THE NEXUS (10-page short dramedy screenplay) Written by JOHN MCCARTHY
A discouraged wannabe screenwriter finally finds inspiration in the least likely of places.
This one’s for the writers! Anyone who’s chased a dream in entertainment, whether it’s acting, screenwriting or music, knows how difficult it can be to attain that showbiz dream while living in a small town.
In writer, John McCarthy’s wonderful ode to both film and the state of Wisconsin, our lead character, John (surely named after and based on the writer himself) is a film fanatic with dreams of becoming a screenwriter. But he’s a long ways from Hollywood: he lives in Wisconsin. And, on this snowy night, he sits alone at a bar with a screenwriting book and another one called, “1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die”.
A mysterious stranger decides to saddle up in the seat next to him and strike up a conversation, noticing the screenwriting books. During their conversation, John expresses his doubts of realistically pursuing his screenwriting dream.
JOHN
It’s called ‘being realistic.’ I mean, even
if I did have some industry connection I
still live in Wisconsin, for Christ’s sake.
And you sure as hell can’t write for the
movies from this godforsaken shithole!
But the stranger seems to have a sea of knowledge about Wisconsin’s influence in film.
STRANGER
These Big Shot movie makers may live in
Hollywood, but they’ve been writing about
Wisconsin forever. Hell, if you’d watched as
many movies as I have over the years you’d
think Wisconsin actually was the center of the
goddamn universe.
The stranger then rattles off a laundry list of movies, sort of like “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon”, naming films with odd Wisconsin connections such as “Wayne’s World”, “Bridesmaids”, “2012” and even films you’d least expect to find a connection, such as “Love, Actually”.
With fantastic dialogue and a character we want to root for, “The Nexus” isn’t a story just for writers – it’s a story for anyone who’s had a dream and is in need of inspiration. And, as this John “character” finds out, sometimes inspiration comes when and WHERE you least expect it.
BUDGET: Low/shoe-string. Two characters at an empty bar.
ABOUT THE WRITER: John McCarthy is a retired graphic designer from Madison, Wisconsin. He grew up in the Milwaukee area and was raised by a family of movie fanatics. A proud father and grandfather, he’s also the owner of Yorkie named Holly (after Holly Go-lightly from Breakfast At Tiffany’s). These days, John paints, writes and binge-watches movies. John can be reached at: jtjunior (a) charter.net
Read: THE NEXUS (10-page short dramedy screenplay)
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About the Reviewer: Michael J. Kospiah is the award-winning screenwriter of critically acclaimed indie-thriller, The Suicide Theory (79% Rotten Tomatoes – available on Amazon Prime, Itunes, Google Play, etc) and 2020’s upcoming Aussie thriller, Rage. His horror feature, They Never Left is currently in development.
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