Title: Cemetery Shadows

Genre: Fantasy
Media: short film

Logline
A tiny cemetery is home to four disparate spirits. Their eternal existence is disrupted when a new arrival appears at the gate and no one is quite sure what tomorrow will bring.

Cemetery Shadows screenplay recently placed Finalist in a fantasy short script competition.

Pitch / Overview
A tiny cemetery, old and thick with shadows. A dozen weathered tombstones, a single small mausoleum. To one side stands a wrought-iron gate, opposite is a slight rise with a single spreading oak tree.

All the world beyond the cemetery is a black void. There exists only this little graveyard.

Home to four disparate spirits. Born each evening with the setting sun, returning to their slumber each morning with the dawn. Their eternal existence is disrupted when a new arrival appears at the gate and no one is quite sure what tomorrow will bring.

Heavy on Twilight Zone influence.

Production Notes
Length: 18 pages
Five characters
One set
No SFX

Industry Feedback

"The script’s strengths are the writing style and voice, the concept and the tone."

"The idea feels very original, and the story works on many levels... great work here."

"The ending is very satisfying and it’s an unforeseen twist that works very well."

Title: Reunions

Genre: Macabre / Horror
Media: Short Script (less than 15 minutes)

Sale Pending

Logline
Four elderly friends, withered and gray with age, get together at a lonely community hall after fifty years apart; something they do every fifty years...

Pitch / Overview
They enter the small community hall one at a time; Mr. Borden, Miss Margaret, Old Mason, Mrs. Johansen. Having not seen each other for fifty years, they take time to get reacquainted, discuss the past decades over soup and coffee.

Then it is time. They reach around the table, they hold hands. Miss Margaret lays her head back, reaches down into her being, reaches deep into her soul, then reaches outward.

Together they roam the night; ethereal beings in the dark, searching, hunting, feeding… silvery specters, apparitions, flickering ghostly creatures drawing life from unsuspecting souls, taking days from one, years from another, all from some.

Comes the dawn, they return to their aging bodies. Their withered shells slowly take in the night’s feeding, absorbing the life energy drawn from mortal beings who will never know what has been taken from them.

Four young friends spend a leisurely breakfast together, discuss their hopes and dreams for the future… the next fifty years.

When they will meet again.

Production Notes
Length: 13 pages
Four main characters
Eight nonspeaking characters (each with their own small scene)
One primary location (community hall interior)
Five single-scene secondary locations
SFX:
    - overhead hovering/flying shots (drone camera)
    - energy transfer, threads transfering from victims to Miss Margaret's fingertips
    - old age makeup; the four companions start elderly, end story as young

Adaptation
Adapted from a short story originally published in Necrology Magazine, Tales of the Macabre; appearing later in several collections.

Title: Yesterday's Shadows

Genre: Science Fiction / Fantasy
Media: Short Script (less than 11 minutes)

Script Sold

Logline
A man traveling the empty landscape of world’s end seeks refuge for the night in an abandoned house in a middle-class neighborhood, and comes face-to-face with his solitude.

Pitch / Overview
Peter walks the empty landscape of a world devastated by a deadly plague from which no one can survive.

Currently at the earliest stage of the plague, Peter may be the last human alive.

He seeks refuge for the night in an abandoned house in an abandoned, middle-class neighborhood. Here he must face the shadows of his solitude.

Production Notes
Length: 12 pages
Two main characters (one brief scene w/ three nonspeaking characters)
One exterior scene (outside of house)
One interior set (house interior)
No SFX

Adaptation
Adapted from a short story by David R. Beshears, appearing in several collections.

Title: Room 4A

Genre: Science Fiction
Media: Short Script (approximately 15 minutes)

Logline
Six people from very different backgrounds are being held prisoner in a large, dark cell, a single circle of light in the center of the room. Most have come to accept their fate… Paul slowly comes to realize that something is very, very wrong. Heavy TZ influence.

