Script List 2009
Dear Colleague,
It is the pleasure and honor of the Writing Division at the School of Cinematic Arts to be once again graduating an exceptional class of B.F.A. and M.F.A. writing students. Inside these pages are the many exciting projects our students have been developing during their time at USC. Included in this year's Script List are loglines for their thesis projects, spec features, as well as comedy and drama television work, which include both episodes and pilots. This year you will also find a few pilot Webisodes.
You can't go too far in the motion picture and television industry without running into a USC film student. This is because School of Cinematic Arts students are taught by professionals to be professionals. Our writers live and breathe story and character; their work is filled with passion and skill.
Please take advantage of your early opportunity to meet these fine young writers and become acquainted with their work. If there is a project that interests you, please contact the student at their listed email address or directly by phone. If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact me directly or to speak with a member of the Writing Division staff at 213.740.3303.
Stories are about endings and new beginnings. For our writing students, this is the end of their time at USC, but the beginning of their professional career.
Here's to good reading.
Best regards,
Jack Epps, Jr., Chair
Writing Division
School of Cinematic Arts
University of Southern California
Writers A-M:
(Writers N-Z:)
JILL ABRAMSON
AARON ALLEN
CHARLES BENIMOFF
FIONA BLACK
DAVID BRATTON
JACLYN CHAN
LIZETTE CLARK
KHRISTOPHER CHARY DAGAM
RICHARD ELLIOT DEUTSCH
KRISTIN E. ELLERMANN, J.D.
ANISEH ERFANI
JOEY FALCO
ERIN FEIGER
JARRETT GOLDING
COLIN HAWES
CHRIS HUTTON
HILDE SUSAN JAEGTNES
ANGELA KANG
RYAN KASMISKIE
ALEXANDER LEMLEY
TERESA LO
KATIE LOVEJOY
DEIRDRE MANGAN
JEANNETTE MANNING
DAOUD MANSOUR
ZAHIR MCGHEE
SIMON MCNABB
ANDREW MCNALLY
JACOB MICHAEL
JORDAN MIRRER
JESSICA MOLLO
BEN MURRAY
JILL ABRAMSON
B.F.A.
socalgal1687@gmail.com
IN PRINT
THRILLER FEATURE
Richard Shaw is an NSA agent, but even his advertiser wife doesn't know it. That is, until their careers intersect when she becomes an unwitting accomplice in a terrorist plot. After telling her who he is and what he's done, he must regain her trust as they unite to protect themselves and the lives of thousands.
Back to the top.
AARON ALLEN
M.F.A.
Wilco4321@aol.com
Nominated for Humanitas Student Drama Fellowship for "I've Got You Under My Skin"
THE PRICE
ORIGINAL DRAMA PILOT
Hollywood producer Maximilian Price transforms the family business—a stodgy New York art gallery—into a snazzy, sexy, provocative bastion for artists on the fringe of sanity. His brother and business partner, Norman, fights for good taste—but is "taste" worth the cost of losing out to the competition?
CALLED TO SERVE
ORIGINAL COMEDY/ DRAMA PILOT
Chad Adams is like any other 19-year-old boy, with one big difference: he's a Mormon missionary, striving to save souls in Los Angeles. In the face of a city that hates him, companions that fight, and the usual urges of a teenage boy, can he keep the faith?
AFTER THE FALL
ACTION/ ADVENTURE FEATURE
A photographer pursues his ex-girlfriend to war-torn Africa after the death of a friend tears them apart. When they're kidnapped by a violent band of rebels, they must come together to survive.
"I'VE GOT YOU UNDER MY SKIN"
DEXTER Spec
What if those skinless corpses on display at "Body Worlds" didn't donate themselves voluntarily? This is what Dexter suspects, as he stalks an artistic killer who likes to get under the skin of his victims.
Back to the top.
CHARLES BENIMOFF
B.F.A.
charleswben@gmail.com
HOSTEL CAT
ORIGINAL COMEDY PILOT
On a round-the-world quest to find direction in life, naïve and broke pick-pocket victim Colt Johnson secures work in a small Eastern European city. This sitcom chronicles the daily debauchery passing travelers subject the hostel staff to.
GOOD DAY TO DIE
COMEDY FEATURE
When a mob boss assassinates a British secret agent, one of the agent's half-Cuban illegitimate sons escapes from an MI5 foster-mansion to exact revenge. He discovers both his sexuality and a plot to eradicate the world's population of honey bees along the way.
