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Los Angeles Lift-Off Officially Selected Screenplays

Posted ltiffany

After a huge number of submissions for Los Angeles Film Festival, here are the 3 screenplays officially selected to go forward onto the Network platform. Congratulations all! In order to read the screenplays, sign up to the Network here!

HELL’S GATE – Piotr Szkopiak

SYNOPSIS:  Hell’s Gate is a horror film set in Roman Britain. It tells the story of a bitter and obsessive Roman soldier who must overcome the hatred he has for his Pict enemies to defeat the power of an ancient curse.

What was the inspiration behind the screenplay? 
I had never seen a horror film set in Roman times. I think the most direct inspiration came from “Gladiator” & “The Dirty Dozen”. I wrote this very much as a film I wanted to see in the cinema.
What are you looking for to take this project to the next stage?
Collaboration to prepare the script for production. I would like to be considered to direct.
What advice has helped to get where you are now?
I taught myself how to write screenplays but what I realise now is that writing truly IS re-writing and the process never ends even once the script is in production. A script is always a work-in-progress.

Sunflower Care – Della Greenawalt

SYNOPSIS: An elderly woman entering a care center thwarts death at every opportunity.

What was the inspiration behind this screenplay?

My mom! She was the toughest, take-no-prisoners person I have ever met, the person I admired the most, and this is a valentine to her. She only spent a few weeks at a “care center” when she broke her hip before she talked me into breaking her out of the place! [I drove the get-away car!]

What are you looking for to take this project to the next stage?

I want to film this comedy and hit the film festival circuit. I love the lead character, Doris, and would love to turn Sunflower Care into a feature with her as the lead.

What advice has helped to get where you are now?

Terry Rossio (Shrek, Pirates of The Carribean) spoke to the online workshop I am in recently, and he said “Go to film school.” I agree. You can never know too much about screenwriting and filmmaking and film school is a great place to start. Then find every avenue possible to learn more. Keep learning forever.

Field Trip – Claudio Martinez-Valle

 

SYNOPSIS: A group of kids is forced on a field trip in lieu of detention, and soon they find themselves fighting for their lives against a very real mythical creature.

What was the inspiration behind this script?

I wanted to write a horror script that features kids and how would they react against an unimaginable demon. I wanted to give them tridimensional characters, with stakes and risks and arc development. Usually, in horror movies, the characters are just “meat” for the monster or “zombies” with no depth at all. Children have the ultimate survival skills.

What are you looking for to take this project to the next stage?

I want to share it with the genre-enthusiasts like myself. And of course, see it on a big screen.

What advice has helped you get where you are now?
Always be passionate, perseverant, and follow your dreams. No matter your age.