This website presents some screenplays I am working on, along with background material I collected and screenplay design documents I wrote along the way as the stories evolved.
My Favorite Genres
I am a big fan of Blake Snyder’s (at SavetheCat.com) approach to story telling and his genre descriptions. Here are my favorite genres to write in:
Institutionalized
The three elements of a INSTITUTIONALIZED story are:
1) Every story in this category is about a group—a family, an organization, or a business that is unique.
2) The story is a choice, the ongoing conflict pitting a “Brando” or “Naif” vs. the system’s “Company Man.”
3) Finally, a sacrifice must be made and you get three endings: join, burn it down… or commit “suicide.”
Dude with a Problem
The three elements of a DUDE WITH A PROBLEM story are:
1) An innocent hero who is dragged into a mess without asking for it—or even aware of how he got involved.
2) A sudden event that thrusts our innocent(s) into the world of hurt—and it comes without warning.
3) A life or death battle is at stake—and the continued existence of an individual, family, group, or society is in question.
Screenplays under Development
Blood Red Rain: The Inheritance or The Bastard
Logline: The people of the Kingdom of Hawaii revolt when an evil man becomes king. They place his illegitimate half-brother on the throne.
Blood Red Rain: The Rebellion
Logline: A carefree young Hawaiian, who becomes a crown prince when his father kills his uncle, must learn to defend himself from power hungry brother who wants to continue the family tradition.
Premise: When a carefree young Hawaiian becomes a crown prince after his father kills his uncle, he begins training for the kingship, only to discover his power hungry brother wants to continue the family tradition. Life gets complicated when crops begin to fail and their father has both of them marry a beautiful cousin to re-establish the usurped bloodline. He must pass dangerous kingship tests designed by his brother, overcome his sexual jealousy, and use his new skills to bring the land back to life
Blood Red Rain: The Invasion
Logline: Soon after an inexperienced king and his queen put down a bloody rebellion, they must rally their war-weary subjects to repel an invasion by a powerful neighboring army and bring a second political wife into the royal family.
Blood Red Rain: The Shipwreck
Logline: After a Spanish galleon sinks off the coast of Hawaii island, a Spanish captain and his beautiful sister must learn to live with Hawaii island royalty, but an Aztec priest who was their slave and is a big fan of human sacrifice has other ideas.
Six Flags Over Saigon
Logline: A newly-minted lieutenant is put in charge of building a recreational lake for bored rear-echelon troops by a couple of soon-to-be-laid-off majors who plan to profit from his cluelessness at the end of the Vietnam War.
Golden Harvest
Logline: When her med school application is rejected, a dutiful college graduate takes a summer job with a widely-published, jerk of a physician, but when she discovers his secret, dark research project, she must decide whether it’s worth sacrificing her integrity to earn the recommendation letter she desperately wants.