"THE SCIENCE PROJECT"
FAMILY GUY SPEC
It's science fair time at James Woods High and Chris, who will get an F if he does a bad job, cannot come up with an idea. Stewie convinces him that "testing the effects of alcohol poisoning on a family" is a good one.
Back to the top.
FIONA BLACK
B.F.A.
reimers.fiona@yahoo.com
HOME RUN HALEY
ROMANTIC COMEDY FEATURE
Rich girl Haley, on a quest to tape an "interview with her future" for her senior project, collides with Compton-raised Danny, and must view L.A. for the day from his '85 Toyota pickup. But are the sparks of a new-found relationship with a fellow Chicano enough to broaden her narrow view of the world?
CROOKED CROSS
ORIGINAL DRAMA PILOT
Saddleback church might have Rick Warren, but nearby Church of the Living Word has Archie and Phillippa Kreiner, an inspiring pastor and his wife
who would do anything for the 50-member flock, including breaking every commandment in the Bible to make monthly rent and fight for their identity.
"YOU'VE BEEN JAZZED"
SUITE LIFE OF ZACK AND CODY SPEC
When Arts Week brings a jazz band to the Tipton Hotel, Zack and Cody learn not to trust everything they're told when they're fooled into thinking the band is a bunch of mobsters.
Back to the top.
DAVID BRATTON
M.F.A.
Bratton617@gmail.com
2008 Nicholl Fellowship Quarter-Finalist for Threshold
HOMICIDE: D.V.U.
DARK COMEDY FEATURE
A detective in an elite homicide unit notices that all of his cases unfold in the same predictable manner, leading to a shocking discovery: he's not a detective at all, just a character on a TV show. But when he yearns to be free of the routine, he soon learns there are consequences for breaking with procedure.
TEN DAYS IN DECEMBER
COMEDY FEATURE
Fleury is an elf with dreams of escaping the North Pole, which is now a sweatshop run by Santa's evil son, Tanta Claus. So he joins the Elf Liberation Front (E.L.F.) only to realize that their inability to keep secrets or think a plan all the way through may backfire and could end up destroying the North Pole.
THRESHOLD
CRIME DRAMA FEATURE
John McNally is an ordinary gang officer forced to commit an extraordinary act of violence when he encounters a suicide bomber on a crowded subway platform. Can he survive the personal and professional consequences of this decision in time to prevent an even bigger menace from destroying his city?
Back to the top.
JACLYN CHAN
M.F.A.
jackay.chan@gmail.com
GRACE & AILEEN
DARK COMEDY FEATURE
When Grace, a late-60s, straight-laced manager at McDonald's, inherits her son's debts to a ruthless mobster, Grace and her free-wheeling sister, Aileen, take insurance policies out on men... and murder them.
THROW DOUGH
ACTION/COMEDY FEATURE
A failed gizmo inventor leads a band of maladroit misfits to the Pizza-lympics, an acrobatic pizza-tossing competition, in Italy in an attempt to save his father's dying pizza business.
THE ADVENTURES OF LOFTY DE LIZZARD*
ORIGINAL COMEDY PILOT
Animated family comedy in which Lofty, a geeky gecko, and his best friend, a "skirt"-chasing chameleon, navigate the pressures of Rep Prep
Academy—evil Komodo jocks, emo-punk Snakes and the annoyingly militant Monitor Lizard.
*Adaptation of published children's picture book by the same writer.
Back to the top.
LIZETTE CLARKE
M.F.A.
lizetteclarke@gmail.com
NAACP Fellow
CBS Diversity Institute Writers Mentoring Program
A LITTLE PAIN
ORIGINAL DRAMA PILOT
In the earliest days of the AIDS epidemic, four sex addicts from a therapy group cling to the highs and struggle through the lows during the final breaths of the sexual revolution.
CHIP
COMEDY FEATURE
Cynical roboticist Sam McCoy decides to pass off her company's latest creation—a life-like android built to serve human beings—as her boyfriend for her older sister's wedding. Will Sam discover that true love can't be manufactured?
RAYE OF LIGHT
ORIGINAL COMEDY/DRAMA PILOT
Under the guise that she's carrying their late son's unborn child, con artist Raye Monday works her way into the home of the wealthy Harmony family. When Raye is framed for murder days before her due date, she discovers that the Harmonys weren't being so honest themselves.
Back to the top.
KRISTOPHER CHARY DAGAM
M.F.A.
khris.dagam@gmail.com
MMA
ACTION FEATURE
World Champion mixed martial artist Keller Bryce fights his last fight. But when Keller sees his youngest brother Leo brutalized at the hands of a steroid-laden athlete, he takes the mantle again to avenge his family's loss.
ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES
ACTION FEATURE
Caesar Jackson is the apparent heir to Los Angeles' fractured underworld. Groomed since childhood, Caesar and his brother Virgil form the core of Los Angeles' oldest, most respected clique. Caesar has his mentor Albany Walker to thank, a reformed gangster trying to break free from the life. But friends from Albany's past haunt Caesar as they exploit his connections among the criminal elite of 1980 Los Angeles.
CLANDESTINE
ORIGINAL DRAMA PILOT
Who polices the police? When certain undercover investigations are compromised, a group is charged with apprehending those deemed "off the res." But in wake of a new presidency, Morgan and his clan find their wings clipped after they're issued Presidential Order 13: capture only by non-lethal means.
Back to the top.
RICHARD ELLIOT DEUTSCH
B.F.A.
redeutsch@gmail.com
2006 Great Lakes Film Festival Runner-up for Best Screenplay for Mother Me
MOTHER ME
DRAMA FEATURE
Chelsea Rogers (17) hasn't been close with her mother since the suicide of her father nearly ten years ago. When Chelsea, the "overweight" girl of small-town Danville, begins using cocaine, the distance between her and her family increases, finding her alone in Miami, 80 pounds thinner, and entirely lost.
OH! DARLING
DRAMA FEATURE
Aging surf-rock legend Dennis Walton (63) rediscovers the music in his life when he falls in love with the talented 16-year-old pianist at the end of his Malibu cul-de-sac. Their illicit romance is put into the spotlight when the girl's stepmother is mysteriously murdered.
THE STORY INSIDE
DRAMA FEATURE
Young, aspiring novelist Timothy Reed, awakens on a foreign beach to discover he has written the next Great American Novel. The problem is, he has no recollection of ever writing it.
Back to the top.
KRISTIN E. ELLERMANN, J.D.
M.F.A.
keestudios@yahoo.com
2008-2009 Alfred P. Sloan Scholarship
2008 Irwin Blacker Award
SWINDLED
ACTION/ADVENTURE FEATURE
Leaving the Massachusetts Reformatory in 1880, Rebecca Howard is determined to go straight and open a dress shop. When the Boston elite dash her dream, she seeks revenge through a Ponzi scheme. Now she will have to stay ahead of the press, the mob and the police as she goes after the big money, proving you can't keep a good woman down.
POX
HISTORICAL DRAMA FEATURE
Massachusetts, 1721: Paul Carter is on the verge of being ordained the town minister when his brother, Michael, introduces small pox inoculation to his congregation. Paul must put a stop the heathen practice or give up the Church entirely. Will his brother sway his allegiance or will Paul obtain his dream only to preside over death and destruction?
ESCAPING SUNRISE
COMEDY/DRAMA FEATURE
Troubled high school senior, Aslin, must interview cranky nursing home resident, Eleanor, in order to graduate. When Eleanor holds her story hostage in exchange for a weekend escape, Aslin reluctantly agrees. Once the granny's out of the bag, there's no going back.
"TRADE EMBARGO"
BROTHERS & SISTERS SPEC
When Kevin and Tommy agree to an unorthodox trade, Kevin's sperm for Julia's embryos, they put their marriages into jeopardy. As all the Walkers get involved in the mess, accusations turn to recriminations. Life isn't always what you bargain for.
Back to the top.
ANISEH ERFANI
M.F.A.
erfani.aniseh@gmail.com
CAA Diversity Scholarship
PLAIN JANE
COMEDY/DRAMA FEATURE
"Plain" Jane Alabie, skating at the edge of an emotional breakdown, reluctantly adopts an intrusive imaginary friend to help her navigate her dysfunctional Persian-American family and confront her inability to express her feelings after her beautiful, high-achieving cousin steals her boyfriend.
RASCAL'S GHOST
ORIGINAL COMEDY/DRAMA PILOT
After the death of her best friend Jesse, Rascal Patel is content to live out the rest of her life as a hermit. Only one person can break her out of her shell: Jesse's ghost.
THE DAY
COMEDY/DRAMA FEATURE
Emmy has been the perfect Persian girl her entire life, pleasant and agreeable to everyone else's demands. But when her freewheeling ex joins her on a few last-minute errands for her sister's wedding, Emmy begins to question the perks of being a doormat.
Back to the top.
