A Just Vengeance
He Waited 40 Years For Revenge...
Genre: Revenge, Action, World War 2
Settings: 1945 Berlin, 1985 New York
Approx Budget to make: $10,000,000.
This script concerns two men who take it upon themselves to continue World War 2 in 1985 New York.
Interwoven with scenes of the older men and their rampage through American city streets, we see the reason why such revenge is needed being played out by their younger counterparts set in 1945.
This film is interesting to me because, as far as I am aware, there really has never been a high budget production surrounding the fall of Berlin and depicting the way it was systematically destroyed by the Allies' missiles. I've only seen this in lesser watched historical documentaries using actual footage from the time.
Setting it in two time-zones allows me to add in another less used trope in action films. That of the old bad-ass story, too often we see young overly handsome people fighting for whatever reason.
Here we get to see two grizzled old bastards who have had 40 years to reflect on their wartime actions duking it out in an urban surrounding of a different kind, one where they feel somewhat left behind.
I cannot afford to make this movie, whilst I would love to direct it in the future, it seems wise to possibly try optioning or selling the screenplay to fund some of my other cheaper ideas.
If you are interested, you can download the first 5 pages above, and email me for the full script.
I am currently entering this into screenplay competitions and will update placements here.
"A Just Vengeance"
Download: Script.pdf (First 5 Pages)
Seed
A single dad attempts to preserve his relationship with his child... by getting away with murder.
Genre: Film Noir/Neo Noir, Suspense, Thriller, Dark
Setting: Non-Specific UK City
Approx budget to make: £50,000-£100,000.
This script is a completely original, but still loving homage to film noirs from the 1930s, 40s and 50s. As well as claustrophobic suspense films by Hitchcock, Polanski and Henri-Georges Clouzot
It obeys many of the laws and tropes of those genres, such as an unplanned murder, an alcoholic cop, melodramatic voice-over and pessimistic atmosphere, but freshened up to take place in a contemporary setting.
It's also fresh due to the main theme running through the script of prejudice. The main character Jordan is a black man, from a poor background with a mixed race daughter who entirely depends on him.
With prior criminal convictions, he doesn't believe that the police will be on his side after bad luck leads to the unplanned murder of another much worse criminal. Therefore he feels he must get away with the murder to be able to keep his daughter trauma free.
With the exciting current influx of mainstream non-Caucasian led films, cynically I have to believe that this film needs to be made yesterday, as I predict a huge wave of such films to come. Films that perhaps won't also mingle with the now fresh again genre of noir.
I cannot afford to fund the full amount of the budget of this movie. I aim to work towards getting that funding over the next 12 months. Depending how much help or funding I can get, I can either make the movie easily for £100,000, or with difficulty for half that amount.
If you are interested, you can download the first 5 pages above, and email me for the full script.
You can see a proof of concept video of this screenplay below:
"Seed"
Download: Script.pdf (First 5 Pages)
Shoot Me
A former cowboy-turned silent movie star struggles to adapt to his newfound showbiz life,
especially when his Diva co-star is kidnapped by Mexican bandits.
Genre: Western/Action/Adventure/Silent Era
Setting: "Somewhere near the Mexican-American border."
Approx budget to make: $10,000,000
Recently, I have become fascinated with the Silent Era of cinema. I love how animated audiences were when the technology was brand new, and the above image was revolutionary at the time, scaring movie-goers so much that they may get shot themselves. The above shot has been mimicked a lot in Scorsese movies amongst others, even if you're unaware of seeing it before.
There is also a lot of parallels with the female and Mexican characters back then, with what is happening geopolitically today as well. The main actress would like nothing more than opportunity to play the "Villain" or the "Action Star", but it was even more difficult back then as it is today. The Mexican characters also seek acceptance, freedom and not to be stereotyped anymore.
Whilst learning about this subject and trying to wrap my head around "Spaghetti Westerns" at the same time, the idea struck me that with the Wild West ending in 1895, that many Cowboys and other occupations of the west, may have crossed over to work in cinema.
The Cowboy archetype - "Man With No Name" is a very grizzled stoic figure, and it's hard to imagine them in a adventure romp that a lot of the early silent movies were famous for. Thus this script was born, not just how would Errol Flynn or Douglas Fairbanks deal with being in a western, but how Clint Eastwood or John Wayne would deal with being in an adventure movie.
What would the Princess Bride have been like, if Clint Eastwood starred as Westley instead of Cary Elwes?
If you are interested, you can download the first 5 pages above, and email me for the full script.
