Thanks Barksid for the heads up on two more from Focus Features:

Mary Queen of Scots – undated, unspecified draft script by Beau Willimon – hosted by: Focus Features – in pdf format

Mary Queen of Scots explores the turbulent life of the charismatic Mary Stuart. Queen of France at 16 and widowed at 18, Mary defies pressure to remarry. Instead, she returns to her native Scotland to reclaim her rightful throne. But Scotland and England fall under the rule of the compelling Elizabeth I. Each young Queen beholds her “sister” in fear and fascination. Rivals in power and in love, and female regents in a masculine world, the two must decide how to play the game of marriage versus independence. Determined to rule as much more than a figurehead, Mary asserts her claim to the English throne, threatening Elizabeth’s sovereignty. Betrayal, rebellion, and conspiracies within each court imperil both thrones – and change the course of history.

Information courtesy of imdb.com
On The Basis of Sex – undated, unspecified draft script by Daniel Stiepleman – hosted by: Focus Features – in pdf format

The story of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, her struggles for equal rights and what she had to overcome in order to become a U.S. Supreme Court Justice.

Information courtesy of imdb.com

Over on the Original Scripts page are twenty-two original, unproduced scripts for your reading pleasure.

– Don

I’ve been dreading writing this post for quite a while, probably because I’ve known it’s been coming.  But it’s time to say farewell to Lake Regret, at least the idea of the script and this particular blog. I definitely liked the concept of chronicling the journey of a script from idea genesis to the final marketing of the script, and I thought beginning writers could learn something from the fits and starts that Rick and I went through.

But under the law of unintended consequences, and maybe the other law of “no good deed goes unpunished”, it became clear over a period of time that the the original idea I had for a single setting script wasn’t working out the way we had anticipated, and the more I struggled to fix the problems with the outline or the idea, the more of a slog it became.  Consequently, it had an effect on the blog, because if you don’t have the right idea, you don’t have the right outline, and you don’t have a path forward, ultimately no matter how good a writer you are, you won’t be able to turn that sow’s ear into a silk purse. Or even a script.

So we’re moving on from the original idea we had. And as a writer, you should never be afraid of doing that. Don’t be so wedded to an idea or concept that you can’t see that it’s not working. And don’t be afraid to accept criticism of your concepts, your scripts, or your writing is general. The trick is being able to discern the good criticism from the bad. Sometimes you never know.

As for Rick and me, we’ll continue to write together in the future. There’s always the next great idea just down the road. But it’s probably safe to say I just won’t blog about it.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to read our ramblings, and we wish you nothing but great success in your future writing endeavors — and even if you don’t have success, we hope that you will continue to write, if that’s what brings you joy. We can all use a little joy in our lives right now.

FADE OUT.

Here are two from A24

First Reformed – undated, unspecified draft script by Paul Schrader – hosted by: A24 Awards – in pdf format

A minister of a small congregation in upstate New York grapples with mounting despair brought on by tragedy, worldly concerns and a tormented past.

Information courtesy of imdb.com
Eighth Grade – undated, unspecified draft script by Bo Burnham – hosted by: A24 Awards – in pdf format

An introverted teenage girl tries to survive the last week of her disastrous eighth grade year before leaving to start high school.

Information courtesy of imdb.com

Check out these are more on the Scripts Movies Post for Award Consideration.

Big thanks to Richie for the heads up on these two from Focus Features

Black Klansmen – undated, unspecified draft script by Charlie Wachtel & David Rabinowitz and Kevin Willmott & Spike Lee – hosted by: Focus Features – in pdf format

Ron Stallworth, an African American police officer from Colorado Springs, CO, successfully manages to infiltrate the local Ku Klux Klan branch with the help of a Jewish surrogate who eventually becomes its leader. Based on actual events.

Information courtesy of imdb.com
Boy Erased – undated, unspecified draft script by Joel Edgerton (Based on the memoir written by Garrard Conley) – hosted by: Focus Features – in pdf format

The son of a Baptist preacher is forced to participate in a church-supported gay conversion program after being forcibly outed to his parents.

Information courtesy of imdb.com

Keeping it Fresh (6 pages in pdf format) by Rick Hansberry

Ken and Ruth have done it all. Except this.

What are you willing to do to keep things fresh? That’s a question many couples in their 60s dare to ask, and Ken and Ruth do their best to answer.

Does Fresh mean honest? Or just exciting? And when the stakes are ‘whatever needs to be done to share one’s life’, how can a couple truly know?

As veteran writer Rick Hansberry’s script opens, we meet Ken and Ruth in their well worn family car; tersely discussing their “action plan.” Ruth’s awash with nerves – her hands playing with a folded piece of paper. Ken tries to be sensitive to her concerns, but fails miserably at every attempt.

Where is this duo going? And why?

Their destination – a grocery store. What on Earth could be nerve racking there?

Soon, we discover Ken and Ruth are in… a race. Of what kind? The truth’s unclear. But what unfolds next is a comedy of errors – a wondrous blend of anxiety and charm. Imagine the slapstick as Ken and Ruth dodge obstacles, friends, enemies, wet floors, and – of course – time.

What will the finish line reveal? We won’t spoil the surprise (or the produce). But you will find a warm, sophisticated comedy – ala a young June Squibb or Seymour Cassell.

This is a script with tons of buy-one-get-two-free.  Including: a budget friendly tale, featuring characters of a “specific” (and underrepresented) age. All of which makes this story stand out – and write it’s way into even old and jaded hearts.