JOEY FALCO
M.F.A. with distinction
jfalco84@gmail.com
2008 Edward Small Screenwriting Scholarship
Josh Schwartz Scholarship Finalist for Fortunate Sons
FORTUNATE SONS
ORIGINAL DRAMA PILOT
As the 20-something children of Washington D.C.'s political elites begin their own careers, their personal ambitions, forbidden romances and dark secrets become a thorn in the side of their high-profile parents and a source of juicy gossip for the journalists and bloggers who can't wait to break the next big scandal.
M.I.L.F.
ORIGINAL COMEDY/DRAMA PILOT
Chloe Fitzpatrick was the perfect mother and housewife until her cheating husband left her penniless on her 40th birthday. Now, despite the embarrassment of her teenage children and the horror of her suburban neighborhood, she's dropping the housewife act and letting it all hang out again—as a porn star.
OUT OF TIME
ORIGINAL DRAMA PILOT
When Homeland Security's top field agent is killed on the job, his body slips "out of time," causing him to wake up every day either in the past or the future. Now his highly dangerous government missions will never be the same as he pieces together what happened to him with a new perspective on life.
NAUSEA: A CANCER COMEDY
TEEN COMEDY FEATURE
Drew Cerami is just a typical high school senior who drinks too much with his best friends, can't stand his overbearing girlfriend and treats everything in life as one big joke—until he is diagnosed with testicular cancer.
Back to the top.
ERIN FEIGER
M.F.A.
erin.feiger@gmail.com
ALMOST LOVELY
COMEDY FEATURE
After gambling away his business and boyfriend, Jeb returns to his hometown only to find it nearly deserted and about to be bulldozed to build a new highway. Can Jeb and his mob of half-crazed townies save their town—and his soul—or will the new highway cement their fates?
CALL ME
ORIGINAL COMEDY PILOT
Living back at home and bored as hell 15 years after graduation, Kaleb Hallien calls everyone who wrote "call me" in his yearbook and gets a hold of four old classmates also living at home. They decide to become roommates, but can they move on and up together?
"CHIEF CONCERNS"
30 ROCK SPEC
When Liz accidentally offends the daughter of a Native American chief, Jack orders Liz to make amends. Meanwhile, Tracy decides he is Native American, and Jenna gets attention for wearing "trial breasts" while considering a boob job.
Back to the top.
JARRETT GOLDING
M.F.A.
Jarrett.golding@gmail.com
TULIP OF LOVE
COMEDY FEATURE
Heartbreaker Brandon Jordan is unwittingly cast on the reality romance show, Tulip of Love. When he falls for the beautiful bachelorette Eliza, Brandon must change his womanizing ways.
THE POKER KID
FAMILY/COMEDY FEATURE
Nine-year-old poker prodigy Ethan Moss runs away from home with a washed-up poker star, a degenerate gambler and a stripper to prove that in the seedy world of underground gambling, he's the best there is.
"ANOTHER MOTHER"
HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER SPEC
Barney convinces Ted to help him land the fabled "Mother-Daughter Combo." Marshall accidentally takes Viagra, and Robin goes on a date with a mystery celebrity.
Back to the top.
COLIN HAWES
M.F.A.
colinhawes@gmail.com
GHOST WRITER
COMEDY/DRAMA FEATURE
When a reclusive writer dies before completing the final novel in his hugely popular fantasy series, his assistant, Amy, decides to finish it for him. She must keep his death a secret from a prying press and fan base. But her greatest challenge is to enter his magical world and prove to Ricky Ryan, his fantasy cohorts, and herself that she is up to the job.
PENANCE
ORIGINAL DRAMA PILOT
Father David Sullivan hears it all in the confessional: jealousy, greed, violence—the dark heart of his beleaguered Boston neighborhood. For this priest with a troubled past, it's no longer enough merely to absolve sin... he must avenge it.
ACCORDING TO PLAN
COMEDY/ROAD FEATURE
After his father has a heart attack, Greg heads for Japan to track down his estranged brother. Along the way, he meets Toby, a drifter who becomes the guide Greg didn't know he needed. As his plans for a reunion fall apart, Greg discovers you sometimes find family in the most unexpected places.
Back to the top.
CHRIS HUTTON
M.F.A.
cwhutton@gmail.com
Josh Schwartz Scholarship Finalist for Dream Walker
THE NIGHT MAN
HORROR FEATURE
Haunted by his dead wife, Jack Bannister starts a new life as the night guard of the Rockford Glen apartments. But when the tenants begin to die, all evidence points to him. Now, Jack must probe into the dark past of the Glen and his own crumbling sanity to end a decades-old cycle of violence before he becomes the final victim.
DREAM WALKER
ORIGINAL DRAMA PILOT
Every night teenager Jacob Holloway enters the nightmares of others, and every day those nightmares come to life. Jacob must save the residents of Gainesville from their darkest fears, before his own life becomes a waking nightmare.
