One of my favorite things while going through the entries of these showdowns is writers who try to hide multiple entries by sending them in under different e-mail addresses, but they use THE EXACT SAME FORMATTING as their other e-mail, making it obvious it’s the same person. I love that. Especially because there’s no limit to how many entries you can submit.
As always, it was fun reading through all the submissions. The main two reasons scripts didn’t make it was that the ideas weren’t high concept enough or the ideas were just messy. For example, I’d get stuff like, “A married couple trying to defeat a demon get stuck on a plane with a bomb on it.”
The most bizarre entry I got was a body-swap movie between Vince Vaughn and Chuck Schumer. The writer said their inspiration was they were listening to an interview with Chuck Schumer but thought they heard him introduced as Vince Vaughn, so they decided to write a body-swap movie about Chuck Schumer and Vince Vaughn. Hey! Who knows? Maybe it was great. A little too weird for High Concept Showdown though.
Every once in a while, I’d see a submission that would make me smile. It wasn’t quite right for the showdown. But it’d be creative. Here’s an example: “Simultaneously, across the world, everyone’s feet get stuck in place – trapping them to the circumstances of that moment. This is the story of the people in and around Toronto, Canada, as they navigate this unprecedented event.”
There were a lot of loglines that could’ve used consultations. I’m not just saying that because I offer them. But, seriously, a lot of you guys are majorly handicapping yourselves going out there with these loglines. They’re overwritten, or messy, or the first half doesn’t match the second half. It’s a huge problem that you have to figure out.
I’d say that 90% of the entries were out of the running just because their loglines were messy. As always, feel free to post your logline if you think your submission is better than what’s been posted. If you get overwhelming support from the community, I may just add your script to the mix on-the-fly. That’s how we do it here on Showdown weekend!
Of course, if you want it straight from the horse’s mouth, you can order a logline consult ($25), and I’ll give you a logline evaluation where I tell you what’s wrong with the concept, as well as the logline. And you get a logline rewrite. E-mail me carsonreeves1@gmail.com if interested.
And with that, it’s time!
Read as much of each script as you can, then VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE in the comment section. To do that, write a comment with the title of the script you like best. Every writer here would love it if you explained what you liked about their script. And you can also share what you didn’t like about the others.
But the key is, VOTE. Voting ends at 11:59pm Pacific Time Sunday. Whoever gets the most votes gets a review next Friday!!!
GOOD LUCK EVERYBODY!!!!!!
Title: The Castle
Genre: SciFi
Logline: In 1209, a reluctant German crown princess must defend her castle against a brutal group of bandits, consisting of special forces soldiers from the 21st century.
Why you should read: The Castle started as a first act contender and it did advance into the next round. In the last months I had time to finish and polish it, and so I will now throw it into the wild arena that is the amateur showdown.
Why Carson chose it: I remember reading the first 10 pages of this in the First Act Contest (which I will finish after the Dialogue Book!) and really liked them. And it’s just a big idea.
Title: Weekend Warriors
Genre: Action-Comedy
Logline: After a mysterious overnight event turns humanity into hordes of mindless violent drones, two hard-partying office rivals—still inebriated from the evening before—discover that the drugs and alcohol in their systems are the very things preventing them from becoming infected; the only way to stay alive long enough to save mankind will be to party like it’s the end of the world.
Why you should read: This drug-fueled blitzkrieg of a script was optioned in early 2020 by a major production company but died on the covid-coinciding vine. The rights are mine once more and I’m hoping a showdown appearance is just what is needed to give this wild ride a second life.
Why Carson chose it: This is a hilarious premise.
Title: Fleshy: The Selective Slaughter
Genre: Horror
Logline: A gathering of furries find themselves in a fight for survival at an infamously abandoned zoo when one of their own, revealed as anything but an ally, vows to hunt them down like the animals they dress as.
Why you should read: Scary movies have always been seen as a reliable moneymaker, and the box office results for 2022 have only further proven that audiences crave strange and subversive horror. FLESHY: THE SELECTIVE SLAUGHTER flips the classic slasher formula (in this script, the killer is the only one NOT wearing a mask) and, through the terror of a targeted hate crime, aims to shine a light on an underrepresented subculture while also telling a story about staying true to yourself which all audiences can relate to.
Why Carson chose it: I’m always looking for that one offbeat unique idea to feature in these showdowns and this one fit the bill. I’m hoping for the next “Fatties.”
Title: The Burning Ones
Genre: Supernatural Thriller/Horror
Logline: Long thought to have disbanded in the 14th century, a secret order of Templar Knights operate in the modern age, hunting down the Seraphim, GOD’s fallen warrior angels who have chosen to join the forces of darkness.
Why you should read: This is the perfect mashup of action, adventure, and horror. 3 genres that bring every demographic to the theatre and will fill seats. Angels, Demons, Warriors, and Soldiers, as well as a child who may be humanity’s savior… or it’s doom. IT HAS IT ALL CARSON! That’s why you should click open and dive in!
Why Carson chose it: I wanted one entry that felt like a big fun action movie.
Title: GALE
Genre : Action – Thriller
Logline : When a violent, North Pacific storm traps two turbine techs on an offshore windmill, they must weather the storm overnight in order to survive.
Why you should read : Disaster films are tried-and-true blockbusters which always allure an international crowd. Now, let’s contain the threats of that disaster around a monstrous, yet claustrophobic structure that’s never been featured in a studio film. This location is susceptible to fires, explosions, destruction, and other electrifying outbursts that will make any action director salivate at the opportunity to get behind the camera. With a main cast of two, trapped in a battle between human nature versus mother nature, including hints of acrophobia, the most common fear, this movie will have any audience on the edge of their seats. GALE is an action-packed screenplay pitched as “Gravity on an offshore windmill”.
Why Carson chose it: This is right up my alley as an idea. It’s got everything I like in a spec script and a budget-friendly marketable movie in it.
