It’s about a group of unscrupulous ghost-hunters that find what they’re looking for… and more.
2. What genres does your screenplay fall under?
Horror.
3. Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?
The screenplay embraces our favorite elements from Roger Corman and John Carpenter. We wanted to make a small film, single-location, but with enough drive and intrigue to keep the story moving forward. These types of films are very difficult to write effectively, but when they work… they’re magic.
4. How would you describe this script in two words?
Lynch-Lite.
5. What movie have you seen the most times in your life?
Dr. Strangelove.
6. How long have you been working on this screenplay?
On and off for several years. Picking it up, here and there. Always came back to it because we were having so much fun.
7. How many stories have you written?
Stories? Too many to list. I published many in small literary magazines, back when I was fresh out of college. We’ve worked on probably ten screenplays together.
8. What is your favorite song? (Or, what song have you listened to the most times in your life?)
Cold Shot – Stevie Ray Vaughan.
9. What obstacles did you face to finish this screenplay?
There were no real obstacles, other than time constraints. It wasn’t a difficult process. As I said, we were having so much fun writing it, there weren’t any obstacles to speak of. When you like what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.
10. Apart from writing, what else are you passionate about?
Film, of course. Travel. History. Museums.
11. You entered your screenplay via FilmFreeway. What has been your experiences working with the submission platform site?
Seems very intuitive.
12. What influenced you to enter the festival? What were your feelings on the initial feedback you received?
Looking for exposure. As for feedback, we’re still neophytes.
A near-future dream expert with dream-reading technology, known professionally for her stance that “dreams mean nothing”, freaks when her husband’s dreams reveal an affair and a murder–hers.
Forty winks is about the struggle between knowledge and fear, belief and self-doubt. The main character is a scientist, supposedly unemotionally committed to conclusions drawn from years of research, her life’s work. But when this commitment comes into conflict with her beliefs about herself, her marriage and by extension her sense of self worth, it falters, because of a deep and very human insecurity, the possibility or “what if” that she is wrong, that she is unworthy, that she is unloved.
2. What genres does your screenplay fall under?
It’s an erotic thriller and a mystery-drama, but the tension beneath the surface is often superseded by the comedy of life.
3. Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?
It’s exciting and really intriguing with the angle of looking into dreams, the realistic nature of their representation (random, mundane, absurd, frightening), the macabre turn they take in terms of adultery and murder, and the whodunit guessing game between multiple characters.
4. How would you describe this script in two words?
Waking Nightmare
5. What movie have you seen the most times in your life?
Sunset Boulevard
6. How long have you been working on this screenplay?
A year
7. How many stories have you written?
Dozens
8. What is your favorite song? (Or, what song have you listened to the most times in your life?)
You Send Me
9. What obstacles did you face to finish this screenplay?
Getting the third act right
10. Apart from writing, what else are you passionate about?
Women’s rights
11. You entered your screenplay via FilmFreeway. What has been your experiences working with the submission platform site?
Fine
12. What influenced you to enter the festival? What were your feelings on the initial feedback you received?
I like readings. I thought the reader misunderstood my intentions a little.
A highly-intelligent, socially-disenfranchised man seeks moral justice and eludes a former FBI agent as he manipulates others to disguise his own criminal acts.
CAST LIST:
NARRATOR: Rachel Rain Packota
Jack: Isaiah Kolundzic
Walter: Julian Ford
Simon: Jason Gray
Christine: Vanessa Burns
Paula: Olivia Jon
Get to know the writer:
1. What is your screenplay about?
Simon Webber, intelligent with a high moral compass, exists on society’s edge, mostly forgotten and ignored. When his wife and child are killed by a distracted driver, the court shows an unecpected leniency in the case. Enraged by a justice system that fails to act, Simon retaliates, using his highly technical skills to not only kill the guilty but frame another for the act. While his vengence is sated, its only temporary as he hunts among the dregs of society, where murder is the only outlet for his rage. Simon is pursued by Jack Donovan, an ex-FBI agent turned detective, dealing with his own moral crisis after failing to save a child from a serial killer. Where Simon sees a kindship in Jack who fights his own battle within a corrupt police department, Jack retains a stead-fast belief in the law. As their worlds collide, the line between morality and justice fade, causing a reckoning that neither can survive.
2. What genres does your screenplay fall under?
Thriller, Suspense, Crime
3. Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?
FRAMER’s themes of vengeance, moral justice and self-sacrifice will have strong appeal across multiple age groups and genders.
It will also garner appeal across social classes and race, especially with those that believe our political and judicial systems have failed. These are all very current and provocative social issues seen all over the news.
Women will be attracted to the struggle of both lead characters as they deal with family issues to protect or avenge children. In addition, FRAMER’s female cast covers a broad spectrum from motherly to strong policewoman exhibiting the characteristics of compassion, power and inner fortitude that audiences of today expect.
Men and older viewers are attracted to FRAMER’s action, suspense, tension and danger. The complex and intense plotline with unique twists will keep male viewers engaged.
Younger audiences will appreciate the cleverness in which Simon facilitates his crimes: the use of technology to commit, trap and frame his victims.
In addition, there is an exuberance of twenty-something characters engaging in activities that 18-30 year old audiences can relate to.