FORGOTTEN
ORIGINAL DRAMA PILOT
Detective Shane Reed had it all—until he woke up in the desert town of Salton City missing five years of his life, on parole for a murder he doesn't remember. Now, he must find the answers to his broken past, while finishing out his sentence in the town that time forgot.
Back to the top.
HILDE SUSAN JAEGTNES
M.F.A.
hildesusan@gmail.com
2008-2009 Rock Hudson Scholarship
THORSDAY
FANTASY FEATURE
When a Norse village is invaded by Crusaders, Thor, outcast son of the Viking chief, must defend his world by forging an alliance with the mysterious forest-dwellers: trolls, gnomes and a seductive wood nymph.
DON'T SLEEP IN THE SNOW
DRAMA FEATURE
Laila, a troubled young woman, resorts to rich fantasies and making bizarre art cards to survive the conformist society of Norway. After letting Laila move in, her auntie Lena starts dating the sexually insatiable Ulf, and Laila finds her comfort zone shrinking even as her own sexual awakening finally kicks off.
DONUTS AND BLISS
DRAMA FEATURE
Billy propels his wild San Franciscan punk-rock band towards fame while working as a mail-room clerk. Things go out of control when his eccentric lead singer Donut demands to be paid in drugs, and Billy resorts to dealing pot while juggling between sexy fiddler Bliss and prim software engineer Amerjit.
"ADOBE'S MACHINE"
SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES SPEC
Haunted by intense dreams of Kyle Reese, Sarah agrees to date a corner store clerk to cope with her longing. When a desperate inventor brings a terminator to the present with a time machine constructed to undo his wife's car accident, Sarah must protect John from the unexpected threat—and from the consequences of her attempt to quell loneliness.
Back to the top.
ANGELA KANG
M.F.A.
angela.k.kang@gmail.com
c/o
David Park, Agent
United Talent Agency
310.273.6700
Annenberg Graduate Fellowship
CBS Diversity Writers Mentoring Program
546 Script Competition Winner
JOHN LENNON IS DEAD
COMEDY/DRAMA FEATURE
A majorly dysfunctional family—consisting of a Reaganite, a hippie and a teenage punk rocker—takes a cross-country road trip to Lennon's memorial in New York. Will the trip pull the family together or go askew?
NIGHT LIFE
ORIGINAL DRAMA PILOT
Thirtysomething for the Facebook generation. Hipsters in the 323, rock stars in the 818, corporate bitches in the 213 and Abby Watson, a stylist, fresh off the plane with a suitcase and a secret. Abby's thrust into the 5-to-9 world of an old friend and bar owner with secrets of her own.
BURLESQUE
ORIGINAL DRAMA PILOT
It's the Great Depression. But at Minsky's Burlesque, the people are anything but depressed. Mobsters, strippers, showmen and hucksters live and love large in a world where anything goes... but a sea change is coming. Inspired by actual events.
Back to the top.
RYAN KASMISKIE
B.F.A.
ryan.h.kas@gmail.com
ALIVE
SCI-FI FEATURE
In a dystopian future, one man must face what little humanity he has left when put to the task of turning the last un-contacted South American tribe into machines.
HARD SLAMMIN'
COMEDY WEB SERIES
Compelled by a deep psychological need to destroy all of the pogs in the world, Sarah must play the most epic game of pogs ever against an equally damaged pog collector. Will she win them all, or is she falling into a trap that will lead her through the seedy underbelly of the pog world?
DUDE, GHOSTS
COMEDY WEB SERIES
When two best friends get a little too high, they get lost in a hellish maze with no exit, haunted by a dead French girl and her abusive father. These two stoners have a metaphysical puzzle to solve, but between bouts of panic and petty fights they might not make it out alive. :(
"IMACINTOLOGY"
FUTURAMA SPEC
When faced with a massive cleaning bill, Bender gets the idea to start a cult and scam losers for their Earthly possessions.
Back to the top.
ALEXANDER LEMLEY
B.F.A.
rocketlex@gmail.com
THE QUEST
FANTASY FEATURE
In a modernized fantasy kingdom, five ordinary people must find their inner heroes to save the land from the ancient Shadow King... but has modern living left them too soft for the epic quest ahead?
RIDGETON HIGH
TEEN COMEDY FEATURE
Awkward nerd Jake and popular beauty Maria never thought they had anything in common—but now that fate has thrown them together, can they put aside their pre-conceptions and find love before their meddlesome friends tear them apart?
