Screenplay Extracts

Here are the first 40 pages or so of each of my screenplays. Some of these are still a work in progress, but this is a chance to see my work in the first/second/third draft stage. These works are, of course, registered with the Writer's Guild, so don't bother trying to steal them.

Separate--A coming of age story set in an Amish community.

Collecting the Corners--A nervous prep school student is forced into the role of the world's wealthiest man's personal assistant...only to find that the man is a germ-obsessed recluse who happens to be in all the secret societies that run the world.

The Center Point--A genre-bending tale of time travel, madness, and a serial killer.

Heart of the Fracture--A desperately lonely man falls in love with an upbeat schoolteacher by accident. They are well-matched and can heal each other until an unexpected tragedy triggers the demise of the relationship.

Big Ideas--An ambitious young suburbanite uses a loose crew of misfits (the town slut, a violently protective childhood friend, a former arsonist, and an unhappy multi-millionaire) in his quest to become an international drug smuggler. Very offbeat dramatic comedy.

Crows in a Murder--I attempted to write a stylized contemporary noir set in a high school (and before you ask, this was before I had ever seen the movie Brick). Well, being me, this did not turn out as I had envisioned. What was supposed to be a tightly wound suspense story turned into a mystery involving communication with the dead, mental illness, time travel, and the Dalai Lama.

In the Twilight--A former President and First Lady adjust to life out of the public eye after a lifetime in politics. Inspired primarily by the late life of Lyndon Johnson, I was just interested in the idea of what comes after you no longer have crowds cheering for you anymore. This is a sensible and practically normal drama (which is weird coming from me, right?)

Forgetting the Dead--Two childhood friends (overbearing Vaughn and brain-damaged Cole) are entrenched in a web of intrigue after Vaughn decides to kidnap a suspicious Arab man in the aftermath of 9/11.

Influences of the Gloaming--A suburban family's dysfunction comes to the forefront after the shocking loss of the youngest son. Drama.

The Substance of Angels--A confused runaway, an amoral televangelist, and a former silent film star are drawn together by the magic power of levitation. A script about life, love, death, acceptance, and exploitation (in other words, a script about life). This is my Magnolia.

Squalor--A dense suspense/mystery with heavy noir overtones set in the old west. The town boss, Bryant, and his partner Sawyer gear up for a showdown with their rival over the dishonesty of an employee that has friends. Meanwhile, Sawyer is trying to piece together the death of his love while trying to fend off the investigation of a Pinkerton. My first, and likely last, western.

In the Heart or the Head--A schizophrenic writer devestated by infidelity tries to navigate the strange world of 9/11 NYC, falling in love with women but never sure if they are real or exist in his head.

Potemkin--A failing news program is reinvigorated by an exclusive interview that leads to war in the Middle East. But one investigative journalist smells something fishy. Intrigue, politics, contemporary journalism, and a bit of mental illness all intersect in this story.