Pitch / Overview
A great war is being waged outside.

Paul Mendel is assigned to Room 4A. Six prisoners being held in a large, dark cell, a single circle of light in the center of the room.

Six prisoners from very different backgrounds: A college student, a retired state worker, a police detective, an army major, a college professor... and now an antique furniture store owner.

Most of the prisoners have come to accept their fate. They live in near solitude, gathering daily in the circle of light for meals, and the occasional “storytelling”.

It is through the storytellings that Paul Mendel comes to realize that something is very, very wrong.

Production Notes
Length: 16 pages
Six main characters, one secondary character (in final scene)
Two nonspeaking characters in one flashback scene
One primary location (the room with circle of light in center)
Two secondary locations (one scene each)
  - exterior, park with gazebo
  - interior, large room with rows of gurneys
One SFX - CGI of two alien creatures (second to last scene)

Adaptation
Adapted from a short story by David R. Beshears.

Title: Sisters in Space

Genre: Science Fiction Adventure
Media: webseries / miniseries (seven 20 minute episodes)

Logline
Claire and Amelia wake from cryo aboard a small escape shuttle, find themselves adrift eighty years in deep space. This is the story of their journey home.

Pitch / Overview
The Sisters in Space serial consists of seven 20 minute episodes following sisters Claire (22) and Amelia (20) on their journey home after waking from cryo aboard a small shuttle and finding themselves adrift eighty years in deep space.

Project is ideally suited to a webseries or low budget television miniseries. The solid conclusion to the serial leaves open the possibility of future serials.

Screenwriting Competition:
Episode One – “Awakening” placed top three finalist in a recent webseries screenwriting competition.

Adaptation
Sisters in Space has been adapted to a novella collection, available in print and ebook. It is currently being adapted to a seven episode radioplay serial.

Production Notes
episode 1
Length: Episode one is twenty pages
Two main characters (sisters), one additional character (brother in recorded video)
One location (shuttle interior)
CGI of shuttle in space

series (seven episodes)
Length: Episodes range 20 to 24 pages each
Two main characters (sisters) , one additional character (brother in recorded video)
Several additional characters in final episode
Handful of secondary locations sprinkled throughout the episodes
Some minimal CGI required in most episodes; mostly shots of spaceships drifting in space, couple of other minor sequences

Title: The Light in the Mist

Genre: Victorian Fairy Tale
Media: Short Script (approximately 18 minutes)

Logline
In the age of the Demon Lord, goblins and fairies, a family must face the arrival of the Darkness to their idyllic valley, home of Waterfall of the Fairies. Little Sarah may be their only hope.

Pitch / Overview
Daniel and Hanna wed and moved to a small valley three days walk from the village. They built a three room house on the northern hillside and made this their home. From the doorstep, they could watch the seasons change; the summers were never too hot or too dry, the winters never too harsh. In the spring, the grasses and the trees were all shades of green, the flowers yellow and white and blue. The autumn saw the trees turn orange and brown and red. The man and his wife were happy.

Late one autumn they had a daughter. Sarah was sweet and happy and a part of the valley, more so with each passing season. She spent her days in the forests and meadows of the valley, and on a rocky ledge near the Waterfall of the Fairies. The soft falls would dance and sparkle with life, occasionally reaching out to caress the cheeks of the little girl.

Far from the valley was the Great Hall of Galmack, the Demon Lord. He despised the light with all his being, longed for the warmth of the dark. Such a world had been his before and he would have it again.

He brought forth the Darkness, the seeds planted first in a distant valley and from which it would spread across all the land.

With the Darkness came gray skies and clouds near black. With the Darkness came the swamps and the muddy bogs. With the Darkness, the grasses withered and wildflowers died, the woods turned barren, the brooks swelled and muddied.

With the Darkness came Galmack’s goblins to take the fairies and leave the waterfall dull and lifeless.