Back to the top.
TERESA LO
M.F.A.
tree1223@gmail.com
2008 American Zoetrope Screenplay Contest
Quarter-Finalist for The Physicist
SEXUAL PANDA AND THE RELUCTANT HIPSTER
TEEN COMEDY FEATURE
To impress her estranged showbiz mother, Becca B enters her band Sexual Panda into every major music festival in the country. When she gets rejected by all, the teen uses her powers of bitchiness to get on a stage, even if her band sucks balls.
JUMP
THRILLER FEATURE
After James learns his girlfriend Lindsay is a high-class prostitute, he falls into a relationship with Madeline, who introduces him to the Suicide Club. As his involvement with them deepens, he discovers they are murdering people in New York City. James realizes he must stop them before they prey on their next victim—Lindsay.
THE DAILY T.LO
ORIGINAL COMEDY PILOT
After T.Lo is dumped by a douchebag who happens to be her boss at a music management company, she makes it her mission to improve her life and the lives of those around her. Unfortunately, she is a natural loser and her plans always go awry. Based on the blog, The Daily T.Lo.
THE PHYSICIST
FAMILY FEATURE
Uptight physicist Jih-Chun Wu can't seem to connect to his modern teen daughter Victoria. However, when she exhibits an exceptional ability in science, he takes it upon himself to put aside their differences to train her for a state-wide competition.
Back to the top.
KATE LOVEJOY
B.F.A.
lovejoykatie@gmail.com
c/o
Robert M. Myman, Lawyer
Myman Abell Fineman Fox Greenspan & Light, LLP
310.231.0817
2008 Humanitas Prize Student Drama Fellowship for "Witch Is It?"
Marguerite Roberts Scholarship for Women for The Arsonist's Love Story
THE ARSONIST'S LOVE STORY
THRILLER FEATURE
Aiden Kinsley, a brilliant serial arsonist, struggles to balance two different passions: a wild affair with the woman who inspires his greatest fire and a dangerous game of cat and mouse with the investigator chasing him. When passions collide, Aiden must temper the explosive conflict to save himself from getting burned.
THE AIR WE BREATHE
DRAMA FEATURE
Three families living in a San Fernando Valley cul-de-sac suffocate in claustrophobic suburbia. But when the untimely death of one of their own throws their lives into chaos, they must confront their own mortality and risk it all to find happiness.
SLEEPER
ORIGINAL DRAMA PILOT
After losing his memory in a domestic attack, FBI counterterrorist specialist Matt DeLuca is thrust into the field when terrorists kidnap a U.S. Senator and demand Matt in exchange. As he fights to protect his country, Matt unravels mysteries of his past better left forgotten.
"WITCH IS IT?"
HOUSE M.D. SPEC
When a woman admitted to Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital exhibits symptoms similar to those that culminated in the injury of House's leg, the diagnostic team is forced to alienate House from the case when his personal biases jeopardize the patient's life.
Back to the top.
DEIRDRE MANGAN
M.F.A.
ms.mangan@gmail.com
SMASH AND GRAB
DRAMA FEATURE
After running out of tuition money, an ultra ambitious college student reluctantly moves back home to make cash and go. When she starts selling cars with her dad, she begins her struggle with a family secret, a townie fling and her notions of love, family and forgiveness.
"TEACH YOUR CHILDREN"
DEXTER SPEC
On the verge of fatherhood, Dexter struggles with whether he should kill his 11-year-old target or let the budding killer go.
"A LITTLE SAUSAGE IS NO CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION"
TWO AND A HALF MEN SPEC
After a dry spell of dude companionship, Charlie picks up a new pal at the bar. But when Alan discovers this new bud is in love with Charlie, he decides to watch and see what happens rather than setting things straight.
Back to the top.
JEANNETTE MANNING
B.F.A.
WingedFancy@gmail.com
2009 Zoetrope Quarter-Finalist for Mendelssohn
2008 Nicholl Fellowship Semi-Finalist for Angels of Bataan
2008 Slamdance Seventh Place for Mendelssohn
2008 Nicholl Fellowship Quarter-Finalist for Mendelssohn
2008 Austin Film Festival Second Round for Mendelssohn
2008 CAPE New Writers' Award First Runner Up for Ningyuan
2008 Slamdance Semi-Finalist for Ningyuan
2007 John Kearney Sandifer Memorial Scholarship
MENDELSSOHN
BIOPIC DRAMA FEATURE
Co-written with Joseph Yuan
Based on a true story. Europe's greatest composer, Felix Mendelssohn, has two secrets. His sister co-writes his music, and he was born a Jew. Despite his willingness to sacrifice both his sister and his Jewish heritage to achieve greatness, Mendelssohn ends up in the struggle of his life when his friend Wagner betrays him by instigating what Wagner calls "The Final Solution."
