So I watched that Blurry Man Twilight Zone episode you guys recommended last night and now I’m furious with you. That episode was the definition of a “biding time until the twist” script. They literally hit the same beat 50 times in a row. And the big twist wasn’t even a twist. It was more of a shocker. Anyway, you now owe me a suggestion. I’m going to check out at least one Black Mirror episode this weekend. If you see them, let me know which one it should be. And for everyone else – IT’S TIME FOR THE SCREENPLAY SHOWDOWN!!!
If you haven’t played Amateur Showdown before, it’s a cut throat single weekend screenplay tournament where the scripts have been vetted from a pile of hundreds to be featured here, for your entertainment. It’s up to you to read as much of each script as you can, then vote for your favorite in the comments section. Whoever receives the most votes by Sunday 11:59pm Pacific Time gets a review next Friday. If you’d like to submit your own script to compete in a future Amateur Showdown, 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!
Title: An Invitation to You
Genre: Dark Comedy
Logline: A bitter empty-nester begrudgingly heads to a secluded resort for solo travelers and is introduced to herself — literally. Awkward dislike gives way to all out warfare when she discovers that only one version of herself will leave at the end of the weekend.
Why You Should Read: The dramatic question at the heart of this story is “Can/should I love myself as I am?” I think it’s a relevant question, because people suck. I know I let myself down all the time. When they first meet themselves, some of the characters in this story detest themselves. Others depress themselves. And others are so infatuated with themselves that they jump right into the sack. I honestly don’t know how I would react if I met myself, which has been part of the fun of writing this story — I get to inhabit every possibility.
One of the big challenges of this story has been figuring out how to present six pairs of “doubles” in a way that isn’t infuriating for the reader (I’m dying to read Jordan Peele’s script for US to see how he did it). I hope I’ve succeeded, but I am very open to feedback!
Also, the action lines of this script aren’t written in first person, so hopefully it will piss fewer people off than my last AOW script. :)
Title: Once Upon a Time in La Mancha
Genre: Western/Comedy
Logline: An old rancher obsessed with dime novels and cowboy stories heads West with his trusting farmhand to offer his own brand of unneeded justice.
Why You Should Read: A Western retelling of Miguel de Cervantes’ Don Quixote, I wanted to translate the chivalric ideals the eponymous character had 400 years ago to a more American and recent setting, transporting the hapless knight near the Mexican-American border to a time when the mythical Old West was dying. Hope you read and enjoy my interpretation!
Title: THE KEEPERS OF THE CUP
Genre: Action/Comedy
Logline: Two die-hard hockey fans thwart a Russian terrorist attack by stealing the Stanley Cup and travel across North America to deliver it in time for Game 7… It’s GET HIM TO THE GREEK meets CELTIC PRIDE.
Why You Should Read: What if I told you amidst a world of boozing, fighting, trash-talking and hockey, there were two men who were the calm within the storm? And what if I told you that these two men were at the center of an outrageously funny story? Would you believe me? Would you believe them? Now if you’re looking for a script with award winning credentials, this won’t be for you. It has too much personality. (Though it did get me named a Universal Pictures Emerging Writers Fellowship finalist if that means anything. (It doesn’t.)) But if you are looking to be entertained, to laugh, and to wonder how on Earth two life-long best friends at the breaking point of their friendship find themselves on the run from Russian terrorists with none other than THE STANLEY CUP, then this is for you. No! This is meant for you. This is the fictional, true story of how these two friends assume the role of “Keepers of the Cup,” a real job where employees of the NHL guard the NHL the legendary Stanley Cup with their lives 365 days a year. This is a story about friendship, this is a story about duty, this is a story about country, and this is a story about becoming the best version of you. This is “The Keepers of The Cup.” I hope you enjoy. If you don’t, well, the Stanley Cup Finals are on.
Title: 48 Hour Token
Genre: Thriller
Logline: Whilst performing an autopsy, a forensic pathologist suspects the body is from the future on a failed mission to prevent a world catastrophe. He must now decide whether to continue the mission, a task that requires bombing a commercial airliner on a transatlantic flight.
Why You Should Read: Money problems. Custody battles. Drinking on the job. A penchant for violence. 48 Hour Token is a high concept thriller that demands a common but deeply flawed man to prevent a world catastrophe whilst fighting to keep his sanity. To save the world, it’s usually expected you must don the spandex to fight the battle between good and evil. In the real world, the protagonists often come with baggage and the room for failure is non existent.
This isn’t a blind submission. In preparation for this Amateur Offerings, I have utilised several coverage services that most followers of this website would be familiar with. 48 Hour Token has been labelled a ‘well constructed thriller’ with ‘multiple, diverse elements’ whilst containing ‘realistic dialogue for the genre’.
Title: Sib
Genre: Psychological thriller
Logline: A young bride’s dream wedding descends into a nightmare after her estranged sister shows up and desperately tries to convince her that the charming groom is actually a sadistic psychopath.
Why You Should Read: One of my previous scripts, an hour long pilot, was optioned to a successful producer out in LA. The project quickly fell into limbo though, so I decided to refocus on my first love of writing features.
My next project, a horror/dark comedy, was chosen to compete in an ‘amateur offerings’ round a few months back, where it ended up finishing in second place. This was slightly heartbreaking but it definitely gave me inspiration to finish up this current project and resubmit, in hopes of potentially landing a review from Carson this time around.
With ‘Sib’, I really aimed to write a concise and continuously moving story. Clocking in at 93 pages, it’s a quick read. I drew inspiration from some of my favorite filmmakers such as Darren Aronofsky and Lars Von Trier, and tried to take the story to some dark and strange places, culminating in an unsettling and hopefully unexpected third act. I’d appreciate the opportunity to participate in another amateur showdown, everyone’s feedback last time was very insightful. Thanks for your time!