The only hope for the fairies and the light was Sarah, a ten year old girl who was one with the valley.

Production Notes
Length: 18 pages
Three main characters human characters
Several secondary characters (demon lord, goblins, three cursed creatures)
Two interior locations: main room of family's house, Galmack's audience chamber
Four exterior locations: outside house, forest trail, creek bank, waterfall of the fairies
SFX - glowing orbs of the fairies in the waterfall, sparkling tears in the mist
CGI / Special makeup: Galmack the demon lord, goblins, cursed creatures

Adaptation
Adapted from a short story by David R. Beshears.

Title: The Bench

Genre: Science Fiction / Fantasy
Media: Short Script (approximately 6 minutes)

Logline
A man is sitting on a bench on the bank of a small lake. The last thing he remembers is dying.

Pitch / Overview
William is sitting on an old wooden bench on the banks of a small lake in an unknown landscape. His last memories are of what he assumes were the final moments of his life: his own death.

His solitude is interrupted by a benevolent stranger who may have the answers as to where they are and why.

"Is this heaven?"
"No, William. This is not heaven."


Production Notes
This is an ultra-low budget project.
Length: 6 pages
Two main characters (one brief scene w/ two nonspeaking characters)
One exterior location (bench by a small lake)
One interior location (bedroom, brief flashback scene)
No SFX

Title: Under an Alien Sky

Genre: Science Fiction
Media: short script (approximately 10 minutes)

Logline
Survivors at a spaceship crash site struggle with the realization that they will not be going home, but yet hope to complete their delivery.

Pitch / Overview
Lt. Margaret Jensen has just finished burying their first officer. She looks back at the wreckage of their small spaceship, crashing on this desolate alien landscape.

It was a miracle that any survived.

The other survivors are Captain Martinez and their package, Dr. Brown, whom they were delivering to a facility conducting research on the enemy.

Jensen sees little chance of rescue, and no chance of walking away from this. The aliens know where they are.

Captain Martinez is just a tad more optimistic… they might at least yet see that the package is delivered.


Production Notes
This is a low-budget project
Three characters
One location, two sets: crash site (exterior); spaceship interior (interior)
No SFX, no CGI

Title: The Black Tower - Ep1 Prolog

Genre: Science Fiction
Media: short script (approximately 4-5 minutes)

Note:
This is the prolog for episode one of The Black Tower, an 11 hour, 11 episode miniseries.

Logline
Professor Asher arrives outside a mysterious black tower, is escorted inside, down a long hallway, and out onto a landing overlooking "the first floor": an expansive alien jungle.

(miniseries logline):
A team of scientists travels the eighty floors of a strange black tower, where each floor is an alternate world fraught with danger, striving to reach the top floor and the dark force behind the creation of the looming monolith.

Pitch / Overview
Professor Peter Asher arrives outside a gleaming black tower that has mysteriously materialized in the heart of a major city. A command center has been set up nearby, from which the operation is to be directed.

Young Dr. Asher is led into the tower through the only door. He travels a long hallway, comes out onto a landing that overlooks an impossible scene: An alien jungle. Where the walls and ceiling should be is a wilderness landscape stretching out to an alien horizon, an alien sky hovering low overhead; yet there is something unreal about the images set against the walls and ceiling… evidence that all is not as it appears.

Note:
The short script is the 4 minute prolog for the first episode of an 11 hour, 11 episode miniseries. The produced short film can serve as a stand-alone CGI demonstration, or to promote the miniseries project, or both. For detailed information and prospectus on the miniseries project, please visit the screenplays website.

Production Notes (prolog only)
Several speaking characters, several non-speaking characters
One exterior location: parking lot outside black tower
Two interior sets: 1) long hallway, 2) first floor landing overlooking alien jungle

Short script project offers opportunity to demonstrate CGI:
1) black tower exterior, 2) first floor landscape of alien jungle

Adaptation
The Black Tower has been adapted to novel format and is available in print, large print, ebook and audiobook format. Go to greybeard publishing for information and links.