ANGEL OF BATAAN
WAR DRAMA FEATURE
Co-written with Joseph Yuan
Based on a true story. Hours after Pearl Harbor is bombed, the American nurses in the Philippines find their world turned upside down when the Japanese drop bombs on them. These women must save lives while facing danger greater than any American nurse before them.
INHERITANCE
DRAMA FEATURE
Co-written with Joseph Yuan
After his mother suffers a devastating heart attack, David, a former child violin prodigy, and his teenage daughter Mira must recover the Stradivarius violin stolen from David's mother by Nazis during World War II, so his mother can see the violin again before she dies.
THE EXONERATORS
ORIGINAL DRAMA PILOT
Darius Jones, head of The Exonerators, a group devoted to exonerating the innocent from death row and life in prison, hires an assistant named Shoshana, a haunted young woman seeking redemption. Together, they work to free the innocent.
Back to the top.
DAOUD MANSOUR
M.F.A.
daoud.mansour@gmail.com
TRANSIT
THRILLER FEATURE
A family man is recruited by his illicit lover to run drugs through the New York subways. But when he's framed for her murder, he must seek the truth of what happened before his dark secrets are exposed to his family.
TAWAAFUQ
THRILLER FEATURE
After narrowly escaping an attempt on his life, an Afghan diplomat who knows too much must secure safe passage for his family out of 1979 Pakistan, outrunning both the CIA and the new Communist regime that wants him dead.
Back to the top.
ZAHIR MCGHEE
M.F.A.
Zahir.mcghee@gmail.com
USC Annenberg Fellow
CBS Diversity Writers Mentoring Program
NAACP/CBS Writing Fellowship
2008 Jack Nicholson Scholarship for Excellence in Writing
THE REVIVAL OF GARY COOPER
COMEDY/DRAMA FEATURE
Gary Cooper, a former child evangelist exposed as a fraud, is thrust back into the media spotlight when he magically appears to heal the comatose woman he's fallen in love with.
HELM, MISSISSIPPI
DRAMA FEATURE
Broke and desperate, writer Marcus Truffaut returns to the site of his father's racially motivated murder to interview Saul Harris, the man imprisoned for the crime. Unable to face Saul, and with the town's volatile past bubbling to the surface, Marcus falls for the one woman he shouldn't... Saul's daughter.
THE VAN PELT FAMILY
ORIGINAL COMEDY PILOT
Do you ever feel guilty about being white? Randolph Van Pelt does, and that's why he's moved his family from their posh Greenwich mansion to the projects. Is it possible to love black people too much?
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SIMON MCNABB
M.F.A.
simonmcnabb@gmail.com
ANOTHER YOU
DARK COMEDY FEATURE
Paul Lubell knows you want his life. He'd want it too, if it wasn't already his. But when his fiancée leaves him, it's time for him to move on... to someone who looks exactly like her.
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ANDREW MCNALLY
B.F.A.
andrew.w.f.mcnally@gmail.com
THE BLACK SON I HAD IN COLLEGE
ORIGINAL COMEDY PILOT
College is hard enough as it is. A new place, new friends, a whole new life. But Evan Winter doesn't have it that easy. On his first day in the dorms he ends up as a pseudo-guardian to Jamar, a runaway nine-year-old black boy hiding out in his dorm room. Will Evan be able to juggle college life and parenthood?
"SURGEON GENERAL BECCA'S WARNING"
CALIFORNICATION SPEC
Hank tries to quit smoking at Karen's behest to set a better example for his daughter Becca. But the new promise comes at the worst time: he's forced by Charlie to attend a Q&A with his arch-rival, Todd Carr.
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JACOB MICHAEL
M.F.A.
jacobmichael@socal.rr.com 2009 Cowrite Script Contest Winner
BIGFOOT
ACTION/ADVENTURE FEATURE
When oil drillers go missing in the Alaskan wilderness, a small-town sheriff discovers they've been captured by America's quintessential monster: Bigfoot. And while rescuing captives from a brutal Bigfoot tribe is one thing... surviving is something else entirely.
FORT KNOX
ACTION/ADVENTURE FEATURE
A 22-ton door. Walls of concrete and reinforced metal 15-feet thick. Six billion in gold... but that's the least valuable thing inside. The vault of Fort Knox is a place where the world's most powerful government hides its deepest, darkest secrets. And when that vault is compromised, only a handful of soldiers on late night maneuvers can prevent a global pandemic.
