MONUMENTAL FAVOUR
With time running out, a frantic businessman relies on a cab driver to reach the airport before his flight takes off.

A trip to the airport is always good grist for the story mill. Everything must be organized to military precision, from waking up to your alarm on time to organizing forgotten – or God forbid, lost passports – to making sure your baggage won’t tip the scales, to ticket confirmation and check-in. The crucial and all-important thing above all else however, is – getting to the airport on time. One false move, one hiccup or delay in proceedings could leave you stranded on the tarmac with nowhere to go and a hole burning in your pocket.

Colin Sharp’s, Monumental Favour opens on veteran taxi driver, Samir, waiting patiently for his delayed fare, Jim Denton, a Boston businessman desperate to make his interstate flight on time.

We get the feeling things usually run smoothly for Jim, but this morning is a whole different story. What is it with printers jamming just when you need them to spit out that all important document? – In this case Jim’s itinerary and ticket details.

After bundling his bags into the boot Jim relays his sorry start to the day to Samir and they finally set off – the problem is that printer malfunction has added a crucial fifteen minutes to the journey and Jim’s justifiably freaking out.

JIM
I’ve got a very important meeting.
A very important opportunity…

Sounds like it could be the opportunity of a lifetime…

Samir, ever the consummate driver offers Jim just the right amount of soothing consolation and vows that he will do everything in his power to get Jim to the airport on time.

The taxi weaves through steady traffic, that is until they hit the inevitable roadblock of early-morning commuters and one very pesky revolving red light.

In an effort to calm his passenger Samir regales Jim with a story about how he and his wife visited a tarot card reader over the weekend –

Jim’s expression tightens, signaling he’s not in the mood for the story – his focus fixed on the traffic ahead.

Samir admits he finds it all a bit fake too, but he continues with the tale regardless.

SAMIR
… Interestingly, this Tarot reader declared I would
do somebody a monumental favour in the coming week.

Jim suddenly sits up and takes notice.

 JIM
Get me to the airport in fifteen minutes and my God,
you’ll be doing me a monumental favour.

Famous last words unfortunately because things are about to go from bad to worse. As they barrel through the next amber light the car’s mechanical warning indicator comes on – monumental failure seems to be the more operative phrase at this point. The car’s gearbox has given up the ghost leaving Samir and Jim stranded. With a backup ride twenty minutes away, it doesn’t look like Jim will be going anywhere other than back home again.

Seems like even with the best laid plans, fate has intervened.

And that’s that.

End of story.

Except this isn’t the end of the story.

And we’re about to find out this is no ordinary day.

Colin Sharp has created a very clever narrative with Monumental Favour. At first it might appear that there’s not a lot happening in this slice of life story, dare I say some readers might find it a little pedestrian, but buckle your seatbelts and settle in for the ride, cause you’re about to discover this story has a twist in its tale guaranteed to touch even the most hardened of hearts. It hit me hard. As I’m sure it will you.

Do you want to kick-start your filmmaking career? Monumental Favour could be the perfect vehicle to get you off the starting blocks.

Read: Monumental Favour.

About the Writer: Colin Sharp  is an aspiring screenwriter whose lifelong love of film led him on to the road to writing his own stories. Whilst a fan of all genres of film, Colin primarily enjoys writing comedic tales but is also a sucker for romance and anything that will scare the bejesus out of him.

About the Reviewer: L. Chambers has been writing all her life – especially in her head, and on scraps of paper. It’s only in the last few years she began to get serious about screen-writing. Prior to this she worked in the Features Department for ABC TV as a Program Assistant, and trained as a FAD. She currently works as a freelance web-content editor and lives with her husband (also a screenwriter) in Sydney, Australia.

A PIXIE LITTLE CHRISTMAS (6-page short animation screenplay) by MATTHEW TAYLOR

When a Pixie’s home is stolen, his anger endangers a little girl’s Christmas.

In what could very well be a new, animated Christmas classic comes our December OWC Writers’ Choice: a magical, heartfelt, G-rated tale that truly exemplifies the spirit of the holidays. I was actually very surprised to learn that it was written by Matthew Taylor, who’s work tends to explore much darker territory – which only goes to show just how versatile he is as a writer.

We follow the journey of a tiny, tree-dwelling pixie named Caspian, who discovers that his pine-needled, evergreen conifer home has been chopped down and to be used as a Christmas tree.

A down-on-his-luck father, low on cash, surprises his adorable six-year-old daughter, Eva, when he arrives home with the tree. Filled with joy and delight, Eva reminds us of ourselves back when we were kids during the holidays.

However, his wife doesn’t seem so happy about it.

Caspian, who continues to live in the tree, also seems pretty steamed by the situation. He’s especially annoyed by all the flashing lights and ornaments Eva worked so hard to decorate the tree with – that little girl vandalized his home!

Seeking retribution, Caspian destroys all the decorations while everyone’s asleep – proudly dusting off his hands afterwards, he seems very satisfied with his handy work.

But when Eva discovers the mess, it breaks her heart. It’s already been a rough year for her family and she knows that she won’t be receiving many gifts. This tree was pretty much the only thing keeping her spirits up. Her sadness and disappointment tugs at our heartstrings – including Caspian’s. Overcome with guilt, the once-angry pixie has a change of heart and becomes determined to make Christmas special again for Eva.

In the vein of other feel-good animated shorts such as “Feast” (a personal favorite of mine), this script really works on so many levels, especially on an emotional level. I read the script two days ago and I’m still smiling.

BUDGET: Depends on what type of animation is used. But I think this would work in a number of styles: traditional, classical style animation, stop-motion or more complex, Pixar-style animation.

ABOUT THE WRITER: Matthew Taylor is an accountant from Shakespeare’s county. Though fairly new to screenwriting, he is a naturally gifted storyteller hitting his stride as a writer, recently securing an option for one of his scripts. Though he’s always learning and looking to improve his craft, his skill level is far more advanced than most writers with similarly limited experience. Matthew spends his spare time reading scripts and books. His dream is to be able to make a living from screenwriting, specializing in the science fiction and fantasy genres. Matt can be reached at: scripts.by.mt (a) gmail.

Read: A PIXIE LITTLE CHRISTMAS (6-page short animation screenplay)

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

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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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