “You know that half the people in the show would die?” Alex told the producers. So they gave up on the idea.
Oh, and here’s another one. The director of Free Solo, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, had been getting slack from her family because her movies were such downers. “Can you do a comedy for your next one?” they asked. When Vasarhelyi began Free Solo, Alex was single. He would go on dating apps before heading to a new climbing destination and set up dates. Vasarhelyi planned on mining these dates for comedy. However, along the way, Alex met Sanni, and Vasarhelyi decided to change course, focusing on the emotional toll of a dangerous profession on one’s significant other. She credits that relationship as turning the movie from a straight-forward doc into the emotional powerhouse that would win it an Oscar. The screenwriting lesson to learn here is: Don’t be afraid to follow the story, even if it takes you in a different direction than you initially planned. Can you imagine Free Solo as a comedy about a climber navigating the millennial dating scene? I don’t think that film wins an Oscar.
If you’re new to Amateur Showdown, read as many of this weekend’s scripts as you can and VOTE for your favorite in the comments section. Winner gets a review next Friday. — If you’d like to submit your own script to compete on 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 everyone this week!
Title: D1
Genre: 1-hour drama
Logline: A sports driven dramedy about a female athletic-director who handles the unique conflicts and challenges of running the athletic department of a top Division One university.
Why should you read: As former student-athletes at a top D1 university, we really followed the “write what you know” directive with D1. Due to this, we’re extremely passionate about the project and already have tons of potential episodes mapped out. D1 was a Black List featured script and helped us to become two of ISA’s “Screenwriters to Watch” in 2018. We’ve seen a lot of interest in the script, but it hasn’t yet found a home. We would love for the supportive ScriptShadow community to help us get the show into the best shape possible for future reads.
Title: Rosemary
Genre: Horror/Dark Comedy
Logline: A prolific female serial killer struggles to suppress her desire to kill during a weekend-long engagement party hosted by her new fiance’s wealthy, obnoxious family.
Why you should read: I’m a 28 year old writer currently living in Nashville, TN. My previous script was a one-hour pilot that I ended up optioning to a producer in LA. After lots of back and forth and time put in working on a series bible, the project basically fell into limbo. I then decided to refocus on my first true love of writing features and decided on the concept above. — Dark comedies are tricky to pull off but I’ve always had an affinity for them so I gave it my best shot. I respect the time and effort you put into all the reading and writing you do for your site, and I appreciate your ability to help writers get recognition.
Title: SHELTER HEIGHTS
Genre: Action-Thriller
Logline: An Army officer on a short leave battles a fugitive drug lord and a massive hurricane to get his estranged family off a remote island.
Why you should read: SHELTER HEIGHTS has had more than one close call. Some years ago a production company offered to produce it on a low seven figure budget, but my management company at the time rejected the deal. Less than a year later the script had a fairly well known director attached, and it was being pitched to A- level actors. However, getting all the moving parts aligned was elusive, and it stalled again. I’ve received calls from producers over the past few months, but nothing has materialized to date. I’m still looking to get this script off the ground, as I think it could be a fun, contained, tight little action film. SHELTER HEIGHTS has elements of TAKEN while paying homage to classics like KEY LARGO. My goal in writing it was to tell a simple story and infuse it with plenty of heart and lots of thrills. It’s become my “never say die” script, and I’d love to breathe new life into it.
Title: Twin Lights
Genre: Sci-fi
Logline: After his eyes are opened to his bigotry, a loyal fixer for the world’s most powerful cloning company is set on a collision course with his mother, the ruthless CEO.
Why you should read: An earlier version of this script placed in the semi-finals of the latest PAGE awards. After years of writing wherever I could spare the time, I recently decided to leave my job and have spent the last few months living off savings and honing my skills as a writer. By that, I mean cultivating an extraordinary amount of anxiety that I’ve made a terrible mistake. — This script is the furthest I’ve ever placed in a contest and I could really use any feedback from the community to help take the next step beyond that, if at all possible. I would just love to hear the opinions and advice of my fellow writers. Hopefully it doesn’t boil down to ‘don’t quit your day job’ or I’ll have to put these skills to good use crafting an email begging for my 9-5 back.
Title: SKINWALKERS
Genre: Supernatural Western
Logline: In the Old West, a troubled girl hunts for the mysterious stranger who destroyed her family. Her quest leads to a cabal of shapeshifters and forces her to face the truth of her own dark heritage.
Why you should read: Okay, so a lot of work has gone into my goal of making Skinwalkers a clean and easy read. I set out to write a compelling action story featuring a young and spunky female protagonist with inner demons, who comes of age and finds her true identity during her quest for revenge. I also aimed to introduce a sinister and enigmatic villain with shades of grey, a force of nature in her own right that plays off the hero in unexpected ways. Have I succeeded? It’s hard for me to say for sure, so I welcome opinions and constructive feedback from anyone who has the time and inclination to take a look. Cheers.