Title: Family Alone

Genre: Science Fiction Adventure
Media: webseries (five 6-12 minute episodes)

Logline
(ep 1) A family preparing for a camping trip slowly realize they are alone in the world.

Pitch / Overview

episode 1
An early Saturday morning, a quiet middle-class neighborhood.
A family packing their car for a weekend camping trip.
But something isn’t right.
The neighborhood is too quiet. The world is too quiet.

series
A family explores a world suddenly devoid of people, searching of an answer.
For details re the five episode series, visit the screenplays website.

Production Notes
episode 1
Length: seven pages
Four characters (parents 30s, son 12, daughter 9)
Three exterior locations:
  Outside family home, quiet middle-class neighborhood
  Vehicle traveling empty streets
  Outside Grandma's house, rural gravel road
No SFX, no CGI

Title: Annie's Plan

Genre: Drama (touch of scifi)
Media: webseries (six 5-7 minute episodes)

Logline
(ep 1) Two young women at a desert campsite, early morning. The plan didn’t go quite as planned. Jen is not happy.

Pitch / Overview

episode 1
Two young women at a desert campsite, early morning. The plan didn’t go quite as planned. Jen is not happy.

series
Jen and Annie are small-time grifters looking for a big score. Annie had a plan, a great plan. But something went wrong, and they find themselves abandoned in the desert, their target long gone. Jen is not happy...

Leaving their desert camp, they start across the desert, following after their target. They find signs at a small watering hole, and will confront him at a desert shack.

Production Notes
episode 1
Length: five pages
two characters (young women, 20s)
One exterior location, desert campsite
No SFX, no CGI

Title: The Bridge Crew

Genre: Science Fiction
Media: webseries (six 10-20 minute episodes)

Logline
(ep 1) In the first episode, the bridge crew of a newly commissioned spacecraft preparing for their shakedown cruise are directed instead to recover a group of scientists before a star goes nova. They come across several suspicious, previously uncharted asteroid fields en route, indications of a previously unknown alien race.

Pitch / Overview

episode 1
Episode One “Trial Run” introduces the characters of “The Bridge Crew”, a six episode science fiction webseries with one set, five characters and minimal CGI, setting the stage for the remaining five episodes of the webseries.

series
The Bridge Crew is a six episode science fiction webseries with one set, five characters and minimal CGI. The entire series takes place on the bridge of an exploration starship with CGI displayed on the forward viewer, the five characters working at their assigned duty stations.

The first episode introduces the characters and the structure of the series as the starship is redirected from its initial shakedown cruise to instead recover a group of scientists before a star goes nova.

They come across several suspicious, previously uncharted asteroid fields en route, indications of a previously unknown alien race.

Episodes two thru six follows Starcruiser Explorer 3 as its crew searches for answers.

Production Notes
episode 1
Length: twenty seven pages
Five main characters (bridge crew)
One supporting character (seen on forward viewer only)
One location (the bridge)
CGI displayed on the bridge's forward viewer: planets, starscapes, asteroid fields

Title: The Meadow

Genre: True Story
Media: short script (approx 5 minutes)

Logline
A twelve year old boy goes on a hunting trip with his grandpa in 1968. It would turn out to be their first and last hunting trip together, and the week would forever change them both.

Pitch / Overview
Adapted from a two-page essay, The Meadow is the true story of a twelve year old boy’s first and only hunting trip with Grandpa, a week that in very subtle ways would forever change their relationship, the memory of which would create a bond that would last far beyond the grandfather’s passing.

Production Notes
Length: five pages
One Narrator (the only speaking character, always in voice-over)
Two main characters (non-speaking)
Three supporting characters (two very minor, one minor, all non-speaking)
One location: forest (includes campsite, forest floor, outcropping overlooking a meadow)
Note: will require scenes of a lone deer grazing at edge of meadow