DIPLOMAT
ORIGINAL DRAMA PILOT
If international diplomacy fails against "ripped from the headlines" crises, the United Nations sends covert operatives—known only as Diplomats. But while on a mission to rescue hostages in the Philippines, one Diplomat, Deacon Scott, a field team leader on a quest to atone for past sins, also uncovers a conspiracy that seems to lead to a U.N. ambassador.
"DEATH AND TAXES"
HOUSE M.D. SPEC
When the reigning World Champion of the World's Strongest Man competition collapses during an event, House must race against two clocks: one to save the champion, and the other to complete his taxes... but he has a plan to get around the latter.
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JORDAN MIRRER
B.F.A.
jordan.mirrer@gmail.com
FRIENDS LIKE THESE
DARK COMEDY FEATURE
When Rob, a bitter janitor, jokes about killing his boss at a Christmas Party, the wrong person overhears. Now Rob must deal with a dead body in a Santa suit and a psycho-killer wanting to be his best friend. Can Rob avoid arrest, get the girl and discover the true meaning of friendship while dealing with all the annoying crap on Christmas?
THE STRAITS OF MALACCA!
ACTION/ADVENTURE COMEDY FEATURE
Kidnapped by less-than-competent, modern day pirates, Simon is a woman so proud, so stubborn, so... unwanted, a Burmese sex trader won't buy her. But, Simon is no good-for-nothing hostage. When Gene, the captain, abandons his crew, Simon does what Gene never could: lead the crew to victory.
EMERGENCY PROTOCOLS
THRILLER FEATURE
A deadly form of rabies is quickly spreading through the human population. Kurt Parks is infected, and unless he can find a rumored cure, he will turn rabid inside of six weeks. But on Kurt's journey, his disease is the least of his worries.
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JESSICA MOLLO
B.F.A.
jessiemollo@gmail.com
GENERATION NEXT
SCI-FI FEATURE
High school in 2096. The guys are hotter, the girls are tougher. But beneath the façade of a metallic high school compound is a secret eugenics experiment gone horribly awry. Can 18-year-old Genesis Bain uncover the mystery and help her friends escape to the outside?
THREE'S A CROWD
COMEDY FEATURE
The Austin brothers: identical triplets with completely different temperaments. Malcolm wears the pants, Lyle wears the apron and Riley dreams of singularity. So when Riley pursues an assistantship half-way around the world, Malcolm and Lyle band together to sabotage his chances of success. Are two heads better than one? How about three?
PRODIGY
DRAMA FEATURE
Twenty five-year-old Tallie Ivers maces a mugger one night— only to discover that her attacker is 12 years old. When Tallie realizes the boy is a talented young artist, she vows to help him build a new life and begins to question her own.
NOT FOR AMATEURS
ORIGINAL COMEDY/DRAMA PILOT
The idealistic bubble of college is over. And now six friends are trying to navigate through post-college reality, desperately struggling in their careers and relationships. But when one of the grads, a high-spirited investment banker named Dugan, has a "personal epiphany" and decides to become an actor, he purchases a dilapidated theater in West Hollywood and convinces his group of friends to invest in the venture.
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BEN MURRAY
M.F.A.
murray.benjamin@gmail.com
BULLSH*T
COMEDY FEATURE
Alcoholic rodeo clown and all-around son of a bitch Gorgeous Gordon goes on a mission to assassinate the bull that ended his riding career, the mythic Furious George. But when he has to team up with a young female bull rider to get to the animal, his grip on the reins of revenge starts to come loose.
THE ICE
ORIGINAL COMEDY/DRAMA PILOT
Endless sunlight, sub-zero temperatures, a thriving black market in fresh veggies and pornography—welcome to McMurdo Station, Antarctica, where Martin Fisher came to be with his girlfriend and found himself dumped on arrival. Stuck on "The Ice," he becomes the continent's only psychologist—and just about everything here is crazy.
RANGE
DRAMA FEATURE
After an experimental medical device turns Christopher Babbitch into a literal human time bomb, he must take his one chance to survive by going on the run with an ambiguous, suicidal woman who may prefer his detonation, but could lead him to a cure.
"FAMILY BUSINESS"
30 ROCK SPEC
After becoming dependent on compliments made by her stalker, Liz turns the tables on the man and pursues him, while Jack makes Kenneth his godson and a religious scare prompts Tracy to start a new militant group, the Brothers Against Circumcision.
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