THREE OPTIONED MOVIE SCRIPTS
Movie scripts are not regular text. They are only about 120 pages, containing mostly dialogue with camera and scene setting instructions as necessary. The format conveys only what’s necessary to set scenes and show dialogue. Scripts leave plenty of room for imagination. A good analogy is that reading a book is like watching television while reading a screenplay is like listening to radio.
My three best movie scripts are provided here in full for anyone who wants to read them. All are comedy-dramas, two aimed at adults and one at children. Each has been optioned by Hollywood producers at least three times. This means several people tried hard to get the financing to film each one.
Each has merit in its own way. Before each script is its synopsis. Read that and decide if it feels right for you. They are listed in an order dictated by drawing lots out of a hat. I can never pick a favorite among them. They’re like children to me.
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WENDELL'S DEATH |
A young man is informed he has one week to live. A crass
media mogul offers to buy the rights to film that final week of his life
as the ultimate in Reality TV programming. "We're going to bring
death back into the home, where it belongs!" A hilariously macabre black
comedy. Synopsis
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SERIOUS BUSINESS
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A recently divorced architect is close to losing his job.
He's given one last chance to do something right. Unfortunately, he is mistaken
for a hit man on a mission, and before he knows it he becomes the hit man's
primary target. More of a dark comedy than black, funny and tense throughout.
Jack Mathews is a thirtyish architect, marriage recently ended, having a helluva time adjusting to life without a helpmeet. Late for work almost every day, dressed rumpled and disheveled, nervous and on edge 24/7. Worst of all is that for his whole life he’s wanted to be a stand-up comedian, but he’s not talented enough. He’s made a good living as an architect, but that’s never been fully satisfying. On this day his boss calls Jack in and tells him he has one last chance to get himself back on track. He sends him to New York to deliver the architectural design for a new Mormon temple to be built there. However, another Jack Mathews arrives in New York at the same time. This Jack Mathews is a vicious hit man hired to kill a corporate raider bent on taking over an old-line family company floundering due to gentrification of its leaders and products. Jack the architect is mistaken for the hit man and the hit man is mistaken for the architect. By the time the mistake is clear, Jack stands before the men who have hired the killer and he realizes that anyone who finds out about the scheme must ipso facto be eliminated along with the corporate raider trying to take them over. If he clears up the misunderstanding he will be new target #1 on the real killer’s hit list, so he calls on his improvisational training to portray his impression of a stone-cold assassin. What he comes up with is hilarious but convincing. Just as Jack is making his getaway from the building where his meeting was held, killer Mathews arrives and gives chase. Jack escapes by tumbling into the empty back seat of a convertible driven by Gayle Strickland. The hit man is able to jump into the now-moving convertible and the two men engage in a one-sided fight. As Jack is about to be thrown from the car, Gayle hits the brakes and killer Mathews is thrown forward, striking his head enough to briefly knock him out. As he leaves, Jack hurriedly explains that the man is a killer, so Gayle refuses to be left with him. It’s her oppressive boss’ car, so she abandons it and runs away with Jack. Thus begins a cat-and-mouse chase with killer Mathews on the trail of Jack and Gayle, and Jack and Gayle trying to shake him while trying at the same time to save the life of the targeted corporate raider. Despite their grim circumstances, would-be comic Jack and frumpy Gayle have an inordinate amount of fun frantically trying to figure out the best ways to save lives—especially their own! They wear costumes, role play, and have adventure after adventure as they move toward a final confrontation with killer Mathews. Back
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A LEGEND RIDES AGAIN |
In "The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow" Icabod Crane doesn't necessarily die. He vanishes, leaving behind a pommeled cap. This story postulates that he fell into a time tunnel and came out in modern-day Tarrytown, New York. Now he must make his way back to his own time and place with the aid of two costumed children out trick-or-treating on Halloween night. A script aimed at the pre-teen audience, but all adults were once children. Synopsis
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All Original Material Copyright 2007
© Lloyd Pye