Need some older actors? Consider giving your parents’ “cool” friends something to do for a day. But regardless of who you cast, you’ll charm your way into festivals with this Fresh, young-at-heart gem!

Budget: All that’s needed are two good actors, and access to a deli or supermarket – at least a few aisles.

About the writer: Rick Hansberry is a screenwriter, producer and director with more than 20 years of industry experience. His SAG Foundation award-winning Branches features narration by Daniel Stern and garnered international festival awards. In 2017 his thriller/horror film, Evil In Her was released on Amazon Video and Vimeo On Demand. His most recent short, inspired by true events, has won praise for its portrayal of one girl’s positive approach to handling her Type 1 Diabetes. You can view It’s Not Permanent free on YouTube. Rick has two shorts playing in the festival circuit now and has several other shorts and features available here and is presently available for hire for new story ideas, rewrites and adaptations. He can be reached at djrickhansberry – AT – msn, (cell phone 717-682-8618) and IMDB credits available here.

Read Keeping it Fresh

This screenplay may not be used or reproduced for any purpose including educational purposes without the expressed written permission of the author.

Find more scripts available for production

About the reviewer: Rachel Kate Miller is a veteran of the feature animation industry, having worked on several Oscar winning films, bringing stories to life. In 2012, she left animation to move to Chicago and run the design department for President Obama’s reelection campaign. She is now living in New York, writing, consulting on various projects and creating an educational animated series for elementary students focused on engaging kids in science. Want to drop Rachel line? She can be reached at rachelkate.miller (a) gmail.

Over on the Original Scripts page are fifteen unproduced, original scripts for your reading pleasure.

– Don

Rick and I got back into the outline business, albeit on a superficial level, as I’m in the Pacific Northwest on vacation (I love Houston, but when it’s 95 degrees in September, it’s time to get the hell outta hell for a week to cooler climates).  But as I mentioned in our last post, I felt like we needed to give a little boost to our main protagonist’s decision to leave town on a permanent basis.

Now, for the moment, I’m not going to reveal what my suggestion to change was. Suffice to say, it was a very significant change to the character.  Rick’s was hesitant to make the change, as he thought that it would necessitate going back to the beginning and completely redoing the outline draft, and in addition, that it might change the tone of the movie from a dramedy in the vein of “Juno” or “Little Miss Sunshine” to a straight drama.

My argument was that the character change would already be known to the other characters, so it would only result in minor changes to the outline, and there was no need to change the tone of the film, because a film like “Juno” dealt with tough subject (abortion and teen pregnancy) while still making it an uplifting and, in many cases, a wildly funny film.

The bottom line is that we’re both wanting a film in the tone of “Juno” and we’re going to ponder this character turn and see where it leads us.  If we decide to make the change you’ll be the first to know.

So back to the outline as it’s currently situated: when we last left the outline, Jinx was in the house and Cass asked him to come over and sit on the couch with him while Hunter watches.  Hunter and Cass share a conspiratorial smile and then Hunter goes outside and find Ellie, and tells her that “her boyfriend Jinx is putting the moves on Cass”.

Ellie dismisses it — “he’s not my boyfriend” — but we can see that she’s fuming over this news.  More conflict created!

Back inside, Jinx has extricated himself from the situation and is going down the hallway looking for a restroom.  He accidentally opens the doorway to a spare room in the lake house where Lucas’ dad, Paul, is running on a treadmill. Jinx is embarrassed by the interruption, but Paul waves him in eagerly.  He stops the treadmill, and Jinx apologizes for the intrusion. Paul says he needed to stop anyway.  Can run and run all he wants on it, but never gets anywhere.  A little bit of subtext towards Jinx, who is intending to run away from this small town at the first chance he gets, but will he really get anywhere if he does?

Paul shows Jinx a picture on the wall.  It’s of Jinx and Lucas working at the hardware store.  Paul reminds Jinx that Jinx helped Lucas get a job with his parents’ business.  Kept him away from some bad people (like Hunter) at a time in his life when Lucas really needed it.  Jinx says he just wanted someone fun to work with during the summer.  Maybe it worked out for both of them.

And now we go on in for a reinforcement of why Jinx wants to leave.  Paul asks about Jinx taking over the parents’ business someday and Jinx fidgits for a response. “I get it. Not your thing.” Jinx is surprised at that reaction.

“So what are you doing instead?”
“Going to college,” Jinx replies.
“And?”
“That’s as far as I’ve gotten.”
“Well, that’ll be further than a lot of the kids in this town. This place is a black hole. Unless you get far enough away from it, you’re sucked in permanently.”

We’ve now established that even the adults in this town know that if you stay here, you’re stuck here, and that Jinx needs to go.

We’ll keep you updated on what we’re going to do with Jinx’ character, and I’ll be updating the post on screenwriting software soon!

The further adventures of the screenwriting and marketing process of Lake Regret wherein Gary Howell documents his and Rick Hansberry’s screenwriting adventures from concept, to the writing, to how they handle disagreements, to marketing the script. Reproduced with permission

Interesting development on writing credits for the screenplay Beautiful Boy posted by Amazone I’ve just noticed noticed.

This version of Beautiful Boy posted on the 29th has it credited as: Screenplay by Luke Davies & Felix van Groeningen, however this more recent version posted three days later has Screenplay by Luke Davies and Felix van Groeningen (emphasis added).

In the case of the WGA screenwriting credit system, an ampersand, “&” means that two writers wrote as a team. WGA considers them to be one person. However, “and” means that two writers worked on the script at different times.