4. How would you describe this script in two words?
Vigilente justice
5. What movie have you seen the most times in your life?
The Lion in Winter, the subtextual dialogue exchange between the characters is the best I’ve ever seen.
6. How long have you been working on this screenplay?
Three years, this month
7. How many stories have you written?
12 scripts (8 for hire), 1-webseries (optioned), 2-TV series
8. What is your favorite song? (Or, what song have you listened to the most times in your life?)
In Your Eyes by Peter Gabriel
9. What obstacles did you face to finish this screenplay?
The key was to make an anti-hero character like Simon empathetic enough so an audience would relate to him. It was important to create a character such that, while on the surface his actions are horrific, how would anyone react in a similar situation? I wanted that conversation after the movie was over. Additionally, Simon’s adversary needed to be equally strong and wounded. To do these characters justice, I had to draw from darker places than I’m used to.
10. Apart from writing, what else are you passionate about?
I do Voice over work which is very rewarding and fun. My work can be found on several websites and I’ve voiced several audiobooks. I scuba, play golf when the weather is nice and can be found to play a videogame now and then – I especially like RPGs. Anything with a good story.
11. You entered your screenplay via FilmFreeway. What has been your experiences working with the submission platform site?
It’s really great overall. Easy to submit and find film festivals. There is a great amount of information given and I like all the submission in one place to track. It’s not very flexible though. I’d like to add festivals I entered (not realizing they were available through film freeway).
12. What influenced you to enter the festival? What were your feelings on the initial feedback you received?
I liked that it was genre specific. That I was competing with like scripts and the judges were experts in the genre. When you enter, a win needs to mean something and being chosen for a read through the Thriller Festival brings credibility to the script as it moves into market.
After the tragic loss of her husband in a line of duty shooting, Detective Joan Fortune collapses and loses their unborn child. In the ensuing weeks, Joan’s life begins to crumble around her as she desperately tries to find the drug lords responsible for her husband’s murder. Things change for Joan when a local priest brings in a three year old girl who was left abandoned at his church. Joan’s heart melts upon meeting her.
CAST LIST:
Narrator: Elizabeth Rose Morriss
Gage: Connor Lyon
Ed: Dan Cristofori
Mike: Shaun Mazoka
Todd:: Brennan Clost
Mrs Zachary: Julie C. Sheppard
Joan: Rachel Rain Packota
Get to know the writer:
What is your screenplay about?
It’s a supernatural story about a malevolent spirit reliving its past to reclaim its family..
What genres does your screenplay fall under?
Supernatural horror…
Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?
The book written by, Ronald J. Van Wynsberg, is an awesome read… If done right, I think it could rival with other cult classics like ‘Halloween’ or ‘Friday the 13th’… It has all the elements of a supernatural horror with an ending no one sees coming.
How would you describe this script in two words?
Movie worthy…
What movie have you seen the most times in your life?
Halloween…
How long have you been working on this screenplay?
6 months…
How many stories have you written?
To many to count…but several that have made their way into producer’s hands…
What is your favorite song? (Or, what song have you listened to the most times in your life?)
I am a fan of Country Music… If I had to pick one…’Wide Open Spaces’ by the Dixie Chicks
What obstacles did you face to finish this screenplay?
Time…
Apart from writing, what else are you passionate about?
Golf…
You entered your screenplay via FilmFreeway. What has been your experiences working with the submission platform site?
User-friendly website; Professional…
What influenced you to enter the festival? What were your feelings on the initial feedback you received?
The fact that the festival was looking for the genre to which I absolutely love… Very excited…
FAN FICTION SHORT Screenplay – FALLEN: A STAR WARS STORY
I NEED YOU, 5min., USA, Thriller/Romance
FAN FICTION 1st Scene Screenplay – THE LAST CAMPOUT
1st SCENE Screenplay – CHILDREN OF THE DUST
THRILLER 1st SCENE Screenplay – THE BLUE ROOM
FANTASY BEST SCENE Screenplay
THRILLER BEST SCENE Screenplay – BACK FROM THE DEAD
BEST SCENE Screenplay – TOUCH TABLE
NOVEL Transcript Reading – THE DAMASCUS COVER
COMEDY SHORT Screenplay – EVERYONE HAS THEIR DEMONS
Under 5min. SHORT Screenplay – KEEP SMILING
1st SCENE CRIME Screenplay – THE BIRTHING FIELD
1st SCENE HORROR Screenplay – SILHOUETTE
KAJAL, 20min, India, Drama
GRACE & GRIT, 3min, USA, Thriller/Drama
1st SCENE Screenplay: NIGHT WIND TO BAHIA
1st SCENE Screenplay: CRIME CYCLE
1st SCENE Screenplay: CHASING THE WIND
1st SCENE Screenplay – NINE SCARS
1st Scene Screenplay – EXISTENTIAL QUANDARY
1st Scene Screenplay – WHEN THERE WAS TIME
1st Scene Screenplay – PUPPETS
1st Scene Screenplay – MONSTER BENEATH THE ICE
1st Scene Screenplay – BEFORE GOD
1st Scene Screenplay – THE SHOT
1st Scene Screenplay – ROAD TO TEXAS
1st Scene -GUNNISON